320: The Elixir of Creation

Inside the secret chamber, time flowed silently in the quietness.

Jiang Donghua sat cross-legged behind Mu Chen, his palms pressed against Mu Chen's back, his forehead already covered in fine beads of sweat.

His Soul Power, like the most precise surgical knife, carefully probed into Mu Chen's body, and the sight he beheld made his heart continuously sink.

The situation was even worse than expected!

"Shattered meridians" was not an exaggeration, but an accurate description!

Many important main and collateral meridians were riddled with cracks, and some areas were even completely shattered, making it impossible for Dou Qi to pass through.

Mu Chen's internal organs were also riddled with holes and their vitality dimmed, corroded by Chen Ming's cold Xuanming Dou Qi.

Jiang Donghua's brows were tightly furrowed.

Although he had many medicinal pills in his storage ring, the highest grade were only a few sixth-grade pills. For such severe injuries involving one's origin and almost destroying the foundation of cultivation, their effect was limited. At most, they could temporarily suppress the worsening of the injuries and prevent the loss of vitality, but to completely heal and even restore cultivation was simply wishful thinking.

"This is troublesome..."

He sighed inwardly.

At present, what he could do was extremely limited.

He could only infuse a trace of the gentle Wood Attribute vitality contained in his own Dou Qi, mixed with pure Soul Power, like a trickling stream, extremely slowly and carefully into Mu Chen's shattered meridians and internal organs, guiding the medicinal power, attempting the most basic nourishing and preliminary adhesion of those tiny cracks.

This was an extremely mentally taxing process, requiring incredibly precise control. A slight mistake could cause the fragile meridians to completely collapse.

Jiang Donghua was fully concentrated, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.

In this way, a full three hours passed.

Finally, Mu Chen's originally faint and intermittent breath, like a wisp of smoke, gradually stabilized under Jiang Donghua's continuous nourishment, at the cost of his own original Dou Qi and Soul Power. Although still terrifyingly weak, he was at least temporarily out of immediate mortal danger.

Jiang Donghua slowly withdrew his palms and let out a long sigh of relief, his face also appearing somewhat pale from the excessive consumption.

He looked at Mu Chen. At this moment, Mu Chen's face was ashen, bloodless, his lips even tinged with blue-purple. His entire being exuded a deathly weak feeling, ten times more miserable than his sickly appearance when Jiang Donghua first met him at Jia Nan Academy.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Mu Chen's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he finally opened his eyes with difficulty. His gaze was scattered and dull, and it took him a while to barely focus and see Jiang Donghua beside him.

A flicker of extremely complex emotions passed through his eyes: relief from surviving a disaster, deep guilt, and even a sense of utter despair.

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and dry like a broken bellows.

"Brother Jiang... I'm... I'm sorry..."

Before he could finish a sentence, his eyes were brimming with tears, yet he stubbornly refused to let them fall. He struggled to sit up, but his entire body was in excruciating pain, unable to exert even a shred of strength.

Jiang Donghua quickly held him down and said in a deep voice.

"Don't move! Your injuries are extremely severe; you need to rest quietly! What exactly happened? Red Silk, what exactly happened to the Hong Family? Why did you impersonate my name?"

Hearing these two phrases, Mu Chen's body trembled violently, and his eyes instantly erupted with bone-deep pain and hatred. He took a deep breath, using all his strength, and began to recount intermittently.

"I came to the Northern Region of Central State to inquire about the Hong Family's information as you instructed, Brother Jiang, but it was too difficult."

A bitter expression appeared on his face.

"Central State is too vast, and the forces in the Northern Region are intricately intertwined. I inquired for a long time but couldn't get any definite information. I only knew that the Hong Family had already been... several months ago!"

Mu Chen's fists were clenched tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, drawing blood.

"My strength is low; I couldn't find out more or save anyone. I hate it! I hate myself for being useless!"

He looked up at Jiang Donghua, his eyes filled with guilt and a desperate resolve.

"So I could only use this foolish method to impersonate your name, Brother Jiang, to kill people from the Xuanming Sect!"

"One less is one less! I want them to pay their blood debt!"

Jiang Donghua listened quietly, his heart already churning with immense waves of emotion!

Anger, heartache, worry, and gratitude for Mu Chen's heavy loyalty, all these emotions intertwined, leaving him speechless for a long time.

He patted Mu Chen's shoulder, his voice low.

"I should be the one saying sorry; I came too late. Mu Chen, you've done well enough, better than I imagined! This favor, I, Jiang Donghua, have noted it down!"

A chilling killing intent emanated from Jiang Donghua.

"As for the Xuanming Sect and Red Silk's whereabouts, don't worry, I will personally claim this blood debt!"

