STNS: Chapter 518 (Patreon)

Several months had passed since Wu Meiying teleported them to escape from Zhou Shíwēi. Wu Meiying had woken up during that time, but that did not mean she was recovered. Her fever had broken, and she could now move around, but she couldn’t cultivate, and she was greatly weakened.

They found out after she woke up that Wu Meiying was suffering from something far more complex than simple Qi Exhaustion. Her meridians had ruptured. This was the result of using a technique that she was not ready for. As a result, even channeling Qi caused her extreme amounts of pain.

Fortunately, this was not a permanent condition and she could recover, but it would take time. A long time. Alchemy pills could also be used to help hasten her recovery, but the pill that she required was, according her, something that they were unlikely to find in this small, sealed world. They would need to reach the Nine Heavens to find the pill they wanted, and by the time they were strong enough to do so, she will have already recovered by then.

At the moment, however, Wu Meiying had gone from being the strongest to being the weakest among them.

Wu Jian was second in that category.

Without his legs, Wu Jian’s combat efficiency had gone down. It was unlikely that he’d even be able to defeat a Human Limit Realm cultivator, nevermind someone in the same realm as him. This did not cause him grief, however. He couldn’t afford to lament his situation.

Since he didn’t have legs to use, Wu Jian needed another way to get around, and with his understanding over the Dao of Space, he had begun researching a method to do just that. During their first month stuck in this place, Wu Jian had meditated over the issue incessantly, to the point where Zhou Lihua had begun to worry because he wasn’t eating. Sometimes, he would go days without food, and once, he had even gone a whole week without eating. It wasn’t that he had lost his appetite, however. He had just been so focused on achieving his goal that he would often forget to eat until someone reminded him.

After delving so deeply into his meditation, Wu Jian had eventually discovered a way to transport himself without relying on someone else to carry him.

Spatial Drifting.

That was the name of his new technique. Wu Jian focused on creating seamless movement by manipulating spatial energy to “drift” through gaps in reality, bypassing the need for physical movement entirely. By doing this, he could “glide” through space.

Zhou Lihua had said it was “eerie but cool.”

The mechanics behind it were a little complex. He had to focus on the spatial coordinates of his destination, and then, use his understanding over the Dao of Space to create a temporary “bridge” between his current position and target location. That involved compressing the space in front of him while elongating the space behind him to create a subtle “pull” that moved him forward without requiring legs.

It was quite different from teleportation, which involved instantly vanishing from one location and reappearing in another. This was more fluid. Wu Meiying had told him that his new movement technique had a very ghost-like quality. Wu Jian thought it was because of the shimmering ripple that appeared as he moved. It was the spatial distortions his technique created, but he couldn’t deny that it had an eerie, ghost-like quality.

Sadly, while this technique was good at letting him move on his own, it had many limitations, not the least of which was the amount of Qi it drained. Using Spatial Drifting required precise control of spatial energy, which quickly drained his reserves. He could only use this technique for five minutes at most. Wu Meiying had analyzed the technique and told him that it was not only energy-consuming, but that his use of spatial energy was inefficient.

Using this technique also required direct line of sight. While he didn’t need a completely unobstructed path, the technique worked best when he could clearly visualize his destination.

It was also highly unstable in Qi heavy environments or places with chaotic and unstable leylines. Even the slightest disturbance could cause the technique to fail. He had been assured by Wu Meiying that this eventually wouldn’t be a problem after he completely mastered the technique, but it was a problem right now.

At the moment, he was sitting next to a sleeping Wu Meiying. She was resting her head on his shoulder. She slept most days. Cultivators with severe injuries recovered best by sleeping or meditating. Since she couldn’t meditate right now, sleeping was all she could do. Zhou Lihua was a little further away, next to the fire. A pot hung over it. She was cooking food that she had managed to catch during her most recent excursion.

“Lili… it looks like my wounds have closed up again,” he said.

Zhou Lihua looked up from her work, then glanced at his legs and grimaced.

“I’m coming over,” she said.

She removed the pot from the fire so the ingredients wouldn’t overcook, then walked over and knelt down next to him. She studied his stumps for a moment. The area around his knees had indeed healed over, which they could not allow to happen since it would make regrowing his limbs impossible.

“I’m going to cut them. Are you ready?” she asked after placing his left leg on her lap.

“Do it,” he nodded.

Zhou Lihua bit down on her beautiful red lip. Her expression as she channeled chi into a scalpel she had summoned was somehow both erotic and sad. She looked resigned and pained. He understood that she did not want to hurt him, and yet, she had no choice in the matter.

“Here I go,” she murmured.

Wu Jian took a deep breath as she took the scalpel to his knee and slowly began slicing through his flesh. Blood welled up along the cut area. The pain was intense, but Wu Jian was used to it by this point. How many times had she been forced to do this now? Ten? Twenty? He had long since lost count.

It was almost fascinating to watch. A layer of skin, muscle, fatty tissues, and bone was sliced off near his knee-joint. Zhou Lihua’s hand lit up with ghostly white flames, which she tossed at the parts she had cut off. The pieces of his body were lit ablaze and eventually dissolved into ash. Zhou Lihua then grabbed a cloth covered in salve and pressed it to his bleeding stump. She used a piece of string to tie it to his calf so it wouldn’t move away.

