Hope Amidst the Screams

"Roar..." The Fire Dragon writhed in pain, curling into a ball. It hadn't expected someone in the Qi Gathering Realm to be able to harm it.

Seeing his attack succeed, Lu Chen finally couldn't hold on and slowly collapsed onto the ground.

"I must stop the Fire Dragon... otherwise..."

Lu Chen stared fixedly at the Fire Dragon. He no longer had the energy to fight. If he couldn't stop it, the next thing that would happen would be a one-sided slaughter.

"Roar..."

The Fire Dragon leaped into the air, roaring in anger as it charged towards Nantian Xiu.

"Humans, you will pay the price for this."

"No... don't."

Lu Chen struggled to get up and stop it, but having exhausted all his strength, he couldn't even lift his hand.

The Fire Dragon conjured endless flames, incinerating the surrounding trees. Finally, it spewed out boundless purple flames, charging towards Nantian Wan'er.

"Boom..." A deafening sound echoed. A plume of smoke and dust erupted from where Nantian Wan'er was. When the dust settled, the ground was ablaze with roaring flames. Nantian Wan'er and Nantian Xiu were nowhere to be seen.

"No..." Lu Chen watched the scene, a wave of sorrow rising from his heart. He dared not accept this reality.

"Why? Am I truly a lone star of misfortune? Why do those who are good to me always end up dead or injured?"

Seeing that Nantian Xiu and Nantian Wan'er had disappeared, the Fire Dragon turned and charged towards Lu Chen.

Watching the charging Fire Dragon, Lu Chen slowly closed his eyes. He was now unable to move and could only wait for death to arrive.

"Vermin, die."

Just then, a loud shout came from the sky.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and saw a golden giant dragon flying down from the sky. The dragon's tail whipped out, sending the Fire Dragon flying.

The giant dragon landed, slowly revealing the bodies of Nantian Xiu and Nantian Wan'er.

"I'm so glad you're alright. How is Wan'er?" Lu Chen said happily upon seeing Nantian Xiu and Nantian Wan'er appear.

"Sigh..." Nantian Xiu sighed, placing Nantian Wan'er beside Lu Chen before turning to face the Fire Dragon.

Lu Chen struggled to look at Nantian Wan'er. She was still unconscious, encased in ice, with cold air constantly rising from her hair.

"Grandpa Xiu, Wan'er's condition." Lu Chen looked at Nantian Xiu.

Nantian Xiu was furious. He took out a sword with his right hand, ignoring Lu Chen.

"Vermin, perish."

Nantian Xiu threw the sword into the air and formed hand seals. The flying sword, shimmering with golden light, transformed into thousands of flying swords behind him.

"Nantian Dragon Slaying Sword, go!"

Nantian Xiu unleashed a powerful aura, controlling the flying swords to slash at the Fire Dragon.

The thousands of flying swords formed a golden dragon in the sky. This golden dragon, imbued with pure Spiritual Energy, suppressed the Fire Dragon, rendering it immobile.

"Boom..."

As the golden dragon's head struck the Fire Dragon, it reverted back into a thousand flying swords, which then pierced the Fire Dragon with streams of light.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

As the sound faded, the thousand flying swords had ripped the Fire Dragon to shreds.

"Kill!"

Nantian Xiu formed hand seals again. The thousand flying swords merged into one, radiating immense light as they plunged into the Fire Dragon's head.

Just as Nantian Xiu was about to press his attack, Lu Chen's cry came from behind him.

"Grandpa Xiu, hurry back! Wan'er is trembling all over, she's not going to make it."

Nantian Xiu no longer cared whether the Fire Dragon was dead and turned back to Nantian Wan'er's side.

By now, Nantian Wan'er's body was completely encased in ice, her breath growing weaker and weaker.

Nantian Xiu channeled his energy into Nantian Wan'er, but there was no improvement. In fact, the cold energy was absorbing Nantian Xiu's Spiritual Energy, growing stronger.

Seeing this, Nantian Xiu pounded his chest and wailed. He looked like any ordinary old man, overcome with grief, lamenting his failure to protect Nantian Wan'er.

"To think that I, Nantian Xiu, was once a proud prodigy of the Golden Age, yet today my granddaughter's life is endangered by a mere Fire Dragon. What use is this cultivation to me?"

"Grandpa Xiu, will Wan'er be alright? Perhaps there's another way."

Lu Chen's strength had recovered. Seeing the helpless expression on Nantian Xiu's face, he wanted to comfort him.

"There's no other way. Unless there's a high-quality fire element available right now... but I've searched for so many years, it's not something that can be found so easily."

"Fire element? I have some." Lu Chen said quickly upon hearing Nantian Xiu's need for a fire element.

"It's useless. I've detected the Fire Toxin in you; it's merely an accumulation of toxic fire elements, not useful."

"No, I have more than just Fire Toxin. I have the most potent fire in existence. I can definitely save Wan'er."

Lu Chen slowly crawled towards Nantian Wan'er. With every step he took closer, the ice encasing her body melted a little.

Watching this, Lu Chen recalled how, when he was with Nantian Wan'er before, the Fire Toxin within him would slowly dissipate whenever his heart stirred.

There must be some connection between him and Nantian Wan'er, and there must be a way to resolve the Fire Toxin and the Cold Toxin.

Lu Chen's hands touched Nantian Wan'er, and the Twin Fish Plate within his body began to operate autonomously. A method of transferring Qi appeared in his mind.

