Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes, finding the ceiling above him entirely unfamiliar.
"Where... am I?" he muttered to himself, a wave of dizziness washing over him. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning: "The scroll! Someone snatched my scroll!"
"Hmph, you fool! If the sect master and I hadn't arrived in the nick of time, you'd be dead already, and you're still obsessing over that scroll!" A stern, cold snort echoed through the room.
"Master..." Ye Feng recognized the old man before him, and memories rushed back like a tidal wave. It was indeed his master and the sect master who had saved him at the critical moment.
"Thank you, Master, for saving my life!" Ye Feng struggled to sit up and pay his respects, only to find his body terrifyingly weak, stumbling the moment he moved. A gentle force instantly steadied him—it was his master's doing.
"Alright. Since you still acknowledge me as your master, why didn't you tell me before you set off? Did you really have to make me and the sect master track you down ourselves?" Li Muyang stared intently at Ye Feng, a trace of reprimand in his tone.
Ye Feng was momentarily at a loss for words, stammering, "I thought..."
"You thought what? You thought we would stop you, or try to persuade you to give up on your sister?"
Ye Feng said no more, simply cupping his hands in a bow to his master.
"Take it!" Li Muyang tossed the scroll toward Ye Feng. Ye Feng hastily reached out and caught it. Hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help asking, "Master, have you read it?"
Li Muyang gave a slight nod and gently patted Ye Feng on the shoulder. Ye Feng's face turned instantly pale. He took a deep breath and asked slowly, "Is there a way to break the curse?"
Li Muyang's expression turned terrifyingly gloomy, and instead of answering directly, he said, "This Shen Wanqian is truly vicious beyond compare. Once inflicted with this curse, unless the host of the curse seal possesses a sufficiently high cultivation realm, all effective curse-breaking methods become useless. However, according to this scroll, although this curse is tyrannical, the spiritual energy it consumes is also immense. The day Shen Wanqian struck in his panic, the spiritual energy he left behind can at most sustain the curse's effect for a few decades. But..."
Hearing what his master said, Ye Feng's heart suddenly sank. How could he not understand the deeper meaning behind his master's words? Given the current condition of his sister, Ye Youning, the spiritual energy within that curse seal might not even be exhausted before she perished.
At this thought, a pang of agony gripped Ye Feng's heart, and he slammed a fist heavily against the nearby bed frame. He didn't hold back his strength, causing the entire room to rattle.
"Is there really no other way?"
...
"Wait..."
In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Ye Feng's mind, like lightning piercing the darkness. "Consuming spiritual energy... I've absorbed the Karmic Fire from Youning's body twice before. Isn't that also a form of consumption?"
The Karmic Fire was a boundless flame containing world-destroying power. Rashously absorbing it was by no means a wise choice; the slightest misstep would plunge him into eternal damnation.
If he forcibly absorbed it, he would undoubtedly be drawing the curse from his sister onto himself. Not only that, but while an ordinary Corrosive Pill Flame Spirit Curse would normally only quietly damage the host's physical foundation when not in contact with spiritual energy, he would essentially be triggering it directly, transferring it to himself, and drastically shortening the duration of the curse. This meant he would suffer all the terrifying consequences of the curse in an extremely short period of time.
"I always knew the path to breaking the curse would be incomparably difficult, but I never expected the difficulty to be this high," Ye Feng muttered to himself, his expression grave. "If I do this..." Ye Feng fell into deep thought.
A moment later, he slowly closed his eyes, as if accepting some cruel reality. "My entire cultivation base will likely vanish in an instant like a dream or an illusion, and this spiritual root of mine will probably be consumed right along with it. If that happens, my days in this world will likely be numbered, too."
"Is it worth it?" Ye Feng asked softly, as if questioning himself.
Past memories surged into his mind like a tide.
Previously, Ye Feng had always felt that time passed so quickly in this world. In the blink of an eye, many years had quietly slipped away, and it felt as though he hadn't yet accomplished anything.
Yet now, he suddenly remembered that he had actually experienced so much in this world. Throughout these long years, a small figure had always seemed to accompany him by his side.
"Is doing this really the right thing?" This question had no standard answer to begin with. Or perhaps, the moment he asked it, he already had the answer in his heart.
"In reality, I may have been timid and submissive, but in this simulated world, I will fiercely fight back for my sister!" Ye Feng abruptly raised his head, looking with firm determination at his deeply worried master, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes.
"Master, I've found a way!" Ye Feng's voice was firm and powerful, as if declaring his resolve to the entire world.
...
"Ye Feng, have you... truly made up your mind?"
Ye Feng knelt on both knees, his posture as straight as a towering pine. His eyes were filled with determination without the slightest trace of retreat as he proclaimed in a ringing voice, "Yes! Your disciple is unfilial; from now on, I will likely no longer be able to bring glory to Flowing Sword Peak!"
This was the first time Ye Feng had seen that usually kind-eyed old man bristle with anger and fly into a rage. "Rebellious disciple! Do you have any idea what the consequences of doing this will be?"
The old man's lips moved twice as if he wanted to say more, but he finally let out a long sigh, waved his hand, and spoke with a desolate and helpless expression, "So be it, so be it. If it's not meant to be, do not force it. Blame it on Flowing Sword Peak's poor fortune for not being able to hold onto you. It's just that the Karmic Fire is exceptionally malevolent; once it enters your body, it will surely scorch your internal organs, and the pain will be extraordinary. You must endure it."
Ye Feng smiled faintly. "...Master, actually, besides my Top-grade Fire Spiritual Root, I have another talent far surpassing ordinary people that I've never revealed to you."
His master froze slightly, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes as he quietly looked at him, waiting for what came next.
"I'm exceptionally good at enduring..." Ye Feng said softly.
...
It was as if she had lived through countless dark nights and days, but the eyelids of the young girl, who had not woken for a long time, finally began to twitch slightly.
"Ye Feng?" An extremely faint voice slipped from the young girl's lips. It was as light and soft as the buzzing of a mosquito's wings, yet it naturally could not escape the ears of two deeply accomplished cultivators.
Ye Feng, who had been waiting in a meditative posture with a face as calm as still water, instantly rippled with layers of surprise, and even his deep, pool-like eyes flashed with a brilliant light.
"Master! Youning seems to have woken up!" Although Ye Feng's body did not move a fraction, his slightly trembling voice, fueled by excitement, conveyed his inner joy and anticipation.
"Hush. Guard your mind and center your vital energy; don't ruin all your efforts!"
"Yes!"
...
[You have succeeded.]
[You successfully removed the forbidden curse within Ye Youning's body, sacrificing everything to save her life.]
[Looking inward at your spiritual sea, your World-Burning Fire Spiritual Root is dim and devoid of luster, your meridians are riddled with holes, and your spiritual energy is as weak as a flickering candle in the wind. You know very well that you do not have much time left—five years, or perhaps only three.]
[You feel a touch of melancholy. In the past, Ye Youning often worried about her inability to cultivate and her lifespan being too short compared to yours, always fretting over what her older brother would do after she died. Now, however, the tables have turned, and it is your turn to count down the days.]
[Yet you have no regrets. You feel you did what had to be done.]
[You apologize to your master and implore him to keep your secret. You are surprised to find that the old man before you seems to have aged significantly overnight, the traces of time growing ever more apparent.]
[Fortunately, the legendary Chaotic Divine Body has finally begun her journey of immortality.]
[And you, too, have begun making preparations to leave.]
...