263: The Path of Martial Arts

Pain.

Boundless, bone-deep, Soul-piercing pain, mixed with a sense of emptiness and weakness that reached the extreme, washed over Qin Feng's consciousness like tidal waves. He felt like a piece of porcelain that had been shattered and then barely glued back together, riddled with cracks, ready to fall apart completely at the slightest touch.

This feeling of being on the brink of collapse, of having one's oil run dry and lamp extinguish... The last time he experienced it seemed to be back in that dilapidated Mountain God Temple, after he was severely injured to save Xiao Chun. He never expected to experience it again so soon, and this time it was at least ten times more devastating than before.

His eyelids felt as heavy as mountains. With immense effort, he barely managed to pry them open a sliver. Blurry light and shadow gradually sharpened into focus, revealing the rough yet dry wooden beams of a roof. His nose was filled with a strong, but not unpleasant, mixture of medicinal scents—soothing sandalwood, Qi-replenishing ginseng, and several other aromas from Spirit Medicines of obviously extremely High Grades that he couldn't immediately identify.

"Brother Feng! You're awake?!" A crisp voice, choked with tears yet brimming with joy, sounded by his ear. Immediately, a small face etched with worry and exhaustion leaned into view. It was Xiao Chun. Her eyes were red and swollen, clearly from prolonged crying, but now they shone with a bright light.

"Xiao... Chun..." Qin Feng opened his mouth to speak, his voice hoarse and grating like sand rubbing on stone, his throat burning with pain.

"Don't try to talk yet, have some water first." Xiao Chun hurriedly brought over a jade cup that had been kept warm nearby. It contained a clear, lustrous spirit liquid, which she carefully brought to Qin Feng's lips.

The cool, sweet liquid slid down his throat, carrying a gentle medicinal power that moistened his parched Meridians. Qin Feng felt a little better. He moved his eyes and saw several people standing by the bed.

Valley Master Li Changqing, Vice Valley Master Sikong Ye, and Great Master Ouyang Zhi. The faces of the three elders bore concern, along with a trace of something hard to detect... embarrassment?

"It's good that you're awake." Li Changqing nodded slightly, his voice gentle. "How do you feel?"

Qin Feng tried to mobilize a wisp of true essence, but it triggered a tearing, excruciating pain within his body. He couldn't help but grunt, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

"Don't move recklessly!" Sikong Ye frowned, stepping forward. He placed his fingers on Qin Feng's wrist pulse, sending in a wisp of pure, gentle true essence. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, his expression grave. "Your Meridians are severely damaged, with multiple breaks and blockages. Your Dantian shows signs of cracking. The Origin of your Sword Heart and Sword Bone is shaken, nearly shattered... That you survived at all is due to your solid Foundation, your tenacious will, and the result of Xiao Chun's tireless nurturing using the Origin of her Myriad Medicine Body at great cost."

Li Changqing sighed and continued, "After we received the emergency distress signal sent by Tao Hua and Tao Yuanyi through a special method, we set out immediately and rushed here at the fastest speed possible. However, the journey was long, and we had to avoid potential surveillance, so we only arrived in the vicinity a day ago. When we discovered you were surrounded, we intended to intervene immediately, but..."

He paused, glancing at Ouyang Zhi, who looked somewhat sheepish beside him.

Ouyang Zhi's old face flushed red. He spoke gruffly, cutting in, "Kid Qin, don't blame us for acting late! The truth is... we were actually here long before! We even arrived earlier than those Yin Demon Sect scum!"

"What?" Qin Feng was stunned, his sense of weakness seeming to fade a little with this news.

Li Changqing glared at Ouyang Zhi and explained, "That's right. After you left Medicine King Valley, we old fellows were really worried, especially with Xiao Chun's special Physique..."

"...After receiving Tao Yuanyi's call for help, and knowing you were carrying a heavy treasure, we secretly followed you out. We trailed you from a distance, using a few of the Valley's treasured concealment Magic Treasures."

Sikong Ye chimed in, his tone carrying a hint of lingering fear and regret. "We were watching from this hillside the whole time... We also saw that old ghost Zhongli Wu leading a large group to surround you. Several times, when we saw you in danger, I almost couldn't stop myself from jumping out!"

Ouyang Zhi couldn't help but interject again, pointing at Li Changqing. "Especially when we saw your Four Symbols Formation being besieged by the Heavenly Corpse and three Mid-stage Martial Emperors, in constant peril! I already had my hammer raised! But this old ghost held me back tightly!"

Li Changqing's beard twitched. "Nonsense! Clearly, you were the first one who couldn't hold back! You were about to charge when the Golden Corpse pounced! You were the one who stopped me!"

"You stopped me!"

"You told me not to be impulsive!"

The two old men, whose combined age was probably close to a few hundred years, actually started arguing like children right at Qin Feng's sickbed, their faces red.

Sikong Ye held his forehead and sighed, saying to Qin Feng helplessly, "See? This is the 'tradition' of our Medicine King Valley. One by one, they usually seem steady, but at critical moments, they're more prone to losing their heads than anyone. And precisely because they were pulling each other back, they missed the best time to intervene... It wasn't until Zhongli Wu personally tried to kill you, and Xiao Chun's Heart-protecting Mirror erupted, that we truly realized how dire the situation had become. We could no longer care about anything else and immediately revealed ourselves."

