Chapter 1195

Han Wuxian held two jade boxes, walked up to Xiao Ran, and handed them over: "Brother Xiao, return the items to their rightful owner."

Wang Tie took the jade boxes, overwhelmed with gratitude: "Many thanks, Junior Han!"

Xiao Ran looked at the jade boxes, then at Han Wuxian, his lips moved, and he finally uttered just two words: "... Thank you."

Han Wuxian smiled slightly, then turned his gaze again to the several Xuan Gen Dao Masters whose faces were ashen like death.

"The seized items have been returned. Now it's time to settle the account for harming my deceased friend."

His tone remained calm, yet it made the several Xuan Gen Dao Masters feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

"Senior... senior, spare my life!" a Huashen cultivator finally couldn't bear the pressure, thudding to his knees: "It's all the sect master's coercion; we dare not disobey!"

"Yes, senior! Spare my life!"

Several others also knelt down, begging for mercy.

The Xuan Gen Dao Master's face turned deathly pale, he gritted his teeth: "Your strength reaches the heavens, I admit defeat! But I am the Master of Xuan Gen Dao; if you kill me, you will be making an enemy of the entire Xuan Gen Dao! My Dao..."

He slowly raised his hand, gently grasping toward the Xuan Gen Dao Master.

There was no spiritual power fluctuation, no manifestation of law.

But the Xuan Gen Dao Master's eyes suddenly widened, his face showing extreme pain and terror! He felt his cultivation, vitality, and even his soul being forcibly stripped and annihilated by an invisible, irresistible force!

"No!!!!"

He let out a short, shrill scream; his body, as if drained of all strength, quickly withered, aged, and finally turned into flying ash that dissipated in the air.

Body and spirit destroyed!

The remaining four Huashen cultivators were terrified out of their wits, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

Han Wuxian couldn't even be bothered to look at them, he blandly told Qing Lin: "Abolish their cultivation, erase related memories, and throw them out."

"Yes, Master." Qing Lin received the order, swept his long spear, four azure streaks entered the four cultivators' dantians. They cried out, their cultivation completely ruined; at the same time, memories of today's events and the celestial material were forcibly erased, and they fainted. Qing Lin casually waved his hand, rolled them up, and flung them out of the valley.

Neat and clean, as if merely disposing of a few flies.

Wang Tie and Xiao Ran watched from the side, their hearts shaken; especially Xiao Ran, who knew well how formidable the Xuan Gen Dao Master was—a dominant figure in the Nan Ting Mountain Region—yet Han Wuxian had so easily exterminated him... Just what level of strength has Han Wuxian reached now?

After dealing with the small fry, Han Wuxian walked over to Mu Qingfeng and placed his hand on his pulse.

"The injury is serious; do not move."

A stream of pure, warm yet ineffably vital Chaos Return to the Abyss Qi flowed into Wang Tie's body. He felt a warm current instantly spread through his limbs and bones; his damaged meridians and organs were repaired and nourished at an astonishing speed. In just a moment, his injuries were mostly healed, and even turned to good fortune—the bottleneck of his cultivation loosened somewhat!

Wang Tie was both astonished and delighted: "Junior Han, you..."

"Just a few minor tricks." Han Wuxian withdrew his hand, his gaze turning to Xiao Ran: "Brother Xiao's injury seems somewhat more troublesome."

Xiao Ran's face darkened, he nodded: "Old ailments cling to me, and I've added new wounds; they've struck at my foundation and Dao Foundation. If it weren't for my senior brother's tireless search for celestial material, I would have already fallen in realm."

Han Wuxian's divine sense carefully scanned Xiao Ran's body, his brows slightly raised: "Not only is your Dao Foundation injured, your Nascent Soul appears to be corroded by an extreme yin-cold Silence Extinction force, continually devouring your vitality and cultivation, which is why your realm is unstable and you cannot even exert full strength. In the Nan Ting Mountain Region, when did such a strange power appear?"