Lu Chen's body began to lose control, his fingers interlocking with Nantian Wan'er's. The cold ice on Nantian Wan'er's body slowly dissipated, and her breathing slightly recovered.

"What... what kind of technique is this?" Nantian Xiu watched as the cold ice on Nantian Wan'er's body slowly disappeared.

The image of the Yin Sea Pearl appeared in Lu Chen's mind. This was information left by Feng Tiancheng about finding the Yuan Yang Twin Fish Plate.

"Yin Sea Pearl? Could it be that Wan'er's Cold Toxin is because of the Yin Sea Pearl?" Lu Chen felt the memories in his mind.

"Grandpa Xiu, when did Wan'er get the Cold Toxin?" Lu Chen quickly asked Nantian Xiu. If it was the Yin Sea Pearl, then he would have a very high chance of saving Nantian Wan'er.

"Cold Toxin? Is there a problem? It's been about eighteen years."

"At that time, I failed to advance and was critically injured. I also met Wan'er, who had been abandoned. She gave me the hope to live."

"After my injuries healed, I brought Wan'er back to the sect and raised her as my granddaughter. At that time, Wan'er's body was just weak and sickly. It was only later, when she started cultivating, that the Cold Toxin accumulated."

Nantian Xiu recalled the scene of meeting Nantian Wan'er, describing it in great detail. He hoped these details would help Lu Chen in treating Nantian Wan'er.

"Eighteen years ago, Wan'er is now eighteen years old. The timing is about right. The cause of Wan'er's Cold Toxin should be the Yin Sea Pearl produced by the explosion at that time." Lu Chen calculated the time, which was similar to when he obtained the Twin Fish Plate.

"What Yin Sea Pearl? Young man, do you have a way to save Wan'er?" Nantian Xiu now placed all his hopes on Lu Chen.

"I have some ideas, but I don't know if I can save Wan'er." Lu Chen understood the source of the cold energy and began to control the Twin Fish Plate to use the Qi transfer method.

Lu Chen clasped Nantian Wan'er's hands and began to channel Spiritual Energy into her meridians through her right hand.

Nantian Wan'er's meridians were originally blocked by ice. When Lu Chen's Spiritual Energy, mixed with the Spiritual Energy from the Yang Sea Pearl, entered, the ice was directly melted.

Lu Chen's Spiritual Energy circulated slowly through Nantian Wan'er's meridians for two full cycles. Nantian Wan'er's chest began to rise and fall, and her skin slowly turned rosy.

"It's working."

Nantian Xiu's heart finally relaxed as he watched Nantian Wan'er's condition. However, Lu Chen knew that this was just the beginning, and the real danger was still in the Celestial Pool.

Lu Chen carefully guided his Spiritual Energy into Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool. Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool had already turned into a giant block of ice, with not even a sliver of space for Lu Chen's Spiritual Energy to be stored.

Lu Chen felt that there was no immediate threat in the Celestial Pool and began to increase the speed of Spiritual Energy input, slowly creating a pea-sized gap in Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool.

One minute, two minutes...

The gap in the Celestial Pool grew larger and larger. Just then, Lu Chen noticed a sky-blue bead in the center of the Celestial Pool.

"It seems this is the original form of the Yin Sea Pearl. As long as this is removed, Wan'er will be safe." Lu Chen stared at the Yin Sea Pearl, deep in thought.

The White Fish in Lu Chen's Celestial Pool also seemed to sense the aura of the Yin Sea Pearl and became active, entering Nantian Wan'er's body through the Spiritual Energy channel established between Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er.

As soon as the White Fish touched the Yin Sea Pearl, it became ecstatic, as if it had found a long-lost friend. It swallowed the Yin Sea Pearl in one gulp, then proceeded to devour all the ice in Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool. Satisfied, it turned to return to Lu Chen's body.

Just as the White Fish swam out of Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool, countless cold energies surged out from the depths of Nantian Wan'er's meridians, rapidly enveloping her body.

"This is bad. The Yin Sea Pearl has been in Wan'er's body for too long, and the cold energy has already penetrated her internal organs. If the Yin Sea Pearl doesn't suppress the cold energy, I'm afraid these cold energies will directly destroy Wan'er's body."

Lu Chen knew he had been careless and quickly guided the White Fish back into Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool.

More and more cold energy filled Nantian Wan'er's body. This was cold energy accumulated over more than ten years, and its outburst was far more violent than before. The White Fish and the Yin Sea Pearl could not suppress it for the time being.

The cold energy continuously emanated from her pores, surrounding Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er, freezing Nantian Wan'er's blood vessels and internal organs.

Lu Chen stared at the cold energy on Nantian Wan'er's body, realizing he had to draw it out.

"Transfer Qi, transfer Qi."

Lu Chen thought of the Qi transfer method in his mind and then leaned forward, kissing Nantian Wan'er on the lips.

An endless stream of cold energy entered Lu Chen's body from Nantian Wan'er's. After circulating through his meridians, it entered his Celestial Pool.

At this moment, Lu Chen's Celestial Pool contained the full Fire Qi of the Yang Sea Pearl and the Cold Qi of the Yin Sea Pearl. The Fire Toxin was slowly eliminated, and the Celestial Pool gradually became balanced.

The Cold Toxin in Nantian Wan'er's body gradually reached a controllable level, and the White Fish began to guide the cold energy's circulation.

It circulated from Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool, entered Lu Chen's body through the meridian bridge, and into his Celestial Pool. The Black Fish also seemed to sense this and guided the Fire Qi through the meridian bridge into Nantian Wan'er's Celestial Pool.