"Yi'er's health was poor to begin with. He'd only just awakened his Martial Soul. It seemed to be a Rainbow Dragon, a kind of Dragon Clan Martial Soul, and then his life force started draining away like mad." Leng Yaozhu's voice caught in her throat. "Elder Mu, you have to save him! I'm willing to pay any price!"
Life Douou said nothing, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand, his expression unusually grave. "The Rainbow Dragon, queen of the Dragon Clan? That can't be right. If he awakened the Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul, why would his body get worse? It's as if there's a bottomless pit inside him, greedily devouring Yi'er's life force. At this rate, he'll be completely spent within an hour."
"What do we do?" Leng Yaozhu grabbed Life Douou's arm and asked urgently, "Is there anything we can do?"
"There is a way, but it's risky and requires extremely precious resources." Life Douou considered for a moment. "I can use my own life force, together with Millennium Life Fruits, to replenish his life force by force. But I'll be severely weakened and unable to treat anyone for a while. And Millennium Life Fruits are incredibly rare. I only have five."
"Use them! Use every one!" Leng Yaozhu replied without hesitation. "As long as Yi'er can be saved, I don't care if it takes five Millennium Life Fruits or five hundred!"
Seeing the undisguised pain in Leng Yaozhu's eyes, Life Douou sighed. "All right. You saved my life back then, and I've grown quite fond of this child. I'll risk these old bones of mine to save him!"
He led Leng Yaozhu into the inner room and laid Cheng Duoyi on a jade bed.
Then he sat cross-legged and formed a hand seal.
A dense green radiance burst from his body. Behind him, the phantom of a towering Ancient Life Tree slowly appeared.
A sharp pain struck Life Douou's heart. He spat out a drop of his origin blood, which fell onto Cheng Duoyi's brow.
In an instant, the entire room filled with a rich aura of life.
Next, he took out five crystal-clear fruits, each glowing faintly green. They were Millennium Life Fruits.
A single Millennium Life Fruit could extend a Soul Master's life by at least ten years. Taking them one after another would reduce their effectiveness, but the value of five Millennium Life Fruits was still beyond imagining!
Life Douou suspended the five Millennium Life Fruits above Cheng Duoyi's head, then circulated his Soul Power, drawing out their energy bit by bit and channeling it into Cheng Duoyi's body.
But to Life Douou and Leng Yaozhu's shock, the life energy poured into Cheng Duoyi vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea. His life force kept draining away at the same rapid pace.
"How can this be?" Life Douou's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. "Even if a Titled Douou were on the brink of death, five Millennium Life Fruits and a drop of my origin life force would be enough to save them!"
Leng Yaozhu's heart sank to the bottom.
She clasped Cheng Duoyi's cold little hand tightly, unable to stop her tears from falling.
Just then, a faint light suddenly glimmered over Cheng Duoyi's heart. It was a tiny point of light, shining with nine colors.
His rapidly draining life force, along with the origin life force and the Millennium Life Fruit energy Life Douou had poured into him, was all being devoured by that Nine-Colored Light.
After swallowing a vast amount of energy, the Nine-Colored Light grew brighter. Then a gentle, pure life energy slowly flowed out of it, nourishing Cheng Duoyi's body in return.
As this life energy entered him, the ashen-faced Cheng Duoyi—whose vitality had been on the verge of disappearing—gradually regained a hint of color. His faint breathing also grew steadier.
At last, the life force draining from his body stopped.
Leng Yaozhu and Life Douou held their breath, watching the miraculous scene in silence.
Neither had ever seen anything like it. They exchanged a glance, both at a loss as to what kind of Martial Soul this was.
About an hour later, the Nine-Colored Light gradually dimmed and sank back into Cheng Duoyi's heart.
Cheng Duoyi slowly opened his eyes. Though he'd been unconscious, he'd sensed what was happening outside him in some mysterious way. He looked at Leng Yaozhu, whose face was streaked with tears, and gave her a weak smile. Then he wiped her tears away. "Godmother, I'm all right now. You're the Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, second only to one and above thousands. You can't just shed tears so easily."
"Yi'er!" Leng Yaozhu hugged him, overcome with emotion, and tears streamed down her face again. "You scared me to death! Forget being the Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda. Right now, I'm just your godmother! How could a godmother not worry when something happens to her godson?"
Cheng Duoyi smiled. "I'm fine, Godmother. Look, I'm all better now, aren't I?"
Cheng Duoyi turned to Life Douou. "Elder Mu, thank you, too."
Life Douou breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His face was deathly pale. That last effort had nearly drained three-tenths of his origin life force.
"Hmph! If you want to thank me, then stay alive. Don't you dare go before me!"
"I don't want to be the white-haired one seeing off the black-haired one!"
Cheng Duoyi said, "Elder Mu, I'm the white-haired one. You're the black-haired one."
As soon as he said it, Cheng Duoyi noticed Life Douou's hair rapidly turning white. Sorrow filled his expression. "Elder Mu, your hair..."
Leng Yaozhu also looked at Life Douou, about to say something, but he waved his hand. He checked Cheng Duoyi's body once more, then frowned at Leng Yaozhu. "I know my own condition. You don't need to worry about me. Yi'er is out of danger for now, but I can feel his life force is still slowly draining away. The rate is very slow, but it hasn't stopped."
"Why is this happening?" Leng Yaozhu asked urgently. She'd thought it was over, only to learn it was merely the beginning.
"I don't know." Life Douou shook his head. "The only explanation is that his Martial Soul is unusual, and seems to feed on life force. I've never heard of a Martial Soul devouring its host's life force, and it certainly can't be the Rainbow Dragon. The only possibilities are a Mutated Martial Soul or a Martial Soul we don't know about."
He paused, then continued, "The best thing for now is for Yi'er not to cultivate. The higher his level, the more energy that Martial Soul will need, and the faster his life force will drain. If he never cultivates, perhaps he can still live for decades."
Leng Yaozhu looked at the frail Cheng Duoyi in her arms, her eyes filled with heartache.
She gently stroked Cheng Duoyi's hair and said, word by word, "It's all right. Whether or not Yi'er can cultivate, he'll always be my godson. I'll take care of him for the rest of my life. I'll find a way to cure him."
Cheng Duoyi leaned against Leng Yaozhu and obediently nodded.
He closed his eyes and sensed the Spirit Sea and his heart.
One was the Dragon God's Wife, the other the Dragon God Heart.
These were his Twin Martial Souls!
Just now, it had been the Dragon God Heart devouring his life force. It was as if it had acknowledged Cheng Duoyi as its master. After devouring all the energy, it had returned it to him and the Dragon God's Wife.
Before you continue