Chapter 122: Five Suns Invincible

As soon as he spoke, many scholars in the courtyard felt something was amiss. Just then, a light rain began to fall from the sky.

Accompanying the sound of the rain was a peculiar melody. It was as if an immensely powerful giant used heaven and earth as a zither, with rain lines as strings, playing wildly without regard for musical rules or notes.

But this strange melody possessed a soul-snatching magic. The moment it entered their ears, they felt their vital energy dissipate, their consciousness loosen, their spirit embryo weaken, and their Five Luminaries scatter. They couldn't help but want to dance to the tune.

The melody grew increasingly high-pitched and impassioned. The people in the courtyard knew something was wrong and were about to forcefully break free from this magical sound spell when Qin Mu suddenly formed a hand seal and threw a punch!

Sun-Drenched Yang Soul, Refined in the Air! As his punch struck, an earth-shattering thunderclap erupted from the center of the courtyard. It bombarded everyone, making their minds reel, their souls tremble, and their wills unstable. Instantly, they could no longer resist the demonic sound. One by one, they started flailing their arms, laughing loudly, and singing and dancing in the courtyard.

Suddenly, the melody changed again. It was as if they were caught in a battlefield of gods and devils, with iron horses and clashing weapons assailing and overwhelming them. It felt so real that they couldn't help but retaliate!

This retaliation was no small matter. Even those with a sliver of clear consciousness had to counter the attacks of those around them. As soon as they raised a hand to respond, their consciousness was breached by the melody, and they suddenly lost control!

Boom! In the courtyard, various moves erupted, and spells flew chaotically. In an instant, blood appeared on many, and several cried out in pain, regaining their senses. Just then, Qin Mu moved through the crowd like a phantom. As soon as someone regained consciousness, he flicked them away with a finger!

Thunderous Pipa Fingers! His fingers, accompanying the melody, performed plucking, sweeping, hooking, scraping, striking, picking, and flicking movements with extreme sharpness. The maddening melody was accompanied by bursts of thunder. The air constantly vibrated, and the sound of heavy objects striking kept coming.

A moment later, only Wei Yong remained in the small courtyard, still singing and dancing.

Qin Mu stopped. The widespread rain vanished, and the melody also faded away. Only then did Wei Yong regain consciousness. He quickly looked around and saw footprints everywhere in his courtyard, and the flowers and plants were ruined. His face immediately changed, and he exclaimed, "Brother Qin, what happened?"

"I borrowed your precious place to teach some narrow-minded senior brothers a lesson," Qin Mu chuckled. "Your place is remote, so no one stopped me while I was beating them."

Wei Yong gasped in astonishment and quickly looked towards the gate wall of his courtyard. He saw scholars hanging on the wall, their heads embedded in it, without the strength to move.

Wei Yong's face turned ashen. "Brother, you've caused big trouble!" he exclaimed. "These scholars came to the Imperial College years before us. Which one of them, able to enter the Imperial College, isn't a disciple of a powerful aristocratic family? Now that you've beaten them, what's going to happen?"

"If I didn't beat them, should I have waited for them to beat me?" Qin Mu asked, puzzled. "They've already been beaten, what more can be done?"

Wei Yong stamped his feet repeatedly. "You used my courtyard to beat them," he said. "I'm from the Wei family, so they won't dare do anything to me, but you're definitely going to be in trouble. Oh dear, oh dear, what should we do..."

Qin Mu walked out, smiling. "If they come to teach me a lesson," he said, "they should be prepared to be taught a lesson by me."

He walked out of the courtyard and saw heads protruding from the courtyard wall, one after another. Qin Mu glanced at them all and then walked forward.

"Outcast..." a scholar woke up and said weakly. "You dared to ambush us. Once we recover, you're dead..."

Qin Mu's expression darkened. "Dare to mention 'outcast' again," he warned, "and I'll beat you every time I see you!"

