Damned Healer-Chapter 730: Action and Movement

Emina received Darian’s location and hurried over. When she reached the end of the alley, the smell of blood and death made her eyes widen, and her stomach churn.

She forced herself forward. Then she saw a small courtyard still faintly stained red and radiating the fire element. Clearly, dozens of lives had vanished there, but all their remains had been incinerated.

When she approached the house, the door opened. Darian received her completely indifferent, as if nothing had happened there.

"I-I did pretty well..." she stammered a bit, but soon clenched her fists, confident.

Darian nodded and brought her inside, pointing to a table for her to sit.

While she sat down, Darian moved toward an old man in the back. A little girl was lying on a sofa, breathing softly.

When he reached the old man, Darian spoke gently, "Sir, I can cure your curse."

"!"

Suddenly, the old man turned toward Darian with a completely stunned expression. His eyes were empty, but they trembled, as if after a long time, he had finally been allowed to hope.

Darian sighed and nodded. His white power flowed smoothly, bathing the old man.

After five seconds, everything faded, and Darian turned, walking toward Emina.

She was holding her breath, but when he arrived, she immediately handed him a spatial ring.

Darian checked its contents, and his expression changed.

"300 indigo jades..." Darian murmured, surprised. He had given her all the materials he obtained and had only expected a dozen indigo jades.

Emina smiled and explained excitedly. She had gone to planets in the Mortal Plane and hunted for interesting materials. Across this universe, even on simple planets, unique materials existed.

Of course, no one was stupid, and many people had already thought of this idea. But Emina had a plan, which was to use the Artifact Forgers from the Sect of Ethereality.

That was the sect of the greatest Artifact Forgers in the universe. Upon hearing that name, Darian immediately knew the origins of that sect.

Emina continued. There was a very common Artifact that anyone from that sect could create, and it could be built with almost any material. It was a training artifact that created a small spiritual world.

Many below-average sects in the universe chose to invest in this type of training because it was the safest... and also because better options were lacking. The internal environment and its difficulties depended on the materials used.

Normally, everyone used powerful materials to create high-quality artifacts. But after using that to train a hundred times, everyone learned to endure it, and the benefits dropped drastically.

There were several hundred very common types, but for cultivators who lived thousands of years, it wasn’t unusual for there to be people who had already reached the limit in everything possible.

Therefore, the Artifacts made with the materials she obtained, although not as powerful, were unique and strange. There was definitely a niche of smaller sects that would pay to have these artifacts. Since they couldn’t pay much, and ordinary cultivators didn’t want the trouble of visiting planets in the Mortal Planes, different training artifacts like these sold easily.

She had worked hard, paying for information and using her contacts from the Mortal Plane. Her family was people with a lot of money and influence in the Mortal Plane, so she had that at her disposal, something people from the Celestial Plane normally didn’t have.

Of course, there was a limit to making money this way, and the limit wasn’t high. Because of that, even though it was something easily thought of by some, ordinary Merchants weren’t very willing to put in the work for something so low. This tactic of hers was just to make quick money. But that didn’t change the fact that she had multiplied several times what Darian gave her.

"Very good," Darian murmured, staring into the young woman’s eyes. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

She took a deep breath, full of expectation. Darian had been clear before when he said that this was a test.

"I want you to come back with me to the sect when the Trial for the Alchemist Emperor ends. I guarantee that you and I will make a lot of money, and you won’t need to worry about your safety. Are you willing?"

"YES!" she answered without hesitation, clenching her fists.

Darian nodded, then took another spatial ring and split half the profits, handing her share to her.

The conversation lasted only a few minutes. Then, without hesitation, he took his 150 indigo jades and moved toward the old man.

The old man was trembling, his eyes closed.

The entire curse that had afflicted him for more than a decade had been completely cured in seconds. Now he could release his body, and he was already accumulating Celestial energy again to recover his strength. In one or two days, he would return to being a cultivator with some power to fight again.

