"Child, don't die yet. You have not yet inserted the meridian back into my body," the Patriarch said as he channeled energy directly into Mo Lingtian's body. Lingtian's demonic core instantly resonated with the influx of energy, absorbing every last bit of it until it reached its threshold, jerking Mo Lingtian back to consciousness.
"Thank you...." Mo Lingtian said as he ran the energy from his demonic core all through his body, replenishing his physical form with the absorbed power of the Patriarch.
"Rest a bit. When you are fully sure you can continue, we will begin the integration. We can't afford any mistakes in this last part," the Patriarch said as he sat down cross-legged on the jade cultivation platform. With a single wave of his hand, he swept his energy about the entire place, reinforcing the formation seals he had set up.
Mo Lingtian sighed in reply as he retracted his Death Domain. He too sat cross-legged on the jade platform, probing his demonic core with his spiritual sense.
Back then at the ocean when I first entered the wilderness, it took that dragon's keepsake of over a hundred years' worth of lunar crystals to form my demon core. This old monster just channeled energy into my core for a few minutes and it already reached its threshold. That's over a hundred years of cultivation gained in a few minutes, Mo Lingtian thought to himself as he continued to stabilize his demonic core.
"Alright. You should have rested by now, it's time to put back the spine meridian," the Patriarch said as he opened his eyes. The moment his eyes opened, a powerful pulling force immediately relocated Mo Lingtian from where he was to directly in front of the Patriarch.
Then he slowly turned himself around, facing his bare, hollowed back toward Mo Lingtian for him to begin the integration. Within the dark space inside his back, Lingtian's golden needles still glowed brightly, firmly sealing the connection points of all the other meridians in his body.
Mo Lingtian had already gotten used to this kind of sudden pull and relocation since he started accompanying the Patriarch. Without wasting time, he immediately got to work as he summoned the spine meridian, which was still floating where he once sat, sending it flying toward the Patriarch's hollow back.
With a slow, deliberate push downwards, Mo Lingtian carefully lowered the meridian with his energy into the Patriarch's back until it was just a few inches from his spinal bone. The ethereal energy threads that had previously snapped away from the meridian when it was dug out immediately resonated when the golden light from the meridian lit the Patriarch's back.
The energy threads instantly stretched out, slowly attaching themselves to the severed points on the spine meridian as they actively pulled it down toward the bone. Mo Lingtian simultaneously released the hold of the golden needles on the connection points of the other meridians, as they too began to actively form communication networks with the approaching meridian.
Then, with one final, slight thrust of his fingers, he completely removed all the golden needles from inside the Patriarch's back. The connection points, now unsealed from Lingtian's needles, immediately reattached themselves to the spine meridian as the complex network within the Patriarch's back slowly began its uninterrupted flow of energy once again.
"Your hands are truly miraculous," the Patriarch remarked as he felt the continuous, unhinged flow of energy run through the network of his body, something he hadn't felt in thousands of years.
"Now, to sew your cut flesh back. That is all that remains," Mo Lingtian said as he retracted all the needles back under his sleeves.
"Have you forgotten I am a Sovereign Immortal? Even an ordinary immortal can repair the tears on his body without the need for external help, let alone my body, which has long transcended the limits of the immortal pathway," the Patriarch said as his body began to glow with a dense concentration of blue flame energy. The torn back instantly began to join itself back together, rapidly forming tissues and energy strands between both sides of his mid-section until every space and gap was completely sealed.
The Patriarch immediately let out a loud laugh as continuous, violent waves of his energy blasted through the entire cultivation domain. Mo Lingtian immediately shielded himself with both hands, using the void energy from the devil half of his hybrid core to block the shockwaves.
"Finally, I have gotten rid of these shackles!" the Patriarch yelled violently, levitating high into the air as his ecstatic laughter continued to echo dangerously, even past the cultivation domain to the other side of the cliff they had crossed from.
Then, he suddenly calmed down, pulling back the violent energy surrounding him as he slowly descended back to the ground.
"Senior..... Congratulations...." Mo Lingtian said as he retracted the defensive barrier he had enacted, bowing down slightly to greet the Patriarch.
What a chameleon.... the Patriarch muttered to himself as he touched the ground.
"You quickly changed from calling me by my name to calling me Senior..." the Patriarch noted aloud as he walked closer toward Mo Lingtian, who was still bowing down slightly.
Mo Lingtian didn't know what reply to give at this point. He could only wait for the Patriarch to fully show his intentions regarding his Death Domain.
"My spine meridian is even better than before. Even in the mainlands, you could easily make a name for yourself with your surgical skills," the Patriarch said, grinning greedily as he now stood directly beside Mo Lingtian.
"It's nothing to be proud about. It's just some trivial skills I picked up from a benefactor," Mo Lingtian replied as he stood up straight, turning his back to the Patriarch.
"Oh.... you have another teacher besides that sage?" the Patriarch asked, feigning casual curiosity.
"You could say so...." Mo Lingtian said as he slowly closed his eyes, bracing for what the Patriarch would do next.
"Interesting. Did your benefactor also pass on the laws of that domain you just used?" the Patriarch asked, openly revealing his sinister intentions.
Mo Lingtian didn't reply. He just slowly turned around to face the Patriarch, heaving a deep, melancholic sigh.
With how shrewd this brat is, there is absolutely no way he would have shown his Death Domain in front of me just because I threatened him. He probably has some lethal backup plan to use against me if I try to seize his domain, the Patriarch thought to himself as he glared at Mo Lingtian, whose eyes were still closed with a faint, unbothered smile lingering on the corner of his lips.
"Forget it, there's no need to be afraid. Every cultivator has his secrets. If it's something you don't want to talk about, I won't force you," the Patriarch said, finally breaking the heavy, suffocating tension building between them.
"I, Mo Lingtian, thank the Patriarch for his understanding," Lingtian immediately responded as he opened his eyes, formally saluting the Patriarch.
"Alright, alright, let's return to the sect. You still have more miracles to perform," the Patriarch said, chuckling loudly as he walked down from the jade platform they were on.
"Senior, I have a presumptuous request," Mo Lingtian suddenly said, halting the Patriarch in his tracks.
"What do you want?" the Patriarch asked, turning to face Lingtian.
"I want to cultivate in your private domain before we go out. I feel like I'm at the edge of a breakthrough," Mo Lingtian stated, waiting for the Patriarch's reply.
"Every resource in the Eclipsed Sun Sect is yours. Just treat it as me repaying the favor for the correction of my spine meridian," the Patriarch offered generously as he continued his descent down the jade platform.
"Thank you," Mo Lingtian said as he sat cross-legged on the jade platform, instantly beginning to absorb energy from the crystalline carvings on the walls and the jade azure liquid running through the cracked paths all over the ethereal cultivation domain.