Chapter 702: Treatment (II)

After Xu Chi had forcibly awakened him the previous time, he had told the old man of his plan to invite a demonic cultivator to help alleviate the corrosion of the yao will. The moment Xu Ruichen regained consciousness, he guessed the identity of the ordinary-looking man before him. He was Xiao Zhe, the demonic cultivator his grandson had invited to help.

"There is no need for thanks." Lin Zheyu remained impassive as he asked calmly, "Can we begin?"

"We can. I know what must be done. Rest assured, I will open my sea of consciousness completely and allow you to act as necessary. However, the yao will has already grown formidable and condensed into a demonic spirit within my sea of consciousness. Please be careful," Xu Ruichen said solemnly.

The so-called demonic spirit had formed when the yao will corroded his spiritual soul, transforming the corrupted portion into an entity resembling a heart demon. Xu Ruichen later employed a secret art in an attempt to resolve the yao will's corruption by forcibly severing that portion of his spiritual soul. Unfortunately, he failed. Even after severing the corrupted portion, the yao will continued to relentlessly corrode the rest of his soul. Far from improving, his condition only grew increasingly dire.

"A demonic spirit? How strong is it?" Lin Zheyu asked.

That was the other party's sea of consciousness. If the demonic spirit was too powerful, he would have to reconsider whether to proceed with this transaction.

"Approximately the early Golden Core realm. However, since this demonic spirit shares the same origin as me, I cannot harm it in the slightest. Rest assured, fellow friend. When the time comes, I will assist you in suppressing it." Xu Ruichen's voice was somewhat weak. A powerful surge of savage killing intent suddenly welled up from the depths of his eyes, but he forcibly suppressed it.

He had been awake for only a short while, yet he was already struggling to hold on. This showed just how critical Xu Ruichen's condition had become.

Lin Zheyu looked toward Xu Chi and said calmly, "Very well. It is not that I distrust the Xu Family, but when I employ the secret art later, I must concentrate fully and cannot afford any distractions. Therefore, please leave this secluded chamber. Do not enter without my permission."

Xu Chi glanced at his grandfather and agreed upon seeing him nod. "All right."

He turned decisively and left the secluded chamber with a slight flicker of his figure. At Lin Zheyu's thought, a wisp of dark energy shot from his hand and entered the candle flame beside the entrance. A rumble followed, and the chamber door slowly closed under Xu Ruichen's astonished gaze.

"Your attainments in the Dao of Formations are quite remarkable!" Xu Ruichen exclaimed in surprise.

He knew full well how intricate the formation within this secluded chamber was. Even if outsiders managed to enter, they would be unable to locate the mechanism that opened and closed the chamber, much less discover how to activate it. Yet Fellow Xiao had been inside for only a short while and had not only located the mechanism but also worked out how to close the chamber. Such ability was truly astonishing.

Before Lin Zheyu could respond, Xu Ruichen chuckled and shook his head. "Of course. If you did not cultivate the Dao of formations, why would you be interested in the Heavenly Derivation Sect's Formation Dao Exchange Gathering?"

The Heavenly Derivation Sect's Formation Dao Exchange Gathering was renowned throughout the cultivation world. However, only cultivators of the Dao of formations flocked to it. Other cultivators had little interest in the event.

Attending the gathering was utterly pointless for those who knew nothing about formations. At most, they might acquire a few decent formation dharma treasures there, but that was all. Compared with the value of a place at the gathering, this minor benefit was not worth paying a tremendous price to obtain one.

"Can we begin?" Lin Zheyu asked calmly without responding to Xu Ruichen's astonishment.

He had deliberately displayed this ability as a subtle warning, cautioning Xu Ruichen and the others against entertaining any crooked ideas. Although Lin Zheyu was not afraid of them, avoiding unnecessary trouble was always preferable. After all, he was a good man who loved peace and disliked killing.

"We can. Please proceed..." Xu Ruichen exhaled deeply and once again suppressed the savage killing intent in the depths of his eyes, his voice resolute.

Lin Zheyu pressed his right hand against Xu Ruichen's brow and said calmly, "This may be somewhat painful. If you cannot endure it, you had best tell me. We can rest before continuing."

The yao will had already fused with the old man's soul. Purging and extracting it would be no different from forcibly tearing his soul apart.

"Heh, I have roamed the world for centuries. What manner of pain have I not endured? Even the agony of having my soul torn apart cannot overcome me. Do whatever is necessary, fellow friend!" Xu Ruichen declared solemnly.

He slowly closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and completely opened his sea of consciousness. In an instant, a terrifying and malevolent aura emanated from Xu Ruichen. Within Lin Zheyu's perception, the figure of a pitch-black demonic spirit appeared, radiating a horrifying aura.

Die! Die! Die!