When he sensed Darian’s footsteps, he opened his eyes. The color had returned to them; he could see again.

Darian smiled slightly as he saw the overflowing emotion in that man who had lived through so much pain.

"Sir..." he trembled, unable to find words for a few seconds.

Darian stopped nearby, waiting patiently.

The old man took a deep breath. "My life, and my granddaughter’s life, were saved by Sir. I... my old bones can still be useful. Sir is powerful, but I have lived long and know many secret places and interesting things in this universe. If you give me some time to recover, I promise I will do everything to repay this debt. I only wish for my granddaughter to live well and safely..."

Darian sighed, shaking his head. "We don’t have any debt."

"Sir, please, I need to repay you," he insisted.

Darian snorted, then spoke slowly: "If you really want to help me with something... let’s do this: live the rest of your life beside your granddaughter and find 10 people who truly need help, just like you two did. Then help them. When they want to give something in return, tell them the same thing I’m telling you now. That way... if this chain doesn’t break, in a short time, the universe will be full of good deeds."

The old man and Emina listened to that speechless.

Darian smiled faintly.

"The laws of the world influence everything, based on each individual’s karma, and on everyone’s karma together. The meaning of the word karma already explains a lot; it means action and movement. There’s no point crying or complaining about something or someone, thinking life is unfair... our actions are the only thing that can change the world, for good or for evil. Your action today creates a future action; what you plant now is what you and other people will harvest in the future."

Darian spoke slowly, remembering himself. He had once been a terrible person who hurt, tortured, and killed people who couldn’t protect themselves. He definitely didn’t deserve any forgiveness.

He still hadn’t properly reviewed his past lives, but he had already received a summary from his father... he had lived through hell to pay for everything he did.

But afterward, already as Darian, he did the complete opposite and tried to help as much as possible. He saved many people across more than one universe. As a result, after his death, he received what he deserved. He returned even better than before and even managed to get his memories back.

He harvested what he had planted in the past. Then he planted the opposite, and now he was reaping the fruits. Just like his father told him before: the type of planting each person chooses is optional, but the harvest is mandatory.

Seeing the old man standing there, deep in thought, Darian nodded to him and sent over his spatial ring.

"This planet isn’t a good environment for Temzi. I’ll send you to the Mortal Plane planet my Master oversees. Use that money to build a cozy place and live the rest of your life in peace."

When the old man looked inside the ring, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

With all that... he and his granddaughter could live like nobles on a Mortal Plane planet. There would even be enough left for her children and grandchildren to enjoy without worry.

"This..."

Darian nodded. "Don’t waste time arguing. Remember what I told you earlier, I’m giving you a chance to plant good things. If you use this for something bad..."

The old man stood up and bowed. "Don’t worry. I promise everything will be used properly, and my granddaughter will never have to go through hardship again. I will teach your wise words to her, and to my descendants."

Darian nodded.

---

A few hours later, Pyreus appeared at the house at Darian’s request. He would take the two of them to the planet where he had first met Darian.

He didn’t know what Darian intended with this, but his Master told him to do whatever Darian asked. Soon, the two of them left, abandoning that crumbling ’inn’ forever.

Temzi still hadn’t woken up because Darian had put her into a very deep sleep so that when she woke, she would think all of it had been a distant dream.

When Darian and Emina were alone in the house, he turned to her and casually handed over dozens of spatial rings.

She looked at the rings and almost jumped. Inside each of the Alchemists’ rings, there were at least a dozen indigo jades, along with many pills and materials that could be sold for a good price.

Alchemists were truly rich and made money easily, so each of them had quite a lot. Adding everything together, there should be more than 200 indigo jades there. Even better, Darian knew how to get much more very quickly.

Emina was excited and about to run off to make use of it all. But Darian stopped her.

"Your cultivation is also your priority. You just earned a lot, so you should focus on reaching the Celestial Soul Realm first. After you break through, you can go out and earn more."

