The mountainous area in the northwest of Longguo is like a primitive area, with no roads, no cars, and even few people.
Nestled among the mountains, there was a solitary thatched cottage. The open space outside the cottage was planted with many medicinal herbs, and the fragrance of medicine filled the air.
The interior of the thatched cottage was not very spacious, with only a bed and a desk, and the desk was covered with books and various scrolls of paper.
At that moment, an old man with white hair and beard lay on the bed, his eyes closed and his face peaceful.
A young man who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen sat by the bedside.
"Xia Xia, I really envy you. You only lived to be eighty-one and could pass away peacefully," Fang Yu said to himself with a smile, looking at the old man who had just passed away not long ago.
"Alas, I'm in trouble. I don't know how many more years I have to live before it's over," Fang Yu sighed, his eyes filled with pain and helplessness.
Since he embarked on the path of cultivation, it has been nearly five thousand years.
In this long period of time, Fang Yu was unable to die, and his realm could never advance any further.
After nearly five thousand years of cultivation, he was still at the Qi Training stage!
Yes, the Qi Training stage! The most basic realm of the cultivation path!
According to strict standards, the Qi Training stage could not even be considered a realm, but only a period of physical training.
Only after establishing a foundation could one be said to have truly entered the path of immortality.
But Fang Yu was stuck at the Qi Training stage, unable to advance any further.
For thousands of years, he had swallowed tens of thousands of Foundation Pills, but it was all for nothing.
In the first thousand years, Fang Yu's master comforted him, saying that it was because his spiritual root was stronger than anyone else's, so he had to wait a little longer at the Qi Training stage.
But after another thousand years, Fang Yu was still unable to break through to the Foundation stage.
At this moment, his master also began to wonder if there had been a mistake. Could Fang Yu actually be an ordinary mortal without any spiritual roots?
But how could an ordinary mortal live for thousands of years without even showing signs of aging?
Later, Fang Yu's master successfully transcended the tribulation and ascended to immortality, leaving the Earth.
After that, no one cared about Fang Yu's cultivation realm anymore.
As time passed, the spiritual energy on Earth became increasingly scarce.
Now on Earth, even if Fang Yu could break through his cultivation realm, he was destined to be unable to transcend the tribulation and become an immortal.
But Fang Yu had never thought of transcending the tribulation to become an immortal either. He just wanted to break through this damned Qi - refining stage!
This was his obsession.
Today, he had cultivated to the 9,832nd level of the Qi - refining stage. For an ordinary cultivator, reaching the tenth level was enough to break through to the Foundation - building stage.
Whenever he thought about cultivation, Fang Yu felt a bit depressed.
He took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at the straw papers on the desk filled with various prescriptions.
"If I had known you would become such a medicine fanatic, I shouldn't have taught you medical skills back then!" Fang Yu shook his head slightly and said helplessly.
According to Xia Xia's wish, he needed to organize these prescriptions and take them away.
He had just started organizing for a short while when he heard a noisy sound of footsteps. He immediately looked up and towards the window.
Xia Xia has built the thatched cottage in such a remote place, yet they still managed to find it?
Fang Yu slightly furrowed his brows.
Ten minutes later, a group of people arrived in front of the thatched cottage.
There were seven people in total. Among them were two young man and woman, an old man sitting in a wheelchair, and four strong men in suits who were clearly bodyguards at first glance.
Seeing the old man in the wheelchair exuding a deathly aura, Fang Yu knew that this group of people must have come seeking medical treatment.
"Master Xia, the Divine Healer, hello. My name is Tang Feng. We're from the Tang family in Jiangnan. We'd like to ask you to treat my..." The handsome young man stepped forward and said loudly.
Fang Yu pushed open the door and interrupted him.
"You're too late. Xia Xiuzhi passed away not long ago."
What!?
The expressions of everyone present changed instantly.
The Divine Healer Xia Xiuzhi they had been searching so hard for... had actually passed away!?
"How, how could this be..." Tang Feng's face turned pale, and he stared blankly at Fang Yu.
In order to cure the serious illness of Old Master Tang, they had mobilized the entire family's resources, spending a great deal of manpower and material resources, and only then did they manage to find out the location of the Divine Healer Xia Xiuzhi, who had been living in seclusion for nearly twenty years.
After going through untold hardships, they finally found the thatched cottage where Xia Xiuzhi lived, but unexpectedly, this was the news they got!
"How could it be such a coincidence? We just found him... No, the Divine Healer Xia must not have passed away. He just lives in seclusion and doesn't want to see us!" The exquisitely - looking young girl's beautiful eyes turned red, and she said excitedly.
"Yes! The Divine Healer must still be in the thatched cottage!" There was a glimmer of hope in Tang Feng's eyes, and he directly stepped into the thatched cottage.
Then, he saw Xia Xiuzhi lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
Tang Feng observed carefully and found that the old man on the bed had no breath.
"How, how could this happen..." Tang Feng felt as if all hope had been shattered, and his whole body lost its strength.
"I've said that Xia Xiuzhi has passed away. You can go back now." Fang Yu slightly frowned, a bit displeased with Tang Feng's act of barging into the thatched cottage.
