Zhou Shu lay flat on a jade bed, his face pale and his breath weak.
This time he was seriously injured, his Qi channels and even his flesh and blood exploded.
It was only because he had always been fed with spiritual food and spiritual grains that his body was extremely strong that he could barely hold on. If it were any other disciples, they would have died immediately. Even so, he could not move at all, and could not even speak or open his eyes. It would take at least a month to recover.
Three people stood by, their faces very solemn.
The incident happened suddenly. The masters of the three peaks had arrived, and the master of the Wenxin Hall had to maintain the alchemy fire and refine the equipment, so he could not leave for the time being.
The octogenarian was Mo Lao, the master of Ruoxu Peak, and the beautiful woman in palace dress was Yun Gu, the master of Ningjian Peak.
Old Mo withdrew his hand from Zhou Shu's forehead and sighed, "The Qi channels in his body are broken. He will never be able to practice again."
Liu Yuze's face was gray, as if he had aged dozens of years in an instant. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have let him practice the Listening to the Waves Sutra."
Yun Gu frowned slightly, "Yuze, don't be so sad. It's strange. Although the Listening to the Waves Sutra is a foundation-building state of mind, it wouldn't cause such great damage if practiced forcefully. I think there's something else going on."
Old Mo nodded cautiously, "Yun Gu is right. Even if you practice a state of mind beyond your level, it will only damage a few Qi channels at most. It will never cause all the meridians to be completely damaged. Yuze, where did you get this Listening to the Tao Sutra?"
Liu Yuze sighed, "I have been searching for it for several months. Last month, when I went to the Guixian Market, I saw someone selling it and bought it immediately. Although I have never seen the Listening to the Tao Sutra before, I have carefully checked it several times. It is indeed a mental method that cooperates with the spiritual power tide, which is suitable for Zhou Shu to practice. I didn't expect it to harm him..."
Mo Lao pondered, "Give us the mental method, let's study it."
Liu Yuze took out the Listening to the Tao Sutra, and the three of them injected spiritual power and meditated quietly.
After half an hour, Mo Lao sighed lightly, "Yuze, you have been fooled."
"Ah?" Liu Yuze looked surprised.
Mo Lao pointed to the jade slip, "You try to practice this mental method called Listening to the Tao Sutra."
The two of them looked puzzled and did as he was told.
Soon, Yun Gu exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, I can even practice this mental method! How is that possible? For cultivators at the Condensing Veins Realm, our spiritual energy has already transformed into liquid. The mental methods of the Foundation Establishment Realm are simply unsuitable for me..."
"It's not the true Listening to the Waves Sutra!"
Old Mo said solemnly. "It uses the shell of the Listening to the Waves Sutra, but within it lies the mental method of the Condensing Veins Realm. Yuze, you've examined it, but you haven't practiced it. Even a Jindan Realm cultivator wouldn't be able to distinguish the subtle differences. It's not your fault."
Liu Yuze shuddered, his whole body trembling as he suddenly understood.
Someone had deliberately fabricated this, a frame-up.
Zhou Shu, at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, was practicing with a Condensing Veins Mental Method that transformed his spiritual energy into liquid. How could his Qi meridians possibly withstand this? The inevitable outcome would be the full opening of his Qi meridians, followed by their complete destruction.
"Guixianfang City... Luo Ming..."
He trembled with anger. Suddenly, a emerald green flying sword appeared at his feet, and he soared down the peak.
Before he could fly a few steps, he was stopped by Mo Lao, "What are you doing?"
Liu Yuze's face turned ashen, "He plotted to harm me and my disciples, I must take revenge!"
"Revenge must be taken, but not now."
Mo Lao shook his head, "Guixianfang City is 50,000 miles away from Wuwang Sect, and it takes at least ten days to go back and forth. And now we have to assist the Palace Master in refining the fifth-level magic weapon Nine Cloud Cover, and
we can't leave for several hours." Yun Gu followed, "Yuze, refining the weapon is a big deal. Soon, Zhenglei Sect will come to attack our sect. Without the Nine Cloud Cover, it will be difficult for us to resist."
Liu Yuze thought for a moment and sighed, "Zhou Shu is like this now. How can I swallow this anger if I don't take revenge?"
