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Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi brought back Yue Ting.
Li Hong felt a bit disappointed at first glance. Yue Ting was already ten years old this year, but his body was frail, his complexion pale and slightly bluish, very thin and small, with sparse hair on his head, looking no more than six or seven years old. When he saw people, he appeared timid, clinging tightly to Shui Qingzi's clothing and refusing to let go. There was hardly any trace of a child of a prominent family.
Most importantly, there was a strange black energy circulating through Yue Ting's veins. Additionally, his body was filled with an unusual amount of impurities, and he did not possess a Fire Spirit Root, making him entirely unsuitable for cultivation, let alone practicing the Nine Li Sect's "Li Fire Scripture."
Li Hong immediately recognized that the persistent strange black energy in Yue Ting's body was ghostly energy. Only those who had been in close contact with powerful Yin Ghosts for an extended period would exhibit such ghostly energy in their bodies.
The question was, how did Yue Ting end up with ghostly energy? Where had he been for the past three years?
Yue Ting seemed very dependent on Shui Qingzi; no matter how everyone tried to coax him, he refused to let go of Shui Qingzi's clothing. In the end, it was Liu Zhong who was clever enough to bring a few children of similar age from the Little Yellow Gate to play with him and offered many treats before he finally calmed down.
Hearing that Shui Qingzi had not taken Yue Ting back to Lingnan for his brothers to identify, Li Hong immediately sent someone to invite Zhao Ding and began asking Shui Qingzi how he found Yue Ting.
Shui Qingzi hesitated and said, "There is something I need to clarify. We were not able to deal with the thing that took him; we did not eliminate it completely. We only rescued Yue Ting and a group of children."
"Oh? There are evil spirits specifically targeting children?" Li Hong pondered.
Shui Qingzi recounted the events.
A month ago, he and Shui Miaozi flew directly to Lingnan and searched in all directions from the original post station as the center. However, the area was filled with deep mountain forests and steep cliffs, making their search slow. They indeed encountered a few reclusive Beast Cultivators and discovered some minor demons, but they had nothing to do with Yue Ting's disappearance.
At this point, both of them suspected that Yue Ting had simply gotten lost and would likely have been devoured by wild beasts in the deep mountains.
However, one day while passing by a Miao Village, they noticed something unusual.
It was midnight; the Miao People were awake and searching the mountains with torches, shouting loudly in fear. The two went down to inquire.
Although there was a language barrier, the Miao People saw them descending from the sky and thought they were deities. After much gesturing, Shui Qingzi and his companion suddenly felt invigorated.
They sensed that this was indeed a significant clue.
There is a legend among the Miao People that deep in the mountains lives a demon that specializes in devouring children. Wherever it appears, children go missing. The demon does not come out often, appearing only once every year or two, and each time, around ten children disappear. The local Miao tribe both hates and fears it.
According to them, this demon resides in a deep ravine beyond ten great mountains. Sometimes, the Miao People will offer sacrifices to it, throwing sheep and chickens into the ravine during bright sunny days at noon before fleeing in panic.
Without hesitation, Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi flew towards that place under the reverent gaze of the Miao People.
Upon arrival, they found the ravine was bottomless, lacking the kind of demonic energy fluctuations typical of Beast Cultivation. Instead, it emanated a chilling aura. This ghostly energy was so powerful that even with their early-stage Demon Baby cultivation, Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi did not dare to act immediately. They chose to descend at noon the next day when the sun's energy was at its peak.
Once they reached the bottom, they did not encounter the main entity but discovered several children trapped in the depths of the cave. As Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi were rescuing all the children, a powerful ghostly aura surged from behind the cave. The two prepared for a fierce battle, but until they flew away, the entity did not make a move; it merely released its aura as a warning.
Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi considered that if a fight broke out, victory was uncertain. They speculated that the entity refrained from attacking because noon was when its power was weakest. However, if time dragged on until nightfall, they would undoubtedly face great trouble.
Thus, they decided to ignore the entity and directly brought the children back to the Miao village. Upon inquiry, it turned out that one of them was Yue Ting.
Yue Ting had been near those Evil Spirits for three years; their ghostly energy had seeped into his bloodline, and he was greatly traumatized, remaining somewhat dazed. He could only clearly state his name but struggled to form complete sentences otherwise.
Li Hong pondered for a moment after hearing this. He had encountered ghost kings before, but if even Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi could not defeat this ghost king, it could no longer be called a ghost king; it should be described as a Demon Emperor level entity.
Li Hong did not know much about cultivating the Ghost Path. In Nine Li Sect, there was Ji Lingzi who had been a cultivator in life and thus had a foundation. He took advantage of favorable circumstances in Golden Lantern Gorge and received assistance from a Gongxin Pill, rapidly increasing his cultivation level. He had become an undeniable ghost king commanding numerous Evil Spirits in Golden Lantern Gorge and could contend with Golden Core Stage cultivators. In comparison, if even Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi together had no chance against this ghost, it must have been steeped in Ghost Path energy for at least ten thousand years, making its cultivation formidable.
After listening to Li Hong's thoughts, Jiang Xuanzi shook his head: "Although our Beast Cultivation differs from humans in essence, we share a lineage after cultivation; essentially, we belong to Yang. All things in the world exist in mutual creation and restraint; Yin Evil Spirits are our natural enemies as Yang beings. Conversely, we are also their nemeses. This is precisely why those Evil Spirits fear Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi; if they truly engaged in battle, it's hard to say who would win or lose. Our goal is to rescue Yue Ting and the other children; under these circumstances, there is no need for life-and-death struggles. Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi are indeed correct."