"Outcast!" Qin Mu pulled the scholar out of the wall and carried him to the front of his own residence. His vital energy burst forth, straightening the scholar's body like a brush, and using the blood from his head, he wrote on the wall.

Qin Mu wrote two columns of characters and then a line above the doorframe. He then slammed the blood-soaked scholar onto the ground. The scholar was embedded in the ground, with only his head protruding, and he was so enraged and agitated that he passed out.

The other scholars woke up one after another, pulling their heads out of the wall. Each of them wore an expression of shame, their moods fluctuating. They had been caught off guard and attacked by Qin Mu. This attack wasn't on their physical bodies but on their souls, which was the hardest to defend against.

If it had been a spell targeting their bodies, it would have been easier to guard against. Their cultivation and strength were not much inferior to Qin Mu's, and they had the advantage of numbers. If Qin Mu had ambushed them, he could at most have taken down one or two. But a spell targeting the soul was no small matter.

Qin Mu used his improved Thunderous Pipa Fingers to directly control their souls and consciousness. When they tried to break free, the Sun-Drenched Yang Soul, Refined in the Air technique disoriented their souls. Immediately, they all suffered, and without any chance to fight back, they were all knocked unconscious with their heads through the wall.

Wei Yong quickly said, "Senior brothers, I am from the Wei family of the Duke's Mansion, and I have nothing to do with this!"

The dozen or so scholars exchanged glances. One scholar sighed, "We're done for this time. We were ambushed by the newcomer, and we've lost all face. Brother of the Wei family, please don't spread this around. Let us save some face."

Wei Yong breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry," he said, "I always keep my mouth shut and will never mention this to outsiders. Senior brothers, what are your plans?"

"Naturally, we'll get our face back," the many scholars said, too ashamed to stay, as they rushed out. "We've been utterly disgraced this time. Once our injuries heal, we'll get our dignity back tomorrow! He caught us by surprise this time, but tomorrow, we'll teach him a lesson!"

Wei Yong gasped and muttered, "Brother Qin is becoming more and more powerful. Not only did he send Daoist Lingyun flying, but he also pulled off this trick, even controlling me with his demonic sound when I wasn't paying attention. However, now that these people are prepared, tomorrow should be difficult for him. After all, these scholars came to the Imperial College years before us, and their learning and understanding far surpass ours. The Imperial College's Heavenly Scroll Tower contains mostly the supreme techniques of various sects and schools..."

As the dozen or so scholars passed Qin Mu's courtyard, they inadvertently looked up. They saw two rows of bloody characters written on the wall: "Sweeping through the capital with no rivals, kicking down eight hundred Imperial Scholars!"

Above the doorframe, four characters were also written: "Five Luminaries Unrivaled!"

And in front of the door, on the ground, a person was still stuck.

Everyone's faces turned ashen. They went forward and pulled the person out of the ground. "Leave these words for now," they said. "Tomorrow, we will humiliate him!"

Qin Mu bought some food on the way to fill his stomach, then continued his free consultations at the Listening Rain Pavilion. He had already gained some fame in the capital; even prominent officials and noble families had heard that a young divine physician had arrived in Flower Alley, specializing in difficult gynecological cases.

Men also came, having heard of him. Qin Mu treated all who came, refusing no one. However, he still encountered a few incurable ailments. These ailments were very strange, with no apparent cause, yet people progressively wasted away. The patients brought to him were already so thin they were just skin and bones.

There were five people afflicted with this disease, carried by several soldiers.

Qin Mu observed for a moment and said, "This is shamanic poison. If they had been brought earlier, I might have been able to treat them. But now, they are already dead. I cannot save them."

The leading soldier was furious and shouted, "You quack! They clearly still have breath and are alive, yet you say they're dead? What kind of sense does that make?"

Qin Mu shook his head and said, "They are already dead; only their bodies are still alive. They were poisoned by the shamanic poison of the Barbarian Di Kingdom. Shamanic poison is different from ordinary poison. Ordinary poison targets the body and nerves, while shamanic poison targets the soul. Their souls were poisoned and have been dead for five or six days; this one has been dead for over ten days."

