ng and Zhou had just sat down, someone else's voice was heard from the door."Old Qin is here..."Mistress Ye walked over to greet him when she saw who it was at the door."Hehe, for such a significant m...Chapter 374: The Five Signs of Heavenly衰 (Heavenly Decline)

However, with Grandpa Li's words, he calmed down. It wasn't the time yet to take revenge on Xiao Yu; it was better to wait until after he had gathered more information.

After going downstairs, he originally intended to leave, but since Old Man Song had saved his life in the past, he stayed for a while after giving some thought to it.

Xiao Yu coldly watched the old man leave without saying anything.

Old Man Li and the others, as well as Tiger Mountain Song, only glanced at Wang Pingyuan who angrily left. No one spoke; even among those elders who came with Wang Pingyuan, none of them said a word to each other.

A short while later, Li Changtian entered along with those doctors. Seeing so many people in the room, he led the doctors and stood silently beside them, knowing that he had no right to speak here. He could only wait for instructions.

Especially when it came to Old Master Song; if nobody spoke up, not even approaching him was allowed. This was a benefit brought by power, which was also what motivated Li Changtian all along as he climbed the ranks tirelessly.

"Cousin Uncle!" Bai Jing respectfully addressed Xiao Yu.

“Hmm, it's surprising that you're here too, Bai Jing!” Xiao Yu hadn't expected Bai Jing to be there.

“Yes, Cousin Uncle. Minister Li asked me to participate in the coordination work,” said Bai Jing after glancing at Li Changtian.

Xiao Yu also looked towards Li Changtian and nodded at him, while Tiger Mountain Song and Old Man Li glanced over too.

Seeing Xiao Yu nodding at him, Li Changtian solemnly returned the gesture. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was secretly rejoicing; bringing Bai Jing here was undoubtedly his best move yet.

Even though he held great power as the Minister of Health, no one in this room would look at him straight in the eye with respect. But what Bai Jing just did left a mark for him among these people. This single glance was today's harvest, far greater than any political achievement he could make. With that thought, Li Changtian looked gratefully at Bai Jing.

Bai Jing and Xiao Yu exchanged greetings before leaving for the group of doctors.

Xiao Yu turned around to see Song Hushan and Lao Li looking at him. After a moment of contemplation, he frowned and said: "Old Mr. Song is suffering from organ failure. That means his five organs are rapidly deteriorating. Although this condition isn’t uncommon, it’s extremely hard to treat. The main cause of the illness is that after people age, their bodily functions decline and cannot support such heavy loads anymore, leading to a breakdown!"

"Is there any way to cure this disease" Lao Li asked upon hearing Xiao Yu's explanation.

"Difficult, very difficult!" Xiao Yu furrowed his brows tightly and shook his head as he replied.

In fact, Xiao Yu hadn’t fully disclosed Old Mr. Song’s condition. It was indeed organ failure, but it also bore the name of "Five Declines of Mortals," which marked a necessary stage in cultivation. If one successfully overcame this stage, their strength would significantly increase; however, if not, they would die due to organ failure.

The primary reason for Old Mr. Song’s condition was his advanced age. Despite looking robust and having substantial inner energy, he couldn’t resist the aging of bodily functions. Additionally, he might be encountering a critical breakthrough point where his body can no longer bear the burden, hence triggering this situation.

Another secondary reason occurred to Xiao Yu later; Old Mr. Song was celebrating his hundredth birthday, which presented a significant challenge in the cultivation world as each century of life marked a perilous milestone.

The day one reaches their hundredth birthday is also the most dangerous period for them. But if they avoid celebrating this birthday, the danger would be minimized, although not entirely eliminated.

Given Old Mr. Song’s current health condition, had he not encountered a critical breakthrough moment, he should have been able to survive his hundredth birthday. However, fate was unkind; coincidentally, he encountered the moment of breakthrough. If successful, his body would improve drastically and live for another ten or twenty years without issue. Nevertheless... it’s futile...

The reason why a centenarian becomes a milestone in human life is something Xiao Yu wasn’t aware of either. Zhong Kui's memory only recorded that this was a rule set by the heavens, but he hadn't yet accessed other details.

Old Mr. Song’s illness today also related to his hundredth birthday celebration being grand and increasing the danger of that day immensely.

The more powerful the cultivator, the greater the risk on their hundredth birthday. In Zhong Kui's memories, some powerful cultivators faced numerous perils if they reached this stage with extreme risks.

Xiao Yu recalled an incident where a powerful cultivator reaching a thousand years of age (the tenth century milestone) directly triggered celestial tribulations.

For ordinary people, the danger was relatively lower. Moreover, some individuals had devised methods to avoid celebrating their hundredth birthday, thereby minimizing this risk.

