Decaying World

Chapter 163 Burning Part 1 (Thanks to Zhuoxiao, Alliance Leader of Qiongkong)
Lin Hui had expected that the Lin siblings wouldn't stay long, but he didn't expect them to plan to leave so soon.

For more than a year, he had been searching for information about Qinghe Sect everywhere, but unfortunately, since the two branch halls were wiped out, Qinghe Sect had disappeared without a trace.

This also fueled Lin Hui's desire to build an intelligence network.

However, because he lacked enough trustworthy people, he couldn't leverage his wealth.

Aside from that, everything else went smoothly.

His Typhoon Sword Technique body tempering successfully reached the third rank. His Illusionary Manifestation Technique also made a breakthrough from the beginner level, successfully condensing a so-called Void of Divine Power, and his consciousness power was also greatly enhanced.

The evolution of the Star Breath Sword Manual was successfully shortened from 35 months to 24 months.

This is because, in addition to taking the medication step by step to accelerate the process, Lin Hui also continuously took other medicines he found intermittently, such as Ganoderma lucidum and Ziyunzhi.

Among these changes, the physical attributes enhanced by Purgatory also showed a change in the drug's absorption limit. The drug absorption limit for one month was raised to the point where it could offset the effects of eight months of Blood Seal.

These are all positive changes, indicating that Lin Hui's strength is steadily improving significantly.

But everything has its downsides.
Sighed again.

Lin Hui's figure flickered, leaving the banquet hall, passing through the corridor and garden, and arriving at a bedroom that exuded a strong medicinal smell.

"Where is Brother Xue?"

He looked at Chen Xiangzhi, the disciple guarding the door. Chen Xiangzhi was Xue Meng's eldest disciple and the one with whom he had the deepest affection.

"Teacher just ate a medicinal diet." Chen Xiangzhi's eyes were swollen, clearly from crying.

"I'll go in and take a look," Lin Hui said.

"Okay." Chen Xiangzhi stepped forward to open the door and let Lin Hui in.

Xue Meng was lying on the bed, looking emaciated. Compared to his robust appearance more than a year ago, he looked worse than an ordinary old man or woman.

This condition suddenly appeared about six months ago. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just a common illness, so he went to the pharmacy to get some medicine and took it for a while.

The medicine had no effect, and I watched helplessly as my energy and spirit rapidly declined day by day.

Xue Meng panicked and sought out Lin Hui to search for medicine throughout the inner city, but despite spending tens of millions of dollars, it had no effect whatsoever.

So Lin Hui went to his older brother Amamiya's side, but the answer he received was...
"Is this what decay is?" Xue Meng barely opened his eyes and looked at Lin Hui who had entered the room.

"I thought that with my abilities, I could hold on for a few more years. Fortunately, I've already found homes for my children. With you here, I feel at ease."

"Why is this? Why does the stronger one is, the faster one decays and the shorter one's lifespan?" Lin Hui walked forward and sat down beside Xue Meng's bed, his heart filled with helplessness.

He had heard Tianlong of the Benevolent Sect say that in order to resist decay, the Mist People divided themselves into countless pieces, turning them into Wanfu Meat for people to eat, so that everyone could share their burden.

Little did he expect that this legendary decay would be so close to him, that in just over a year, it would take the lives of his close friends.
"I don't know either. I've only seen older brothers of the same era who were stronger. They also suddenly started to decline and age rapidly one day. Later, after listening to the information you gathered, I learned that this is called decay," Xue Meng said softly.

“There are people in the inner city who have lived for a very long time; they must have a way to resolve this matter,” Lin Hui said in a deep voice.

"It's too late, it's no use." Xue Meng smiled. "I asked around; breaking through a major realm can extend one's lifespan considerably, but the outcome is ultimately the same. In the end, you'll still become one of those roaming monsters outside."

He paused.

"Actually, if you think of it as an inevitable death, it will be much easier to bear."

Lin Hui remained silent.

He still didn't believe it, because he had seen with his own eyes that there were indeed elderly people among the martial artists in the inner city who had lived for hundreds of years.

Since they're all alright, there must be some method involved.
"If I hadn't practiced martial arts, I definitely wouldn't be this old now. Looking back, this life has been worthwhile," Xue Meng said, his eyes becoming hazy, and his spirits seemed to be failing.
Lin Hui stood up, looking at his gaunt appearance, his heart filled with incomprehension.

He quietly reached out his hand, a trace of internal energy, tinged with a faint red, flowing around his fingertips, but he never pointed it forward.

Purgatory might save Xue Meng, but he wasn't sure; he wasn't sure if the Xue Meng who returned would still be the same person he once was.
After talking with him for a while, Xue Meng's spirits continued to decline, so Lin Hui left the room.

After instructing Chen Xiangzhi to take good care of Lao Xue, Lin Hui did not go to the pharmacy. Instead, he left Qingfeng Temple, sat down in a nearby restaurant, booked a private room, ordered a pot of fine tea, and slowly drank it alone.

He doesn't like alcohol, but drinking tea is fine; it has the same atmosphere as alcohol and can also help clear his mind.

Not long after.

With a creak, the door to the private room was gently pushed open.

A tall man wearing a silver dragon mask quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him.

