72: Aftermath 1

Dawn, Xingyun Pavilion's old site.

Xiao Yan's light silhouette hovered in mid-air, gazing at the busy reconstruction below.

Seven days had passed since that earth-shattering battle, and various parts of the Source World were still licking their wounds.

Xingyun Pavilion, as one of the main battlefields, was almost leveled, and now only a few temporarily erected tents marked where a powerful force once famous throughout the Source World stood.

"Brother," Xiao Bing's voice came from behind him, "It's time to change the medicine."

Xiao Yan turned and saw his younger brother holding a bowl of cold blue ointment.

Xiao Bing's complexion was better than a few days ago, but the fatigue in his eyes was still obvious—these days he not only had to assist with the reconstruction efforts but also take care of Xiao Yan and Ling Xiao.

The two landed in front of the largest tent, lifted the curtain, and walked in.

Ling Xiao was lying on a makeshift bed, his silver hair spread out like a galaxy, his face so pale it was almost transparent.

Hearing the movement, he reluctantly opened his eyes, a weak smile on his lips: "Big brother... Second brother..."

"Don't move." Xiao Bing held down Ling Xiao, who was trying to get up, and gently lifted the clothing from his chest—there was a strange black mark there, shaped like claw marks, which was the aftereffect of the Chaos Devourer's contamination.

A layer of ice crystals had already formed around the mark, but black Qi occasionally seeped from its center.

Xiao Bing carefully scraped off the old ointment and applied the new.

The moment the ointment touched his skin, Ling Xiao's body trembled violently, his fingers clutching the bedsheet tightly, yet he gritted his teeth and made no sound.

"Bear with it," Xiao Bing's voice was gentle, but his movements didn't stop, "This time, we added Arctic Profound Ice Grass; the effect should be better."

Xiao Yan's light silhouette floated to the other side of the bed, his invisible "hand" gently stroking Ling Xiao's forehead, transmitting warm energy: "It will be fine soon."

Ling Xiao nodded slightly, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

A moment later, the ointment completely covered the black mark, and Ling Xiao let out a long breath, his tense body relaxing.

"Thank you, Second Brother..." he said weakly, his eyelids beginning to droop.

Xiao Bing pulled the covers over him: "Sleep, Big Brother and I will watch over you."

Once Ling Xiao's breathing became steady, Xiao Bing turned to Xiao Yan, lowering his voice: "Brother, your condition isn't optimistic either."

Xiao Yan's light silhouette was indeed much fainter than on the day of the great battle, its edges already starting to blur.

He floated to a bronze mirror in the corner of the tent; the image reflected in the mirror was flickering, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

"It's fine for now." Xiao Yan conveyed his thoughts, "Ling Xiao's situation is more urgent."

Xiao Bing shook his head and took out a cyan crystal from his storage ring: "Xuan Guang Venerable sent this 'Soul-Condensing Jade'; it should help stabilize your energy body."

Xiao Yan did not refuse, letting his light silhouette envelop the crystal.

As the cyan light flowed, his outline did become clearer, but the core's cyan flame remained dim.

"This is just a temporary measure." Xiao Bing's brows were tightly furrowed, "We need a fundamental solution."

Just as he was speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.

Xuan Guang Venerable lifted the curtain, his face solemn: "Both of you, something has happened. The space in the three southwestern cities suddenly collapsed, and thousands of people are missing!"

Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing exchanged glances, simultaneously thinking of a terrifying possibility—although the Chaos Devourer had been eliminated, the damage it caused to the Source World was still ongoing.

The planar structure was already riddled with holes, and it could collapse completely at any moment!

"I'll go take a look." Xiao Bing grabbed his sword.

Xiao Yan stopped him: "You stay and take care of Ling Xiao; I'll go." Before Xiao Bing could object, his light silhouette had already passed through the tent and disappeared out the door.

Xiao Bing sighed helplessly and turned to Xuan Guang Venerable: "Senior, please send a few Heavenly Supremes to accompany him."

Xuan Guang Venerable nodded and left.

Xiao Bing sat back down by Ling Xiao's bed, looking at his younger brother's restless sleeping face, his heart heavy.

The joy of victory had long been diluted by the current crisis—Xiao Yan had no physical body, Ling Xiao's Soul was damaged, the Source World was on the verge of collapse... Was it all truly worth it?

His gaze inadvertently swept over an old wooden box in the corner—it was Yao Lao's Relics, dug out from the ruins of Xingyun Pavilion the day before the great battle, and no one had yet had the heart to sort through it.

"Teacher..." Xiao Bing whispered, as if the perpetually smiling white-haired old man would suddenly appear.

After a long silence, he got up and walked towards the wooden box, his fingers gently caressing the rough wood grain.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted the lid.

Inside were neatly arranged items from Yao Lao's lifetime: several leather-bound notebooks, a set of alchemy tools, a few bottles of rare medicinal herbs, and... Xiao Bing's eyes instantly welled up... three small wooden carvings—a young Xiao Yan, Xiao Bing, and a silver-haired youth they had never seen before, presumably Ling Xiao carved by Yao Lao based on descriptions.

"You knew this day would come..." Xiao Bing carefully took out the wooden carvings, his fingertips tracing the rough etchings.

As he picked up the bottommost notebook, a Jade Slip slipped from between the pages, falling to the ground with a "ding."

Xiao Bing bent down to pick it up; three ancient characters were carved on the surface of the Jade Slip: "Soul Plating Pill."

"This is...?" Xiao Bing infused a trace of spiritual energy, and the Jade Slip immediately glowed with a soft light, and Yao Lao's phantom emerged from it!

"If you are seeing this image, it means the old man is no longer here." The phantom of Yao Lao smiled kindly, "Don't be sad; everyone dies eventually. This Jade Slip records the Pill Formula for the 'Soul Plating Pill,' which should solve your current problems."

Xiao Bing's hands trembled slightly, tears blurring his vision: "Teacher..."

"The Soul Plating Pill is a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill, requiring three main ingredients." Yao Lao continued, "The 'Origin Objects' that accompanied your births—Xiao Yan's fire seed, Xiao Bing's ice crystal, and Ling Xiao's spiritual threads.

The specific locations are..."

The image suddenly flickered, seemingly unstable due to its age.

Xiao Bing hurriedly infused more spiritual energy, but only heard a few fragmented words: "Tai Ling... Forbidden Ground... Xiao Realm... Heart Fire..."

Finally, the image completely disappeared, leaving only the detailed Pill Formula in the Jade Slip.

Xiao Bing held the Jade Slip, kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Even Ling Xiao's weak call from behind him didn't get an immediate response.

"Second Brother... what's wrong?" Ling Xiao struggled to prop himself up.

Xiao Bing wiped away his tears, turned, and handed the Jade Slip to his younger brother: "Teacher... left us hope."

Ling Xiao read the contents of the Jade Slip, his silver eyes gradually brightening: "Soul Plating Pill... Can this really help Big Brother reshape his body and heal my Soul injuries?"

"Teacher never said anything he wasn't confident about." Xiao Bing helped Ling Xiao sit up, "The problem is, we need to find those three accompanying Origin Objects. Do you know what 'spiritual threads' are?"

Ling Xiao pondered for a moment, then suddenly pulled off one of his own silver hairs and twirled it between his fingers.

To his surprise, the strand of hair actually disintegrated into countless tiny points of light, then reassembled into the shape of a hair again.