Chapter 101: Preserving the Physical Body

"She is already dead!" the system replied.

Yan Xiao was silent for a moment, his heart churning like a stormy sea, not knowing how to express himself.

Now, he actually wished that Tingxue had truly left; at least she would not have met such an end.

He could not say he liked Tingxue, let alone loved her; it was more a matter of sympathy and concern. But precisely because of this, he felt even more guilty in his heart.

"This debt is too heavy; it can never be repaid," Yan Xiao said with his head lowered, wiping away tears while smiling bitterly.

Feng Jingting wanted to offer words of comfort, but she did not know what to say; Luo Ying also put away her petty temper and stood to the side, at a loss.

"Sect Master, you should hurry and heal your wounds; this place is not suitable for a long stay." Luosang looked around; the Chen Family could return at any moment, so it would be safer to get into the array as soon as possible.

"I know." Yan Xiao wiped his face, preparing to refine Spirit Pills to recover from his injuries.

He was covered in wounds from head to toe; if he did not recover quickly and left behind lingering ailments, walking would become difficult in the future.

Looking at the ruined magical treasures, Yan Xiao felt a pang of heartache. He had not expected the losses to be so great, even including Tingxue... Thinking of this, he could not help but feel distressed again.

He was a man of deep feeling by nature; having incurred such an unpayable debt, how could his heart be at peace? He would likely be left with a mental affliction because of this.

"Magical treasures, right! Don't I still have that Jade Hairpin? System, hurry and find a way to collect Tingxue's soul into the Jade Hairpin; perhaps one day I can resurrect her," Yan Xiao said excitedly.

He rummaged through his Storage Bag for the Jade Hairpin, but his injuries were too severe and his movements were restricted. This motion tugged at the wounds on his arms, and fresh blood immediately flowed out, staining his entire body red.

"Husband, what are you looking for?" Feng Jingting immediately crouched down and asked softly.

"Jingting, hurry, quickly take out the Jade Hairpin in my Storage Bag. It can collect Tingxue's soul. Hurry, I'm afraid it will be too late if too much time passes," Yan Xiao said excitedly.

"Oh, don't be anxious, watch your wounds." Feng Jingting searched quickly.

"Is it this one?" There was only one Jade Hairpin in Yan Xiao's Storage Bag; she found it quickly and took it out to ask.

"Yes." Yan Xiao hurriedly took the Jade Hairpin and instructed the system: "System, hurry up."

"System analyzing, analysis failed... analysis failed..."

Yan Xiao watched the system backend, feeling anxious.

"Why does it keep failing!" After several consecutive attempts, he still could not find Tingxue's soul, and Yan Xiao could not sit still.

"The system version is too low, and many functions have no loopholes. Actually, you don't need to waste your energy. The soul that your Jade Hairpin can contain is very little; even if you collect a portion of Tingxue's soul, it will be of no use," the system replied.

"That is still better than nothing! There is still one thousand Fear Value; use it all, reinforce the system and the Jade Hairpin, and you must collect as much of the soul as possible." Yan Xiao looked at the backend logs, seeing the Fear Value generated by Feng Jingting and the others because of their worry for him, and used it without hesitation.

"Understood." The system answered, consumed the Fear Value, and continued searching.

"Searching... search failed..."

"Restarting search... search successful!"

"Collecting Tingxue's soul, collection progress: 10%, 20%, 30%, 35%, soul container full, cannot collect further, collection ended."

Seeing the collection log in the backend, Yan Xiao felt some regret. If he had a better soul-capturing magical artifact, Tingxue's soul could have been completely collected. Even if she could not return to life, she could have become a Ghost Cultivator, and there would still be hope of cultivating into an immortal.

But now that only 35% had been collected, what was he to do?

"It is already quite good. If the Owner has heaven-defying fortune one day, there will still be a chance to resurrect Tingxue," the system comforted him, seeing that Yan Xiao was very disappointed.

"Alright." Yan Xiao nodded, put away the Jade Hairpin, and began to meditate to heal his wounds.

Because of Chen Pu's self-detonation, Luoyue City was left in ruins; the previously deployed defensive equipment had all been destroyed by the shockwaves of the explosion.

A massive earthquake occurred in the city, many houses and buildings collapsed, and countless commoners were killed or injured.

