Chapter 225

216. Chapter 216: Re-Cultivation

As dawn broke.

The operation codenamed "Exorcism" was finally over.

The good news was that the old district had been successfully reclaimed; all dangers had been dealt with, leaving only one indestructible building in Wangmen Community still standing—but it had been sealed off, and observations showed it posed no threat to surrounding safety, so it was temporarily ignored.

The bad news was that the operation had suffered heavy losses: several Spirit Perception experts had died, and most others were seriously injured and needed rest; during this period, the cultivation strength of Tianchang City's cultivation circle had dropped to its lowest point.

"Since the operation is over, everyone should return to rest first; we'll discuss any further matters once everyone has recovered," Li Yi said.

Everyone nodded in deep agreement.

A night of battle, even without injuries, left the mind exhausted—rest was truly necessary.

Although Li Yi appeared fine, his condition was terrible.

Having been possessed by a vengeful ghost, his soul had suffered severe damage; though he had barely survived, he still felt awful, and Tianchang City had no method yet to heal soul injuries—luckily, he had brought back Soul-Returning Pills from the Four Seas and Eight Continents.

After everyone returned to Peace Financial Tower.

The others inside the tower breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Li Yi and the others return safely.

"You're safe—that's wonderful," Lu Jue, Kong Sheng, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and others showed relief on their faces; they had spent the entire night in fear, dreading bad news.

"The old district situation is resolved; everyone is injured and needs rest. Fortunately, no one in our team died. How's your situation? Did you encounter any Corpse Attacks last night?" Li Yi asked, shaking his head—he felt his dizziness worsening; the side effects of his soul injury were clearly manifesting.

"Everything is normal. No Corpse Attacks here," Lu Jue said.

"Good," Li Yi said. "But don't let your guard down. The cleanup in the old district is still ongoing; you must continue rotating guard duty to prevent any stragglers from slipping over."

"Li Yi, don't worry—we'll handle it," Zhao Xiaoxiao said quickly.

Lin Yue said: "Li Yi, stop talking. Your condition is bad—you should rest immediately. Don't push yourself."

"Sister Lin, don't worry—I'm fine. I have medicine for this kind of injury. But you, Sister Lin—you're covered in blood; it looks serious," Li Yi said.

"These are just flesh wounds, not hitting any vital organs—they've already healed. I'll wash up and rest a few days; don't underestimate the physical resilience of a Spirit Perception cultivator," Lin Yue said.

"Good. And you're right, Sister Lin—I really need to rest," Li Yi felt his dizziness intensifying; he might pass out at any moment.

That wouldn't do.

If he passed out now, he had no idea if he'd wake up again.

After a brief exchange, Li Yi didn't dare delay—he quickly took the elevator to his room and swallowed three Soul-Returning Pills at once.

The three pills instantly sent a cool energy surging to his brain; within his consciousness, the tiny figure began rapidly absorbing an invisible medicinal vapor, which nourished it, making its ethereal body solidify again and its shrunken form grow larger.

Li Yi felt his condition improve significantly—at least the risk of passing out was gone.

But it wasn't enough.

Three Soul-Returning Pills hadn't fully healed his soul injury; he had to take two more.

It took five Soul-Returning Pills altogether before he barely recovered.

This level of consumption proved just how perilous his ordeal had been.

"Being possessed by a vengeful ghost was pure nightmare. If I hadn't had Soul-Returning Pills, even if I survived, I'd be a cripple—trapped in constant drowsiness, unable to do anything," Li Yi finally opened his eyes, exhaled deeply, and the splitting headache and foggy dizziness began to ease.

But full recovery would still require prolonged rest.

"Moreover, during this mission, to defeat Yang Yi, I forcibly broke through to the Qi Point Realm before my Nine Acupoints' blood qi was fully accumulated—this severely damaged my future martial cultivation. Now that Yang Yi is dead and most cultivators are resting, I might as well take advantage of the Blood Burning Technique's peak to destroy my martial cultivation and re-cultivate from scratch."

Li Yi's eyes flashed with resolve.

This resolve was directed at himself.

Because few martial artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents dared to destroy their own cultivation and re-cultivate.

Martial artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents have short lifespans; their blood qi peak passes quickly. Once they re-cultivate, they might never reach the Qi Point Realm again.

But here it's different.

Cultivators live longer, martial realms advance faster, and during the Blood Burning Technique's peak, blood qi continues rising—Li Yi believed he could return to the peak of Blood Cultivation within two days. Whether he could break through to Qi Point Realm again? He had no guarantee—only that he'd try his best.

