Chapter 56: Waiting for the Result

On the east side of Zhaoyang Peak, there is a simple, ancient stone courtyard. It looks antique and of a very distant age, with blue stone paving the ground, blue bricks, and black tiles. Wild grass grows in the cracks of the stones, and moss covers the steps and the roof. Nestled among green trees and emerald bamboo, everything looks as if time has stood still.

In a room on the south side of the courtyard, there is a bed, a meditation cushion, a stove, and a tea table. A straw mat hangs over the window lattice. With only a few pieces of furniture, it looks extremely crude.

The stove is burning, the clay pot on top is bubbling, and the room is filled with a rich medicinal fragrance.

On the bed, a young Disciple with a face like gold paper is lying on his back, his breathing intermittent, his aura so weak it is almost inaudible.

A young woman in a green dress is sitting by the bed, carefully using a handkerchief to wipe away the residual bloodstains on the youth's cheeks, one hand still cautiously shielding a black bead placed between his eyebrows.

This battle was extremely dangerous.

And it was so fast that it ended before anyone could fully understand what had happened.

Although Zhao Xuan entered the sect earlier than Xu Chen and has a higher cultivation level, in many emergencies, Xu Chen's reactions are still countless times faster than hers. Moreover, once he takes action, he never drags his feet; he almost exhausts all his strength, leaving no backup plan, and does not even care about his own life or death.

Of course, everyone understands Xu Chen's thinking; in that situation, there was no other way but to fight with his life on the line.

However, this time the enemy was a truly famous powerhouse at the middle stage of the Danyuan Realm who has been renowned for decades; his strength is completely incomparable to that Yulong Zhenren encountered in Jingshi.

And right now, these are the few days that Xu Chen bought for the entire Taiyuan Sect with his own life.

No one blamed Xu Chen, Lu Yuan, or Zhao Xuan.

This kind of disaster was unavoidable, and besides, the fault did not lie with the Taiyuan Sect.

It is just that now that things have reached this point, how to resolve it is the key.

And the key to the resolution is for Danchenzi to successfully complete the Spirit Transformation within these five days.

But this hope is extremely slim.

Therefore, whether the Taiyuan Sect lives or dies after five days, no one has any certainty right now.

Outside the door, an Escape Light landed in the courtyard, and Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei hurried in, holding a small white fox in her arms.

"Wuya~~"

The little fox was placed on the bed. It immediately sensed that its master seemed wrong, nudged Xu Chen's chest a few times, then climbed to the top of his head, picked up the Black Bead in its mouth, and lay down, just like a furry hat covering his forehead.

"This little beast is truly strange!" Qu Mei could not help but mutter.

Zhao Xuan suppressed her grief and said softly, "Along the way, when Junior Brother was injured, Xiaobai always helped him recover like this. It was the first time we discovered the efficacy of the Soul Bead this way."

Qu Mei scanned Xu Chen with her Divine Sense, was silent for a moment, and said, "Junior Brother's Soul is severely injured this time; I fear it will be harder than hard to recover."

Zhao Xuan choked with sobs, "These two Soul Beads have been used too many times and have almost no Soul Power left. I don't know if Third Elder and Jiu Shixiong can bring back new Soul Beads."

Qu Mei touched Zhao Xuan's hair and said, "Don't worry too much. Third Elder is not only profound in his Dao practice but also carries many Magic Treasures. Even if Divine Sense cannot be used inside, there will certainly be no problem with the Magic Treasures providing light. You look after Junior Brother well, I am going to take care of Master!"

"Alright, take care, Seventh Senior Sister!" Zhao Xuan nodded, watched Qu Mei leave the room, then turned back to sit by the bed, continuing to wipe the bloodstains and dust from Xu Chen's face and hands.

Time flew by, and two days passed.

Xu Chen still had not woken up, his aura seeming to exist and yet not, looking even more severe.

Xuanhe Zhenren had already woken up, but his injuries were heavy. After hearing the course of events, he came to see Xu Chen in person, supported by a few Disciples, his expression becoming bitter and helpless.

Although the master and disciple had not spent much time together, their bond was not thin; it was just that they were both people who cultivated the Dao, not accustomed to those worldly etiquettes and unnecessary emotional exchanges.

The master leads the way, but cultivation depends on oneself.

Cultivating the Dao has always been like this.

Therefore, among those who cultivate the Dao, it is like a friendship between gentlemen—seemingly as shallow as water, but in reality, it reflects a pure and true relationship without conflicts of interest everywhere, so the bond is actually deeper, but everyone is just not used to saying it out loud.

"Second Elder, it is we who have implicated you!" Zhao Xuan wept with tears.

Xuanhe Zhenren reached out and touched the top of Zhao Xuan's head, shaking his head kindly, "This has nothing to do with you. In reality, it is just that the heavenly numbers are meant to be this way. This Blood God Grass is too heaven-defying, involving too much and implicating too widely. Once you enter the game, there will inevitably be a disaster of bloodshed. It is not something you can break. If it can end like this and help Great Elder successfully advance, then the situation will reverse, and this disaster will be resolved into nothingness."

Everyone fell silent after hearing this.

Because everyone knew that Xuanhe Zhenren actually had half a sentence left unsaid: if Great Elder did not succeed in the Spirit Transformation and Longmen Mountain came knocking first, then this disaster of bloodshed would continue.

