Cultivation Regression

At last, the seventh day arrived. The girl blinked a few times and spoke. "Where is this?"

"Xiaoyun, you're finally awake?" Ye Wan had been outside the room. Hearing her call, she rushed in with excitement.

"Who are you?" Startled by Ye Wan's sudden entrance, the girl cried out in panic.

"Xiaoyun, what's wrong? I'm your sister! Don't you recognize me?" Ye Wan's joy instantly turned to worry.

The girl looked blank, as though trying to recall something. Then she shook her head. "I don't know you. Do you know who I am? Why can't I remember anything?"

"Ah!" Ye Wan panicked and rushed to Ye Yun's side, wanting to examine her. Yet Ye Yun warily retreated, refusing to let Ye Wan touch her.

"What exactly is going on?" Ye Wan muttered to herself, utterly confused. The poison had clearly been completely purged, and Ye Yun had regained consciousness. Why had this happened?

"This should be a lingering effect of Spirit-Mystifying Incense." Someone appeared behind her and spoke blandly.

Ye Wan abruptly turned around and saw Chen Fan slowly enter. However, his gaze was on Ye Yun as he said gently, "Don't be afraid. We are all your family. You were poisoned before, which is why you lost your memories. Don't worry, it's nothing serious. You'll remember eventually."

The moment Ye Wan heard Chen Fan say it was caused by Spirit-Mystifying Incense, her heart sank again. She had studied this poison in detail before. It could affect one's mind. When ordinary people were poisoned, they either fell unconscious and never woke again, or awoke with brain damage and all manner of lingering effects—losing their minds and wills, perhaps even becoming idiots or vegetative patients. Moreover, no one had ever been able to cure such aftereffects. The damage it caused was to the brain. In this world, regardless of how profound one's cultivation was, repairing or altering the human brain was impossible. Throughout history, anyone who had attempted to repair the brain had either directly killed the subject or caused other, even more irreversible consequences. Not a single successful case remained.

"You don't need to comfort me. I'm afraid no one in this world can cure this kind of aftereffect." Ye Wan looked dejected, but she was not overly heartbroken. Her sister's life had already been saved. Even if she had lost her memories, it was not the end of the world. The road ahead was still long, and they could slowly build those memories again. As long as Ye Yun developed no other symptoms, that was enough.

"Who said it can't be cured?" Chen Fan's tone was utterly calm, as though he were discussing something trivial.

Ye Wan stood rooted to the spot, her mouth hanging open. He could treat even this? Where had this man come from? Ever since that night in Blackrock City, Chen Fan seemed to have transformed into her savior. And he had even done that with her... At this moment, she only felt that Chen Fan was capable of anything. Before him, she was completely a weak woman who knew nothing at all.

"Y-you can really cure her? If you aren't certain, don't force yourself. It could easily—"

Chen Fan waved a hand, cutting her off. "There truly wasn't any particularly good method before, but now that she has drunk my blood, it will be much easier."

"Your blood?" Ye Wan cried out. Chen Fan cutting his wrist and bleeding himself that day had already far exceeded her understanding. Now he was saying that drinking his blood could cure illness? Was he truly a god? Could he be an immortal descending into the mortal world? Even with Ye Wan's current cultivation, such a childish thought arose in her mind.

"What is so special about your blood?" Ye Wan finally could no longer suppress the doubt in her heart. This concerned her sister's life. Now that it was no longer a dead end, there was no need to take such a great risk. Unless she understood everything, she did not dare let Chen Fan act.

Chen Fan fell silent for a moment. Sigh, it seemed some matters had to be explained to Ye Wan eventually. Their relationship was already vastly different from before. They had shared hardship, saved each other's lives, and become husband and wife in all but name. Chen Fan no longer intended to deliberately hide anything from Ye Wan.

"Because I was once poisoned by this kind of poison as well." As Chen Fan spoke, he slowly walked toward Ye Yun.

"You were poisoned by Spirit-Mystifying Incense. How can that be the same as Xiaoyun being poisoned? Cultivators have stronger constitutions than ordinary people, not to mention Xiaoyun is only a child." Ye Wan was still full of worries.

"Who said the poison I suffered was Spirit-Mystifying Incense?" Chen Fan's lips curled slightly. He pressed two fingers to Ye Yun's neck and sensed her condition for a moment before saying, "Very good. She hasn't yet completely exhausted that bit of my blood energy."

"You said the poison you suffered wasn't Spirit-Mystifying Incense? Then what was it?" Ye Wan did not stop Chen Fan from making his next move, but she became even more curious.

