Yao Clan Reception Hall
Liu Chuan was quietly sending voice transmissions to Jian Dan: "Didn't expect the Yao clan to have real heritage. There is a ten-thousand-year hibiscus gardenia here that has gained spirit."
"Why do you sound so excited?"
Jian Dan teased him, eyes narrowing as she added lazily, "Don't tell me you've set your sights on their little hibiscus. Out with it, what are you planning?"
"Tch. I am not that tasteless. This plant is frightfully timid. The moment it sensed me, it hid and vanished."
"Heh. Even you get snubbed sometimes."
Having finally found a chance to rib Liu Chuan, Jian Dan was not about to let it pass.
While the banter went back and forth, the Yao Patriarch returned to the hall and addressed Jian Jing's group. "The Ancestor asks the seniors to move to the Ice Cavern. Yao Bin is recuperating there."
He led the way through half the estate, past lush spirit gardens, and arrived at the Ancestor's place of cultivation.
"Please, seniors, inside."
In the main hall stood a lean middle-aged cultivator, clearly waiting.
"Yao greets the Daoyou of Heavenly Sword Sect. It is our fault for troubling you to come personally." His words were well chosen and reasonably sincere.
Jian Jing saluted with the others and went straight to the point. "Yao Daoyou, there is no need for courtesy. We are all doing this for our juniors. Let us not waste time on pleasantries. We should examine the young one first."
"Good. This way."
Finding them so forthright, the Yao Ancestor still felt uncertain, but at least these people were not here to fool them. He personally guided the group toward the Ice Cavern, explaining Yao Bin's condition en route.
"Bin'er has a wood spiritual root. He is one of our key juniors and gifted in cultivating spirit plants. Plants are fond of him because of that root.
About half a year ago, he heard there was a rare plant, 'Years,' in the Chimei Mountains under the Heavenly Demon Palace. He led clan members into the range to harvest it. They returned empty-handed and severely injured. Only Bin'er was unscathed."
At the mention of the Chimei Mountains, Jian Dan's brows knit. She shot Jian Po a glance.
Jian Po was just as quick. The jade slip about a new type of "blood insect" in the Chimei Mountains had reached the Enforcement Hall before they left the sect. Everyone in Enforcement knew it. Jian Lu Zūnshàng had brought that intelligence back, and soon after, Heavenly Demon Palace sent the same warning.
Time had been short. Many clans had yet to receive the detailed message, and the Yao clan had likely been consumed with Yao Bin's illness, their attention elsewhere.
The Ancestor continued, "At first there was nothing unusual, only fatigue. We assumed the failed expedition and the injuries to his companions had drained him. We suggested he shut himself in brief seclusion to adjust."
Annoyance flickered across the Ancestor's face as he went on, "Then, while I was in seclusion, I received Bin'er's distress call.
I sensed he was still within the estate and broke open his chamber. He had collapsed and his cultivation was falling. I sealed his dantian to halt the drop and examined his body. I found a peculiar toxin filling his meridians and vessels, constantly corroding him. I tried to drive it into a single arm, but I could not force it out.
Each time I pressured it, the toxin acted as if it had life, drawing on Bin'er's blood essence through the channels and wrestling with me. I could not watch him bleed his essence dry, so I stopped."
The more Jian Dan and Jian Po heard, the more it sounded like the new "blood insects" searching for a host. Yao Bin did not seem to be an ideal host, so the thing was trying to depart, feeding on him while leaving. The Ancestor's suppression had pinned it in place, so it lingered and consumed him inside.
Jian Po listened closely and nodded to the two Zūnshàngs. The symptoms matched the characteristics they had obtained two days earlier. The rest would have to be verified in person.
When the Ancestor finished, his peripheral glance caught the exchanged looks and the sober faces of the three. Relief and tension tugged in his chest at once. They clearly knew what ailed the youth, but the cure would not be simple.
At the Ice Cavern, he waved a hand to open the restriction. The doors rumbled aside to reveal a world of ice and snow, blocks of ancient frost everywhere.
Jian Dan swept it with her Primordial Soul. The ice was a thousand years old at the edges, growing older toward the center. Upon a bed hewn from ten-thousand-year cold lay a young man with a bloodless face.
"This is Bin'er. He sleeps. The cold bed slows the poison's spread, so I placed him here. To keep his cultivation from falling, I sealed his dantian. To resist the chill, I have been maintaining a constant temperature by spell."
The Ancestor moved to cast the warming spell, but Jian Dan stopped him. "Yao Daoyou, hold for now. We must confirm the cause."
He withdrew his hand and gave them room by the bed.
Jian Po stepped forward, her Primordial Soul scanning from head to toe. With a wave, she slit the sleeve and exposed the arm where the toxin had been corralled.
Yao Bin's entire left arm, from shoulder socket to fingertip, was sauce-red, a herald of imminent necrosis. Jian Po's Primordial Soul saw why at once. Hair-thin crimson lines, like threads, filled every channel and vessel, dyeing the flesh that alarming color.
Worse, the spread had begun again, creeping toward his chest.
Eyes closed, Jian Dan sensed carefully, then asked, "Yao Daoyou, how often do you suppress the toxin?"
He understood her meaning. Brow furrowed, he answered, "It was once a month. Now it is every fifteen days. The spread keeps accelerating."
Jian Po returned to Jian Dan's side and gave a small nod. Jian Dan addressed the Ancestor directly, "We have a working judgment on the cause. The next step is treatment, which requires your consent and coordination."
Knowing the true battle lay in the cure, the Ancestor nodded and prepared to step out.
Jian Jing spoke suddenly, "Shield his heart channels first."
Startled, the Ancestor flicked out a cluster of green light. It sank into Yao Bin's heart meridians. The sleeping youth frowned, then smoothed out. With that, everyone withdrew from the cavern.
"Honored Daoyou of Heavenly Sword Sect, tell me plainly. Can Bin'er be saved?"
Seated again, the Ancestor was first to speak, eyes fixed on the three.
Jian Dan understood the urgency and did not hedge. She said to Jian Po, "Show Yao Daoyou the jade slip."
Jian Po nodded, brushed her storage bangle, and produced a jade slip, handing it to Yao Lin, who had remained silent at the side.