Zhu Yanyi focused all her attention on the changes inside the Medicine God Cauldron. She was quite lucky, for using this specific cauldron greatly aided her.
If she had used an ordinary cauldron, refining Soul-Attaching Pills for spirits would have been nearly impossible. However, the Medicine God Cauldron existed to save all living beings. In its essence, humans, demons, and spirits all possessed souls. Therefore, any pill refined to heal them had a much higher success rate, naturally lowering the chance of failure.
Yet, refining pills for non-humans was extremely slow. It took three months of furnace fire within the Ruyi Space to produce the first batch. Once the first batch succeeded, the rest became easier. She could increase the dosage and adjust the time and speed. By the time Zhu Yanyi exited the space, she had refined enough Soul-Attaching Pills.
Seeing Zhu Yanyi’s energetic appearance, Yan Aohan smiled slightly. “Success?”
“Success.” Zhu Yanyi nodded with a smile. She glanced at the spirits, then waved her hand, scattering a handful of pills.
Each spirit absorbed a pill. Their originally faint forms gradually grew denser, and their missing soul fragments were restored.
Seeing that the spirits’ souls were complete, Zhu Yanyi took out the Book of Life and Death and transferred them all into the Underworld.
Only after everything was done did Zhu Yanyi sigh deeply, feeling relieved. “These days were incredibly tense. You wouldn’t believe it. The first batch took three months. I thought, ‘It’s over. If one batch takes three months and only yields nine pills, how can I save all these spirits?’ Fortunately, I gained experience later. I could adjust the time and speed, so I made it in time.”
Yan Aohan listened quietly, a gentle smile on her face. When she finished, she spoke slowly. “Ani, congratulations. You can now heal souls.”
Healing souls meant treating spirits. When one could heal spirits, it signified that her mortal body had completely transcended its limitations. From now on, she was truly no longer an ordinary person. Returning to being a mortal was unlikely.
Zhu Yanyi paused, then looked at Yan Aohan. She understood. It wasn’t that Yan Aohan couldn’t restore the spirits’ souls herself. She wanted her to undergo a qualitative change. People needed saving, but so did spirits. Only by continuously saving different beings could she accumulate different karmic merit. Since Zhu Yanyi cultivated the path of medicine, she couldn’t just save humans; she needed to heal other living beings as well.
Healing spirits was her first step.
Zhu Yanyi understood. She took a deep breath. “Aohan, did you plan this for me long ago?”
“No.” Yan Aohan shook his head slightly. “This was just an opportunity. If this chance hadn’t arisen, I wouldn’t have made this plan. I wouldn’t deliberately gather these broken souls just to train you. Since the opportunity presented itself, I felt I shouldn’t miss it.”
Zhu Yanyi buried her head in Yan Aohan’s embrace. “Aohan, you are always like this. I don’t know how I will ever repay you.”
“Marry me,” Yan Aohan answered seriously. “Look, you have already registered. In fact, you are truly husband and wife. Isn’t ‘giving yourself to me’ the appropriate repayment?”
Zhu Yanyi laughed, then nodded. “You are right. I realize that besides giving myself to you, I truly cannot do anything else.”
She looked at Yan Aohan and laughed heartily. Some things and words did not need to be spoken aloud. As long as they were remembered in the heart, that was enough.
Zhu Yanyi would never forget everything Yan Aohan had done for her. She would engrave her deeply into her bones. No other words were needed; any further speech would be empty.
Yan Aohan held Zhu Yanyi, her eyes filled with overwhelming tenderness. “Alright, do you want to hear about what I saw in the village below these past few days?”
“Yes.” Zhu Yanyi lifted her head, looking at Yan Aohan. “Tell me quickly.”
“Your Ice Blue was too powerful. It reduced the curse caster’s place to powder, turning it into barren land. When the villagers saw that such a large estate had vanished without a sound, they thought the Heavenly God had taken the curse caster away. They all knelt there, kowtowing to thank the Heavenly God.”
“Thank the Heavenly God?” Zhu Yanyi detected a flaw in her words.
“Yes.” Yan Aohan nodded slightly.
“They thanked the Heavenly God. Actually, many people in the villages below had gone missing. They suspected the curse caster was responsible, but they dared not confront him. Someone had once gone to his door and never returned. Since then, the people below the mountain dared not trouble the curse caster. Instead, they prayed to Heaven to destroy him.”
“No wonder I received so much karmic merit for eliminating this curse caster,” Zhu Yanyi sighed. “It seems she had truly gone mad.”
“I am not sure of the extent of his madness, but one thing is certain: the curse caster is gone, and you gained karmic merit. This is a situation I am very happy to see.” For Yan Aohan, benefits given to his wife were the true outcome he desired.
Zhu Yanyi smiled and nodded. “Alright, then our business here is nearly done. We can return now.”
Yan Aohan nodded. She and Zhu Yanyi quietly left the place and returned to the capital.
When Zhu Yanyi arrived in the capital, Ouyang Tianyun and the others had just returned. They were the last batch to withdraw. The situation in the earthquake zone had stabilized, and the injured were recovering. Thus, they returned to continue their work as teachers.
“I say, Fifteen, whenever you are free, you slip away. Going on a date together like this, are you not ashamed?” Ouyang Tianyun teased intentionally.
Zhu Yanyi smiled and said, “We were not on a date. We went to eliminate evil and promote good.” Zhu Yanyi struck a pose like a female hero. “This time, I truly acted as a heroine who eliminates evil. It felt wonderful.”
“Senior Brother, did you understand what Fifteen meant?” Ouyang Tianyun, not understanding Zhu Yanyi’s words, asked Yi Yunfei.
Yi Yunfei coughed. “I am not sure either. It seems she means she went to roam the martial world. But does a martial world exist here?”
“Junior Brother Yunfei, you do not know this. Where there are people, there is a martial world. A certain martial arts book says so,” Sikong Xuran said slowly from the side.