Wang Tie sighed: "Junior Han, your perception is as sharp as a torch. This junior brother's injury dates back several years when he explored an ancient secret realm; that realm was extremely strange, filled with an icy, deathly still qi that differs utterly from any current sect's cultivation methods. While trying to save me, this junior brother inadvertently let a strand of black qi invade his Nascent Soul... alas!"

Han Wuxian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Icy deathly still qi? Could it be... related to Eternal Darkness or the Silence Extinction Tide? It has actually seeped into such a remote corner as the Nan Ting Mountain Region?"

He felt wary inside, but showed nothing on his face, telling Xiao Ran: "Brother Xiao, rest assured; with those two primary medicines, aided by my power, we can dispel the Silence Extinction force, repair the Dao Foundation—there should be no serious problem, and we might even turn misfortune into blessing."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's eyes burst with brilliant light! This injury has tormented him for too long, nearly driving him to despair.

"Brother Han... are you serious?!"

"I never speak rashly." Han Wuxian gave a confident smile, "We shouldn't linger here; first find a safe place, and I will treat Brother Xiao's injuries."

Old friends reunited; though it began in danger, it ultimately saw a turning point.

Han Wuxian opened the jade box; the immense vitality of the Nine Apertures Soul-Returning Lotus and the Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Milk immediately spread forth. He pressed his fingers together like a blade, slicing off three lotus petals, and also took a small bowl of the earth core milk.

"Brother Xiao, sit cross-legged, guard your heart and mind; no matter what happens, do not resist." Han Wuxian's expression turned slightly solemn. The Silence Extinction force within Xiao Ran's Nascent Soul, while not exceptionally strong, is extremely strange and venomous, sharing the same source as Eternal Darkness, and must be dealt with carefully.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, complied by sitting cross-legged, closed his eyes, and fully exerted his cultivation method to protect his heart meridians.

Han Wuxian first sent that lotus petal into Xiao Ran's forehead; the petal transformed into pure life essence, nourishing his dried meridians and Nascent Soul. Then he suspended the bowl of Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Milk above Xiao Ran's head; the milky-white spiritual liquid fell like silk threads, seeping into his heavenly crown, stabilizing his wavering Dao Foundation.

Having done these preparations, Han Wuxian's eyes narrowed; he pressed his right index and middle fingers together, and a wisp of grayish Chaos Return to the Abyss Qi slowly condensed at his fingertip. Though this breath seemed mild, it caused the guarding Wang Tie and Qing Lin nearby to feel a pang of palpitation.

He pointed that finger at Xiao Ran's dantian qi sea!

The instant the fingertip made contact, Xiao Ran's whole body shuddered violently, his face showing extreme pain, veins bulging on his forehead, yet he clenched his teeth and made no sound.

Han Wuxian's divine sense had precisely captured the gray-black Silence Extinction force clinging like a bone-eating worm to Xiao Ran's Nascent Soul. Sensing threat, that force immediately went berserk, trying to invade deeper into the Nascent Soul!

"Hmph, a power without master, dare to act fiercely?"

Han Wuxian gave a cold shout; his Chaos Return to the Void Qi, like the most skilled hunter, instantly invaded, not violently attacking but turning into countless fine, indiscernible glimmers, like weaving a great net, wrapping and isolating that Silence Extinction power layer by layer.

His Chaos Return to the Void Qi is of extremely high essence, containing the true meaning of life and death and also bearing a trace of permission to transcend this realm; dealing with this sourceless Silence Extinction power is like pouring boiling water on snow!

Sizzle…

A faint corrosive sound sounded within Xiao Ran's body. The gray-black Silence Extinction power, wrapped in Chaos Return to the Void Qi, struggled and twisted wildly, yet could not break free, being refined and devoured bit by bit, transformed into the purest energy, which nourished Xiao Ran's damaged Nascent Soul.

This process is extremely delicate, demanding extraordinarily high control from the practitioner. Only someone like Han Wuxian, with such cultivation and state of mind, can handle the heavy as if it were light.

Time passed bit by bit.

The pain on Xiao Ran's face gradually faded, replaced by a sense of relief as if a burden had been lifted; his originally weak and unsteady aura began to grow strong and solid at a visible speed.