Luo Qingyao tightly gripped the half-severed arm from Fan Wubing.
This arm, due to the poisonous miasma, had no flesh left, only white bones.
Her eyes were somewhat vacant; after standing dazed for a long time, she walked silently towards the third gate of the dungeon.
Lin Xing asked,
"Are you alright? Do you need to rest for a while?"
Luo Qingyao briefly steadied herself,
"No. I must complete the prison trial. Senior Brother risked his life to help me; I cannot let him down…"
She moved forward, disappearing into the darkness.
I know… Senior Brother has always endured the pressures from the outside world, and he wished to carry me smoothly through the trial of the new birth… He didn't want to delay me…
I also know… Senior Brother is a very serious person. Though he finds me childish, he is very patient with me…
I want everyone to understand, Senior Brother is a really good person.
If only… if only we hadn't clung to that false beauty… if only we'd returned to reality sooner, would none of this have happened?
Luo Qingyao held Fan Wubing's bony right hand tightly.
Cold, desiccated, without any life.
She pressed the back of the bony hand to her face, murmuring softly,
"Senior Brother, I will take you around the world… just like this, hand in hand…"
Watching her silhouette, Lin Xing felt a chill.
He came to the empty pool, hoping to see if anything had been overlooked.
Suddenly, in a corner that was hard to notice, he discovered an opening.
...
"Damn! Damn! Damn! Fan Wubing, you really screwed up this time. This period of rapid life force increase has really swelled your ego!"
The moment he sank into the toxic pool, Fan Wubing realized he couldn't climb out anymore.
Now his body was very fragile, unable to withstand vigorous movements.
Careless indeed, hadn't expected the miasma to not only corrode life force but also weaken joints.
His life force was draining rapidly at 3.8 points per second. With only 82 points left, that meant he could only last about 20 seconds.
He needed to escape the toxic pool quickly.
Climb up? No, the current joint tissue strength couldn't hold.
Think carefully, think carefully!
Fan Wubing didn't lose his composure at such a critical moment. He benefited from his long-cultivated patience, and the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill actively regulating his mindset and breath. He thought calmly.
Earlier, while carrying Luo Qingyao in the pool, he felt the toxic water flowing slowly.
This is an enclosed space; the toxic water flowing signifies… there must be an outlet.
Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill, activate fully!
He used all his energy to operate the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill, sensing the direction of the current.
This way!
Soon, he found the direction. Kicking swiftly, he swam towards the outlet.
[-5]
[+1.2]
Soaked in toxic water, losing 5 points of blood per second. Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill passively restores 1.2 points per second.
Dropping 3.8 points per second.
Found it!
With 37 points of life force remaining, Fan Wubing found the exit. Without hesitation, he tightened his shoulders and dove in.
Luckily, due to the corrosion by toxic water, much of the flesh on the surface of his body had fallen off. If he were in full form, he might not have fit through.
This was a very narrow passage, like an underground sewage pipe. It connected not only to the toxic pool but also to other pools.
Entering the passage, because the toxic water was diluted by other liquids, the rate of blood loss decreased significantly.
Gradually, the blood loss fell below the recovery rate of the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill.
Only then did Fan Wubing breathe a sigh of relief.
He had been considering risking using the Foundation Establishment Pill he had commissioned earlier to forcibly extend his life.
But now, it seemed unnecessary for the time being.
In the narrow, dark passage, moving like a worm.
Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill, slowly restoring blood.
Fan Wubing could feel the corroded tissues on his body starting to fall away, and new, life-filled flesh slowly growing.
The regrowth process of the severed half of his right hand felt the most distinct.
Previously, injuries were mostly internal organ damage, not very tangible to feel. This regrowth of a severed limb really made him directly appreciate the benefits of measuring life force in blood bar terms, paired with a percentage-based recovery cultivation technique like Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill.
It could be said, neither condition, if lacking, would produce this effect.
This is the benefit brought by numerical representation.
Gradually, Fan Wubing finally saw a bit of light.
Reaching the exit.
He painstakingly crawled out of the narrow exit, then looked around, quickly understanding what kind of passage he had crawled through just now.
This Peach Branch Small Profound Realm was originally a section of a peach branch. Unquestionably, the little world of that Integration Realm Great Power was a peach tree.
As a peach tree, naturally, it had a bark and trunk.
In the bark, there is a layer called the phloem, arranged with sieve tubes, transporting nutrients downward. In the trunk, the xylem also has vessels, transporting nutrients upward.
To a cultivator, it is akin to meridians and blood vessels.
In other words,
"I was just crawling inside a tree's meridian…"
Looking at the intricate, densely intertwined "peach tree meridians", Fan Wubing gulped.
