Three hours!
Hearing Ye Qiu’s words, Shuisheng’s face changed drastically.
Though he had long suspected that Master Changmei wouldn’t last much longer, he hadn’t expected that his uncle-master had only three hours left to live.
“If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve kept an eye on Uncle-Master no matter what and stopped him from leaving the mountain. It’s all my fault, sob, sob…”
Shuisheng’s face was full of guilt as he blamed himself and wept.
Ye Qiu felt terrible too.
He had originally planned to perform a life-extending technique for Master Changmei, but he discovered that the old man’s condition was unique—his vitality was gradually fading away, entirely unlike a typical illness.
Was there really no way to save the old man?
Ye Qiu quickly closed his eyes and accessed the inheritance of the Ye family ancestor in his mind, searching for any life-saving methods within that vast knowledge.
In the end, he found more than thirty different techniques to preserve life.
But to Ye Qiu’s dismay, his cultivation level was too low to use any of them.
What could he do?
Just watch the old man die?
I’m not willing to accept that!
Suddenly, Ye Qiu thought of the innate true qi within his body.
“My innate true qi can quickly heal my own injuries—could it heal the old man too?”
Ye Qiu wasn’t sure if it would work, but with no other options left, he decided to give it a try.
He immediately grasped Master Changmei’s hand and began channeling his innate true qi into the old man’s body.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Master Changmei remained motionless, eyes tightly shut, his face unchanged, showing no sign of waking.
A wave of sorrow surged in Ye Qiu’s heart, and tears streamed down his face.
“Old man, I’m sorry. It’s my fault you ended up like this,” Ye Qiu silently said to himself.
Suddenly, the unconscious Master Changmei stirred, coughing faintly, “Cough, cough…”
Ye Qiu looked down and saw a flush of colour appear on the old man’s ashen face. His complexion improved significantly, and his eyelids trembled slightly, as if he might open them at any moment.
The innate true qi was working!
Ye Qiu’s heart leapt with joy, and he quickly wiped away his tears.
At that moment, Master Changmei opened his eyes. Seeing Ye Qiu in front of him, he said slowly, “Little brat, you’re here?”
“Mm,” Ye Qiu nodded and asked, “Old man, how do you feel now?”
“How could I feel? I’m about to meet the King of Hell soon. Little brat, being able to see you one last time before I die—I have no regrets… Huh?”
Master Changmei let out a surprised exclamation mid-sentence. “Why do I feel stronger than before?”
With that, he propped himself up with both hands and sat up on the bed.
Seeing this, Shuisheng was astonished.
In previous instances when Master Changmei had woken from unconsciousness, Shuisheng had to help him sit up, and even then, it was a struggle for the old man.
But now, Master Changmei had sat up on his own. It was utterly bizarre.
Could it be…?
A terrifying thought struck Shuisheng, and he burst into loud sobs.
“I’m not dead yet, so why the hell are you wailing?” Master Changmei snapped irritably.
Still crying, Shuisheng said, “Uncle-Master, stop pretending. This must be your final burst of clarity before the end.”
Final burst of clarity?
Master Changmei froze. It did seem plausible.
The so-called “final burst of clarity” refers to a moment when a dying person suddenly becomes lucid or briefly energized just before passing.
“Am I really experiencing my final burst?”
Master Changmei raised his hands and carefully assessed himself. He found that not only did his arms feel stronger than before, but his entire body was brimming with energy.
This didn’t feel like a final burst at all!
What was going on?
Suddenly, Master Changmei’s gaze locked onto Ye Qiu’s face. “Little brat, did you treat me?”
He couldn’t think of any other explanation.
Ye Qiu nodded slightly. “I just channeled some true qi into your body. I wasn’t sure if it would work, so I gave it a shot. It seems to have had a decent effect.”
“No, that’s not right. A backlash from the Heavenly Dao isn’t a normal injury. Ordinary internal energy wouldn’t do anything. How could your energy work on me?” Master Changmei asked, puzzled.
Shuisheng chimed in from the side, “Uncle-Master, you misheard. Dr. Ye didn’t say internal energy—he said true qi.”
“True qi?”
Master Changmei’s eyes widened as he stared at Ye Qiu in disbelief. “You’ve cultivated true qi?”
Clearly, he knew what true qi was.
“Mm,” Ye Qiu confirmed with a nod.
“I’m on the verge of death and never managed to cultivate true qi, yet you’ve done it in your twenties. You’re a bloody freak,” Master Changmei said, his eyes filled with a mix of jealousy and admiration as he looked at Ye Qiu.
“Let me check your pulse again.” Ye Qiu took Master Changmei’s wrist and found that the innate true qi had indeed worked. The old man should be able to hold on for a few more days.
“Little brat, why are your eyes so red?” Master Changmei grinned. “Don’t tell me you were crying because you thought I was going to die?”
“I wasn’t,” Ye Qiu denied.
Shuisheng piped up, “Uncle-Master, Dr. Ye was crying earlier. I saw it.”
Ye Qiu turned and glared at Shuisheng. “No one would think you’re mute if you kept quiet.”
Shuisheng said earnestly, “Dr. Ye, lying is wrong. My master taught me when he was alive that honesty is the most important thing in life.”
Ye Qiu: “…”
He seriously doubted Shuisheng’s mental sharpness!
“Old man, you were already in such bad shape. Couldn’t you have just stayed put at Dragon Tiger Mountain? If I hadn’t come today, you’d have had three hours left at most,” Ye Qiu grumbled.
“With my condition, what’s the point of staying on the mountain? Waiting to die?”
Master Changmei replied, “I came here to find the Heavenly Master Sword.”
“My greatest wish in life is to recover Dragon Tiger Mountain’s town treasure. The Heavenly Master Seal has been found, and I’ve mastered the Five Thunder Orthodox Method. All that’s missing now is the Heavenly Master Sword.”
“Little brat, your timing is perfect. I’ve already deduced the general location of the Heavenly Master Sword. Help me find it.”
Deduced?
Ye Qiu’s face darkened at the word. “If I’m understanding this correctly, you mean you figured out the general location of the Heavenly Master Sword through fortune-telling?”
“Smart!” Master Changmei said. “To pinpoint the sword’s whereabouts, I used the Secret Art of Heavenly Divination. That’s exactly why my backlash injury worsened.”
Ye Qiu’s mind erupted with curses.
Don’t you have any bloody self-awareness about how accurate your fortune-telling is?
Using that so-called Secret Art of Heavenly Divination—wasn’t that just asking for death?
With a stern face, Ye Qiu asked, “Since you’ve calculated it, tell me—where’s the Heavenly Master Sword?”
Master Changmei’s expression grew serious as he declared, “The Heavenly Master Sword is in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains!”
