“So delicate. You need to be carried everywhere you go.”
Jun Yanye gazed into little Shi Li’s eyes, which were filled with such profound despair, as if he were about to lose his very last shred of hope.
“No.” Shi Li shed tears, which dripped into a vast void, making absolutely no sound.
Jun Yanye glanced at the primordial spirit once more, hardened his heart, and withdrew from Shi Li’s sea of consciousness.
When Jun Yanye opened his eyes again, he saw Shi Li’s brow furrow slightly before a mouthful of fresh blood stained the front of his robes, his entire body losing all strength as he collapsed forward.
Jun Yanye’s heart threw into chaos, and he reached out to catch him.
Shi Li’s body was scorching hot. The fierce battle inside his sea of consciousness just now had consumed too much of his primordial qi, overdrawing his already weak body even further.
Yet even so, Shi Li did not call out to Jun Yanye for help. He kept his eyes closed, the spiritual energy on his body scattering in all directions, his consciousness drifting and fading.
“This is bad.” Jun Yanye checked his pulse, finding Shi Li’s situation rather dangerous.
“Xuanhuang, protect him,” Jun Yanye hurriedly commanded the Xuanhuang Demon Sword.
“Master, where are you going?”
Jun Yanye vanished from the cavern like a gust of wind, leaving Xuanhuang with nothing but the sight of his retreating figure.
Xuanhuang could only guard Shi Li and wait.
Merely by staying by Shi Li’s side, Xuanhuang could feel the turbulent waves surging within him.
For such a fragile cultivator, there was no telling how much longer he could hold on.
Before long, Jun Yanye returned, dragging ten medical cultivators and alchemy cultivators along, tossing them into the cave.
He had forcibly abducted these ten individuals from the Sacred Domain. Although his own internal energy had not fully recovered yet, medical and alchemy cultivators were notoriously weak in combat. Just the sight of Jun Yanye appearing had frightened three of them unconscious.
The ten medical and alchemy cultivators wore the robes of various different sects, ranging from elders and sect masters to inner sect disciples.
Jun Yanye drew Xuanhuang, the crimson blade pointing directly at the ten people. His demonic pressure made it impossible for them to stand up.
“May I ask what business this fellow Daoist has in bringing us here?” The Elder of the Xinglin Sect swallowed the words “you demon” and tried his best to maintain his composure, seeking to set an example for the juniors.
“You demon, we would rather die than surrender!” A young alchemy cultivator gritted his teeth, his legs shaking violently.
“Save him.” Jun Yanye pointed at Shi Li. “I am the Sovereign of the Demon Realm, and this is the Young Master of the Changming Sect. Whoever can save his life will be heavily rewarded.”
Save someone?
And the Young Master of the Changming Sect at that?
The medical and alchemy cultivators exchanged looks, finding the situation utterly bizarre. Did the Demon Realm and the Changming Sect not share a blood feud? Why would the Demon Venerable want to save the Young Master of the Changming Sect? Should he not wish for the Young Master to die as quickly as possible?
“Save him immediately!” Jun Yanye barked.
Several people hurriedly stepped forward, some checking his pulse, some observing his complexion, and others applying talismans.
“Demon Venerable, may I ask how this Young Master was injured?” asked Miao Shen, the Sect Master of the Xinglin Sect.
“I entered his sea of consciousness and found many illusions inside, and these illusions were fighting against his primordial spirit.”
Miao Shen thought for a moment. “It resembles the symptoms of developing an inner demon, which requires calming the spirit.”
“First, refine ten Pills of Concentrated Spirit.” Miao Shen instructed the alchemy cultivators, then asked the crowd, “Is there anyone here at the Foundation Establishment stage or above with a Wood Spiritual Root or a Fire Spiritual Root? You must regulate his spiritual energy and clear his spiritual meridians immediately.”
A female medical cultivator said timidly, “I have a Wood Spiritual Root.”
“I have a Fire Spiritual Root,” an alchemy disciple also stood up.
“It is not working! His spiritual root is severed!” The medical cultivator squatting beside Shi Li was so terrified that his face turned pale. “Our spiritual energy cannot be transferred into him.”
