Sage Art: Healing Technique

Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi watched in astonishment as Han Qing and his two companions charged past them. They never imagined that the enemies they had nearly come to blows with during their last encounter would extend a helping hand at their most critical and difficult moment.

By the dim red light reflecting off the rock walls, Qin Lang tilted his head to look at Lin Chuan, who was slumped on his back. Lin Chuan's face was pale and his lips were devoid of color, yet even in this unconscious state, he had still managed to resolve a life-or-death crisis for them.

Both Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang understood clearly that Han Qing would not help them without reason; the only justification for such an act was Lin Chuan.

To be able to deter the three of them single-handedly, forcing them to retreat without a fight, and even offering up a Spirit Core to ensure Lin Chuan's safe passage—such an enemy was terrifying. However, this act of providing charcoal in the snow could definitely turn a powerful enemy like Lin Chuan into a friend; that reason alone was enough for Han Qing to intervene.

"Let's go!" Qin Lang shifted Lin Chuan's body higher onto his back and led Bu Lianshi toward the direction etched in his memory. They no longer needed to concern themselves with the pursuers behind them.

Exhausting their final reserves of strength, the two finally reached the hidden Lava Cave before their stamina completely gave out.

The entrance to this cave was narrow and concealed; ordinary people would never come here, nor would they discover such a place. If not for Lin Chuan's Byakugan, with its X-ray vision and 360-degree field of view, they would never have known that Crimson Flame Lotus grew in this location.

Carefully laying Lin Chuan on the ground, Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed, unable to crawl any further.

This crisis had drained both their physical strength and spiritual power to the absolute limit. This final stretch had been covered entirely by the sheer force of their will. Now that the pressure had lifted, both fell into a state of exhausted unconsciousness, lacking even the strength to begin cultivating to recover their spiritual power.

Time flowed slowly. The warm atmosphere within the underground Lava Cave caused all three to sink into the deepest level of sleep, while the remaining unrefined spiritual energy within Lin Chuan's body slowly merged into his physique and his dantian.

The Fruit of the God Tree seemed to have finished absorbing the wood-attribute energy, releasing even more purple mist into Lin Chuan's body to help repair his damaged flesh while simultaneously suppressing the previously rampaging spiritual energy.

After about two hours, Lin Chuan's body stirred slightly as he woke from his coma. The moment he regained consciousness, he activated his Byakugan. After scanning his surroundings and confirming they were in a safe place, he finally let out a breath of relief.

A stinging pain in his body became clearly apparent at this moment. Earlier, he had forcibly dispersed the excess spiritual energy into his own cellular structure, causing the energy to ravage his entire body; there was hardly a place that didn't ache.

Damn it... I must never do something like this again. It's a miracle I survived... Lin Chuan lamented in his heart.

Even though the agony had subsided, Lin Chuan still felt a lingering fear when he thought back to the situation.

After recovering his physical state slightly, Lin Chuan stood up and walked toward Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang. Both had collapsed near the entrance, as if they had been prepared to guard the cave mouth.

Looking at their blood-soaked clothes and the wounds covering their bodies, Lin Chuan's fists tightened involuntarily. Some of these injuries had been present before he lost consciousness, but others had clearly been added afterward.

Looking back at his own pristine clothes and unblemished skin, Lin Chuan's heart bled.

"Did you... block all the attacks for me?" Lin Chuan's hands clenched and unclenched, his eyes growing moist.

This was a feeling he, who had always been alone, had never experienced before. It was strange yet warm—a feeling he wanted to grasp tightly but feared losing. It was utterly contradictory!

"It's good that you're both safe... otherwise, how would I have the face to face you again..." Lin Chuan whispered.

Immediately, he began to refine chakra and mix it with the spiritual energy in his body. The entire process required time, and taking advantage of this gap, Lin Chuan checked the changes in his body.

The biggest breakthrough was his cultivation level; he had now reached the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage. This was the benefit of refining the spiritual energy, which could be considered a shortcut for him to rapidly increase his cultivation.

"Others cannot use medicinal herbs directly because they cannot absorb the wood-attribute energy within them; they must be refined into pills by an alchemist. Otherwise, consuming them is a waste, or worse, the wood-attribute energy will damage their bodies..."

Lin Chuan murmured. This was indeed a shortcut to rapidly increasing his cultivation that he could try in the future.

Beyond that, the most significant change was his Kekkei Genkai. The Shikotsumyaku, which Lin Chuan had anticipated, had indeed appeared. According to his original projections, the Shikotsumyaku might not have manifested until he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, but devouring a large amount of Crimson Flame Lotus had caused the Fruit of the God Tree to release more power, granting him this powerful Kekkei Genkai directly.

His Sharingan had also evolved from a single tomoe to two, significantly enhancing its abilities. He could now use some powerful genjutsu, such as the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique.

I wonder if I can use the Sharingan to copy the spells of other cultivators? I'll have to test that out later! Lin Chuan thought.

As he refined his chakra, Lin Chuan also discovered that his total chakra reserves had increased significantly—nearly doubling. Although the amount was still small, it was finally enough to perform some ninjutsu when combined with his spiritual energy, such as the Great Fireball Technique!

However, given Lin Chuan's current chakra levels, using this technique still consumed more than half of his total reserves, meaning he could use it at most once.

Having understood the state of his body, Lin Chuan's Sage Chakra was also mostly refined. Too busy to check for other changes, he immediately followed the ninjutsu he had developed himself, concentrating the chakra into his hands.

"Sage Art: Healing Technique!"

Sage Chakra, tinged with a hint of gold within its green hue, appeared on the surface of Lin Chuan's skin, emitting a faint sound.

"Possessing chakra nature transformations for all seven elements, the Yang attribute is naturally a given, but my chakra control still needs improvement."

Lin Chuan muttered, then pressed his hands onto the wounds of Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi.

"Still, I am using Sage Chakra. Even if I'm not skilled in medical ninjutsu, this simplest healing technique should at least achieve a baseline effect!"

Lin Chuan thought to himself, then began to treat the wounds of Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi with somewhat clumsy movements.

Medical ninjutsu required sufficient chakra control to be used effectively. Lin Chuan could only be considered as barely managing it. If someone on the level of Tsunade were to use Sage Chakra to perform a healing technique, the effect would be at least dozens of times stronger than his.