Chapter 24: Spirit Recovery Elixir

A new day, sunlight bathed the Stone Fortress as the sleeping Li Feifei slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the still-unconscious Li Qingxuan, her heart sank sharply.

Looking at Li Qingxuan's furrowed brow in his unconscious state, a pang of heartache flashed in her eyes, as if that crease were etched into her heart.

Last night, using her body heat to warm him, that icy sensation still lingered on her skin.

She hurriedly pushed up her sore body, her trembling fingers reaching for his breath, feeling his breathing grow much heavier, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart.

Li Feifei put on her clothes, pushed open the east and south iron windows, sunlight poured in, and she glanced at the time—it was already noon.

After a whole night, he showed not the slightest sign of waking!

"Qingxuan? Li Qingxuan!" she leaned close to his ear and called out, her voice dry and hoarse from a night of tension and dehydration, unable to hide her panic, "Can you hear me? Wake up! Please wake up!"

His brow remained tightly furrowed, his thin lips pressed into a pale line, his face pallid.

Outside the door, a faint, low whimpering sound came again, carrying an agitated rhythm, as if it sensed the condition of the master inside.

The shadow cast by its massive body swayed slightly, and an invisible pressure seeped in through the heavy door.

Li Feifei could even smell the lingering scent of the Black Goat in the air, a unique odor mixed with bloodiness that made her already taut nerves nearly snap.

"He… he's still alive…" Li Feifei muttered toward the door, more like talking to herself, her voice choked with tears, "But he hasn't woken… how could this happen…"

She tightly gripped Li Qingxuan's still‑cold hand, trying to pass her warmth to him, as if that could dispel the fatigue caused by spiritual overexertion.

Seeing no sign of Li Qingxuan waking, Li Feifei opened the control panel and searched the Trading Center for something that could help.

Her fingers swiftly slid across the semi‑transparent control panel hovering before her eyes, her fingertips trembling slightly from tension.

The Trading Center's items were chaotic and cluttered, filled with all kinds of product information.

"Spirit… spiritual power recovery… spiritual power increase…" she whispered hurriedly, typing the keywords into the search bar.

The page flickered, bringing up a long list of results.

Her gaze quickly swept over those entries.

【Soul Stone 1 – 500 Unit Iron Blocks】

【Item: Soul Stone】

【Effect: Spirit +5】

【Description: Can raise the spirit attribute】

【Spirit Recovery Elixir – 500 Unit Stone】

【Item: Spirit Recovery Elixir】

【Effect: Can slowly restore spirit, reducing the side effects of spiritual overexertion】

【Description: A potion that can restore spiritual power and ease the spirit】

……

She instantly locked onto the description of that 【Spirit Recovery Elixir】—"Can slowly restore spirit, reducing the side effects of spiritual overexertion"—those words hit her like a lifeline; this was exactly what Li Qingxuan needed most right now!

The word "slowly" made her heart tighten, but at least it was a hope.

Her eyes quickly scanned the price—500 Unit Stone—she immediately went into the Storage Room and put the stone into her backpack. The stone amount appeared before her: 3850! More than enough!

Li Feifei chose to exchange without hesitation.

With a slight thought, at the moment she confirmed the transaction, the stone count in her backpack dropped sharply by 500 units, and at the same time a bottle roughly palm‑sized, filled with a bluish liquid, appeared out of nowhere in her backpack.

Holding it in her hand, the bottle felt bone‑chillingly cold; the bluish liquid, under sunlight, shimmered with a faint yet strange glow, like a tranquil deep sea, as if it held some mysterious power to soothe the soul.

Li Feifei's heart pounded faster, almost bursting her chest.

She clutched the precious elixir tightly, as if she were holding not just the potion but Li Qingxuan's sole hope of survival.

She hurried back to the bedside, her movements somewhat clumsy from urgency.

She tried to pull out the cork stopper, but her fingers trembled badly from tension and exhaustion from the night, and several attempts failed.

"Don't rush… don't rush…" Li Feifei murmured, as if soothing herself.

She took a deep breath, clenched her teeth on the cork, and yanked hard.

With a soft "pop," the cork came out, releasing an indescribably light fragrance—cool mint and rain‑kissed forest—that instantly filled the room, dispelling the lingering bloodiness and the Black Goat's foul stench.

This scent seemed to carry a strange soothing power, letting Li Feifei's tense nerves relax a little.

Li Feifei carefully tilted the bottle, bringing the icy bluish liquid slowly to Li Qingxuan's blood‑less lips.

With her other hand she gently lifted his jaw, trying to get him to open his mouth.

However, Li Qingxuan's teeth were clenched shut, and the bluish potion slid down the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the pillow.

"Drink it… please, drink it…" Li Feifei's voice trembled with tears, almost pleading.

She increased the force lifting his jaw, her fingertips feeling his icy skin and tense muscles.

She tried again, pressing the bottle's mouth to the gap of his lips and carefully pouring in the liquid; this time a little seeped between his teeth.

Seeing the potion wouldn't go down, Li Feifei held the liquid in her mouth; the icy bluish fluid instantly filled her mouth, that strange cool sensation shooting straight to her brain, jolting her weary nerves.

Without a hint of hesitation, she lowered herself, her icy lips pressing firmly against Li Qingxuan's cold, sealed mouth, her tongue tip forcing open his clenched teeth.

The motion trembled with an all‑or‑nothing resolve; she carefully transferred the precious liquid from her mouth to his.

Her heart hung in her throat, all her senses focused on the point where their lips and teeth met.

The liquid slowly slid into his throat, one second, two seconds…

Li Feifei could even hear the thunderous pounding of her own heart in her chest, like a drumbeat hammering her tense nerves.

An extremely faint swallowing sound, as if escaping from the depths of his soul, slowly seeped from Li Qingxuan's throat.

Immediately afterward, his previously stiff, icy body twitched slightly, like a stone dropped into a frozen lake, sending out a barely visible ripple.

The brow that had been tightly knit seemed, in that instant, to relax a fraction.

She lifted her head, her eyes locked on him, her breathing easing considerably, her gaze fixed on that face before her, afraid to miss even the slightest change.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely, each second feeling as agonizing as a century.

After who knows how long, his eyeballs seemed to twitch slightly, setting his long eyelashes trembling like the wings of a dying butterfly.

Those tightly pursed, bloodless thin lips quietly opened a slit, no longer resisting as before and staying tightly shut.

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