Sensing Lin Zheyu's presence, the demonic spirit unleashed a roar. A terrifying killing intent filled with savage and chaotic impulses surged toward Lin Zheyu.

"Wretched beast! Get back in there!" Xu Ruichen's thunderous bellow resounded through his sea of consciousness.

Vast soul power swept forth and transformed into more than a dozen thick chains that firmly bound the demonic spirit. At the same time, surging golden energy penetrated the countless holes that demonic qi and yao will had corroded through the sea of consciousness before pouring inside. Under Lin Zheyu's control, the golden energy swiftly enveloped the demonic spirit.

In an instant, billowing black smoke rose from the mass of golden energy. The demonic spirit struggled frantically and unleashed a succession of agonized roars. At the center of the sea of consciousness, Xu Ruichen's soul form trembled and twisted along with the demonic spirit's roars and struggles. The two had originally been one. Even though the demonic spirit had been severed from Xu Ruichen's soul, they still shared the same origin and remained closely connected.

Time slowly passed.

***

As expected of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, purging the yao will from his body was far more difficult than purging it from Kong Yujing and the others. Lin Zheyu spent a full four days completely eradicating the demonic spirit, leaving behind a hazy gray mass of soul origin. Soul origin was the very foundation of the soul, and the loss of even a tiny amount would have an enormous impact. If Xu Ruichen lost this mass of soul origin, his soul would suffer grievous damage. In his current condition, such an injury would leave him not far from death.

"Thank you, fellow friend. Do you need to rest before we continue?" Xu Ruichen transmitted.

His soul had endured four days of torment and become exceedingly weak, but it recovered considerably after absorbing the soul origin left behind by the eradicated demonic spirit.

"No need. Let us continue," Lin Zheyu replied calmly.

Xu Ruichen's eyes hardened with resolve as he said solemnly, "Very well. Please proceed!"

After what he had experienced over the past few days, he had grown increasingly confident that Fellow Xiao could resolve his problem.

Xu Ruichen was secretly astonished and thought to himself, Just what is this man's background? He is definitely not in the Golden Core realm as Little Chi claimed. There is a strong possibility that he has reached the Nascent Soul realm! Moreover, is he truly a demonic cultivator? Setting aside these mysterious and powerful methods of his, the mere fact that he can cultivate demon arts to the Nascent Soul realm without suffering any apparent consequences is terrifying enough.

The thoughts flashed through his mind, but he soon became incapable of thinking any further. Terrible pain surged over him like a tide as the excruciating agony of his soul being torn apart assailed him once more.

***

Outside the secluded chamber, Xu Chi paced back and forth with an anxious expression. Xiao Zhe and Grandfather have been inside for more than ten days without emerging. Could something have gone wrong?

Xu Chi shook his head and quietly tried to reassure himself. "No, that cannot be. Xiao Zhe truly is capable. With his help, the yao will within that demonic cultivator was indeed almost completely purged."

However, his confidence soon began to waver again, and concern flickered in his eyes. As Xu Chi saw it, Xiao Zhe was only at the Golden Core realm, so naturally he had been able to purge the yao will from a demonic cultivator weaker than himself. His grandfather, however, was a mid-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivator. The disparity in strength between them was simply too great.

A cold snort rang out as a middle-aged man slowly approached from the distance. "Hmph! Second Uncle could originally have held on for some time longer and continued deterring the other esteemed families. Now, because of your recklessness, if Second Uncle perishes, can you bear the responsibility?"

He had been observing from the shadows for a long time, deliberately waiting until a weakness appeared in Xu Chi's mental defenses before revealing himself. The man could sense Xu Chi's worry and panic.

Xu Chi's lips trembled slightly as he replied in a grave voice, "I believe in Fellow Xiao's abilities!"

There was no turning back once the bow had been drawn. He could only place his hopes in Xiao Zhe now. Besides, the Xu Family had no other path left. They could either risk everything on one last attempt or abandon it all, flee elsewhere, and start anew.

The middle-aged man's eyes bulged as his imposing aura steadily rose, his questions becoming increasingly aggressive. "Believe in him? What basis do you have for that belief? Do you know his true origins? How much do you know about him? Can you be certain that he has no designs on our Xu Family? You even dared to shut a man whose origins and background are completely unknown inside a secluded chamber with Second Uncle. Did you get your head caught in a door? Countless secret arts exist in this world. What if he cultivates some powerful and unusual secret art capable of controlling Second Uncle?"

The barrage of questions caught the already worried and flustered Xu Chi off guard. For a moment, even he began to wonder whether his decision had been wrong.

"Take it out and open the secluded chamber at once!" the middle-aged man shouted.

As he shouted the command, he secretly employed a soul secret art and infused it into his voice, subtly influencing Xu Chi's mental will. The middle-aged man had been using the secret art to influence Xu Chi ever since he first appeared.