Chapter 415: Old Acquaintance

Looking back, they could see the Divine Wind gradually dispersing.

It had started seventy-nine days ago and ended today. The Tai Su Orthodox Sect was no longer maintaining the Array. As the Divine Wind dissipated, the Nanzhan Treasure Continent was finally laid bare under the open sky.

But this did not mean the Nanzhan Continent had become a place one could enter and exit at will.

Glancing down, he saw a thin, murky mist rising from the sea’s surface. Feng Yuanliu focused his mind to probe it carefully, but he could not determine where the mist came from or why it had appeared. He mused aloud, “Seventy-nine days. The timing was perfect—neither too early nor too late. The Sect Leader truly has divine foresight.”

The Tai Su Sect had dissipated the great Array, so entering the Nanzhan Continent was now completely unobstructed. But leaving the Nanzhan Continent would likely not be so easy.

Although the mist was not yet substantial, no one knew if it might suddenly surge, blanketing the sky and covering the sea, turning the Nanzhan Continent into a forbidden land once more.

The disciples of the Tai Su Orthodox Sect who had entered the Nanzhan Treasure Continent had already begun to withdraw through the Gate of Life several days prior. The Tai Su Orthodox Sect did not ask about whatever fortuitous encounters they might have had. If anyone had gains they couldn’t use and wished to turn them over to the sect, the sect would exchange them for a sufficient amount of merit points.

Even the Tai Su Pavilion had set up a temporary shop here, doing business with the Independent Cultivators who used the path to enter and exit the Nanzhan Treasure Continent. Since the Gate of Life was opened by Tai Su, this business was exclusive to the Tai Su Pavilion, and it was naturally booming.

After all, even if Nanzhan was filled with treasures, finding what one needed was no easy task. And not everyone had the backing of a sect like Tai Su.

Xuzhuang raised a finger and pointed. A Dao Talisman flew out, replacing the original decree and warning latecomers not to trespass into Nanzhan again.

Feng Yuanliu couldn’t help but say, “You have a kind heart, Junior Brother.”

Hearing this, Xuzhuang just said flatly, “It’s a small gesture, nothing more.”

The Tai Su Orthodox Sect never concealed its movements. Anyone with a bit of sense would know that entering Nanzhan now, or lingering any longer, was not a wise move.

But there were always those who were greedy, those who relied on luck, or those who were arrogantly ignorant… people who wanted to risk it all for a chance. This Dao Talisman might persuade some of those whose time was not yet up to turn back.

Feng Yuanliu nodded and said no more. Xuzhuang lowered his gaze. Aside from the Magic Altar beneath his feet, the area was bustling with activity. Led by the Celestial Craft Ghost Axe Daoist, Dao Soldiers and Warriors were dismantling the other Magic Altars. After the various array gates were removed, everyone would converge at this location. The Three Hall Elders would take a headcount of the disciples, and the Tai Su Pavilion had not yet packed up…

Their arrival had been swift and decisive, but their departure was proving to be a bit more tedious. It looked like it would take another day or two. Xuzhuang was not impatient, but a sudden impulse stirred within him, an inexplicable urge to leave first.

‘I’m the guardian of a sector, but I’m still too junior. It isn’t my place to coordinate everything, so it wouldn’t matter if I left a step ahead of the others…’

After a moment of thought, Xuzhuang made up his mind. But before he could speak, both he and Feng Yuanliu sensed something and looked up. A streak of smoke led the way from the horizon, guiding a cluster of light trails and several Flying Boats toward them.

After entering their field of vision, the streak of smoke suddenly broke away, accelerating rapidly. In just a moment, it was before them. The Smoke Mist dispersed, revealing a long-haired Daoist with a rather pale complexion. It was Zhang Tingxian.

Zhang Tingxian was senior to Xuzhuang and Feng Yuanliu in terms of cultivation years, but he didn’t put on airs. He offered a faint smile first and called out, “Junior Brother Xu, Junior Brother Feng.”

Xuzhuang’s brow furrowed slightly. He first returned the salutation, saying, “Senior Brother Zhang.” Feng Yuanliu, however, asked abruptly, “Your injuries still haven’t healed?”

Both Xuzhuang and Feng Yuanliu knew that Zhang Tingxian had been injured during his duel with Ye Xuanzhang. They just hadn’t expected that after more than two months, his condition showed no signs of improvement.

Not only was Zhang Tingxian’s face pale, but his aura was also somewhat unstable. For a cultivator who had mastered the Tai Su True Form Scripture to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, this was simply inconceivable. A condition like this naturally couldn’t be hidden from the two of them, but Xuzhuang was not as familiar with Zhang Tingxian as Feng Yuanliu was, so he didn’t ask.

The smile on Zhang Tingxian’s face turned a little bitter. He didn’t try to hide it, revealing a hand from within his sleeve. Only then did the two of them discover with a shock that three of his fingers and half his palm looked like rotten wood, unable to move and completely devoid of life force.

“This!” Feng Yuanliu’s expression changed slightly. The physical body was the precious vessel for cultivation. To refine a Primordial Spirit, the body could not have the slightest damage. An injury like Zhang Tingxian’s had likely already affected his path of cultivation.

Feng Yuanliu said in a low voice, “I have a great elixir that can regenerate flesh and bone. Cut off this hand, use the elixir to regrow it, and with a hundred years of nurturing, it might possibly recover completely.”

Reattaching severed limbs or regrowing them might not be an easy matter, but for Tai Su, for the Feng Family, and for a Nascent Soul true disciple, it was not difficult to achieve.

The real difficulty was that for someone at the Nascent Soul Third Layer, who also practiced a Superior Dao Skill, their physical body could long be considered a ‘Dao Body’ or a ‘Tai Su Immortal Body’—an innate marvel no different from Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

For such a cultivator’s physical body, even if it were regrown and nurtured with painstaking effort, it might never reach a state of perfection again.

“There’s no need.” Zhang Tingxian waved his hand slightly and said with a bitter smile, “Not only have my fingers and palm turned to rotten wood, but they are also constantly gnawing away at my life force. Although I’ve been using my mystic arts to refine it, a trace of deathly energy has ultimately damaged my foundation.”

Feng Yuanliu’s expression changed again and again. He gritted his teeth and said, “Ye Xuanzhang…”

Zhang Tingxian patted Feng Yuanliu’s shoulder and said to the two of them, “My defeat at Ye Xuanzhang’s hands was no accident.”

“The Daoist art Ye Xuanzhang used to injure me is exceptionally formidable. It not only harms a cultivator’s precious body, extinguishes their life force, and damages their foundation, but its attack is also incomparably fast, far exceeding the response capabilities of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.”

“Although I reacted with all my might to escape, he still managed to injure half my palm, leading to this outcome.” He said solemnly, “If you two face him in the future, you must remember to be extremely cautious.”