After that, Bai Chan stayed completely still, its tiny body barely visible within the chamber. The layer of chaotic energy covering its pearly body wasn't withdrawn and instead continued to circulate slowly, acting as a filter to catch any lingering toxins. After another short while passed in tense silence, Jian Dan finally spread the chaotic energy outward again and instructed Shou Chan.
"Bai Chan can come out now."
Shou Chan had maintained constant, focused contact with her bonded spirit pet through their mental link the entire time. The moment she heard Jian Dan speak, she immediately relayed the order to return.
Three breaths later, at the position of Jia Yushu's dantian, the small white spirit gu appeared, its tiny legs moving rhythmically. As soon as Jian Dan opened a small gap in her energy barrier, the little thing rushed out of the dantian with surprising speed. This time, though, its once-pearly body had taken on a faint, translucent green tint from the energy it had consumed.
"Shou Chan, don't let Bai Chan enter your body to be nurtured just yet. Let her stay in the spirit beast pouch first. After she fully refines those things she ate, you can bring her back into your body safely," Jian Dan warned.
Shou Chan had already noticed the subtle changes in her bonded spirit gu's aura and naturally understood the reason for the cautious instruction.
"Yes, Shou Chan remembers. I will help Bai Chan refine those poisonous insects first," she replied. She immediately took out a palm-sized spirit beast pouch made of soft, enchanted leather, likely one she had prepared specifically for the Bai Chan's rest. The insect didn't resist the move at all and crawled inside the pouch on her own, appearing quite lethargic.
"You can leave the inner chamber first and give the family the news," Jian Dan said.
Ancestor Jia Zhēnzūn had already discussed the necessary steps with Jian Dan earlier and knew Shou Chan's specific task was complete. He raised his hand, opening a shimmering gap in his golden domain to let the girl leave first.
Shou Chan cupped her hands in a respectful salute and passed through the barrier, exiting the inner chamber to find the waiting crowd.
Once the domain closed again with a low hum, the real, crucial part of the procedure finally began.
With a precise flick of her hand, Jian Dan took out a carved brocade box from her storage. She removed the protective seal with a wordless command and brought out the Chaos Pearl she had nurtured throughout the previous night. Jia Zhēnzūn couldn't hide the flicker of surprise in his eyes when he saw the object.
This Chaos Pearl was a priceless treasure, a rare artifact that this world had naturally birthed when heaven and earth were first formed in the primordial era. There was probably only this one such pearl in the entire Lingyun Continent.
If Jia Yushu truly recovered his path this time, the Jia family would owe Tian Lu Zhēnzūn an enormous favor that could span generations. On top of that, she had already promised to bestow a complete, high-level cultivation art to him. Jia Zhēnzūn didn't press for any further details now; everything could wait until the young man recovered his strength.
Once the Chaos Pearl left the dark interior of the brocade box, it floated steadily in front of Jian Dan's chest. Since she possessed a chaos spirit root and shared the same spiritual origin, the pearl naturally felt close to her and pulsed with a gentle, rhythmic light.
Jian Dan then controlled the Chaos Pearl with her divine sense, guiding it carefully into Jia Yushu's body. The pearl traveled through his meridians, slowly arriving at the dark, empty black void left behind after the wood spirit root had been dissolved by the pest.
The moment the Chaos Pearl entered the void, it began merging with his flesh and bone on its own, drawn in by the body's natural need for a foundation. This was the critical moment of the entire process. The aura around Jia Yushu started to fluctuate wildly, and his cultivation level began to show clear signs of dropping as the old foundations crumbled to make room for the new.
Jian Dan made a swift decision and slowly injected her own chaotic energy into the site, speeding up the fusion between the artificial spirit root and his living flesh. It was like planting a young, fragile sapling in fertile earth and watering it with the utmost care. The steady, controlled flow of chaotic energy allowed the Chaos Pearl to fuse faster and gradually take root deep within his dantian.
