Chapter Forty-Three: Elegant Rivalry and Absolute Strife

Lin You listened quietly for a while and soon understood the true intentions of these people. They were nothing more than a group of profit-seekers. Seeing the decline of the Chisong Dao Palace, they used the pretext of offering help, hoping to exploit the situation and make some gains.

With this realization, he lost interest in further entanglement with them and said calmly, “If you do not leave Chisong Mountain within three breaths, I shall strip you of your cultivation!”

Though his words were delivered with indifference, they brooked no argument. The old woman and her companions felt a suffocating pressure in their hearts. The three of them were usually people of high status, wielding great power, and had never suffered such humiliation. Yet the situation was not in their favor; the sense of danger, sharp as a thorn in their backs, would not dissipate. It was clear the young Daoist before them was not bluffing. If they insisted on staying, the consequences could be dire.

Resentful but helpless, they lifted the unconscious Wang Qianyuan, preparing to depart. As they glanced back at the valley’s bubbling spiritual springs and the abundance of precious herbs, their hearts surged with greed and reluctance. If only they could refine these herbs into pills, who knew how much their cultivation might improve—perhaps even glimpsing the threshold of the late Grandmaster stage in this lifetime.

Before leaving, the old woman sneered, “Very well! Since Chisong Dao Palace doesn’t need our assistance, we won’t trouble you further. At the Medical Dao Conference three days from now, I hope you’re prepared!”

“There are two breaths left,” Lin You replied without emotion.

His voice sounded like a death knell, making their hearts tremble. They dared not linger, and each unleashed their movement techniques to flee the valley. Only at the mouth of the valley did they shout back, “Yu Chen, listen well! In three days, our three sects will challenge Chisong Dao Palace to a Life-and-Death Medical Duel! We’ll settle this once and for all!”

With that, their voices faded, and they were gone.

Yu Jing, hearing this, furrowed his brow deeply. Though he and his junior brother had become Grandmasters themselves, compared to these veteran Medical Dao Grandmasters, they still lagged behind. If the other party truly issued a Life-and-Death Medical Duel, it would be hard to handle.

Seeing his senior brothers troubled, Lin You asked, “Senior brothers, what exactly are the rules of this Life-and-Death Medical Duel?”

Yu Yin replied with a bitter smile, “You’ve only just returned to the sect, so you don’t know. At the Medical Dao gathering, the contests are of two types: one wagers wealth, called Elegant Duel; the other wagers lives, called Life-and-Death Duel…”

The Elegant Duel follows the conference’s rules, setting up several rounds and using spiritual herbs as prizes, with participants competing in medical arts.

As for the Life-and-Death Medical Duel, it exists to resolve irreconcilable grievances. Like the martial arts deathmatch, but instead of martial prowess, it is medical skill that determines life or death. Both sides simultaneously take a poison, or exchange poisons and take them, then rely on their own medical abilities to cure themselves. If one dies, it is simply proof that their skill was inferior. Not only do they lose the spiritual herbs, but their life ends as well. The duel settles all grudges.

Those who perish in the duel cannot have their friends or family seek revenge against the survivor, or they will face the scorn and pursuit of the entire medical community.

Lin You listened and smiled calmly. With his power of rejuvenation, all mundane poisons held no sway over him. These people thought to threaten them, but they were gravely mistaken!

He spoke to his senior brothers, “There is no need for concern. When the time comes, I will represent our Dao Palace and accept the duel.”

“No! Even if it means either of us facing them, you must not go!” Yu Jing protested resolutely.

“Indeed! We have reached Grandmaster status; victory is not beyond reach. You must not risk yourself!” Yu Yin shook his head.

Their junior brother carried the future of Chisong Dao Palace. As senior brothers, they would never let Lin You take such a risk!

Lin You smiled gently and pointed to the bitter apricot tree laden with fruit. “Senior brother, have you forgotten the apricot fruit from that day?”

Yu Yin paused, memories flooding back of Lin You’s miraculous act that day. With a single gesture, the spiritual spring appeared; with a thought, the withered wood flourished. In an instant, white plum and bitter apricot burst with life. Such wondrous skill!

He realized he had let his concern cloud his judgment, nearly forgetting the extraordinary nature of his junior brother—a being like an exile from the heavens.

His worries melted away.

Seeing Yu Jing’s confusion, Yu Yin laughed heartily. “Relax, senior brother! It seems the three sects are in for a harsh lesson. Now Yu Chen can properly teach them a lesson and reclaim some of our Dao Palace’s lost honor!”

“What are you two talking about?” Yu Jing grew even more puzzled.

What day? What apricot fruit? Why had their junior brother’s attitude changed so suddenly?

Yu Yin chuckled, patting his senior brother on the shoulder. “Don’t worry! I’ll explain everything once we’re back.”

With that, he led the bewildered Yu Jing away from the valley.

…

Lin You watched their departing figures with a faint smile. The atmosphere of Chisong Dao Palace was unlike the worldly realm, devoid of scheming and intrigue, and more akin to a warm family. The concern of his senior brothers was genuine and pure, untainted by ulterior motives.

For this reason, he respected them deeply.

Bai Yi, lying at his feet, asked curiously, “Master, do you really intend to participate in this so-called Life-and-Death Duel? It sounds dangerous!”

Lin You smiled. “If someone wishes to send us spiritual herbs, why would we refuse? And even without divine powers, with the spiritual apricot fruit, it will be more than enough.”

He glanced at the bitter apricot tree.

The white deer had gifted Yu Yin a fruit infused with its own essence, granting miraculous power to revive the dead. The tree grown from its pit was thus the reincarnation of the white deer’s tree spirit, possessing deep roots.

Now, blessed by Lin You’s spiritual spring and divine insight, its innate powers had been fully awakened.

The apricot fruits on the tree were no longer the bitter, unpalatable kind, but genuine spiritual apricots that could neutralize all poisons and cure all plagues.

Bai Yi’s eyes widened in astonishment. She had eaten quite a few apricots lately—did that mean she had consumed many of the master's spiritual medicines? Even selling herself wouldn’t repay the debt!

Lin You glanced at her, noting her guilty expression, and laughed softly. “Eat the apricots if you wish, but remember to save the pits for me! They are spiritual seeds; while the trees grown from them won’t match the old one’s marvels, they still possess the power to dispel poisons and cure illnesses.”

He planned to collect these seeds and eventually cultivate an apricot grove in the valley, transforming Chisong Dao Palace into a true blessed land.

He remembered another matter and instructed, “Bai Yi, for tonight’s gathering, bring some spiritual herbs and apricots to entertain our guests.”

Hearing that the master bore no grudge for her sneaking apricots, Bai Yi’s eyes curved into crescent moons with joy, and she quickly agreed.