Just this single secondhand book alone was worth nearly one-third of an entire clinic, which showed just how outrageously expensive anything related to Spirit Masters could be.
That said, the book was truly impressive—almost all common Spirit Beasts and Spirit Abilities were thoroughly documented.
When Huo Yuhao first got his hands on it, he checked the author and discovered that it had been personally compiled by a Titled Douluo from a thousand years ago, who had traveled across the continent recording Spirit Beasts and their abilities.
The boy carefully read through the detailed introduction of the Sunflower spirit and the possible Spirit Abilities it could produce.
When he saw that most of them were healing or support-type abilities, displeasure immediately appeared on his face.
"Ah? Support-type?"
"No, Clinic Master, can't you recommend something with more offensive power?"
Although Huo Yuhao didn't recommend ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls to pursue a pure assault or control system, since the customer insisted—and adhering to the principle that the customer is always right—he patiently introduced other Spirit Beasts.
"This is the Dreamshade Flower. It usually grows in cold, damp caves on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest and produces illusion-type Spirit Abilities. How about it?"
"Illusion-type Spirit Abilitys aren't straightforward enough—cheap tricks. I don't want them!"
Hearing that, a vein popped on Huo Yuhao's forehead. That remark hit a little too close to home.
Suppressing his temper, he continued, "Thunder Rage Vine. It grows in Lightning Canyons and usually grants lightning-attraction Spirit Abilities. How about that?"
"You still have to rely on the weather. Too much luck involved—bad choice."
"Blade Grass. It grows in the Cataclysm Mountains. Absorbing its Spirit Ring gives plant-type Martial Souls sharpness traits and armor-piercing Spirit Abilities. How about that?"
The boy hesitated, then shook his head again. "Small range, short reach. Not good."
Huo Yuhao was genuinely getting irritated. He slammed the book onto the table.
"Hey—seriously, it's just a first Spirit Ring! What, are you trying to ascend to the heavens? This won't do, that won't do."
"Alright then—go to the Star Dou Forest, keep heading straight into the core zone. Once you reach the Lake of Life, kill the Myriad Demon King. I guarantee the Spirit Ability will satisfy you."
The boy's eyes actually lit up. He was just about to say something when his mother clapped a hand over his mouth. She then apologized awkwardly to Huo Yuhao:
"I'm sorry, Master Huo. This child has been reading too many wandering hero novels in the manor—his head's gotten scrambled."
"I think the Sunflower spirit is quite good. It's easy to obtain, and the Spirit Abilities are extremely practical."
The boy tried to protest, but one sharp glare from his mother shut him up immediately.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the boy, then used paper and pen to write down the precautions and known locations related to the Sunflower spirit, handing them to the middle-aged woman.
She accepted them with deep gratitude, pulled out three silver soul coins from a small pouch, and also handed him a book.
"Clinic Master, thank you for all the trouble earlier."
"This book is a bit of extra compensation. It's Mysterious Heaven Skill, which my grandmother brought out of the Tang Sect when its branches split back then."
"There were other secret techniques, but they were lost during all the wandering afterward. Only this Mysterious Heaven Skill survived."
"If you don't mind, please accept it. These days, the Tang Sect no longer exists—no one cares about techniques leaking out anymore."
After watching the two of them leave the clinic, Huo Yuhao looked at the manual in his hands with a helpless smile.
Without ever joining the Tang Sect, he had somehow obtained its most core cultivation technique with absurd ease.
It almost made him suspect that the Buddha himself was pulling strings.
With nothing else to do, Huo Yuhao flipped through Mysterious Heaven Skill.
The meditation method recorded inside was indeed better than what he was currently using—it involved more meridians and was structured more rationally.
However, he quickly noticed something was off. The general outline clearly mentioned the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, yet the later content only described a few major meridians used in cultivation.
The core knowledge of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and their diagrams was completely missing. On top of that, many passages felt noticeably awkward, as if parts had been deliberately removed.
Huo Yuhao immediately understood—Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill had likely been castrated. Coupled with the sect's later decline, the version in his hands was probably worlds apart from the original.
"Useless to consume, yet a pity to discard."
This was Huo Yuhao's evaluation of it. At present, the only thing in it that was of any use to him was the recorded knowledge about meridians.
As for the cultivation method itself, he truly didn't dare practice it—he was afraid someone might have slipped in some "extra ingredients" that would cause problems during cultivation.
Developing issues would be a minor matter; if he were unknowingly leashed by a God King's "dog chain," then he would really be finished.
…
At this moment, Jiang Nannan finally arrived at Huo Yuhao's clinic with her mother.
After seeing the absurd slogan on the signboard, she still gritted her teeth and led her mother inside.
After all, this was her last hope.
Upon entering the shop, Jiang Nannan called out to Huo Yuhao, who was reading behind the counter:
"Clinic Master, please help take a look at my mother. I beg you."
When Huo Yuhao looked up, he saw an exquisitely beautiful girl with long, wavy golden hair, her face streaked with tears, supporting her mother while looking at him with pleading eyes.
The moment he saw her, Huo Yuhao's brain went into overdrive, instantly pulling up several keywords:
"Blonde hair, beautiful, sick mother, Xuanfeng City, Xuanming Sect."
"Holy crap—this is Jiang Nannan's hometown?!"
Huo Yuhao finally figured out the current point in time. Jiang Nannan was in her third year, about to start her fourth year.
In other words, in just four months, the main storyline would begin—both the Skydream Ice Worm and Electrolux would gather in the Star Dou Forest.
His two biggest original-story "cheat codes" were about to come online.
Under Jiang Nannan's imploring gaze, Huo Yuhao temporarily set aside his thoughts, quickly stood up, and helped her mother to the sickbed in the back room.
He then asked Jiang Nannan about the patient's condition.
Jiang Nannan hurriedly repeated, word for word, all the diagnoses that Xu Wei had given.
"Clinic Master, please save my mother. She's suffered so much. I… I…"
Huo Yuhao cut off her spiraling emotions and said, "Go wait outside for a bit. Let me see what's going on."
Jiang Nannan nodded heavily, suppressed her sobbing, and withdrew to the front hall.
After drawing the curtain, Huo Yuhao slowly began probing her mother's condition bit by bit with his spiritual power.
Especially around the heart. And this really was one of those cases where ignorance was bliss—once he checked, he was shocked.
"Oh my god—ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary valve stenosis."
"Every congenital heart condition you can think of—she's got the full set."
"How on earth has she lived until now? Why is she even alive? Medicine has ceased to exist!"
Huo Yuhao stared at the woman on the bed in amazement.
To be blunt, in his previous life, this woman alone would have been worth at least five Nobel Prizes in medicine.
Any one of these conditions would be enough to cripple a normal person—yet she had collected the entire set and still lived actively for over thirty years.
If one could figure out the fundamental reason she had survived until now, medical research on the heart would leap forward fifty years in one go.
Driven by curiosity, Huo Yuhao continued his examination, and then he finally understood why she had lived this long.
This woman's Martial Soul, like Jiang Nannan's, was the Soft-Boned Rabbit, and her innate Spirit Power was not low—estimated at around rank six or seven.
A beast-type Martial Soul combined with relatively high innate Spirit Power continuously supported her life at the source.
However, as time passed, her physical condition weakened, her Martial Soul's origin declined and could no longer compensate for her bodily functions, and the problems with her heart began to erupt.