“Xiao Yan!”
Ling Xiaodong shouted anxiously and hurried forward to check on the situation.
The little Taoist girl standing beside him wiped the tears from her face, her voice trembling with sobs:
“I… I was bored in the middle of the night, so I came to find Sister Xiao Yan to play, but as soon as I entered… sniff… I saw Sister Xiao Yan lying on the bed, no matter how I called her, she wouldn’t wake up.”
As she spoke, tears kept streaming down the little Taoist girl’s cheeks.
Ling Xiaodong recognized her — she was the one who swept the fallen leaves every day in front of the Qingfeng Temple gate, her name was Huang Duoduo, and she was Xiao Yan’s close friend.
Ling Xiaodong asked anxiously, “Yun Yi, what’s wrong with Xiao Yan? I saw her fine at noon.”
Ye Yiyun took a moment to calm herself before explaining:
“Xiao Yan was born on a yin year, yin month, and yin day — she has the Profound Yin Body. Every year, there’s a period when yin energy consumes her body. As she grows older, this backlash gets more severe. By all rights, she shouldn’t live past twelve.”
“But Xiao Yan is already sixteen now. There has to be a solution, right, Yun Yi? What was done in the past when this happened?”
Ye Yiyun choked on her words:
“In the past, my master, Xuan Huzi, would intervene to suppress it. It hadn’t relapsed for so many years, and we thought she was healed. Who would’ve expected it to happen again today…”
A chill ran down Ling Xiaodong’s spine because he knew Xuan Huzi had left Qingfeng Mingyue Temple five years ago and hadn’t been seen since.
“Is there no other way? Yun Yi? We can’t just watch Xiao Yan die like this!”
Ling Xiaodong suddenly remembered his own cultivation method, Heaven and Earth Yin Yang* Grand Joy Rhapsody* — didn’t it have the effect of transforming yin into yang?
He hurriedly asked, “Can my technique work? I can save Yun Yi, and I can save Xiao Yan too!”
Ye Yiyun shook her head.
“It’s useless. The Profound Yin Body is too fierce and domineering. Your method is for gentle nurturing. Xiao Yan won’t make it that long.”
“Is there really nothing at all?”
Ling Xiaodong paced anxiously inside the room, then suddenly looked up.
“Right, I’ll go find Master! Maybe Master has a way!”
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and rushed out at top speed toward Mingyue Temple.
The situation was urgent; he didn’t even bother knocking, shoving the door open so hard it slammed against the wall with a loud bang.
“It’s bad! Master!”
“Ling Xiaodong, what’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night?”
Disturbed from her sleep, Yue Yingying snatched the pillow off the bed and threw it at Ling Xiaodong.
“Master! Xiao Yan is in trouble! Hurry to Qingfeng Temple!”
Yue Yingying immediately sensed the seriousness.
She quickly got out of bed, wrapped on her outer robe, and stepped into her embroidered shoes.
“What do you think happened to Xiao Yan?”
“Her Profound Yin Body has flared up!”
Yue Yingying knew of Xiao Yan’s condition when she was at Qingfeng Mingyue Temple, but still looked shocked.
“How could this happen? Father had already suppressed it, hadn’t he?”
Ling Xiaodong grabbed her arm and stumbled out.
“Hey, slow down! I can’t keep up!”
“It’s urgent!”
Seeing Yue Yingying was moving too slowly, Ling Xiaodong didn’t wait for her to walk to Qingfeng Temple leisurely — he just scooped her up in his arms.
The wind roared past their ears as the scenery around them blurred and receded. Ling Xiaodong flew swiftly through the trees with Yue Yingying in his embrace.
“Ah!”
Yue Yingying cried out, clutching tightly around Ling Xiaodong’s neck, startled by his sudden action and forgetting she could fly herself.
Her soft, delicate body pressed against him — under different circumstances, Ling Xiaodong might have been pleased by this closeness, but with Xiao Yan’s life on the line, he had no time for distractions.