Darian’s words were like a bucket of cold water over her. She really didn’t like cultivating; she only did it out of obligation. But... she would listen to him to the end and dedicate herself to it.

"Since you’re here, wait to watch the end of the Trial for the Alchemist Emperor," Darian said, moving toward the stairs to head to his room.

Emina nodded, eyes shining. "You want to watch? That’s great, I can find new young alchemists to place orders with in the future."

"No. I’m in the finals. After it ends, we’ll return to the sect."

Darian left after saying that, leaving the young woman completely frozen.

Finals? Since when was he an Alchemist? Was it even possible for someone that strong to still have time to study that?

***

Three days later.

The first rays of sunlight touched the city. At that moment, in the central arena, a crowd hurried inside.

The final of the Trial for the Alchemist Emperor would take place in the arena so everyone could watch. It was a grand showcase for the new Emperor, but everyone in the finals would also be seen and gain great prestige.

In no time, the arena was packed with hundreds of thousands of people.

Figures from all over the universe had come to watch, and naturally, several Elders and prominent figures from the Golden Crow Sect were also there.

After a few hours, slightly more than one thousand participants entered the arena one by one.

All eyes were fixed on them. Since an Alchemist needed to be proficient with the fire element, which was naturally the most Yang element, few women stood out. There were probably fewer than a hundred women in this final.

When a lone figure entered...

Immediately, several gazes in the stands changed. They turned cold as blades and filled with killing intent.

They were people from across the universe who had set their sights on Limdiss. They had come to this place precisely because they knew she was in the finals.

After this competition, everyone was prepared to make sure she couldn’t escape. While she was inside the sect, these people couldn’t capture her or take revenge. They could only use connections to influence people inside.

Now... she had not only risked coming out, but also drawn a lot of attention. No matter what she planned, there was no way to escape anymore and return to the sect.

Limdiss obviously knew this. But... she chose to take the risk. Her life was already ruined, and even ’safe’ inside the sect, she had nearly been killed once. When someone truly wants another dead, there are always some willing to help for money.

She survived once purely by luck. So her only chance to live was to win this tournament. If she failed, it was better to fall into their hands at once.

At least, these people wouldn’t torture her, because it didn’t make sense; the fault for everything was her uncle’s, who was already dead, not hers. They only wanted to kill everyone who benefited from his evil deeds.

As for her family...

They were all average figures within the Sect. And when they realized they would be hunted, they voluntarily chose an absurdly dangerous sect assignment in a unique place in the universe. That way, they relocated, and there they wouldn’t be hunted... but they also couldn’t return.

There was a vast region of mortal danger in the universe where many valuable resources appeared, but few people lived long there. All the major sects had bases and sent people to that place. Even with many deaths, the benefits made it worthwhile.

As for Limdiss’s relatives, they preferred the chance to live there working rather than guaranteed death outside.

As for her, since she was just a newly admitted disciple, she didn’t have that option. She was simply abandoned to her fate; her father, mother, and close relatives didn’t care in the slightest.

After all... they had all learned that their own lives were the most important. They were just like her in the past, full of arrogance and greed; other people were either useful servants or disposable.

Back in the arena, she moved to a corner around the main stage, isolated from everyone, in total focus.

Her red clothes... were more worn than before. There was even a large tear around the abdomen, and everyone could see her skin stained with blood.

In these three days, while the Alchemist Emperor candidates had time to prepare and relax, she hadn’t had a single moment of peace, being hunted across the planet.

At that moment, a subtle commotion was heard.

Some people from the Golden Crow Sect saw a handsome and calm young man entering the arena with light steps.

It was Darian. They knew two people from the sect had made it into the top three of the eliminations, so everyone had high expectations of raising the sect’s prestige even further.

Darian was calm and indifferent. In the stands, Emina and Pyreus were watching side by side.

About an hour later, a huge uproar echoed through the crowd.

Several figures from the Hellfire Pill Sect appeared. The grand final was finally about to begin!