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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 280: Klüver-Bucy Syndrome
🕑 Added 2025-04-11 22:30:01 +0000 UTCWhile cultivation deviation didn’t exist back in Li Lang’s old world, it wasn’t the first time he had seen damage to the brain like the deviator had.
Mother Nature was both beautiful and dangerous. Numerous things could kill you in countless ways. While Li Lang didn’t know the cause for now, he still had a few ideas on how to treat brain damage, particularly in the amygdala and hippocampus.
When he saw the results of the auto-analyzer, a certain neurological disorder came to mind, one by the name of Klüver-Bucy Syndrome. There were many causes for it, such as severe head trauma, herpes simplex encephalitis, strokes, or several neurodegenerative diseases. Either way, it didn’t change how it affected people suffering from this syndrome.
The compromised amygdala made the patient unable to properly regulate their emotions, fear response, and aggression. Damage to the hippocampus caused difficulty in forming new memories and navigating familiar environments.
Hmm, the Recovery Pills didn’t help restore the brain structure and regenerate the tissues. The scans show no DNA damage, but instead show this is how it’s supposed to be. Does this mean the anomalies in the meridians caused the change or something else?
While Li Lang didn’t know how to cure this condition, he did know the chemical synthesis pathway to create the drug that could temporarily stabilize the patient. Still, he usually still wouldn’t be able to synthesize it due to the lack of equipment and support of an entire industrial base, but he had been thinking ever since he had learned all five crafts.
He could now be regarded as a True Craftsman. Despite having a limited understanding of all five crafts, the hints he received from his five-element cultivation technique got him thinking. The relationship between the five elements was special. He was starting to suspect the title of True Craftsmen wasn’t just for show. There was a possibility it opened up the doors to new possibilities, something he wanted to explore.
To create Neuraflux, I’ll need a synthetic peptide analog that modulates limbic system feedback loops. Then, something to temporarily bind it to the damaged amygdala pathways and restore inhibition threshold. Lastly, something to allow the drug to pass through the blood-brain barrier quickly. So basically Syntheocetine-9, Fluxorin-B, and Nerualine Gel Suspension.
Is that something I can do with my current techniques?
Li Lang’s eyes wandered back to his lab. Now that he had more time to spare due to Ruby’s recent upgrades, he had more often indulged in his curiosities. He proceeded to test out his crafting techniques from the five life professions to see if they could synthesize what he needed.
Thankfully, he had already logged the material makeup of everything that had ever been recorded by Ruby. It wasn’t that hard to find the base materials. Even if he didn’t have exactly what he needed, the woodsmithing skills allowed him to alter the makeup of any plant or tree, given some time.
Brushweaving manipulated liquids with ease while artificing could shape metals as he liked. The usefulness of alchemy techniques was a given. The only issue he foresaw was the lengthy amount of time woodsmithing techniques required to bloom. However, formations could address this weakness, given they were on a powerful ley line. With adequate power, formations could not only create artificial realms, but also shorten the growth time of flora.
It seems like everything is leading back to finding ourselves a good place to settle down.
Having hit a roadblock, Li Lang soon decided to return to his companions. They were still in the midst of searching through the wilderness, so it would be rude of him to leave everything up to them. Convinced that his motives were pure, Li Lang’s figure emerged from the Crucible he had set inside the Skyrunner.
“How’s it going?” he called out to Long Yi, who was steering the vehicle.
“Huh, did you have enough of studying your test subjects already? Hate to say, but we haven’t found traces of any other deviator since that last group earlier.”
“Group?” Li Lang paused for a second before realizing he hadn’t checked in with his students before leaving, so it was understandable he could have missed the new prisoners they captured. “Never mind. I’m not interested in our progress with finding a place to settle down. Any of those deviators settle in someplace good?”
“No, and Jun Ziyan says we likely won’t be in luck, either. All these deviators are either too stupid or too cautious to settle down in hotspots, she says.”
“Things can’t be this easy, I guess.”
The two said nothing and enjoyed the scenery for some time. Unbeknownst to LI Lang, morning had arrived during his time in the Crucible. He noticed the Sword Saint disciples on the roof of the carriage, standing guard on their flanks while Wei Ping was up there as well.
“So?” Long Yi blurted out. “Did you manage to get our priso—test subjects to aid us in our search? We’ve been putting off those hot spots on the ley line for them, you know.”
“No, they’re not capable of making deals yet, if that’s what you’re asking. However, my plan doesn’t need their clarity of mind. We can get them to help us now, though. How many of them were there again?”
Long Yi gave him a strange look before answering.
