217: Bliss Pavilion

Su Lin looked at him calmly.

"Golden Core shattered, Spiritual Root extracted, limbs crippled."

"Who did it?"

Hearing these words, the man froze as if struck by lightning.

Immediately after, two lines of muddy tears slid down his filth-covered Face.

He opened his mouth wide, as if he wanted to vent all the grievances and fear in his heart.

"No... I can't say..."

The beggar trembled all over, and every time he opened his mouth, a spine-chilling sound would come from deep in his throat.

He clutched his throat in horror, his eyeballs bulging from extreme fear and covered in bloodshot veins.

He looked at Su Lin with a gaze that held both a longing for help and deep despair, as if the moment that name was spoken, he would instantly turn into a puddle of pus.

"If I say it... I will die... my Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering..."

He squeezed out those few words with difficulty, his body curling into a ball.

The surrounding commoners pointed and whispered, but no one dared to step forward.

On this bustling Vermilion Bird Street, such a crippled man emitting the scent of decay was like an eyesore of a scar.

"Want to die?"

Chu Weiwei suddenly leaned over.

She held a silver needle dripping with purple liquid between her fingers, a professional yet spine-chilling sweet smile on her Face.

"In front of the Medicine Immortal, even the King of Hell has to wait in line."

"As long as I don't nod, it'll be hard for you to even die."

Several silver needles flew from Chu Weiwei's hand and pierced into his body.

"Eh?"

She let out a small cry of surprise.

"What a unique little thing."

"What is it?" Luo Ximei also leaned in, demonic light swirling within her heterochromatic eye as she saw through the beggar's internal state at a glance.

"Soul-Devouring Gu?"

She gave a cold laugh, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"These kinds of low-life methods are only treated as treasures by that group of bug-players in the Southern Border."

"This thing is planted in the throat, connected to the heart and the Sea of Consciousness.

As soon as the host speaks specific forbidden words or even has the thought of leaking a secret, the Gu bug will instantly expand and shatter his Soul."

"Sounds... quite interesting."

Su Hongling, carrying her great sword, leaned her large head over and stared at the beggar's mouth with a Face full of curiosity.

"Can we just pull it out directly? Like pulling a radish?"

"He would die, Second Senior Sister."

Mu Qingxue reminded her coldly.

"This Gu bug has already grown together with his Life Soul."

She extended a finger, frost swirling at the tip.

"However, if we freeze it first and then take it out, there might still be a slim chance of survival."

"Everyone, move aside."

Su Lin's voice came from behind.

He pushed aside Su Hongling, who was blocking the way, and walked up to the beggar.

He didn't use Divine Sense to probe, nor did he use Qi to suppress it.

"Look at me."

Su Lin's voice was very light, yet it carried a strange penetrating power that exploded directly within the beggar's chaotic Sea of Consciousness.

The beggar subconsciously raised his head.

"Gu Qing."

Su Lin called out a name.

The moment he heard this name, the beggar's body stiffened violently.

Two lines of muddy tears, like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly washed over his Face covered in scars and filth.

He remembered.

Of course he remembered.

A hundred years ago, he was in high spirits, roaming the Jianghu with his sword.

During a Secret Realm trial, he had chanced upon Su Lin, who was already famous throughout the world at that time.

That high and mighty Su Venerable had not only saved his life but also casually pointed out a few sword techniques to him.

Those few pointers had benefited him for a lifetime, allowing him to break through his Bottleneck in one go.

He had always regarded Su Lin as his mentor and his lifelong idol.

But now... he had become this creature that was neither human nor ghost, while Su Lin remained that transcendent, immortal-like figure.

Shame, regret, and pain—all sorts of emotions intertwined, making him nearly collapse.

"Su... Su Venerable..."

He screamed in his heart, but could not make a sound.

"I know it's you."

"If the Golden Core is shattered, it can be recultivated."

"If the Spiritual Root is gone, it can be recreated."

"If the limbs are broken, they can be reattached."

"But if even your spirit is broken..."

Su Lin looked into his eyes and said each word deliberately.

"Then you are truly useless."

"Now, tell me."

"Who turned you into this?"

"Don't fear that bug."

Su Lin's finger lightly touched Gu Qing's Adam's apple.

"With me here, it cannot touch you."

As Su Lin's voice fell, a domineering and peerless power of the Space Law instantly locked onto the Soul-Devouring Gu hidden deep in the throat.

Space Imprisonment!

The Gu bug, which had been as if facing a great enemy and ready to self-destruct at any moment, suddenly found that it could not move.

Not only could it not move, but even the energy flow within its body was completely frozen.

It was isolated within an independent small space, cut off from all contact with the outside world.

