Zhang Wen stood quietly beside Ming Yuan's bed. The silence within the room pressed down once more. After the contract had been completed, he did not rush to invest in Ming Yuan. Instead, he allowed his thoughts to flow along cause and effect for a moment before slowly speaking within his mind.
"System, let's talk."
The response came instantly.
[I am here, Host.]
"From now on, we will not invest recklessly anymore. It is not as if anything I hand to someone should automatically count as an investment. Do you understand?"
Zhang Wen paused briefly. A scene surfaced in his memory. The engagement letter that was still stored within the system. He had never even opened it, nor did he know what was written inside.
The system replied immediately, its tone far more formal than before.
[Understood. From now on, if the Host wishes to invest, you may notify me in advance. If the Host does not say anything, the act of giving items will not be counted as an investment. However, if the Host has already given an item to someone without notifying the system, the Host may retrieve that item first and then inform me to initiate the investment. I will then grant the corresponding returns as normal. Do you agree.]
Zhang Wen nodded faintly and answered within his mind.
"Agreed."
He drew in a deep breath and continued calmly.
"Then help me set up a protective barrier. Cover this area. Just this room is enough. If any phenomenon occurs, it should not spread outside."
Almost instantly, the system's voice rang out, unusually cheerful.
[To make up for my foolishness earlier, I've got you covered, Host. Barrier deployed for a full day. But only this once. I cannot interfere with the laws of this world too frequently.]
Zhang Wen nodded slightly. He turned around calmly and raised his hand to open his spatial ring. A faint blue glow flashed within the dilapidated room, accompanied by a subtle pressure that began to gather silently.
Zhang Wen spoke evenly within his mind.
"Invest holy water, 9.7 liters."
At that very moment, a deep blue radiance flashed through the dilapidated room. All of the holy water surged out as if its restraints had been released. Before it could scatter, Zhang Wen raised his hand and took control at once. Water-attribute power moved with absolute precision. The torrents spiraled together, compressed tightly, and wrapped around Ming Yuan's body like a translucent cocoon.
The instant the holy water touched him, Ming Yuan began absorbing it frantically. Soft cracking sounds echoed beneath his skin. The dried and withered meridian pathways expanded once more. Muscles that had long atrophied gradually recovered. Old wounds buried deep within his life core rapidly knit themselves together. His shriveled skin regained a healthy flush, and his breathing, once barely perceptible, grew steady with each passing moment.
At the same time, Zhang Wen's body trembled violently.
He forced himself to stand and maintain control. Suddenly, blood burst from his mouth beyond his control, coughing echoes resounding within the room. He was simultaneously manipulating high-level water power while activating an investment contract. The burden crashed back onto his body, which had yet to fully recover. His hair whitened further, and fine cracks appeared across parts of his skin.
And in that instant, the system's voice rang out clearly.
[Detected that the Host has provided holy water to the target Ming Yuan.]
[Investment successful.]
[Target Luck Level: Black.]
[Investment Return Multiplier: ×10,000.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained "Heaven-Transcending Water" 9.7 liters.]
[Heaven-Transcending Water: An Emperor-grade liquid not bound by the laws of the heavens. Formed through the fusion of life force, the law of life, and destiny itself. Its concentration surpasses Saint-grade holy water by tens of thousands of times. Upon use, it restores the body, soul, and core energy simultaneously. Even injuries that damage foundations or approach collapse can be completely healed. As long as a trace of breath or a fragment of the body remains, the user can be restored to perfect condition. Each individual may only consume up to 3 liters of Heaven-Transcending Water regardless of purpose. Any excess will have no effect.]
Zhang Wen did not hesitate for even a moment. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were calm, yet deep within them burned a fierce flame.
"System. Take out the Heaven-Transcending Water."
As soon as the command ended, the Heaven-Transcending Water surged out of the dimensional space like a current that should not exist within this world. A terrifying pressure erupted instantly. The air inside the room trembled as if it were being torn apart. The clear liquid, utterly different from holy water, slowly appeared.
It was calm. It emitted no light. It carried no scent.
Yet the spiritual energy of the surroundings began to quake uncontrollably in its presence.
Zhang Wen spread his arms wide and drew all of it toward himself. The calm, transparent liquid enveloped his body instantly.
After absorbing only a small portion of the Heaven Transcending Water, changes began to appear throughout his body at a visible speed. The pain that had crushed every inch of him was torn away in an instant, as if the chains that had bound his life for countless years had shattered all at once.
His once dry and withered skin gradually regained firmness, returning to the state of his youth. Strands of hair that had turned white from forcing his power earlier slowly changed color, strand by strand, until they became pitch black once more. His breathing, which had been broken and shallow, grew steady, powerful, and deep. Within his body, the life force that had nearly extinguished reignited fiercely. The lifespan that had been reduced to mere fragments expanded once again beyond prediction.
His damaged internal organs repaired themselves at astonishing speed. His heart beat with powerful rhythm. The meridian pathways that had been severed reconnected one by one. The dried dantian filled once more with pure water energy. The origin of his Pure Water Sacred Body, which had nearly gone extinct, revived like a river welcoming its first rain. Muscles, tendons, and bones were reforged completely, each far stronger than before.
If the damage had merely come from Saint level attacks and the burning of his lifespan, then the massive amount of holy water from the ancient pool within the cave should have restored him long ago. Yet the true reason his body had remained in such critical condition was not because the holy water lacked potency.
It was because the wound ran far deeper.
The memory of that day surfaced vividly in Zhang Wen's mind. The Half Emperor of the Gu clan detonating his body until it shattered completely. That terrifying aura capable of suppressing heaven and earth tearing through him without mercy. And the golden monkey that snatched the banana from his hand at the final moment, releasing an aura of the same realm unintentionally.
The two overwhelming pressures overlapped, crushing together until his very soul was nearly torn apart.
That injury was not of the flesh.
It was a rupture upon his true soul itself.
Even after absorbing nearly all the holy water from the ancient pool, his body could survive for no more than one year. Moreover, his cultivation was almost impossible to restore through ordinary means.
At that very moment, as the Heaven Transcending Water completely filled the final gap within him, Zhang Wen's cultivation began to surge uncontrollably.
The water energy within his dantian spun like a raging ocean. His meridians expanded without pause as boundaries that had long been sealed were shattered one after another.
The Qi Control realm was broken through in an instant.
The Foundation realm collapsed and reformed within a single breath.
The Golden Core condensed as one under pure water energy.
The Nascent Soul was born amid a tremor that shook the spirit.
The Spirit Formation realm stabilized, firm and immovable like a great mountain.
The Body Integration realm fused flesh and soul into perfect unity.
The momentum did not stop.
It continued rising until it crossed the final threshold, stepping into the Nirvana realm, Level 1.
The aura surrounding his body calmed completely, transforming into a silence so deep that even the surrounding spiritual energy dared not ripple.
Zhang Wen slowly opened his eyes. His pitch black pupils reflected a profound watery light without bottom or limit. He could clearly sense that he had used approximately 0.3 liters of Heaven Transcending Water, and at that point, he chose to stop.
Not because his body could no longer endure its power, but because he understood its true value.
This water was not meant to accelerate cultivation.
It was something far beyond that.
It was the power of restoration. A treasure capable of dragging life back from the abyss even when heaven itself had already pronounced death.
And he still had two remaining investment opportunities unused.
There was no need to exhaust the Heaven Transcending Water merely to rush his cultivation.
With that thought settled, Zhang Wen closed his eyes once more and began refining his newly reborn body.