Chapter 91
Tian Ailang followed Ma Chung's guidance and sat in the prepared spot. The floor was neatly arranged, and three familiar boxes sat lined up before him. They held the three precious elixirs he'd obtained from Shaolin Temple, the Southern Forest Poison Mist Zone, and the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Off to one side stood a specially crafted box designed to hold all three at once.
"Planning to start right away?" Ma Chung eyed Tian Ailang with a tense expression.
Tian Ailang nodded vigorously. "Everything's ready, so no need to delay. I don't know how long it'll take, but I appreciate your help."
"We're all set, so don't worry about us, Ailang."
"Same here. I can't wait to see this treatment through, either."
Ma Chung, of course, and even Shinui showed fierce determination in their eyes. Shinui's gaze brimmed with excitement. From the moment they'd arrived at the Damga stronghold, he'd stood faithfully by Song Sogeol's side, driven by pure devotion to healing his patient and a burning desire to push the boundaries of his medical knowledge.
Tian Ailang met Shinui's eyes with a warm look.
Shinui clicked his tongue. "Getting that kind of gaze from a guy who isn't even a woman? Not exactly welcome. If you've got nothing else to say, let's get started."
Tian Ailang chuckled softly. "Got it."
As Tian Ailang settled into a cross-legged position and began to focus, the two divine physicians stepped back to give him space.
Whoooosh—
A gentle breeze stirred around Tian Ailang, his internal energy resonating with the qi of nature to create soft currents of air.
Whooooosh—
As his vast inner power swelled, the breeze intensified into a fierce gale. The greater his energy grew, the more nature's qi responded in kind, swelling like a welcoming tide.
Leaves whipped through the raging wind, slapping the cheeks of the two physicians watching Tian Ailang. They could only let out wry chuckles as the foliage battered them.
"Heh heh..."
The pure, immense winds of inner energy swirling around Tian Ailang struck even these seasoned veterans as otherworldly.
"Incredible," Shinui murmured in short admiration.
Tian Ailang extended his hands toward the three boxes before him.
Click.
Infused with his inner power, the lids sprang open in unison, and the three elixirs floated lightly into the air: the Great Returning Pill, the Fire Dragon Pill, and the Ice Pallor Pill.
These elixirs of wildly opposing natures trembled violently amid the winds of his qi.
"Hah!"
With a sharp exhale, Tian Ailang flung his hands wide. Transparent barriers of qi unfurled in perfect spheres around him and the elixirs. Outside, the gales of inner energy still howled and gathered fiercely, but within was utter stillness.
Ma Chung and Shinui stared in stunned disbelief.
"Wha—what the... Heh heh..."
"Words fail me."
What Tian Ailang was doing went far beyond mere abundance of inner power. He was demonstrating multiple simultaneous manipulations of qi, akin to the Wudang Sect's famed Dual Heart Technique. Not only was he levitating the elixirs in midair with telekinetic control, but he was also enveloping each one in a protective barrier—like a personal shield of guarding qi—to prevent their energies from leaking out. On top of that, he was erecting a vast qi barrier to create a tranquil inner space, while guiding nature's wild qi to sustain it and channel fresh energy inward.
This was equivalent to juggling four or five distinct qi operations at once—an utterly impossible feat. If any Wudang disciple versed in the grueling challenges of even the Dual Heart Technique had witnessed this, they might have spat blood and collapsed in shock.
The two physicians, fully aware of the monumental significance, kept their eyes glued to Tian Ailang, determined to etch this moment into memory. They were convinced they were bearing witness to a once-in-a-lifetime event in martial history—one without precedent or equal. Though they sought no grand purpose, the thrill of sharing this historic instant ignited their resolve.
Ignoring their thoughts, Tian Ailang reached out toward the elixirs once more.
Crack.
At his gesture, the air split, and the outer shell of the Great Returning Pill began to peel away delicately.
The elixir's casing served to seal its inner energy, crafted from materials with that precise property. As it peeled, traces of power began to seep out.
From here, the process demanded utmost precision. First, he had to ensure not a wisp of escaping qi slipped through his protective barriers. Then, like drawing thread from a spool, he needed to extract every last strand of energy with excruciating care. Finally, he would infuse each extracted portion with his own qi arts before reinserting them into the pill.
The slightest error could dissipate the energy or doom the entire operation—a hellishly difficult task. And he had to repeat it for the Fire Dragon Pill and Ice Pallor Pill as well.
Tian Ailang cleared his cluttered thoughts and focused solely on the Great Returning Pill. He handled its energy with glacial slowness.
'This is Shaolin.'
Like Shaolin itself—embracing all, ever adhering to the middle path—its qi felt vast and warmly enveloping.
