Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove

Saint Moon turned to Gao Yingjie and said, "I think deducting his Merit Points will be enough. It takes two to make a quarrel. If I'm not mistaken, Lingxin also wanted him to truly experience the battlefield. Encountering a Demon God was a low-probability event; otherwise, with Lingxin's cultivation, protecting him would have been more than manageable. Fortunately, Haochen is unharmed as well. Let this matter end here. If he violates military orders again in the future, then punish him severely."

Although Gao Yingjie's eyes were still filled with anger, Saint Moon was not only the head of the Assassin Temple but also the vice chairman of the Temple Alliance. Gao Yingjie could not disregard his words and could only agree with a dark expression. However, the way he looked at Long Haochen remained far from friendly.

After giving him an apologetic look, Long Haochen immediately turned to Saint Moon and asked, "Great Grandfather, what happened to Saint Uncle? Are his injuries serious?"

Saint Moon sighed. "He isn't injured."

"Huh?" Long Haochen looked at him in confusion.

Saint Moon said, "Lingxin is suffering from the backlash of a spiritual stove. Ah, that child... Still, if he hadn't used that skill at the time, I'm afraid it would have been difficult for all of you to survive."

Long Haochen said guiltily, "It's all my fault. I dragged Saint Uncle down."

Gao Yingjie finally could not hold back any longer. "So you know that? If it weren't for you, with Brother Sheng's cultivation, who could have stopped him if he wanted to leave? I truly don't know what to say about you."

Saint Moon gave Long Haochen a deep look. "Enough. Don't keep blaming him. He only wanted to kill the enemy, and his intentions were good. Besides, he is still young. Do you think it was really as simple as he said? Based on my understanding of Lingxin, if he had resolved himself to use the Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove, he would have done so with the determination to die and would definitely have made Haochen leave first. But in the end, he and Haochen both survived. That proves Haochen played a positive role in this battle."

"I can testify to that as well," a burly commander said in a deep voice. He wore a full suit of black armor—the attire of a Radiant Angels Knight. However, the pair of enormous metal wings was no longer on his back.

"Brother Gao, please do not blame this little brother. It could be said that without him, we truly would have been completely wiped out this time. I believe that not only should he not be punished, he should be rewarded according to his merits. Since he is a Demon Hunt Squad member, I don't think even ten thousand Merit Points would be too much."

"Hm?" Upon hearing this, the anger on Gao Yingjie's face subsided somewhat. He knew this man—the commander of the Radiant Angels Knight Order, likewise a Seventh-rank Temple Knight, though he did not possess Mithril Base Battle Armor.

"Originally, we did not understand why this little brother had followed the chief commander onto the battlefield. But later, when we faced the Di Mian Tribe Invisibility Users, this little brother's mount played a crucial role. If possible, I would very much like him to join our Radiant Angels Knight Order."

The commander then recounted Long Haochen's performance on the battlefield, especially how Little Light had repeatedly used the Eye of Truth to resolve their urgent crisis.

"If this little brother had not helped us quickly deal with the Di Mian Tribe Invisibility Users, the demons would certainly have had more time to arrange their forces calmly. If they had waited until we suffered losses before attacking, we likely truly would not have returned. Furthermore, the destruction of several thousand Di Kui Tribe invisibility users disrupted their original plan, forcing the Three Great Demon Gods to reveal their hand and expose the Demon God Pillars ahead of time to launch their assault. Their haste gave us the chance to return alive. Apart from the chief commander's immense sacrifice, the second-greatest contribution to our survival belongs to this little brother."

After hearing the commander's words, Gao Yingjie's expression finally changed. He glanced at Long Haochen and said nothing more.

Long Haochen hurriedly said, "I don't deserve credit. I violated military orders. I only hope I can be given another chance to continue the following trials with my companions as a newly formed Demon Hunt Squad. I don't want any reward. Great Grandfather, what exactly is this Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove you mentioned? When will Saint Uncle wake up?"

What worried him most was Sheng Lingxin's current condition. Sheng Lingxin's words from the final moments on the battlefield kept echoing in his ears. From the bottom of his heart, he hoped to help ease the relationship between Sheng Lingxin and Cai'er, this father and daughter.

Saint Moon sighed. "Among the known spiritual stoves that assassins can use, the Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove ranks sixth. It is a spiritual stove exclusive to assassins. Its sole function is attack. In terms of attack power alone, it would not be a problem for this Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove to rank among the top three. The reason it ranks lower is because its side effects are simply too severe."

