Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Life Hanging by a Thread_1
With Liu Xiling and the Demon Elder’s successive retreats, the tense atmosphere of an imminent battle that had loomed over the mountain stream also dissipated.
Lu Youzhen and Feng Chibai let out faint sighs of relief. Though they did not fear Liu Xiling and the Demon Elder, both were Sky Apex Realm powerhouses. A battle between them would likely result in grievous injuries for both sides.
Lu Youzhen approached Ling Chen, who lay unconscious before him, and placed a hand on his pulse. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Heavenly Shadow Poison... it truly is one of the world’s most formidable poisons. The toxins have completely permeated his meridians."
"I never thought that demoness would be so ruthless as to use such a potent poison on her own son."
Feng Chibai glanced at Ling Chen, whose lips had turned purple from the toxin spreading throughout his body, and sighed. "Heavenly Shadow Poison is incurable. Ling Chen now only has one breath left; death is looming."
"Seniors, is there truly no way at all?" Xiao Muyu’s pretty face was grim. Staring at Ling Chen on the ground, she still found it hard to believe. Just moments ago, Ling Chen had been standing before her, full of life and vigor. She couldn’t accept that he had ended up in this state in the blink of an eye.
"If it were an ordinary poison, we could use our powerful cultivation to help dispel it. But against the Heavenly Shadow Poison, we are helpless. In the entire Jianghu, I fear there isn’t a single person who can cure this poison." Lu Youzhen waved his hand dismissively. "Miss, you should take him back to the Divine Intent Sect as soon as possible. If you delay, his body might start to decompose on the journey. It’s best to lay him to rest quickly."
"Yes, lass. While he still draws breath, take him back to your sect quickly and arrange a grand funeral for him," Feng Chibai added.
"I don’t believe it! Ling Chen won’t die so easily! Just because you can’t save him doesn’t mean others can’t!" Xiao Muyu clenched her silver teeth, lifted Ling Chen from the ground, and then, employing her movement technique, sped towards the foot of Ghost Fog Mountain.
"What a pity," Feng Chibai said with a touch of regret. "Ling Tianyu’s son, such a rare talent, has fallen just like that."
"Indeed, a pity. Ling Chen chose death over joining the Demon Way, which shamed and enraged the demoness Liu Xiling into killing him. If Ling Chen had lived, he would undoubtedly have become a leader in the Righteous Martial World, guiding its course. Truly a pity." Lu Youzhen also felt a deep sense of loss. The death of a genius is always the most regrettable thing in the world, especially a steadfast genius of the Righteous Path. However, the situation was beyond their control; Ling Chen’s death was inevitable. All they could do was mourn.
"The Demonic Sect has been making frequent moves lately, causing widespread panic. They’ve been entrenched in Ghost Fog Mountain for so long; I fear they’re plotting something. Lord Feng, we should investigate the surroundings again to see if we can find any suspicious clues," Lu Youzhen proposed.
"Alright!" Feng Chibai nodded. The two then launched themselves into the air, treading lightly on the forest canopy, and vanished beyond the mountain stream in the blink of an eye.
At this point, Xiao Muyu had carried Ling Chen on her back to the foot of Ghost Fog Mountain.
Feeling the body on her back grow heavier, she felt like she was about to cry. Turning her face towards Ling Chen, she said, "Ling Chen, you must hold on! You’re still young, your great vengeance is unfulfilled! Are you really willing to die like this?"
"Don’t worry. Lu Youzhen and Feng Chibai were probably just jealous that you’re a genius of the Divine Intent Sect, that’s why they refused to help. We’ll go back to the Divine Intent Sect. The Great Elder and the others will surely have a way!"
However, her words received no response. Ling Chen’s breathing grew weaker and weaker, until finally, even that faint breath ceased entirely.
"Ling Chen!" Xiao Muyu’s face turned deathly pale. She lowered Ling Chen from her back and desperately shook his body, then sank to the ground, her expression filled with despair.
Ling Chen was clearly no longer breathing.
"’He’s dead,’ Xiao Muyu murmured, stunned.
It was her. She was the one who had killed Ling Chen.
Xiao Muyu’s expression was pained. If she hadn’t brought Ling Chen to Black Water Gully, he wouldn’t have encountered Liu Xiling, and he wouldn’t have been struck by the Heavenly Shadow Poison. This was all her fault.
