The most helpless thing for Wen Jiu was that his wife kept tightly embracing their two children, forcing herself to remain calm. From the look in her eyes, Wen Jiu guessed that she had long known this day would come.

However—

For two consecutive days, Liu Xiao remained on the brink of death. Even after consuming seven or eight bottles of mid-grade healing pills, his condition barely improved.

Fortunately, this was within the sect, where all medical expenses were covered. If he were a rogue cultivator, he would have died long ago. Each bottle of first-tier mid-grade pills cost at least a hundred low-grade spirit stones—an astronomical price.

Seven or eight bottles amounted to the entire fortune of two Qi Refinement third-layer cultivators. Rogue cultivators couldn't afford such luxury; they wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

It wasn't until the third day that Liu Xiao finally stabilized. His wife, who had waited outside without rest for three days, burst into tears of joy—the first tears she had shed after her long vigil.

Wen Jiu had been checking in over the past few days, keeping an eye on the situation outside Fei Xian Peak. Fortunately, everything remained peaceful.

As for the elders who had left the sect, there was still no news. The only thing unchanged was that the protective formation of the peak remained fully activated.

When Wen Jiu arrived at the infirmary, he overheard the old physician discussing Liu Xiao's condition. "Fellow Daoist Liu's life has been saved for now, but his dantian has been corroded by dark arts. His cultivation will continue to deteriorate, and within a month, he will fall below the Qi Refinement stage."

Falling below Qi Refinement meant becoming a mortal.

Even if he had mastered martial arts and reached the level of a grandmaster, he would still be no more than an ordinary human—unable to withstand even a single Fireball Spell.

For Liu Xiao and his wife and children, this was hardly good news. But at least it was better than death.

"As long as he's alive, that's enough."

Liu Xiao's wife didn't care about the loss of his cultivation.

To her, all that mattered was that he survived.

But Liu Xiao, upon waking, did not share this sentiment. Life was precious, but losing his dantian and becoming a mortal was far worse than death for a cultivator.

And dantian damage wasn't something a first-tier mid-grade pill could heal—it required at least a first-tier high-grade pill.

The cheapest one cost two to three thousand low-grade spirit stones. Pills specifically designed to repair dantian damage were even rarer and at least two to three times more expensive.

Not to mention a Qi Refinement third-layer cultivator—even sect elders might struggle to afford such a thing. Only a peak lord would have that kind of wealth.

Wen Jiu could only offer a few words of consolation: as long as he was alive, there was still hope.

Thankfully, Liu Xiao had already mentally prepared himself for the worst. With his wife and children constantly by his side, he was able to adjust after a brief period of despair. But whenever Wen Jiu visited the infirmary, Liu Xiao would immediately ask about the elders.

Taking the opportunity, Wen Jiu asked him what exactly had happened.

"When we received your message, we went to investigate the Blood Fiend Abyss. That's when we discovered those bastards from the Blood Robe Tower stirring up trouble. They were trying to trigger an eruption of the Fiendflame Volcano to drive tens of thousands of demons and fiends out of the abyss, unleashing them upon the entire Deadman Peak cultivation world."

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Liu Xiao's pale face was filled with rage.

He continued, "We were about to call for reinforcements when we were ambushed. A group of demonic cultivators was secretly helping them. We were driven deep into the abyss and forced to split up. The Disciplinary Hall members were scattered as well. I only managed to escape because a demon ambushed them at the right moment."

"Liu Xiao, what about your injuries?"

"A Qi Refinement fourth-layer dark cultivator chased me all the way back to the Deadman Peak territory before finally giving up." Liu Xiao sighed, relieved that the enemy had not dared to set foot inside Deadman Peak.

But Wen Jiu sensed something was off.

If Liu Xiao's report was accurate, what was the true motive behind Blood Robe Tower's actions? Why would they want to throw the Deadman Peak cultivation world into chaos, turning it into a bloodbath?