"Spirit-Drunken Incense." Chen Fan looked at Ye Wan and pronounced each word distinctly.

Spirit-Drunken... Ye Wan first thought it over. Then, as though she had heard something utterly unbelievable, her eyes widened in shock, and she stared at Chen Fan in terror.

Chen Fan paid little attention to Ye Wan's reaction. He merely whispered something into Ye Yun's ear, and Ye Yun obediently sat down cross-legged. Chen Fan placed one palm against her back, and a stream of Origin Qi entered Ye Yun's body. Gradually, the blood energy Ye Yun had absorbed before flowed along the blood vessels within her body and spread to every part of her.

Then Chen Fan withdrew his hand and continued murmuring softly into Ye Yun's ear. Ye Yun began meditating with her eyes closed. After a moment, faint ripples of Origin Qi actually appeared around her body. Clearly, she had begun breathing in and out the Origin Qi of heaven and earth.

Ye Wan stood to the side blankly, still wearing an expression of shock. She had yet to recover her senses. Only when Chen Fan came before her and said, "Let's go outside. Don't disturb her for now," did she react.

"Oh." Ye Wan answered dully and followed Chen Fan out of the room like a fool.

"Looks like you know about Spirit-Drunken Incense too." Seeing Ye Wan's expression just now, Chen Fan guessed that Spirit-Drunken Incense might be even more extraordinary than he had estimated.

Ye Wan still shook her head in disbelief. She had never connected Spirit-Mystifying Incense with Spirit-Drunken Incense before, for there was a gulf as vast as heaven and earth between the two. She had only heard some things about it from the sect elders. "Spirit-Drunken Incense is rumored to be refined from the immortal fruit, Spirit-Drunken Fruit. Other than immortals, no one can withstand it, and no one can cure it. Are you sure you aren't mistaken? You were truly poisoned by such a poison?"

Her question left Chen Fan somewhat puzzled as well. If Spirit-Drunken Incense was truly so formidable, how could a weak cultivator like him have resisted it? But the most important thing now was saving Ye Yun. Whether the poison he had suffered before was truly Spirit-Drunken Incense was not important. He had already taught Ye Yun some of the cultivation incantations from the earlier chapters of the Golden Wheel Scripture. This little girl had possessed some foundation in breathing exercises and cultivation before. Furthermore, Chen Fan had already integrated the portion of his blood energy within her into her entire body. In this way, the principle was essentially the same as when he had been poisoned and then cultivated the Golden Wheel Scripture to recover. It was only that this detoxifying ability came entirely from Chen Fan's special constitution. Once Ye Yun used up all the energy in Chen Fan's blood, she would merely be an ordinary person again. After all, Chen Fan would not be so bored as to feed her more blood for no reason.

"Whether it was Spirit-Drunken Incense, I can't say for certain. But Xiaoyun's recovery should not be a problem." Chen Fan revealed a faint smile. To Ye Wan now, that smile seemed both confident and filled with a sense of security. Since Chen Fan said there would be no problem, she completely relaxed. Yet she still had many doubts in her heart and did not dare ask, since they might concern Chen Fan's deepest secrets.

"This isn't convenient. Let's go to your room." Chen Fan said.

"Ah?" Ye Wan's face reddened. "What are you trying to do again? You only just recovered a little, and already..." Even she could not continue the rest.

Chen Fan was utterly speechless. Was this woman still the Ice Fairy from before? Yet he clearly liked Ye Wan's current appearance very much. "What? Looking down on me? What is there to fear from such a minor injury? Besides, I only lost a little blood. Compared to that, it wasn't nearly as weak as I was after that night." He had often heard people say that one drop of that was worth ten drops of blood. It seemed there really was some truth to it.

Ye Wan lowered her head in shy silence.

Chen Fan continued, "Enough. I just want to tell you some things."

Inside Ye Wan's room, the two sat facing each other. Chen Fan shared his origins and experiences with Ye Wan. In truth, they were quite simple when summed up. Until the day Golden Wheel Temple was massacred, there was hardly anything worth mentioning. As for what happened after he entered Swordcry Mountain, Ye Wan knew it all too well. Yet that massacre that destroyed his household had completely changed Chen Fan's life. He also told Ye Wan about his constitution and cultivation.

After listening, Ye Wan's doubts were not eased in the slightest. Instead, the fog of uncertainty grew even thicker.

"You really are a freak." In the end, Ye Wan offered only that assessment.

Chen Fan smiled. "Could a freak become your man otherwise?"

"Hmph, stop talking nonsense. Is your body truly better now?"

