He thought that since Ye Mingjing had no cultivation and there was such a thick wall between them, Ye Mingjing shouldn’t be able to hear anything.
He never expected Ye Mingjing to hear him.
And to hear him so clearly.
He was also to blame—how could he underestimate the Great Antagonist?
Although the person before him had not yet recovered his cultivation, he was, after all, the strongest person in this world’s setting. Underestimating him under any circumstances would lead to a very painful price.
So… what price would he have to pay this time?
The cave dwelling was silent.
The atmosphere was eerie.
Lin Xueqing froze in place, not daring to speak or even breathe, fearing that in the next second, he might be sent to the pigpen because his left nostril took in air first.
Until Ye Mingjing withdrew his gaze and his cool voice slowly recited the first line of the Sacred Yuan Breath-Taking Formula.
Lin Xueqing was stunned for a moment.
He quickly realized Ye Mingjing’s intent.
Thus, he sat cross-legged in meditation, and while breathing, he resignedly began to memorize this Sacred Yuan Breath-Taking Formula.
With this memorization, in a daze, three days passed.
Three days later.
Lin Xueqing finally knew the Sacred Yuan Breath-Taking Formula by heart.
But he was also exhausted.
After completing the final great cycle of circulation, there was a thud as he fell straight onto the stone.
Even breathing could be heard.
In just a few moments, he had actually fallen fast asleep.
Ye Mingjing slowly opened his eyelids, and the first thing he saw was such a sleeping, completely defenseless face.
The sleeping Lin Xueqing lacked a bit of his usual vivacity.
But he also lacked the usual trembling and cautiousness.
Looking only at his face, it was actually quite difficult to associate him with that notoriously disreputable playboy. After all, no matter how one looked at it, this was a baby face that hadn’t fully matured.
The eyes were round.
The tip of the nose was also very rounded.
His face was somewhat better, with only a bit of baby fat on the cheeks; the overall face shape was a beautiful oval.
But…
It was such an innocent-looking baby face that had solemnly made promises that those old fogies who had lived for five hundred years wouldn’t dare to make.
“I promise you, this time you definitely won’t be disappointed.”
Thinking of this, Ye Mingjing couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
What did he use to guarantee it? With his Foundation Establishment Level 5 cultivation? Or with the Sacred Yuan Breath-Taking Formula he had just learned?
Or perhaps he used those Spirit Stones on his person.
This kid had nothing else, but he did indeed have quite a few Spirit Stones.
Pity—there are many things in this world that Spirit Stones cannot accomplish. Things that can be solved with Spirit Stones are merely the simplest of matters.
Ye Mingjing gazed coldly at that innocent sleeping face.
As if sensing something, Lin Xueqing smacked his lips and turned over, rolling right in front of Ye Mingjing: “Mmm, Your Honor… take your medicine.”
Ye Mingjing furrowed his brow, and with a cold face, he reached out and covered him with a blanket.
Four days later.
Lin Xueqing was woken up by the heat.
It was so hot—how could it be so hot?
He felt as if he had suddenly been stuffed onto a rural earthen bed-stove. Friends from the countryside know that when the stove is lit during the New Year, the area under one’s backside is incredibly hot.
His skin was almost being scalded off.
The heat forced Lin Xueqing to wake up.
When he woke, he saw—what? In a sealed cave dwelling with a steaming hot spring, someone had actually covered him with a blanket.
And it was a Phantom Rabbit fur blanket.
The fur was both dense and thick.
Lin Xueqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He took the blanket and angrily complained to Feng Ruyu, who was busy setting up a Spirit Stone Array: “Lord Ghost Doctor, in a place this hot, do you think I need a blanket?”
Feng Ruyu was working fervently. Being suddenly accused like this, he was dazed: “What?”
Lin Xueqing saw his bewildered look and didn’t bother to argue with him: “Never mind, never mind. Why did you come so early?”
Only then did Feng Ruyu snap out of it and say, “How is this early? It has already been seven days.”
Lin Xueqing: “Ah?”
So he had slept for four days in one go??
Feng Ruyu: “And you’re talking about me? I should be talking about you. You promised me well before I went into seclusion—you said you’d set up the Spirit Stone Array and find guards. In the end, when I came to check, you were snoring away. Not only did you fail to find people, but you even used the Spirit Stone Array for yourself.”