'Just like the abbot.'
He recalled the Shaolin abbot, who had lost an arm yet never his indomitable spirit, treating him with utmost kindness under the guise of fateful ties. A smile tugged at his lips.
Tian Ailang took a deep breath and drew out the Great Returning Pill's qi in one steady pull. He felt its heavy resistance. Condensed through untold trials into a single form, and brimming with the potency of a grand elixir, it resisted fiercely.
'Still, this is the easiest part.'
The Fire Dragon Pill and Ice Pallor Pill, untouched so far, promised even greater ordeals.
With infinite patience, Tian Ailang extracted the energy thread by painstaking thread. The work on the Great Returning Pill, begun at dawn, stretched into the dark of night without end in sight.
"Hoo..."
At last, having drawn out every bit, Tian Ailang exhaled softly.
The two physicians, who had kept vigil—save for periodic doses for Song Sogeol—eyed him with concern. Even an absolute master shouldn't withstand such reckless expenditure of inner power and mental strain without collapsing, by their reckoning.
"Ailang, why not rest a bit?"
As Tian Ailang opened his eyes, Ma Chung voiced his worry without hesitation.
His body was drenched in sweat from the day's labor.
"I'm fine, Grandfather. Could I have some water?"
"Here."
Shinui swiftly fetched a gourd of water. He waited outside the qi barrier for Tian Ailang's cue before approaching.
Tian Ailang pulled the gourd to him telekinetically and gulped it down.
"Hoo! Thank you."
He expressed his gratitude to Shinui, then turned to Ma Chung. "The Great Returning Pill went smoother than expected. The critical step of infusing it with qi arts remains, but let's continue."
He pushed the empty gourd back outside the barrier with a flick of qi, closed his eyes, and refocused.
Having extracted the pill's energy intact, it was now time to imbue it with his qi arts. Once complete, this reborn Great Returning Pill—transformed by his qi—would serve as the central bridge linking the two wildly disparate elixirs.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy.
"Hooo!"
Tian Ailang exhaled long to purge stray thoughts and resumed the work.
* * *
Tian Ailang's eyes opened again three full days later.
Shinui, who had leaned against a distant tree trunk, sleepless through the nights, sprang to his feet.
"Need anything?"
Unsure of Tian Ailang's needs, he presented an array of prepared items just outside the barrier: gourds of water, elixir-infused broth, nourishing porridge, and even a fresh set of his favored black training robes for a quick change.
Tian Ailang drew a gourd of elixir water telekinetically and drank deeply. Shinui's care was evident; vitality surged through him instantly. His hypersensitive dantian and meridians absorbed the elixirs in a flash, restoring his energy.
"Thank you."
He sent the gourd back out as he spoke.
"You're not jumping right back in, are you?"
Shinui stared in dismay as Tian Ailang readjusted his posture. He'd pulled all-nighters for patients himself—days or weeks at a stretch—but nothing compared to this.
To him, Tian Ailang's task was like tightroping over a thousand-foot chasm amid turbulent winds. No room for failure; it demanded superhuman focus at every instant.
"No reason to delay. This much is nothing."
"Heh heh..."
Shinui gazed at him in awe, convinced it was no bluff.
Tian Ailang steadied his breath, closed his eyes, and recalled the sensation of successfully infusing the Great Returning Pill's qi. He planned to press on immediately with the Fire Dragon Pill and Ice Pallor Pill.
"Hooo..."
With even finer qi control, he began peeling away the shell of the Fire Dragon Pill—the inner core of the Palgaksa.
This practice was honing his telekinesis and qi manipulation daily—he could feel it.
Whoosh!
A torrent of scorching fire qi erupted from a tiny gap in the Fire Dragon Pill's casing. The fiery energy thrashed wildly, as if swinging the Palgaksa's tail to devastate all around it—utterly unlike the Great Returning Pill's passive resistance.
Tian Ailang bound it firmly with his protective qi. The flames rebelled against the confinement, roiling even harder within. Though contained, its searing heat bled outward, filling the barrier in an instant.
Shinui outside recoiled from the sudden blaze.
"Whoa..."
He peered anxiously into the forge-like inferno within, the heat radiating fiercely.
'Not going to be easy.'
Drenched in sweat from the Fire Dragon Pill's blaze, Tian Ailang focused on the surrounding conflagration.
'Hoo...'
His eyes flashed. His irises burned crimson like flames, emitting an eerie glow. He was absorbing the ambient fire qi into his body, just as he would thunder qi.
The hellish heat enveloping him settled into comforting warmth. Regaining his focus, Tian Ailang stripped away the Fire Dragon Pill's shell more boldly than before and began extracting its energies.