10 - The Divine Physician’s Overbearing Wife

Banxia Novel Chapter 10 After accepting the generously rewarding main quest, Yan Zhu Guang didn't feel any sense of urgency. It was the system that was constantly monitoring Yun Mi Xue's movements, worried that she might suddenly leave Lingmiao Sect on a whim. Its host's body was so frail, it couldn't afford to face the consequences of a failed mission. An incident occurred during this time. Originally, Guan Shi wanted to use Yan Zhu Guang's method of improving the quality of spiritual grains as a merit for his promotion, hoping to elevate his status. But unexpectedly, Yan Zhu Guang's spiritual field was suddenly destroyed, and just a few days after handling it, Guan Shi was called by his superior to share the new method of harvesting spiritual grains he had devised. At the time, Guan Shi was bewildered. The method for cultivating spiritual grains hadn't changed for over a century; he was still experimenting with ways to get a promotion. How had a new method suddenly emerged? Mustering up some courage, Guan Shi inquired and discovered that the new method was precisely the one proposed by Yan Zhu Guang. He was still waiting for Yan Zhu Guang to present the method to him, but to his surprise, this lowly servant had offered it to someone else? Now the new method was implemented, and the credit didn't go to him. Hadn't he been foolishly anticipating this all along? Guan Shi was furious. Unable to vent his anger in front of his superior, he nearly smashed his precious weapon out of frustration after leaving. Growing increasingly aggravated, Guan Shi stormed over to confront Yan Zhu Guang, intending to teach her a lesson. This little servant was too infuriating, treating him like a fool. Did she think offering the method to the sect higher-ups would lead to her rapid advancement? It wouldn't. She remained his subordinate, just a small servant under his supervision. Those high-ranking people didn't care about the lives of these servants. In their view, offering such methods was what servants should do. Only by presenting the method to him and having him facilitate it could benefits be reaped. This servant named Yan Zhu Guang was such a fool for squandering their opportunity. The system, highly attuned to any developments related to its host, quickly reported Guan Shi's actions to Yan Zhu Guang and assigned her a side quest. The system believed that its host would easily handle such a minor nuisance as Guan Shi. Indeed, Yan Zhu Guang quickly dealt with Guan Shi. Ultimately, this was all Tao Zhi's fault. If she hadn't been dissatisfied with being expelled from Lingmiao Sect and complained to Lian Ji Xian Zi, there wouldn't have been further developments. Without Tao Zhi's complaint, Yan Zhu Guang wouldn't have been asked to demonstrate her method to the upper echelons of Lingmiao Sect. And if you dig deeper, it was still Guan Shi's fault for not completely extinguishing Tao Zhi's hope of returning to Lingmiao Sect, resulting in him losing the opportunity for promotion. Regardless of the mistakes made, none of them were Yan Zhu Guang's fault. She acted under compulsion, not by choice, so how could she be blamed? Of course, Yan Zhu Guang highlighted the most crucial point: she had made her mark in the eyes of Lian Ji Xian Zi and the upper echelon of Lingmiao Sect. Any retaliation from Guan Shi would have to wait until the storm had passed. Otherwise, if inquiries arose about her and she was found missing, those who dealt with her might not escape unscathed. No matter what Guan Shi intended, he couldn't trouble Yan Zhu Guang now. Beguiled by her reasoning, Guan Shi had no choice but to swallow his misfortune and departed in anger. As for whether Guan Shi would later try to sabotage Yan Zhu Guang, it wouldn't concern her as she might no longer be in Lingmiao Sect by then. With another side quest reward easily obtained, Yan Zhu Guang instructed the system to exchange a treasure for refining her spiritual roots for a bottle of pills that could mask her aura, which she casually tossed into her inventory. The past days saw a spate of accidents in the spiritual fields, prompting the previously inactive foremen to be admonished by the sect leaders, subsequently becoming more diligent in patrolling the fields, finding ways to exploit the servants. However, having "spoken" with her immediate supervisor and credited with improving the spiritual grains' quality, Yan Zhu Guang was left largely unbothered by Guan Shi, who turned a blind eye to her. At this point, Yan Zhu Guang, usually diligent and dedicated, was nowhere to be seen in the fields, leaving the exploited servants bewildered. Had she become arrogant after being credited for her contributions? It confirmed suspicions she was not as dutiful as she appeared, her raw nature eventually revealed. Judging by Guan Shi's demeanor, resentment was brewing within him, and once the attention waned, she wouldn't be so lucky. The jealousy-filled murmurs among the servant disciples were nearly drowning the spiritual rice with their acrimony, but Yan Zhu Guang chose not to endure their accusatory gazes. Moreover, the appointed time approached, and she needed to make final preparations. Having scouted a spot on the small hill by the spiritual fields, Yan Zhu Guang had discreetly transported jars containing spiritual grain insects up the previous night, placing them in a hidden location she found. It was time to return to that spot. On the last day of the set period, Yan Zhu Guang consumed the