The mountainous region in Northwest China was like a primeval wilderness, with no roads, no cars, and even human presence was exceedingly rare.
Amidst the surrounding mountains stood a solitary thatched hut.
Outside the thatched hut, countless herbs grew, and the scent of medicine permeated the air.
The space inside the hut was not large, furnished only with a bed and a table. The table was piled high with books, notebooks, and various kinds of paper.
At this moment, lying on the bed was an old man with white hair and beard, his eyes tightly closed, his expression serene.
A youth, only seventeen or eighteen years old, sat on the edge of the bed.
“Xiao Xia, I truly admire you. To be able to depart peacefully after only eighty-one years of life.” Fang Yu looked at the old man, who had passed away not long ago, lying on the bed, a smile blooming on his face as he murmured.
“Sigh, I’m miserable. Who knows how many more years I’ll have to live before I can leave.” Fang Yu sighed, in his eyes was anguish, but even more so, helplessness.
Since he embarked on the path of cultivation, it had been nearly five thousand years.
Throughout this long, drawn-out period, Fang Yu couldn’t die, nor could his cultivation realm advance a single step.
He had cultivated for nearly five thousand years, yet he was still only in the Qi Condensation stage!
That’s right, the Qi Condensation stage! The most basic realm of Qi cultivation!
Strictly speaking, the Qi Condensation stage isn’t even considered a true realm; it’s merely seen as a body tempering period.
Only after Foundation Establishment does one truly embark on the path of cultivation.
But Fang Yu, time and again, remained stuck in the Qi Condensation stage. No matter what he did, he couldn’t advance a single step.
Over these past few millennia, he had consumed countless Foundation Establishment Pills, but to no avail.
A thousand years ago, Fang Yu’s master even comforted him, saying that because his spiritual root was stronger than anyone else’s, his Qi Condensation stage would naturally take a bit longer.
But another thousand years passed, and Fang Yu still couldn’t break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
At this point, his master began to wonder if he had misunderstood something. Was Fang Yu actually just an ordinary person without a spiritual root?
But if he were just an ordinary person, how could he have lived for a thousand years without even a hint of aging or frailty?
Later, Fang Yu’s master successfully underwent tribulation, ascended to immortality, and left Earth.
From then on, no one paid attention to Fang Yu’s cultivation realm anymore.
As time passed, the spiritual energy resources on Earth grew increasingly scarce.
Now, on Earth, even if Fang Yu were to break through his realm, he would no longer be able to undergo tribulation and ascend to immortality.
But Fang Yu had never even considered undergoing tribulation and ascending to immortality. He just wanted to break through this damned Qi Condensation stage!
This was his obsession.
To this day, he had cultivated to the nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-second layer of the Qi Condensation stage.
Ordinary cultivators only needed to cultivate to the twelfth layer to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Just thinking about cultivation, Fang Yu felt a surge of frustration.
He took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at the drafts on the table, filled with medicinal formulas.
“If I had known you’d become such a medicine enthusiast, I wouldn’t have taught you medical arts back then!” Fang Yu shook his head slightly, speaking helplessly.
According to Xiao Xia’s last wishes, he took all these medicinal formulas.
Not long after he started tidying up, he heard noisy footsteps. He immediately looked up towards the area outside the hut’s window.
Xiao Xia had built his hut in such a remote place, yet he was still found?
Fang Yu frowned slightly.
Ten minutes later, a group of people arrived in front of the thatched hut.
There were a total of seven people, including a young man and a young woman, an old man in a wheelchair, and four men in suits and leather shoes with robust physiques, clearly bodyguards at first glance.
Seeing the old man in the wheelchair emitting a deathly aura, Fang Yu knew immediately that this group must have come to seek a master for treatment.
"Divine Physician Xia, hello, I am Tang Feng. We are from the Tang family in Jiangnan, and we would like to invite you..." A handsome young man stepped forward and said loudly.
Fang Yu pushed the door open, cutting him off.
"You're too late. Xia Xiuzhi just passed away not long ago."
What?!
The expressions of everyone present changed.
They had gone through so much trouble to find Divine Physician Xia Xiuzhi... And yet he's passed away?!
"How, how could this be..." Tang Feng's face turned pale, and he stared blankly at Fang Yu.
To cure Old Master Tang's severe illness, they had used the resources of their entire family, spending countless manpower and resources just to inquire about the whereabouts of Divine Physician Xia Xiuzhi, who had been living in seclusion for nearly twenty years.
After enduring countless hardships, they finally found the thatched hut where Xia Xiuzhi lived, but unexpectedly, what they got was this news!
"How could it be such a coincidence? We just found him... No, that's not right! Divine Physician Xia definitely hasn't passed away. He's just living in seclusion and doesn't want to see us!" The young woman, with a delicate appearance and reddened eyes, said agitatedly.
"Right! The Divine Physician must still be in the thatched hut!" Hope flickered in Tang Feng's eyes, and he walked straight into the thatched hut.
After that, he saw Xia Xiuzhi lying on the bed with his eyes tightly closed.
Tang Feng carefully observed and discovered that the old man on the bed had stopped breathing.
"How, how could this be..." Tang Feng felt his hope extinguish, his whole body losing all strength.
"I already told you, Xia Xiuzhi has passed away. You can leave now." Fang Yu frowned slightly, somewhat displeased with Tang Feng's action of barging into the thatched hut.