“That’s one down. Now time for the other leg,” Wu Jian said, wiggling his other leg at her. The action served to awaken Wu Meiying.

“J-Jian… Lili… morning…” she mumbled.

“It’s afternoon,” Zhou Lihua said with a pained smile. She took a deep breath. “All right. I’m going to cut the other leg now.”

“Right,” said Wu Jian.

He and Wu Meiying both watched as Zhou Lihua placed his injured leg on her lap and shaved through flesh, fat, muscle, and bone. It was a grotesque sight, but neither Wu Jian nor Wu Meiying flinched. They had both seen far worse. Wu Meiying, with her hundreds of lives, had witnessed by far some of the most gruesome scenes mankind had to offer. Something like this would not be enough to even make her flinch.

“Okay. That’s done. Keep that salve on your legs for at least a day, okay?” said Zhou Lihua.

“I know,” Wu Jian said with a nod.

He didn’t know what, exactly, this salve was made from, but Zhou Lihua had made it to serve two purposes. The first was to soothe his frayed nerves and ease the pain of having his flesh periodically sliced off. However, it also helped prevent his body from healing. It couldn’t stop it completely, as evidenced by the fact that they had already done this several times, but it would slow down the healing, meaning she did not have to cut into him as often.

“Okay. All done.” Zhou Lihua placed her hands on the ground and leaned back with a sigh.

“Good work,” said Wu Jian.

Zhou Lihua smiled, but it was without mirth. “I don’t think this is something you should thank me for…”

Wu Jian disagreed with a shake of his head. He slowly reached out and cupped Zhou Lihua’s cheek. Her entire body stiffened at first, but as he rubbed his thumb over her soft skin, she slowly relaxed and leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as though seeking to embrace this feeling without her vision getting in the way.

“I do need to thank you for this, though. I know how much you hate hurting me. I know it pains you. But you do it anyway.”

“I’m only doing it because I need to if I want to heal you,” Zhou Lihua said, placing her hand over his. She hesitated, then turned her head to kiss his palm. The touch of her lips on his skin sent a thrill through Wu Jian.

“And that’s precisely why I’m thanking you. Your feelings mean the world to me.”

Zhou Lihua’s smile became more genuine at his words, though she sighed like they were causing her trouble.

“I really can’t win against you.”

“Not right now, at least,” he said with a grin.

“Haaaaaaah, I wish you two wouldn’t flirt in front of me--or at least include me in your flirting,” Wu Meiying complained.

“Sorry, Mei. I kinda thought you’d be going back to sleep,” Wu Jian confessed.

“Sleeping is all I’ve been doing. I’m tired of it,” she said with a pout.

He shrugged. “Can’t be helped. You need to recover.”

“I still wish I could make that alchemy pill you need,” Zhou Lihua said with a sigh.

Long locks of raven hair moved like streamers in the wind as Wu Meiying shook her head. “Even if we could gather the ingredients, you wouldn’t be able to refine it with your current cultivation and understanding of the Dao of Alchemy.”

Wu Meiying had told them that the alchemy pill she needed to recover was called Qi Refining Lotus Plum Blossom Pill. It was a pill that required an alchemy of Celestial Quartz rank to refine.

The cultivation world had nine realms: Body Forging Realm, Hunger Realm, Anima Realm, Asura Realm, Human Limit Realm, Deva Realm, Seeker Realm, Realization Realm, Perfection Realm. Supposedly, there was also a God Realm, but that was a myth. According to Wu Meiying, these nine realms were called the Nine Mortal Realms, and they were the realm of mortals.

When someone broke through the limits of mortality and achieved godhood, they reached the Seven Divine Realms: Divine Origin Realm, Divine Tribulations Realm, Divine Nascent Realm, Divine Spirit King Realm, Divine Sovereign Realm, and True Sovereign Realm. The so-called God Realm was simply someone who had reached the Divine Origin Realm, the weakest of the Seven Divine Realms.

Similarly, alchemy had tiers and rankings after Rhodium or Tier 10.

Celestial Quartz - Tier 11.

Ethereal Sapphire - Tier 12.

Stellar Diamond - Tier 13.

While there were only three ranks after reaching the Seven Divine Realms, each rank was transcendentally different from the previous one. There was simply no comparison between a Celestial Quarts ranked alchemist and an Ethereal Sapphire ranked one. Of course, the difference between a Rhodium ranked alchemist and one of Celestial Quartz rank was even vaster. According to Wu Meiying, it would take Zhou Lihua at least fifty years after reaching the Seven Divine Realms to achieve Celestial Quartz rank.

Before anyone else could speak, voices echoed from outside their cave.

Unfamiliar voices.

“What’s this? A hidden entrance?”

“It looks like someone is using this place as a base.”

“We really lucked out. Think we’ll find some good prospects?”

“I can only hope.”

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go.”

Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Zhou Lihua turned to the sealed off entrance just as the rock they had placed in front of it blew open. Dust and debris flew everywhere as five people walked in.

“Well, well,” one of them began with a grin. “We really did luck out. I didn’t expect to find such beautiful young women here. And they’re humans to boot. They’ll fetch a hefty price on the slave market.