Lin Xueqing was stunned: “…For real?”
Feng Ruyu pointed at the Spirit Stones on the ground, more than half of which had already dimmed significantly, and said crossly, “See for yourself; the spiritual energy is almost sucked dry. And look at yourself—seven days ago you were at Foundation Establishment Level 4, but today you’re at Level 7. You kid, are you trying to defy the heavens!”
Lin Xueqing: “Level 7???”
He felt more and more like he couldn’t understand human speech.
Waking up from a sleep.
It felt like the whole world had changed.
Everything was turned upside down.
Feng Ruyu complained: “It’s only natural for you to increase your cultivation, but if you used up the Spirit Stones, you should at least replenish them.”
It caused him to have to replenish them himself just now.
Another small loss.
Only then did Lin Xueqing recover from the massive shock. He didn’t rush to answer Feng Ruyu, but instead first circulated the spiritual power throughout his body to check his cultivation status. As a result—
“Good heavens, is this still me?”
He had merely memorized the Sacred Yuan Breath-Taking Formula intensely before bed and then slept soundly. He hadn’t expected his cultivation to improve so significantly—it was like taking a plane, no, a rocket!
No wonder Feng Ruyu said he was defying the heavens.
Increasing three minor realms of cultivation in seven days—if that wasn’t defying the heavens, what was?
“Am I actually this talented in cultivation?”
Lin Xueqing was greatly shocked.
Did this mean that he was actually a buried cultivation genius? In the future, would it be possible for him to hope for a Golden Core? Would a Nascent Soul be more than just a dream?
But Feng Ruyu gave him a cool look: “Why don’t you take a look at those Spirit Stones that were sucked dry?”
Lin Xueqing: “…..”
Alright, alright.
He knew it. QAQ
Feng Ruyu said seriously: “Alright, no more joking with you. Time is tight. I will set the array; you hurry and find people to guard us.”
Lin Xueqing: “Understood, I’ll go right away.”
After saying that, he didn’t stop for a moment and flew out of the cave dwelling to find his two cousins.
Still feeling it wasn’t enough, he asked his two cousins to find several inner-sect Golden Core brothers to guard the cave entrance strictly.
Only then did Lin Xueqing re-enter the cave dwelling.
“Your Honor, Lord Ghost Doctor, I have already arranged the guards. I guarantee that not even a fly will be able to fly in during these few days.”
Ye Mingjing was still sitting upright in the medicinal bath, his eyes tightly closed.
Feng Ruyu sat opposite him, not far—only a few inches away.
“Good, I am also prepared on my end. You just rest nearby and pay attention to replenishing the Spirit Stones,” Feng Ruyu said.
Lin Xueqing nodded, but he was still a bit nervous.
After all, the sight of Feng Ruyu suddenly falling to the ground and twitching during the last treatment was still fresh in his memory. He was afraid that this time…
“Lord Ghost Doctor, is there anything else you need to instruct?”
“Nothing special.”
Feng Ruyu paused and asked, “Do you faint at the sight of blood?”
Lin Xueqing quickly learned why Feng Ruyu had asked that.
Because he released the Ten-Star Silkworms—ten of them in total, surrounding Ye Mingjing. These ten silkworm babies had been raised by Feng Ruyu to be plump and large over the past few days; each one was about three times fatter than when Lin Xueqing had handed them over.
But Lin Xueqing had originally thought the purpose of these silkworms was to produce silk, which Feng Ruyu would then use as needle and thread to sew the broken meridians.
He hadn’t expected.
Among the ten, only five were responsible for producing silk.
The other five flew rapidly towards Ye Mingjing, bit open his skin, and from within the muscles and blood vessels, they forcibly dragged out his severed meridians. The bloodiness of the scene was no different from a live dissection or skinning.
…No wonder Feng Ruyu asked if he fainted at the sight of blood!
Lin Xueqing didn’t actually faint at blood. After all, he had started making his way in society at sixteen; getting injured, cooking, and seeing others get hurt were all commonplace.
However, wasn’t this amount of blood from Ye Mingjing a bit too much?
Even knowing that Feng Ruyu was performing a treatment.
