The story of Xia Hui’s mother was not complicated.
She was a genius disciple of the Magic Path who had been persuaded by her Senior Sister to flee the Demonic Sect together.
However, due to the subsequent pursuit by Wanhua Valley, her Senior Sister was recaptured, and only she managed to escape to this place.
She had hidden her identity and settled down here to get married and have children, thinking she could live out her days in peace.
She never expected that the vengeance of Wanhua Valley would eventually find her.
It wasn’t that Wanhua Valley had actively sought out this traitor.
In fact, they hadn’t even bothered to look for her.
She knew too little, having defected with her Senior Sister right after becoming a Core Disciple.
The cost of mobilizing forces for a single person like her was simply too high.
Besides, the Heart-Eating Vine would take Xia Hui’s mother’s life sooner or later.
Why would Wanhua Valley waste effort hunting her down?
“I thought the Heart-Eating Vine would only affect me. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when Xia Hui’s father passed away, that I realized it didn’t just affect me—it affected my family as well.”
Xia Hui’s father hadn’t been particularly strong; he couldn’t even compare to the current Xia Hui.
Because he had spent so much time with Xia Hui’s mother, his body had been riddled with damage by the Heart-Eating Vine, leading to his untimely death.
Xia Hui’s situation was even more complex. While her father’s life force had only been indirectly drained, an actual branch of the Heart-Eating Vine existed within her body.
This was the terrifying nature of the Heart-Eating Vine: it could spread through bloodlines, passing from mother to child.
This was also one of the methods Wanhua Valley used to control the disciples under their command.
The Magic Path was, after all, the Magic Path. If they didn’t employ such methods, how could they call themselves villains?
“I am already terminally ill, but Xia Hui is still young. She still has a chance to escape the control of the Heart-Eating Vine.”
Tears welled up in Xia Hui’s mother’s eyes. No matter what, she did not want to see her child follow in her footsteps.
‘If I hadn’t fled with my Senior Sister back then, would things have been different?’ she wondered.
‘Perhaps I wouldn’t have had to suffer such pain.’
But the past was set in stone, and regret was useless now.
All she could do was try to plan for her child’s future.
“Take her to Ascension City and find the Immortal Masters of the Saint Sect. Perhaps they have a way to deal with the Heart-Eating Vine.”
Hearing this, Linglong looked troubled. The Heart-Eating Vine was a major weapon of Wanhua Valley; even within the Saint Sect, there was no known method to handle it.
Xia Hui’s mother’s plan was most likely destined to fail.
“Auntie, can you let me see what the Heart-Eating Vine actually looks like?” More than being worried like Linglong, Hua Jian was curious.
She was curious about its appearance, but also about whether she could eat it.
She possessed the ability to gain powers through consumption.
If she could devour the Heart-Eating Vines inside Xia Hui and her mother, wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?
Xia Hui and her mother would no longer suffer from the vine’s torment, and she could obtain a new ability.
“This… how do you want to look at it?”
“Just sit still and watch my performance.” Hua Jian stepped forward, rubbing her hands together.
She summoned a slender vine and pricked Xia Hui’s mother’s neck.
Xia Hui’s mother was remarkably brave. Faced with such an attack, she didn’t move an inch.
It was only when Hua Jian’s vine pierced into her blood vessel that she let out a muffled groan through gritted teeth.
As soon as the vine probed into the mother’s vessels, Hua Jian was shocked by the state of her body.
The theory she and Linglong had discussed yesterday was correct.
There was indeed a terrifying parasitic plant inside Xia Hui’s mother, and her meridians and blood vessels had been severely damaged by its growth.
The most horrifying part was the heart. Just as its name suggested, the Heart-Eating Vine had already devoured more than 80% of her heart.
Currently, her pain came from the Heart-Eating Vine, but her life was also being sustained by it.
The vine had replaced her heart and become the pillar of her existence.
For a moment, Hua Jian couldn’t do much about the vine coiled around the heart.
She decided to start from the peripheral areas.
Her summoned vine slowly retreated to its original position and opened its “mouth” toward the Heart-Eating Vine within the blood vessel.
At this moment, she silently thanked the White Flower Venerable for the gift of the Dragon Blood Vine Essence.
It had given Hua Jian’s vines many useful properties.
For instance, she could now let her slender vines fight the Heart-Eating Vine directly inside the woman’s body.
The battle went quite smoothly. The Heart-Eating Vine likely never expected to encounter such a thing in its life.
It was a parasitic plant, specifically engineered by Wanhua Valley, with all its “talent points” put into parasitism and torture.
When faced with an external invader, it had almost no ability to resist.
And the Dragon Blood Vine? That was a terrifying existence that could treat dragons as snacks.