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Tang Feng turned to Fang Yu and asked, "You're the Divine Healer's disciple, right? You must have inherited the Divine Healer's medical skills. Please treat our grandfather. No matter how much money it costs, we're willing to pay!"
Fang Yu shook his head and said, "I'm not his disciple... I'm just an old friend of his."
Actually, strictly speaking, Fang Yu was Xia Xiuzhi's master.
It was Fang Yu who guided the 15 - year - old Xia Xiuzhi onto the path of medicine back then. Of course, there was no need to say this. Even if he did, no one would believe it.
However, even the claim of being an old friend seemed a bit strange.
Fang Yu looked to be less than twenty years old, while Xia Xiuzhi was over eighty. The two were in completely different age groups. How could they be called old friends?
But no one gave it much thought. The group was immersed in the despair of having their hopes dashed.
Upon hearing the news of Xia Xiuzhi's death, Old Master Tang, who was sitting in the wheelchair, completely lost his vitality, and his eyes were filled with defeat.
It was the will of heaven! His time had come! There was no need to struggle anymore!
Seeing her grandfather like this, the young girl was heartbroken, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Fang Yu's brows furrowed slightly. Looking at Old Master Tang, he suddenly said, "You've lived for seventy - three years. You should have had enough of life, right? Why do you still want to live?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, curious about how Fang Yu knew Old Master Tang's age.
When they heard the words that followed, their expressions changed.
Had enough of life?
Who in this world would have had enough of life?
What did this mean!?
Was it a provocation? Or mockery?
"You son of a bitch! What do you mean!?"
Tang Feng's face turned ashen with rage, and he threw a punch towards Fang Yu's chest.
Fang Yu's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't move a muscle.
"Bang!"
Before Tang Feng's fist could reach Fang Yu, he was instead hit by a tremendous force. His whole body flew backwards and landed on the ground.
The others present were shocked, their faces turning pale.
It was Tang Feng who threw the punch, yet this young man didn't even move. How could Tang Feng end up on the ground?
"Brother!" The pretty girl shrieked.
The four bodyguards reacted immediately, taking a few steps forward to stand in front of Fang Yu.
"Don't act rashly!" Old Master Tang, sitting in the wheelchair, commanded in a hoarse voice.
The four bodyguards stopped in their tracks at once.
Tang Feng got up from the ground, clutching his chest, and stared at Fang Yu in horror.
"Little brother, we were impolite. May I ask what your name is?" Old Master Tang asked.
"Fang Yu," Fang Yu replied.
Old Master Tang nodded slightly and said, "Just now, little brother, you asked me why I still want to live. I can give you an answer."
"Because I still want to accompany my family. I want to watch my grandchildren grow up, see them start their own families and careers, and watch them have their own children... Isn't that what people do? Generation after generation, we look out for each other." Old Master Tang said with a smile.
"Grandpa..." Hearing Old Master Tang's words, the girl beside him cried even more bitterly.
Family...
Fang Yu's eyes flickered.
For him, family was a thing of the distant past. But for ordinary people, family was always there, generation after generation.
And most ordinary people, who wouldn't want to live a little longer?
"You're in the advanced stage of lung cancer. You have less than three months to live. Enjoy the last part of your life." With that, Fang Yu turned around, walked back into the thatched cottage, and closed the door.
The Tang family members were left stunned.
How could Fang Yu tell at a glance that Old Master Tang had lung cancer? And what he said about Old Master Tang having less than three months to live was the same as what the doctors had said.
He must be the Divine Healer's disciple!
After coming to his senses, Tang Feng knocked on the door of the thatched cottage again and shouted, "Mr. Fang, you must be the Divine Healer's disciple, right? Please treat my grandfather. We..."
"Life and death are determined by fate. Leave this place immediately, or don't blame me for being rude." Fang Yu's calm voice came from inside the thatched cottage.
"A doctor should have a kind heart. How can you stand by and watch someone die..." Tang Feng said angrily.
"Feng'er, come back," Old Master Tang said.
"Grandpa!" Tang Feng's eyes were red as he turned to look at Old Master Tang.
"What the little brother said is right. Life and death are determined by fate. If Heaven wants me to die, how can I not? Let's go," Old Master Tang said.
"Little brother, I have the utmost respect for Mr. Xia. I didn't expect that Mr. Xia has already passed away... We're very sorry for disturbing Mr. Xia today. I hope Mr. Xia's spirit in heaven won't blame us," Old Master Tang said sincerely.
After that, he signaled the group to turn around and leave.
Although Tang Feng was unwilling, since Old Master Tang had given the order, he had no choice but to follow.
On the way back, everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was gloomy.
Noticing that his sister beside him seemed lost in thought, Tang Feng frowned and asked, "Xiaorou, what are you thinking about?"
Tang Xiaorou's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she murmured, "I always feel... this Fang Yu looks a bit familiar. I seem to have seen him somewhere."
"How is that possible? This is our first time in the northwest region. How could you have met this Fang Yu?" Tang Feng said.
"You're right... but I really feel like I've seen him before." Tang Xiaorou rubbed her temples and said.
In a bad mood, Tang Feng stopped paying attention to Tang Xiaorou, thinking she had just mistaken him for someone else.
However, after walking a few more steps, Tang Xiaorou suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"I, I remember. I saw him at school!"