Book 9: Chapter 29 – Waking up
“Alright. I’ll begin preparing the materials for making the medicine right away.” The Purple Thunder Emperor revealed a grin. He felt gratified to see that his descendants met his expectations. If they hadn’t, even if he was to do something for them, he would have done so with pain in his heart and inwardly feeling like it wasn’t worth it. But knowing that their descendants knew how to cherish each other, the ancestor Deities would feel happy even if they had to pay a greater price.
The Purple Thunder Emperor turned to look at Palace Head Chen. “Also, what was that about the Great Demonic God’s Avatar you mentioned earlier?”
Palace Head Chen immediately transmitted over, “Reporting to Ancestor Purple Thunder; the matter is as such…” Using every moment to the fullest, he quickly recounted the previous events. “I’ve already related this issue to Ancestor Yun Hai who said that, considering that the Sorcerer God and the Great Demonic God would make a joint effort and that even the added up faith of the entire mortal world would not be worth the price of their cooperation, the only objective they could possibly have…is the Crimson Rock Mountain.”
“Mn. Certainly, it must be the Crimson Rock Mountain,” the Purple Thunder Emperor transmitted back. “Even if they aim to take over the Crimson Rock Mountain, though, their combat powers would not give them enough of an advantage—there are many other World Deities much stronger than they are! Yet, considering that the Great Demonic God prepared a Deity Avatar, it’s clear that he was ready to descend! Deity Avatars aren’t allowed to enter the Crimson Rock Mountain, which leaves a single other possibility… they wanted to attack the Xia Clan. But why would he want to attack our clan?
“My assumption is that the Sorcerer God and the Great Demonic God wanted to cooperate and destroy our Xia Clan so they could conquer the Xia Clan World. The moment they took complete control over it, reaching the Crimson Rock Mountain would then be as easy for them as reaching into a bag. With the two of them working together, they could secure the entire world so that even if other experts sent Demigods over from the Deity World, they would very likely be unable to enter the Crimson Rock Mountain!
“With others unable to enter and the two of them occupying the world, they could gradually send over Demigods, and eventually, the Crimson Rock Mountain would inevitably fall into their hands.
“Conquering the Xia Clan is, however, not that easy. I think that other, more formidable plans, are hidden underneath! And those hidden plans would be held by the Sorcerer God, which is where they get their confidence of being able to conquer the Xia Clan World,” the Purple Thunder Emperor transmitted.
Palace Head Chen nodded. “Ancestor Yun Hai also mentioned something similar. He said that the Sorcerer God’s combat power is weaker than the Great Demonic God’s so them teaming up means that the Sorcerer God is certain to have something to rely on. And since the Great Demonic God was willing to pay the price of making a Deity Avatar, I’m afraid that what the Sorcerer God is relying on must be huge! This time around, we’ve seen the Spider Queen and the Sorcerer God’s saber…the Beast Clan must be keeping so many more secrets under wraps. The moment they are revealed, they’ll certainly have an enormous impact.”
“Why have I not been informed of this matter?” Purple Thunder Emperor asked.
“We could not confirm any of it before the attack, and it was only recently that we destroyed the Great Demonic God’s Deity Avatar,” Palace Head Chen replied. “I’ve briefly mentioned this matter to Ancestor Yun Hai before, and we agreed that after confirming the situation, we would naturally inform the other ancestors as well.”
“Mn. This matter is of extreme importance. I will discuss with the others and find a way of solving it.” The Purple Thunder Emperor frowned. The Sorcerer God and the Great Demonic God being willing to pay such enormous amounts of resources meant that they had to be relying on something great—something which the Xia Clan would not easily be able to uncover.
“There should still be time. The Great Demonic God’s Deity Avatar has been destroyed, which means a big part of their plan is now missing,” Palace Head Chen transmitted.
“Right… their plans should be delayed. They would only act out this important of a plan once they’ve fully finished their preparations. Even so, we should also begin to prepare; the more ready we are when they act, the better.” Neither the Purple Thunder Emperor, nor any of the other Deities would be willing to watched the Xia Clan be exterminated before their very eyes. Looking towards the Xue Ying lying by the side, the Purple Thunder Emperor continued, “We were fortunate to have this little doll. If not for him, they would have begun acting on their plans before we even knew of them. By then, it would have been too late to prepare…”
Xue Ying’s actions led to the Purple Thunder Emperor having a favorable impression of him, as a descendent of the Xia Clan.
“You must look after him. If his Undying Body can’t hold on any longer, use the medicine pellet to replenish his life force. Do everything you can to delay his death. I’ll send the medicine through the Temporal Temple as soon as I can.””
“Yes,” Palace Head Chen replied.
The cost of these pellets which could replenish life force was exorbitant. The price of delaying his death by just a few hours was close to 500,000 kilograms of Origin Stones. But to them, who agreed to spend the price of a Deity weapon to save Xue Ying, would such a price even matter?
……
He felt muddleheaded.
His consciousness was dusky.
