Ren Zu extended three fingers and pressed them precisely onto Su Hongbo's back, at the exact locations of his Heavenly Gate, Earthly Gate, and Palace Gate. A strand of profound energy flowed in, and instantly, the condition of those three profound entrances appeared clearly in Ren Zu's mind.
Indeed, Su Hongbo's three great profound entrances had been severely damaged long ago, but they had not been completely crippled. After all, the Su Hongbo of a hundred years past was still a late-stage Monarch. How could his profound entrances be destroyed so easily? The injuries could only be described as "extremely grave," yet because they had remained in that state for so long, the three entrances had become fully sealed and blocked.
Simply healing the wounds would already be difficult. As for reopening them… that was as hard as ascending to the heavens.
With Ren Zu's medical expertise, if he poured his full effort into it, he could completely restore those three profound entrances without the slightest difficulty. His mastery over the human body was so vast that the risk of accidentally damaging the profound veins was nonexistent. Moreover, if he used the Profound Light Element to assist in regeneration, recovery would be guaranteed, though the process would take an absurdly long time due to the two-realm cultivation gap between him and Su Hongbo.
By his calculations, even with daily continuous treatment, it would take at least a month to return the entrances to perfect condition, time he simply could not afford to waste.
There was also a more direct method: refining medicinal pills capable of healing the condition with ease. Yet for Ren Zu, that would be a wasteful use of precious resources. He had dozens of alternative methods, a thousand different ways to repair a damaged body. There was no reason to squander rare essences and costly materials when the problem could be solved with patience and skill.
Thus, he chose the most rational path: first reopen the profound entrances, and only afterward treat the internal injuries. Once unblocked, recovery would become simple; profound energy would naturally spread on its own, allowing the body to regenerate without any external aid.
There was, however, one problem. When those three entrances had sealed shut in the past, every one of Su Hongbo's attempts to force them open had ended in utter failure. Now they were not only completely blocked but also gravely damaged.
To any other profound practitioner, even with the aid of a genius physician, reopening them would be fundamentally impossible.
Yet… Ren Zu had fully inherited and mastered the legacy of the Creation Goddess of Life. Combined with the unparalleled talent he gained from absorbing the "Prime World Liquid," he had become an existence that transcended ordinary comprehension.
To him, creating new pills, devising unprecedented treatment methods, or reformulating ancient theories was as natural as breathing. The impossible, in his hands, was merely a matter of time and curiosity. It was no wonder he could conceive profound arts of terrifying complexity and devastation, or manipulate the entire stage of the Illusory Demon Realm to serve his own ends. Without a doubt, his intellect was the most terrifying thing beneath the heavens…
Or at the very least, he was proving himself to be someone who possessed such intellect.
After all… Ren Zu had won over the Little Demon Empress by orchestrating their entire first encounter, crafting a life-or-death situation that led them to the Golden Crow's Ancestral Land, a plan executed to perfection and disguised as coincidence. During that time, the two became deeply and inevitably entangled, allowing the Empress to inherit the Golden Crow's legacy. Even though he later regretted how it all unfolded, that did not change the fact that it had been a brilliant, meticulously calculated move.
Worthy of a "villain" like him…
Moreover, he himself had obtained the Golden Crow legacy, along with enough resources to cultivate to the Tyrant Profound Realm without major obstacles. He had also ensured his father received rare treasures through a wager he himself had rigged, knowing exactly where to strike, when to act, and how to win. Everything was part of a greater chessboard, a plan whose fruits would only ripen upon his return with the Little Demon Empress, when he would finally deal with the traitors lurking in the shadows.
Foreseeing that he might one day need concrete proof to expose their crimes, Ren Zu had even invented a device capable of projecting a profound practitioner's memories. Though the artifact was not as effective as he had hoped, it served perfectly to sow seeds of doubt and suspicion among the noble families, while subtly implying that Duke Huai had been cruel and ungrateful to the hand that once supported him.
And in the end, Ren Zu was still learning about life itself.
Despite all his power, wisdom, and mastery of certain elemental laws at a level the Evil God himself could only dream of, he remained a being who made mistakes and, like any human, learned from them. Little by little, he was moving away from impulsive, reckless decisions; each choice, each regret, shaped him more deeply than any divine legacy ever could…
After all, he had come from a world shaped by concepts of morality and justice, where right and wrong were clearly defined, virtue exalted, and sin condemned.
But this was a different world. Here, strength was law, and justice merely a luxury of the powerful.