Based on previous encounters, Blood Robe Tower's people were ruthless and insane, but they weren't fools.

They wouldn't engage in such a self-destructive scheme. When they launched a full-scale assault on Fei Xian Peak, it was at least for the corpse of Blood Ink Three Thousand.

There had to be more to this than met the eye.

It shouldn't have been difficult for that fourth-layer Qi Refining heretic to completely kill Liu Xiao.

So why did he let Liu Xiao escape? Was he certain Liu Xiao would die anyway?

Or was it really as Liu Xiao said—he didn't dare pursue too deeply?

Wen Jiu felt like it was neither. He had a vague suspicion that letting Liu Xiao return alive was intentional.

That thought made Wen Jiu's expression darken.

Because the corpse of Xue Mo Qian was still at Fei Xian Peak.

Would those lunatics take this opportunity to double back for another attack?

Anyone else might not think so, but Wen Jiu had the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body. He understood its terrifying potential—if cultivated to perfection, it gave a seventy percent chance of forming a foundation, on par with a top-tier spiritual root.

Would the people of Blood Robe Tower simply give up on that?

Impossible.

"I just hope I'm overthinking this. After all, the elder of the main peak is about to arrive—they shouldn't dare act recklessly."

Wen Jiu muttered to himself, setting the thought aside, but he still remained cautious. Once night fell, he would need to stay with a black ghoul in the land of scattered corpses.

Liu Xiao had little to say about it.

Over the next few days, after news spread that Liu Xiao's dantian was damaged, the number of visitors dwindled to almost none.

After all, Liu Xiao's wife was just a mortal with no background. Now that he had been reduced to a mere mortal himself, the Liu family had no future.

This did not surprise Wen Jiu.

People abandon the fallen—such is the way of the world.

Still, Wen Jiu came to visit Liu Xiao every day. And in front of others, he always addressed him as "Brother Liu." He also brought gifts each time and even had his sister, Wen Ya, visit once.

Liu Xiao noticed. He remembered.

He understood why Wen Jiu was doing this.

That simple "Brother Liu" meant that even if Steward Mu had not been lucky enough to return alive, Liu Xiao, by staying in the sect, might still receive some help. It would spare him from much rejection and cruelty. Perhaps one day, for Wen Jiu's sake, someone might even lend a hand to his children.

"At least turning a blind eye back then wasn't for nothing." That night, Liu Xiao found comfort in the thought.

Grateful people were rare, but those willing to repay kindness when someone was at their lowest were even rarer.

The next morning, Liu Xiao's cultivation dropped to the second level of Qi Refining.

The decline was happening faster than expected.

But he had already accepted reality—being alive was a blessing. With a brother like Wen Jiu by his side, he had no regrets.

If Wen Jiu soared in the future, maybe he would help his children. That alone would make his life worthwhile.

That day, Wen Jiu used his divine sense to examine Liu Xiao's dantian. He lingered longer than usual, and in doing so, he noticed something strange. Others might not see it, but as a heretical cultivator, Wen Jiu saw it all too clearly.

To be precise, Liu Xiao's dantian wasn't damaged—it was corroded by an Yin-based technique, one formed by an extremely minuscule type of gu insect.

Though its corrosive power wasn't as strong as Wen Jiu's own techniques, it was deeply sinister. If it fully consumed Liu Xiao's dantian, then there would truly be no hope. But if the gu-formed Yin technique could be eradicated, there might still be a sliver of chance.

Wen Jiu discreetly brought this up with the old doctor at the medical hall.

To his surprise, the old man had already noticed.

And he even identified the exact name of the gu insect—Devourer Yin Worm, a highly insidious gu-cultivation method.

It nurtured gu within the body.

It condensed spells through gu.

Once someone was afflicted by its Yin technique, there was no known cure. The only outcome was waiting for all their spiritual energy to be consumed, leaving them a mere mortal.