Mo Lao said slowly, "Revenge must be taken. After refining the magic weapon and repelling Zhenglei Sect, we will seek justice together. The Palace Master will also step forward. He is a Jindan realm cultivator. Don't worry, that Luo Ming can't get away."
"Go and refine the weapon quickly, don't miss the time." Yun Gu urged.
An hour had passed since they left. Any longer delay might have degraded the quality of the magic weapons they had refined.
Liu Yuze reluctantly nodded, "That's the only way, but my disciple..."
The three of them fell silent and flew towards the Hall of Inquiry.
Zhou Shu, lying there, let out a wry smile, feeling extremely helpless.
He had long since woken up and had heard the conversation between the peak masters clearly.
He had shown his talent upon entering the sect, so he naturally acted cautiously, treading on thin ice. But despite all his precautions, he hadn't expected the mistake to fall on his best master.
The truth seemed clear: someone, having learned of the Wuwang Sect's genius and wishing to destroy it, forged a manual to trick Liu Yuze into a trap, bringing disaster upon Zhou Shu.
But calming down and carefully connecting the dots revealed something more complex.
Liu Yuze had been searching for the Tingtao Sutra for his own disciple, and had come across a forged copy. Then came news that the Zhenglei Sect was planning an attack on the Wuwang Sect. Then, the Wuwang Sect began gathering its practitioners to refine the Nine Clouds Barrier as a defense against the Zhenglei Sect.
Zhou Shu subsequently practiced the Fake Listening to the Waves Sutra, his Qi and meridians completely destroyed.
If Liu Yuze was eager for revenge, the Wuwang Sect's magic weapon wouldn't be able to be refined. If he wasn't, Liu Yuze's temperament would make it difficult for him to fully devote himself to refining the weapon, and the resulting artifact would likely be of lower quality. The
Wuwang Sect's defenses hinged on the Nine Clouds Barrier. It's possible that this would render it unable to withstand the Zhenglei Sect, leading to the sect's destruction.
One thing led to another, clearly a carefully calculated scheme.
The primary target wasn't Zhou Shu, but the Wuwang Sect. Zhou Shu had simply become an unwitting pawn, a victim of the sect's struggle.
Manpower is limited; defending against small matters is not enough to prevent large ones. No matter how cautious Zhou Shu was, the prevailing situation made it impossible to prevent any harm.
"The path to immortality is arduous,"
Zhou Shu sighed inwardly, but he remained unconvinced. He refused to believe that his path to immortality would end so soon.
"Even if all the Qi channels are damaged, it does not mean that I cannot practice."
His body was in tatters, but his mind and consciousness were intact, so he could still calculate and deduce.
Simple calculations didn't require much spiritual awareness, and after half an hour, Zhou Shu reached a conclusion that wasn't bad, but also not great.
He could still cultivate using his remaining meridians and sea of qi.
The process was complex, as spiritual energy could only flow and be stored in intact areas, remaining nowhere in damaged areas. This was incredibly difficult, difficult for ordinary people to imagine, but only he, with his ability to deduce, could achieve such precision.
However, even with practice, his spiritual energy would only reach one-tenth of its previous level. This
was a significant drop from before, and in terms of aptitude for cultivation, he was even inferior to a lowly rank disciple.
Future advancement would be even more difficult, with the Foundation Establishment Stage essentially being the upper limit. He
had fallen from the high clouds to the depths of the earth.
A tangle of complex emotions washed over him, leaving him unable to control himself. If he could speak, if he could move, who knows what he would do.
Like a calm sea surface, yet a turbulent undercurrent.
But after a while, Zhou Shu calmed down.
Having died twice, his will was far stronger than most. Having decided on a goal, he was determined to persevere. No matter how much hardship he faced, he would treat it as a test and never give up.
He stopped complaining and instead felt a sense of relief.
"It's good to be able to cultivate. At least the path to immortality isn't cut off, so there's still a chance. Although my Qi channels have been severely damaged, I've also opened up all 360 of them. This is a blessing in disguise."
At the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, all 360 Qi channels are fully opened, and spiritual energy flows through them in one breath.
This is something perhaps no one in the world of
immortal cultivation has ever achieved. With all of his Qi channels fully opened, coupled with a computer-like brain, Zhou Shu's foundation is likely unprecedented and will never be surpassed.