Almost at the same moment the Ten-Star Silkworms dragged out a portion of the meridians, Feng Ruyu immediately used spiritual power as a needle and silk as thread to begin the suturing.
His suturing speed was extremely fast.
One hand sutured the meridians, while the other sutured the skin.
This process repeated over and over.
Under the precise control of Feng Ruyu’s divine sense, everything was tight-knit and orderly.
In a short while, Lin Xueqing saw with his own eyes that a small portion of the meridians and skin had already been sewn together.
Feng Ruyu’s needlework was indeed formidable.
Worthy of being the Ghost Doctor; Lin Xueqing couldn’t even see the traces of the suturing.
However, even in the places that had been sewn, crimson blood dripped and seeped out, falling into the clear medicinal spring.
The medicinal spring was stained with the color of blood.
It turned red, then redder.
Finally, it turned so red it was almost brownish-black, and the Spirit Stone in Lin Xueqing’s hand subsequently turned to powder…
“Change the Spirit Stones; they are hungry!”
A sharp shout jolted Lin Xueqing out of his daze.
With almost mechanical movements, Lin Xueqing immediately sat cross-legged and used the incantation Ye Mingjing had previously taught him to set the array.
With Foundation Establishment Level 7 cultivation.
This time was naturally even faster than the first.
After a few moments, the dazzling light of the Spirit Stones once again filled the entire cave dwelling. Soon after, the sound of the Ten-Star Silkworms crunching on the Spirit Stones echoed within the cave.
Lin Xueqing finally understood why Feng Ruyu insisted on having ten.
Because even spirit beasts would get tired after working for a long time and would need to eat and change shifts.
They were called Ten-Star Silkworms.
Not oxen or horses!
But while the Ten-Star Silkworms could rest, Feng Ruyu could not.
For three whole days, even though Feng Ruyu had gone into seclusion for seven days beforehand to avoid excessive exhaustion during these three days.
Even so, during the final suturing, fine beads of sweat still appeared on his forehead, his lips were dry and peeling, and his entire person looked as if he had aged ten years.
But this was not the end.
Far from it.
After the suturing finished, the Ten-Star Silkworms were so exhausted they sprawled out on their bellies with their many legs in the air, unable to work another bit.
Feng Ruyu’s spiritual power was also depleted to the bottom.
But Feng Ruyu still had one final procedure to complete.
That was to inject a trace of spiritual power into the twelve meridians that had just been sewn and observe whether this spiritual power could circulate smoothly.
If it could circulate.
Then it would prove that the stitching technique was a success!
Among the fourteen severed meridians in Ye Mingjing’s body, twelve would have been repaired. Next, they would only need to wait another twenty-one days and replicate today’s actions to achieve full success and successfully repair all of Ye Mingjing’s meridians.
However, it was precisely at this final step.
Just as Feng Ruyu’s last trace of spiritual power entered Ye Mingjing’s meridians, suddenly, several streaks of extremely cold and chilling evil Qi burst out from the ends of the meridians.
It was like a massive hailstorm suddenly falling during the dog days of summer.
Crash, crash—that extremely cold evil Qi lunged fiercely towards Feng Ruyu.
Feng Ruyu was already in his most vulnerable state due to the depletion of his spiritual power; how could he withstand such an attack?
Immediately, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Lin Xueqing was so scared he nearly lost half his life.
“Feng Ruyu! What happened to you, Feng Ruyu!”
Lin Xueqing lunged forward and, with quick eyes and hands, supported Feng Ruyu.
Fortunately, Feng Ruyu had disconnected that trace of spiritual power in time, so he didn’t suffer further invasion from the evil Qi.
But he raised his pale face and looked at Ye Mingjing in terror:
“It’s poison! The cold poison within his body has emerged!”
“…Wha—what?”
“Do you remember I said there were many poisons in his body? Previously, because the meridians were severed, those poisons could not circulate through his body via the meridians. Now that the meridians have just been sewn, who would have thought that this domineering cold poison would immediately emerge!”
“Cold poison?”
Lin Xueqing froze for a moment, a flash of white light crossing his mind; he seemed to have some impression of this poison.
What was it?
It seemed there was such a plot point in the original novel.
But before he could recall more, not far away, Ye Mingjing’s body began to undergo a change…