Chapter 23 Xu Changtian

"Continue."

"You can start again now."

"We don't have much time left."

"Don't just stand there, I'm awake now, continue."

"..."

There was no sound, no conversation.

In this cramped cave dwelling deeply embedded in the mountain, there was only Xu Yuan's calm reminder after he revived from near death each time.

And with each instance Xu Yuan's voice sounded, it would weaken slightly more.

With Ran Qingmo's advance arousal of Xu Yuan from his coma, the time he awakened from near death shortened from around an hour to less than half an hour.

Healing through energy transmission allowed one to use someone else's Qi to heal their own body.

But the Qi infused into the body from another was ultimately not one's own.

Each healing through energy transmission would leave some remnants of the other's Qi in one's own meridians.

In situations where there was ample time, this was beneficial.

With one's own cultivation, it was possible to refine the residual Qi left in one's body by someone else, gradually making use of it to enhance one's own cultivation level.

However, too many healing sessions through energy transmission in a short span of time could cause the Qi remaining in the body from another to undergo a qualitative change, leading to an almost incurable hidden ailment.

Ran Qingmo explained the pros and cons to Xu Yuan, but Xu Yuan did not care.

The reduction of time spent near death from an hour to half an hour was already more than enough for him.

This was good news; it meant he would have more opportunities to adapt to the near-death state, making more preparations for the final cultivation of the Blood Essence Heart Meteor Art.

Time stealthily passed amidst these repeated brushes with death.

Five times,

ten times,

twenty times,

thirty times....

His consciousness cycled endlessly at the brink of death's endless darkness, and Xu Yuan had forgotten how many times he had entered the near-death state with her help.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Lit by the faint glow emitted by the Luminous Pearls on the stone walls, he saw the woman's exquisite and flawless face, as well as the thin layer of sinisterly cold frost that covered his own body.

"Ran... Miss Ran."

His voice was weak and trembling, but it also meant that Xu Yuan was now able to steady his mind despite such a near-death state, even managing to speak.

Ran Qingmo quietly looked up, her serene eyes containing a complex expression:

"Go ahead."

Xu Yuan, covered all over by Ice Crystals, struggled to maintain a steady tone:

"How much longer will the Formation outside.. still... be active?"

Ran Qingmo closed her eyes to sense, and after a while, she replied softly:

"About two more days."

"Two more days....."

Xu Yuan let out a slight sigh.

There was still too little time. Even if he ignored the risk of the hidden ailment and risked his life, it had still taken about three days to complete just the third step.

Despite the limited time remaining, getting anxious would accomplish nothing. The necessary preparations had to be made, even if there was only one chance left.

And Xu Yuan believed that Changtian, the Prime Minister's eldest son, wouldn't risk him, his younger brother, running into cultivation deviation by forcing his way through the barrier after realizing that he was cultivating.

At this point, Xu Yuan could only gamble.

After a long silence, Xu Yuan finally said with a trembling voice:

"In the coming day, I... I will start running the Cultivation Technique. If I run into cultivation deviation, then... please take care of it."

Ran Qingmo nodded silently.

Looking at her solemn gaze, Xu Yuan smiled gently:

"Miss Ran... After a day, I will officially begin cultivating. Remember to remind me."

"Yeah, okay."

...

...

The first attempt to cultivate while in a near-death state was much harder than Xu Yuan had anticipated.

Not because his consciousness couldn't converge, but because there was simply too much residual Origin Qi left by Ran Qingmo in his body.

Countless healing sessions over the days had almost transformed Xu Yuan's meridians into the shape of Ran Qingmo's.

His own body's talent was never good to begin with.

The degree of blockage in each of his meridians was akin to narrow sheep-intestine paths, and now these narrow paths had an added layer of Ran Qingmo's icy blue Origin Qi.

These remnants of icy blue Origin Qi had crawled over the inner walls of every meridian within his body.

In such circumstances, for Xu Yuan to direct his remaining Origin Qi to circulate according to the Cultivation Technique's routes was extremely difficult.

After becoming aware of this, Xu Yuan's heart did not fluctuate much.

He still held firm to the belief he always had,

When there's a problem, solve the problem.

If the meridians within his body became narrower, then he would have to be even more careful when guiding the Origin Qi forward.

If a cycle of the Cultivation Technique took longer to complete, then he would have to forcefully maintain a clear state of consciousness for a longer period while on the verge of death...

.....

A day slipped by swiftly.

Waking up from yet another coma,

the first thing Xu Yuan saw was her, still silently watching over him.

Different from before, he was now lying on the only jade bed in the cave dwelling.

Sitting up in silence, Xu Yuan glanced at the jade bed.

On the immaculate white jade bed, there were two Cultivation Techniques quietly stacked together, next to which sat two bottles of the precious Elixir Medicine necessary for cultivation.

Watching in silence, his thoughts tinged with emotion, after more than a month, he finally reached the last step.

"Um, I... haven't looked through your Cultivation Techniques."

Perhaps due to Xu Yuan's prolonged gaze, the Big Ice Lump suddenly said this out of the blue.

Glancing over, Xu Yuan Wan'er:

"I know."

These two manuals had nothing special about them, other than the content they contained; they were simply ordinary pages. With Ran Qingmo's cultivation level, if she wanted to, she could clearly investigate from several dozen meters away using her Will-spirit, even with the books closed.

Xu Yuan adjusted his posture in silence and sat cross-legged on the jade bed.