Drops of sweat gradually dripped on Meng Qi’s forehead. Using medical spells consumed a significant amount of aura, and the reconnecting spell in particular was a relatively high-level spell. Prolonged use was quite draining for Meng Qi’s Nascent Soul cultivation. Moreover, she was reconnecting all the meridians in Yan Xuan’s body.
A cultivator had twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians, for a total of twenty. The devil cultivators whom Yan Xuan faced seemed intent on torturing him, cutting into every meridian in his body and leaving none intact. Fortunately, Meng Qi was prepared, having several Beiming Pills in her mouth. The effects of the Beiming Pills quickly took hold, replenishing her gradually drying spiritual sea.
Neither Meng Qi nor Li Che spoke. Everything seemed serene and peaceful. The entire world seemed to be filled only with the sounds of the wind and the flowing stream.
…
At the same time, on a distant cliff, the black-robed sword cultivator lazily sat at the edge of the cliff. A cold smile played on his lips, giving him a somewhat sinister handsomeness. Behind him stood a white-haired man, whose eyes were fixed on Meng Qi and Li Che.
“Not enough,” the black-robed sword cultivator suddenly muttered. Stretching lazily, he said, “That little girl’s aura isn’t nearly enough.”
“Hey.” He turned his head to the white-haired man, eyes full of schadenfreude, “If they stop midway, wouldn’t all their efforts be wasted?”
“There is a way…” The white-haired man was so focused on watching that he didn’t bother to argue with the sword cultivator, “It’s just…”
“Oh?” the black-robed sword cultivator asked with interest, “What way?”
“She practices both medical and array cultivations. If her aura is insufficient, she can use an array to help restore it,” the white-haired man said. “But unlike before when she used the array to assist in breaking the jade slip, now the aura would be channeled directly into her meridians. The pain would be equal to having her meridians severed.”
“I know the method you’re talking about, hehehe,” the black-robed sword cultivator laughed maliciously, “That little girl looks delicate and frail, she won’t be able to endure such pain.”
The white-haired man said nothing. Such pain was indeed hard to bear, and the girl looked tender enough that she might cry out in pain over a small cut. There was no way she could endure—… huh, wait?!
The white-haired man’s eyes widened suddenly. He subconsciously took a step forward, one foot already over the edge of the cliff. The mountain wind fluttered the hem of his robe, but he seemed oblivious, still standing steadily at the cliff’s edge, staring ahead in surprise.
“Tsk…” Even the black-robed sword cultivator sighed softly, seemingly surprised, perhaps even admiring.
…
At this moment, Meng Qi had already set down her knife with her left hand. Just now, she had quickly carved an array around herself, encircling her perfectly. After setting down the knife, she flicked out a few spirit stones. The freshly drawn array lit up instantly, and several streams of aura flowed through Meng Qi’s meridians right into her drying spiritual sea.
The light of the array seemed to illuminate her eyes. Her gaze became brighter than before, though her body trembled slightly. Meng Qi’s right hand, however, remained steady. Whether drawing the array or flicking out the spirit stones, her right hand never wavered, continuously repeating its tasks.
“Meng Qiqi,” Li Che quickly glanced up at her.
“Continue,” Meng Qi nodded lightly.
Time seemed to pass both quickly and slowly. The wind blew through Meng Qi’s hair, drying the sweat on her forehead.
Li Che’s hand finally reached Yan Xuan’s lower abdomen. “Spiritual sea,” he reminded Meng Qi.
“Okay.”
The meridians ultimately converge in the spiritual sea—here was the most dangerous and complicated part.
Meng Qi took a deep breath. The ice silk had left deep red marks on her fingertips. There was a small piece of reconnecting balm left, which she drove with her aura to merge with the final piece of ice silk. Her gaze was clear, focused solely on the point at her fingertips.
Li Che’s movement was as swift as the wind. His fingers nimbly gliding around Yan Xuan’s spiritual sea. Meng Qi immediately followed; her fingers lightly tapping, guiding the ice silk into Yan Xuan’s skin, reconnecting the meridians one by one.
“Ugh…” The unconscious man groaned softly, his fingers curling by his side. His black robe was soaked with sweat, and a few strands of black hair clung to his face, but a faint flush finally returned to his pale face.
Meng Qi finally released her hand and fell onto the grass. Her entire body sprawled out, unable to move even a finger. The sharp aura from the spirit stones, though not truly hurting her, had caused unbearable pain as if countless small knives were cutting through her meridians and into her spiritual sea.
“Meng Qiqi,” Li Che moved around Yan Xuan and bent down to look at her with concern, “Are you okay?”
“No…” Meng Qi was completely drained, even speaking was an effort, “Bei…” She gasped, barely moving her fingers.
“Beiming Pill?” Li Che quickly produced a small bottle, “I have some gentler Huayang Pills here.” As he spoke, he swiftly placed a few light blue pills into Meng Qi’s mouth. The bitter medicinal scent spread in her mouth, and after a moment, Meng Qi finally felt alive again.
“Thank you,” she struggled to sit up.
Seeing this, Li Che quickly helped her up.
“It’s still too hard for me,” Meng Qi exhaled, “My cultivation is still too low.” She glanced at her palm, a bit frustrated. This was only possible because they were in the Seven Emotions Array and Li Che was with her. If they were elsewhere with enemies around, with her current cultivation level, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“You’re already doing great.” A warm hand fell on Meng Qi’s head, and she felt Li Che ruffling her hair. He wasn’t usually this forward and always maintained propriety. But seeing the usually composed and serious Meng Qi looking so frustrated, he couldn’t help but want to comfort her, “Really! You’re much better than I am.”
Meng Qi smiled at him and sat up, “But we succeeded.”
“Yes,” Li Che also brightened up, “We succeeded.” He recalled their coordination just now and felt another joy, “We worked really well together!”
“Mhm.” Meng Qi slowly stood up, putting another Beiming Pill into her mouth, and walked towards Yan Xuan.
“I’ve already checked,” Li Che quickly said, “The meridians are reconnected perfectly, as expected of the fifth realm reconnecting spell!” He paused and added, “Once the reconnecting balm is fully absorbed, his meridian injuries will be healed.”
“Okay.” Meng Qi bent down and removed the Karmic Fire Red Lotus from Yan Xuan’s forehead. The transparent flames on the lotus had become fainter as if they would extinguish with the slightest breeze.
This was concerning. The medical cultivators who had attempted to heal Yan Xuan had all worried that he might not withstand the pain of reconnecting his meridians and reconstructing his spiritual sea, and their concerns weren’t unfounded. The pain was indeed unbearable, especially for someone who had lost his cultivation.
She and Li Che had barely helped Yan Xuan survive the first stage of treatment with the Karmic Fire Red Lotus. They had to reconstruct his spiritual sea next, but could this lotus hold out until the end?
Glancing at the lotus in her palm, Meng Qi’s brows furrowed in hesitation.
“If the spiritual sea also needs to be shattered and reconstructed,” Li Che realized the same problem, “then this Karmic Fire Red Lotus might not…”
“Yes.” Meng Qi nodded, “We need to think of a solution.”
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but with only her and Li Che in this isolated Seven Emotions Array, it was truly a difficult situation.
Li Che also bowed his head in thought.
“Jiuhuaiyang Pill…” He paced around Yan Xuan, muttering to himself. Li Che soon shook his head, dismissing the idea, “No, no, that’s far from enough.” He turned around and looked at Meng Qi, who was standing quietly.
The blue-robed girl had her hair simply tied up, exposing her long neck.
“Meng Qiqi!” Li Che suddenly became excited, “I have an idea!”
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