It's hard to imagine how big this tree really is.
However, these meridians transporting nutrients and immortal qi stop here… Was something once being nurtured here?
Even though it has now dried up, from the distribution of the peach tree's meridians, it seems that there was something being nurtured in this place through continuous nutrient transportation.
Fan Wubing cautiously moved forward.
It was very dark here, with only some extremely faint light, barely enough to see the path.
He arrived at the point where all the meridians of the peach tree pointed.
A special dim glow caught his eye.
The dim glow flickered slightly. Upon closer examination, the flickering light formed a tree shape, resembling... lightning. Occasionally, purple rays burst forth, exuding an awe-inspiring thunderous power.
Fan Wubing suddenly recalled how he had tried to pass through a door on the first level of the prison, only to be driven away by a sword intent filled with thunderous power.
Could it be?
He tiptoed closer again.
Upon careful inspection… it really seemed to be that flying sword.
However, wasn't that flying sword supposed to be immense, with the power to split the heavens? Why had it become so small…
A younger version?
No, it must have sustained severe damage.
Thinking further, this place is a fragment of the Integration Realm great power's small world… Could it be that the flying sword originally belonged to that great power? Or is it possible that this flying sword is what tore the small world apart?
Having almost been killed by the sword intent before, Fan Wubing still had some lingering fear.
He moved closer bit by bit, ready to flee at any moment.
But then he noticed that no matter how close he got, the flying sword remained motionless.
Asleep?
He reached out and touched it, and still, the flying sword made no reaction, even exuding a sense of… comfort.
Do I seem like nutrients, having emerged from the peach tree's meridians?
It's possible.
Fan Wubing swallowed hard, adjusted his breathing, and decided to give it a try.
He extended a finger and slowly reached out.
The moment he touched the flying sword, he was startled, instinctively pulling back his finger.
Yet the flying sword followed his finger, winding around it like a small snake.
The movement was gentle, causing him no harm.
Watching this flying sword snake around his arm… it seemed to be acting spoiled.
Suddenly, the flying sword slipped into his sleeve, then Fan Wubing felt a chill on his chest, accompanied by a tingling sensation from a certain area. His expression froze, and he began to pull the flying sword out.
You pesky thing, even taking advantage of a man!
After being pulled out, the flying sword tried to burrow back in.
This sword is quite improper!
Fan Wubing grabbed its hilt and sternly said,
"There's nothing there to absorb! You hear me!"
The flying sword seemed to understand his words and then pointed its tip towards another area of Fan Wubing.
Fan Wubing clamped his legs together,
"There's nothing here either! What is up with you?"
The flying sword immediately deflated, collapsing to the side.
Fan Wubing thought for a moment, then pricked his finger with a needle, causing a blood bead to appear,
"How about trying this?"
Tsk~
Fan Wubing was taken aback,
"Tsk? Did you just 'tsk' at my blood? Oh boy, you look down on it, huh? Today, you have to eat it! Eat it, quickly!"
Fan Wubing's blood was his most treasured possession due to his tragic childhood. Seeing the flying sword disdained his blood, he got angry.
He pressed his finger against the flying sword.
The flying sword was very reluctant, trying its best to evade, but being held tightly by Fan Wubing, it had no resistance.
At the moment it touched Fan Wubing's blood, a sense of "the greatest sorrow lies in a dead heart" emanated from the sword. It was as if it… was a sullied maiden.
Fan Wubing inexplicably felt a sense of satisfaction and licked his lips,
"Such a fiery temperament for a little thing."
In the next moment, he felt a sucking force from his finger, slightly ticklish and tingly… it was like a kitten's tongue licking his finger, quite comfortable.
Looking closely, the flying sword was sucking his blood like a ravenous wolf.
"This…"
[You are under attack, HP -1]
[-1]
[-1]
Blood drops at 1 point per second.
At such a sucking speed, an average Qi Refining Realm cultivator would soon be sucked dry.
But the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill regenerates HP at 1.2 per second, fully coping with it.
After a while, the flying sword trembled, emitting a melodious sword cry, then lay still in Fan Wubing's palm.
Did it… get satisfied from sucking?
So improper, this flying sword is too improper!
Fan Wubing squinted and softly said,
"Little beauty—eh! Little guy, if you stick with me, I'll make sure you're well-fed every day."
The flying sword straightened itself, looked around. It was dark here, and what flowed from the peach tree's meridians wasn't nutrients at all, but poison.
Then looked at Fan Wubing, a generous caretaker; following him out, it could see the light of day again.
Anyone with common sense would know what choice to make.