’I shouldn’t have forced my cultivation...’
Tears streamed down Xia Wulei’s face as he verged on a complete breakdown.
SPURT!
Xia Wulei spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed limply to the floor.
"Fourth Prince, what’s wrong?" the Imperial Physician cried, rushing forward to help him up.
Xia Wulei shoved him away. "Get out! All of you, get out of here! Get far, far away, or I’ll kill every last one of you!"
Seeing Xia Wulei’s frenzied state, the surrounding Palace Attendants quickly scattered, not daring to come anywhere near him.
After all, the number of Palace Attendants Xia Wulei had killed over the years was already in the triple digits. Who would dare risk his wrath?
Once he was alone in the Sleeping Palace, Xia Wulei finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
His greatest pride and pleasure in life had always been conquering countless women. Even the position of Crown Prince held less appeal. If forced to choose between the throne and women, he would have chosen women without a second thought.
But now he was impotent, a broken man. This was a fate worse than death.
In less than half a day, news that the Fourth Prince’s Yang Meridian had been crippled, turning him into a eunuch, spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace.
"Did you hear? The Fourth Prince is impotent. His ’member’ has completely atrophied. It looks like he’s basically a eunuch now."
"It’s karma! He was always chasing skirts, even going after other men’s wives and killing so many Palace Maids."
"Well, that’s the end of that. His ambition to become Crown Prince is completely crushed. There’s no way the Crown Prince of our Great Xia Dynasty could be a eunuch."
"You can survive a disaster sent by the heavens, but not one of your own making. Xia Wulei and Consort De only have themselves to blame."
These whispers were like daggers plunging into Xia Wulei’s heart. What drove him deeper into despair was that the Palace Attendants and Courtiers who had once fawned over him now avoided him like the plague.
Even the consorts and concubines in Evergreen Hall, upon hearing the news, made all sorts of excuses to leave, not even bothering to say goodbye.
As for the Palace Maids, even more of them fled.
Lady De, now confined to the Cold Palace, also heard what had happened. She wanted to go comfort her son but was blocked by the Cold Palace Guards.
She couldn’t help but sob her heart out. "It’s all my fault! I’m the one who ruined you..."
To this day, she still had no idea that Xia Wuyang was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Xia Wulei lay on his cold bed, his eyes completely vacant. He now truly understood what it meant for life to be worse than death.
"Xia Wuyang... Pan Mo... This is all your fault!"
Like mother, like son. Even now, Xia Wulei never once considered his own faults, blaming everything on Xia Wuyang and Pan Mo, just as his mother had.
What drove Xia Wulei further into despair was that once Emperor Xia learned of his impotence, he immediately stripped him of all official duties. This meant he was completely out of the running for the position of Crown Prince.
Xia Wulei knew in his heart that from the moment his mother’s affair came to light, Emperor Xia would never have let him off easily. This was just the excuse the emperor needed to strike.
The various Princes and Princesses who had once been on good terms with him now distanced themselves, some even sending their attendants to taunt and ridicule him.
"Fourth Imperial Brother, since you’re... indisposed, why not let me take care of those consorts and concubines for you? I certainly won’t let them suffer in lonely, empty rooms."
"Looks like I can’t share beauties with you anymore, Fourth Imperial Brother. I guess I’ll just have to enjoy them all by myself."
"My condolences, Fourth Imperial Brother. To be honest, I can almost understand why Lady De had that affair."
These words were like poisoned needles, tormenting Xia Wulei and keeping him awake night after night.
Through the small animals in the palace, through Zhao Wuji, and through the gossip of those around him, Xia Wuyang was fully aware of the miserable state of both Evergreen Hall and the Cold Palace.
’Xia Wulei... Lady De... Are you enjoying this down payment?’ Xia Wuyang muttered to himself, then pounced on the nearby Qiuci Beauty, pinning her beneath him.
After a vigorous session, Xia Wuyang returned to his Practice Room, feigning exhaustion. The beauty outside assumed he was just resting up for their next round of pleasure, but she had no idea that the moment he entered the room, he became a completely different person.
Cultivation Techniques, Combat Techniques, Secret Techniques... he practiced them all in an orderly fashion. His Foundation grew ever more stable, and his Power became increasingly formidable.
He had also recently taken up the Vice Position of Alchemist, and he hadn’t neglected it in the slightest.
As he continued to study the Herbal Tomb, Xia Wuyang discovered that this Middle Level Spiritual Scripture was vast and profound. The medical principles and the Alchemy Dao it contained were intricately interlinked. Even with his Comprehension and talent, his progress was slow.
’The five zang-organs correspond to the five phases, the six fu-organs align with the six qi...’ He mulled over this passage repeatedly, finding it exceptionally profound, and soon became completely engrossed.
「An unknown amount of time passed, and a new day dawned.」
Spirit +1!
Under the influence of his Supreme Talent Seven-Aperture Exquisite, his Spiritual Power increased by another point. His total Spiritual Power had now reached an impressive one hundred and sixty points.
He effortlessly shattered a minor bottleneck.
Having already been on the verge of an epiphany, he suddenly plunged into a state of true enlightenment. His Sea of Consciousness became crystal clear, entering a profound and mysterious state. The contents of the Herbal Tomb began to flood into his mind.
The medical principles of the five phases’ generation and restriction... the subtleties of selecting acupuncture points... the conversion between pharmacology and toxicology... the essentials of the four diagnostic methods—observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation... the control of the Pill Fire... the interconnectedness that fused all this knowledge together...
Countless insights, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, converged into a mighty torrent within his Sea of Consciousness. In that instant, the once obscure and impenetrable Herbal Tomb became perfectly clear to him.
Acting on a stroke of inspiration, Xia Wuyang took out a set of silver needles and his alchemy tools, sinking into an even deeper state of enlightenment.
In his enlightened state, the human body seemed to transform into an intricate star chart.
’The liver belongs to wood, corresponding to the qi of spring’s growth...’
’The heart belongs to fire, corresponding to the qi of summer’s maturation...’
’The lungs belong to metal, corresponding to the qi of autumn’s harvest...’
In his hands, the silver needles seemed to take on a life of their own, precisely piercing one acupoint after another, guiding the body’s yin and yang, and seeking out every imperfection.
With his mastery of medical principles, the Alchemy Dao followed as a matter of course.
Xia Wuyang took out his alchemy tools and began attempting to refine the most basic Hemostatic Powder.
In his state of enlightenment, the herbs in the Pill Furnace seemed to come alive. He could clearly perceive the changes in the medicinal properties of each ingredient and precisely control the subtlest fluctuations of the flame.
’Sanqi is the primary hemostatic. It requires a Mild Fire for slow simmering...’
’Bletilla promotes tissue regeneration. It needs a Martial Fire for quick refining...’
’Dragon’s blood resin disperses blood stasis. It must be added at the opportune moment...’
Alchemy techniques that would normally take a year or more to master were learned in a matter of moments in his enlightened state.
Under normal circumstances, it would take other alchemists about a year just to become an apprentice. After that, it would take several more years to become a Low Level Alchemist, also known as a Low Level Mortal Alchemist.
But Xia Wuyang, thanks to his enlightenment, had traversed a path in a mere few hours that took other alchemists years to walk.

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