Tang Feng suddenly remembered something. He turned his head to look at Fang Yu and asked, "You're the Divine Physician's disciple, aren't you? You must have inherited the Divine Physician's medical skills. Please cure my grandfather. As long as you cure him, we are willing to pay any amount of money!"
Fang Yu shook his head and said, "I am not his disciple... I am just an old friend of his."
In fact, strictly speaking, Fang Yu was considered Xia Xiuzhi's master.
That year, Xia Xiuzhi was only fifteen years old, and it was thanks to Fang Yu's guidance that he embarked on the path of medicine.
Of course, these words didn't need to be said, and even if they were, no one would believe them.
However, using the term "old friend" also seemed peculiar.
Looking at Fang Yu, who was not yet twenty years old, while Xia Xiuzhi was already over eighty, the two were clearly not of the same generation. How could they call themselves old friends?
But the people here didn't consider it that meticulously. The entire group, who had been immersed in hope, now plunged into despair.
Old Master Tang in the wheelchair, hearing the news that Xia Xiuzhi had passed away, finally lost his will to live, his eyes dim with despair.
This was Heaven's will! His time was up! There was no need to struggle anymore!
The young woman was heartbroken to see her grandfather like this, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Fang Yu frowned, looking at Old Master Tang, and suddenly opened his mouth: "You've lived for seventy-three years. Perhaps you've lived long enough. Why do you still want to live on?"
Everyone was stunned to hear this, curious how Fang Yu knew Old Master Tang's age.
But when they heard the latter part of Fang Yu's statement, their expressions all changed.
Lived long enough?
Who in this world ever feels they've lived long enough?
What did that mean!?
A provocation? Sarcasm?
"You bastard, what do you mean by that!?" Tang Feng's face went pale, and he punched Fang Yu hard in the chest.
Fang Yu's eyes flickered slightly, but his body didn't budge.
"Thud!"
Tang Feng's fist hadn't even touched Fang Yu when he was met with an immense force, sending him flying backward to the ground.
The others' expressions changed drastically, utterly astonished.
Tang Feng was clearly the one throwing the punch, and this young man hadn't even moved, so why was Tang Feng the one who fell?
"Brother!" the beautiful young woman cried out.
The four bodyguards immediately reacted, taking a few steps forward to stand before Fang Yu.
"Don't lay a hand on him!" Old Master Tang, sitting in his wheelchair, ordered in a hoarse voice.
The four bodyguards immediately stopped.
Tang Feng clutched his chest, scrambled up from the ground, and looked at Fang Yu with a terrified gaze.
"Young man, we've been rude. May I ask your name?" Old Master Tang asked.
"Fang Yu," Fang Yu replied.
Old Master Tang nodded slightly and said, "Just now, young man, you asked me why I still want to live. I can answer you this way."
"Because I still want to be with my family, I still want to see my grandchildren grow up, see them marry and build their own lives, see them have children... Isn't that how all people are? To see one generation follow another." Old Master Tang said with a smile.
"Grandpa..." Hearing Old Master Tang's words, the young woman beside him cried even more heartbrokenly.
Family...
Fang Yu's eyes flickered.
For him, family was a very, very long time ago, but for mortals, family always exists, one generation after another.
And which mortal wouldn't want to live a little longer?
"You have late-stage lung cancer and won't live for more than three months. Enjoy the rest of your life well," Fang Yu said, then turned and entered the thatched cottage, closing the door.
The Tang family, however, stood dumbfounded.
How did Fang Yu know Old Master Tang had lung cancer just by looking? And he even said exactly what the doctor had, that Old Master Tang had less than three months to live?
He truly was the Medicine God's disciple!
After reacting, Tang Feng knocked on the cottage door again, shouting, "Young Master Fang, are you truly the Medicine God's disciple? I beg you to cure my grandfather, we..."
"Life and death are fated. You all should leave quickly, or don't blame me for being impolite." Fang Yu's calm voice came from inside the thatched cottage.
"A good doctor is like a benevolent mother, how can you just watch someone die and not save them..." Tang Feng said angrily.
"Feng, come back," Old Master Tang said.
"Grandpa!" Tang Feng's eyes turned bloodshot as he turned to look at Old Master Tang.
"That young man's words aren't wrong. Life and death are fated. If Heaven wants me to die, how can I live? Let's go," Old Master Tang said.
"Young man, I truly respected Old Master Xia. I never expected he had already passed away... We came here today to disturb Old Master Xia, and for that, I am truly sorry. I hope Old Master Xia's spirit in heaven won't blame us," Old Master Tang said sincerely.
Having finished speaking, he told the group to leave.
Although Tang Feng was reluctant, Old Master Tang had given the order, so he could only leave.
On the way back, everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was extremely subdued.
Tang Feng noticed his younger sister beside him, lost in thought, and frowned as he asked, "Xiao Nhu, what are you thinking about?"
Tang Xiao Nhu's dark eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she murmured, "I always feel... this Fang Yu seems familiar, as if I've met him somewhere before."
"How could that be?" Tang Feng said. "This is our first time coming to the Northwest region; how could you have met Fang Yu before?"
"You're right..." Tang Xiao Nhu replied, rubbing her temples. "But I really still feel like he's familiar."
Tang Feng was in a bad mood, so he no longer paid attention to Tang Xiao Nhu, simply assuming she was mistaken.
But after only a few more steps, Tang Xiao Nhu suddenly stopped.
"I, I remember now! I met him at school!"