9 The Immortal Doctor and the Poison Sage

Six years later.

Su Ruoxi stood in front of the ancient tomb as it slowly sunk into the ground. She was dressed in red with intricate details embroidered in gold thread. Brightly colored lotus flowers were sewn on her attire. As she moved, the dress and its details seemed to come to life. She looked like a lithe and graceful fairy.

There were many words to describe a beauty — stunning, charming, enchanting, ravishing, intoxicating…

Slender eyebrows, skin as fair as snow, a tapered waist with dazzling angel-white teeth, and the list went on…

Yet, none of these were able to describe her beauty. When she stood there all by herself, her slender figure was a picture of perfection.

She raised her lapel and fell on her knees with a thud in front of the ancient tomb. She kowtowed three times. "Goodbye, my masters, Xi-er will not disappoint you, I will find my parents eventually… and avenge both of you!" Su Ruoxi uttered the last sentence silently in her heart.

As she watched the ancient tomb disappear into the ground, Su Ruoxi's tears flowed for the first time in this alternate world…

"Mother, will Grandmasters be back?" It was the voice of a child. Her tiny figure knelt next to Su Ruoxi, and her small face was streaked with tears…

Su Ruoxi turned and comforted the small child next to her. "Baby, it's okay, don't cry! Grandmasters have gone to heaven. When we become more powerful, we will be able to locate them! Do you remember what Grandmaster once told you? They would visit you if you do a good job cultivating!"

"Mother, I will become very powerful and protect you. I will definitely be able to find Grandmasters!" the child said confidently as she wiped away the tears on her face.

Su Ruoxi smiled lightly as she got up and pulled the young child to her feet. They stood at the spot, staring at the ancient tomb for a long time and did not leave…

Six years ago, she had entered the tomb and whipped up a sumptuous meal for the two quirky elders. When they were done eating, the two elderly told her straight to her face that they wanted to take her as their disciple. She intended to reject them politely. She was going to tell them that she would be returning to the Prince's mansion when they said, "If you don't inherit our skills and be our successor, you won't be able to leave the Five Toxins Forest forever!"

Su Ruoxi wanted to curse out loud. This was not asking her for her opinion! It was more like coercion, wasn't it? She didn't have a choice…

She felt a little resentful, but it did not take long for Su Ruoxi to realize that this was best for her. She knelt down to pay her respects and acknowledged them as her masters.

Following that, she found out that her two masters were, in fact, the Immortal Doctor and the Poison Sage. They existed from more than tens of thousands of years ago. The kind and affectionate old lady was Immortal Doctor, Xia Lingyi, and the stern old man dressed in black was known as Poison Sage, Ling Fengchen…

Her masters had been at loggerheads ever since they became famous. One saved the lives of many, while the other harmed many—they had been at odds for more than a thousand years…

After more than a thousand years of conflict, Master Xia Lingyi caught the eye of a young master whom she had healed. He was from a reclusive clan and had insisted on marrying Xia Lingyi. Although Xia Lingyi was a highly skilled doctor, she was not the strongest or the most powerful.

The reclusive clan eventually plotted a scheme to capture her and coerced her into marrying their young master. On the day of their wedding, Ling Fengchen, dressed in black, swooped in like he was the savior and forcibly snatched the bride, Xia Lingyi.

From then on, news that the Immortal Doctor and the Poison Sage had become a couple spread like wildfire in the Land of the Dancing Phoenix. The two opponents, who had been fighting each other for thousands of years, finally met for the first time. It could be described as a shocking and remarkably romantic first meeting.

In fact, Poison Sage was not as cold-blooded as he was rumored to be, and the Immortal Doctor was not as docile and meek as others thought. The thousands of years of them being at loggerheads with each other had helped to forge a tight bond which tied them together. Xia Lingyi was secretly pleased when Ling Fengchen swooped in at the last minute to snatch her away…

They eventually got together as a couple and cast the namesake of Immortal Doctor and Poison Sage aside. The two of them lived in seclusion for the next five hundred years in a picturesque valley somewhere in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Phoenix…

Before they lived in seclusion, they saved a dying boy named Xue Chen near the valley. Five hundred years later, their lives were disrupted because of him…

Su Ruoxi recalled that there had been immense disappointment and regret in Master Xia Lingyi's eyes when she spoke of Xue Chen.

When they first spotted Xue Chen, he was covered in blood, his meridians damaged. Initially, Master Ling Fengchen did not want to save this dying child as they had agreed to live in seclusion and were intending to ignore all worldly matters. However, as Master Xia Lingyi was the Immortal Doctor, she took pity on Xue Chen as she realized that he could still be saved. Hence, both of them brought Xue Chen into the valley…

Xia Lingyi spent an entire year to heal Xue Chen so that he could leave, but Xue Chen refused. He insisted on staying behind to repay their kindness. Xue Chen seemed to be a sensible boy, so Xia Lingyi agreed…

After fifty years, Ling Fengchen, who was usually cold and aloof, gradually became more fond of Xue Chen. He felt that Xue Chen must be a person of good character. It was no easy feat for a young man to accompany his wife and him in the valley for fifty years without a word of complaint…

From then on, even though the two of them did not officially acknowledge Xue Chen as their disciple, they did not reject him when he expressed his desire to learn medical knowledge and poisoning skills. He remained by their side for the next four hundred years so he could learn from them…

After staying by their side for four hundred years, even a good-for-nothing would have been able to become powerful. Even though Immortal Doctor and Poison Sage did not intentionally impart any knowledge or skills to Xue Chen, he had become very skilled.

Over time, their impression of Xue Chen improved. Although he was not talented enough to be their disciple, they were still conscientious in teaching him.

After four hundred years, Xue Chen requested to venture out of the valley so he could gain some life's experience. The two of them did not doubt his intentions and even gave him some weapons so he could protect himself. Then, they sent him away…

Xue Chen did not return for the next fifty years…

Fifty years later, when Xue Chen reappeared, he brought along a group of men dressed in black. They surrounded the entire valley and planted numerous poisonous mists and fumes around it…

The two of them saw the greed and menace in Xue Chen's eyes, and for once, Xia Lingyi regretted being kind. Xue Chen's intention was simple—he wanted the Immortal Doctor and Poison Sage to hand over the journal that contained all their teachings…

After he ventured out of the valley, he had used whatever abilities he learned in the four hundred years to establish a network of assassins and refined numerous elixirs. In fifty years, he had groomed these assassins so he could execute his plan of robbing the journal from them when he returned to the valley one day…

That battle caused immense damage to the valley. Not only did Xue Chen have strength in numbers, but he had also lived with them for hundreds of years and understood them inside out…

In the end, Master Ling Fengchen had to sacrifice half of his skills before he could make a breakthrough. He fought his way out, carrying the heavily injured Xia Lingyi with him…