Meanwhile, somewhere inside the Seven Emotions Array, the sky that was previously clear and cloudless suddenly produced a subtle ‘pop’ sound. Wisps of clouds appeared in the sky, emerging so quickly that they vanished in an instant like a gentle breeze brushing past, not enough to catch anyone’s attention.
However, at the peak of the central mountain of the Ten Absolute Mountains, the trio suddenly fell silent. Surrounding their mountain peak were ten towering peaks, like stars encircling the moon. These ten peaks were like sharp blades, tall, steep, and majestically piercing the sky. At that moment, one of the peaks gradually became shrouded in mist. When the mist dissipated, what was previously a barren mountain covered only in rocks was now sprouting trees and grass.
“Huh?” The black-robed sword cultivator stood up, staring in disbelief at that peak. “This is…” he muttered as he took a few quick steps in that direction.
In truth, the peak they were on wasn’t very large, and there was some distance between them and the surrounding ten peaks. Even as he moved closer, the black-robed sword cultivator couldn’t get much nearer—it was just a gesture.
“This is…” he repeated, “Could it really be this time…” He turned to his two colleagues, “Did you see that?”
“Yes,” the female cultivator in red nodded, also stepping closer to the mountain. She stared at the peak in a daze, then looked up at the sky. “The mist… it’s as if someone has touched the Dao…”
“Someone?” The black-robed sword cultivator abruptly turned around. He frowned deeply, “Who? The little girl? No, that can’t be… or is it that foolish boy?”
Though he was asking, he didn’t wait for anyone else to answer. Before the female cultivator in red could speak, he continued, “It can’t be that foolish boy! He’s the most untalented cultivator I’ve ever seen. Foolish and clumsy… foolish and clumsy? Foolish and clumsy?! He…”
The black-robed sword cultivator repeated these words a few more times, then turned to his two colleagues again.
“Could it really be him?!” he exclaimed in disbelief, “I’d rather believe it’s the little girl!”
The female cultivator in red seemed deep in thought but said nothing.
“Hey!” The black-robed sword cultivator finally couldn’t contain himself and jumped to the white-haired medical cultivator’s side. “You’re a medical cultivator too. Tell me, is it really him?”
“If I had to choose…” The white-haired medical cultivator began slowly, “Between these two, if I had to take one as my disciple… no!” He shook his head and continued, “Among all the cultivators who have entered the Ten Absolute Mountains over the past ten thousand years, if I had to choose one to take as a disciple, I would choose this ‘foolish boy’ that you look down on.”
The black-robed sword cultivator was completely stunned. He looked into the white-haired medical cultivator’s eyes, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But the man’s gaze was as clear and calm as water, just as it had been when they first met. The ten thousand years trapped here had only made the black-robed sword cultivator’s already fiery temper more volatile, and yet this person had remained the same, his mild and gentle nature as unchanging as ever, just as it had been when they first met. It was exactly this personality of his that had always irritated the black-robed sword cultivator.
Just then, not far from the one that had been shrouded in mist earlier, another peak suddenly became enveloped in clouds, transforming into something that resembled an immortal paradise.
This time, the black-robed sword cultivator truly jumped up. He didn’t even bother to ask the white-haired medical cultivator why he would choose Li Che, instead pointing at the second peak, his finger trembling slightly. “W-what… what on earth…”
In ten thousand years, such occurrences were not unheard of. Usually, when one peak became shrouded in mist, it would take a long time, often until the Ten Absolute Mountains were about to close and return to silence before a second peak might occasionally become similarly enshrouded.
But to see two peaks lift their seals in such a short time… that was something he had never seen before.
This time, it wasn’t just the black-robed sword cultivator who was stunned. The white-haired medical cultivator and the female cultivator in red were also taken aback. They exchanged glances, and their gazes naturally drifted toward the distant Seven Emotions Array, falling on Meng Qi and Li Che.
The two were still crouched on the ground. Meng Qi was carefully explaining how to draw the array, demonstrating with the knife as she spoke. She wasn’t holding anything back; she genuinely wanted to teach Li Che.
“Meng Qiqi,” Li Che said after yet another failed attempt, shaking his head. “I’m afraid it won’t work.” He frowned, his tone resolute. “Even if I eventually learn it, we don’t have that much time.”
“Li Che…”
“Let me finish,” Li Che interrupted, waving his hand. “And this is completely different from the Hundred Ghosts and Hundred Phantoms array. Even if I manage to learn it, I’ll still have to split my spiritual consciousness to control two arrays and retrieve the Netherworld Thorn and the Stardust Stone… Meng Qiqi, how long do you think it would take me to reach that level?”
Meng Qi remained silent.
Li Che let out a small chuckle, then suddenly reached out and ruffled Meng Qi’s hair. “You also think this is a long and arduous task, don’t you?”
Meng Qi said nothing.
Li Che sighed with a bitter smile. “My talent is limited. This method clearly won’t work, so let’s think of something else.” As he spoke, both of them turned to look at the creek flowing peacefully nearby. In the sunlight, the Stardust Stones in the creek shimmered with tiny golden glimmers. Right on the bank, the extremely rare Netherworld Thorns, prized across the Three Realms, were scattered in large patches.
Even though the rare treasures were right in front of them and they finally had a way to heal Yan Xuan, they were forced to watch helplessly due to their lack of cultivation and talent.
It was… truly painful!
“Let’s think again…” With this thought, even Li Che couldn’t remain calm. He paced back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, trying hard to recall anything he had read in medical texts that might help him remember more about the Stardust Stone and Netherworld Thorn.
“Alas…” Li Che sighed deeply, “You never realize how little you’ve read until you need it. If only we could access the sect’s library right now!”
“Hmm?” Meng Qi paused, then suddenly remembered, “I still have some bamboo and jade slips…” As she spoke, she quickly pulled out the medical bamboo slips she had borrowed earlier from the Heaven and Earth Bookhall from her storage pouch.
“Maybe we can find something useful,” she stated, handing half of them to Li Che. “Let’s split them.”
“Oh, right!” She suddenly remembered, “I also have this medical notes.” As she spoke, she focused her mind on her spiritual sea. Above her spiritual sea, a bamboo scroll wrapped in aura glowed faintly. It was the medical notes left to her by Senior Lin Yan, and some of its contents remained unread.
Excuse me, Senior Lin Yan.
Meng Qi silently apologized: Please forgive me for any offense, but healing Yan Xuan is more important.
Until now, Meng Qi had only read what the notes allowed her to see. Always holding deep respect and reverence for Lin Yan, she had never dared to act disrespectfully. But at this moment, she gently extended a thread of her spiritual sense toward the notes.
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Translator’s Note:
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