At that critical moment, a daring idea flashed through Ji Qingyan’s mind.
After obtaining the Awakening ability, his personal space had undergone a transformation. It could now contain plants and other living creatures, allowing them to survive safely. Perhaps even humans could enter it to seek shelter.
Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would never give up.
Ji Qingyan gripped Gu Jinfeng’s wrist tightly and stared at him intently. His voice was urgent yet extraordinarily firm. “Gu Jinfeng, trust me. Don’t resist!”
The moment he finished speaking, he focused his mind, held his breath, and exerted all his strength to activate his will.
“Enter the space!”
In the blink of an eye, the two figures vanished from the spot.
The zombies, charging at full speed, missed with their claws and slammed into one another with a dull thud.
They frantically flared their nostrils, sniffing out the lingering traces of breath. Their murky pupils held nothing but emptiness.
A moment later, a flash of light and shadow appeared before their eyes, and the two collapsed onto the blue-stone steps beside the spiritual spring.
The roar and pounding of the outside world were completely muffled the instant they entered the space, as if someone had pressed the mute button. The surroundings were so quiet that it felt almost unreal.
Only the trickling of the spiritual spring and the refreshing scent of plants and trees filled the air, mingling with the warm, damp steam rising from the spring and making every breath feel like a cleansing of the lungs.
Ji Qingyan’s heart pounded in his chest as fear and relief churned within him. His palms were sweaty, and his fingertips were still trembling slightly.
He turned to look at Gu Jinfeng.
The man, who had still been somewhat conscious moments ago, now lay completely motionless.
Ji Qingyan’s heart jolted. He immediately checked the other man’s wrist, feeling a rapid, erratic pulse beneath his fingertips.
He was still alive.
His heart, which had been pounding with tension, eased slightly, and he carefully laid Gu Jinfeng down on the blue-stone steps.
This space was filled with abundant spiritual qi, with clumps of white mist floating through the air. An ordinary person would feel refreshed and invigorated simply by staying here.
However, this nourishment not only failed to suppress the abnormal activity inside Gu Jinfeng’s body—it actually strengthened the three powerful abilities completely.
The three supernatural powers—lightning, ice, and wood—infused with pure spiritual qi, grew increasingly violent and chaotic, tearing and colliding even more fiercely inside his meridians.
Lightning and frost flashed across his skin in alternation.
Bzzzt... A layer of white frost formed over his arm. Crackle... Several electric sparks burst across his chest. A greenish flash streaked past, and the tissue that had just been repaired was torn apart by the next wave of turmoil.
Every time a flash appeared, his body convulsed violently. A thin stream of blood trickled from his lips, dripping into the clear spring and creating delicate ripples.
“Gu Jinfeng!”
Ignoring his ragged breathing, Ji Qingyan bent down and supported his shoulders, their temperature bizarrely abnormal beneath his touch.
His chest was scorching hot, as if magma churned beneath his skin. Yet his arms were cold as iron, with frost clinging to his hair like frozen glass in winter.
Ice and fire shared the same origin, yet together they had become a deadly Talisman Spell.
Ji Qingyan forced himself to calm down.
Take a deep breath.
He was a doctor. The more critical the situation, the less likely he was to panic.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the Wood-type Ability he had just awakened.
The power was gentle and calm, dormant within his Dantian and closely connected to that tender vine sprout.
As if sensing its master’s anxiety, the vine’s tender green leaves swayed slightly.
A cool current flowed out from the Dantian, gathering in the palm of his meridian.
Ji Qingyan placed his palm against Gu Jinfeng’s chest.
Wood Attribute energy seeped into his chest cavity like threads, penetrating the chaotic world of his meridians.
In an instant, the horrifying condition inside Gu Jinfeng’s body appeared clearly in his mind.
The lightning energy was like a rampaging thunder dragon, breaking through the meridians, burning and tearing apart everything in its path and leaving behind terrible scorch marks.
The bone-chilling cold was like primordial ice, freezing the Bloodline and obstructing the flow of blood, turning much of the meridians a deadly ash-white.