The soldier's eyes reddened, and he said, "We came from the border, where we are fighting against the Barbarian Di Kingdom. On the battlefield, a horned barbarian from the Barbarian Di Kingdom looked at them with a mirror, and when they returned, they started to waste away. No matter what they ate, they couldn't gain weight, and even elixirs and miracle drugs didn't help. The military doctor said he couldn't save them, and they would only die if they stayed at the border. So the general sent these brothers back. Divine Physician, you must save my brothers..."

Qin Mu shook his head. "Their souls are dead. I cannot save them. Please return," he said.

The soldier cried loudly, then led the soldiers to carry the five men away.

Qin Mu suddenly said, "General, I will give you a prescription. If anyone else is afflicted with this poison, my prescription can save their life."

The soldier quickly stopped. Qin Mu took out a brush, wrote down the prescription, and handed it to him, saying, "This prescription is called the Pure Yang Insect Refining Pill. It can counteract the soul worm attacks of shamanic poison."

The soldier was both surprised and overjoyed. He suddenly knelt on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed.

Qin Mu quickly helped him up. "Why go to such lengths?" he asked.

The soldier wiped his tears and turned to leave.

Qin Mu averted his gaze and continued his consultations.

He had heard about shamanic poison from the Apothecary, describing it as a type of witchcraft. Grand shamans typically refined poisons using venomous insects, absorbing the insects' souls along with the toxins and refining them into their own souls. When killing enemies, they didn't need to directly administer poison; instead, they used indirect methods to cause the opponent to be poisoned. The poisoning circumstances were very peculiar.

Shamanic poison and witchcraft are actually methods targeting the soul. Poisoning the soul is completely different from ordinary poisoning, and using ordinary antidotes has no effect.

Since shamanic poison targets the soul, the methods of administering it cannot be understood by conventional logic. For instance, in the 'shadow drawing' method, one cuts out a paper figure, writes the target's name and birth characters on it, and then pricks it with needles. With each prick, the shamanic poison from one's own soul is planted in the target's soul. Or one might create a straw effigy and shoot arrows at it, killing the target's soul within seven days. These are all shamanic poison arts, highly sinister.

Qin Mu treated a few more people. Suddenly, an official's sedan chair entered the Listening Rain Pavilion. An old man in official robes stepped out of the sedan chair. He walked directly two steps forward, cupped his fist in greeting to Qin Mu, and said, "Young Divine Physician, save us!"

Qin Mu was surprised. He saw the old man wearing the official robes of a second-rank high official, indicating he was likely a court minister. "Esteemed elder," he said, "your complexion is very good. Why do you need my help?"

The old man said, "I have a patient at home, gravely ill and bedridden. We've consulted countless physicians, even numerous imperial doctors, but nothing has worked. I heard a divine physician had arrived in the city, so I've come to beg for your help!"

Fu Qingyun, who was nearby, said with a smile, "Lord Yan hasn't been to Flower Alley in a long time, has he!"

The old man's face flushed slightly, and he coughed, "When have I ever been here? Sister Fu, I don't even recognize you. Please don't joke. Divine Physician, please get into the sedan chair and come with me. It's a matter of life and death, truly life and death!"

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then stood up and entered the sedan chair. The old man also entered. The sedan chair was carried by two strongmen, who leapt up and ascended into the clouds.

Qin Mu lifted the curtain and looked outside. He saw the sedan chair drifting, heading towards the center of the capital. And when they reached the center of the capital, golden lotus flowers formed of light floated in the sky above. Golden-armored generals stood on them, guarding the Imperial City's sky. Their strength was extremely formidable.

These golden-armored generals paid no attention to the sedan chair. They allowed it to proceed towards the Imperial City.

Qin Mu lowered the curtain, looked at the old man opposite him, and said, "Lord Yan, this patient of yours has an extraordinary background."