Listening to this, Qin Feng suddenly understood, feeling both amused and exasperated. So... his Masters had been secretly following and protecting them all along. No wonder the power of the Lightning Trap exceeded expectations. No wonder he always felt a faint trace of 'luck'... It wasn't all luck after all.

He suddenly remembered the System's black warning—'Estimated probability of direct death or capture will be as high as fifty percent.' At the time, he thought fifty percent was an extremely high risk, almost a guaranteed death sentence. But now it seemed... Did that remaining fifty percent chance of survival refer to his Masters, who had been lurking in the shadows but almost arrived too late because they were 'pulling' each other back?

"System, is this what you meant by 'fifty percent chance of survival'? Why didn't you just hint that the Valley Master and the others were nearby?" Qin Feng asked silently in his heart.

[Ding. If the Host wishes to truly reach the pinnacle of the Martial Dao, what he should rely on is his own strength and strategy, not permanently available powerful reinforcements. The System provides crisis warnings and Opportunity guidance to pave the way for the Host, not to act on his behalf. Excessive reliance on external forces will hinder the Host's own potential exploration and growth. If not for the Host and his companions resisting desperately this time, demonstrating sufficient value and will, how could there be growth and progress? The path of Martial Arts is ultimately a lonely one.]

The cold System prompt echoed in his mind, startling Qin Feng.

So that's how it is... The System isn't an all-powerful nanny. It provides intelligence and Opportunities, but how to use them, whether one can grasp the chance of survival, ultimately depends on oneself. That 'fifty percent' chance of survival probably included the risk of the reinforcements arriving in time!

"Damn it..." Qin Feng couldn't help but curse inwardly, feeling both lingering fear and a glimmer of understanding. This time, he had truly walked a fine line before the gates of hell, and to a large extent, he and his companions had forced their way through on their own.

"Alright, alright, you two old fellows, stop arguing. Can't you see the child needs rest?" Sikong Ye finally spoke up, stopping the argument between Li Changqing and Ouyang Zhi. He said gently to Qin Feng, "Our Medicine King Valley might not match those Sects specializing in combat in other areas, but when it comes to treating injuries and nurturing one's Foundation, we do have some expertise. Rest and recuperate peacefully. We'll handle everything."

Qin Feng nodded weakly, feeling somewhat reassured. With these big shots around, at least his life wasn't in danger.

He concentrated and tried to summon the System panel. The light screen unfolded as expected, but the data on it made his heart sink.

[Name: Qin Feng]

[Age: 19 years old]

[Rank: Late-stage Grand Martial Master (Realm has fallen, severely damaged)]

[Talents: Sword Heart (Advanced · Severely Damaged, Repairing), Sword Bone (Advanced · Severely Damaged, Repairing)]

[Cultivation Techniques: Primordial Unity Qi Art (Third Layer Great Perfection · Operation sluggish), 'Daoist Primordial Chaos Art' Upper Volume (Perfection)]

[Martial Skills: Finger Sword Among Flowers (Earth Rank Advanced · Proficiency greatly reduced), Hundred Flowers Sword Technique (Earth Rank Advanced · Proficiency greatly reduced), Wind Spirit Illusion Steps (Earth Rank Advanced · Proficiency greatly reduced)...]

[Weapon: ink plum sword (Earth Rank Supreme Grade · Destroyed)]

[Armor: white dragon armor (Earth Rank High Grade · Destroyed), heavenly silkworm jade thread garment (Heaven Rank Low Grade · Severely Damaged, Spirit greatly diminished)]

[Special: daily intelligence system (Cooling down)]

[Status: Meridians shattered (Repairing), Dantian on the verge of destruction (Stabilizing), Deficient in both Qi and blood, Origin damaged, Extremely weak.]

His Rank had fallen back to Late-stage Grand Martial Master! His two major talents, Sword Heart and Sword Bone, were severely damaged! His main equipment, the ink plum sword and white dragon armor, were completely destroyed! Even the heavenly silkworm jade thread garment had lost most of its spirit, nearly half-ruined!

The cost... was truly devastating. It was almost like wiping out the gains from two months in Medicine King Valley plus the Ancient Wood Deep Forest, along with previous accumulations, in one fell swoop. He had even lost more than he gained.

Qin Feng closed his eyes, suppressing the bitterness and unwillingness in his heart. As long as he was alive, there was hope. Equipment could be found again. Cultivation could be rebuilt. Since the Sword Heart and Sword Bone could still be repaired, it meant his Foundation wasn't completely severed.

It's just... this path seemed even more difficult and cruel than he had imagined.

In his ears, the System's cold voice seemed to echo again: "The path of Martial Arts is ultimately lonely."

He clenched his weak fist.

"The Imperial Capital... The lower volume of the 'Daoist Primordial Chaos Art'... The Yin Demon Sect..." A thought quietly surfaced.

The road ahead was still long.