"It would be even better if you could pass me some True Qi mouth to mouth again." Chen Fan continued to tease shamelessly.

"Hehe, I think you're already fine. Looking for a beating?" Ye Wan was both annoyed and amused. She even punched Chen Fan in the chest.

"Ah!" Chen Fan cried miserably and fell to the ground. He was clearly quite the actor. Yet he immediately sat back up, his expression turning grave.

"What's wrong?" Ye Wan had originally wanted to scold Chen Fan for acting so well, but she now realized that something truly seemed wrong with him.

"..." Chen Fan murmured something too indistinct to hear, but he seemed profoundly downcast.

At that moment, Ye Wan seemed to realize something as well. She reached out and fiercely grabbed Chen Fan's left wrist. A deep cut was still visible there. When she first seized his wrist, Chen Fan tried to pull it back but failed to break free. In the span of a single instant, Ye Wan's expression froze. Then, the next second, tears began sliding down her face again as she looked at Chen Fan with unbearable heartache. "How could this happen?"

"It's fine. This little injury will heal after some more time." Chen Fan gently removed Ye Wan's hand.

"I'm not talking about this injury!" Every time Ye Wan saw that wound, it reminded her of the danger of that day. But what tore at her heart even more now was something else. "What happened to your cultivation? Why are you only at the Second Realm now? You're even weaker than when you had just entered the sect..."

In the cultivation world, cultivation regression usually meant a change in one's Internal Qi realm, causing a tremendous fall in strength. It was not particularly rare. But it generally occurred after one was wounded in a great battle and suffered damage to the dantian and qi sea, or when one went mad during cultivation while attempting to break through a bottleneck and suffered backlash. Ye Wan had never heard of someone's cultivation regressing while doing nothing. Still, Chen Fan had nearly died after bleeding himself, and combined with his special constitution, it was possible.

"It's fine, don't cry. If my cultivation is gone, I can cultivate it back. Besides, if losing one realm can save Xiaoyun's life, then it is worth it." Chen Fan reached out and wiped away the tear tracks on Ye Wan's face. A confident smile appeared again, as though nothing in this world could stymie him.

"We should return to the sect as soon as possible. Then I'll ask the inner court elders for pills that can raise cultivation, or ask them to act and help you restore your cultivation." Ye Wan spoke anxiously. She knew that if cultivation regression was caused by injury, there were generally remedies if treated quickly. Although Chen Fan was only an outer sect disciple at the Third Realm, he had worked painstakingly to cultivate to that realm. He had only three realms in total, yet he had suddenly lost one. Who could possibly accept that? If handled poorly, it might even affect his resolve to pursue the Dao. Even if he managed to cultivate back to the Third Realm later, it could give rise to a heart demon, making it possible for him never to break through to the Fourth Realm in this lifetime. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Xiaoyun still needs me to guide her for a few days as she cultivates the Golden Wheel Scripture and consolidates her condition." Chen Fan's face remained calm. He did not want Ye Wan to beg those elders for his sake. Leaving aside whether those great figures would be willing to treat the injuries of a minor outer sect disciple like him, even if they were, those pills might not necessarily be better than his own cultivation method. After all, using medicine to raise cultivation came with aftereffects. Having them directly help him cultivate was even less feasible, as it could easily expose his secrets. Most importantly, one day he would prove through his own strength that he was qualified to marry Ye Wan. He could not let others look down on him from the very beginning.

Ye Wan stared blankly at Chen Fan, not knowing what to say. This man was far too composed. Did he truly not worry about his cultivation at all?

"Rest assured. Even if I remain a minor Second Realm cultivator forever, I will still protect you for the rest of my life!" Chen Fan's tone was incomparably resolute, without the slightest trace of fear in his expression, as though he were merely stating something ordinary.

Yet Ye Wan did not think he was merely boasting at all. Having witnessed his abilities before, what was still impossible?

Several days later, Ye Yun had basically returned to normal and remembered Ye Wan as well as the neighbors and relatives in the valley. When she learned that Ye Wan and Chen Fan were leaving, she was reluctant to part with them. She grabbed Chen Fan's clothes and would not let him go, insisting on learning cultivation from him. Chen Fan found it amusing. Your sister is so much stronger than me, so why do you want to learn from me? Was it because she had drunk his blood and thus felt more compatible with him?

In the end, Chen Fan left behind some cultivation incantations from the earlier chapters of the Golden Wheel Scripture. He told Xiaoyun to destroy them once she had mastered them and never let anyone else know about them. Then he and Ye Wan departed together.