Angin putih bertiup, mengaduk pasir dan menggoyangkan tanaman-tanaman berwarna pucat.
Li Youfei terbaring di tanah, diam seperti mayat. Tubuhnya yang setinggi lima belas meter memancarkan bau busuk menyengat yang tak mampu ditiup habis oleh angin, tercium hingga jarak yang cukup jauh. Bahkan dari kejauhan pun, bagian-bagian dagingnya yang membusuk terlihat jelas, memperlihatkan tulang di baliknya. Ia sepenuhnya diselimuti aura kematian. Kondisi ini disebabkan kombinasi sifat grue dari angin putih dan kambuhnya kutukan Ibu Crimson. Baik tubuh fisik maupun jiwanya tersiksa. Ia sudah sangat dekat dengan kematian sesungguhnya. Atau lebih tepatnya, ia sudah setengah langkah masuk ke Mata Air Kuning. Hanya secercah penolakan dalam dirinya yang menahan sisa-sisa terakhir kekuatan hidupnya. Namun, penolakan dan pergulatan itu justru mendatangkan lebih banyak rasa sakit dan penderitaan baginya.
Xu Qing mendekat, memeriksa kondisinya, lalu menggelengkan kepala.
Tak bisa diselamatkan.
Xu Qing memiliki beberapa pil pereda nyeri, tetapi fungsinya hanya mengurangi siksaan akibat kambuhnya kutukan. Pil tersebut tidak menyembuhkan kutukan itu sendiri. Faktanya, sejauh yang Xu Qing ketahui, pil itu malah memperburuk keadaan.
Jika Li Youfei menelan pil pereda nyeri, bukan saja ia tidak akan terselamatkan, melainkan kemungkinan besar akan menghancurkan sisa terakhir kehidupan yang ada dalam tubuhnya.
Karena Li Youfei tak bisa diselamatkan, Xu Qing mengambil kembali mata bayangan miliknya dan bersiap pergi. Namun, setelah melangkah beberapa langkah, ia berhenti, berbalik, dan menatap Li Youfei lagi. Ekspresi berpikir muncul di matanya.
Tunggu sebentar. Ada sesuatu yang aneh dengan situasi ini. Dia seharusnya tidak bertahan selama ini dengan kambuhnya kutukan separah itu. Dan dia juga seharusnya tidak memiliki sisa kekuatan hidup sedikit pun. Ini tidak masuk akal.
Tiba-tiba merasa penasaran, Xu Qing berjalan kembali. Kali ini ia mengamati lebih teliti. Sesaat kemudian, ia mengangkat tubuh Li Youfei dan melesat pergi.
Meninggalkan Greenhair Badlands, ia menuju sebuah gunung sekitar 500 kilometer jauhnya, segera membuat gua, dan menempatkan Li Youfei di dalamnya. Setelah kembali untuk menghilangkan semua jejak perjalanan dan kehadirannya, ia kembali ke sisi Li Youfei dan mempelajarinya dengan lebih saksama. Ia bahkan sampai memotong sebagian daging busuk dari tubuh Li Youfei untuk diteliti.
Keesokan harinya, mata Xu Qing bersinar terang. Ia telah menemukan jawaban atas pertanyaannya.
Ini karena angin putih. Angin itu adalah katalis yang sebenarnya memperkuat kekuatan hidup dan menyebabkan pertumbuhan kacau. Tujuannya adalah memberi nutrisi pada telur serangga dan memfasilitasi pertumbuhan mereka.
Itulah sebabnya Li Youfei belum mati akibat kambuhnya kutukan. Angin putih dan kutukan tersebut sebenarnya saling bertentangan. Meskipun angin putih tidak sebanding dengan kutukan, kekuatannya cukup untuk menjaga Li Youfei tetap hidup.
Xu Qing tampak tergerak.
Jadi, angin putih ini benar-benar bisa melawan kutukan? Apa sebenarnya benda ini?
