She released the dagger at her waist, tasting bitterness in her mouth.
Si Qing walked over, "Regarding the plague, there are countermeasures. Your Majesty, quickly let the Medicine Goddess go. The Medicine Goddess should be able to find a way to cure the plague. This way, the humans who are not cursed should be able to be preserved."
Originally, other realms should not have interfered too much in human affairs, but the human realm had already deviated from its normal course due to the curse of the Heavenly Dao and laws.
If they did not intervene, they would likely perish sooner or later.
Yue Zhiyin nodded.
He quickly sent someone to the Nine Heavens to summon the Medicine Goddess to descend and treat the plague in the human realm.
The so-called Medicine Goddess was a general term for a type of Medical Immortal in the Nine Heavens. The ranks of Medical Immortals were divided into Medicine God and Medicine Goddess.
Generally, the former referred to male high gods.
The latter referred to female high gods.
Both were Medical Immortals. Before cultivating to become an immortal and ascending to the Nine Heavens, they usually saved lives and healed the wounded for ten consecutive lifetimes, accumulating enough merit before being listed among the immortals.
Therefore, all these Medicine Gods and Medicine Goddesses were experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who had researched many plague prescriptions in the human realm.
So, after these Medicine Gods and Medicine Goddesses descended to the mortal world and received the order to treat the plague, they immediately went to the villages where humans could still live. They began to find ways to pour medicinal powder into the river water to purify the toxins, and used spiritual power to cremate the corpses on the riverbanks.
The plague came quickly, but the Medicine Gods and Medicine Goddesses descended even faster.
The treatment was also much faster than the methods used by humans themselves.
Therefore, within three days, the plague in the human realm was almost completely cured.
But even so, new problems arose.
That is, it was not only the uncursed humans who were infected with the plague.
Those who were cursed also contracted the plague.
Moreover, when the plague reached them, it immediately developed severely, causing the humans, who were already disfigured by the curse, to rot all over their bodies, emitting a foul odor.
The skin of these cursed humans turned black and purple, oozing pus.
The stench could spread throughout the entire mountainside, and it could not dissipate in the scorching summer heat.
The barrier could restrain their movements, but it could not stop the spread of the stench.
The cursed humans themselves had no consciousness, were mentally unclear, and were always causing trouble. They could not smell anything.
But the immortal sect cultivators responsible for eliminating demons and upholding righteousness outside, as well as the uncursed humans, were different.
They could smell it.
In the hot summer, the sun shone brightly.
The grass on the ground was wilted by the sun.
There was no wind in the air, yet a faint stench drifted.
And this stench lingered from morning to night.
Even the flowers by the trees no longer smelled fragrant.
Qi Yu stayed in the Dragon Palace every day, her mind filled with how to make her choices, completely unaware of the situation in the human realm.
It wasn't until the mortal cultivators could no longer stand the stench.
When they could bear it no longer, they once again sought help from the South Sea Dragon Palace.
Only then did Qi Yu hear about what had happened in the human realm.
When the mortal cultivators came to seek help, it had already been eighteen days since the stench began to spread in the human realm.
At this time, Yue Zhiyin was a guest at the South Sea Dragon Palace.
Upon hearing the shrimp soldiers and crab generals say that mortal cultivators had come to seek help again, he couldn't help but feel puzzled:
"The Medicine God and Medicine Goddess have already told me that the plague in the human realm has been completely cured. Both the cursed and uncursed have had the detoxifying powder sprinkled on them. How did something happen again so quickly?"
Ming Lou and the others, who were originally playing chess together, all turned their heads upon hearing this.
"Replying to Your Majesty, there hasn't been any major incident in the human realm. That cultivator said that this time, they are seeking help regarding the smell," the shrimp soldier and crab general replied on one knee to Yue Zhiyin.
Qi Yu, who had been leaning by the side in a daze, heard this and showed surprise.
Si Qing felt a wave of confusion.
An Nuo and Shao Feng all looked at the shrimp soldier and crab general.
Yan Hua was playing a very childish string game with Chen Xi, while Jin Yan and Yu Yuan were arm wrestling nearby.
The four of them showed subtle expressions upon hearing what the shrimp soldier and crab general said.
The smell?
Was the smell a problem worth seeking help for?
It couldn't be that serious, could it?
"You mean the smell?" Chen Xi repeated to the shrimp soldier and crab general, "What do you mean by a smell problem?"
The shrimp soldier and crab general nodded and repeated, "That's right. The mortal cultivator's request for help this time is about the smell. He said you'll know when you go ashore."
Qi Yu and Si Qing disliked the heat outside and didn't want to go ashore.
But after hesitating for a moment, they could no longer suppress their inner worries and stood up, deciding to go ashore.
But it was better not to go.
Once they went, several of them were severely impacted.
Chen Xi covered her nose, almost gagging,
"Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪」∠) Puke... What kind of smell is this? Did someone die on the South Sea coast?"
"Were the bodies not disposed of? Oh my god, this smell is too strong, it stings the eyes."
As Chen Xi spoke, she waved her hands in front of her eyes. Her eyes were already red from the stench.
Qi Yu and Si Qing gagged the moment they came up.
The brother and sister held onto each other, trying to vomit but unable to.
As soon as they managed to stand up straight, they inhaled a mouthful of stench the moment they opened their mouths, and then they gagged again.
Qi Yu's vision went black from the fumes. For a moment, she couldn't bother with the two choices Heavenly Dao had mentioned before. She grabbed a nearby cultivator wearing a mask and asked,
"Where is this foul odor coming from? What's going on?"
The mortal cultivator said with a bitter face, "Those who were cursed also contracted the plague before. Although the Medicine God and Medicine Goddess have sprinkled the detoxifying powder, the plague is gone, but the smell remains. The mortal medical cultivators have checked and said that to stop the smell from spreading further, besides waiting for winter, another problem is that they must find a way to send people in to cut away the rotten parts of those who are cursed."
As he spoke, he knelt solemnly before Yue Zhiyin, Qi Yu, and Si Qing.
"The disciples of our sects have suffered heavy casualties recently. We are truly powerless. We beg the Dragon Kings, immortal masters, and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor for mercy and to help us one more time."
Si Qing did not answer immediately. He secretly tugged at Qi Yu's hand and whispered, "Sister, don't agree so easily. Although you've recovered, this curse still affects us. Once we're scratched, we'll be infected by the curse too."
Qi Yu's heart sank.
She tightly clenched An Nuo and Si Qing's sleeves with both hands.