Chapter 372: Practicing the Way of Saint King Qi

Bai Laotai arrived before long; she was surnamed Bai, but she did not wear white, instead wearing a hemp garment and carrying an acupuncture kit.

These needles were all shed from her own body after she achieved the status of Earth Immortal and cultivated a true human form; they were hollow, true moxibustion needles, skilled at channeling true Qi, and were named "White Bristle Needles."

Besides these, she also had a set of Gold Needles and a set of Silver Needles, both of which were Magic Tools used for healing the sick and saving lives. Her belief in treatment was: first acupuncture, then medicinal stones; if medicinal stones were useless, then shamanic spells were used. If a prescription exceeded thirteen ingredients or seven doses, it meant her skill was insufficient; if it did not improve after seven doses, the illness was beyond the reach of medicinal stones. If one had to exhaust their cultivation to perform shamanic spells, it was surely due to grievances, karmic debts, ghostly afflictions, or demonic illnesses.

The shamanic doctors trained by Bai Laotai were essentially equivalent to the "barefoot doctors" of a past life; they might not understand the underlying reasons, but as long as it was a type of illness they had seen before, they could cure it.

Behind her, she did not bring descendants of the Bai family, but Chen Liuxian. After Chen Liuxian refused to leave with Liu Ruyan and the other members of the Lishan Sect, his cultivation from past lives gradually unsealed that very night. Although he did not ascend to the truth in a single day to achieve the Nine Palaces Immortal Rank, he had reached the Human Immortal Peak, just one step away from achieving Earth Immortal status.

When Bai Laotai saw Zhang Gong and Zhang Po, she was also taken aback. These two were famous seniors on the path of true cultivation, considered senior idols and reclusive True Cultivators.

Xu Jia said, "You have come at just the right time. You shall be responsible for all medicine and healing within my governed territory, treating humans, gods, demons, and ghosts alike. Because of the Zhangshu industry, he asked me if it could remain as it is, without insisting on Equal Field. The matter of Equal Field is inevitable, but regarding medical reform, I must consult you. You are the one treating the sick and saving lives below, handling sanitation work; you speak."

Seeing that Zhang Gong and Zhang Po did not look displeased, Bai Laotai realized the discussion had not gone too poorly; at least both sides had psychological expectations.

Bai Laotai said, "Regarding matters below, if nothing else, prevention comes first. As the saying goes, a hundred illnesses enter through the mouth, and cold enters through the feet. In fact, as long as prevention work is done well, there are actually no illnesses."

"For example, with plagues, prevention is greater than cure. Or with some insect-borne diseases or Gu-diseases, they are all due to unclean food, unclean water, infrequent bathing, and infrequent changing of clothes."

"But prevention work is the hardest to popularize."

"The second problem is the issue of production and childbirth. Currently, childbirth issues are a universal problem. One is that mothers easily lose their lives, as they are young when giving birth; the second is that infants easily lose their lives, all due to poor care, dying from random fevers and illnesses."

"If we solve the issue of prevention and solve the issue of childbirth, then we have solved the major problems."

"My goal is, first, to establish specialized hygiene and prevention stations. This only requires centralized training; I have observed that shamanic doctors in various Immortal Halls can all do this. It only takes ten days to successfully delegate."

"The second is a maternal and child hospital, specializing in gynecology and pediatrics, doing nothing else. At the same time, we can better popularize hygiene knowledge among women, so they are not ignorant, leading to situations where they have their periods, or become pregnant inexplicably, are taken advantage of without knowing who the father is, and are drowned in ponds."

"Beyond this, we can establish a normal medical system—medical halls and medicine—but these belong to the category of 'less urgent' among the priorities."

"Or perhaps not 'less urgent,' just that compared to the first two problems, they are not as immediately pressing. My feeling is that there are too many quacks now. Secondly, medical families are all hereditary or taught by masters, which is too slow, and they like to keep secrets. Thirdly, the theories of various schools are inconsistent and not unified; even for the same medicine, each school's understanding of the meridians the medicine affects is different."

"Yet, each school can still treat a certain type of illness well according to its own theory."

Zhang Gong and Zhang Po nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, sighing, "Indeed, there is insight there."

Xu Jia also nodded, having a plan in his heart. He then asked, "Do you two have any high opinions?"

"We have no high opinions, just speaking of how it was done in the past. On our side, there is nothing special; we simply established industry rules for the medicine trade. The origin, processing, heat, quality, and storage conditions of the medicine all have strict requirements and must be unified."

"If it is unqualified, then it is an inferior product, a fake medicine, and cannot be circulated. If someone acts against their conscience, they will be banned. Only then can we have the reputation that 'medicine is not effective unless it comes from Zhangshu.' Raw medicine, once processed into finished medicine at our Zhangshu, can best stimulate its medicinal properties, ensuring doctors have no doubts when using it and the medicine is sure to be effective."

Xu Jia nodded: "In that case, one must indeed make money to maintain high quality. Otherwise, if the price drops, everyone will have no profit, and the medicine industry will decline, with all sorts of fake goods appearing."

"That is the problem. The great vows and great oaths made by True Person Xu have stirred the Dharma Realm for thirty thousand miles, and countless living beings feel it in their hearts. We also sensed it and were very impressed. Before, we only thought it ridiculous, but seeing True Person Xu achieve five-colored light in Jiangnan West Circuit and having auspicious Qi, with the system sweeping through Jiangnan West Circuit, the actions taken are like those of the ancient Saint King, not only subduing humans but also subduing demons and gods."

"Therefore, we came, hoping to bring this unified medicine industry rule into the governed territory."

"You have come to practice your own Dao," Xu Jia laughed. "You must know that besides the Zhangshu faction, there are other factions; besides the Southern School, there is the Northern School. How can they be unified?"

"That is another problem: seeking common ground while reserving differences."

"This is a monopoly," Bai Laotai said. "Rules are always meant to be broken. Medicinal properties will also change; as the great fortune shifts, the movement of Qi in heaven and earth will also be different. The rules from five hundred years ago are not applicable now. If everyone listens to you, there will be a battle of medicines."

Bai Laotai came from the north, a demon from Qilu, with ancestral roots in Dongbei. She was a figure of the Northern School. Just like the way of moxibustion, the south likes to use Mugwort and ginger, while the north likes to use pine needles."

"Furthermore, people in different regions have different constitutions; when seeking medical advice and medicine, there is almost no identical prescription."

"Our unified treatment can only reach unity in prevention and hygiene. As for how to treat illnesses, we must still have the characteristics of each school. But I support exchanges between schools, using other schools to complete one's own system, competing with each other, learning from each other, and perfecting each other."

Xu Jia said softly, "That makes sense."

Zhang Gong and Zhang Po also nodded: "Indeed, that is good."

Xu Jia said, "Then let us establish a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, right here in Zhangshu. We welcome masters from all over to enter the hospital to lecture, combining teaching and healing."

Xu Jia said, "As for the study of prevention, that will still be up to you, Bai Laotai. It will be in Poyang. The water-borne Gu-diseases are severe here and require long-term treatment and control. Future circulation will also rely on waterways, which are well-developed and can spread to various places."

"As for whether the medicinal fields are equal or not, that is inevitable, but I support you in expanding the industry, establishing guilds, training locals as apprentices, and becoming Zhangshu-style healers. This is the Dao lineage, the sect. Zhang Gong, Zhang Po, this poor Daoist can permit you to establish the Zhangshu Sect, restore the cultivation of the ancient medical families, and have disciples cultivate by gathering medicinal Qi, practicing the way of Saint King Qi."

(End of chapter)