The faint light of dawn scattered the last gloom at the marsh's edge, but could not disperse the heaviness weighing on the survivors' hearts. The group with their wounded finally arrived at a hidden valley several hundred li northeast of the Ten Thousand Poison Marsh. This was a temporary base established by the Shadow-Breaking Alliance, shielded by simple formations and staffed with a few remaining medicine masters On placing the still-unconscious Mu Qingfeng and Tang Xiaoqi on beds, everyone's attention turned to Aunt Su, whose injuries were the most peculiar and severe. She was carefully placed on a simple couch covered with clean beast pelts.
That face, no longer hidden behind the silver mask, was pale without a trace of color, like fine porcelain, so fragile it seemed it might shatter at a touch. Her breathing was faint to the extreme, her chest barely rising. If not for the wisp of faint, barely perceptible life energy lingering at her brow, she would be no different from a corpse. Liu Yun sat beside thecouch, carefully examining Aunt Su's condition.
The more she investigated, the tighter her brow furrowed. "How is it?"Sun Yi asked deeply, worry etched on his face. Aunt Su had helped them many times, even creating the crucial opportunity for them at the cost of her own life. For both moral and practical reasons, they all hoped to save her. Liu Yun withdrew her spiritual sense, shaking her head.
Her tone was grave: "The situation is very bad. She previously forced herself to perform the forbidden technique 'Soul-Sealing Life-Burning Seal' to temporarily trap Senior Xu. She burned through a great deal of her life origin and spiritual soul power. Then she was directly struck by the demonic entity fragment's full-force attack in its rage." She paused, awasmost chaotic area at the altar's centerflashpassin eyes: "The physical injuries are serious, but with ourtemple's spiritual medicines and her cultivation foundation, they can be slowlyadjustmanage.
The most troublesome issue is. her soul." "Soul?" Iron Wall asked in his booming voice, not understanding much about these subtle aspects. "Mm." Liu Yun nodded. "That strike from the demonic entity fragment carried extremely venomous spiritual erosion and soul-tearing power. Aunt Su's soul. is damaged extremely severely, almost. shattered.
The tiny bit of consciousness remaining is like a candle in the wind, trapped within the shattered soul fragments, fallen into the deepest self-seclusion and edge of annihilation. Ordinary pills and spiritual power nourishment have little effect on her, and might evenfranticallyheavybearburden since the medicinal power cannot be absorbed." Upon hearing this, everyone's mood grew heavier. Soul injuries were the most troublesome to treat, especially in this near-shattered state, which essentially equaled a death sentence. At that moment, a weak movement came from thecouch beside them.
It was Tang Xiaoqi. He seemed to be awakened by the surrounding voices, or perhaps his powerful will to survive and remainingsensationstimulated allowed him, even in deep unconsciousness, to sense Aunt Su's critical condition. He opened his eyes with great difficulty, extremely slowly. His vision was blurry at first, taking a long while to focus.
He saw the people gathered around Aunt Su'scouch, saw Liu Yun's grave expression, and saw Aunt Su's paleas paper, barely breathing appearance. "Aunt. Su." He parted his lips, his throat producing a rasping, hoarse sound like sandpaper scraping, barely audible. He wanted to move, to go to her, but his body felt like it was pressed down by countless boulders, unable to even lift a finger.
The excruciating pain of his severed meridians and the weakness from depleted spiritual power crashed against his remaining consciousness like tides. But he didn't give up. He closed his eyes, gathering that tiny, pitiful spiritual sense he could barelyadjustmovement, and the Purification Origin within his body—that was almost exhausted but came from instinct. even if only a thread remained, he had to try! He struggled to guide that thread-like purification power, carefully, as if cradling the world's most fragile treasure, slowly and extremely gradually, transferring it toward Aunt Su nearby.
This power was too weak, unable to travel far from his body, only rippling gently like invisible waves across the surface of Aunt Su's body. Yet, when this tiny—almost negligible—purification power touched Aunt Su's body, it seemed to trigger some strange reaction. The faint life energy at her brow seemed to. extremely slightly. flicker. Though still weak, it was no longer as lifeless as before.
Within her shattered, lifeless soul fragments, that pure, gentle, vitality-filled aura soothed them, and the self-annihilation trend seemed delayed by the tiniest bit. Effective! But it was only a delay, like trying to extinguish a fire with a cup of water. That purification power was too weak for Aunt Su's near-shattered soul—it was like a drop of sweet dew falling into a parched desert, instantly absorbed yet unable tochangechangedesertoriginnature.
Moreover, Xiao Qi's own condition was extremely poor. Merely maintaining this weak output caused cold sweat to bead on his forehead, his face to grow paler, as if he might faint again at any moment. "Xiao Qi! Stop!" Liu Yun noticed his actions and his deteriorating condition, urgently calling out, "In your current state, you cannotsoul annihilationexhausted any more!" Xiao Qi seemed not to hear, or rather, he lacked the strength to respond.
He merely relied on instinct and stubborn determination to maintain that weak purification power output. He could not watch Aunt Su slip away like this, just as he had been unable to save his father. Sun Yi sighed, stepped forward, and gently pressed his hand on Xiao Qi's shoulder, sending in awarmand spiritual power that temporarilyeverythingbloodline that weak purification output. "Young friend, we understand your heart.
But saving lives cannot be rushed, much lessexchangeexchange with your own life. Aunt Su's injuries. need to be carefully planned." Xiao Qi's body trembled, the weak output interrupted. He collapsed weakly, his eyes filled with pain and helplessness. He stared at Aunt Su's pale face, tears sliding silently from the corners of his eyes.
He knew Sun Yi was right. His current power was too insignificant. Even nurturing Aunt Su's soul was so difficult; repairing it was out of the question. Aunt Su's injuries hung like a heavy mountain over everyone's hearts. Her life or death concerned not only herself, but the debt hard to repay, and another wound in Xiao Qi's heart that could not heal.
Finding a cure became another severe challenge after escaping danger. And Xiao Qi's own near-useless state cast a thick shadow over the road ahead. The cost of victory was presenting itself in the most concrete and cruel way.