“Four, I think, five, including the one we first found. But how are you getting them to help? You’re not just going to send them out where there’re likely several Violet Core equivalent Qi beasts, are you? I’m not sure you should send them to their deaths like that.”
“No, no. I don’t like unnecessary loss of life any more than you do. We’ll just be using them as bait, that’s all. It’ll allow us to scout out the local Qi beasts, and if any are too strong for our minders to handle, we go somewhere else.
“What?” Long Yi called out, seemingly more confused than before.
“Just watch.”
And then Li Lang was gone. Back in the Crucible to fetch the lures. Within a few minutes, Long Yi watched with wide eyes as one of the deviators they captured was thrown off the Skyrunner. Of course, not without any protection. A sturdy rope bound their entire torso. The rope kept being pulled down beside Long Yi until it finally tightened.
“Is this your grand idea?” Long Yi cried out.
His outburst had caught the attention of the group standing on the roof. They glanced down to find Long Yi staring down at the ground, where a man was being hung off of their transport. The man was unconscious while almost grazing the tops of the trees below.
“Come on,” Li Lang called out. “Lower him some more and slow down. Time to scout out the area.”
“Umm, we’re not at the hot spot yet.”
“Oh, my bad.”
The young scientist then nonchalantly began pulling the unconscious deviator back up. His companions almost felt sorry for how roughly the man was being handled, but they knew he was a mindless deviator. Still, there was an awkward mood in the air as they watched.
Thankfully, Li Lang wasn’t blind to this. Once he retrieved his valuable test subject, he noticed his companions’ gazes.
“Don’t worry about it, guys. Despite how it looks, it’s—um, called bungee jumping. Some people find it quite fun, I believe.”
“You believe?” Jun Ziyan retorted in disbelief.
“What? You want to try?”
The woman quickly shook her head repeatedly, and the others quickly looked away.
***
A week passed by as Li Lang’s group continued their search for a suitable place to settle down. They had explored dozens of hot spots every day, but unfortunately, none of them met their requirements. They either had strong Qi beasts standing guard or had a high population of Qi beasts constantly fighting. The latter would take the assistance of either more people or a Violet Core elder to help clear the land.
“It’s li-likely everywhere else is the same,” Wei Ping commented as the group came to a rest for lunch, having reached the western coast. “I think we n-need to come up with a plan to deal with the Qi be-beasts ourselves or find help.”
“Hmm, I don’t think there are many independent cultivators in the Violet Core Realm around,” Jun Ziyan said. “Most who reach such a stage begin forming their own sect or organization, even if they’re feeble, small powers.”
“Come on, guys,” Long Yi cheered. “There’s still a chance we can find a perfect spot if we go further north or south. We only searched the spine of the wilderness. No need to give up so soon. Right, Li Lang?”
The man in question slowly nodded upon being elbowed. His gaze fixed on the ocean.
“I don’t t-think that’s a good idea. The other areas outside of the spine are a l-lot more likely to host aerial Qi beasts. We’ve been escaping f-from Saint-level Qi beasts, thanks to the Skyrunner, but I-I don’t think we’ll be as lucky against flying ones.”
His words squashed Long Yi’s enthusiasm immediately as he recalled how stubborn the Qi beasts were.
“Maybe you’re right—That one bear chased us for almost half a day. I wouldn’t want an oversized bird to do the same.”
Just as the group fell into silence, Li Lang suddenly called out.
“Do the ley lines extend out into the ocean?”
“What—”
“I want to hear from our Sword Saint Isle friends,” Li Lang interrupted.
Jun Ziyan stared at Li Lang’s fervent gaze for a moment before nodding.
“Yes. Our island sits on one such spot.”
“Alright. Let’s go search for islands next,” Li Lang declared.
“Umm, Boss, e-even if we find a suitable island, I doubt it wou-would be any different from what we found. Qi beasts na-naturally gravitate toward the ley lines. Powerful guardians will b-be on the islands.”
“Wei Ping is right,” Long Yi agreed. “If such a defenseless island existed, someone else would’ve claimed it already. If you really fancy an island, maybe we should use the transmission jade to ask for help from either Polarity City or Sword Saint Isle first?”
“No, I want to try something first.”
Long Yi glanced around for help from the others, but none of them met his gaze. They simply stared at Li Lang with curiosity, causing Long Yi to shrug.
“You’re the boss.”
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Comments
Scrutinizer
We’ve been putting off those hot spots on the ley line /off/ for them, you know.
Scrutinizer
And then Li Lang used his Earthbending to create a miniature island over a ley line in the middle of the ocean. It'll get bigger eventually, but you have to start somewhere.