Gu Qing felt his throat loosen, and that threat of death constantly hanging over his head actually disappeared!

He opened his mouth wide, taking large gulps of air, tears and snot streaming down his Face.

"It's... it's the Jile Pavilion!"

He finally roared it out, his voice hoarse and broken, carrying a sky-toppling hatred.

"It's the Pavilion Revered Master... Hua Shenyou!"

"The Jile Pavilion?"

Cold Moon, who had been standing to the side, had her Face instantly darken upon hearing this name.

A pressure belonging to an Empress uncontrollably erupted from her body, causing the surrounding air to hum and vibrate.

"That money pit where they sell talent but not their bodies?"

"The one known as Southern Yu's number one elegant seat, the Jile Pavilion?"

A dangerous golden light flickered in Cold Moon's eyes.

"I collect thirty million Spirit Stones in taxes from them every year, and this is how they repay me?"

"Under my very nose, they harm Cultivators, extract Spiritual Roots, and destroy Golden Cores?!"

"Good! Very good!!"

"Not only that!"

Gu Qing seemed to be venting all the fear accumulated over the years; he grabbed Su Lin's robe and wailed:

"They... they don't just capture Loose Cultivators!"

"They also have an Underground Beast Arena!"

"They lock the captured Cultivators and Yao Beasts together, making us slaughter each other for the amusement of those nobles!"

"My limbs were bitten off by Yao Beasts!"

"My Spiritual Root... was extracted by them while I was alive to refine medicine!"

"There are still many people... many fellow disciples inside..."

"I beg you... save them..."

*Crack.*

Su Hongling tossed away the candied haws in her hand and backhandedly drew her great sword, no edge.

"Treating people like animals for fun? These scumbags sure know how to play!"

"I'm going to go smash their place right now! I'll twist that Hua Wuque's head off and kick it like a ball!"

"Extracting Spiritual Roots to refine medicine?"

The smile on Chu Weiwei's Face grew even sweeter, but the poisonous needle in her hand had already begun to emit a faint green light.

"Such an evil technique... is a taboo of the Medicine Immortal lineage."

"I, Weiwei, want to see who has the audacity to show off their meager skills in front of me."

"I will refine him into a Medicine Man and let him taste the sensation of having his Spiritual Root extracted once every day."

Luo Ximei adjusted her cuffs, her heterochromatic eye filled with grim Devilish Qi.

"A beast arena? For amusement?"

"What I love most... is watching those high and mighty nobles wail in despair."

The one with the most unsightly expression was Cold Moon; for such a thing to happen within her jurisdiction made her lose Face in front of her Revered Master.

Su Lin looked at Gu Qing and spoke indifferently, "Do you want revenge?"

Gu Qing was stunned, "I do!! Even if I cannot enter Reincarnation, I want to extract their Souls and refine their spirits!!!"

"Unfortunately, my current cultivation..."

Su Lin looked at Chu Weiwei, "You just mentioned the Bone-Growing Creation Ointment could regrow limbs?"

"It can, but the process is excruciatingly painful; he won't be able to endure it in his current state."

Hearing this, Gu Qing said, "I can endure it! No matter what kind of pain, I can endure it!!!"

"I can endure it! No matter what kind of pain, I can endure it!!!"

Chu Weiwei said, "Even if you can endure it, this medicine is extremely expensive. With your current cultivation, how will you pay it back?"

"The main ingredients of this Bone-Growing Creation Ointment are 10,000-year Jade Marrow and the marrow of a Body Integration Stage Yao Beast, supplemented by three thousand kinds of rare Spiritual Plants."

"This tiny bottle is enough to buy half a town."

"With your Golden Core shattered, you are a complete cripple."

Su Lin spoke slowly.

"A hundred years ago, the Scarlet Flame Trial."

"At that time, a Late Nascent Soul Stage Flame Demon Lion broke through the Seal, and everyone was busy fleeing for their lives."

"Only you, clearly only at the Core Formation Stage, used your body to block the Demon Lion's claws just to give your companions time to crush their teleportation talismans."

Su Lin looked at Gu Qing, a trace of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

"At that time, seventy percent of the bones in your body were broken and blood was everywhere, yet you still desperately held onto the Demon Lion's leg, shouting for your terrified friend to run."

"I happened to pass by and saw that you had some backbone, so I stepped in to slay the Demon Lion and pointed out a few sword moves to you."

"To be able to risk one's life to save others at the brink of death—this loyalty is more precious than anything."

Hearing these words, Gu Qing was already weeping uncontrollably.

He hadn't expected that even after a hundred years, this high and mighty Venerable would still remember that insignificant scene and still remember an ant-like Loose Cultivator like him.