Xuanhe Zhenren stood up, looked at the warm and brilliant sunlight outside the door with his hands behind his back, sighed faintly, and said, "The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth is connected by cause and effect. There is gain in loss, and there is failure in success. Man proposes, God disposes. All living beings are but ants; we can only plan for the worries before our eyes, but we cannot peer into the secrets of the future. This matter is not something we can control; let us just wait for the result!"

A group of Disciples bowed silently, then sent Xuanhe Zhenren away from the courtyard.

With this, the mood of the entire Taiyuan Sect became increasingly low, yet they had no power to resist and could only wait anxiously.

In the blink of an eye, another day passed.

Just as the Disciples of the Taiyuan Sect were looking forward with longing, at dusk, an Escape Light sped over from the northeast and landed in front of Taiyuan Hall in the blink of an eye.

The Disciples were overjoyed and took to the air one after another to welcome them.

Third Elder and Jiu Shixiong descended from their Flying Sword. Both of them looked tattered, and Third Elder even had several wounds on his body, the flesh rolled back and black in color. Looking closely with Divine Sense, one could see wisps of Black Mist continuously dissipating from the wounds.

"Take these Soul Beads to heal Xu Chen!" Third Elder took eight black Soul Beads of various sizes from his Storage Bag and handed them to a Disciple, then his body swayed a few times and he sat down on the ground dejectedly.

"Third Elder!" A group of Disciples rushed forward to support him.

Third Elder waved his hand, "This poor Daoist is fine. Saving people is urgent. Everyone disperse, this old man will sit in meditation and rest for a while!"

After speaking, Third Elder took a Spirit Pill, sat cross-legged in front of Taiyuan Hall, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his energy to heal his wounds.

Soon, several Soul Beads were sent to the courtyard where Xu Chen was recuperating. Zhao Xuan hurriedly picked out the largest one, placed it on Xu Chen's forehead, and gently pressed it down with her vital energy.

Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they did not know how effective it would be, there was finally a new hope.

Fifth Senior Brother compared the old Soul Bead with the new one, observed it carefully with his Divine Sense for a moment, and said joyfully, "This new Soul Bead indeed has thick Soul Power. Just by touching it with my Divine Sense, I felt the illusion of my Soul freezing."

Zhao Xuan nodded, "Indeed. When Junior Brother first obtained this Soul Bead, Jiu Shixiong and I didn't recognize it and treated it as ordinary treasure for Xiaobai to chew on for fun. I didn't expect it to be such a miraculous object. According to what Lin Qiuya said, this Soul Bead has immense benefits for cultivating the Soul and is very rare."

Third Senior Brother said, "Although this object is good, it is not easy to obtain. Seeing that Third Elder went for three full days and only brought back eight, and was not lightly injured, I think the rift in Black Wind Ridge must be full of dangers. It is better not to take risks easily."

"Eh, look, Junior Brother moved!"

Just as everyone was whispering about the Soul Beads, someone suddenly pointed at Xu Chen lying on the bed and exclaimed. Everyone watched, several Divine Senses swept across the bed, and then everyone showed expressions of joy.

Xu Chen indeed had a slight movement; his fingers and facial skin seemed to be twitching slightly, and his breathing was obviously much faster, and his chest rising and falling could be clearly seen.

"Look, the color of the Soul Bead is fading so fast!"

Someone observed carefully, and everyone focused their attention on the Soul Bead placed on Xu Chen's forehead. Sure enough, the thumb-sized black Soul Bead was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just over ten breaths of time, it had turned black-gray.

After another ten breaths, the gray-black Soul Bead turned completely gray, and then with a soft "crack," it actually shattered.

"Quick, hurry and replace it with another one!"

Amidst the exclamations, Zhao Xuan hurriedly replaced it with a new Soul Bead.

Not long after this Soul Bead was placed, it began to rapidly lose its color again, and in no more than a few dozen breaths, it actually shattered.

"Quick, replace it again, the Junior Brother looks like he is about to wake up!"

The crowd was both shocked and delighted, and Zhao Xuan hurriedly and frantically replaced it with another Soul Bead.

In this way, they replaced five Soul Beads in one breath; all of them began to rapidly lose color shortly after being placed and finally cracked, but as the Soul Beads were continuously replaced, Xu Chen's aura also became increasingly steady, his body gradually calmed down from its initial unconscious spasms and convulsions, and his complexion slowly regained a hint of color.

When the sixth one was replaced, Xu Chen's body jolted suddenly, and then he slowly opened his eyes to see a circle of familiar faces of his senior brothers and sisters.

"The Junior Brother has woken up!"

The room instantly erupted in cheers.

Xu Chen was completely bewildered, but he slowly recalled the final attack on Qingyunzi and hurriedly struggled to sit up, asking, "Senior brothers and sisters, what is the situation? Did Qingyunzi escape?"

"Rest assured, Junior Brother, Qingyunzi has already been captured by the Third Elder, and now that his dantian is sealed, the Eldest Senior Brother is watching him!"

"That Spirit Crane was also captured and didn't get away either."

"The Second Elder is also out of danger and is recovering very well!"

A group of senior brothers and sisters reported the situation all at once, while Zhao Xuan, with a nervous face, held Xu Chen's hand and asked, "How are you feeling, Junior Brother?"

Xu Chen hurriedly performed an internal inspection of his Sea of Consciousness, Meridians, and dantian, then said with a somewhat strange expression, "I feel very good; it seems I am no longer in any danger."

Upon hearing this, everyone relaxed, and someone hurried off to tell the two Elders and several senior brothers the good news; soon, the mood throughout the mountain gate became much more lively.