Chapter 1736 - Heavenly Sacred Blood
The girl had gone to Tu Zhengbao last month, only to be turned away and humiliated. As for the nickname "little cripple," it came from her disabled right arm.
Liu Wuxie had already examined the girl's body with Ghost Pupil, or he wouldn't have agreed. Even if the girl had been born with a congenital defect, he was confident that he could help her recover.
"Xiao Qian, it's fine. I'll protect you," Ye Linghan said gently as her maternal instincts stirred. She pulled Xiao Qian into her embrace and comforted her. She had heard of a young girl searching for a suitable mentor before, but she had missed her every time.
"Mentor Tu, you're so certain that Xiao Qian was born disabled? Liu Wuxie asked with a faint smile. "Why don't we make a wager? I'll bet that I can restore her arm within fifteen minutes and awaken extraordinary strength within her.
Even after winning the Fire Spiritual Pill from Jiang Hongran, Liu Wuxie only wanted more. All these mentors were filthy rich, and since they had come to him, he naturally had to scrape some benefits from them no matter what. Since his strength wasn't enough, he could only rely on his intelligence to win.
After all, with his current cultivation, he couldn't venture into the mountain range to gather herbs, nor could he refine any heaven-defying immortal pills, making it difficult to rely on himself to cultivate. Thus, scraping resources from these mentors was undoubtedly a shortcut.
Liu Wuxie was using his scheming nature to the fullest.
Tu Zhengbao's face darkened, knowing that Liu Wuxie had deliberately put him in a difficult position. If Liu Wuxie really managed to treat the girl, it would be a resounding slap to his face, and Xiang Rulong was already a living example.
"Looks like Mentor Tu only knows how to spout rubbish. What a disappointment," Liu Wuxie said, shaking his head, about to leave.
Many of the students who were present studied under Tu Zhengbao. If he failed to win back his dignity, his students would never be able to raise their heads again either.
"Hold it right there!" Tu Zhengbao yelled.
"Mentor Tu, have you made up your mind?" Liu Wuxie asked, turning around to look at Tu Zhengbao with a smile. He naturally hoped that people like Tu Zhengbao would come knocking on his door every day to bring him wealth.
"Speak. How do you wish to bet?" Tu Zhengbao asked, forced into a corner. If he left just like that, his status in the Azure Flame Dao Hall would surely plummet.
Liu Wuxie said, raising a finger, "One hundred thousand immortal stones."
"Very well. I'll bet with you," Tu Zhengbao said without any hesitation.
Several of his students rushed over, trying to stop him from falling into Liu Wuxie's trap.
"Mentor, no!"
"I want to see how he plans to restore the meridians of someone who's born with blocked meridians," Tu Zhengbao said, waving his hand to stop their persuasion.
After all, unblocking the girl's meridians in only fifteen minutes was nothing more than fantasy. Not to mention, Xiao Qian was no longer young, which made her chances of recovery even lower.
Liu Wuxie beckoned to Xiao Qian, who stepped out of Ye Linghan's embrace and walked over trembling.
"Are you afraid of pain?" Liu Wuxie asked softly as he looked at the frail girl.
"I'm not afraid!" Xiao Qian replied firmly. As long as she could learn skills, she could endure any hardship.
"Alright. You can cry out if the pain becomes unbearable," Liu Wuxie said, caressing Xiao Qian's head. He then took out a set of silver needles.
Xia Yuanming and the other mentors stepped forward to see Liu Wuxie's performance clearly.
Liu Wuxie took out the first silver needle and inserted it into Xiao Qian's elbow.
The needle quickly vanished into her elbow, but Xiao Qian felt nothing. But when the second needle entered her shoulder, she began to tremble slightly as piercing pain tore through her shoulder. Even so, she endured it and refused to cry out.
The third silver needle pierced Xiao Qian's wrist and disappeared as well, followed by the web between her thumb and index finger, her palms, and her fingertips. Every movement flowed smoothly in one seamless sequence.
Many mentors couldn't help praising Liu Wuxie inwardly, as his series of movements had already reached the level of a grandmaster.
When Liu Wuxie inserted the final silver needle into Xiao Qian's dantian, she began trembling violently. Sweat rolled down her forehead and soon soaked through her clothes. From that alone, anyone could imagine the pain she was enduring.
Opening blocked meridians was an extremely brutal process, like blades slicing through the body and bringing unbearable agony.
Xiang Rulong and the others walked over, looking at Xiao Qian's face.
"We support you. You must endure it!" Xiang Rulong said. He had the highest cultivation among them, so he naturally held the greatest influence.
"Brother Xiang is right. You must endure it!" Zhang Hua and the others began cheering Xiao Qian on.
Xiao Qian's consciousness had already started to fade. The pain nearly caused her to faint, but after hearing their encouragement, she bit her lips hard until blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.
Liu Wuxie was also secretly shocked by Xiao Qian's performance. If anyone else were in her place, they would have screamed in agony long ago. But perhaps because she had suffered too much humiliation while searching for a mentor, she treasured this opportunity greatly. She feared that Liu Wuxie would refuse to accept her if she cried out.
"You can scream," Liu Wuxie said, looking at the pain on Xiao Qian's face. Screaming was also a form of release, and the burden on Xiao Qian's shoulders had been far too heavy all these years.