"Venerable... Gu Qing... will never forget this as long as I live!"

He slammed his head heavily against the ground, blood staining the bluestone slabs.

"I'll take this life."

Su Lin turned to look at Chu Weiwei, his gaze darkening slightly.

"What? You won't even give your Revered Master some Face?"

"No... I wouldn't dare!"

Chu Weiwei immediately cowered, but her eyes darted around, and she soon revealed that sweet smile again, leaning into Su Lin's ear to whisper:

"Since it's Revered Master who wants to save him, I naturally have no objections."

"However... the medicine fee is too expensive. If Revered Master has no money right now, you can repay it in other ways."

"For example... letting me warm your bed tonight?"

"..."

A vein throbbed at Su Lin's temple as he forcibly ignored her outrageous words.

"Save him."

"Yes, yes, saving him, saving him."

Chu Weiwei curled her lip and pulled a crystal-clear jade bottle from her storage ring.

She uncorked the bottle, and a vitality so dense it was suffocating instantly spread out; the withered plants nearby actually regained their greenness under this fragrance.

"Open your mouth."

The medicine flew directly into Gu Qing's mouth, while the rest was applied directly to the wounds of his severed limbs.

Shrill screams instantly echoed down the long street.

As soon as the ointment touched the wounds, it was like red-hot molten iron being poured onto ice, making a sizzling sound.

Granulation tissue began to writhe frantically, and bones grew forcibly amidst a series of crackling sounds.

That pain was the result of compressing the healing process by thousands of times, completing it in just a few breaths.

"Endure it!"

Chu Weiwei looked coldly at Gu Qing as he rolled on the ground in pain, her eyes devoid of any pity.

"If you faint and your Qi dissipates, the limbs that grow out will be crooked."

"When that time comes, I won't be responsible for breaking them and resetting them for you."

Gu Qing gritted his teeth so hard that his gums were crushed, his mouth full of blood.

His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, staring fixedly at the sky.

Pain!

Pain to the very marrow of his bones!

But he did not faint, nor did he let out another groan.

He was thinking of that name.

Hua Shenyou.

The Jile Pavilion.

Hatred was his only painkiller at this moment.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Gu Qing lay on the ground like a pile of mud, drenched in cold sweat.

But his limbs had already regrown.

Although the new skin was as tender and pink as a baby's and looked somewhat fragile, it was real flesh and blood.

"Get up and walk a few steps."

Su Lin said indifferently.

Gu Qing trembled, trying to control his new limbs.

Once, twice, three times.

Finally, he stood up shakily.

*Thud!*

He knelt down again, this time toward Su Lin.

"Su Venerable... the grace of rebirth... Gu Qing cannot repay it even with ten thousand deaths!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to thank me."

Su Lin waved his sleeve, and a gentle force lifted him up.

"Though your limbs are healed, your cultivation has not yet recovered."

"Right now, you are merely at the Qi Refinement Stage. How will you take your revenge?"

Gu Qing's gaze dimmed.

It was true.

The Jile Pavilion was full of experts, and that Hua Shenyou was even a Body Integration Stage powerhouse.

He was a Mortal; was he supposed to bash his head against them?

"However..."

Su Lin's tone shifted.

He pulled a Medicinal Pill from his robe that was as black as ink, yet its surface was wreathed in starlight.

It was the Star Demon Body-Forging Pill he had refined in the other world using leftover scraps.

"Since your Golden Core is shattered and your Spiritual Root is broken, then do not cultivate the immortal way."

Su Lin looked at him, his eyes like torches.

"Cultivate as a demon."

"This is a Demon Seed."

"Swallow it, and you will endure the pain of Devilish Qi flooding your body, but it will also allow you to gain enough power to tear apart a Golden Core and directly contend with a Nascent Soul in a short amount of time."

"As for whether you can survive afterward, that depends on your own luck."

"Do you dare to eat it?"

Gu Qing looked at the Medicinal Pill emitting an aura of destruction.

Without any hesitation.

He grabbed it and swallowed it with his head tilted back.

"As long as I can have my revenge, let alone becoming a demon, even if I turn into a vengeful ghost, I am willing!"

On the side, Chu Weiwei asked in confusion, "Is it okay to give him that? Won't he suffer a backlash and become a true demon?"

"No. The fact that he could sacrifice his own life to save a friend proves that he has his own will."

As the pill entered his stomach, a violent black air current instantly erupted from his body.

"Aaaah!"

Gu Qing roared toward the sky, his eyes instantly turning pitch black.

In just a moment.

The aura on his body soared all the way, returning to his original Realm—the Nascent Soul Stage—but it didn't stop there until it reached the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

"Enough."

Su Lin nodded.