Before long, the two of them arrived at Mi Xiaoyan’s room.
Yue Yingying sat beside Xiao Yan’s bed and took her pulse, while the other three stood tensely nearby.
“Yingying, how is it? Can you save Xiao Yan?”
Yue Yingying’s expression was grave; she did not answer.
After a while, she turned and instructed:
“I need yellow talismans, morning dew, realgar, cinnabar, a bowl and a talisman brush, and ten roosters — the more vigorous, the better!”
Ling Xiaodong and Ye Yiyun hurried inside the temple to gather the items for Yue Yingying.
Fortunately, all of these were standard supplies, and Qingfeng Temple also raised its own poultry.
Yue Yingying mixed realgar, cinnabar, and blood from the ten roosters’ combs together, then swiftly drew seven talismans with the brush.
She then placed them on Xiao Yan’s key acupoints: Baihui, Zhongfu, Shenmen, Zhongwan, Zhiyang, Yongquan, and Zusanli — the seven main yang-replenishing points.
With her fingers forming seals and chanting softly:
“Solar Star Marshal, mighty and overwhelming at Fusang. By the decree of the roaring heavens, wield the power of thunder. Receive the flying talisman, speedily execute.”
The seven yellow talismans emitted a golden light, warm as the sun, outshining the candlelight and illuminating everyone in the room.
This was an advanced solar talisman from Taiqing Jiuxuan and its accompanying solar incantation.
Mi Xiaoyan’s pale face regained a bit of color, and her limbs started to warm again.
But it was not over yet.
Yue Yingying poured a bottle of morning dew into the bowl, holding a talisman paper in one hand, chanting:
“Lord of the Northern Dipper’s Five Thunders, drum of darkness and mourning. Wind Master sweeps away the plague, Lightning Mother removes suffering and disease. Thunder strikes evil spirits, Rain Master sends down the law of rain. Irrigate the Triple Burner, refresh and clear the internal organs. Weigh heavy to lighten, where damaged, instantly replenish. Where hot, immediately cool, where accumulated, instantly purge. Where in danger, immediately stabilize, where in pain, immediately stop. Swiftly, by the law’s command.”
The talisman paper ignited without fire, then was tossed into the morning dew.
The burning talisman immediately dissolved in the water, transforming into a pale yellow talisman liquid.
Yue Yingying gently lifted Mi Xiaoyan’s head and slowly fed her the liquid.
Xiao Yan’s face, twisted in pain from the cold, gradually relaxed and turned peaceful, as if she had simply fallen asleep.
Yue Yingying let out a long breath and wiped the thin sweat from her forehead.
Unable to contain his impatience, Ling Xiaodong asked first:
“How is it, Master? Is she cured?”
Yue Yingying shook her head lightly.
“No, it’s only barely keeping her alive. Xiao Yan can hold on for ten more days. If the problem isn’t resolved within ten days, all will be lost.”
“Is there a cure for the Profound Yin Body?”
Yue Yingying nodded:
“There is! Father once told me that to completely cure the Profound Yin Body, only the Xuan Yang Red Fire Pill refined from Xuan Yang Grass works!”
Ye Yiyun, who had briefly regained hope, turned pale again upon hearing the words “Xuan Yang Grass.”
Ling Xiaodong’s eyes brightened at the prospect of a solution.
“Where can we find Xuan Yang Grass? I’ll go get it right now!”
Yue Yingying sighed deeply.
“If Xuan Yang Grass were so easy to find, Father would have found it long ago. Xuan Yang Grass has been extinct in this world, no one has seen it for decades.”
Ling Xiaodong despaired.
“How can this be? Does that mean Xiao Yan is doomed to die after ten days?”
“Not necessarily!”
Once again, Yue Yingying gave them a glimmer of hope.
“If there’s still one place in the world where Xuan Yang Grass might exist…”
She pointed west, toward the direction of Mao’er Mountain, where endless mountain ranges stretched out.
“It’s inside the Great Ten Thousand Mountains!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.