Chapter Fifty-Nine: An Unexpected Gain

Startled, Dieyu stared helplessly at Lu Zhe, whose entire body was flushed a deep red. At that moment, Lu Zhe’s hands clutched tightly at his own clothing, his face contorted in agony, brows knit and teeth clenched—clearly, he was suffering intensely.

“I can’t worry about anything else now; I need to see what’s going on inside his body,” Dieyu muttered resolutely after a moment's hesitation as she watched Lu Zhe writhe in pain.

With that, she shrouded her hands in spiritual power to shield herself from the searing heat radiating from Lu Zhe’s body, helped him to sit upright, and swiftly settled cross-legged before him. Placing his palms against her own, she closed her eyes, guiding her consciousness through their joined hands and into his body.

The vision that greeted her mind’s eye shocked Dieyu: within Lu Zhe, everything was awash in crimson light—bones, meridians, and organs all aglow with a fiery red radiance.

“What in the world is happening?” Dieyu whispered in awe as she observed the strange transformation within him.

Carefully, she guided her consciousness through Lu Zhe’s body, searching for the root cause of this anomaly. Suddenly, she noticed the brightest, most intense red was centered in his abdomen. Without delay, she directed her focus there.

The instant her mind touched his abdomen, the red light seemed to sense her presence. It flared dazzlingly, then began to heat up even further.

“So, this is the culprit behind all this,” Dieyu murmured once she understood the source.

Without wasting another moment, she began channeling her wind-element spiritual power into Lu Zhe’s body. The wind element was known for its fierce and aggressive nature. Dieyu spun her spiritual core at high speed, drawing forth wave after wave of immense wind energy, which she directed through her arms and into Lu Zhe, finally guiding it to his abdomen where it met the red light in a fierce standoff.

The red light, confronted by the wind energy, didn’t retreat. Instead, it radiated even more intensely from a red pearl-like object in Lu Zhe’s abdomen, attempting to expel the invading force.

Seeing this, Dieyu continued to channel her wind power at full force, locking the red light in a stalemate.

Yet, despite its aggression, the red light was isolated and unsupported. Under the relentless onslaught of Dieyu’s wind element, it finally began to falter, scattering in panic like a defeated animal.

As it dispersed along Lu Zhe’s meridians, some of the crimson light melded into his flesh and blood, while the rest fled swiftly back to the red glowing source in his abdomen.

Moments later, all the scattered red energy, save for that which had fused with Lu Zhe’s bones and flesh, had retreated back to the source.

“At last, you’re caught,” Dieyu breathed a sigh of relief as she observed the scene unfold.

No sooner had she spoken than she directed her vast reserves of wind energy toward the red light in Lu Zhe’s abdomen.

Upon arrival, her consciousness discovered a red pearl nestled within. It glowed with a powerful radiance, and Dieyu could sense the wild, violent energy it contained.

Without hesitation, she shaped her wind energy into a tornado and hurled it at the red pearl.

The red light sensed the approaching storm and flared outward, colliding fiercely with Dieyu’s wind tornado. She skillfully broke apart the crimson glow surrounding the pearl, then enveloped the pearl itself in the eye of the tornado, spinning it rapidly.

As the tornado whirled, Dieyu meticulously extracted slivers of violent energy from the red pearl. Each strand, upon being expelled, was instantly annihilated by the wind power stationed outside.

Gradually, the rampant energy within the red pearl diminished. When it was finally reduced to a harmless level, the tornado slowed, then dissipated completely.

Now, the pearl in Lu Zhe’s abdomen shone with a gentle red light. Though still brimming with energy, its previous wildness was gone. At last, this seemed to be pure energy, suitable for absorption and refinement.

Dieyu exhaled softly in relief, but her breath caught as she noticed the red pearl beginning to glow once more.

Could it be that the violent energy hadn’t been eradicated?

