I am just a mortal, why do you all worship me as a saint?

Chapter 1: Girl in the Rain

The Sunfire Dynasty, Aoki Castle.

A torrential downpour struck the city, accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Gu Heng stood at the entrance of his clinic, listening to the crisp sound of raindrops the size of beans hitting the eaves, but a sense of anxiety rose in his heart.

Such weather is not conducive to people seeking medical treatment, but even cultivators cannot change the force of this thunderstorm, let alone an ordinary transmigrator like him.

He has been in this so-called "Mysterious Heaven Realm" for twenty years.

This is a cultivation world where the strong are respected.

Gu Heng initially wanted to become a cultivator, but he couldn't cultivate because his body couldn't absorb any spiritual energy. So in this world where cultivators were proud, he didn't even have the right to stand at the starting line.

It's pure waste.

He also has a system, but this system doesn't help him cultivate. Instead, it helps him develop some rather unconventional hobbies. Painting and medicine are relatively common hobbies, but he also practices unconventional ones like forging, health preservation, and fortune telling.

With no patients coming in, Gu Heng yawned out of boredom and opened his "system" panel.

"Host: Gu Heng".

Cultivation level: Not yet started.

Gu Heng pursed his lips, no longer caring about it, and crossed it out.

Gu Heng pulled down the panel to see his proficiency level in these "skills" that were of no help to cultivation.

Painting, calligraphy, medicine, forging, fortune telling, and "body refinement"—which is actually just the system giving him some so-called self-cultivation techniques to practice. He can practice them a lot to make his body stronger, but then they become useless.

All skills have been upgraded to the highest level, "Mastery".

Gu Heng felt that the system was deceiving him.

Because the prerequisite for "mastery" is that you must have cultivation.

For example, in painting, those cultivators who enter the Dao through painting can casually sprinkle ink to create landscapes imbued with Daoist thoughts. Calligraphy masters can form true meaning with every stroke. Those who can see through the secrets of heaven can calculate people's past and future, and understand the mysteries of life and death. Those with high medical skills can casually start a furnace to refine elixirs, bringing people back to life and restoring flesh and bones.

These things are too far removed from ordinary people.

Because only cultivators can do it, he can't.

Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body Transformation, Spirit Division, Body Integration, Tribulation Transcending, Mahayana, Supreme Saint.

There are ten levels of cultivation, with the tenth level of the Supreme Saint being the strongest and the first level of Qi Refining being the weakest. Ever since he awakened the system, he had been thinking about cultivation from the very beginning, but after cultivating for a long time, he hadn't even reached the first level of Qi Refining. In the end, he became disheartened and gave up, so he focused on mastering all the other skills.

These skills are useless because even the most ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators can do things a million times better than ordinary people.

Therefore, among these "superb" skills, Gu Heng chose medicine to make a living.

Even mortals need medical treatment, and Gu Heng earns money from mortals—not much, but enough. Anyway, Gu Heng has come to terms with it; he might not be able to cultivate, so this is just how it is.

However... even on a rainy day, there was an undeniable festive atmosphere in Aoki City.

Gu Heng looked outside and saw that the sky was filled with shimmering light and decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, creating the atmosphere of a grand wedding.

"Hehe, getting married on a rainy day, aren't you afraid of bad luck?"

Gu Heng scoffed. "Doctor Gu, you've accepted the marriage invitation too, haven't you?"

The one who spoke was a vendor who ran a general store next to Gu Heng's medical clinic.

"Yes, received."

Gu Heng pulled out a blue-red invitation card from his robe.

The family that was getting married was the Mo family, the most powerful family in Qingmu City. The Mo family held immense power in Qingmu City, and since their young master was getting married, the scale of the wedding was naturally enormous. The "wedding invitation" was just to invite ordinary people to casually attend the banquet.

The family that married off their daughter was the Bai family, whose size was several times that of the Mo family.

Gu Heng found it quite strange, because this marriage was not a good match at all. It was more like selling his daughter off cheaply than marrying her off.

"The Mo family is having a big wedding tonight. If Doctor Gu is free, would you like us to go out for a nice meal together?"

The vendor waved the marriage invitation in his hand.

"Forget it, it's a cultivator's wedding, why should we mortals get involved? Go by yourself."

Gu Heng didn't care about such things.

"……Um?"

Gu Heng thought his eyesight was quite sharp.

Outside, amidst the torrential rain that nearly submerged the earth, stood a solitary and sorrowful figure, like a walking corpse.

Upon closer inspection, she was a woman with exquisite features and a cold, aloof demeanor.

……

The woman walked alone through the pouring rain on the street, looking dazed and unsure of where to go.

She, Bai Feier, was once the most proud and talented girl of the Bai family, a cultivation genius that appeared only once in a thousand years. She was deeply loved in the clan, and countless young talents were devoted to her. Countless people admired or envied her...

Now, she has been sold off by her family to Qingmu City and betrothed to the eldest son of the Mo family.

Bai Feier lowered her head, letting her tears mingle with the rain and slide down her cheeks.

It all started three months ago when she was exploring the Imperial Dynasty's Great Secret Realm and was secretly poisoned by an evil cultivator.

After Bai Feier was poisoned, although her family found many famous doctors and she took a lot of elixirs, the "Devouring Demon Gu" was removed, but her Dao root was completely destroyed, and the remaining toxins continued to erode her cultivation.