He knew purity fed no one, and mercy in this place was just another form of weakness. Thus, he chose his own path. A path where the ends justified the means, where he would not hesitate to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve his desires. Even if they called him a "villain," even if everyone feared or hated him, he would not turn back… With that resolve etched into his heart, he had adjusted his mindset while training in the depths of the Sea of Death, within the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley…
And so, like a true villain, he would cure his patient with style.
With that thought, he decided to employ a profound art born from the Profound Light Element, combined with his vast medical knowledge. With it, he could reopen the damaged profound entrances using nothing more than a single finger.
It was an improvised technique, created on the spot, but it was more than enough…
"Nephew Yun, how are my grandfather's profound entrance injuries? Is there anything you can do?" Su Zhizhan asked nervously, his voice filled with hope after witnessing Ren Zu's actions, pulling him from his reverie.
Ren Zu smiled faintly. "Do not worry. Senior Su's profound entrance injuries are not as severe as you believe… Senior Su, relax as much as possible and refrain from using profound energy. Later, when an aura enters your profound veins, please do not resist it in the slightest."
Ren Zu's words caused both father and son to reveal expressions of pleasant surprise.
Su Hongbo laughed heartily. "Do as you wish."
Ren Zu focused his mind, and a green light flickered from his palm. Three strands of purifying aura followed his profound energy and entered Su Hongbo's profound veins, making contact with the three damaged profound entrances with incomparable precision.
Su Hongbo's expression had remained utterly calm throughout, so calm it bordered on grim. That was because he, better than anyone, knew just how grave his injuries were. He had long given up hope that a day would come when his profound entrance wounds could be fully healed. Otherwise, why would he have endured a hundred years of suffering? Yet in that instant, his entire body suddenly jolted, and both eyes widened. Shock and disbelief radiated from his gaze; even his body trembled violently.
Su Hongbo's reaction startled Su Xiangnan. In his entire life, he had rarely seen his father display such emotion. "Father, what's wrong?"
Su Hongbo turned his head, his lips trembling with excitement.
"They're open… My Heavenly Gate, Earthly Gate, and Palace Gate… they're all open!"
"WHAT??" Su Xiangnan and Su Zhizhan stood dumbfounded, hardly daring to believe their ears. Su Xiangnan quickly stepped forward, pressed his hand against Su Hongbo's body, and carefully inserted his profound energy… Moments later, his face revealed the exact same expression as his father's—complete disbelief.
"How… How… How is this possible…" Su Xiangnan cried out.
Fully healing profound entrances had already been their greatest wish for the past century. As for reopening those three entrances… forget hoping for it; the thought had never even crossed their minds, because it was simply something that could never happen.
Yet that impossibility had truly occurred before their very eyes.
Ren Zu withdrew his hand and declared casually, "Although the profound entrances have been reopened, the injuries remain. However, with them unblocked, the wounds to these three entrances should now heal naturally under the flow of profound energy. Still, it would be best if Senior Su refrains from using more than seventy percent of his profound energy for the next two months, or the condition may worsen. They should be more or less fully healed after two months…"
"Two months…" Su Zhizhan gasped.
"Oh, if you wish to recover a little faster, there is a way," Ren Zu continued. "I will prescribe some medicines for Senior Su when I return. Send someone to the Yun Family tomorrow morning to collect them. When the time comes, take one per day and place it near the injured profound entrances. Use profound energy to guide the medicinal energy inside and continue doing so for roughly a hundred breaths. In fifteen days at most, you should make a complete recovery."
"Fifteen… days?!" Su Zhizhan swallowed hard, his mouth falling open even wider. When Ren Zu had said "two months" earlier, Su Zhizhan had thought it impossibly short for injuries that had gone untreated for over a hundred years. Yet Ren Zu, apparently finding even that period too long… had reduced it to fifteen days.
"Nephew Yun…" The shock in Su Xiangnan's heart far surpassed his excitement. "Though I had heard countless rumors of your extraordinary medical skills and that you could reopen profound entrances with a single finger—a legendary technique—I never imagined your medical abilities would be… so shocking, so astonishing! Every genius physician in the entire Demon Imperial City cannot even compare to a single strand of your hair."
Though Su Xiangnan's words seemed wildly exaggerated, they came straight from the depths of his heart. As a Guardian Family, the physicians they could invite were naturally the finest genius doctors in the entire Illusory Demon Realm, fully worthy of their titles. Yet the countless physicians they had summoned over the past century, along with the innumerable medicines and profound jades used, had all been useless. But Ren Zu had directly reopened the damaged profound entrances… something a million times more difficult than merely healing them. The results were as different as night and day.
And he had accomplished it in little more than ten breaths.