But this time, the energy radiating from the fiery pearl was calm and pure—perfect for cultivation. However, Lu Zhe was unconscious and unable to absorb it on his own. If left unchecked, even such pure energy rampaging through his vulnerable body could wreak havoc on his organs and meridians. Should the energy’s sheer volume cause internal injuries, healing would be troublesome indeed.

Dieyu sighed quietly. “This boy is nothing but trouble.”

She then guided her wind power to envelop the pure energy, channeling it along Lu Zhe’s meridians toward his spiritual core.

Sensing the incoming force, Lu Zhe’s core began to absorb it. As the process deepened, his core expanded, growing to the size of a basketball before finally halting—only because Dieyu was actively suppressing it. Left unchecked, the core would have grown even larger. While a larger core signified greater power, Dieyu’s experience told her that too many sudden breakthroughs would leave his foundation unstable, ultimately doing more harm than good.

Once the core stopped expanding, Dieyu exhaled and began to compress it with her wind power. Gradually, it shrank back to the size of a ping pong ball, but now it was far denser and more solid than before.

Dieyu wrapped the remaining energy in her wind power and returned it to the red pearl. Only after confirming that no spiritual power leaked from the pearl did she slowly withdraw her consciousness from Lu Zhe’s body.

With the unruly red energy expelled and suppressed, Lu Zhe’s body gradually returned to its normal color. The pain on his face faded, and his once-tensed body relaxed in comfort.

Dieyu gently cradled his head, setting it softly on the ground. She sat nearby, catching her breath and wiping sweat from her brow.

As she rested, a familiar voice sounded by her ear:

“You made a wise choice. Letting him advance too many levels at once would have been a great hindrance to his future cultivation.”

The voice was unmistakable. She turned her head, and sure enough, Old Ye—clad in green robes—stood behind her.

With a casual stride, Old Ye approached the now sleeping Lu Zhe, bowed his head to study him, then nodded in approval. He looked up at Dieyu, saying calmly, “You’ve worked hard these past few days. The deal is complete; you’re free to go.”

With that, he extended his right hand, and a beam of emerald light shot toward Dieyu’s brow, vanishing into her forehead.

As the green light entered, Dieyu felt her spiritual core suddenly unblocked. The seal that had been suppressing it vanished with Old Ye’s power.

Retracting his hand, Old Ye bent down and removed Lu Zhe’s storage ring from his finger. He retrieved the Red Dragon Horn from within and tossed it to Dieyu. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Dieyu accepted the Red Dragon Horn, examined it, and placed it into her own storage ring.

Old Ye remained standing by Lu Zhe’s side, hands behind his back. Dieyu glanced at him, then at Lu Zhe. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with a strange emotion as she gazed at the youth’s handsome features. A helpless, bittersweet smile curved her lips. “After so many years of solitary cultivation, I never imagined I’d share life and death with a young boy.”

Old Ye shifted his gaze to Dieyu, noting the faint blush that tinged her lovely cheeks. As he watched, a figure flashed through his mind—a woman, beautiful and smiling at him.

“I wonder how she’s been,” Old Ye murmured to himself, barely audible.

Suddenly, he saw Dieyu bend down, her slender fingers gently brushing aside Lu Zhe’s dark hair. Her lips lightly touched his forehead.

She rose, touched her storage ring, and retrieved two scrolls, placing them beside Lu Zhe. “These are two advanced techniques. I hope they serve him well,” she murmured.

Old Ye glanced at the scrolls, then back at Dieyu. “Thank you,” he said.

Dieyu looked at Old Ye. He still wore his green robe, his hands clasped behind him, that green staff ever-present, standing quietly by Lu Zhe.

“You’re his teacher, aren’t you?” Dieyu asked softly.

Old Ye merely nodded in response.

“May I know your name?” she continued.

Old Ye regarded her briefly and waved a hand. “Names are long forgotten, but my surname remains—Ye.”

Dieyu nodded. “Thank you for answering.”

With that, she unfurled her wings, turned to gaze one last time at Lu Zhe, then soared high, glancing back before speeding away.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air, but the lady was gone.