61

"Master... Do you really think this is going to work?"

A woman in her late twenties was complaining to the old man beside her. She was wearing long blue loose robes with her hair tied up in the shape of a bun along with an old exquisite hairpin. At the moment, she had a frown on her face as she looked at the small pile of grass in front of her.

"Well." The old man beside her replied in a leisurely tone. "That is for you to find out."

Even though he appeared laid back, his eyes never left her. He wanted to see just how much she understood.

"Umm..." There was a clear frustration on the woman's face as she looked at the pile of grass.

"Take your time, Wan'er. Find out the correct herb used in the Moonlight pill and then proceed with it." Letting out a chuckle, the old man had a constant smile on his face. Just when he was about to speak further, his figure paused as a deep frown appeared on his face.

Turning his head around, he looked at the other end of the river beside him. He didn't say a word, but with every passing moment, his face was turning serious.

"Master?" Noticing the changes in her master, the woman looked at him in confusion before following his gaze into the distance.

At first, she was confused. Nothing but normal water was flowing from there, but after a moment, she suddenly narrowed her eyes as she noticed what seemed to be a figure floating through the river.

"That is..." With every passing second, the figure was nearing them. It wasn't until long before she was finally able to see it. It was the body of a young human boy.

"MASTER." Immediately shouting at the old man beside her, she asked for his help.

If the boy was alive, then he needed their help and if he were dead, she wanted to bury him instead of letting him float like this.

To her dismay, the old man seemed oblivious to her pleas. His eyes were constantly looking at the body with a grim expression. Even though his dear disciple asked for his help, he didn't want to. If it were someone ordinary, he might have listened to her, but this boy...

Before he had time to explain to his disciple he suddenly heard a rustling sound before the sound of someone jumping in the river echoed in his ears.

"This child..." Looking at the woman who had already jumped into the water and was now pulling the body of the boy towards the ground, he let out a helpless sigh. If there was one thing he didn't like about this disciple of hers... then it would be her kind nature.

"Huff... Huff..." The woman struggled to pull the boy out of the water, finally dragging him onto the dry land. She took a few deep breaths, then quickly checked on the boy. To her relief, he was still breathing. But his breath was weak, and his face was pale. Worried, she pressed his chest to help him breathe.

"What... What's going on?" Even though she pressed his chest for a while, there wasn't any change in the boy. Just when she was wondering whether she was doing it wrong, the old man behind her finally let out a sigh.

"It's not the water." Shaking his head, he took a few steps forward before standing beside her.

"Remove his robe and shirt." He didn't make a move but ordered her to do it.

"Umm..." Without any hesitation, the woman took off his robe before removing his shirt. But the moment she did, she suddenly let in a deep cold breath.

"Hiss...."

Looking at the giant dark-blue spot on his chest she looked at her master, hoping for an answer.

"We shouldn't have saved him." The old man shook his head before explaining further. "The injury on his chest is no ordinary injury."

With the experience of the old man, it didn't even take a moment to find out the root cause of the injury.

"I can still feel the aura of heaven and earth along with the destructive Qi that is still inside his wound." Placing his hand on the unconscious boy's chest, he paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"It's a corrosion Qi." With a frown, he took a deep breath.

"Strange... How could a young boy like him survive from this?" The more he observed, the more he found himself at a loss.

He just checked the bone age and the boy was less than eighteen. Judging by the injury on his chest, it was clear that he was hit directly by an Innate powerhouse. But this was what confused him the most.

How could such a young boy survive a direct impact from an Innate powerhouse? He should have exploded into dust under that power.

In the end, he could only come up with two scenarios... The first one was that the innate powerhouse purposely kept him alive just to torment him and make his life worse than death. If that was the case, then he didn't want to poke his nose.

And the second scenario was that the boy himself was a powerhouse in the realm of Innate. The moment this thought came to his mind, the old man laughed at himself for thinking too much. The most talented person who reached Innate did so after the age of thirty.

That left him with the only explanation... The boy was purposely left alive.