"Re-cultivating martial arts as quickly as possible is best—it won't hinder future cultivation. Though my strength will drop sharply in the short term, it's worth it in the long run."

Li Yi thought carefully, then made his decision.

He would destroy his martial cultivation.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, activated his blood qi, and began shattering his acupoints, dispersing the blood qi throughout his body to nourish it.

"Ah!"

As soon as Li Yi attempted to shatter one acupoint, excruciating pain surged from deep within his body—he screamed, collapsed, convulsed uncontrollably, and blood poured endlessly from his mouth.

Just beginning, he already felt inhuman torment—he believed his internal organs were damaged.

Clearly, destroying one's martial cultivation came at a heavy cost.

If he weren't an Evolved One, he'd already be critically wounded.

He had to admit—he'd made a crazy decision.

"Again!"

Li Yi gritted his teeth; since he'd started, he couldn't stop now—otherwise, all effort would be wasted.

"Ah!"

As agonized cries echoed through the room, Li Yi began destroying his martial cultivation.

The process lasted a full half-hour.

He was covered in wounds and blood, his body convulsing uncontrollably; after destroying his cultivation, he could no longer hold his blood qi—he was now in a state of massive blood loss, and if unaddressed, he would die from hemorrhage.

But Li Yi had prepared for this.

He immediately took out his last bottle of Super Water and drank it all.

Super Water was a miraculous medicine for healing injuries—once ingested, pain vanished instantly, and within moments, it repaired wounds and even granted temporary power beyond one's normal limit.

Li Yi didn't need power—he needed healing.

As Super Water's effects took hold, he exhaled deeply, his body relaxing, bleeding stopped, and his condition improved.

"My plan is sound: destroy martial cultivation, re-cultivate, use Super Water to heal injuries, and supplement with ample nutrient fluid—it should all recover," Li Yi thought.

As his body gradually healed, supplemented by massive nutrition, and still under the Blood Burning Technique's effect.

Just two hours later, his condition stabilized.

Though he had destroyed his martial cultivation, re-cultivation didn't mean restarting every stage—he didn't need to retrain Skin, Tendon, or Bone; his skin, tendons, and bones remained intact, so he could begin directly at Marrow Cultivation. With his prior foundation still present, re-cultivation was far easier than before.

Only half an hour passed before Li Yi completed Marrow Cultivation and reached Blood Cultivation.

Due to the Blood Burning Technique, another hour passed, and the blood qi he'd lost during destruction was fully replenished—he naturally reached the peak of Blood Cultivation.

Next came circulating blood qi and storing it again in the acupoints.

This process was familiar and effortless—only time was needed to accumulate.

Li Yi rested while accumulating blood qi.

But the blood qi's fermentation slowed.

He checked the time—it was past noon; the Blood Burning Technique's peak had passed, and his body began feeling fatigue, which grew heavier with time. At first he could endure it, but later the fatigue triggered his body's self-protection mechanism.

His body was gradually losing sensation.

Clearly, the Blood Burning Technique's side effects had begun.

"The lingering consciousness in the knife coin never mentioned that after the Blood Burning Technique ends, the body loses sensation—and the duration isn't as long as I thought. Once blood qi peaks pass, side effects appear—within two days, I'll be paralyzed."

Li Yi's eyes flashed—he felt deceived.

In truth, the lingering consciousness hadn't lied to Li Yi.

It was just that his Spirit Perception-level physical condition was too weak to withstand the Blood Burning Technique's side effects; this technique wasn't meant for cultivators at Li Yi's level—it was meant for far stronger ones.

Sensing his body's abnormality,

Li Yi immediately rose and drank a full bottle of Golden Nutrient Fluid, fearing that if he became immobile, the Blood Burning Technique would drain him alive. He then informed Sister Lin of his condition, ensuring someone would watch over him.

After finishing all this, he lay down on the floor and fell into deep unconsciousness.

Soul injury, bodily damage, martial re-cultivation, and the Blood Burning Technique's side effects—any one of these would overwhelm a cultivator, let alone Li Yi.

Fortunately, soon after Li Yi passed out, Lin Yue, having received the message, rushed to his room.

To ensure Li Yi's safety, Lin Yue had Zheng Gong immediately contact the Investigation Bureau, arranging to transfer him to their training base hospital for recovery—its medical facilities were superior, and if anything happened, doctors could respond promptly.