Ao Xiu wore a withered expression, his spiritual intelligence muddled. This was the bitter fruit of his realm falling short yet forcibly exhausting his mental strength to follow Yu Ci's rhythm in interpreting the changes in Madam Hua's qi and aura. Now his spirit and soul were damaged; though not severe, it would still take ten days to half a month of recuperation.
Compared to his concrete injuries, the current situation was what left him even more despondent and heartbroken.
What was meant by "overestimating one's capabilities"—his current self was the absolute best interpretation. One could easily imagine that today's events would inevitably spread quietly through the Sea Merchant Guild, and he, the vice hall master of Dragon Seal Hall, would likely be reduced to a laughingstock for quite a long time.
In truth, Yu Ci's train of thought was still very simple.
Inside Madam Hua's body, the changes in the restrictive spell were passive, yet she firmly anchored her Dao foundation, controlling the root of her vitality. She limited the methods of response within a certain range; exceed the limit and she died. Any aggressive or forceful brute-force attempts were completely meaningless. Therefore, Yu Ci believed that unless one "set up a separate kitchen and reshaped vitality," all other fundamental treatment strategies were methods urging one's own demise.
Since curing the root was impossible, he could only treat the symptoms.
The method of ingesting talismans was indeed effective, but through the natural absorption of the stomach and intestines, the loss was great, the efficiency was low, and most of it ended up making wedding garments for others, nourishing the true intent of the restrictive spell.
On Yu Ci's end, although he also used the technique of "ingesting talismans," he relied on his mastery over the law of life and