Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

Thinking of this, Zi Yan's face turned even paler than when she was unconscious, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

"No...don't come any closer!" She shrank back, her back pressed against the carved wooden headboard, with nowhere left to retreat.

"I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?"

Those who understand the times are wise, and Zi Yan is also good at assessing the situation!

Su Baichen stopped, twirling the wooden stick in his hand, waiting for her to continue.

Zi Yan swallowed hard, closed her eyes, and went all out: "Actually, these were given to me by Ling'er!"

"Where did Ling'er get the pills?" Su Baichen frowned.

Su Ling'er is his daughter. Although she is highly talented, the pills she is currently cultivating with are all strictly provided by him. There is no way he could give Zi Yan any extra pills with such complex attributes.

Moreover, the energy characteristics of those elixirs...

"Ling'er stole Sister Cailin's!" Zi Yan confessed everything in one go.

"She said that Sister Cailin usually keeps the pills she doesn't want or whose effects she's not satisfied with in a storage ring. She secretly took some and gave me half of them..."

Su Baichen was taken aback for a moment, then understood.

He gave Cai Lin countless pills. Now that she has broken through to the Dou Zun level, she probably finds it troublesome to handle them all, so she usually collects them in one place and sends them back to the Snake-People Clan when she has accumulated enough.

Although those pills were unwanted by Cai Lin, the energy they contained was genuinely powerful.

These two girls, on the other hand, treated these "dangerous items" like treasures and divided them up.

Su Baichen rubbed his temples, a deep sense of helplessness welling up inside him.

Cai Lin must not know about this.

Given her decisive nature, if she discovered that her daughter had not only stolen the elixir but had also nearly caused Zi Yan to explode and die, she would definitely bring out that legendary "Motherly Stick"—

That was a family discipline ten times more powerful than the one he currently held, specifically designed to "supplement" the "discipline" Su Ling lacked during her childhood.

He holds back when disciplining his own children, but if Cai Lin really gets serious...

Chapter 244 The Conditions for the Resurrection of Zi Yan's Mother!

Su Baichen sighed and looked at Zi Yan, who was still huddled in the corner of the bed with a guilty look on her face.

"You should rest well. I will come every day for the next few days to help you regulate your meridians."

Su Baichen put away the wooden stick and glanced at Zi Yan.

"As for pills... there won't be a single one for the next three months."

"Huh?!" Zi Yan was struck dumb.

"If you say 'ah' again, it will be half a year."

Zi Yan immediately shut her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears, and shrank back into the blankets.

Su Baichen shook his head, turned and left the room.

He needs to go to the pharmacy to take inventory first, and then see how to cover this up—at least, before Cai Lin finds out, he needs to clean up the mess those two little devils made.

Outside the door, the sun is just right.

Inside the room, Zi Yan buried her face in the pillow and wailed silently.

This is a huge loss... I can't take any pills, and I have to use my fighting spirit to regulate my qi every day!

Meanwhile, in another courtyard, Su Ling'er, who was squatting under a tree watching ants, suddenly shivered.

She raised her head blankly.

Strange, it's a bright sunny day, so why does my back feel a little chilly?

…………

After Su Baichen returned, he gave his daughter a few sharp reprimands for daring to steal Cai Lin's pills and give them to Zi Yan.

Finally, holding the "Mother's Stick" with colorful scales, she gently patted her daughter's head, telling her to behave for a few days.

Su Ling'er glanced at her smiling father, then at the "Mother's Stick" in his hand, and knew that her father was angry and planned to behave himself for a few days.

More importantly, it was the father who discovered this first. If the mother had found out, the solution wouldn't have been as simple as the father's.

Absolutely! The mother, wielding the "loving mother's stick," gave her a lesson in what she called "education through love"!

In the following days, Su Baichen would help Zi Yan regulate her meridians and straighten her fighting spirit every day!

One midday, Su Baichen sat cross-legged behind Zi Yan, his slender hands gently pressing against her back.

A wisp of pure and peaceful battle qi slowly flowed in, like a spring stream through the meridians that were slightly sluggish due to the conflict with the pills.

Zi Yan closed her eyes and focused her mind, feeling the warm power pass through her. The faint stinging sensation gradually dissipated, replaced by a long-lost sense of ease.