Dengan mata berbinar, Xu Qing jongkok di samping Li Youfei dan mulai membedah dagingnya untuk mengeluarkan telur serangga dan dandelion. Prosesnya mengerikan. Ia perlu membuat banyak sayatan, dan sebagian besar daging begitu busuk sehingga sekadar menyentuhnya membuatnya berubah menjadi lendir hitam berbahaya.
Namun, Xu Qing sangat sabar. Ia bagaikan seorang pengrajin yang sangat fokus, yang tidak peduli pada bahan yang dibuangnya saat ia dengan hati-hati membentuk ukiran. Tak lama kemudian, Li Youfei dipenuhi luka yang tak terhitung jumlahnya. Dalam beberapa kasus, Xu Qing langsung memotong daging tersebut hingga terlepas sepenuhnya.
Setiap kali sebutir telur serangga dikeluarkan, semakin sedikit kekuatan hidupnya yang terkuras oleh mereka, yang berarti ia mampu melawan kutukan dengan lebih baik. Meskipun kekuatan itu tidak bisa melampaui kutukan, setidaknya kekuatan hidup dalam dirinya bisa bertahan sedikit lebih lama.
Sayangnya, hal itu tidak akan berdampak besar dalam jangka panjang. Dari apa yang Xu Qing amati, hanya butuh tiga hingga lima hari sebelum kekuatan hidup Li Youfei habis total dan ia dikalahkan oleh kutukan. Namun, hal itu memberikan Xu Qing inspirasi.
Li Youfei sebenarnya beruntung. Mengingat kondisinya saat ini, mencoba pil pereda nyeri justru masuk akal.
Setelah mempertimbangkannya, Xu Qing mengeluarkan sebuah pil pereda nyeri dan memasukkannya ke mulut Li Youfei. Lalu ia melambaikan tangan, mengirimkan ratusan benang violet keluar, yang menusuk ke tubuh Li Youfei. Namun, pil pereda nyeri hanyalah langkah pertama. Xu Qing berencana mempelajari Li Youfei secara menyeluruh, menggunakan metode yang sama yang ia gunakan untuk memurnikan pil pereda nyeri.
Kemungkinan besar dia akan mati anyway. Tapi jika dia selamat, mungkin aku bisa mempertimbangkan penggunaan angin putih sebagai arah baru dalam penelitianku.
Duduk bersila, ia mulai bekerja.
Keesokan harinya, ia meninggalkan gua. Mengikuti arahan burung beo malang itu, ia bepergian sambil bereksperimen pada Li Youfei pada saat yang bersamaan. Berkat usahanya, kutukan dalam diri Li Youfei perlahan memudar. Ia juga berhasil membuat pil obat dari daging Li Youfei. Setiap kali kutukan kambuh, Xu Qing memberinya salah satu pil tersebut. Hasilnya, kekuatan hidup dalam dirinya meningkat.
Xu Qing sangat gembira. Rasanya seperti akhirnya ia memiliki bahan eksperimen yang sebelumnya hanya ia impikan.
Sebulan berlalu.
Xu Qing kini berada jauh di bagian barat Wilayah Moonrite. Pada suatu malam di lembah acak, ia menyelesaikan eksperimennya pada Li Youfei. Menarik keluar semua benang, ia memberi Li Youfei pil pereda nyeri lain yang dibuat dari dagingnya sendiri. Pil khusus ini berbeda dari jenis biasa. Berkat penelitiannya terhadap Li Youfei, ia telah mengubah formula pil pereda nyeri secara drastis. Meskipun masih ada pekerjaan yang harus diselesaikan, ia hampir selesai.
Setelah memberi Li Youfei pil tersebut, Xu Qing berkata pelan, "Jika kau sudah sadar, tidak perlu berpura-pura mati."
Li Youfei menggigil. Karena tidak punya pilihan lain, ia membuka matanya dan menatap Xu Qing dengan ketakutan. Kenyataannya, ia telah sadar kembali tiga hari yang lalu....