He had no idea how Ren Zu had done it, nor would he thoughtlessly inquire. But based solely on the outcome, he knew that Ren Zu's attainment in medicine… perhaps transcended both realms.
"Patriarch Su flatters me," Ren Zu said politely. "Senior Su is well now, and this junior was merely fortunate not to fail. I will not disturb you further and shall take my leave."
"Wait!!" Upon hearing that Ren Zu intended to depart, Su Hongbo leapt up with a whoosh and seized his arm. His previously pallid face was now flushed with excitement. With his three profound entrances fully unblocked, not only had a hundred years of suffering ended, his cultivation speed would now surpass what it had been before… This was not merely healing his wounds; it was essentially granting him a second life. The sensation of his profound veins flowing freely nearly moved him to tears.
"Little brother, how can you just leave after bestowing such an enormous favor upon me? At the very least, allow our Su Family to express our gratitude."
"There is no need." Ren Zu waved a hand and said casually, "Being able to heal Senior Su's injuries is this junior's honor. Moreover, to me, this was not much. It is hardly worthy of being called a 'great favor.' This junior will be quite busy with some matters soon, so I will not linger. I will pay a visit another day… Farewell."
Ren Zu performed a junior's salute, gently turned, and walked away.
Watching Ren Zu depart with such ease, though waves of emotion surged in Su Hongbo's heart, he did not feel it right to press him to stay. He roared honestly at Ren Zu's retreating back, "You did not merely heal this old man's wounds—you saved this old man's life, allowing this old man to finally live the second half of his life freely! Listen well: just for saving this old man's life… if anyone in Demon Imperial City dares oppress you, tell me, and I will personally wipe out their entire family!"
Su Xiangnan gave a wry smile beside him. "Father, he once casually subdued Duke Ming—a tenth-level Monarch who could look down upon the world—so his profound cultivation is likely no less than the Little Demon Empress, who has stepped into the Divine Profound Realm. Moreover, the Little Demon Empress is his future wife. Add to that his heaven-defying medical skills… in this entire Demon Imperial City, no one should be able to oppress him."
Su Hongbo whipped his head around, glared, and growled, "Then why are you still standing here? Why haven't you escorted him out?"
"Yes, yes…" Su Xiangnan snapped back to his senses and hurriedly chased after Ren Zu.
Su Xiangnan quickened his pace and caught up to Ren Zu, who had paused not far away in the side courtyard of the mansion. The young physician stood with his hands clasped behind his back, silently watching two young Su Family disciples spar.
The two moved swiftly, the sound of their palm strikes slicing through the air like heated steel. The profound art they employed exuded the intense yet stable aura characteristic of the Su Family bloodline: Divine Wind Sword.
Ren Zu observed calmly.
His dark eyes reflected the profound energy sword lights dancing across the courtyard, and for a moment, it seemed as though he saw not just the disciples' movements but the very structure of the profound art itself.
In mere seconds, everything was etched into his mind: the rhythm, the energy cycles, the profound routes, the weaknesses, and the potential for improvement.
With a single glance, he had completely grasped the essence of that art.
The glint in his eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there at all.
Su Xiangnan, hurrying over, noticed none of this depth. He only saw Ren Zu watching the youths with a faint smile and assumed he was admiring the talent of the new generation.
"Young Master Yun!" he called respectfully, bowing slightly. "Allow me to escort you to the gate. It would be discourteous to let someone of your stature leave unaccompanied."
Ren Zu turned his gaze from the arena, and tranquility returned to his expression.
"There is no need, Patriarch Su. I've said I dislike excessive formality. Besides…" He glanced briefly at the two young fighters, who now bowed upon noticing his presence. "…the younger generation of the Su Family looks promising. If they continue like this, perhaps one day your name will once again resound among the great clans."
Su Xiangnan flushed slightly at the praise, even though deep down he knew those words came from someone who could see through the entire cultivation foundation of his disciples with a single look.
"Your words are an honor to my family, Young Master Yun."
Ren Zu gave a small nod and resumed walking.
As he watched him leave, Su Xiangnan felt a shiver run down his spine. That youth… did not seem to belong to this world…
Ren Zu paused for a moment at the edge of the gate and lifted his gaze to the sky. There was still much to be done, but tomorrow the Little Demon Empress would officially announce their marriage, granting him a brief respite to spend some time by her side…
He let out a soft sigh and shook his head, as if casting aside an unnecessary thought. The morning breeze blew gently, causing his robes to flutter for an instant, and then his figure dissolved like mist beneath the sun.
In the blink of an eye, he was already back at the Yun Family residence. Adjusting his sleeves, he took his first steps toward the hall where numerous guests awaited, ready once more to ply his trade as a physician.
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