"As long as Red Silk is still alive, even if I have to search the entire Central State, I will definitely find her!"

After listening to Mu Chen's intermittent narration, although Jiang Donghua's heart was boiling with killing intent, reason told him that the most important thing at the moment was to stabilize Mu Chen's injuries and find a way to restore him to his original state!

He gently patted Mu Chen's shoulder, his tone firm and resolute, carrying an undeniable determination.

"We'll discuss what happened later."

"Now, the most important thing is to heal your body! This matter, leave it to me!"

Upon hearing this, a faint glimmer of hope flashed in Mu Chen's dim eyes, but it was immediately swallowed by deeper despair.

He knew his own injuries best: shattered meridians and damaged body, which were almost the most fatal injuries for cultivators, equivalent to having one's foundation destroyed.

Jiang Donghua closed his eyes, his powerful Soul Power once again meticulously sweeping through every inch of Mu Chen's damaged meridians and internal organs, rapidly calculating various treatment plans in his mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and said in a deep voice.

"Your injuries are extremely severe. Ordinary medicinal pills and healing methods can at most save your life. To repair your meridians and restore your cultivation, I'm afraid nothing less than seventh-grade pills will suffice!"

seventh-grade pills!

These four words struck Mu Chen's heart like a heavy hammer.

Those were legendary medicinal pills, each worth a fortune, enough to make Dou Zong experts fight madly for them!

In the entire Northern Region of Central State, the Alchemy Grandmasters capable of refining seventh-grade pills could probably be counted on one hand!

Jiang Donghua frowned slightly, his consciousness sinking into the vast sea of inherited memories.

Soon, three seventh-grade Pill Formulas suitable for repairing meridians and rebuilding foundations clearly emerged.

He carefully compared the efficacy, refining difficulty, and potential side effects of the three Pill Formulas.

Finally, his attention focused on a Pill Formula called the yuan-shaping creation pill.

"seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill, yuan-shaping creation pill..."

Jiang Donghua silently recited the Pill Formula's description.

"Its medicinal properties are gentle and mellow, reshaping meridians with the power of creation and nourishing the body. Not only can it regenerate and heal broken meridians, but it can also make them tougher and wider than before the injury, with no side effects. It is a top-tier medicinal pill for treating such injuries!"

This is it!

The best effect, and no worries!

However, when he began to silently recite the medicinal ingredients required to refine this pill, his expression gradually became solemn.

The main ingredients: Millennium Green Spirit Vine, a seventh-tier Wood Attribute demon core, Heart Soul Marrow... Auxiliary ingredients: Thousand Spirit Ginseng, Bone Spirit Fruit, Blood Essence Demon Fruit... Dozens of ingredients in total, all of them rare treasures of heaven and earth, rarely seen!

He didn't even need to check his storage ring to know that the medicinal ingredients he had stored were far, far from enough to gather this Pill Formula!

Especially the main ingredients, he had almost none of them!

"It seems that to refine this yuan-shaping creation pill, I'll have to find a way to collect these medicinal ingredients. This is by no means easy."

Jiang Donghua mused inwardly, feeling immense pressure.

At this moment, Mu Chen's weak voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Brother Jiang, seventh-grade pills, and high-tier ones at that, are too valuable. I cannot accept them!"

Mu Chen's face was filled with panic and unease.

A seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill, that was an astronomical item he dared not even dream of!

He would rather become a cripple than let Jiang Donghua bear such a huge cost and risk for him. Moreover, he heard from Jiang Donghua's words that he actually wanted to refine it himself?!

Mu Chen's eyes widened, looking at Jiang Donghua in disbelief. He knew that Jiang Donghua had extremely high alchemy talent, but seventh-grade pills, that was a realm only Alchemy Grandmasters could touch!

Brother Jiang, has he already...?

Jiang Donghua looked at Mu Chen's shocked and worried eyes, naturally understanding his thoughts.

He smiled slightly, his smile carrying a powerful confidence.

"No matter how valuable a medicinal pill is, it is an inanimate object. How can it compare to a brother's life and future?"

"As for the refining, you don't need to worry; I have my own plans. What you need to do now is to rest assured and recover from your injuries, stabilize them, and wait for me to gather the medicinal ingredients!"

His tone was calm, yet it contained a persuasive power.

Mu Chen looked at his deep and resolute eyes, and a warm current was injected into his originally cold and desperate heart, his eyes becoming moist again.

He knew that since Jiang Donghua had said it, he would definitely do his best to achieve it.

However, the difficulties and dangers involved in finding the medicinal ingredients for a seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill, as well as refining the pill itself, were something Mu Chen dared not imagine.

He could only pray silently in his heart and secretly resolve that if he ever recovered, this life, from now on, would belong to Jiang Donghua.