Chapter 137: Misfortune and Fortune Are Unpredictable

Lin Xiaobao, the protagonist of these events, lay unconscious on a large bed in the Yun family residence.

"Master Qin, how is my brother?" Chen Zhong asked with immediate concern as he watched Qin Feng withdraw his hand from Lin Xiaobao’s pulse.

Qin Feng sighed and said, "His spiritual energy is completely exhausted. He forced it to surge using medicinal aids and then suffered a violent blow on top of that. It is fair to say his injuries are severe."

"I want results!" Seeing Qin Feng rambling on with irrelevant nonsense, Chen Zhong, deeply worried about Lin Xiaobao, grew irritable.

Facing Chen Zhong’s reprimand, Qin Feng dared not show the slightest displeasure and immediately replied, "While he is heavily injured, his latent potential has also been triggered. Whether he will wake up and achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation or suffer permanent, irreparable damage remains unclear."

Seeing that Chen Zhong was about to lose his temper again, He Xinran quickly held him back and turned to ask Qin Feng, "Is there anything we can do to help him?"

He Xinran felt a profound sense of gratitude toward Lin Xiaobao; had he not successfully refined the Yin Pill, she might have already perished.

"Nothing can be done," Qin Feng shook his head. "If he were an ordinary person, we could use certain medicinal pills as a catalyst, but Young Master Lin seems to harbor secrets unknown to us. Anything we do now could easily backfire. Everything depends on him."

Feeling the warmth of He Xinran’s hand holding his, Chen Zhong’s emotions gradually stabilized. He said, "In that case, I trust my brother will be fine. There are indeed aspects of him that even I cannot fathom."

"Um..." Yun Zhongtian spoke up at this moment, as if wanting to say something but unsure where to start.

Chen Zhong immediately realized that besides Lin Xiaobao, Yun Keke also remained unconscious. "Right, Master Qin, please go and check on my brother's fiancée."

"Thank you, Senior Chen!" Yun Zhongtian was filled with gratitude. He couldn't be bothered to correct Chen Zhong’s slip of the tongue; in fact, he hoped that Yun Keke would marry Lin Xiaobao. Given Chen Zhong’s attitude toward Lin Xiaobao today, if Yun Keke truly became his wife, the Yun family’s prospects would certainly reach new heights.

***

"You fool, is he really worth risking your life for?" As the others followed Qin Feng to Yun Keke’s room, Si Mengling remained behind. Watching the unconscious Lin Xiaobao, a wave of indescribable heartache washed over her, accompanied by a newfound curiosity about Lin Tian.

Perhaps after being forced to admit her relationship with Lin Tian in the circumstances of that day, she had finally resolved her long-standing inner conflict. She began to care for everything regarding Lin Tian, though, clearly, her immediate concern was for Lin Xiaobao.

"What is going on? It has already been six days." Watching Lin Xiaobao lying on the bed without the slightest change, Chen Zhong asked this question with increasing frequency.

Every time he was questioned, Qin Feng felt a splitting headache. He was the only alchemist present, and a renowned one at that, yet he could make no sense of Lin Xiaobao’s condition.

"Senior Chen, rest assured, he is fine!" Yun Keke, having awakened after being fed several pills by Qin Feng, did not fully understand Lin Xiaobao’s specific condition, but through the connection of their master-servant bond, she could sense that his state had at least not deteriorated.

Chen Zhong, who had been somewhat agitated, calmed down upon seeing Yun Keke. Although the Yun family meant little in his eyes, and Yun Keke held no dominant position within it, the fact that she was Lin Xiaobao’s fiancée was enough for Chen Zhong to treat her with courtesy.

As for Yun Kongming and Yun Zhongtian, they were currently busy seizing the assets of the Long family and expanding the Yun family’s influence. For them, keeping Yun Keke by his side was sufficient.

Time passed in a blur. Amidst countless waves of stinging pain, Lin Xiaobao finally regained a sliver of consciousness. He struggled to open his eyes, only to find his eyelids impossibly heavy.

After several attempts, Lin Xiaobao gave up. Everything around him was pitch black, and his ears were filled with a buzzing sound. He knew this was due to the extreme exhaustion of his mental energy; after all, completing the array carving to detonate the Azure Flame Holy Sword while severely injured had been a massive drain.

Steadying his mind, Lin Xiaobao began to introspect. The meridians throughout his body were severely damaged, with some areas even blocked. When he looked into his dantian, he could only offer a bitter smile.

His dantian had shrunk into a tight knot. Were it not for the shards of the Chaos Mirror still residing within, he suspected his dantian might have vanished entirely.

The Spirit Gathering Array carved onto his body had ceased to function, leaving him without any replenishment of spiritual energy. He tried to circulate the Taiyi True Fire Technique, but he found that the moment he attempted to move his energy, the stinging pain throughout his body intensified to an unbearable degree.

***

*Isn't that old man Qin Feng here? Why doesn't he give me some pills to restore spiritual energy?* Lin Xiaobao thought. He felt that Qin Feng was hardly a competent alchemist if he didn't even know such basic procedures.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Yun Keke’s eyes lit up. "Master Qin, please give him some pills to restore his spiritual energy."

Qin Feng looked at Yun Keke in confusion, but then remembered that the Yun family practiced a form of telepathic technique. He immediately took out a pill and placed it in Lin Xiaobao’s mouth.

As the pill dissolved and turned into a sweet warmth flowing into his stomach, a stream of heat poured into his dantian. Lin Xiaobao felt a surge of joy and immediately utilized the Taiyi True Fire Technique to channel the medicinal energy to repair his wounds.

Chen Zhong, whose cultivation was profound, sensed the change in Lin Xiaobao and immediately asked Yun Keke, "Can I help him heal now?"

After using her telepathic technique to sense Lin Xiaobao’s intentions, Yun Keke nodded.

With her permission, Chen Zhong immediately sat beside Lin Xiaobao and began channeling his own spiritual energy to aid in the healing process. With Chen Zhong’s assistance, Lin Xiaobao’s injuries began to mend rapidly. Three hours passed, and Lin Xiaobao felt the stinging pain throughout his body subside.

Sensing the improvement, Chen Zhong was finally relieved. He could feel that Lin Xiaobao was still extremely weak, and intending to help him further, he decided to channel a wisp of his own refined spiritual energy into Lin Xiaobao’s dantian to help him tide over the crisis.

However, the moment Chen Zhong’s spiritual energy sank into the dantian, he suddenly felt a powerful suction pulling from within. His own energy began to surge uncontrollably toward Lin Xiaobao’s dantian.