The heart that Jun Yanye had just slightly eased suddenly tightened again.
“Then we can only rely on medicinal pills to supplement it,” Miao Shen said to Jun Yanye. “Find him a pool abundant in Wood spiritual energy and let him soak inside. Although this method is slower, it is better than nothing.”
Yuanlan Lake, the place where they first engaged in dual cultivation. Shi Li had once mentioned that the Wood spiritual energy there was pure and abundant.
“Follow me.” Jun Yanye lifted Shi Li into his arms and led everyone to the lakeside.
An alchemy elder pulled out his portable cauldron, gathering herbs on the spot to skillfully compound and refine the pills.
Shi Li entered the water and took three Pills of Concentrated Spirit. Half an hour later, his complexion gradually improved, and his lips were no longer a deathly pale white.
“His life should no longer be in danger.” Miao Shen breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
No matter the circumstances, being able to save a life always brought exceptional comfort to medical and alchemy cultivators.
“Yes, Demon Venerable. Fortunately, he was saved in time, and he has pulled through,” an alchemy cultivator said. “From now on, he just needs quiet recuperation.”
“By the way, since his spiritual root is severed, is there any way to treat it?” Jun Yanye asked.
“It is very difficult. This kind of disability is generally lifelong,” Miao Shen said. “If one wishes to treat it, it entirely depends on providence and fortune.”
Generally, when the words providence and fortune were involved, it basically meant relying on sheer luck.
Even if Miao Shen did not say it, Jun Yanye knew that many people waited until death without ever encountering such providence and fortune.
“Only, why are the Demon Venerable and the Young Master of the Changming Sect together?” a bold medical cultivator asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.
“He is my-” Jun Yanye glanced at Shi Li, remembering that Shi Li did not like to tell others they were Dao companions in public, so he changed his words, “-friend.”
“Uh.” The medical and alchemy cultivators were profoundly shocked.
The Changming Sect collaborated with the enemy?
Everyone looked at each other, none of them knowing what was going on.
It was rumored that the one whose spiritual root was severed was the fake young master. Could it be that the fake young master had assumed the identity to enter the Changming Sect while actually being a spy for the demonic path, and held a deep relationship with the Demon Venerable?
Jun Yanye stepped forward to check Shi Li’s pulse. Seeing that there was indeed no major issue left, he turned to the crowd and said, “Thank you all for your help today. I shall remember each of you.”
He pulled out a strand of dark beads and applied a slight force to snap the silk thread. More than a dozen beads lay in his palm as he handed ten of them to the group. “If you need assistance in the future, bring this token to find me, and I will surely return this favor.”
The crowd did not dare to accept it, yet they did not dare to refuse it either, so they could only take them into their hands.
Jun Yanye properly escorted everyone out before returning to the shore of Yuanlan Lake to tend to Shi Li, feeding him the medicinal pills every half hour exactly as Miao Shen had directed.
Shi Li’s cheeks gradually regained their rosy color, and he finally opened his eyes as night fell.
“I had a very long nightmare,” Shi Li said.
“I know.”
“In the dream, many versions of me died.”
“I know.”
“I desperately begged you not to leave, but you still let go.”
Jun Yanye lowered his head.
“This medicine…” Shi Li saw the Pills of Concentrated Spirit in Jun Yanye’s hand and understood what had happened. “You found people from the Sacred Domain to treat me?”
Jun Yanye nodded.
Shi Li looked up and smiled lightly. “It seems our matters will soon spread far and wide. The fake young master of the Changming Sect is actually not dead, and has even hooked up with the Demon Venerable, causing the Demon Venerable to anxiously find people to save him. The people of the Sacred Domain will say we are a shameless pair of dogs.”
“I do not care. Let them spread it however they wish.”
“As expected of the Demon Venerable, your confidence is indeed unshakeable.” Shi Li patted Jun Yanye’s face, his hand still somewhat cold. “Carry me ashore, it is getting a little cold.”
“So delicate. You need to be carried everywhere you go.” Jun Yanye lifted him up, water droplets falling onto the grass.
Shi Li smiled and buried himself deeper into Jun Yanye’s embrace. “Your heart is beating so joyfully. I can hear it.”
“Uh”