Huai looked at Qing'er and said , " do you mind if I check your pulse ?"
Yue Qing'er raised her hand towards huai and said , " no problem ."
Huai waved his right hand sleeve the raised his two finger to send a trace of his qi towards the pulse of Qing'er.
Then closed his eyes to check the path of the qi , after a few seconds he asked , " umm , young miss do u get to someone who's withered for last couple of days ? "
This question makes a turmoil in her head , noone, noone knows the symptoms of her mother . The people only know that the sect leader of the Serene willow sect is ill.
She bowed to Huai again with teary eyes ," please please save my mother , your highness! "
Huai looked at her thinking about something then said ," it's okey , let me check her first ."
Yue Qing'er felt really happy, a 6th grade alchemist who can be revered by all in this small blue planet going to check her mother for her sake . Isn't it amazing to think that they had a single token but that token can't cure her mother but after loosing all hope someone directly asked about the symptoms just by seeing a trace of rotting qi.
Yue Qing'er nodded to huai then take him towards the sect ....
Nestled deep within the Emerald Mist Valley of the Western Region, the Serene Willow Sect is a sanctuary of ethereal beauty where the air is perpetually filled with a calming, silver fog that filters the sunlight into a soft, jade glow. The sect is built around the banks of the Spirit-Mirror Lake, where ancient, weeping willow trees with glowing, translucent leaves dip their branches into the water, acting as natural conduits for the world's spirit energy. The architecture consists of elegant, open-air pavilions made of white jade and light wood that seem to float atop the misty landscape, creating an atmosphere of profound tranquility that perfectly reflects the sect's gentle nature. However, this serene paradise now faces a grim shadow, as the surrounding vibrant greenery has begun to wither into grey, brittle husks where the Rot-Qi has started to seep into the soil, slowly choking the life out of the once-sacred grove.
In the tranquil yet somber courtyard of the Azure Willow Pavilion, five elders stood in a semi-circle around the sect leader's sickbed, their faces etched with a profound sense of helplessness. The air, once fragrant with the scent of blooming jasmine, was now thick with the sterile, bitter aroma of failed medicinal herbs and the faint, unsettling smell of dry rot. Yue Hua lay motionless, her skin possessing a terrifying, bark-like texture that crept up her neck, a stark contrast to the vibrant woman who once led them with a gentle hand. The elders, all aged men and women in flowing pale green robes, spoke in hushed, trembling tones, their voices brittle with pity as they watched the black "Final Bloom" pulsing faintly beneath the skin of her chest.
The discussion was a grim tally of their declining fortunes, centered on the devastating loss of Yue Hua's strength. "To think," whispered the eldest, his hands shaking as he adjusted a silk screen, "that our Sect Leader, a proud Golden Core level 4 powerhouse who stood as the pillar of the Emerald Mist Valley, has been hollowed out to a mere Foundation Establishment level 9." The others nodded solemnly, knowing that the Rot-Qi was not just killing her body, but actively devouring her very cultivation base as fuel. They looked upon her fallen realm as a death sentence for the sect itself; without her Golden Core to anchor their protective arrays, they were a house of glass waiting to be shattered by the winds of the Western Region.
The silence of the courtyard was shattered as Yue Qing'er burst in, her face flushed with a mix of exhaustion and frantic hope. Behind her stepped a youth whose every movement exuded an aura of celestial calm, his white robes fluttering like trapped clouds. The five elders looked up in confusion, their grief momentarily replaced by suspicion at the sight of a stranger entering their Sect Leader's private sanctuary during such a dire hour.
One by one, Qing'er introduced the elders to the visitor, but the atmosphere shifted from curiosity to sheer disbelief as she revealed his identity. When she announced that this youth was the new Sect Master of the legendary Eternal Sect, the elders felt as if they had been struck by lightning. Their faces turned pale; they had heard rumors of the Li family's sudden destruction, but they never imagined the architect of that massacre would look like a 17-year-old immortal.
The shocks didn't end there, as Qing'er revealed his dual status as a Human Federation Inspector and a 6th-grade Alchemist. The elders became completely numb, their minds failing to process the "bombs" she was dropping. They stood like statues, staring at Huai's jade token—the very symbol of authority that could decide the fate of entire planets. The realization that a divine-level figure was standing in their humble courtyard, looking at their dying leader, left them breathless and trembling.
Elder Mu Ran (The First Elder, foundation establishment peak) A stern but compassionate old man with a long white beard. He is the Head of Sect Affairs and the one who whispered about the Sect Leader's fallen cultivation. Said in reverence, " Thankyou your highness for coming to our humble abode, if the sect master was not ill we'd have a great feast ,but now..." Just by saying this his face become sad ...
Huai looked at him then said , " let me check her first ..."
Everyone moved and then huai can to the side of the sect leader Yue Hua. He used the same technique he used with Qing'er and send a trace of his aura and send it to the meridians of yue hua.
He. Losed his eyes to observe what happened to her .