Ia menyadari bahwa Xu Qing sedang bereksperimen padanya, tetapi terlalu takut untuk mengatakan apa-apa. Kemudian ia menyadari bahwa Xu Qing sebenarnya memberinya pil obat aneh yang tampaknya mengusir kekuatan kutukan dalam dirinya. Ia benar-benar terkejut. Tetapi pada saat yang sama, ia tidak bodoh. Dengan pengalaman hidupnya yang kaya, ia dengan cepat menebak terbuat dari apa pil obat tersebut. Hal itu membuatnya begitu terpukul hingga sekarang pun ia belum sepenuhnya pulih.
Selama tiga hari ia sadar, ia menghitung berapa banyak pil yang diberikan Xu Qing kepadanya. Delapan butir.
Meskipun aku menjual diriku sendiri, aku tidak akan punya uang untuk membeli satu butir pil itu... apa sebenarnya tujuannya...? Itulah yang berulang kali ditanyakan Li Youfei kepada dirinya sendiri selama tiga hari tersebut.
Sekarang karena ia tidak bisa lagi berpura-pura mati, ia tidak dapat menahan diri untuk bertanya tentang dugaannya.
"Grandmaster, apakah Anda memberi saya...?"
"Pil pereda nyeri," jawab Xu Qing dengan tenang.
Meskipun itulah yang dicurigai Li Youfei, mendengar konfirmasi tersebut membuatnya terhuyung secara mental. Gemetar, ia bertanya, "Dan... berapa banyak yang Anda berikan kepada saya?"
Xu Qing melakukan perhitungan singkat lalu menatap Li Youfei. "Sudah sebulan. Aku memberimu sedikit lebih dari seratus."
Mata Li Youfei membelalak dan tubuhnya berkedut. Ia tahu betul betapa mahalnya pil pereda nyeri. Bahkan para ahli Gudang Roh akan tergila-gila karenanya. Dan ia telah mengonsumsi lebih dari seratus....
Ia tidak punya alasan untuk meragukan Xu Qing. Lagipula, ia yakin telah mengonsumsi delapan pil dalam tiga hari.
Jika berita ini tersebar, pasti akan menimbulkan kegemparan. Saat ini, ia merasa seperti seorang pengemis yang disukai oleh pengusaha kaya yang dengan santai memberinya satu miliar koin roh. Tiba-tiba, ia tidak ingin memikirkannya. Ia tidak ingin mempertimbangkan mengapa Xu Qing melakukan ini. Dengan gemetar, ia bangkit berdiri lalu segera berlutut untuk bersujud.
"Grandmaster! Tuan, saya tidak yakin mengapa Anda melakukan ini untuk saya. Tapi itu tidak penting. Tuan... Anda sudah berbuat terlalu banyak!"
Xu Qing menatapnya dan membuka mulut untuk berbicara, namun kemudian matanya mengeras dan ia menoleh ke arah pintu masuk lembah.
Mereka berada di kedalaman bagian barat Wilayah Moonrite. Langit mulai senja, dan cahaya sangat minim. Karena itu, tidak mungkin melihat lebih dari rumput liar yang tumbuh di sekitar lembah. Angin malam yang berbisik membawa serta suara genderang dan gong dari kejauhan. Sepertinya ada sekelompok besar orang yang bergerak menuju arah lembah.
Li Youfei memperhatikan kilatan mata Xu Qing, dan dengan cepat melompat untuk mengambil posisi defensif di depannya. Yang merupakan kebiasaan Patriark Prajurit Vajra Emas.
Patriark tersebut segera terbang keluar, menatap Li Youfei dengan hinaan, lalu mengalihkan perhatiannya ke pintu masuk lembah.
Suara hiruk-pikuk semakin keras, dan segera sekelompok orang memasuki lembah. Mereka tampak seperti terbuat dari tanah liat. Namun, mereka mengenakan pakaian, dan jumlahnya lebih dari seratus. Gong dipukul di depan prosesi, dan drum digedor di belakang. Di tengah, sekelompok puluhan orang tanah liat membawa kuil batu. [1]
Di dalam kuil terdapat seekor rubah dari tanah liat, mengenakan jubah merah. Wajahnya berdandan rapi, dan sama sekali tidak bergerak, seolah-olah mati. [2]
Kedatangan prosesi tersebut menyebabkan angin jahat berhembus melalui lembah, mengaduk rumput liar dan dedaunan. Namun, orang-orang tanah liat itu tidak memperhatikan Xu Qing dan Li Youfei saat mereka berjalan lurus melewati tengah lembah.