The daily treatment needs to last for a full hour.

Su Baichen's movements were extremely steady, his expression focused, and he had to be extremely careful in guiding every bit of his battle qi.

He had to neutralize the residual effects of the medicine while also regulating the powerful yet slightly chaotic fighting spirit within Zi Yan's body—a delicate task that was far from easy.

After the last bit of battle qi returned to his dantian, Su Baichen withdrew his palm, but did not get up immediately.

His soul power quietly spread, reaching towards the golden spear floating in the center of the quiet room—where the remnant soul of Zi Yan's mother was nurtured.

Within the spear, the weakened dragon soul remained dormant, its aura faint yet steady.

After observing for several days, Su Baichen gradually formed a clear picture in his mind.

The method of resurrection does have similarities to Yao Chen's situation back then, both requiring the rebuilding of the body and nourishment of the soul, but the dragon race has a special constitution, and the required conditions are even more demanding...

"Su Baichen, how is my mother?"

After the treatment was over, Zi Yan would always turn around immediately, her purple-gold eyes fixed on him, filled with undisguised anticipation.

She carefully took the spear that Su Baichen handed back and held it in her arms, as if this would bring her closer to her mother.

Is there a cure?

Su Baichen looked at the light shining in the girl's eyes, remained silent for a moment, and finally shook his head: "Not for now."

The light visibly dimmed.

“However,” he changed the subject slightly, his voice calm yet carrying a certain certainty.

"There will be some in the future."

Zi Yan lowered her head, her fingertips caressing the warm jade disc, and after a long while she said softly, "Sigh, I should have known... Father searched for so long and couldn't find it, how could you possibly find it?"

There was no resentment in her words, only a deep-seated helplessness. Zhu Kun had searched the entire continent for hundreds of years without success; how could she dare to hope for a miracle?

Su Baichen did not refute.

He was repeatedly rehearsing the plan that was beginning to take shape in his mind: it required a drop of Xiao Jin's blood as a catalyst, it required upgrading the Soul Restoration Pill that Yao Chen had taken back then to the ninth-grade Profound Pill realm, and it also required mountains of rare treasures from heaven and earth.

The first two can still be improved—the blood only needs to be directed towards Xiao Jin, and the alchemy skills can also be refined.

The real challenge lies in the "massive resources," which, with his current accumulation, are merely a drop in the ocean.

Three walnuts and two dates are simply not enough.

Just when Zi Yan thought the conversation was over, Su Baichen suddenly spoke:

"It's alright, we'll be heading to Zhongzhou in a few days."

Zi Yan raised her eyelids.

"Zhongzhou is the center of the continent,"

Su Baichen looked out the window at the distant horizon, his voice carrying a hint of melancholy.

"Sects are numerous, ancient sites are everywhere, there are millennium auctions, ancient ruins, lost secret realms... the opportunities there are far beyond what the Northwest Continent can offer."

He turned back, his gaze falling on the girl's face: "Perhaps we can really find what you need to save your mother there."

After saying that, he reached out and gently rubbed the top of Zi Yan's head, his movements natural and gentle.

Zi Yan paused, feeling the warmth from her palm, her eyes slightly warming.

She hugged the spear tightly and nodded vigorously.

"Ok!"

This time, her response carried weight again.

After returning to his room, Su Baichen casually closed the door, but did not rest immediately.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, sat quietly for a moment, and then slowly said, "System, buy a blind box and open it."

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a pair of stockings!]

A delicate cardboard box, about the size of a palm, appeared out of thin air and landed in his palm.

Su Baichen opened the box, inside which was a pair of black stockings neatly folded, their texture as light and thin as mist, and their touch cool and smooth.

He stared at it silently for a few seconds, then placed the stockings on a small table to the side.

"The system will buy another one."

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have received a seasoning packet!]

This time it was a small bag wrapped in oil paper. Inside was a dark brown powder with a familiar scent.

"The system will buy another one."

He continued speaking, his voice calm.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a box of embroidery needles!]

"One more!"

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a copy of "A Bird Illustrated Guide"!]

"One more!"

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a set of celadon teacups!]

……

Instructions and responses were monotonously repeated in the quiet room.