All of a sudden, he vaguely felt that the pain spread throughout every part of his body was somehow reduced by a tremendous amount.
“I…”
“I, this is…”
As he gradually recovered his consciousness, he started to recall what happened previously, when he was attacked by Elder Ao Lan and the others. Despite hiding in the Mirage and being protected by the green-armored protector and the flowing metal armor, he had still been inflicted with the terrifying poison which caused him agonizing pain. The Xia Clan had then broken through the arrays, prompting the escape of Elder Ao Lan and the rest, while he lost consciousness moments after leaving the Mirage.
So bitter. Xue Ying was just barely recovering his senses when he realized that a bitter taste had spread throughout his mouth.
But the moment this bitter medicine entered his body, it suppressed the mysterious poison and reduced the pain he was feeling to a completely manageable degree.
My body, what happened to my body?
Why, why is it all…
Xue Ying took his time to inspect every part of his body, only to find an enormous issue with it.
The poison lingered within the fundamental particles forming his body, and had long since deeply rooted itself inside. While the medicine could suppress the poison, its concentration remained the same! Furthermore, his Dantian Qi sea had similarly been invaded which made it impossible to cultivate QI. The Transcendent Qi remaining inside it would most likely be slowly but surely be used up.
Where am I? Xue Ying slowly opened his eyes and he was greeted by the sight of a bed’s cotton canopy.
“Xue Ying,” a voice sounded.
Only then did Xue Ying turned towards the voice.
Two people were currently standing by the bed. These two people were Palace Head Chen and Mountain Lord He.
Xue Ying hurriedly sat up despite his body still being in pain. Still, the amount of pain was negligible now.
“Palace Head Chen, Mountain Lord He, thank you. Thank you for saving my life,” Xue Ying said.
Palace Head Chen and Mountain Lord He felt their hearts sinking.
He was thankful?
“Don’t mention it. Take this first; it’s the Hundred Bitter Restoration sent down by the Purple Thunder Emperor, one of our Xia Clan Ancestors.” Palace Head Chen passed Xue Ying a black bottle gourd. “The gourd contains a small space with enough medicine inside to last you for 200 years.””
“200 years?” Xue Ying received this black bottle gourd.
“I don’t think you understand your current situation, so I must let you know.” Palace Head Chen frowned in hesitation.
“Tell me, please.” Xue Ying listened attentively.
Palace Head Chen began his explanation, “You’ve been inflicted with a hexing poison by the name of Six Ghosts Resentment! The medicine I gave you can only suppress the poison temporarily, and as your body digests it, the poison will start acting up again. In other words… the pain you’re feeling now, since you’ve just taken the prescription, will be the mildest you’ll feel in the future.”
Xue Ying nodded. He had already sensed it. The medicine was still suppressing the poison in his body, but as its concentration began reducing gradually, the pain would start rising again.
“The more medicine you take, the more adapted the Six Ghosts Resentment will become to it. Once you finish this gourd, your death will arrive, so you must do your best drink as slowly as possible!” Palace Head Chen continued, “Theoretically, you can live for 200 years, but that’s just according to the records of the Deity world. If the pain becomes too unbearable and you drink more of it, you won’t even get to live 100 more years!”
Xue Ying fell deep in thought.
He could theoretically live for up to 200 years more, but the time would be shorter in reality?
Palace Head Chen said, “Your body and Dantian Qi sea have been poisoned, so you will not be able to cultivate your body, nor your Qi.” The reason he felt heavy was because, as he explained, Xue Ying would never be able to cultivate again, and therefore never reach the Demigod realm. He would die as a Saint..
“The pain inflicted by this hexing poison will gradually increase, making you unable to calm your heart and comprehend the Profound Mysteries.” Palace Head Chen shook his head. “We could not do anything about any of these aftereffects.”
He could no longer cultivate?
It became extremely difficult to comprehend the Profound Mysteries?
Didn’t that mean he was already a cripple?
“I’m sorry, Xue Ying. We had no other options,” Palace Head Chen said.
“There’s no need to say that, Palace Head Chen,” Xue Ying replied. “I understand.” This medicine he was holding had been sent down by the Purple Thunder Emperor. They had already done this much. Whatever the Xia Clan could do, they did. At least the Purple Thunder Emperor and the rest knew about it as well.
“A mortal can’t even live past 100 years. I’ve already lived for more than a few dozen years, and I can live for 200 more on top of that. What could I not be satisfied with?” Xue Ying continued. “Alright. I feel like going out for a walk.”
After he finished talking, the golden armor covering him circulated before returning back to the form of his original, ordinary black robe. He then walked out of the room.
As he pulled open the door…
He saw a courtyard spreading right outside the room. The warm sun was shining down on his body and over this courtyard where a sole woman garbed in indigo clothes stood. The sunlight passed through her silky hair, making it seem like the light was instead emitting from it.
So beautiful! Xue Ying revealed a grin.
He opened his mouth to say, “Jing Qiu.”
Jing Qiu turned around the moment she heard his voice. Before her was a black-robed youth with a smile on his face.