Just as Xiao Muyu was overwhelmed by regret and self-blame, a subtle change occurred on Ling Chen’s body.
The dragon-shaped Blood Jade on Ling Chen’s chest suddenly lit up. A strand of blood-red light emerged from it, continuously flowing into Ling Chen’s chest and infusing his heart.
Nourished by this crimson light, the blood vessels and meridians around Ling Chen’s heart, originally dark and discolored from the poison, began to transform. His heart, previously devoid of vitality, showed faint signs of life.
This crimson light, like a seed, pulsed within Ling Chen’s heart, radiating a nascent vitality that gradually revived and flourished.
"What is this?" Xiao Muyu stared, her tear-filled eyes widening in astonishment. She could hardly believe what she was seeing, yet the scene before her was undeniably real.
Ling Chen’s life force was recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.
His purplish-black skin began to regain its healthy, rosy color.
Simultaneously, the Heavenly Shadow Poison spreading within Ling Chen rapidly retreated, eroded and compressed by the crimson light infused into his body, forced into his Dantian.
Under the nourishment of the crimson light, Ling Chen’s internal organs regained their vitality.
His eyes slowly fluttered open.
"You’re awake!" Xiao Muyu joyfully helped Ling Chen up, looking at him as if he were a monster.
"What, were you hoping I wouldn’t wake up?" Ling Chen’s face was somewhat pale, but he managed a smile. Although his body was still weak, his life was no longer in danger.
"But... they said being hit by Heavenly Shadow Poison means certain death! How did you..." Xiao Muyu looked as if she had seen a ghost.
"That only applies to ordinary people," Ling Chen said with a noncommittal laugh. "Who do you think I, Ling Chen, am? I don’t die that easily."
"This Heavenly Shadow Poison means nothing to me. Watch me force it all out."
He propped himself up and sat cross-legged on the ground. His Lingtian True Qi began to circulate, clearing the residual toxins from his body.
The Heavenly Shadow Poison was indeed an incurable toxin, but this Blood Jade was an exceptionally rare treasure. It had saved his life once before at Soul-Burying Cliff, and now, it had neutralized the Heavenly Shadow Poison’s toxicity, pulling Ling Chen back from the brink of death once more.
Ling Chen was no longer sure what level of treasure the Blood Jade was, but he was certain it was an exceptionally rare artifact.
The Heavenly Shadow Poison in Ling Chen’s body was now mostly cleared. The poison, which had previously spread throughout his body, had been entirely forced into his Dantian, where it coalesced into a volatile, black liquid mass.
Ling Chen circulated his Lingtian True Qi, attempting to force this black liquid out of his Dantian and expel it from his body.
However, as soon as the Lingtian True Qi touched the black liquid, the latter rapidly seeped into it. It contained an incredibly terrifying power that, upon encountering his Lingtian True Qi, erupted violently.
"Not good!" Ling Chen’s expression changed. He was already deeply wary of this Heavenly Shadow Poison; if it erupted again, he would surely die.
But by the time he reacted, it was too late.
In the next instant, however, the terror on his face transformed into sheer delight. The mass of Heavenly Shadow Poison in his body was crazily merging with his Lingtian True Qi, rapidly strengthening the Lingtian True Qi within his Dantian.
It turned out that while the Heavenly Shadow Poison’s toxicity had been completely neutralized, the essence of the poison itself was an incredibly potent source of medicinal power! And a great tonic at that.
This wondrous reversal was entirely unexpected by Ling Chen.
Suddenly, he felt as if withered wood were meeting spring, a sensation of being reborn from fire.
An unending stream of power surged within him, rapidly refilling his nearly depleted body.
His meridians, limbs, flesh, every inch of his muscles and bones—every part of him was being strengthened.
At the same time, wisps of white smoke emanated from Ling Chen’s body. These were bodily impurities, crushed into a smoky state by the Heavenly Shadow Poison’s dominant power and expelled.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
With what sounded like a soft crack, the False Pill in Ling Chen’s Dantian suddenly expanded. Infused by an immense surge of True Qi, it broke through the bottleneck in one go.
Relying on the power of the Heavenly Shadow Poison, Ling Chen broke through to become a Fifth Level Martial Artist.