Chapter 774

Liu Junyan is a dragon, his cultivation path is closely related to water, practicing breath regulation in the deep sea is originally one of his required courses.

But it's obvious that this breath regulation is different from every time he previously did closed-door cultivation in the deep sea.

Liu Junyan closed his eyes, focusing on feeling his breath regulation process, discovering that each inhale and exhale was continuously calm to a terrifying degree.

Even he clearly felt that for a period of time his breathing was in a stagnant state.

And as time passed, the duration of this stagnation gradually lengthened, until later he could hardly feel his breathing, even his heartbeat.

What's going on?

However, he soon discovered that in this process his body became unprecedentedly light and unobstructed, as if all his meridians were opened, the stagnation from internal injuries completely cleared, and his cultivation was steadily increasing.

Xiao Jiu parked the car at Xijiekou, and Li Qingying had already come up to meet her.

She had finished dealing with Xu Chun's matter and immediately rushed back to Yin Dang Hang to wait.

Seeing that Xiao Jiu was driving, she was puzzled for a moment.

Xiao Jiu said, "I left Grey Fifth Lord in Suedi to handle the aftermath, Āyàn has had an incident and needs to go into closed-door cultivation, Sister Qingying, please help me help him to the west room."

Xiao Jiu said while opening the rear car door.

When her hand rested on Liu Junyan's shoulder, preparing to lift his upper body, she froze for a moment.

Li Qingying keenly sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Jiu didn't answer Li Qingying, but instead extended two fingers and placed them under Liu Junyan's nose to feel.

Just a moment later, her hand trembled as if scalded and she pulled it back.

Li Qingying was very doubtful, also probed under Liu Junyan's nose, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

How...... what's going on?

Seventh Lord, why isn't he breathing?

Xiao Jiu's heart was also pounding wildly.

In Suedi, when she got Liu Junyan into the car, his body was very hot, his breathing rapid, his overall condition like a high fever.

All the way back to Wufu Town, he lay quietly in the back, with nothing amiss.

But... but how did he just stop breathing?

Xiao Jiu tremblingly reached again toward Liu Junyan's carotid artery.

Her fingertips touching his skin felt icy cold.

The carotid artery also felt no pulse.

Xiao Jiu dared not touch anymore; at that moment all her rationality was cast aside, leaving only panic.

Li Qingying turned and rushed toward Bái Jiā Yīguǎn.

Not long after, Bai Shulan came hurrying with Li Qingying.

After Bai Shulan conducted a thorough examination, she was also somewhat startled.

From various signs, Liu Junyan had indeed lost all vital signs.

No breathing, no heartbeat, no pulse, body icy cold...

Li Qingying supported Xiao Jiu's body, fearing she couldn't bear Bai Shulan's impending judgment of Liu Junyan, and might collapse.

Seeing Bai Shulan standing there dazed, with a stunned expression, Li Qingying's heart turned completely cold.

But she still carefully asked, "Shulan, Seventh Lord..."

"From an ordinary person's physiological perspective, Seventh Lord Liu has already died." Bai Shulan paused, then shifted her tone, saying, "However, there is a doubt: although Seventh Lord Liu's body is cold, there is still no sign of rigor mortis..."

Li Qingying nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Seventh Lord's body is still soft, elastic; if he were truly dead, it should have started to stiffen by now."

Listening to their conversation, Xiao Jiu's eyes suddenly brightened.

Just now she was so panicked that she couldn't think at all.

Bai Shulan's words woke her up, and she immediately realized: "I know what's wrong with Āyàn."

She said, then supported Liu Junyan's body and moved him out of the car.

Several people, scrambling, moved Liu Junyan to the room he shares with Xiao Jiu.

Li Qingying and Bai Shulan went out, Xiao Jiu wiped Liu Junyan's body and changed his clothes.

While wiping his body, she deliberately moved his limbs extensively to confirm that his joints and muscles had not truly stiffened.

After finishing everything, Xiao Jiu covered Liu Junyan with a blanket, closed the door, and left.

Bai Shulan and Li Qingying were sitting on the sofa in the reception room waiting.

As Xiao Jiu approached, Li Qingying hurriedly said, "Xiao Jiu, Shulan said Seventh Lord's condition is likely a special cultivation method, right?"

"Right." Xiao Jiu said, "I and Shulan came to the same conclusion: Āyàn should be practicing the legendary turtle-breathing method."

Xiao Jiu recounted everything she saw when she rushed to Suedi.

"That old turtle originally should have had a chance to survive; with its merit and cultivation, given time it still could have ascended, but it was unwilling to see the beings of Suedi suffer, so it dispersed all its merit, protecting the beings of Suedi to be reborn, and at the final moment of its life, it poured its inner elixir into Āyàn's body."

When Grey Fifth Lord and I rushed over, Āyàn's whole body was scorching hot, appearing utterly unable to withstand the impact of the old turtle's inner elixir, but all the way back from Suedi, his physical condition completely changed.

I think the old turtle's inner elixir affected Āyàn, and in the ongoing process of the inner elixir merging with Āyàn, Āyàn's cultivation method changed accordingly; this turtle-breathing method is probably the method the old turtle originally used in its cultivation?

Bai Shulan responded: "For us medical practitioners, the turtle-breathing method is not unfamiliar, but ordinary people using it merely have slightly longer intervals between breaths and a slower heartbeat; a situation like Seventh Lord's is truly rare."

This might be related to the old turtle's profound Dao and the fact that Seventh Lord's cultivation surpasses mine; if a physician with higher cultivation than mine were to take Seventh Lord's pulse, perhaps they could still detect something.

"No matter what, as long as the person is fine, that's good." Xiao Jiu said, "On the way back from Suedi, I kept thinking about how to persuade Āyàn to actively merge with the old turtle's inner elixir; now it seems the old turtle's inner elixir is actively merging into Āyàn's body, which is a good thing."

Bai Shulan stared meaningfully into Xiao Jiu's eyes and said, "A good thing is a good thing, but, Xiao Jiu, Seventh Lord's cultivation is not low either, you..."

Xiao Jiu shook her head at Bai Shulan, cutting off her question.

Bai Shulan sighed, stood up, and said, "If I recall correctly, closed-door turtle-breathing cultivation lasts as short as forty-nine days or as long as eighty-one days; as for how many days Seventh Lord will need, I'm not sure, but Xiao Jiu, you need to prepare yourself mentally for a long wait, waiting for him to break through the bottleneck and emerge from seclusion..."

"I will take good care of him." Xiao Jiu said, "No matter how he turns out after emerging from seclusion, I will gladly accept it."

Bai Shulan nodded, said nothing more, and left.

Li Qingying listened to the two of them playing riddles, feeling a bit puzzled...