As I send my healing through the orb created through my Remote Healing technique, while also using my Healing Aura to heal her with my natural abilities, I can sense the internal struggle the woman is going through, even with her being deep in a coma.
Despite her coming from the upper layer of the parasite zone, under the Yellow Sashes area (which houses people who've only been there for a year), the parasites' constant chemical and mental addictions fully brainwashed her. And even after the parasite sent the signal to not defend it before it left, her lingering instinct is to protect it like a mother.
Just like how Gong’s friend, who went through the same thing they had. It only takes them a short time to permanently manipulate the minds of their hosts.
…the parasites I tamed are lucky. Honestly, it makes me sick I had to even tame them in the first place. If I had my way, I would have removed them all.
At least I can be sure they’ll do nothing like that again. The healing that I’ve given them makes it useless for them to do their normal behaviors of parasitizing people. Now they can just have their progeny grow outside of a body and they’ll be fine.
The process proceeds from my side, as I see the woman’s tensed face begin to relax.
The healing abilities taking effect, removing these compulsions, little by little. Diving deep into her mind to help her process things therapeutically. One that I hope will diminish their romantic attachment to me.
Unfortunately, I can’t fully remove any attachment they would have to me. As long as I’m using this method to heal their minds, the avatar in them will always be represented by me, in some form. People achieve the best healing over time, through their own gradual steps in processing trauma, with the guidance of someone who can help.
Whether that’s while they are in a dream illusion state or in real life, it’s the best way. The dream state just makes a much longer process into a shorter real-life timeline. However, the person still experiences that time within the dream. Meaning the connections with those who help them still are profound in their hearts.
Within the span of a few seconds, she is healed. Gong has her spiders move them to a secured area, where they can remain in a coma until they can be woken when I get back to Monchon City. When that time comes, I will decide whether to wake them and restore their cultivation.
She ushers the next person in, and I repeat the process. Healing the women, physically and mentally. Some women weren’t currently hosting the parasites, but previously had, so they had to be placed in a medically induced coma to avoid fighting back. Something I had already worked out with Gong, with their alchemical business now booming.
Even with the thousands upon thousands of people needing healing, it’s still a swift process, because it only takes seconds.
Of course, quick still means 13 hours or so of straight healing.
Especially since I’m healing over 12,000 people.
While I’ve healed large amounts of people before, this is a much larger amount than I’ve ever done… and is now positioned right near the people I care about. Which makes me all the more surprised that there are no issues with capturing them all. With the combination of the parasites influence, Gong’s army of spiders and abilities, and the drugs she can use to put them into the coma, makes things easier all around.
There are a few people who fight back, but with Gong being a cultivator and any of them that are cultivators (who somehow still have cultivation) being so debilitated, she’s able to suppress them before any actual damage is done.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
It’s in this way that I complete most of my goals for this remote healing and use the rest of the day to focus, meditate, and plan the next steps for this situation I find myself in.
From here… I expect that the Nascent Soul father will get his daughter with the same condition, as the last test for this examination. And after I heal her, it will be an excellent chance to recruit him as a member of my group.
Especially since he’s an expert in body manipulation.
It hasn’t been prominent, but ever since I healed Ai, her condition changed into a special constitution, the Myriad Slime Body Constitution, which has the following aspects:
* Cultivation is increased for amorphous body cultivation techniques (x100). Cultivation is increased for void (x100), water (x20), and earth cultivation methods/techniques (x10).
* 1st Stage: Bones can liquefy and solidify at will, with the body moving to accommodate the change safely. Partial immunity to blunt force trauma.
* 2nd Stage: The entire body has slime properties and can be controlled independently. Interior of body hollows. Can absorb other creatures directly for sustenance. Breathing is no longer needed. Complete pressure immunity.
* 3rd Stage: Complete slime body, with no required individual interior parts. Standard form is humanoid, but can be changed to any shape. Body can grow and be split, as part of the whole. Bodies can be controlled with varying levels of independence. Completely replicated strength, but shared Qi.
She’s at the first stage, where her bones can liquefy and solidify. This seems to have helped her out a lot with her void cultivation method, which uses some of these aspects of herself.
…and if this elder is like I suspect, he may have a high-level body cultivation method that can be used with her void cultivation method.
First, I need to heal his daughter, though. Then I can work out with him what he’s willing to do.
After spending this time in the privacy talisman shield, I finally emerge from it, ready to begin. Stepping out of the room, I sense the gaze of the five masters on me from their lingering spirit senses. Soon, one representative comes out to see me. Speaking eagerly.
“Are you ready to resume the accreditation process?”
Giving a big smile, I answer.
“Yes. Just let me know where you would like me to head.”
With a brief nod, they rush me over to the auditorium space again, where the masters and everyone else are waiting. To my surprise, no one in the audience has moved.
To be clear, I’ve been away from this area for at least 14 hours. And they’ve just been waiting here, either cultivating, meditating, or softly talking.
Cultivators’ patience is absurd.
Outside my errant thoughts, the masters have reconvened in their spots before me. With Madame Qian being the one to speak for the group again.
“Welcome back. As you likely already know, the next portion of the accreditation will be the last part of the process. Each of us will have a problem that you can either provide a reasonably potential solution to or a master-level solvable problem.”
She pauses, as if hesitating to say this.
“…however, the five of us have an alternate option for you, as well.”
She continues, her eyes glancing over at the Nascent Soul father in the crowd.
“There is a problem that all five of us could not resolve, but perhaps you may be able to do so. If you do, you would not only receive you Master-level accreditation, but additional…ahem…benefits.”
I give a solemn nod to the last option. My eyes glancing over to the Nascent Soul father in the crowd. Our eyes lock on each other and I give a second, but equally solemn, nod. Confirming my decision.
She takes a breath and waves a hand to bring the man’s daughter out.
Even with this apparent change in the normal procedure, no one says anything.
Every cultivator in the room knows who he is and that if he is requesting me to look at his daughter, for them to say anything would be a slap to his face. And you don’t want to piss him off… not when it involves her.
Which is when she’s brought out.
A perfectly normally looking woman, around my age. Black hair, clear pale skin, Asian features. Many of the body issues that plague the parasite victims aren’t there. But there is one thing is different about her, that is immediately evident.
She has the mind of a child. Waddling around, being led by the hand to a medical table nearby by staff. Her eyes dulled, as if by drugs and trauma. Her speech, nonexistent and slurred.
And one final, heart-wrenching thing. The way she holds a stuffed animal in her arms, as if she was holding a child. While innocuous, it’s the same way that I’ve seen all the victims I just healed, hold a parasite.
The mind isn’t so easily healed.