As for detoxification... that's impossible.

Her body was almost fused with the toxins; to remove them would be tantamount to taking her life.

The deadly poison known as the "True Devouring Demon Gu" can cause a person to rapidly lose their cultivation, destroy their foundation for cultivation, and ultimately become a cripple.

Yes, this poison, though not fatal, is far more vicious than murder. "Since you're already a cripple, then make some more contributions to the family."

This was the last sentence Bai Feier heard from her father.

This marriage was a complete joke... As the saying goes, when a prodigy falls, countless people applaud. Ironically, the size of the Mo family was vastly different from that of the Bai family. Even so, in order to get the Mo family to accept this marriage of a "cheaply sold useless girl", the Bai family even paid out of their own pocket.

When she arrived at the Mo family, the eldest young master, who was only at the second level of the Core Formation stage, such a mediocre playboy, actually looked down on her with utter contempt!

It’s really this moment and that moment.

She was eighteen years old and already at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage. In the entire Sunflame Dynasty, there were only three or four people who could rival her. But now, she had been dethroned, and her cultivation had plummeted back to the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage in just three months. Moreover, this cultivation was still dwindling...

Even now, being caught in the rain makes her feel cold all over, and her weakness is getting worse. If it were three months ago, she could have easily cleaved the rain curtain with a single sword strike!

She was still gripping her soft sword tightly, but she barely had the strength to draw it.

"...Damn you, God, why are you playing this trick on me!"

"I'm not reconciled... I won't accept this!"

Bai Feier looked up at the gray sky and sighed, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the sound of rain.

In a daze, death suddenly became something less terrifying.

Or should I just end my life here?

Rather than be forced into a humiliating marriage with this纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat) of the Mo family, it would be better to…

She lowered her head, looking at the sword in her hand. Her gaze gradually turned cold, her fingers trembled slightly, and she slowly drew the sword.

However, just then, a voice rang out behind her: "Young lady, why are you walking alone on the road in this heavy rain?"

Bai Feier suddenly turned around and saw a young man standing in front of her. His eyes were beautiful, dark and clear, like a pool of autumn water, warm and pure. He was holding a paper umbrella, temporarily blocking the rain.

"you……"

She was initially a little alarmed because no man could get so close to her, but then she thought, in this heavy rain, someone actually appeared out of nowhere and held an umbrella for her. This person... is quite interesting.

"Master, thank you."

Bai Feier silently sheathed the sword she had drawn halfway.

"It was nothing, Miss, you don't need to be so polite," Gu Heng said. "The rain is heavy, Miss, please come to my clinic to take shelter for a while."

Bai Feier hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The two entered the clinic side by side. The clinic was simply furnished, but it was clean and tidy.

While Gu Heng was making tea, Bai Feier observed him. He was just a mortal, without a trace of true energy. In the past, Bai Feier would never have given a second glance to a mortal, because he was an ant.

But she herself is almost as insignificant as an ant.

"Here, have some hot tea to warm yourself up."

Gu Heng returned with the brewed tea and placed it in front of Bai Feier. He looked Bai Feier up and down at her face, which was quite beautiful. Bai Feier noticed his gaze and felt a little annoyed, thinking that this man's gaze was really presumptuous. But then Gu Heng suddenly said out of the blue, "Miss... do you have an illness?"

Upon hearing his question, Bai Feier was stunned, then gave a wry smile and said, "That's right, I do have some serious illness."

Even a mortal could see that the poison had seeped into her bones and that her illness had progressed to cancer; he himself was truly in a tragic state.

"Hmm... these symptoms have been going on for some time now." He moved closer to examine her and even touched Bai Feier's wrist to take her pulse. This action made her somewhat resistant, but when she thought of his benevolent heart as a doctor, she endured it.

Compared to the arrogant young master of the Mo family, this mortal before me is quite polite and a very upright ruler.

"I have some medicine here. If you take it, you'll get better."

Gu Heng immediately went to the counter, grabbed a handful of herbs, and then went back to the back room to brew the medicine.

Bai Feier found it laughable. How could a mere mortal understand her problem? It was a problem that even the most elite medical experts in the dynasty couldn't cure.

Although she knew that mortal medical skills were useless, Bai Feier felt that she should not disappoint his good intentions. After the soup was cooked and handed over, she picked up the steaming bowl and took a small sip.

Then, her face showed astonishment.

Because, the ordinary-looking medicine, once it entered her mouth, quickly transformed into a pure, powerful medicinal force that surged through the veins and muscles of her entire body... All the remaining poison in her body vanished in an instant, and her originally weak and powerless body gradually returned to normal.

"what……"

In that instant, Bai Feier seemed to see hope, yet also seemed somewhat unable to believe it. She stared blankly at the bowl of brown medicine, muttering to herself, "This, this... it's cured?"

Immediately, her cultivation, which she had lost for so long, rapidly recovered. In just a few breaths, she broke through the Foundation Establishment stage, entered the Core Formation stage, and reached the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage!

She broke through!

It was all because I took a tiny sip of this bowl of herbal soup!

Bai Feier sat blankly in the chair, staring at the torrential rain outside the window with a dazed look in her eyes, her shock beyond words.

What kind of medicine is this?!