"ARGHHH!" Xiao Qian's scream was filled with heart-rending pain as blood continued to spill from her lips.
"Will she be in any danger?" Ye Linghan asked worriedly.
"She'll be fine as long as she endures it," Liu Wuxie replied. Even he wasn't entirely certain, as everyone's willpower differed. If he had overestimated Xiao Qian's willpower, he would lose the bet instead.
Now that he looked at it again, Xiao Qian's willpower was even stronger than he had imagined.
Time slowly passed, and the fifteen minutes were nearly up. The surrounding mockery had already vanished, with everyone silently praying for Xiao Qian. Even if she couldn't open her meridians, they still hoped she would survive.
All of a sudden, an immense aura spread from Xiao Qian's right arm, resembling an innate fireball, making it impossible for others to look at it directly. The flame was an innate energy that could even ignite space itself.
"It's an innate spirit!" An exclamation echoed from the surroundings at the sight, and even the mentors could no longer remain composed.
Those who possessed an innate spirit were extremely rare, and no one expected Xiao Qian to have one. Yet none of them had discovered it before.
When the flame returned to Xiao Qian's arm, it began shuttling through her meridians. Her aura started rising, and in the blink of an eye, she reached the threshold of the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Her improvement was rapid as she shot straight past the first level and reached the fifth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm.
Such a rapid breakthrough speed was inconceivable. A thick layer of filth also began seeping out of her pores, releasing a foul stench. This was the process of cleansing the marrow and undergoing rebirth.
Xiao Qian's aura continued rising until it reached the eighth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm before it finally slowed. The entire process, from her treatment to her breakthrough, had lasted exactly fifteen minutes.
Ye Linghan took out a Cleansing Talisman and cleansed Xiao Qian's body. She soon discovered that Xiao Qian looked slightly more plump than before, and her complexion had also become rosier.
Xiang Rulong and the other students stepped forward. "Xiao Qian, congratulations!"
Xiao Qian suddenly dropped to her knees and kowtowed three times to Liu Wuxie.
This time, Liu Wuxie didn't stop her. He knew that if he stopped her, she would only feel uneasy for the rest of her life, and that unease would eventually develop into an inner demon.
"Get up," Liu Wuxie said, reaching out to help Xiao Qian back to her feet.
"Assistant Liu, how did you know that she possessed the Sacred Innate Physique?" Xia Yuanming asked curiously.
The other mentors also turned to Liu Wuxie for the answer.
"The Sacred Innate Physique has a trait. Anyone who possesses it has the Heavenly Sacred Blood flowing in their bodies," Liu Wuxie replied honestly without hiding anything.
"She possesses the Heavenly Sacred Blood? How is that possible! How can someone like her possibly possess such a noble bloodline?" Wei Wenbin exclaimed in disbelief.
Many mentors couldn't accept it. They might have accepted it if Xiao Qian had come from a prestigious clan, but she was born into an ordinary hunting family, and both of her parents were common folk.
"Mentor Wei, you don't believe it?" Liu Wuxie asked, looking at Wei Wenbin with a teasing smile. At the same time, he began wondering how he could squeeze some resources out of him.
However, Wei Wenbin wasn't a fool after seeing Jiang Hongran and Tu Zhengbao fall for it. How could he fall into Liu Wuxie's trap again?
"I'm only curious," Wei Wenbin said, changing his expression faster than flipping a book.
"I have heard that the Heavenly Sacred Blood is purple... It's really true!"
The blood dripping from the corner of Xiao Qian's mouth carried a faint purple hue. The purple hue wasn't very noticeable because her bloodline hadn't fully recovered yet.
Xia Yuanming began examining Xiao Qian. They had all failed to notice such a promising talent and had let Liu Wuxie claim her as his student. No one knew better than they what the Heavenly Sacred Blood and Sacred Innate Physique meant.
If Xiao Qian grew up, she would definitely become a powerhouse. It was especially painful for the mentors whom Xiao Qian had once begged, only to be rejected at their doors. Now that they thought back on it, they couldn't hide their regret.
When their divine senses entered Xiao Qian's body, they noticed that her blood now flowed twice as fast as before, with all the blockages in her meridians cleared.
"What a terrifying physique! She's only at the eighth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm, but the width of her meridians is even more terrifying than high immortals!" Guo Anyi exclaimed in amazement.
It wouldn't take long for Xiao Qian to reach the High Immortal Realm now.
"I understand now! Her physique couldn't withstand the power of the Heavenly Sacred Blood in her body, so it sealed all the Heavenly Sacred Blood inside her right arm." Yu Yong exclaimed after piecing everything together.
"But isn't that strange? Why didn't we discover it?" Xia Yuanming asked, looking so distressed that he wished he could slap himself.
"There's another strange question. Who sealed the Heavenly Sacred Blood in her right arm?" A whole new problem arose. Since that person could seal the Heavenly Sacred Blood in her arm, why didn't they help Xiao Qian open her meridians?
Liu Wuxie also wanted to know the answer to that question. When he asked Xiao Qian earlier, she had told him that her arm had been like this since she was young, and even her parents didn't know why.
"Mentor Tu, time to uphold your side of the bet now," Liu Wuxie said, looking at Tu Zhengbao's face.
Everyone finally came back to their senses and turned to look at Liu Wuxie and Tu Zhengbao.
