The silence that returned to the Earth-Heart Grotto was a profound and welcome one. The chaotic energy of the Soul-Taker Sect was gone, leaving only the cool, damp air and the soft, rhythmic sound of the subterranean river lapping against the sandy shores. The Asura Demon Clan warriors had reformed their ranks outside, their discipline holding firm even in the aftermath of such a world-shaking event, their respect and awe for the young man in their midst now absolute.
Mo Jian and Kaelen escorted Li Yu back to the side of the slumbering Earth-Striding Wyrm. The Clan Lord's face was a complex mask of emotions: profound relief, deep-seated gratitude, and a humbling, soul-shaking awe. He looked at the calm young man before him, then at his clan's dying Guardian, his last, desperate hope now resting entirely on the shoulders of this mysterious healer.
"The grotto is secure, Guest Elder Li," Mo Jian said, his voice now imbued with a deep, unwavering respect. "There will be no more interruptions. Please, do what you can."
Li Yu nodded, his expression turning serious as he focused on the task at hand. He walked forward, his steps silent on the sand, until he stood directly before the great wyrm's colossal, stone-plated head. The beast's ragged, shallow breathing was the only sound in the vast cavern.
He placed a hand gently on the wyrm's snout. The stone-like hide was cool and strangely brittle to the touch, a clear sign of its life force failing. He closed his eyes, and the world of sight and sound faded away, replaced by the profound, intuitive connection of his Koi Martial Spirit. He did not need to probe or invade; the faint, shared aquatic essence within the wyrm's bloodline was a natural bridge, allowing his consciousness to gently, respectfully, make contact.
He reached out, not with a command or a burst of energy, but with a simple, soothing thought, the very concept of a calm, clear, and healthy stream of water. 'Peace. I am here to help.'
This time, there was no resistance, no chaotic rage like he had felt from the Tidal Wrath Behemoth. Instead, he was met with a deep, profound, and utterly overwhelming sense of exhaustion. It was the weariness of a great mountain that was slowly crumbling into dust, the tired sigh of a river that was running dry. The wyrm's spirit was not fighting; it was simply… fading.
He pushed his connection deeper, seeking the root of the malady. He felt the creature's spiritual core, the very heart of its power. And in that instant, he understood. He saw the problem with a clarity that had eluded every other beast master and alchemist.
The Earth-Striding Wyrm was not just a creature of the earth, as its name suggested. Its soul, its very essence, was a complex, tripartite balance of three distinct elemental energies. The dominant energy was, of course, Earth—a deep, grounding, and powerful force that gave it its stone-like hide and immense physical strength.
But from the subterranean river it had laired beside for centuries, it had absorbed a significant and pure Water essence, which gave its life force resilience and flow. And finally, from the volcanic heat and the high-altitude winds that howled through the demonic mountains, it had a lesser, but still crucial, vein of Wind energy, which gave it a surprising, unnatural agility for a creature of its size.
Earth, Water, and Wind. In a healthy state, these three energies would exist in a perfect, harmonious cycle within its soul, supporting and balancing each other. But as Li Yu examined the core, he saw that the cycle was broken.
The Earth energy was stagnant and brittle. The Wind energy was chaotic and agitated, flaring up in destructive, random bursts. And the Water energy, the crucial, mediating element, was weak and frighteningly thin, almost completely depleted. It was a classic, catastrophic case of Qi Deviation, but on a scale so complex and specific to the beast's unique physiology that no one without Li Yu's profound, intrinsic understanding of the beast itself, leaving others not possibly diagnosing it.
"Its soul has three veins," Li Yu said aloud, opening his eyes. His voice was quiet, but it carried an absolute certainty that made Mo Jian and Kaelen lean in, hanging on his every word. "Earth, Water, and Wind. They are out of balance. The Water vein is nearly dry, and without it to soothe the Earth and guide the Wind, the other two are tearing its spirit apart from the inside. The Earth becomes brittle, the Wind becomes a storm. It is not sick; it is slowly ripping itself to shreds."
Mo Jian stared at him, a look of dawning, horrified understanding on his face. "Balance… Of course. The ancient texts speak of it. We… we have been trying to heal it by feeding it Earth-aspected treasures, trying to strengthen its primary element. We… we were only making it worse, weren't we? We were pouring more dirt into a river that had already stopped flowing."
"You could not have known and even if you had done nothing the result would have been the same," Li Yu said, his tone gentle. "Your intentions were good. But yes, you were effectively burying it under the weight of its own strength."
"Can you… can you fix it?" Mo Jian asked, his voice a hoarse whisper, his last shred of hope hanging in the balance.