Its aggression was extreme; compared to it, the Heart-Eating Vine was like a toddler in a playground.
It didn’t take long for Hua Jian to clear out the Heart-Eating Vine in the nearby vessels.
She then used her own vines as a replacement, allowing the ravaged vessels to hold together.
After completing this, she wiped away her sweat and withdrew the vine from the mother’s body.
“I can solve the Heart-Eating Vine, but it will take some time,” Hua Jian said seriously to Xia Hui’s mother after taking a deep breath.
“How is that possible?” Xia Hui’s mother touched her neck in disbelief.
She could feel that the area Hua Jian had just pricked was no longer painful.
Had the Heart-Eating Vine really been dealt with?
This was simply incredible!
The secret technique of Wanhua Valley had been broken by a teenage Spirit Master.
No one would believe it if the word got out.
“Hua Jian, are you serious?” Linglong’s eyes widened. This was the Heart-Eating Vine, not some minor ailment!
“Of course it’s true. But this method can only be used by me, so don’t think about spreading it.”
Hua Jian curled her lip and then made a clawing motion with her hands.
“To put it simply, I kicked the Heart-Eating Vine out and replaced it by parasitizing the host myself.”
“Eh?”
“Do you know how broken her mother’s body is? 80% of her heart has been eaten by that vine. Her vessels and meridians are filled with those tendrils. I have to slowly eat those tendrils and then use my own vines to fill the gaps…”
Hua Jian explained her treatment method word for word.
Leave alone Linglong not understanding; even the patient herself was stunned.
This method was quite different from what she had imagined.
In a way, wasn’t this just letting a more powerful “parasite” drive out a weaker one?
“However, the Heart-Eating Vine in Xia Hui is much easier to handle. Her body isn’t very damaged, so I can just eat the thing directly,” Hua Jian added, sharing some good news.
She had already probed deep into Xia Hui’s body. Unlike her mother, the vine hadn’t caused much damage to the girl yet.
This meant Hua Jian only needed to devour that warm current.
“Then… I must trouble Miss Hua Jian.”
“It’s a small matter. I’ll have it done in a moment.”
Hua Jian rolled up her sleeves and walked over to Xia Hui.
She repeated the process, sending her vine into the girl’s body. Before long, she captured that warm current once again.
This time, instead of trying to pull it out, she had the vine net surrounding the heat transform into a large mouth, tearing and devouring the trapped heat.
‘Witness the power of the Dragon Blood Vine, brat!’
While devouring the heat, Hua Jian also realized what it actually was.
It was a semi-sprouted seed of the Heart-Eating Vine.
It had been stealing nutrients from Xia Hui’s body, waiting for the right moment.
By all rights, since Xia Hui was already this old, the vine should have grown as large as the one in her mother. However, that wasn’t the case.
This vine was only in a semi-activated state, not fully active.
“It’s probably Wanhua Valley’s design. This way, they can activate the threat whenever they need to intimidate someone,” Linglong suggested after a moment of thought.
Leaving the vine dormant and only activating it when necessary would certainly create a more shocking impact.
But now, this hidden trump card had been eaten by Hua Jian. Their cleverness had backfired.
“Who knows? The Heart-Eating Vine in her body has been cleared out by me, though I can’t be 100% sure if it left any other seeds behind,” Hua Jian said to the mother as she withdrew her vine from Xia Hui’s meridians.
Hearing this, the elderly-looking mother forced her sickly body to stand up and bowed deeply to Hua Jian in gratitude.
“Thank you for your help, Miss Hua Jian.”
“No need to be so polite. If you really want to thank me, just give me some Spirit Stones,” Hua Jian laughed. She had never cared much for verbal thanks.
If someone wanted to thank her, they should provide something of practical value—like Spirit Stones!
This response made the mother fall into deep thought. Finally, as if making a difficult decision, she whispered to Hua Jian.
“We once had some family assets, but unfortunately, most of our wealth was spent on my medical treatments over the years. Now, the only thing I can offer as thanks is a Spirit Tool I brought out from Wanhua Valley all those years ago.”
A Spirit Tool? Hua Jian’s eyes lit up. That worked too!
“It’s fine. It’s the thought that counts!”
Linglong looked at Hua Jian, who was once again acting like a money-grubber, and raised her hand to knock on her head. But after thinking about it, she lowered her hand.
It didn’t seem right to embarrass Hua Jian at this moment.
Stuck in a dilemma, she turned to Shiqi, seeking her opinion.
Shiqi simply shrugged at her, indicating she didn’t mind.
Hua Jian was the one doing all the work, so it was only fair for her to ask for a reward. They couldn’t expect her to work for free, could they?
On this matter, Shiqi stood with Hua Jian.