Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

As the saying goes, one wave subsides only for another to rise. On the rubble and scorched earth of Lingxian Valley, the dark bloodstains, which had not yet dried, were stained with bright red.

Broken weapons were scattered all over the ground, and wounded Laoshan disciples were either sitting or lying down, coughing and breathing exercises rising and falling. The scene of utter chaos was heartbreaking.

The forces of the Burning Heaven Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect fled in panic, disappearing without a trace. The lingering heat of the flames and the malevolent aura in the air did not dissipate for a long time, lingering around the spiritual vein, exuding an indescribable eerie and oppressive atmosphere.

Supported by Gu Azhu, Lin Yan felt his chest heaving with blood and qi. The internal injuries he had suffered from the backlash of his battle with the Bone Demon were severe, and every breath brought excruciating pain to his internal organs, while a metallic taste rose in his throat. He suppressed the urge to vomit blood again, his gaze sweeping heavily over the ravaged battlefield before settling on the turbulent earth energy deep within the spiritual veins. A heavy weight pressed down on his heart.

Elder Xuanzhen and True Person Yulan stood on a high rock at the mouth of the valley, looking down at the devastation, their faces grim and solemn.

"The Burning Heaven Sect is openly arrogant and ruthless, while the Blood Fiend Sect is sinister and vicious. These two sects disregard the principles of cultivation and have joined forces to attack my Laoshan spiritual veins. This is truly outrageous!" Elder Xuanzhen gripped his whisk, his knuckles taut, and his body churned with a chilling aura, barely containing his rage. "If the two of us hadn't arrived in time today, the fall of Lingxian Valley, the loss of the spiritual veins, and the disruption of the Guixu Seal would have been unimaginable!"

Master Yulan frowned, her gaze falling on the group of injured disciples. Filled with tenderness, she spoke softly, "This is not the time to lose your temper. First, settle the wounded and suppress their injuries, then we can discuss further countermeasures. The spiritual veins are connected to the seal, and there can be no mistakes."

As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze shifted and landed directly on Lin Yan, whose breathing was disordered and whose face was pale. She softly called out, "Disciple."

Master Yulan stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Lin Yan's dantian (lower abdomen). Warm, pure water-based spiritual light flowed slowly into his meridians through her palm. The moment the gentle spiritual energy entered his body, Lin Yan felt the surging blood in his chest calm down slightly, and the tearing pain in his internal organs ease. Only now did the multiple injuries accumulated from days of hard battles, the backlash from the treasure, and the struggle against evil spirits become fully apparent.

Master Yulan channeled her spiritual energy through his body, examining his damaged meridians and internal injuries. Her expression gradually darkened, and her tone was filled with heartache and gravity:

"You child, you are too reckless. With your Foundation Establishment cultivation, you withstood the fierce attacks of two major sects, repeatedly activated your treasures to fight the enemy, and clashed head-on with the Bone Demon. On the surface, it only looks like your blood and qi are surging, but in reality, your internal organs are ruptured, your meridians are severely damaged, and the residual poison of the evil qi is still lingering deep in your muscles."

As she spoke, she increased her spiritual energy output, the gentle, water-like spiritual power slowly washing away his damaged meridians. "I know you are eager to protect your meridians, guarding the valley entrance and the sect to the death; your intentions are commendable. But if your body collapses, who will guard your spiritual meridians, who will protect the seal?"

Lin Yan lowered his eyes, suppressing his pain, his voice hoarse but firm: "Master, the seal is only secure as long as the spiritual veins remain. This disciple dares not retreat, nor can I retreat."

Master Yulan sighed softly, withdrew his spiritual power, and Lin Yan's expression eased slightly. His blood and qi were no longer churning, but his internal injuries had taken root and would not heal in a short time.

She solemnly instructed, "With your injury, you must not exert yourself with strong techniques or activate your treasures again. You must calm your mind and rest for at least three days. Otherwise, your cultivation will regress, your foundation will be damaged, and the consequences will be endless."