"Wan'er... Let's leave him here. We have already reduced him once. There is no need to get ourselves involved with someone like him. Who knows what kind of people he might have offended."

The moment he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the group of herbs before picking them up.

"Wan'er?" Upon realizing she wasn't following him, he stopped and turned around only to see her already lifting the boy in her arms.

"Did you not hear a single word I said?" Speechlessly, he shook his head. Despite her talent, this disciple's soft heart often got the better of her. It was both her greatest flaw and her most endearing quality.

"I heard. But..." She shook her head with a firm expression.

"You..." Raising his finger he wanted to scold her but upon seeing her firm expression let out a sigh of helplessness. "Forget it."

There was no point in arguing with her. Once she made up her mind, it was hard to convince her otherwise.

"Take him." Waving his hand, he turned around and left the place.

"Heh." The woman just let out a soft chuckle before moving towards the small crude house in the distance.

------------

Inside the Yang family, Yang Yuanzhen was standing nervously in front of an old man.

"Have you decided?" The old man didn't waste any words. "Just like we promised, the Xuanwu Sect is willing to let one of your family members step into the realm of Innate. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned, a promise is a promise."

"It's me." There was no hesitation in Yang Yuanzhen's voice. In the entire Yang family, he was the strongest person and the only one capable of stepping into the Innate.

"I have to warn you again." This time the old man's voice was grim and his face incomparably serious. "Once you take this path, your path of cultivation will stop. Regardless of what you do in the future, this will be your limit."

"So, let me ask you once again, are you sure you want to take this path?" He asked once again, perhaps giving him a moment to ponder over this.

"I am sure." Yang Yuanzhen had already made up his mind. He was already 120 years old. Though warriors in the Qi Guiding realm could live up to 200 years old, it was only in extreme cases. Most won't even make it till 150 years before succumbing to injuries and disasters.

When he was young, he too was filled with hopes and dreams, but over time, he realized just how little it all meant. His ambitions and dreams were worthless in the absence of resources and opportunities.

Were it before, he would have hesitated after hearing the old man's words. But upon seeing the utter destruction of the Yuyang city after the fight between two Innate powerhouses, his conviction firmed.

He was going to take this chance. As for his future achievements... Heh... with the strength of Innate, is there anything he can't do?

"Good." Since he had already made up his mind, the old man didn't waste any more time.

"Just remember this... There will be two tribulations. A thunder tribulation that if you manage to overcome means stepping into Innate and a Heart tribulation that you will face when you are the most vulnerable. I am only responsible for the Thunder tribulation. After that, you are on your own."

After the old man finished speaking, Yang Yuanzhen just gave him a respectful bow. He already knew about the dangers. But with the allure of that godlike power... He was willing to risk everything... Even his own life.

------------

Inside a dimly lit room, the woman was standing silently behind the old man who seemed to be treating the young boy.

"Master, when will he wake up?" Looking at the unconscious boy, the woman couldn't help but ask her master. After she bought him inside the house, her master didn't let her touch him anymore. So the only thing she could do was to watch her master.

At that moment, the old man was gently massaging the boy's chest with his hands covered in a thin layer of transparent white light. Every few seconds he would stop and take a short pause before continuing.

The treatment went on for an entire day and even after that, the condition of the boy barely improved.

"Master..." It was obvious that the woman didn't want the one she saved to die so soon, so she could only plead, but the old man just shook his head.

"It will take a long time for him to heal. I don't know what hatred was between him and the other party, but the one who injured him deliberately used his blood essence to amplitude the effects. It is a miracle that the boy is still alive. As for how long he is going to last... Hard to say."

With these words, he walked out of the room. It might not look like much, but he spent his entire qi, trying to expel the poisonous qi in the boy's body. As for whether the boy could survive or not... It could only be left to fate.

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While the outside world was in turmoil, the boy in the picture—Lin Kai—stood frozen, his face full of shock as he stared at the bustling modern city before him. Everywhere he looked, towering skyscrapers reached into the sky, and endless streams of traffic filled the streets.

"Where..." He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?"