267: The flawed jade is the king (VI).

Five years passed.

Life in the valley was peaceful, yet oppressive.

Wang Yun's body had become even weaker than it was five years ago.

He often coughed at night, his thin and frail body curled up on the bed like a withered leaf swaying in the wind.

Yet his eyes remained clear and pure, without a hint of gloom despite his illness.

One morning, a commotion broke out in the village.

It was Goudan.

The village chief's sturdy-looking son had suddenly developed a high fever for some reason, his body twitching as he spoke incoherently.

The village chief and his wife, drenched in sweat from anxiety, carried the child to Elder Mo's thatched hut.

"Elder Mo! Please, save Goudan!"

Elder Mo frowned, examining him carefully.

He applied acupuncture and medicine, but Goudan's condition didn't improve at all; instead, his breathing grew weaker.

"It is miasma poison."

Elder Mo's voice was heavy.

"This child strayed into the part of the mountains with the thickest miasma. The poison has reached his heart. Mortal methods cannot save him; his only chance of survival lies with the Immortals."

These words caused the village chief and his wife to collapse to the ground, wailing.

Wang Yun stood to the side, looking at his playmate on the bed—the boy who had once bullied him, now struggling in pain with a purple-blue face—and felt pity in his heart.

He gently tugged on Elder Mo's sleeve.

"Grandpa Mo, I... I want to try."

Elder Mo turned back and looked into his clear eyes, feeling a pang of sorrow in his heart.

He knew what Wang Yun wanted to do.

But he did not stop him.

Wang Yun walked to the bedside, extended his thin finger, and squeezed out a drop of blood from the tip.

That drop of blood was not bright red, but carried a faint golden luster, filled with a pure aura of life.

This was his remaining Origin Blood.

He gently dripped that blood into Goudan's mouth.

The drop of blood seemed to have miraculous effects; Goudan's purple-blue face quickly regained a healthy flush, and his rapid breathing gradually stabilized.

Beside him, Elder Mo watched as Wang Yun's already pale face grew even whiter, his body swaying slightly. He turned his head away, unable to bear the sight.

Wang Yun's kindness was killing him.

That night.

In the thatched hut, the oil lamp flickered like a bean.

Wang Yun was woken up once again by the pain of a violent coughing fit.

Elder Mo sat by his bed holding a bowl of warm medicinal soup, remaining silent for a long time.

"Yun-wa."

After a long while, Elder Mo spoke hoarsely.

"Your Origin was dug out by someone, and the bone in your chest was also stolen."

"Grandpa Mo... is powerless."

"You... will not live past eighteen."

The old man's voice trembled; he thought the boy would cry or fall into despair.

However, Wang Yun was only stunned for a moment.

Then, he reached out his cold little hand and grasped Elder Mo's large, wrinkled hand in return.

He smiled, a smile that was clean and pure.

"Grandpa Mo, don't be sad."

"To have had these few years, gathering herbs and saving people with you, seeing this world—Yun'er is already very satisfied."

This extreme kindness made Elder Mo's heart ache intensely.

Looking at the boy's pure smiling face, the pity, unwillingness, and anger flared up within him.

Why?

Why should such a good child meet such an end?

From that day on, Elder Mo changed.

He no longer stayed in his secluded corner but began to appear frequently throughout the Five Domains, entering the most dangerous ancient lands in search of the legendary supreme divine medicine that could reshape one's Origin.

He wanted to find that glimmer of hope for Wang Yun.

But he had lived for too long; his existence itself was a secret.

His tracks were eventually discovered.

This day, a Divine Thought—faint yet of a nature so high it startled him—swept across the area.

Exposed.

Elder Mo's expression changed, and he immediately sped back toward the valley.

"Yun-wa! We have to go!"

He rushed into the hut, not even having time to pack anything, and picked up Wang Yun, who was still grinding herbs, fleeing toward the mountains in the dead of night.

The two headed west, not daring to stop for a moment.

Eventually, they fled to a desolate ancient road.

Here, jagged rocks stood everywhere, not a blade of grass grew, and even the wind carried a bleak Death Qi.

Elder Mo had just stopped to catch his breath for a moment.

Several figures quietly appeared at both ends of the ancient road, completely sealing off all their exits.

There were five in total.

Leading them was an old woman holding a black staff; she looked at Elder Mo and let out a raspy laugh.

"Who would have thought?"

"A figure from two eras ago is actually still alive."

Elder Mo shielded Wang Yun behind him, his expression solemn.

"Who are you people?"

"Who we are doesn't matter."

The old woman greedily scanned Elder Mo with her hollow eyes.

"What matters is the secret of your longevity."

"You didn't survive two eras through your cultivation base, but because you accidentally consumed an immortal medicine."

Elder Mo's heart sank.

This was his greatest secret.

"Your attainments in the Alchemic Dao are far more than just profound."

The old woman's voice carried a sense of fanaticism.

"You are a Quasi-Saint who has already touched the threshold of the 'Alchemic Saint Realm'!"

"Although your cultivation base is only at the Human Venerable level, your insights into the Alchemic Dao are a priceless treasure to us."

"Come with us, Pill Idiot. Hand over everything you have, and we won't treat you poorly."

Elder Mo laughed.

He knew that today would not end peacefully.

He settled Wang Yun behind a giant boulder and straightened his somewhat hunched back.

A powerful aura erupted from within his body.

The battle broke out immediately.

Elder Mo did not fight head-on.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of Medicinal Pills of various colors flew out.

Some exploded, turning into a cloud of poisonous purple miasma.

Others hit the ground, causing the hard rock to turn into a muddy swamp.

Using heaven and earth as his furnace and all things as his ingredients, he actually managed to hold off the siege of five experts of the same rank by himself.

The battle was exceptionally fierce.

The ancient road shattered, and mountain rocks collapsed.

But Elder Mo's situation became increasingly difficult.

The opponents were numerous and coordinated well; they had clearly come prepared.

*Pfft.*

In a moment of carelessness, Elder Mo was struck in the back by the old woman's staff and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Looking at those greedy and hideous faces, Elder Mo's eyes became resolute.

His hands quickly formed seals as he muttered under his breath, a profound Alchemic Dao Law flowing through his fingertips.

"With my alchemic heart, I summon the pulse of heaven and earth!"

"Explode!"

He was actually going to detonate the power of the local earth veins to create chaos and forge a path of survival for Wang Yun.

Rumble!

The ground beneath them shook violently and cracked.

The entire ancient road, along with the surrounding mountains, was leveled to the ground under this terrifying force.

A bottomless dark abyss appeared beneath everyone's feet.

Immediately following that.

At the very depths of that abyss.

A brilliant emerald radiance soared into the sky.

A towering ancient tree, entirely emerald green, slowly rose from the abyss.

Its leaves and branches blotted out the sun, emitting a dense life aura that transformed the silent wasteland into a green divine kingdom.

Upon the ancient road.

Whether it was Elder Mo, the five pursuers, or Wang Yun hiding behind the boulder and being nourished by this aura.

Everyone was stunned by the sight before them.