The man walked to the table, placed the black bundle he was carrying under the table, and sat cross-legged on the futon opposite Lin Hui.

call.
He exhaled, his breath reeking of garlic. "Sorry, I just ate garlic-flavored pork slices, the taste is a bit strong."

"Can't we use our internal energy to cleanse it?" Lin Hui asked, looking up.

"It's coming from my stomach, not my mouth, there's nothing I can do. It just keeps coming out." Dragon Princess shrugged helplessly.

"Alright, have you found a way to deal with the decay?" Lin Hui asked in a deep voice.

“There’s no way,” Long Ji shook her head. “The inner city might have their methods. Martial artists can change their physique and delay decay by consuming Feather Blood over a long period and then receiving radiation from the core area. But this can only prolong the time at most. When the time comes, it will still come.” Long Ji replied.

Lin Hui picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for the other person.

Long Ji picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"Breaking through the Heavenly Cycle can extend lifespan. Taking a Longevity Pill can also help. Another option is entering the Moon Tower, which extends lifespan by twenty years. These latter two methods are the only ways to prolong life without breaking through a cultivation level. But the person you mentioned can't do it. I saw him from afar; he himself took a Longevity Pill once, otherwise he would have died ten years ago. He must have been severely injured and overtaxed his body, which shortened his lifespan. As for the second method, the Moon Tower, to extend lifespan, one must find the original blood and go to the Blissful Platform to the Extreme Desire Heaven. Given his current state, you know how difficult that is."

"Yes. You're right. But what exactly is decay? Why are the seventy- or eighty-year-old men in my sect fine, but Old Xue is..." Lin Hui's confusion still lay here.

"That's how lifespan is; the more you cultivate, the shorter it gets. But if you break through a major realm and undergo a qualitative change, you can extend your life. However, if you're only at the Inner Force Realm, you can't extend your life; you haven't reached that level yet," Long Ji replied.

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"As for what exactly decay is, I don't know either. I only know that decay is not death. From its appearance to its final end, it will gradually change its form, becoming like the monsters in the fog outside, turning into special individuals that have completely lost their minds. This process is irreversible. I suggest that you take action to completely end it before the full month is up, otherwise a decaying monster with perfect internal energy will be strengthened by one realm, becoming a dangerous monster that only Zhou Tian can deal with."

Lin Hui didn't speak, but closed his eyes, recalling the way Lin Hongyu looked when she was arrested.

He couldn't understand it then, but now he seems to understand.

Lin Hongyu, in fact, had also undergone a corrupt transformation, but she was too young to make that connection. Moreover, at that time, he hadn't grasped the characteristics of this concept.

"Then are those with bloody eyes and bloody bodies also...?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.

“You’re right, it’s all the same thing. It’s just that eating too much Wanfu meat has caused them to develop symptoms prematurely. In reality, a normal, ordinary person who doesn’t eat Wanfu meat can easily live to their eighties or nineties without illness or disaster. That’s the limit of human lifespan. But if they eat too much Wanfu meat, they might start to decay in their twenties, thirties, or even forties,” Long Ji said softly. “That’s the way of the world, that’s reality. Whether you feel helpless or angry, it’s always been like this.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui lost all interest in speaking and simply sat there, lost in thought.

His thoughts were in disarray, and he didn't even notice when Long Ji left.

Before he knew it, the pot of tea was finished. He got up to pay the bill and came out of the restaurant. A cold wind blew outside, and a slight chill made him shiver slightly.

He suddenly thought of the Wheel of Immortality, and of Tu Yue, the mist-man who distributed his flesh and blood to everyone. He thought of the countless people who risked their lives to enter the inner city, and of those in the Deep Realm who distorted their own values ​​in order to prolong their lives.

The reason why the original blood nobles could be so high and mighty has a new layer of explanation.

Back at Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui cultivated while silently observing Xue Meng's changes.

Another week passed in the blink of an eye, and Xue Meng's body stopped losing weight and instead began to fill out unexpectedly.

He was like a balloon being inflated; in just a few days, he became increasingly fat and swollen.

His consciousness began to blur, his speech became incoherent, his eyes were bloodshot, and sometimes he would stare blankly for a long time without moving.

Lin Hui continued to search for a solution, but none of the methods he had could save Xue Meng, who was already in such a predicament.

By mid-September, Xue Meng's body had become so heavy that even the bed could not support him, and he could only lie on the floor of the room.

He spends most of the day in a daze, only waking up for one or two hours at a time.

After listening to Wang Hongshi's report as usual, Lin Hui was planning to go to Kuangfeng Plain to continue practicing swordsmanship and tempering his body.

Without Xue Meng to share the burden, he now has to dedicate some of his time to supervising the operation of Qingfeng Temple.

Although we are also training some of the top ten senior disciples to take on these responsibilities, training takes time.

After Wang Hongshi took his leave, he was about to get up and leave as well, but before he could even unleash his movement technique, he heard a slightly familiar voice at the gate.

"Wait, don't go yet! I've come to ask to become your apprentice!"

The sound is very textured and distinctive, leaving a deep impression on those who have heard it, and it is hard to forget once you hear it.

Lin Hui did the same; he reduced the speed of his internal energy and looked up towards the door.

At the gate, a beautiful woman wearing a black veil, dressed in a black dress, and carrying a long sword, gracefully entered.

"Mingxia greets Abbot Lin. I was arranged by Yunxiazi to come and become your disciple."

(End of this chapter)