The pure energy that had previously surged so violently had now run wild, becoming a third turbulent current. It intertwined with the lightning and ice elements, ripping the already injured meridians to pieces.
Three powers, three colors, a tangled mess of chaos.
Ji Qingyan’s heart pounded.
Damage this severe would cause an ordinary person to explode and die. Shattered meridians, displaced internal organs, reversed qi flow—any one of these would be fatal.
Gu Jinfeng had survived this long entirely because of his sturdy physique, tempered through countless trials and hardships, as well as his extraordinary willpower.
If this continued, he would eventually fall apart.
Ji Qingyan gritted his teeth and carefully pushed the Wood Attribute toward the turbulent energy from the edge, not daring to interfere forcefully or touch it recklessly. Like a surgeon approaching a wound with a scalpel, he controlled every power with millimeter precision.
When the Wood Attribute energy touched the meridians, something miraculous happened.
His Wood-type Ability silently merged with the wood power remaining inside Gu Jinfeng’s body. They came from the same source and resonated with each other, like two streams flowing into the same river.
After the Fusion, that gentle power became more enduring and refined, carrying an inclusive nature that could nourish all things as it gradually smoothed the damaged tissue.
While Ji Qingyan focused on the repairs, the vine in his Dantian suddenly became active.
The tiny sprout stretched out its branches and leaves. Its tender green leaves shimmered faintly, as if responding to something.
It was in harmony with Ji Qingyan’s thoughts—not a one-way command, but a two-way perception.
He could sense the vine’s excitement and its longing for that same energy.
A purer life energy with the Wood Attribute flowed out from the vine’s tendrils, continuously entering Gu Jinfeng’s body through the meridians and merging with the wood energy that had already integrated into him.
Wherever the life energy passed, the torn meridians slowly recovered, and the new tissue became tougher than before.
The frozen bloodline melted like spring water and began flowing freely again. The tissue scorched by lightning slowly regenerated, its burn marks replaced by an emerald-green color.
Using the fusion of wood and metal, the chaotic lightning and ice powers were gradually suppressed, and their agitation diminished drastically.
However, the stalemate between the three powers continued, and the hidden danger remained.
Ji Qingyan continued the repairs while thinking rapidly.
He suddenly remembered the battle in the antique shop, where Gu Jinfeng had freely combined the lightning and ice elements, freezing the ground and attacking the zombies with lightning with nothing more than a wave of his hand, easily killing three evolved creatures.
This showed that he had originally been able to control both of his superpowers perfectly, and that a stable balance had existed inside his body.
It was the sudden entry of the Wood Attribute energy that had truly disrupted that stability.
It wasn’t that the Wood Attribute was too strong. It was that it had appeared too suddenly and dominated too aggressively, like an uninvited guest barging into someone else’s home and disturbing the existing order.
After understanding the heart of the problem, Ji Qingyan no longer hesitated.
He separated his Wood Attribute energy, no longer focusing on repairs. Instead, he transformed it into a soft barrier and carefully enveloped the raging lightning and ice powers.
Like calming a frightened beast, he gradually stripped away their ferocity—not through suppression or confrontation, but through guidance and acceptance.
The inclusiveness of the Wood Attribute was fully demonstrated at this moment.
It was neither as fierce as thunder nor as cold and powerful as ice. It was gentle, delicate, and all-encompassing, like earth supporting all things, like water flowing around hard rocks.
It built a balancing bridge between the three energies, allowing them to shift from opposition toward coexistence.
Gu Jinfeng’s body convulsed violently. A muffled groan escaped his throat, and his heart pounded fiercely for a moment.
The ice-type energy stabilized first.
The piercing cold slowly receded, like a tamed beast obediently retreating into the Dantian and curling up in submission. The white frost covering his skin gradually melted, and his arms returned to a normal temperature.
With no target to attack, the lightning energy’s ferocity diminished greatly. Like a gladiator without an opponent, it charged aimlessly, its strength drastically reduced.
Ji Qingyan continued gently guiding the energy with the Wood Attribute, patiently and calmly directing the lightning energy back onto the proper path, like channeling a flood.