Everyone nodded at his words. Li Hong smiled: "It seems that Elder Shui Qingzi and Elder Shui Miaozi are being modest. Since our goal was to find Yue Ting and we have now achieved that goal without provoking the Evil Spirits into taking back the children, that's even better. As for the ghostly energy within Yue Ting's body, I can attempt to dispel it."
Just then, Liu Zhong entered with Zhao Ding.
Li Hong invited him to sit down and brought Yue Ting forward for identification.
Zhao Ding examined him closely for a while before uncertainly saying: "In my busy days back then, I did not visit the Yue residence often; I only saw Yue Ting once or twice. Forgive my poor eyesight; he seems somewhat familiar but I cannot be certain. I will quickly send an urgent letter to summon his brothers from Lingnan to Lin'an for identification."
Upon hearing the words "brothers," Yue Ting's eyes brightened for a moment, but he quickly lowered his head in a daze, instinctively gripping a piece of candy tightly in his hand.
Li Hong noticed the fleeting sparkle in his eyes and felt that this child might truly be Yue Ting.
For three years, this small child had lived in the dark, sunless depths of a cave, manipulated by the Evil Spirits. The fact that he had survived and could clearly state his name without being scared to death was already remarkable. From this perspective, he might indeed be the son of the renowned Yue Fei.
After pondering for a moment, Li Hong sent a pulse of Awareness towards Yue Ting, targeting his drowsiness point. Yue Ting's legs buckled as he slowly began to fall to the ground. Li Hong leaped forward and caught him, smiling at everyone, "Whether or not this child is Yue Ting, I feel a connection with him. Without delay, I will dispel the ghostly energy within him; prolonged exposure could be harmful to his life." With that, he carried Yue Ting into his room.
Arranging Yue Ting into a cross-legged sitting position, Li Hong pointed at his forehead. A fine strand of Awareness slowly flowed from Yue Ting's Upper Dantian throughout his body along the meridians. Li Hong controlled the speed carefully to avoid harming Yue Ting's internal channels.
The Awareness was pure Yang spiritual energy refined by Li Hongxiu, highly effective against low-level ghostly energy. Wherever that thin Awareness flowed, the ghostly energy immediately melted away like snow in fire.
After about a tea time, the ghostly energy within Yue Ting was completely eradicated, and the faint black mist between his brows vanished. However, Li Hong fell into deep thought.
After expelling the ghostly energy from his body, little Yue Ting's complexion gradually turned pale, and his breathing became weak.
For three years, this child had been surrounded by Evil Spirits. Although Li Hong did not know what the Evil Spirits intended by capturing children, one thing was clear: Yue Ting's body had begun to change and had become highly dependent on the ghostly energy of the Evil Spirits. It was akin to someone who had lived in a cold environment for too long; although their body weakened over time, they began to adapt. Once placed in a warm environment, various suppressed ailments would start to surface. This was exactly Yue Ting's current situation.
To ensure his survival, it was necessary to completely transform his constitution.
Li Hong took out various Elixirs from his Cosmic Bag and calculated carefully before devising a plan. He first used a Washing Marrow Pill to expel all toxins and impurities from Yue Ting's body and then used a Cultivating Essence Pill to strengthen his foundation. At this point, Yue Ting's complexion began to regain its color, and his breathing became smoother.
Li Hong checked his pulse again and found it stable and strong; he was completely normal now. At this moment, Li Hong made an astonishing discovery: it turned out that Yue Ting possessed a slight Fire Spirit Root within him.
It seemed that he originally had some Fire Spirit Root but had been in an Extreme Yin environment for three years next to the Evil Spirits, causing it to be suppressed by Yin energy. Now that the ghostly energy was expelled and his constitution transformed, the previously hidden Fire Spirit Root began to reveal itself.
This made things much easier! Li Hong was very pleased.
Those with a slight Fire Spirit Root can cultivate the Nine Li Sect's Li Fire Scripture. Although their progress may be slower than those with a complete Fire Spirit Root, it is still a rare opportunity. As long as one puts in a little extra effort, nothing is too difficult.
Li Hong took out a Fire Origin Pill and fed it to Yue Ting, then opened up his meridians. Once everything was in order, he fed him a Foundation Pill and a Supplementary Spirit Pill, helping him absorb all the medicinal effects.
At this point, Yue Ting was truly qualified to be taken as his disciple.
After covering Yue Ting with a blanket, Li Hong walked cheerfully to the hall.
The others outside had not dispersed yet; they were waiting for news. Upon seeing Li Hong's expression, they understood immediately.
Zhao Ding still felt somewhat uneasy. The more he thought about it, the more he believed that Yue Ting was likely the one. He asked with concern, "How is he?"
Li Hong smiled and said, "It's fine now; he has fully recovered. It was just five Elixirs."
Upon hearing that five Elixirs had been used, everyone felt awkward. When they clarified which five were used, Wei Ming couldn't help but smile wryly: "That little guy is quite fortunate! If five Elixirs don't work for him, then there must be something wrong. Only you, Chu Hongzi, would be so generous."
The Fire Origin Pill, Supplementary Spirit Pill, and Cultivating Essence Pill are Pudan and not particularly rare, but the Foundation Pill and Bone Cleansing Pill are ranked sixth and ninth among Human-Level pills respectively, making them quite precious.
While they were talking, Yue Ting had already woken up and walked out on his own. Everyone stared in astonishment. Zhao Ding could hardly believe his eyes.
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