Chapter 3: The Seal

"Granny Lian, is there any hundred-year-old blood ginseng in the guild's rare material storehouse?" Zhou Donghuang asked.

He had not seen any blood ginseng greater than twenty years of age when he was in the medicine storehouse earlier. Therefore, he guessed that any blood ginseng older than twenty years must have been stored in the treasure vault of the Magnolia Guild.

It was the Magnolia Guild's practice to store items of value in a special treasure vault. Lin Lan and Granny Lian were the only two people in the entire Magnolia Guild who knew the location of the treasure vault. Anyone else would have difficulty even locating the treasure vault, let alone gaining entry.

"Hundred-year-old blood ginseng? Young Master, what do you want it for? It is a rare and extremely valuable herb, not just an ordinary herb!"

Granny Lian was shocked at Zhou Donghuang's request.

"I need it urgently... Is there any?" Zhou Donghuang asked sincerely.

"There was a stick of it several years ago, but we have already sold it."

Granny Lian shook her head. "But there are two sticks of fifty-year-old blood ginseng... Young Master, do you want them?"

Ordinarily, Granny Lian would not have so readily offered even fifty-year-old blood ginseng to Zhou Donghuang for fear that he would waste or squander it. But now, seeing how Zhou Donghuang had produced an even better formula than the one produced by the intermediate-level medicine master of the Lin family, she was inclined to trust his ability in this area.

"There is only fifty-year-old blood ginseng?"

Zhou Donghuang was somewhat disappointed.

Fifty-year-old blood ginseng was substantially inferior compared with hundred-year-old blood ginseng.

However, under the current circumstances, he had no choice but to make do.

"That's fine... Granny Lian, please have the two sticks of fifty-year-old blood ginseng sent to my room."

After instructing Granny Lian, Zhou Donghuang returned to the medicine storehouse to gather some other ingredients before returning to his room.

The most urgent matter is to remove the seal in my body!

Previously, the mad cultist was drawn to me by his curiosity about the seal within my body. That was why he brought me to Earth.

Although Zhou Donghuang had remained on Earth for a hundred years and considered it his home with a lot of acquaintances there.

The Spirit on Earth was too weak and thin, nothing like on the planet of Ziyun. He had no intention of returning to Earth before he could successfully manifest his qi.

If only I could remove the seal, then that mad cultist will not be drawn to me.

The blood ginseng that Zhou Donghuang had requested from Granny Lian was the main ingredient among the many medicinal herbs that he needed to loosen the seal within his body.

The heap of herbs that he had gathered earlier in the medicine storehouse were only common herbs. If he used a single stick of hundred-year-old blood ginseng as the main ingredient, it would take only a single night for the seal within his body to be loosened completely. But with two sticks of fifty-year-old blood ginseng as the main ingredients, it would take three or even four days to loosen the seal.

In any case, even though it might take three to four days, there is enough time... After all, the mad cultist will only show up ten days later.

Several years ago, when Zhou Donghuang had wanted to learn to manifest his qi, Lin Lan had told him that there was a seal in his body. This seal had been put in place by his biological father, sealing up the meridians in his body, denying him the ability to manifest his qi and become an adept of the Martial Way.

Even though he had questioned Lin Lan about the identity of his father, she knew only that he was a benefactor who had saved her life and subsequently entrusted Zhou Donghuang to her care.

"I do not know what kind of man your father was, but he said that he was not from Ziyun... He hoped that you would not practice, but instead be an ordinary person and live out your life in peace."

Those had been Lin Lan's exact words.

Previously, he had not known what kind of person his father was.

However, many years after he left to go to Earth, he came into possession of a jade tablet that his father had left him. He learned from that tablet what kind of man his father was as well as the events that occurred at that time which led his father to entrust him to someone on the planet of Ziyun.

By then, his parents had been long gone for many years.

He could completely understand how those difficulties led to his father's decisions.

At this moment, from nowhere, a jade tablet appeared in Zhou Donghuang's hands.

On the front of the jade tablet were lifelike carvings of three people. One was a handsome young man. Another was a beautiful young woman. And the last was a baby lying in the young woman's arms.

On the back of the tablet were carved three names. The name 'Zhou Donghuang' was the largest, taking up almost half of the space on the back of the jade tablet.

On the other half were carved two other names: Zhou Haotian, Zhuge Jing.

Father, Mother, your son was too late last time, but this time, I will surely save you, and I won't let anything bad happen to you again!

Looking at the jade tablet in his hands and thinking of the terrible fate of his parents, Zhou Donghuang felt his heart ache.

This was also one of his greatest regrets from his last life.

Previously, not long after he had left Earth, his father's Primordial Soul had spontaneously combusted, killing him instantly. His mother had passed away soon after.

Venerable Master, Third Sister, Senior Brother Qinghong... Since I'm back, this tragic series of events and the regrets of my previous life... I will not allow them to happen again!

There was a look of unshakable resolve in Zhou Donghuang's gaze.

Previously, my mother Lin Lan's death was the greatest regret in my heart... The mad cultist brought me away less than seven days after she had passed away, while I was keeping vigil at her wake.

This time, I have traveled back a thousand years. Since I resolved the trouble caused by the formula being leaked, her fate should be different.