"The imbalance is severe, but the core of its spirit is still intact," Li Yu replied after a moment of contemplation. "It can be done. But it will require two things: time, and a delicate hand. I cannot simply flood it with Water energy; that would be like trying to fill a cracked cup. The new energy would just flow out. First, I must draw out the agitated, chaotic Wind energy and the stagnant, brittle Earth energy. I must empty the cup before it can be refilled."
He took a deep breath. "This process will be slow. It will require multiple treatments over a period of weeks. I will need to draw the unbalanced energies into myself, refine them, and then, slowly, introduce a pure, life-affirming energy to help its own Water vein regenerate."
It was a plan that was both simple in concept and breathtakingly dangerous in execution. For a cultivator to willingly draw the chaotic, deviated Qi of another being, especially a Core Formation level beast, into their own body was a form of cultivation suicide.
"Guest Elder Li, you would take its corrupted energy into yourself?" Kaelen asked, his voice full of disbelief and a newfound, profound respect. "The risk… it is too great!"
Li Yu simply smiled. For others, it would be a poison. For him, and his all-devouring Koi spirit, it was simply… a meal. A chance to absorb and analyze three distinct elemental energies, a priceless opportunity to deepen his own understanding and enrich his spiritual sea.
"Do not worry about me, Elder Kaelen," he said. "I have my own methods of purification."
He turned back to the slumbering wyrm. "I will begin the first treatment now. It will take several hours. I must ask that I not be disturbed."
"Of course," Mo Jian said, bowing deeply. "The grotto is yours. We will stand guard outside personally." He and Kaelen backed away slowly and respectfully, their hearts filled with a nervous, soaring hope they hadn't felt in months.
Once he was alone, Li Yu sat cross-legged before the great beast. He placed both his palms on its stone-like hide. He closed his eyes, and his nascent soul, the crimson-gold leviathan, stirred in the depths of his abyss-black spiritual sea.
'Let us begin,' he thought.
He did not use force. He used temptation. He projected a gentle, pulling sensation, a silent invitation. He presented his own pure, vibrant life force as a more appealing home for the restless energies within the wyrm.
First, he targeted the Wind. The chaotic, agitated energy, trapped and raging within the wyrm's spirit, sensed a path of escape. Like a storm finding an open window, a stream of grey, turbulent energy flowed from the wyrm, through Li Yu's hands, and into his meridians. It was a violent, cutting energy, and it immediately tried to wreak havoc in his body.
But the moment it entered his domain, it was met by the absolute authority of his nascent soul. The crimson-gold leviathan let out a silent roar, and the abyss-black water of his spiritual sea rose to meet the storm. The chaotic Wind energy was instantly suppressed, calmed, and then absorbed, becoming a new, strange current in the endless depths of his core.
Next, he targeted the Earth. This was a different challenge. The energy was not agitated; it was stagnant, heavy, and brittle. It was like trying to draw water from a dry, cracked riverbed. Patiently, Li Yu coaxed it, using his own vibrant energy to gently dislodge the stagnant power. A slow, thick, sludge-like stream of ochre-colored energy began to flow into him. It was heavy and oppressive, an energy that sought to crush and petrify his spiritual channels.
Once again, his inner sea was its master. The heavy, stagnant Earth energy sank into the abyss-black depths, where the immense pressure of his condensed core refined it, breaking it down and absorbing its essence.
For hours, Li Yu sat there, a silent conduit, drawing the sickness from the ancient Guardian into himself, his body a crucible that purified what had been a fatal poison. As he drew out the excess energies, he could feel the strain on the wyrm's spirit lessening. Its breathing, once ragged, began to deepen, becoming slow and steady. The faint, brittle flaking of its hide seemed to slow, then stop.
When he finally pulled back, sweat beading on his brow, the first treatment was complete. He had not healed the beast, not yet. But he had stopped the decay. He had given it a chance to fight.
He stood up, feeling the new, strange energies swirling within his own core. He felt stronger, his understanding of the world deeper. He walked out of the grotto into the fiery, perpetual twilight of the caldera, where Mo Jian and Kaelen were waiting like expectant fathers.
"It is done, for now," Li Yu said, his voice tired but steady. "The imbalance has been stabilized. The decline has been halted. With periodic treatments over the next two weeks, I believe we can guide its spirit back to a state of self-sustaining harmony."
Mo Jian stared at him, his eyes, for the first time, shining with a light of pure, unadulterated hope. He did not speak. He simply clasped his hands together and gave Li Yu one of the the deepest, most profound bow of his life.