This was a long, arduous process that required steady, uninterrupted nurturing of every fiber. Jian Dan didn't rush the fusion at all and patiently nourished the connection bit by bit with her chaotic energy, beads of sweat eventually forming on her brow.
At the same time, she split her focus with practiced ease. Using complex hand seals, she guided a thread of chaotic energy as a lead, slowly converting the remaining wood attribute energy inside the young man into pure chaotic energy. She also circulated this new energy according to the ancient paths of the Primordial Chaos Art, imprinting his meridians with that specific pattern so he could continue the work himself.
This delicate nurturing lasted for a full ten days. The people waiting outside in the hall grew increasingly anxious with each passing hour, but no one dared to disturb the silence of the inner chamber.
Ten days earlier, after Shou Chan had first come out, she explained to everyone that the malicious substance dissolving the spirit root had already been devoured by her spirit pet. As for the replanting of the new spirit root, she had explained that she couldn't help with that divine part of the process, so the two Zhēnzūn had let her come out first to deliver the news and reassure the family.
"My spirit pet told me that when she devoured the dissolving substance, Tian Lu Zhēnzūn controlled the energy throughout the process very precisely. Jia Daoyou's dantian wasn't damaged at all by the pest, so the chances of a full success are very high," Shou Chan had said. She made a point of explaining this clearly to his parents to ease their visible suffering.
"Thank you for helping him, Shou Chan Xiaoyou," they replied. Although they were both still extremely anxious, they still expressed their sincere gratitude to the young guest.
"You're too polite, Seniors," she had answered. After that exchange, the reception hall had fallen into a heavy silence again as everyone waited for the final, definitive news from the inner chamber.
Inside the chamber, after ten uninterrupted days of focused nurturing, Jian Dan finally helped the Chaos Pearl fully merge with the young man's body. The new root even showed signs of slowly growing stronger on its own. By now, all of the wood attribute energy in his body had already been successfully converted into chaotic energy.
Although his cultivation level had dropped during the transformation, it only fell back to the early Golden Core stage, which was far better than the previously estimated outcome of losing all his cultivation and becoming a mortal again.
During the conversion process, she discovered that because the chaotic energy she cultivated was extremely pure and dense, converting his former Nascent Soul level wood energy only resulted in a smaller volume of early Golden Core level chaotic cultivation.
Jia Zhēnzūn saw everything clearly from his position. He watched as she and the young man formed a circulating loop of energy, and then watched as his descendant's cultivation began to drop bit by bit. His heart clenched in his chest, and he had already prepared a top-grade lifespan-extending pill in his hand just in case.
If the cultivation fell below the Foundation Establishment stage, he would immediately feed him the pill; otherwise, the young man would age to death in a matter of days due to his true age exceeding a mortal's lifespan.
He watched the process closely, his eyes never leaving the bed. Fortunately, Jian Dan's aura remained steady and powerful the entire time. Over the last two days of the vigil, the rate of decline slowed more and more, finally stopping firmly at the early Golden Core stage. It didn't drop any further, but the Ancestor still didn't relax his guard.
Jian Dan finally opened her eyes, withdrew her divine sense, and pulled back both streams of energy into her own body. She let out a soft, weary breath. She smiled at Jia Zhēnzūn, who had been staring at them without blinking for days, and spoke.
"I didn't fail your trust. The spirit root has been replanted, and after these ten days of constant nurturing, it is fully fused with his body."
The Ancestor's eyes lit up with profound relief. He cupped his hands in delight, his previous tension vanishing.
"Many thanks, Senior Sister Tian Lu. My Jia family owes you a great favor for this life-saving act." He then waved his hand and withdrew the spiritual vines that had bound the young man to the bed earlier.
Jian Dan snapped her fingers with a crisp sound, and Jia Yushu slowly woke up from his deep, induced sleep. The first thing he saw when his vision cleared was the smiling faces of the two Zhēnzūn looking down at him. He immediately inspected his internal condition with his divine sense and found that his dantian was completely intact. At the very bottom of the void, a new spirit root had formed, shimmering beautifully with the shifting colors of all five elements.
"Zhēnzūn..."