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Guo Daozhen sighed as he took the Blood Qilin from the beast's hand. The powerful blood energy surged forth, vibrant with life, resembling a dormant Qilin spirit beast, radiating boundless spiritual power.
"Yang Hao's current state is essentially that of a dead man," Guo Daozhen said. "He still carries the lingering essence of the Book of Life and Death within him, and since he possesses the Taoist Sacred Body and has cultivated the Tao, his physical consciousness remains. However, his Nascent Soul is shrinking. Once it diminishes to the size of a fist, that will be his time of death. I had planned to use the Life-Saving Technique to extend his life by three days, but with this Blood Qilin, I can prolong it tenfold."
"So, I still have a month to live?" I asked.
Guo Daozhen nodded. A golden light emanated from his hand as he pointed it at my forehead, drawing out a wisp of soul energy. He then placed the Blood Qilin atop my head, connecting it with the soul energy. The Blood Qilin seemed to respond to the call of the soul energy, manifesting a slender Qilin phantom on its surface.
The cultivation of Holy Medicine can give rise to Living Souls, often taking thousands or even tens of thousands of years to produce such a plant. The beast had sacrificed its most precious possession to save me.
The phantom of the Blood Qilin attempted to escape but was captured by Guo Daozhen, who imposed restrictions and pressed it into my body.
Huzi slammed his fist against the wall. "Why do Old Scholar and Song Qianqiu want Yang Hao dead so badly?!"
Taihe Zhenren replied, "Because he is an unpredictable variable. The Martial Dao Classic, the Book of Life and Death, and his connection to the Tao are more threatening than any of us. Old Scholar must eliminate him if he wishes to dominate; Song Qianqiu feels the same way. They cannot tolerate such a variable's existence, even if he is on the brink of death."
"Let's step outside and let Yang Hao rest for a while. Douding and Zhou Guanyin are also severely injured. If we prepare these Holy Medicines according to my method, they can fully recover in less than three days." Guo Daozhen walked out of the room and called over Iron Bull and Guo Huaiyi, instructing them to brew medicine.
Douding was led out by Huzi, and Zhou Manman also exited the room. She glanced back at Yunxi, who was kneeling by my bedside wiping away the blood from my face. Our eyes met; Zhou Manman's gaze flickered before she turned and left.
The sky was high and clear, with a gentle breeze blowing.
Guo Daozhen stood in front of Qingliang Temple, gazing down at the ravaged earth below from the battle, lost in thought.
Taihe Zhenren approached and stood beside Guo Daozhen. "Old Guo, is Yang Hao really beyond saving?"
Guo Daozhen replied, "We can't be too absolute about this. The Injury of the Dao has hindered his Nascent Soul from continuing to survive; fighting against it is certainly futile. However, if we want to preserve his life, it's not impossible."
"What do you mean?" Taihe Zhenren asked.
Guo Daozhen explained, "Historically, those who sought breakthroughs in the Tao for longevity have faced condemnation starting from their Nascent Soul. Upon closely observing Yang Hao's Nascent Soul, I've found that it has suffered the greatest Injury of the Dao; it is also the source of this injury. The Injury of the Dao that Yang Hao's physical body endures originates from his Nascent Soul. Now that his Nascent Soul is gradually withering away, I'm considering if we can concentrate all his physical injuries onto his Nascent Soul and forcibly extract it—allowing it to bear the punishment of the Dao until it perishes."
"If a person's soul evolves into a Primordial Spirit and then into a Nascent Soul, if the Nascent Soul dies, wouldn't that leave the body as nothing more than a walking corpse?" Wu Ye interjected upon hearing Guo Daozhen's words.
Guo Daozhen responded, "For many years now, Taoists have not fully deciphered the exploration of souls and Nascent Souls. A person's soul is divided into Three Souls and Seven Spirits; typically speaking, these three souls refer to essence, energy, and spirit. However, it's more complex than that. The souls consist of three parts: Ling (spiritual), Jue (awareness), and Living Soul (the soul governing the physical body). The Seven Spirits include Chong (impulse), Linghui (wisdom), Yang Qi (vitality), Julii (strength), Zhongshu (centrality), Jingyuan (essence), and Yingling (heroic spirit). In simpler terms, they represent seven desires: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and aversion. Yin represents souls while Yang represents spirits; together they form harmony. Thus souls can exist in both the Yang Realm and Underworld. The purpose of Dao punishment is to disrupt cultivators' understanding of souls; other souls perish due to the death of their main soul. The Nascent Soul serves as this main soul—Yang Hao is unique in that through exploring the Tao he can disperse his Three Souls and Seven Spirits while remaining Immortal; thus he could abandon his main soul while preserving other souls."
