640: Chapter 629: Is It Really Ruined?
640: Chapter 629: Is It Really Ruined?
Ning Fan looked at his trembling hands, unable to believe the truth before him, that now his cultivation of the Eight Zen Mantra yielded no effect whatsoever, he could not feel even a trace of True Qi.
Xu Ruolan stood beside the bed, staring in astonishment at Ning Fan, whose expression seemed somewhat off, suddenly at a loss for words.
“How is this possible…”
Ning Fan was still muttering these words, even though he had already severed his own meridians.
Logically, this should have achieved the effect of the Wash Marrow Cleanse Tendons, and yet now he seemed more like a disabled person who had lost everything.
Attempting to re-cultivate the Eight Zen Mantra, following his previous enlightenment, he couldn’t even start, let alone sense a bit of True Qi.
His sealed Dantian and shattered meridians simply could not generate the slightest bit of True Qi.
He began to doubt whether what he had done was correct after all, but now it was too late for regrets.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Xu Ruolan’s voice came from beside him, as Ning Fan, now covered in sweat, turned his head and managed a strained smile, he chuckled bitterly and shook his head.
“It’s nothing, just remembered some things.
I’ll rest.”
Ning Fan lay down with a dim expression, then curled up in the blanket, leaving Xu Ruolan no longer able to discern his facial color.
Standing in the room in silence for a long time, Xu Ruolan understood that Ning Fan definitely had something troubling him, but as to what it was and why he was hiding it from her, she was still unclear.
Ning Fan’s mood was somewhat affected, he had followed the unconventional method in the Eight Zen Mantra, but not only did it have no effect, he had indeed become a cripple with all his meridians severed.
What he should do next, Ning Fan felt a bewildering sense of despair.
Why exactly had he failed?
Ning Fan continuously questioned himself in his heart, where could the mistake have been made that led to such failure?
After severing his own meridians and re-cultivating the Eight Zen Mantra, there was no effect at all, so where exactly was the problem?
Hidden under the blanket, Ning Fan held his head in deep contemplation, but could find no solution.
As for why he had failed, Ning Fan truly had no clue.
“Damn it, could the old man have conned me!”
Ning Fan couldn’t help but think of the old man; the Eight Zen Mantra had been left to him, and even this unconventional method was written in it.
The old man had mentioned it but had never spoken of the risks.
Whether it was the old man who had tricked him or a mistake he himself had made, Ning Fan couldn’t be certain now, but probably the most important thing was to figure out how to restore his meridians.
Unable to use True Qi, relying solely on his body which had been strengthened by the Genetic Potion, facing an ordinary Martial Artist in the True Qi Realm would be difficult.
How weak he appeared, any Martial Artist could easily crush him.
Seeing Ning Fan continuously hiding under the blanket and avoiding her, Xu Ruolan wouldn’t leave for a long while, his current state was truly worrying.
“I’m really okay, you can go about your business…”
Feeling that Xu Ruolan was still in the room, Ning Fan popped his head out and said, his current appearance looking more like a forced smile, his complexion a bit pale, lacking any hint of color.
Xu Ruolan shook her head, sat by the bed, and reached out to grab Ning Fan’s hand, holding it tightly as if wanting to tell him through this gesture that she was still there with him.
…
“Brother Ning, want to go for a drink today?
My treat!”
Inside the Xu Corporation’s security department, Zhu Xuetao slung his arm over Ning Fan’s shoulder, a flicker of an unusual light in his eyes.
Ning Fan’s expression showed nothing amiss as he shook his head, ignoring Zhu Xuetao and left the security department’s main entrance on his own.
Watching Ning Fan’s retreating figure, Zhu Xuetao stroked his chin, deep in thought.
“That sensation just now wasn’t wrong…”
All his meridians had been severed, and his Dantian was sealed, as if shattered, leaving him devoid of any True Qi.
Ning Fan himself did not know what he had done to end up in this state.
Ning Fan was unaware that someone had already seen his current condition.
However, he himself was acutely aware of the dangerous situation he was in.
As an Asura who had been through the Blood Sea, he knew all too well the importance of strength in this survival-of-the-fittest world.
It had been three days since he had severed his own meridians, and Cultivating the Eight Zen Mantra still yielded no results, as if True Qi had bid him farewell, his body naturally repelling such energy.
Unable to feel his Dantian and even more incapable of gathering True Qi, with no idea how to repair his meridians, Ning Fan’s head throbbed with pain.
His mood, with the passage of time, had become abysmal.
After work, even though he refused Zhu Xuetao’s invitation, Ning Fan still found himself at a bar, the place he had frequented the most these past few days.
Unable to accept that he couldn’t cultivate, Ning Fan tried to numb himself with alcohol.
But the effect was barely there; his mind was still preoccupied with the same issue.
“Ning Fan, stop drinking!”
In the corner, Huo Qiuran sat opposite Ning Fan and snatched away the wine glass in front of him.
Ning Fan looked at Huo Qiuran and gave a bitter smile, shaking his head with a sigh, “Ah, just let me keep drinking…”
The numbing effect of the alcohol made things a bit more bearable.
Over these three days, no matter how he tried to cultivate the Eight Zen Mantra, it always ended in failure.
Unable to accept this reality, Ning Fan could only attempt to ease his suffering through drinking to the extreme.
Huo Qiuran shook her head, firmly denying Ning Fan’s request.
The empty bottles already crowding the table were enough, and drinking more was not the solution.
Seated not far away, Xiao Jianming glanced at Ning Fan and also shook his head.
He too could see Ning Fan’s current state; his aura was much weaker than before, and it was uncertain what sort of calamity had befallen him.
Since the day of that failed cultivation attempt, Ning Fan had started to drown his sorrows in liquor, but it only proved the saying true, “Drowning sorrows in alcohol only deepens them.”
No matter how much he drank, Ning Fan could not think of any good solutions to his problem.
After hearing that Ning Fan had been coming here frequently these days, Huo Qiuran also came often to keep him company, seeing him continually drinking.
She was filled with distress.
Ning Fan took the wine glass Huo Qiuran held, with just a little left, and downed it in one gulp.
The feverish atmosphere of the brightly lit bar failed to infect them.
Ning Fan, laden with heavy thoughts, was not yet drunk.
He didn’t succumb to inebriation easily, his mind still fixated on identifying where he had gone wrong.
“No matter what, I will always be by your side!” Huo Qiuran grasped Ning Fan’s hand, stating with resolution.
Feeling the soft touch on his hand, Ning Fan felt somewhat better.
However, Huo Qiuran’s assurance also brought to the forefront Ning Fan’s greatest worry, the Shangguan Family and the Huo Family, neither of whom had given up their scheming ways.