Xu Qing mengamati mereka. Ia sudah terbiasa dengan berbagai hal aneh dan menjijikkan yang ada di dunia, jadi ia tidak terkejut. Makhluk seperti ini biasanya tipe yang hanya berani menindas yang lemah dan takut pada yang kuat, sehingga tidak ada gunanya memperhatikan mereka. Namun, juga tidak ada gunanya menciptakan konflik dengan menghalangi jalan mereka. Dengan ekspresi tenang, ia melepaskan fluktuasi dasar kultivasinya lalu mundur beberapa langkah untuk memberi jalan.
Dan demikianlah prosesi tersebut lewat. Namun, ketika kuil tepat berada di depan Xu Qing, rubah tanah liat di dalamnya berbalik dan menatap baik Xu Qing maupun Li Youfei.
Mata tanah liat itu beriak, berubah menjadi sesuatu seperti permata berkilauan yang mampu menembus hingga ke jiwa.
Lalu rubah itu berbicara dengan suara wanita yang malas dan menggoda. [3]
"Yang primal? Tidak percaya kau memiliki dasar kultivasi Jiwa Bayi, tapi masih memiliki yang primal! Dan begitu murni! Belum tersentuh sama sekali! Sungguh langka...." [4]
The white wind blew, stirring the sand and swaying the white plants.
Li Youfei lay on the ground, as still as a corpse. His fifteen-meter frame emanated a nauseating stench that the wind couldn’t dispel, and could be smelled from quite a distance away. Even from a distance it was possible to see parts of his flesh rotting away to reveal bones beneath. He was completely enveloped in an aura of death. He was in this state because of a combination of the gruish nature of the white wind and the flare-up of Crimson Mother’s curse. He was stricken both in his physical body and his soul. He wasn’t very far away from being actually dead. Or more precisely, he was already half a step into the Yellow Springs. Only a scrap of defiance within him kept hold of the very last bit of life force he had left. However, that defiance and struggle also inflicted more pain and suffering on him.
Xu Qing approached, checked his condition, and then shook his head.
Can’t be saved.
Xu Qing had some painquelling lozenges, but all they did was reduce the torment of curse flare-ups. They didn’t actually treat the curse itself. In fact, as far as Xu Qing could tell, they actually made it worse.
If Li Youfei ate a painquelling lozenge, it wouldn’t just fail to save him. It would probably overwhelm the last scrap of life that existed within him.
Since Li Youfei couldn’t be saved, Xu Qing took back the shadow eye and turned to leave. However, after taking only a few steps, he stopped walking, turned, and looked again at Li Youfei. A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
Hold on. Something’s off about this situation. He shouldn’t have lasted so long with a curse flare-up like this. And he also shouldn’t have a scrap of life force left in him. It doesn’t make sense.
Suddenly curious, Xu Qing walked back. This time he looked more closely. A moment later, he grabbed Li Youfei and sped away.
Leaving the Greenhair Badlands, he went to a mountain some 500 kilometers away, quickly hewed out a cave, and put Li Youfei inside. After going back to get rid of all traces of his passage and presence, he returned to Li Youfei and studied him even more closely. He even went so far as to cut some of the rotting flesh off him to study it.
The next day, Xu Qing’s eyes shone brightly. He had found the answer to the question.
It’s the white wind. That wind is a catalyst that actually bolsters life force and leads to the chaotic growths. The point of it is to nourish the bug eggs and facilitate their growth.
That’s why Li Youfei hasn’t died from the curse flare up. The white wind and the curse are actually at odds with each other. Although the white wind isn’t a match for the curse, it’s strong enough to keep him alive.
Xu Qing was visibly moved.
