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Li Che quickly returned to the topic of repairing inner cores: “The books say it’s possible to repair inner cores, but what about cases like Yan Xuan’s, where the inner core is completely destroyed?”
Meng Qi squinted her eyes, “And the injuries to his meridians and spiritual sea.”
“Yes,” Li Che nodded. “Yan Xuan has been injured for over a year. His spiritual sea and inner core were one thing, but the injuries on his meridian injuries shouldn’t be hard to treat. Why haven’t they healed?”
“Jingyuetian is in the Western Realm where Feng Alliance is located. Yan Xuan was injured protecting the Western Realm, and he’s the only son of Jingyuetian’s sect leader. Considering his status, the Feng Alliance would have tried their best to heal him. They might be powerless to restore his inner core, but should have a Stardust Stone to treat his spiritual sea, let alone his meridians.”
“Could there be something we’ve overlooked?” Li Che returned to Yan Xuan’s side and produced a palm-sized jade pendant from his storage pouch. The jade pendant was made entirely of yellow jade, with a hollow center carved into the shape of a wave. The simple yet ancient design gave it an elegant charm. “This is the Canglang Jade Pendant my master gave me before we came to Jingyuetian,” he said. “It’s an ancient relic passed down from generation to generation in our sect, capable of observing all of a cultivator’s meridians and the flow of their aura.”
Meng Qi knelt down on the other side of Yan Xuan, took the Canglang Jade Pendant handed over by Li Che, and examined it.
“This Canglang Jade Pendant must be used with the Canglang Spell, a secret spell that is part of our sect legacy,” Li Che said, retrieving the pendant. “When my master gave me the pendant, he also taught me the corresponding spell.” As he spoke, he placed the pendant on Yan Xuan’s chest and pointed two fingers at the forehead. A faint light emerged from the pendant, enveloping Yan Xuan entirely. Li Che closed his eyes, and in a short time, sweat appeared on his forehead.
After about half an incense stick of time, Li Che withdrew his fingers and exhaled slowly, his face paler than before. A few strands of hair were stuck to his pale, sweated sweat. His arm trembled as he tried to reach for the jade pendant, but his body swayed and he collapsed backward, landing on the grass.
Even in the declining Southern Realm, these ancient sects that have survived for thousands of years always have some secret techniques and treasures unknown to outsiders. Meng Qi could tell at a glance that Li Che had exhausted his aura and quickly handed him two Beiming Pills. After he recovered a bit, she asked, “How is it?”
“All his meridians have been completely severed and torn apart but then forcibly reconnected. The reconnection is very rough, which is why it looks like there are many fine, narrow cuts from sharp blades,” Li Che said, struggling to sit up even after taking the Beiming Pills. “His spiritual sea was also completely shattered and pieced back together in the same crude manner—that’s why there are so many fine cracks.”
“What?” Meng Qi was taken aback.
Li Che’s voice was slightly hoarse. “What shattered his spiritual sea must have been countless sharp blades,” he said in a low tone. “In other words, someone deliberately cut Yan Xuan’s spiritual sea into pieces and severed his meridians inch by inch.”
“…” Meng Qi’s eyes widened in shock.
“They…” Li Che’s voice grew bitter, “were they torturing him on purpose?”
For an ordinary cultivator, even a small crack in their spiritual sea would cause unbearable pain. Meng Qi couldn’t imagine the agony of having the spiritual sea cut into pieces—it must be worse than having flesh sliced off their body, doubly so when the same torture was also applied to the meridians.
“What exactly happened back then?” Li Che murmured, half talking to Meng Qi, half to himself.
“If his inner core was simply damaged due to the extreme depletion of aura, his spiritual sea and meridians wouldn’t have these kinds of injuries. And if a medical cultivator had treated him, it wouldn’t have been done so crudely.”
“In other words, those devil cultivators intentionally severed his meridians, shattered his spiritual sea, and then crudely pieced them back together,” Meng Qi said.
“Yes,” Li Che lowered his eyes. He wasn’t close to Yan Xuan, but hearing about how he had been treated filled him with a deep sadness. “Such pain, I think even a Comprehending Perfection cultivator would find it unbearable. They… they were torturing him on purpose!”
Meng Qi gently acknowledged with a “hmm” and after a moment, said softly, “After he was brought back to Jingyuetian, the medical treatment would require breaking and reconnecting each meridian and reopening the spiritual sea. But Yan Xuan’s inner core was already destroyed, so he couldn’t…” Her voice became heavy, “He couldn’t endure a second round of such pain.”
“Right,” Li Che nodded.
“That’s why Yan Xuan’s cultivation level gradually declined until he became weaker than a Qi Condensation cultivator,” Meng Qi said solemnly. “Those devil cultivators didn’t kill him because this humiliation is more painful than death.”
“Yeah…” Li Che glanced at the unconscious Yan Xuan, his eyes filled with sympathy. He wasn’t a prodigy, but he was cherished and valued by his master at Canglang Academy. Imagining himself in Yang Xuan’s shoes, tortured so badly to the point of losing the ability to cultivate, gradually falling from the best among the disciples to the worst… he’d probably rather die.
Especially for someone like Yan Xuan, who was supposed to be the top genius of his generation. He was once the only son of the sect leader of Jingyuetian, truly a favored child of the heavens. Such a drastic fall, even if his elders and peers pitied, respected, and treated him well, it must be incredibly hard for him to bear.
Who knows how he endured this past year with such injuries?
“I see…” Meng Qi murmured.
“What?” Li Che was puzzled.
“No wonder Yan Xuan later left Jingyuetian,” Meng Qi said. “The sympathy and pity from the people in the sect probably made his suffering even worse.”
“Yeah.”
“But…” Meng Qi couldn’t understand, “Yan Xuan suffered such severe injuries and torture. Was he captured by the devil cultivators? But the rumors said he fought fiercely for three days and nights, never yielding an inch.”
“He is the young sect master of Jingyuetian,” Li Che said after a moment of hesitation.
“Oh.” Meng Qi nodded and repeated, “I see.”
Li Che smiled bitterly and added, “Actually, his spiritual sea and meridian are not entirely hopeless. If we break each of his meridians again, shatter his spiritual sea, and then treat him properly, at least his cultivation level wouldn’t decline.” He looked up and met Meng Qi’s clear eyes, saying hoarsely, “But in the Three Thousand Worlds, no medical cultivator dares to do that.”
He continued, “Because the process is too painful! Yan Xuan’s inner core is already destroyed, and if he can’t endure the pain of the treatment, he might die. Yan Xuan is still the young master of Jingyuetian, regardless of his current situation. If he dies during the treatment, no medical cultivator or sect dared to bear the consequences. They wouldn’t take the risk!”
“…I understand,” Meng Qi murmured. After a moment of silence, she straightened her back and looked at Li Che, “First, let’s heal his spiritual sea and meridian injuries.”
“Are you sure?” Li Che asked. “If he dies…”
“He won’t,” Meng Qi said with unwavering certainty. “He can endure it.”
“But what if…” Li Che hesitated.
“There is no ‘what if,’” Meng Qi said. “If he couldn’t endure such pain, he would have died from the initial torture. He’s still alive now, so he will get through this.”
“But…”
“No but either,” Meng Qi said, opening her hand to reveal a golden lotus blooming in her palm. “Besides, I have the Karmic Fire Red Lotus.” She placed the golden lotus on Yan Xuan’s chest without hesitation. “It can save his life.”
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