Chapter 28: The End of the Overlord

"How old do you think I am?" His facial muscles twitched a few times as he stiffly asked an irrelevant question.

"Based on your appearance, you seem to be over sixty. However, since you're asking, your age must not match your looks. Are you much older or much younger?" Han Li felt a hint of surprise, but his tone remained calm and indifferent.

"Tsk, tsk! You truly are someone who has cultivated the 'Evergreen Arts.' To think a country bumpkin could become so clever and astute!" Doctor Mo exclaimed with continuous amazement, his gaze fixed on Han Li with fervent intensity.

"You guessed correctly. I am only thirty-seven this year." A number that Han Li found unbelievable escaped Doctor Mo's lips.

"Impossible!" Han Li, who had maintained his composure, was astonished for the first time.

"Impossible! It is indeed impossible! Anyone who sees me, let alone thinks I'm sixty, would probably not doubt it even if I claimed to be seventy years old." Doctor Mo's voice suddenly became high-pitched and sharp. To Han Li, it was grating and unpleasant, as if it had touched his deepest pain.

"I, Mo Juren, was once famous in the martial arts world of Lanzhou, Yue Country, carving out a significant reputation with my bare hands. Heh heh! In Lanzhou back then, who didn't know the prestige of 'Ghost Hand'? Those who followed me lived; those who defied me..." Doctor Mo reverted to his original tone, his voice low and deep as he slowly recounted his story. As he spoke, his eyes gleamed with a sharp, sword-like brilliance, as if he had returned to his days of youthful vigor and absolute power.

Listening to Doctor Mo, Han Li was secretly surprised. He had never imagined that his nominal master had such a prominent background.

"Unfortunately, good times don't last. Just as I entered middle age and was ready to make further strides, I was ambushed by a villain. A trusted subordinate used sinister means against me. Although my superior medical skills allowed me to control the onset of the injury, I couldn't fully recover, and my martial arts prowess significantly diminished. I could no longer establish myself in the northern lands. Fearing further attacks from my enemies, I had no choice but to abandon my existing foundation and family, vanishing without a trace. I then sought out good remedies in other parts of Yue Country, hoping to find a way to restore my original strength." As he described his later misfortunes, he became completely immersed in the narrative of the past. His hands clenched tightly into fists, his fingers digging so deeply into his palms that blood flowed, yet he seemed entirely oblivious. His face contorted into a gnashing, ferocious expression, a chillingly cruel look that made one shudder. It was clear he harbored deep hatred for the villain who had poisoned him back then.

Hearing the persistent hatred in his words, Han Li couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, a cool shiver in his heart.

"Heaven had eyes. I finally stumbled upon a mysterious place where I accidentally obtained a peculiar book. This book was obscure and profound. It took me immense effort to understand even a little, and from it, I found a shortcut to restore my strength. I followed the methods described in it, and the result was..." Doctor Mo paused, not immediately continuing, but his exasperated expression was evident, mixed with a hint of regret.

"And the result is you've turned into this monstrosity," Han Li stated coolly, finishing the unspoken words for him.

"Precisely. I never expected that after following the methods in that book, my cultivation would recover, but my body would age rapidly, turning me into this prematurely withered, half-human, half-ghost appearance." Doctor Mo nodded disconsolately, unaffected by Han Li's sarcasm.

"You must have found the reason by now, right?"

"It's because I didn't cultivate properly, leading to an invasion of evil energy. Now, every day I live consumes as much energy as ten days for an ordinary person. I am constantly overdrawing my life force. Fortunately, I am skilled in restorative arts and concocted a secret medicine as described in the book. This has allowed me to slow down the aging process in recent years and sustain myself until now."

"What does the cultivation method I practice have to do with solving your problem?" Han Li cut straight to the core of the issue.

"Not long after I became like this, I researched the book and found a solution: the 'Evergreen Arts' that you cultivate. As long as someone who has cultivated it to the fourth level helps me circulate energy and stimulates my vital acupoints with evergreen qi, I can escape my current predicament and regain my lost vitality."

"Why me specifically? Can't you just find anyone to cultivate this method?" Han Li mused for a moment, then posed a question that had long been buried in his mind.

"Do you think these 'Evergreen Arts' are something just anyone can learn? This cultivation method not only requires a young person to start cultivating from scratch but also demands that the cultivator possess a 'spiritual root' physique. Although I don't know what a 'spiritual root' is, I tried hundreds of children before you, and none of them could cultivate the Evergreen Arts," Doctor Mo said with an annoyed expression.

"Is that so?" Han Li was slightly taken aback, not expecting the cultivation method to be so demanding.

"In the remaining years of my life, I thought it impossible to find anyone who could cultivate the method, so I gave up on myself, pretending to be a wandering quack doctor. Unexpectedly, I coincidentally met the Head of the Seven Mystical Sect, who had also been ambushed. Out of shared misfortune, I extended a hand and saved his life. Then, at his invitation, I naturally became a revered elder of the sect, prepared to live out my final days anonymously on the mountain. Heh heh! A miracle still happened. Initially, I feared that all my medical and martial arts knowledge would be lost, so I recruited you into the valley, genuinely intending to take both of you as disciples. But at the time, I don't know why, but I inexplicably had you try cultivating the Evergreen Arts, perhaps still holding onto a glimmer of hope. In fact, even if you couldn't cultivate this method, I would have still taken you in and passed on some of my knowledge. But what I never expected was that you would actually react to this art. Haha! Truly, Heaven never closes all doors!"

Doctor Mo revealed all these mysteries in one breath, his face flushed with a sickly hue, evidently pleased with his luck.

"I haven't even reached the fourth level of the Evergreen Arts. Why are you restraining me now and revealing all of this?" Han Li finally asked the question that concerned him most at the moment.

"You have only yourself to blame. I've invested so much effort and care into you, yet you haven't satisfied me; you always play games with me. Now it's just this final step, but you're unwilling to advance further. Originally, I could have waited two more years for you, but during my recent trip down the mountain, I was recognized by an old enemy. After a bitter fight, although I killed him, it exhausted my already limited energy, and my lifespan was greatly shortened. Even if I use all my strength, I can only prolong my life for another year. How can you expect me to wait any longer?" Doctor Mo's triumphant expression vanished without a trace, replaced by a fierce glint in his eyes, finally roaring at Han Li.

After hearing this, Han Li's expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of being moved.

However, inwardly, a storm raged. He was far from the calm and confident person he appeared to be on the surface.

Although he had long suspected Doctor Mo harbored deep intentions towards him, he had never imagined such a vast secret. The doctor's background, experiences, and cultivation method all far exceeded anything he had envisioned.