Inside the stone house, Su Lingyue sat quietly cross-legged, her face ashen white, devoid of any color. The bleeding from her left shoulder wound had long since stopped, but it was tinged with an indelible bluish-black tinge. The deadly poison had not diminished with the healing of the external wound; instead, it had silently spread along her meridians towards her heart and dantian. Her spiritual energy was scattered and disordered, and her fingertips twitched slightly from time to time, clearly indicating that the poison had invaded her muscles and blood vessels.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Yunxi's forehead. Her spiritual energy was mostly depleted, and her breathing was somewhat unstable when she stopped casting the spell. She frowned and shook her head repeatedly: "Something's wrong. This is not the usual evil poison of the Blood Fiend Sect. My Lingyu Hairpin specializes in gentle purification and exorcising evil. In the past, it could resolve even the most yin poisons, but today it can only suppress them temporarily. It can't eradicate the root of this poison at all."

Su Lingyue barely opened her eyes, her voice weak and hoarse, but she still gritted her teeth and said, "It's alright... I can handle it. As long as the spiritual veins are intact, a little bit of poison is nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'!" Lin Yan endured his internal injuries and stepped into the stone house. His gaze fell on the lingering bluish-black mark on Su Lingyue's shoulder, and his expression instantly darkened. "The Bone Demon's poison is a deliberate, underhanded trick. It's not meant to kill you on the spot, but to plant the poison deep within you, slowly depleting your cultivation and disturbing your mind, waiting for an opportunity to break through my Laoshan defenses."

He saw through the Blood Fiend Sect's vicious intentions at a glance. The open fighting was just a pretext; the real scheme of the Bone Demon was to secretly poison people and leave them as potential threats.

Just as the group was anxiously healing their wounds, two figures slowly approached from outside the valley. Their auras were concealed, and their demeanor appeared peaceful, but each of them harbored a calculation in their eyes.

It was Chu Linfeng of Qingyun Sect and Luo Wei of Shuiyue Pavilion.

The two men sat back and watched the fight unfold, witnessing the heavy casualties and humiliating retreat of the Burning Heaven Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect. They also saw the elders of Laoshan Mountain arrive to stabilize the situation. Only now did they arrive, ostensibly to offer their condolences, but in reality, they were there to probe the situation and find an opportunity to exert pressure.

Chu Linfeng, dressed in a white robe of the Azure Cloud Sword Dao, moved with an elegant and unhurried air. With a feigned humble smile, he cupped his hands and said, "Elder Xuanzhen, True Person Yulan, congratulations to Laoshan for repelling the enemy and protecting Lingxian Valley. However, this conflict over the spiritual veins has caused too much commotion, affecting all surrounding areas and even the stability of the Guixu Seal. It is by no means a private matter for Laoshan alone. As the leader of the righteous path, our Azure Cloud Sect is willing to take the lead in mediating and coordinating the efforts of all parties to jointly manage the spiritual veins and maintain the seal, so as to prevent further conflict."

These words sounded grand and righteous, every word of which was purported to be righteous and honorable, but at their core they were nothing but greedy thoughts of dividing up the benefits of the spiritual veins.

Luo Wei stood to one side, enveloped in mist, her expression calm and unbiased, merely echoing, "Shuiyue Pavilion has no intention of fighting or killing; we only seek the stability of the water veins and the tranquility of our territory. If Laoshan is willing to demarcate the boundary and govern together, our Shuiyue Pavilion can remain neutral and mediate, without becoming an enemy of Laoshan."

One used both soft and hard tactics to force joint management, while the other remained ambiguous, observing and discussing demarcation; their intentions were crystal clear.

