Chapter 175: Damage to the Qi Sea

What Gu Hanliang had said was something Lin Le understood perfectly well.

The path of martial arts could never be separated from diligence and hard work. Yet in many cases, talent and opportunity played crucial roles.

Lin Le believed that a man like Gu Hanliang must have held himself to extremely high standards in martial cultivation, just as Gu Huaishan did. He was certainly not the sort to slack off. Even so, his cultivation was still constrained by various factors, leaving him unable to break through his bottleneck. In martial arts, that was an exceedingly common occurrence.

Gu Huaishan before him, Gu Zhao, and now Gu Hanliang—all of them had been in the same situation. There were countless people who, even after exhausting an entire lifetime, still failed to break through their bottleneck.

“To be honest, I’ve put in no small amount of effort trying to break through to the Great Accomplishment of Inner Force. Recently, I even tried some pills said to aid martial cultivation, but none of them had any real effect...” Gu Hanliang continued.

“Pills?” Lin Le was startled. “Fourth Master, don’t tell me the pills you took came from the Divine Elixir Sect?”

“That’s right. Why? You know of the Divine Elixir Sect too, Mr. Lin?” Gu Hanliang asked, clearly surprised.

Lin Le could not help giving a bitter smile. It seemed the Divine Elixir Sect had harmed quite a number of people—even an old hand like Fourth Master Gu had fallen into their trap.

“What is it, Mr. Lin? Is there something wrong?” Seeing the bitter smile on Lin Le’s face, Gu Hanliang immediately sensed that something was amiss and hurriedly asked.

“They are pills from the Divine Elixir Sect. If you trust me, Fourth Master, you should never touch their pills again.” Lin Le offered him the warning.

“Oh?” Gu Hanliang frowned. He was an exceptionally clever man and immediately understood what Lin Le meant.

“So the Divine Elixir Sect’s pills really are problematic!” Gu Hanliang cursed.

In truth, Gu Hanliang had not initially believed that the Divine Elixir Sect’s pills could have such a powerful effect on martial cultivation. He had always placed greater faith in steady, practical training. But after watching his cultivation remain stuck at the bottleneck, he had grown anxious and decided to experiment with the pills.

Now that Lin Le had pointed it out, Gu Hanliang immediately realized that something must indeed be wrong with them.

“Although I don’t have any concrete evidence yet, my preliminary judgment is that if those pills are taken for a long time, they will cause severe damage to a martial artist’s body. They may even shorten one’s lifespan,” Lin Le said.

“Fuck...” Gu Hanliang’s expression changed in shock, and he could not help cursing. Even the normally composed Fourth Master Gu could no longer remain calm.

“That Divine Elixir Sect is damn vicious! Fortunately, I only started taking them two months ago. The damage shouldn’t be too serious, right?” Gu Hanliang looked at Lin Le uncertainly.

“Let me take your pulse, Fourth Master.”

A moment later, Lin Le withdrew his hand.

“Just as I thought. At first glance, your pulse seems extremely strong. Even an ordinary veteran physician might not notice anything unusual. But when I examined it more deeply, I discovered that your pulse is clearly strong on the outside but weak within. It appears the medicinal effects have already begun to affect you.”

“What?! Damn it! I’ll wipe out that Divine Elixir Sect!” Upon hearing this, Gu Hanliang could no longer sit still.

“Fourth Master, there’s no need to panic,” Lin Le said calmly.

Gu Hanliang hurriedly settled down and listened.

“Fortunately, you were cautious and took only a small dosage. Although you have been affected, the damage has not reached your foundations, and it will not shorten your lifespan. You simply need to consume more nourishing foods and supplements for the time being. I believe you will recover before long.”

“I see.” Only then did Gu Hanliang relax.

Fortunately, the pills had not truly harmed him. Otherwise, given Gu Hanliang’s temperament, he might really have gone on a killing spree.

“Ah, thank goodness you warned me, Mr. Lin. Otherwise, I really would have fallen into their trap!” Gu Hanliang said gratefully.

