Volume 1, Chapter 125 – Compensation

The boy sitting by the edge of the pool wore a blue shirt, his feet bare. His eyes were as dark as ink-black beads, clear in black and white, but there was not a trace of spirit in them.

Hearing the sound of Shi Lan and the others entering, the boy only lifted his head to glance over, then lowered it again and stared blankly at the bottom of the bath.

Shi Lan studied the boy for a couple of moments and gradually sensed that something was off. Her body was far more sensitive to her surroundings now than it had been before the martial meet. She could sense that an enormous power seemed to be slumbering within Gu Qingcang.

Lowering her gaze, Shi Lan opened the Heaven’s Eye at the center of her brow and swept it over the boy sitting at the edge of the pool.

A seven-colored arc of fortune extended from Gu Qingcang’s back, rising up into the sky. The light of the rainbow arc was somewhat dim, and a pitch-black chain coiled around it layer upon layer, binding its soaring momentum.

However, the black chain had already begun to crumble, and the seven-colored light on the arc of fortune was gradually recovering.

Shi Lan closed her Heaven’s Eye and looked thoughtfully at Gu Rentong and Gu Deyuan. Before this, she had thought Gu Deyuan was just a doting father and that Gu Rentong simply loved his grandson enough to spend such effort trying to restore Gu Qingcang’s mind.

Now it appeared the reason was likely not so simple.

Gu Deyuan walked slowly to the pool and pressed a few switches. Stream after stream of blue-green liquid, steaming with heat, slowly poured into the bath.

The medicinal fragrance in the room grew stronger. The spiritual energy became even denser, condensing into wisps of spiritual mist that drifted through the air.

“At this point, I will not hide anything from you, young lady. Qingcang was born with all nine vital apertures fully open. Even without cultivation arts, he naturally stores spiritual power and draws in qi. His talent for the martial path is extremely high. If his mind were clear, he would surely be able to reach the peak of the Heavenly Astral Realm in the future, with the Myriad Phenomena Realm within reach, and might even catch a glimpse of the Nascent Soul Realm.”

Gu Rentong looked a little moved. “In terms of talent, Qingcang is in no way inferior to Shen Tianlan with his Thunder Spirit Body. It is only a pity that he suffered damage in the womb. I do not know whether this Enlightening Jade Dew will be effective…”

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Shi Lan said nothing. From the chains on the arc of fortune behind Gu Qingcang, this time there should not be any major problem.

Once the bath was filled with the blue-green medicinal liquid, Gu Deyuan shut the mechanism and went to Gu Qingcang’s side. With a few swift motions, he stripped off the boy’s clothes and placed him into the pool.

Gu Rentong took out the bottle containing the Enlightening Jade Dew and walked to the edge of the bath. He pulled out the stopper and poured. The milky-white liquid slid down in a thin stream as a surge of majestic spiritual energy suddenly spread, laced with a faint fragrance that relaxed the mind.

When the Enlightening Jade Dew entered the pool, it did not mix with the medicinal liquid. Instead, it floated on the surface like a thin white cord.

After pouring out nearly half, Gu Rentong stoppered the bottle again, handed it to Shi Lan, and rose into the air to hover above Gu Qingcang’s head, pressing a finger to his baihui acupoint.

Gu Qingcang’s eyelids twitched twice before slowly closing tight.

The medicinal liquid in the pool began to whirl into vortices. The thin cord formed by the Enlightening Jade Dew slowly drifted toward Gu Qingcang sitting at the center, and the spiritual energy all around was drawn along, converging on him.

Gu Deyuan stood by the pool with his fists clenched, his eyes full of tension.

After about a quarter of an hour, Gu Rentong said a little breathlessly, “Young lady, please pour some more Enlightening Jade Dew into the pool. I will make up this part of the compensation to you later.”

Shi Lan did not hesitate. She opened the bottle and poured again, leaving only the one-third she had calculated beforehand.

“That is still not quite enough, young lady!”

Shi Lan’s wrist paused for a moment, and she poured out a bit more. In the end, less than thirty percent of the Enlightening Jade Dew remained.

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After nearly another quarter of an hour, Gu Rentong landed at the pool’s edge, his head beaded with sweat and his steps unsteady. When his feet touched down, he staggered and almost fell.

Gu Deyuan caught his right arm, worry in his eyes.

“Father…”

“It is fine. Carry Qingcang out and let him rest. Whether his mind returns will depend on his own fate.”

Gu Rentong shook his head, pushed away Gu Deyuan’s supporting hand, wiped the sweat from his face, and looked at Shi Lan.

“Please come with me, young lady.”

With that, he walked to the door and left the room.

Shi Lan turned her head for a glance at Gu Qingcang as he was lifted from the pool, then followed Gu Rentong out of the courtyard.

The iron chains on the arc of fortune had completely shattered, and the seven-colored light shone brilliantly.

……

Gu Rentong was clearly badly drained, not just ordinary true qi exhaustion but damage to his very life essence. In his once ink-black hair, a few strands of silver had appeared, and a few more wrinkles now marked his face.

Shi Lan followed behind him along the corridor until they reached a small, rather inconspicuous room.

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Once inside, Gu Rentong went to the wall and felt around for a while, then opened a hidden door, revealing a stone stairway descending below.

The two of them went down the steps and soon reached a stone chamber nearly thirty zhang long and wide.

In the center of the chamber was a blood pool about three zhang across. It gave off a strong smell of blood mixed with a strange aura. Shi Lan could clearly tell that this was not human blood.

The bloody scent made the blood flowing in Shi Lan’s veins stir restlessly.

“The blood qi rising from this pool nourishes the foundation and replenishes essence. Its effect on the body’s recovery is excellent. From watching your bouts earlier, young lady, you seem to cultivate some kind of body-forging art. This place should be of some use to you.”

Gu Rentong took two deep breaths, and a trace of color returned to his pale cheeks.

“I have no earth-shaking treasures to offer. If you are not satisfied with this compensation, young lady, we can discuss something else.”

Shi Lan walked to the pool’s edge and crouched down, reaching her hand toward the blood.

Seeing this, Gu Rentong hurriedly warned her, “You must not, young lady. The blood here may look ordinary, but its temperature is extremely high and it contains a heavy fire poison. Touching it will harm the body.”

“What is the origin of this blood pool?” Shi Lan drew her hand back and turned her head to ask.

“I do not know either. This place was not built by my Gu clan. It has existed since the founding of Ancient Phoenix City, and the City Lord’s Manor was built later.”

“We will go with this, then.” Shi Lan stared at the blood pool and nodded.

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Gu Rentong was slightly taken aback. He had already been prepared to add dozens of thousands more spirit crystals to make up for it, but since Shi Lan had spoken, he naturally would not press the issue.

Shi Lan did not stay in the stone chamber for long. She went out to find Wu Lingkong and asked her to stand guard while she worked. She was planning to sort through the gains of this trip.

After returning to the stone chamber, Shi Lan directly called up the system panel.

Host: Shi Lan

Cultivation: seventh stage of the Innate Realm

Aptitude: 9 (Innate spiritual body, rarely seen in a thousand years)

Cultivation Arts: Yuqing Creation Art (first layer), Vajra Divine Fist (mastered), Jade Tempering Art (sixth layer)

Divine Abilities: Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight (three-star), Unknown (seven-star)

Strength Evaluation: Some small achievements

Reputation: 13,590 (name beginning to spread)