Some monks conclude that this is related to the primordial qi of heaven and earth, which is why cultivators are more dangerous than ordinary people.

In some rural areas in the north, there are ancient customs established to deal with this issue. People don't celebrate their hundredth birthday unless they have reached it, meaning that even someone who has truly lived to be a hundred years old will say they are ninety-nine until after their death, when the announcement of their passing will state their true age.

Actually, this method is also a good way to effectively reduce danger to the minimum level.

If Old Grandpa Song didn’t hold a birthday celebration for reaching his hundredth year, it's possible that the signs of his physical decline might not come so soon; he could have two more years.

When Xingyu said this, Hou Shansong and Lao Li felt their hearts sink. They immediately understood how difficult it would be to cure Old Grandpa Song’s illness.

However, they suddenly thought of something. Although Xingyu said that curing the illness is extremely challenging, he didn’t say it was impossible. So there might still be hope

"How much chance does Xingyu have" Lao Li was anxious and immediately asked this question upon hearing Xingyu’s words.

After hearing Lao Li's words, Xingyu thought for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "All I can say is that I will do my best."

Xingyu has the Life-Death Eye, but he isn't strong enough to handle someone with high internal skill cultivation like Old Grandpa Song. The backlash would be very severe, and Xingyu couldn’t bear such a heavy burden at this moment.

If Old Grandpa Song were an ordinary person, using the Life Eye, Xingyu could endure the backlash. He might need to rest for several days afterward but wouldn't suffer any consequences.

Upon hearing Xingyu’s words, Lao Li and Hou Shansong felt their hearts sink once more because the glimmer of hope in their eyes faded instantly due to this new information.

The group realized that Xingyu wouldn’t deliberately withhold treatment; his words indicated that he had no certainty about curing Old Grandpa Song’s illness.

Wan Jiayi, being in a vegetative state, was beyond the capabilities of most renowned hospitals and rehabilitation centers worldwide. However, after examining her case, Xingyu didn’t make such statements but now said this, causing their spirits to plummet instantly.

Xingyu remained silent afterward because Old Grandpa Song's status is special; if they agree, he would treat him, but if not, there’s nothing more he could do since even treating him wouldn't yield much hope.

The old men, including Li Suijun, and the Song Hushan family were all wearing worried expressions when suddenly the main door was opened from outside. Two elderly gentlemen with white hair entered.

"Little Chen, Little Wang, you're here! Go see Brother Song quickly!" Li Suijun said to the two men who had just entered.

These two were Old Man Chen Yao of the Warm-Nourishing School and Old Man Wang Kaiyuan of the Yiwater School. They are considered the two pillars supporting modern Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and their respective schools complement each other in maintaining TCM's current status.

"I'll tell both of you, give Brother Song a thorough examination. If he cannot be cured, don't blame me for being harsh! And remember, don’t let your temper get the better of you like those others,"

Old Man Zhang, who was in military uniform beside Li Suijun, glared at both men and said this as soon as Li Suijun finished speaking.

Hearing Old Man Zhang's words, the two elders showed a helpless smile, shook their heads slightly, and walked directly towards Elder Song’s bedside. They all knew Old Man Zhang's temper, so nobody responded to him.

When Old Man Chen saw Xiao Yu, he was momentarily stunned but then nodded at him. He had wanted to ask Xiao Yu about the state of Elder Song but eventually gave up on it. As one of the most respected figures in TCM, he had his own pride and only greeted Xiao Yu with a nod before heading straight for the bedside.

Old Man Wang ignored Xiao Yu completely; how could such a young person be worth his attention

The two elders came to Elder Song’s bedside on either side of him. After observing Elder Song's pale complexion, they took their positions beside his bed and began the pulse diagnosis.

Both placed their hands gently onto Elder Song’s wrists and started the pulse diagnosis quietly. As they continued, their initially confident expressions gradually faded away to be replaced with a serious demeanor.

Their facial expressions were similar to Xiao Yu's. After finishing the pulse diagnosis, both elders lowered their heads in thought, but this time their contemplation lasted longer than usual.

They now felt helpless as they found that Elder Song’s pulse was weakening while his five organs were deteriorating, yet he showed no symptoms of illness whatsoever. This kind of deterioration seemed to happen naturally without any sign or symptom of disease.

This left them at a loss for what to do, as such cases are common in elderly people who die of old age without suffering from any specific illness. Since there is no identifiable cause, even the best doctors can be powerless.

Elder Song’s condition was one where curing him would feel like snatching someone back from the hands of death. In ancient times, some miraculous medicines were described as having the power to bring people back from the dead and regrow flesh; this description fits Elder Song’s situation perfectly (to be continued...)d the needle with his right hand. With each twist, the glowing needle slowly penetrated deeper into the patient's skull.The human skull is one of the hardest bones in the body, while the gold needle w...