In Luoyue City, within an independent courtyard.

Chen Jing and the others sat together. Chen Jing slowly picked up a teacup, took a sip, and listened calmly as the members of the Chen Family reported the events at Luoxia Mountain.

"It seems the strength of the Shengjian Sect is nothing more than this. That Yan Xiao doesn't have a master at the level of a god, or perhaps his master is not at Luoxia Mountain."

After hearing the account from the Chen Family members, Chen Jing nodded slowly.

He did not seem anxious at all.

"Ancestor, if that's the case, can we storm Luoxia Mountain and tear that little bastard Yan Xiao into ten thousand pieces?" Hearing this good news, Chen Weilong could not help but rub his hands together, eager to kill his way up there immediately to avenge his previous great grudge.

"You are still so impatient." Chen Jing looked at Chen Weilong with dissatisfaction; he was very unhappy with this family candidate, who lacked his own demeanor and was always flustered when encountering matters.

"This time I will go myself; the Chen Family's elite forces cannot be lost again."

After a slight pause, Chen Jing stood up and walked slowly outside. Previously, he had feared Yan Xiao's master, but now that he was certain, he had no more concerns and wanted to take Luoxia Mountain in one fell swoop to control Luoyue City.

Luoxia Mountain.

Yan Xiao recovered a bit of True Qi and ordered everyone to carry him and Tingxue back into the Spirit Cave. If he wanted to resurrect Tingxue, her physical body could not be allowed to decay. The system suggested he use Five Elements Spirit Liquid to nourish Tingxue's body to strengthen it; this way, Tingxue's body would not only not rot but would become increasingly sturdy.

In the Spirit Cave, Yan Xiao recovered from his injuries while using the Five Elements Spirit Liquid to nourish Tingxue's body. The Golden Scale Shuttle and the Green Thorn were also absorbing Attribute Qi on the side.

Except for Chenxi and Feng Jingting, Yan Xiao did not allow anyone else to disturb him.

Yan Xiao pointed a finger, and a drop of Five Elements Spirit Liquid slowly dripped from his middle finger. He gently parted Tingxue's pale lips and fed the spirit liquid into her mouth.

The spirit liquid transformed into energy and flowed into Tingxue's limbs and bones; Tingxue's pale complexion immediately changed, and her damaged wounds slowly began to heal.

"Another drop." Yan Xiao dripped another drop of Five Elements Spirit Liquid to accelerate Tingxue's recovery.

Just like that, Yan Xiao exhausted all of his Five Elements Spirit Liquid, only then completely enveloping Tingxue's body to ensure it was nourished without a single gap.

"Owner, having consumed so much, don't you feel heartache?" The system teased him, seeing that Yan Xiao had regained some of his color.

"Of course I feel heartache, but as long as I can resurrect Tingxue, everything is worth it," Yan Xiao said freely.

He was a transmigrator; strictly speaking, he was someone who had died once before. He knew the value of life, and he respected life very much.

Of course, excluding those who wanted him dead; he could still distinguish that much.

"System, how many days have we been in the Spirit Cave?"

Having preserved Tingxue's body, the heavy stone in Yan Xiao's heart was finally set down for the time being, and he could catch his breath. He returned to his usual devil-may-care young master persona.

"Three days and three nights. During this time, Chen Jing came to attack three times, but none of them broke the defense of the array. However, he is clearly a person who will not stop until he achieves his goal. He obtained a fragment of an 'Array Breaking Map' from somewhere, and now he is outside the mountain gate trying to break the array. The system has evaluated the remaining power of that map fragment and his cultivation strength; it is estimated that the Mountain Protection Array will be broken in ten days."

The system knew what Yan Xiao was worried about, so it told him the detailed situation as it stood.

"Ten days? Time is very tight!"

Yan Xiao nodded, feeling somewhat helpless. He had originally thought that by relying on the Mountain Protection Array, he could delay them for a while, at least for more than half a year. By then, Qingxue should have successfully upgraded the system, and he would have had the strength to deal with Chen Jing. But he had not expected Chen Jing to have an Array Breaking Map, which could only hold out for ten days.

During these ten days, he must relocate all the disciples of the Shengjian Sect; this is quite a massive project.