Taihe Zhenren listened intently and asked, "How can you be so sure that a physical body can continue to live without the main soul?"
Guo Daozhen replied, "Because my Dao Body was once suppressed in the Futu Stupa, merely an empty shell. Yet I lived for over forty years. Yang Hao can survive even without his main soul."
"If a person loses their main soul and continues to live, there must be some side effects, right?" Taihe Zhenren inquired.
Guo Daozhen said, "The cost is that they will often forget certain things or people, living like a walking corpse. Without the Nascent Soul, they would become an ordinary person."
"Then wouldn't that make them useless?" Wudao interjected. "This method is absolutely unacceptable; it would be more painful than killing him. He wouldn't agree to it. Besides, no one has ever tried this method before—one misstep could lead to death."
Guo Daozhen stated, "This is merely a last resort."
"Is there a better option?" Taihe Zhenren asked.
Guo Daozhen replied, "It's not exactly a superior option either. Everything comes with a price. Yunxi's Life Exchange Technique is not advisable; it trades life for life. However, there are other costs that could save Yang Hao, such as his Spirit Beast Demon King."
"What do you mean?" Five furrowed his brow.
Guo Daozhen countered, "Do you know why Yu Xuanliang was able to live for three hundred years and remain immortal?"
Taihe Zhenren answered, "He hunted all the Great Demons of his time, took their inner elixirs, and refined them into the Elixir of Life?"
Guo Daozhen said, "You only know part of it. Everyone has sought to refine the Elixir of Life since ancient times. But if it were just the inner elixirs of Great Demons, that would be too easy. As a Supreme being, hunting Great Demons is not difficult. Yu Xuanliang is a deity of this era; he fell ill but did not die. The longevity elixir he consumed contained not only the inner elixirs of many Great Demons who lived for over a thousand years but also those from Taoist masters and components from Buddhist Sect relics. Moreover, he himself was a professor researching cells and genetics, unraveling the secrets of the human body. No one knows the specifics, but I can assure you that his aura is identical to that of a Demon King."
"You mean Yu Xuanliang is a demon?" Five exclaimed in surprise.
"I am like Yu Xuanliang—a Demon King as well. I also possess an immortal body. When I met Yu Xuanliang before, I noticed that his aura was the same as that of a Demon King; it is the aura of immortality," Guo Daozhen explained.
Taihe Zhenren asked, "Could it be because of the Sun-Moon Divine Fish? The Sun-Moon Divine Fish is also an immortal being."
Guo Daozhen responded, "Don't forget that Yu Xuanliang was able to gain Sword Saint Miao Zhong's recognition to find the Sun-Moon Divine Fish because he himself is an immortal being with near-divine abilities; it has little to do with the Sun-Moon Divine Fish itself, which does not possess revival abilities. Even if Yu Xuanliang were willing to let the Sun-Moon Divine Fish save Yang Hao, the fish would refuse; after all, Yang Hao is mortal and will eventually die. If he becomes its host, the Sun-Moon Divine Fish would also perish and disrupt the natural order of day and night. However, it's different for a Demon King; being still young, if it were to expel its longevity demon pill, it could save Yang Hao."
"No way. Although Haozi's life is important, he loves bubbles too much; he would be heartbroken," Wudao protested. "Besides, what does Bubble know? Asking it to sacrifice itself for someone else—if it doesn't want to do it, how can we force it?"
"This method won't work; there is actually another way," Guo Daozhen said.
"You don't mean to kill Douding, do you? His Zen Bodhisattva has lived for over a thousand years," Huzi replied. "You might as well kill me; my dragon blood has strong healing abilities and could probably save him."
Guo Daozhen shook his head and looked at Zhou Manman, who had been listening to their conversation from a short distance away. She glanced up at Guo Daozhen and then at Five.
Five Gang was about to lose his temper when Guo Daozhen chuckled and said, "Life and death are predestined; I have nothing to lose."
After finishing, Guo Daozhen walked down the mountain, raising his voice, "In a month, it will be the end for the servants. Except for Yang Hao, who is not under the control of the Great Wilderness Scripture, no one can survive under the Time Barrier of the Great Wilderness Scripture."
Huzi watched Guo Daozhen's retreating figure and snorted, "This Guo the Blind has never had good intentions. He was our sworn enemy back then. Manman, don't forget how he harmed you to save Guo Huaiyi; the people from Futu Ridge who pursued him also died by his hands!"
"Huzi," Five interrupted, urging him to stop. Guo Daozhen was unclear about their past, and everyone fell silent in agreement.
Zhou Manman leaned against the door frame and stood up from the steps. She didn't look at anyone and calmly said, "I'm a bit tired; I'll head back first."
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