The raging energy finally found its way home.
The power of Lei Bing gradually subsided. The turmoil inside his body slowly diminished, and the energy receded, revealing the hole-riddled meridians beneath it.
The wood power continued repairing those wounds, inch by inch, thread by thread, like a weaver patiently mending torn fabric.
The drainage and repair work continued for nearly half an hour.
Ji Qingyan was exhausted. His spirit and Wood Attribute energy had been drained, and his body was covered in sweat. Little Vine in his Dantian also drooped its branches and leaves listlessly.
Yet deep inside the Ren meridian, a tangled mass of three-colored energy remained trapped.
It was like a nail driven deep into the most vital point of the meridians.
Ji Qingyan tried guiding it several times, but to no avail. Every touch not only failed to loosen it, but also caused the energy to surge violently, making more blood seep from the corners of Gu Jinfeng’s lips.
“Fuck...”
Ji Qingyan cursed under his breath, his body and mind on the verge of collapse. He could feel his spirit crumbling bit by bit.
If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to hold out until he dealt with the turbulent current.
If they failed, all their previous efforts would be wasted.
At that critical moment—
A soft, childlike voice echoed in his mind. Each word was spoken deliberately and clearly, like a child who had only just learned to talk.
“Master... Master... I... I can... help you!”
It was Little Vine from his Dantian.
Its branches swayed gently, conveying a fragmented yet incredibly determined message: “I can... suck out the bad stuff...”
Ji Qingyan fell silent for a moment.
Without hesitation, he placed his complete trust in the vine that coexisted with him.
He directed the last of his strength into the vine.
A brilliant green light shone from his palm, and a tender green tendril extended from it, as thin as a strand of hair yet as strong as steel.
It precisely pierced Gu Jinfeng’s body like a nimble little snake, passing through layers of meridians until it reached the tangled mass of three colors.
Entangling it.
Tightening.
Preparing it for extraction.
The vine acted like a straw, gradually sucking out that tangled, stubborn energy.
The three-colored turbulent current circulated inside the tendril, transforming into pure, attribute-less energy. Some of this energy nourished the tendril itself, causing its withered branches and leaves to spring back to life.
The rest returned to Ji Qingyan’s Dantian, replenishing his nearly depleted energy reserves.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.
When the last trace of turbulence was absorbed by the vine, the energy chaos inside Gu Jinfeng’s body finally subsided completely.
The alternating flashes of lightning and frost across his skin faded, revealing the pale skin beneath.
The rise and fall of his chest gradually stabilized, and his breathing changed from rapid and erratic to slow and regular.
He was still extremely weak, but the crisis that had previously hung on the edge of life and death had been completely resolved.
Ji Qingyan collapsed backward onto the stone steps, limp with exhaustion.
His entire body felt utterly drained. Every muscle trembled, and he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling like a broken bellows.
Having finished its task, Little Vine returned to the Dantian like a satisfied child with a full stomach, its leaves slightly spread.
“We’re safe now...”
Ji Qingyan stared at the soft halo in the sky and murmured to himself. Weak and exhausted, his mental energy completely depleted, he found his eyelids too heavy to lift.
Gu Jinfeng, beside him, was in a deep coma. His face was pale and bloodless, his lips cracked, and even in sleep, his brows were furrowed as if he were still enduring the pain that remained.
Ji Qingyan summoned the last of his strength and retrieved iodine and gauze from the villa’s medical room to treat Gu Jinfeng’s external wounds.
His wrists, forearms, and chest were covered in red marks from the pinching Ji Qingyan had done in his haste. Some spots had even broken the skin and were oozing tiny beads of blood.
A wave of guilt washed over him.
He carefully disinfected the areas, applied ointment, and covered them with bandages, his movements exceptionally gentle.
After doing all this, extreme exhaustion immediately swept over his entire body.
Ji Qingyan could no longer hold on. His head drooped to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.
The space’s gentle light enveloped them both, isolating them from the collapsing world outside.
For now, this was the last refuge in the middle of the apocalypse.