Seeing this, Elder Xuanzhen could easily see through their scheme. His expression was cold and stern as he resolutely refused: "The spiritual vein originated in the Laoshan territory and has been under the jurisdiction of Laoshan since ancient times. Furthermore, it is of the same lineage as the Guixu Seal guarded by our sect. How can there be any talk of shared management by four directions? If you two truly wish to uphold the righteous path, then immediately retreat to your respective territories and behave yourselves. If you covet the spiritual vein, you can simply act like the Burning Heaven Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect!"

Chu Linfeng's expression stiffened slightly, a shadow of gloom flashing in his eyes, but he didn't dare to turn hostile on the spot. Now that the elders of Laoshan were in charge, morale had been restored, and a head-on confrontation would not bring any advantage, so he could only endure it for the time being.

The meeting ended unhappily, and Chu Linfeng and Luo Wei each turned and left, returning to their respective camps.

While the power struggle among the external factions has been temporarily suppressed, the internal rifts within Laoshan have been brought to the forefront.

Inside the council hall of Taiqing Palace, the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy, with elders from both inside and outside the palace arguing endlessly, each holding their own opinion.

Elder Dan Chenzi, a proponent of peace, frowned deeply: "Lin Yan is young and impulsive. He tried to withstand a major war between two sects with only two supreme treasures, resulting in heavy casualties among his disciples and enormous losses for his sect! In my opinion, it would be better to allocate some spiritual veins to support the four major sects and appease them, in exchange for a few years of peace and recuperation. Why suffer from continuous warfare year after year?"

The pro-war elder, Wudao, immediately retorted: "The spiritual vein is connected to the Guixu Seal, and we cannot yield an inch! If we retreat an inch today, the four sects will dare to advance another foot tomorrow. In the end, the seal will surely break, and Laoshan will be destroyed! Lin Yan is defending the valley entrance to protect the vein and the sect to the death. What is wrong with that?"

The two sides argued heatedly, their disagreements escalating, and neither side could convince the other.

With Elders Xuanzhen and Yulan overseeing things at the valley entrance, the situation appeared stable for the time being. However, news of the ongoing disputes within the Elders' Hall during this period of rest naturally did not escape the notice of others.

Lin Yan knew that empty talk and arguments were useless at the moment; stabilizing his injuries and consolidating his spiritual veins were the most important things. He thanked Yun Xi for her meticulous care, bid farewell to his master who was still closely monitoring Su Lingyue's injuries, got up alone, and returned to the Xuan Shui Cave in the back mountain to recuperate in seclusion.

Lin Yan walked to a blue stone beside the Spirit Stream and slowly sat down. He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging blood and qi in his chest. He did not immediately use his internal energy to heal his injuries, but instead closed his eyes and focused his mind, calmly sensing the faint pulse of energy connecting the surrounding Spirit Stream with the underground spiritual veins.

"The poison of the Bone Demon has not been eradicated... the spiritual veins and earth's energy are in disarray... four sects surround us... internal strife within the sects continues..."

Lin Yan quickly reviewed all the current crises in his mind, not daring to relax for even the slightest bit.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes and formed the meditation mudra of the Laoshan Jiushui lineage with his hands.

"rise."

With a low shout, his aura instantly subsided. His previously slightly chaotic and agitated dantian, along with the meridians damaged by internal injuries and malevolent energy, gradually calmed down and returned to their proper positions under the nourishment of the pure spiritual spring in the Xuan Shui Cave.

He carefully followed the healing method instructed by Master Yulan, first using gentle water-based spiritual energy to nourish his damaged organs, then drawing spiritual energy from the clear spring to slowly purify the remaining evil and poison in his body, and finally cautiously mobilizing a trace of his original spiritual energy to quietly touch the life mark that connected him to his spiritual veins.

Each breath in and out is long and sustained.

He, along with the tortoise, the cave, and the spiritual stream, quietly became one with the spiritual veins of the entire Laoshan Mountain, their hearts and minds in harmony.

The stream flowed gently, its spiritual energy circulating endlessly. Lin Yan sat quietly on the blue stone, surrounded by a faint, watery spiritual light.