So, this white wind can actually resist the curse? What is it?
Eyes shining, Xu Qing squatted next to Li Youfei and started slicing his flesh open to extract the bug eggs and the dandelions. It was a gruesome process. He needed to make a lot of incisions, and much of the flesh was rotting so badly that merely touching it caused it to turn into a noxious black sludge.
However, Xu Qing was very patient. He was like an extremely focused artisan who paid no heed to the materials he was wasting as he carefully sculpted away. Before long, Li Youfei was covered with countless wounds. In some cases, Xu Qing just cut the flesh completely off.
With each bug egg that was taken away, less of his life force was being taken away by them, which meant he was able to resist the curse even more. Although that power couldn’t surpass the curse, at least the life force within him was able to last a bit longer.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to have much effect in the long run. From what Xu Qing could tell, it would only be between three to five days before Li Youfei’s life force ran out, and he was overcome by the curse. However, that gave Xu Qing some inspiration.
Li Youfei is actually lucky. Given his current state, it actually makes sense to try a painquelling lozenge.
After thinking it over, Xu Qing took out a painquelling lozenge and put it into Li Youfei’s mouth. Then he waved his hand, sending hundreds of violet threads out, which stabbed into Li Youfei. But the painquelling lozenge was only the first step. Xu Qing planned to thoroughly study Li Youfei, using the same methods he’d used to refine painquelling lozenges.
Chances are he’s going to die anyway. But if he lives, maybe I can consider using the white wind as a new direction in my research.
Sitting down cross-legged, he got to work.
The next day, he left the cave. Following the directions of the hapless parrot, he traveled and experimented on Li Youfei at the same time. Thanks to his work, the curse in Li Youfei was slowly fading. He was also able to make medicinal pills made from Li Youfei’s flesh. Every time the curse flared up, Xu Qing would feed one of those pills to him. The result was that the life force within him would be bolstered.
Xu Qing was absolutely delighted. It was like he finally had material to experiment with that he’d previously only dreamed of.
A month passed.
Xu Qing was now deep into the western part of the Moonrite Region. On one particular evening in a random valley, he finished experimenting on Li Youfei. Extracting all of the threads, he fed Li Youfei another painquelling lozenge made of his own flesh. This particular pill was different from the ordinary variety. Thanks to his research on Li Youfei, he had dramatically altered the painquelling lozenge formula. Although there was still more work to be done, he was close to being finished.
After feeding Li Youfei the pill, Xu Qing quietly said, “If you’re awake now, there’s no need to pretend to be dead.”
Li Youfei shivered. Having no other choice, he opened his eyes and looked fearfully at Xu Qing. The reality was that he had regained consciousness three days before....
He’d realized Xu Qing had been experimenting on him, but was too terrified to say anything. And then he realized that Xu Qing was actually feeding him strange medicinal pills that seemed to be dispelling the curse power within him. He was completely shocked. But at the same time, he wasn’t stupid. Given his wealth of experience in life, he quickly guessed what the medicinal pills were made from. It left him so stunned that even now he hadn’t fully recovered.
During the three days he’d been conscious, he’d counted how many pills Xu Qing fed him. Eight.
Even if I sold myself, I wouldn’t have enough to buy one of those pills... what exactly is his goal ...? That was what Li Youfei had asked himself multiple times during the three days.
Now that he couldn’t fake death any more, he couldn’t hold back from asking about his speculations.
“Grandmaster, were you feeding me...?”
“Painquelling lozenges,” Xu Qing replied calmly.
Even though that was what Li Youfei had suspected, hearing the answer confirmed caused him to reel mentally. Shivering, he asked, “And... how many did you give me?”
Xu Qing did some calculations and then looked at Li Youfei. “It’s been a month. I gave you a bit over a hundred.”
Li Youfei’s eyes went wide and he twitched. He knew full well how expensive painquelling lozenges were. Even Spirit Trove experts would go crazy for them. And he’d consumed over a hundred....
He had no reason to doubt Xu Qing. After all, he knew for sure that he’d consumed eight pills in three days.