aura-concealing pill, carefully making her way up the hill in broad daylight to the place where she had hidden the jars. The location was atop the hill. During the day, the servant disciples were occupied with their farm work, unlikely to have any reason to venture uphill. There wasn't much of interest on the hill, except for Yan Zhu Guang's occasional visits for a treat; the servants, sustained by their rations, wouldn't wander up aimlessly. Nevertheless, Yan Zhu Guang carefully set a simple illusion array around her using stones to conceal her presence. Such an array could only shield her from the low-strength servant disciples and the wildlife on the mountain; any moderately skilled cultivator could see through it. The system was accustomed to its host's capabilities; creating an array was nothing surprising, even if Yan Zhu Guang claimed to be a celestial being descended from the heavens, it wouldn't be shocked. But, "Isn’t this array a bit too simple, Host? Why don't you use spirit stones for the array?" Although unsure of Yan Zhu Guang’s intentions, the system felt tense seeing her so cautious. In such tense times, how could she use such a simple array? Yan Zhu Guang replied, "Because it's simple, it's also easy to erase any traces. If I used spirit stones, I'd leave evidence." System: I have no idea what you mean, Host. Unperturbed by the system's concerns, Yan Zhu Guang opened the jars one by one. The spiritual grain insects inside had absorbed substances of four properties, transforming into patterns and colors resembling the four elements. "These spiritual grain insects have become toxic spiritual grain insects." It was astonishing that the insects, having ingested toxins, were still alive, the system thought. Yan Zhu Guang acknowledged, "In the coming moments, please do not disturb me." "Alright." The system obediently muted itself, eagerly observing its host's actions. Yan Zhu Guang poured out all four spiritual grain insects, holding them in her hands. The toxic essence absorbed by these insects soon darkened her palms, the poison creeping onto her skin. Watching this harrowing scene unfold, the system was on edge—it soon witnessed a more startling sight—its host was absorbing the spiritual energy using a cultivation method while clutching the insects in both hands! Was she mad? The system was internally in turmoil. If not for Yan Zhu Guang's order, it would have stopped her. Pacing around its small space, the system tried to calm down and decipher Yan Zhu Guang's plan. The spiritual grain insects, according to Yan Zhu Guang, could match the effect of spirit stones. Having absorbed various toxic elements, they had become poisonous energy stones of different properties. Presently, Yan Zhu Guang was absorbing these toxic property energy stones. It remembered Yan Zhu Guang's main spiritual root was wood, while the other four properties were thin. These four toxic energy stones matched those thinner roots. Could it be that she was using the toxicity to erode those roots? But that's impossible! During the Qi Refining stage, her roots were indeed vulnerable; the poisonous spiritual energy might corrode the roots during absorption, but this method would leave toxic residues that could impede her future cultivation! Such methods had been attempted before, but always met with failure! The system was worried sick, huddled in a corner. Yan Zhu Guang was indeed using the toxic energy to erode her spiritual roots, but she wasn't merely refining them; she was transforming them. In her previous life, as a cultivator with four spiritual roots, she was sabotaged, absorbing toxic spiritual energy that nearly severed her cultivation path by corroding her roots. Fortuitously, she accidentally formed a toxic root, which ironically led to her success. However, the toxic root, developed from four spiritual roots, was unstable. As her cultivation deepened, the root wavered. Back then, she researched ways to modify toxic roots, and the current method was her best discovery. The five elements mutually generate and counteract each other, with the five spiritual roots being the most stable. The wood attribute, being the most gentle, serves as the primary spiritual root. Yan Zhu Guang's plan was to convert the other spiritual roots into toxic ones first. Using a secret method she developed, she would refine and manipulate these roots, allowing them to attach to the primary wood spiritual root. With a wood-based innate toxin to suppress it internally, she would gradually nurture it until the primary wood spiritual root was completely transformed into a toxic spiritual root. This would allow her to become a truly stable, postnatal toxic spiritual root cultivator. What made this approach ingenious was that until the transformation into a toxic spiritual root was complete, any method of detecting spiritual roots would merely show her as having a single wood attribute spiritual root. This served as her perfect disguise. As the spiritual grain insects turned to powder, within Yan Zhu Guang, the four types of spiritual roots were gradually corroded, forming under her secret technique a black net that entwined around the wood attribute spiritual root. During this process, her lips transitioned from the initial blackness caused by absorbing the toxic spiritual energy to a pale, paper-like white. It was at this moment that the skies above Yan Zhu Guang suddenly changed! A mass of dark clouds rapidly gathered, and within the clouds, there was a flicker of purple light—a tribulation lightning!