Zhou Donghuang let out a sigh of relief at the thought of having one less regret to burden him.

Previously, Zhou Donghuang had spent only a thousand years to develop the power that was unparallelled within universe. He battled the champions from ten thousand different civilizations and emerging undefeated, therefore he was then publicly recognized as the absolute genius in the world of practitioners.

But few people knew that he carried so many regrets in his heart that his lack of courage prevented him from advancing further as a practitioner.

The reason for this lack of courage was the fact that to advance, he would have to undergo "Deity's Tribulation".

A "Deity's Tribulation" was the tribulation for those who would like to advance into the deity stage.

That was a step that not just he but many other equally accomplished practitioners did not take with ease. Once it was taken, it would trigger Deity's Tribulation, and if one could not overcome it, one's life and cultivation would be extinguished, leaving only ashes and smoke.

However, if one managed to overcome it, he would be elevated to the divine world of legend, become a Divine Being and live forever as long as the heavens and earth existed.

Big as the universe was, it was still a mortal world. Only those elevated to become divine beings could claim to have transcended the mortal realm.

The Thundery Tribulations that makes up the first portion of the Deity's Tribulation can be overcome by strength, and I have no fear of that... But the Tribulation of Demon-In-The-Heart that comes next cannot be overcome by strength.

I've had too many regrets in my past life, therefore I would have no chance of overcoming the Demon-In-The-Heart as part of the Deity's Tribulation.

Zhou Donghuang was under no illusions regarding this point. The Demon-In-The-Heart Tribulation was to test the most fragile parts of one's inner self. He had never even taken the first step because he did not have any confidence that he could pass the trial. However, overcoming the tribulation, transcending the mortal realm, and being elevated to the divine world was something he had always dreamed of.

This time, I not only want to rid myself of my past regrets, but I also don't want to have any regrets at all...

I, Zhou Donghuang, resolve to be elevated to the divine world in this life and make the deities in the divine world tremble at my name!

There was suddenly a strong conviction in Zhou Donghuang, and his eyes shone with resolve.

This would be the ultimate goal that he would strive for in this life!

"Young Master."

Granny Lian's voice was coming from just beyond the door, reining in Zhou Donghuang's drifting train of thought and lighting up his eyes.

Granny Lian had arrived, and that could only mean that the two sticks of fifty-year-old blood ginseng had arrived as well.

After opening the door and receiving an embroidered box containing the two sticks of fifty-year-old blood ginseng, Zhou Donghuang made his next request.

"Granny Lian, please get the servant girls to prepare the bathtub and bath water. I am going to soak myself."

"As you wish," Granny Lian replied and immediately left to find the servant girls.

Zhou Donghuang intended to soak himself in a medicinal bath to loosen the seal within his body.

The seal within his body had been put in place by his biological father. His father, although not as powerful as Zhou Donghuang himself had previously been, had still been extremely powerful among the tens of thousands of civilizations.

Using brute force to break the seal his father had left would not work unless he practiced at a higher level than his father.

In the past, even the mad cultist who could physically cross the stars was unable to break the seal within his body by using brute force. It was only after doing some research upon arriving on Earth that the mad cultist had discovered the method of soaking in a medicinal bath to loosen the seal—the method he was preparing to use now.

In the beginning, the mad cultist had used a substantial amount of precious herbs, but nothing had worked. Later he managed to loosen the seal using a complicated combination of some common herbs.

This cunning and ingenious seal was evidence that Zhou Donghuang's biological father was no fool.

The next step is to infuse these herbs and the blood ginseng into the water...

While the servant girls were readying the bath water, Zhou Donghuang worked hard to distill the blood ginseng and other herbs into six bottles of liquid medicine.

He had taken with him six empty bottles he had found lying around in the medicine storehouse when he was there earlier.

The servant girls took about a quarter to prepare the bathtub and water. When they were done, he poured the contents from two of the bottles into the bathtub and mixed them thoroughly with the water. Then he undressed and got in.

This feels great!

Soaking naked in the warm water, Zhou Donghuang felt so relaxed and comfortable that the foul mood he had been in evaporated. Without realizing it, he slipped into a deep sleep.

He had not been so relaxed in a very, very long time.

It was before dawn on the second day when he awoke.

So it has all been absorbed.

Zhou Donghuang opened his eyes and looked at the water in the bathtub. The water, which had been turned cloudy by the liquid medicine, was now clear again.

This meant that his body had absorbed all the liquid medicine. I can feel that the seal within my body is beginning to loosen up... Two bottles of the liquid medicine a day is the limit to avoid developing a resistance to the medicine. I'll continue soaking in the medicinal bath tomorrow night.

Zhou Donghuang's thoughts turned immediately to the techniques from his previous life. He tried to take in the Spirit that saturated the air around him and manifest something, and he found that the Spirit did not dissipate once it entered his body as before but was retained for a while before dissipating completely.

This was the effect of loosening the seal.

At this rate... In three days I should be able to completely remove the seal.

When that happens, I can begin to manifest my qi and start afresh on the path of the Martial Way!

Zhou Donghuang wore a satisfied expression as he got out of the bathtub, put on his pajamas, and casually tore off the page of the calendar that showed the previous date before climbing into bed and going back to sleep.

That day was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of the year 1227 in the Ziyun Era.