If news of this spread, it would cause pandemonium. At the moment, he felt like a beggar who’d been fancied by a rich businessman who casually gave him a billion spirit stones. All of a sudden, he didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to consider why Xu Qing had done this. Trembling, he got to his feet then immediately dropped to his knees to kowtow.
“Grandmaster! Sir, I’m not sure why you did this for me. But it doesn’t matter. Sir... you’ve done too much!”
Xu Qing looked at him and opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes hardened and he looked toward the entrance of the valley.
They were in the depths of the western part of the Moonrite Region. The sky was dusky, and there was very little light. Because of that, it wasn’t possible to see much more than the weeds growing around the valley. The whispering night wind carried with it the sound of distant drums and gongs. It seemed like there was a large group of people heading in the direction of the valley.
Li Youfei noticed Xu Qing’s flashing eyes, and quickly jumped up to take a defensive position in front of him. Which was what Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior usually did.
The patriarch immediately flew out, glared scornfully at Li Youfei, and then turned his attention to the valley entrance.
The cacophony grew louder, and soon a group of people entered the valley. They looked like they were made from clay. However, they wore clothing, and there were over a hundred of them. Gongs were being beaten in the front of the procession, and drums were being banged in the back. In the middle, a group of a few dozen of the clay people were carrying a stone shrine. [1]
Inside the shrine was a fox made of clay, wearing a red robe. It had makeup on its face, and wasn’t moving at all, as if it were dead. [2]
The arrival of the procession caused a sinister wind to blow through the valley, stirring the weeds and leaves. However, the clay people didn’t pay any attention to Xu Qing and Li Youfei as they walked right down the middle of the valley.
Xu Qing looked them over. He was already used to the many freakish and grotesque things that existed in the world, so he wasn’t surprised. Beings like this were usually the type who would only bully the weak and fear the strong, so there was little point in paying attention to them. However, there also wasn’t any point in creating a conflict by blocking their path. Expression calm, he released some cultivation base fluctuations and then took a few steps back to make way.
And thus the procession passed by. However, when the shrine was going right in front of Xu Qing, the clay fox inside turned and looked at both him and Li Youfei.
The clay eyes rippled, transforming into something like glittering gemstones that could pierce all the way to the soul.
Then the fox spoke in the languid, sultry voice of a woman. [3]
“Primal yang? I can’t believe you have a Nascent Soul cultivation base, but still have primal yang! And it’s so pure! Completely unplucked! How very rare....” [4]
1. This is the same type of shrine that Xu Qing and the Captain encountered on their river inspection tour a few hundred chapters ago. It looks like this (the same picture I linked back then). ☜
2. The clay people and the clay fox would likely look like traditional Chinese clay statues like this . ☜
3. As I’m sure many of you know already, fox spirits (also known as fox immortals, fox gods, or whatever) are a common thing in Chinese myth and legend, and of course, that concept spread from China to places like Japan, Korea, Vietnam etc. There are many varieties, but one of the most stereotypical version has the fox spirit capable of taking the form of a beautiful but often malevolent or mischievous woman who tries to seduce men. Again, that’s not a rule, and of course, the fox in this chapter has its own unique qualities. However, the concept of fox spirits popped into mind for me when I read this part. Incidentally, the 2008 supernatural/wuxia movie Painted Skin all revolves around a fox spirit. That movie is awesome and I recommend it if you haven’t seen it before. ☜
4. What I’m translating as “primal yang” could also be translated as something like “original yang, originating yang, origin yang,” etc. In TCM, it’s supposed to be the origin of yang energy, or perhaps the original batch of yang energy that someone is born with. Obviously, things in xianxia aren’t necessarily going to correspond exactly with “real-life” TCM stuff. Regardless, “yang energy” is male energy. Given the context of the statement, this woman seems surprised that Xu Qing, despite being in the Nascent Soul level, still has this type of male energy. The unstated implication here is that someone in the Nascent Soul level would presumably be old enough to have a lot of life experience. I think ya’ll get the point.... ☜
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