As the stone was pressed, the wall in front of her split in two like a door, revealing a passage inside. Chu Qinghuang stepped inside cautiously, and the moment she entered, the wall behind her automatically closed and returned to its original state. Chu Qinghuang walked inward along the passage, and as she approached each door, it would automatically open to let her through.
Winding through about five doors, Chu Qinghuang finally arrived in a grand hall. In the middle of the hall stood a coffin. In front of the coffin sat a dust-covered table with two wooden boxes on it, alongside a few offering plates. The offerings on the plates had shriveled to the point where their original forms were unrecognizable.
Chu Qinghuang walked around the hall, but aside from the table in front of the coffin, there was nothing else. She approached the coffin, brought her hands together, and bowed three times to show respect for the deceased.
She reached out her hand to pick up one of the boxes, but before she even touched it, a phantom figure appeared above the coffin.
"Little girl, you haven't accepted the old man's inheritance yet. Why are you reaching for these things first?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Chu Qinghuang looked up. Seeing that the phantom's face resembled the one on the wall she had just passed, she asked tentatively, "Was it you who entered my dream?"
The phantom stroked his beard and smiled warmly. "Indeed, otherwise how would I have lured you here?"
Since her injured body had not yet recovered, Chu Qinghuang blew the dust off a nearby set of steps and sat down. "What is this inheritance you speak of? Do I even need it?"
The phantom smiled at her uninhibited demeanor. "Since you were able to enter my inheritance grounds, I presume you have use for it. If I'm not mistaken, you possess dual attributes of wood and water."
Chu Qinghuang looked at the old man's phantom in surprise. "How do you know?"
The old man stroked his beard with a smug smile. "Because if you weren't endowed with both water and wood attributes, you wouldn't even have been able to open the doors to the passage."
Chu Qinghuang pursed her lips in speechlessness. The old man suddenly turned solemn and looked at her. "I was once a Medicine Saint, a pinnacle figure in the medical arts throughout the Human Realm. It's just a pity that after a glorious lifetime, I never found anyone to inherit my mantle. Although quite a few people sought to become my disciple, they either came with ulterior motives or lacked the natural talent—none were what I was looking for. However, I find you quite to my liking, little girl. Yet your cultivation is truly a bit too low; someone with dual attributes shouldn't have such poor aptitude."
"I've only been cultivating for a month. How high could my strength possibly be?"
The old man looked at her in astonishment. "What? You've only been cultivating for a month?"
Chu Qinghuang nodded. The phantom suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Ha ha ha, good, good, good! Reaching Innate Stage 3 in a month... but why did you only start cultivating so late in life?"
"I was poisoned, so I couldn't cultivate."
Upon hearing that she had been poisoned, the old man flicked his wrist, and a strand of Spiritual Power materialized, attaching itself to Chu Qinghuang's wrist. After a few seconds, the old man nodded. "There are indeed traces of poison in your body, but what method did you use to detoxify? I can't sense any medicinal potency."
Chu Qinghuang glanced at the phantom and remained silent.
The phantom chuckled. "No matter, if you won't say, you needn't. Tell me, are you willing to accept my inheritance?"
Chu Qinghuang pressed her lips together and questioned the phantom, "Accepting your inheritance won't bring me any trouble, will it? And I won't have to accomplish any tasks for you, right? If so, then I don't want it."
The old man waved his hands hurriedly. "No, no, no! The old man simply hopes someone can inherit my medical skills and pass them on. However, I do have one small request: if you ever get the opportunity, I hope you will hold more free clinics. There are far too many people who cannot afford medical care or purchase medicine."
Chu Qinghuang looked at the phantom in surprise. She hadn't expected that this old man, despite being a Medicine Saint of such high status, would still possess such a kind heart. In her past life, she had participated in many charitable activities, and organizing a few free clinics was nothing to her. After a brief moment of contemplation, she agreed to the old man's request. "Very well."
"Ha ha, excellent! Sit before me, and I shall impart my lifelong medical knowledge to you."
Chu Qinghuang stood up from the steps and sat cross-legged in front of the old man. The old man's hands moved in a rapid succession of gestures. A beam of white light emerged from the center of his forehead and entered Chu Qinghuang's mind. As she began receiving the inheritance, a sharp pain pierced her brain. She frowned, struggling to adapt for nearly the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea before she felt somewhat better.
The entire transmission process lasted for a quarter of an hour. Once it was finished, the old man's phantom became significantly more transparent. Chu Qinghuang looked up at him. "Old man, your figure..."
The old man waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I am already dead; leaving behind this shred of consciousness was merely to await someone fated. Now that my task is complete, it is time for me to vanish. The two boxes on the table contain spells for the wood and water elements respectively. Although my inheritance includes instructions on how to use them, if there is anything you don't understand, you can also consult the books and study them. Most importantly, my life's blood and sweat, the *Ocean Tides Heart Classic*, not only allows you to autonomously heal your own injuries but can also be used to treat others. You must study it well."
"Understood, this student will study it diligently." Chu Qinghuang bowed deeply to the phantom. When she raised her head, she found that the old man's phantom had already vanished.
Stepping forward, Chu Qinghuang opened the two boxes. One box contained the *Ocean Tides Heart Classic* and *Willow Dark Flowers Bright*, while the other held the *Ice Sealing Art* and *Snow Moon Flying Flowers*.
The two boxes clearly distinguished between the wood-attribute and water-attribute techniques. Chu Qinghuang stored the water-attribute box away in her spatial storage and picked up the *Ocean Tides Heart Classic* to read. After going through it twice, she sat cross-legged and silently recited the heart classic internally. Immediately, she felt the wounds inflicted upon her by the wolf pack slowly beginning to heal. However, since her Spiritual Power had not yet recovered, she could not maintain the circulation for long; otherwise, her wounds would have healed even faster.
After she stopped reciting, the heart classic continued to circulate on its own, though at a much slower pace than when she drove it herself. Closing her eyes, Chu Qinghuang ran through the inheritance the old man had passed to her, realizing that he was truly worthy of being a Medicine Saint. The medical knowledge alone was enough for her to study for decades.
Chu Qinghuang decided to prioritize learning *Willow Dark Flowers Bright*. After all, here in the Dark Moon Ghost Forest, with the right time, place, and people all aligned, it was the perfect opportunity to master this spell.
*Willow Dark Flowers Bright* utilized surrounding flowers, twigs, and leaves to launch attacks. The smaller the leaves, the harder they were for an enemy to detect, making them all the more advantageous for the caster. Therefore, blending smaller leaves with flowers to launch an offensive was the best approach, as it aided in the concealment of the leaves. Even without flowers, countless leaves mixed with Spiritual Power to strike an enemy would still cause them immense trouble.