Looking at the sleeping Sheng Lingxin, Saint Moon continued, "The more powerful a spiritual stove is, the more severe its backlash. The Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove can instantly unleash several times one's own attack power, detonating all the spiritual energy within the body together with life force through a special method to produce attack power far beyond one's cultivation. The evolution of the Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove is also quite unusual. It does not evolve with its user's cultivation, but with age. However, the older one is, the greater the power it can unleash—and the more severe the backlash becomes."

"It is truly a miracle that Lingxin returned alive. Among assassins who possess the Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove, he is the only one who has used its power on the battlefield and still survived."

"The Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove can only be used once under any circumstances. Afterward, the body falls into an extremely weakened state, with no combat strength left at all. The user will fall unconscious for a short period, and that unconsciousness lasts seven days. After waking seven days later, he must remain weak for a number of days equal to his age. His spiritual energy will be completely sealed, and each day he will recover one year's worth of memories and one year's worth of cultivation. At Lingxin's current age, it will take more than thirty days for him to fully recover. Including the seven days of unconsciousness, that makes more than forty days in total."

After hearing Saint Moon's words, Long Haochen could not help drawing in a sharp breath. The most severe spiritual stove backlash he knew of was Cai'er's Reincarnation Spiritual Stove, but the backlash of Sheng Lingxin's Rejuvenation Spiritual Stove was no less severe. Even his consciousness and memories would be affected by the backlash. He would be unable to return to normal for more than forty days. This was truly a killing move that could only be used by staking one's life on it.

Saint Moon said, "All right, everyone, go attend to your duties. Haochen, you should rest as well. Since Lingxin gave you the book Grafting Flowers and Connecting Trees, you must cultivate it properly after you return. Grafting Flowers and Connecting Trees is a skill, and as your cultivation improves, its effects will gradually grow stronger. It can be considered one of the Saint Family's secret techniques. Once you learn it, teach it to Cai'er as well. She has always refused to learn the self-created skills of our Saint Family from me. Only if you teach her will she likely be willing to learn."

"Yes, Great Grandfather," Long Haochen answered respectfully.

With a slight movement of his thoughts, he found Haoyue. The great hero who had saved both him and Sheng Lingxin was currently lying nearby. However, Haoyue did not look weak in the slightest. On the contrary, it was full of vigor, as though it had endless strength.

Naturally, Long Haochen did not know that before he and Sheng Lingxin were sent back while unconscious, Haoyue had swept through the battlefield at top speed. Whether Emerald Twin Blade Demons, Two-Headed Demon Vultures, or Flame Demon Puppets, they were all demons with magic crystals. Haoyue had feasted tremendously. At least a hundred magic crystals were currently in its stomach, and digesting them alone would take some time. Only it dared to eat like this. If another magical beast swallowed so many crystal cores of different kinds, it would have burst to death on the spot.

Leading Haoyue out the door, Long Haochen revealed a look of relief in his eyes. It was finally resolved.

How could he possibly tell the truth? That would damage the relationship between the two great Temples. Long Haochen also knew his position in the Knight Temple. Looking at Gao Yingjie and the expressions of the Mithril Base Knights, he understood. Even though Saint Moon was a ninth-rank powerhouse, he could not shield Sheng Lingxin and Lan Yanyu, husband and wife, in this matter.

Even if they had not been Cai'er's parents, Long Haochen still would not have revealed the truth at this time. Harmony between the two great Temples was what mattered most.

Only after leaving did Long Haochen discover that the place where he had been staying was not far from the walls of Demon Expelling Pass, a place specifically used to treat wounded commanders.

"Which unit are you from? No one may climb the walls without military orders. Violators will be dealt with under military law."

"Move." A cold voice rang out.

The instant he heard that voice, Long Haochen's heart shook. He hurriedly called out, "Cai'er, I'm here."

He had already seen that in the direction of the commotion, the companions from his Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad had been stopped by a group of wall-patrol soldiers.

Upon hearing Long Haochen's voice, Cai'er, who had been radiating killing intent, immediately turned around. Her Green Bamboo Staff tapped against the ground, and after several swift leaps, she arrived before Long Haochen.

"Haochen, are you all right?" Cai'er immediately grabbed Long Haochen's arms with both hands and even quickly felt around his body.

The others also crowded forward. Seeing Long Haochen and Haoyue, relief appeared on all their faces.

After Long Haochen had been summoned away by the messenger, he had not returned for a long time. The more Cai'er thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Remembering that her mother had come earlier that day, she finally could not restrain herself and went looking for him. Naturally, the others could not let her act alone, so they all followed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm doing quite well," Long Haochen said with a chuckle.

Cai'er sensed that although Long Haochen was somewhat weak, he was not injured. The cold aura around her finally eased, but she tightly held his right hand and refused to let go. "Let's go back," she said softly.

Long Haochen gently nodded and turned to look at Gao Yingjie.