While he was checking Yue hua the other four elders were looking at him with more expectations,
Elder Shui Lian (The Second Elder, foundation establishment level 7) A graceful elderly woman specializing in Water-Element Healing. She has been using her Qi to keep Yue Hua's heart hydrated against the "dry rot."
Elder Liu Feng (The Third Elder, foundation establishment level 7): A thin, agile man who manages the Sect's Defense Arrays. He is the most nervous about the Li family's fall and the rising power of the Eternal Sect.
Elder Qing Zhu (The Fourth Elder, foundation establishment level 8): Known as the "Green Bamboo" Elder, he is a specialist in Spirit-Plant cultivation. He was the one trying to find a herbal antidote for the Rot-Qi.
Elder Yan Song (The Fifth Elder, foundation establishment level 6): The youngest of the five, he is in charge of Discipline and Training. He is the most protective of Yue Qing'er and was the first to doubt Huai before seeing his token.
As Huai sent a thread of his refined spiritual Qi into Yue Hua's wrist, his vision bypassed the physical form to see a horrifying internal landscape. He witnessed the Rot-Qi not as mere stagnant energy, but as a parasitic, charcoal-colored fungus that had woven itself into the very fabric of her meridians. It looked like thousands of tiny, jagged thorns of black glass, siphoning her life essence and turning her once-vibrant, green spirit channels into brittle, ash-gray tunnels. The corruption had even formed "nests" at her major acupoints, pulsing with a rhythmic, sickening beat that suggested the Ancient Rot was actively mimicking her heartbeat to hide from standard medical detection.
Moving deeper toward the Dantian, Huai observed the most tragic sight: the remnants of her Golden Core. Once a radiant sun of spiritual power, it was now buried under a suffocating layer of black mold, its surface cracked and leaking faint, golden light. The Rot-Qi was like a swarm of leeches, feasting on the core's energy, which explained why her realm had plummeted so drastically to Foundation Establishment. Within the marrow of her bones, the decay was absolute, forming a dark web that anchored the disease to her soul—a level of contamination that confirmed why a 6th-grade physician would deem her a lost cause.
Deep within Yue Hua's chest, the Final Bloom had manifested as a terrifyingly beautiful but macabre masterpiece of corruption, its nearly complete petals unfolding in a jagged, crystalline structure the color of a starless void. The heart of the flower pulsed with a sickly, rhythmic black light, its thin, vein-like roots having already pierced through the pericardium to weave directly into the valves of her heart. Each petal was translucent like dark glass, shimmering with an oily, iridescent sheen of Ancient Rot-Qi that seemed to swallow the surrounding golden light of her fading life-force. As the last petal began to unfurl, it released a faint, wispy mist of decay, signaling that the flower was mere moments from its "Final Bloom," a stage where it would explode in a silent surge of rot, shattering her heart and scattering her soul into the wind.
After a few seconds Huai withrea his qi from the meridians of yue hua , this qi is already contaminated so in front of everyone's eyes he waved his hand and the qi became purebas white in just seconds before he took it back.
Huai looked at the group of the elders and said , " Withered heart disease"
Hearing the words , they don't know what to say they never imagined the disease that was not even recognised by 6th grade physician would be confirmed by The Eternal Sect leader.
Mu ran looked at huai in hope and said , " please your highness, if you know the disease then you also should have the solution, please save our sect leader."
Others also looked at him in hope .....
" She can't be saved ." A gentle voice swept over the room .
Everyone looked at the figure who suddenly appeared in the room ,
Others looked at the figure in horror when huai rolled his eyes towards the person.
Everyone except huai bowed towards her, " greetings Nexus sovereign."
But huai said something that noone believed their ears anymore, " you don't even have shame to enter someone else's bedroom ."
" I'm sorry to enter here shamefully , 7th tier citizen of human federation, Mr Shen Huai ."
Nexus said , " but this disease is a forbidden disease for humanity, so I need to come."
By just hearing until now everyone looked at huai in horror again ' 7th tier citizen ? Just how much secrets this new sect leader of The Eternal Sect leader have ? '
But then they noticed something so Mu Ran asked goddess Nexus , " um goddess can you describe why did u said this decease can't be treated ?"
Nexus looked at the elders and Yue Qing'er the said mechanically,
"The History of the Withered Heart Plague
In the Primordial Era, during the Great War of the Elements, the Withered Heart Plague was not a natural disease but a biological weapon created by the "Abyssal Wood Clan." It was designed to turn a cultivator's greatest asset—their connection to nature—into a self-destruct mechanism. During that era, entire planets in the Green-Leaf Galaxy were wiped out in mere months. Millions of people died as their homes turned into graveyards of petrified wood. Because it mimics the host's own life energy, standard healing Qi only acts as fertilizer, making the black flower bloom faster.
The Human Federation eventually classified it as a Forbidden Disease because it was believed that the cure—the "Spirit Nirvana Wood Pill"—had been lost when the Sun-Fire Emperor passed away. Without the specific fire-needle technique to suppress the root and the Nirvana pill to rebuild the marrow, humanity decided it was safer to cremate victims immediately rather than attempt a cure, fearing the Rot-Qi would jump to the healer."