Lin Le had already done the Gu family a great favor. Now Gu Hanliang himself was indebted to him as well, and his respect for Lin Le deepened even further.

“You’re too kind, Fourth Master,” Lin Le said. “When I examined your pulse just now, I also took the opportunity to investigate your martial cultivation. I found something unusual within it. Did you once fight someone with everything you had and overdraw your true qi?”

Gu Hanliang drew in a sharp breath and stared at Lin Le in disbelief.

“Mr. Lin truly is a divine physician!” he exclaimed. “You’re right. Many years ago, I did once engage in a desperate battle with someone. It was a matter of life and death, and I had no choice but to fight with all my strength, exhausting every last bit of true qi in my body.”

“That explains it. That battle damaged your qi sea, and that may also be the reason your martial cultivation has remained unable to break through its bottleneck.”

Gu Hanliang could already be considered fortunate. The damage to his qi sea was not particularly severe. Had it been any worse, his entire martial cultivation might have been destroyed, and he could even have become a cripple.

“So that’s how it is...” Gu Hanliang said gravely.

In truth, he had sensed something of the sort himself. He had merely chosen to avoid the matter, unwilling to acknowledge it.

“Then does that mean that even with your help, Mr. Lin, I still won’t be able to break through?” Gu Hanliang looked somewhat dejected, as though he had already abandoned all hope. He was a martial artist himself and knew that damage to the qi sea was no trivial matter.

“That isn’t necessarily the case...” Lin Le replied calmly.

“Oh?” Gu Hanliang’s eyes lit up, and hope flared anew in his heart.

“Mr. Lin, you really have a way to help me break through my bottleneck?” Gu Hanliang could scarcely believe it.

“Because your qi sea is damaged, Fourth Master, you cannot seek success too hastily. Even if I could help you break through to the Great Accomplishment of Inner Force right now, your damaged qi sea would be unable to withstand such powerful cultivation. It would only make the damage worse,” Lin Le explained.

“Then what should I do now?” Gu Hanliang asked.

“The most urgent thing is to restore your damaged qi sea first. Once that is done, I can help you break through your bottleneck. It won’t be too late then.”

“Please tell me how to restore my qi sea, Mr. Lin!” Gu Hanliang asked with clasped hands.

As far as Gu Hanliang knew, damage to the qi sea was almost irreversible. Countless people had seen their martial careers end because of such injuries. The fact that Lin Le was willing to intervene was an immense blessing, and it left Gu Hanliang both grateful and uneasy.

“It’s simple. You only need the assistance of a medicinal pill,” Lin Le said calmly.

Then he thought of something and added with a bitter smile, “Of course, I’m not talking about those fraudulent pills from the Divine Elixir Sect. I mean a Foundation-Building Pill refined by me personally.”

The Foundation-Building Pill could not only enhance one’s cultivation of the Dao; it also provided tremendous benefits for tempering the body. That was why it was so useful to martial artists as well. The Foundation-Building stages of martial arts and Dao cultivation both focused on refining the physical body, making their effects essentially complementary.

“That’s wonderful!” Gu Hanliang said delightedly.

“If you truly can repair my qi sea and help me break through, Mr. Lin, then I, Gu Hanliang, will owe you an immeasurable debt!” Gu Hanliang said excitedly. He felt extraordinarily fortunate. If the old master of his family had not met such a truly capable expert, he would never have had the chance to benefit from Lin Le’s abilities.

“Fourth Master, there’s no need to be so formal,” Lin Le said with a smile.

Gu Hanliang was once again deeply moved. To think that an expert of Lin Le’s stature did not treat him as an outsider—he felt extraordinarily lucky.

Then Gu Hanliang suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, Mr. Lin, I heard yesterday that you came to Shangjing to purchase aged medicinal herbs. I specifically had people look into it, but it seems that all the aged medicinal ingredients on the Shangjing market have been bought up by those bastards from the Divine Elixir Sect. Still, don’t worry, Mr. Lin. Among my acquaintances are quite a few people who deal in medicinal herbs. I’ll ask them to search for some on your behalf.”