"Hey, Master, aren't you going to have a bite with us?" Ye Yanqing called out, looking in confusion at Li Tianhen's retreating figure, but received no response.
"Eldest Senior Brother..." Si Nansheng spoke softly.
"What is it, Junior Sister?" Ye Yanqing turned his head in confusion.
"Master took all the roasted Spirit Chicken."
"What?"
"Both of them... all of them," Si Nansheng added.
"..." Ye Yanqing hurriedly lowered his head to look at the spot where he had long been waiting for his roasted Spirit Chicken to be placed. It was now completely empty, leaving him utterly stunned.
"Master, you can't do your own disciples dirty like this! Leave me a bite, I've been waiting for ages!" Ye Yanqing dashed out after him.
Watching him run off into the distance, Si Nansheng sighed.
"Eldest Senior Brother, for the sake of some meat, you've completely abandoned your dignity!"
With the food gone, Si Nansheng didn't dwell on it too much. She returned to her room and took out the Spirit Treasures Li Tianhen had gathered for her.
Si Nansheng looked at the top-grade Spirit Treasures of eight different attributes laid out before her. These items were of an even higher grade than she had anticipated.
It had only been half a month, yet Master had managed to find these things so quickly.
This warmed Si Nansheng's heart a little.
What Si Nansheng didn't know was that Li Tianhen already had quite a few items in his possession; this trip out had simply been to hunt down the two Spirit Treasures he was missing.
That was why he had traveled back and forth so quickly.
"You must live up to this and pull through; you absolutely cannot let Master's painstaking efforts go to waste." Si Nansheng gently touched her lower abdomen.
Normally, she would only need to absorb the Spiritual Energy within them, but with all her Meridians completely destroyed, absorption was naturally impossible.
Therefore, she now had no choice but to choose the most brutal and crude method.
Bite down!
Eat them raw!
Although this method would cause her body agonizing pain, it wasn't a huge deal—anyway, she would get used to the pain the more she felt it.
Si Nansheng took a deep breath, picked up the Wood Essence flower, which had the mildest medicinal effect, balled it up, and shoved it straight into her mouth.
Huh? The taste wasn't bad at all; it was rather sweet.
Si Nansheng smacked her lips in thought, nodded, and picked up the Fire Spirit ginseng, taking a bite.
"Mmph—" Before she could even finish chewing the Fire Spirit ginseng, she felt a blazing heat course through her entire body, as if she were about to be burned right through.
"Good grief, these spiritual flowers and grasses are definitely not meant to be eaten normally." Si Nansheng spat out a mouthful of blood, her vision turning black.
Enduring the excruciating pain in her body and her Divine Sense, she swallowed the water-attribute Spirit Treasure to suppress the violent rage of the Fire Spirit ginseng.
Gaining a brief moment to catch her breath, Si Nansheng moved at lightning speed, cramming the remaining spiritual flowers and grasses into her mouth one by one.
In an instant, the Spirit Treasures took effect. Spiritual Energy of eight different attributes began rampaging through Si Nansheng's body, the violent energy battering her until blood poured from her seven orifices.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, forcing herself not to cry out. Cold sweat and fresh blood blended together, her body trembling incessantly from the agonizing pain.
Her will grew weaker and weaker. Her body could no longer withstand so much Spiritual Energy, and she felt as though she were being torn apart.
"Si Nansheng, I am truly sick of this pathetic look of yours. From now on, I am no longer your Eldest Senior Brother."
"Si Nansheng, you good-for-nothing, being able to give your all for Junior Sister Liu Xuewei is your honor!"
"Si Nansheng, being your Third Senior Brother truly makes me sick to my stomach. You'd better obediently hand your cultivation over to Junior Sister, and don't make us do it ourselves."
"Junior Sister, don't be afraid. Fourth Senior Brother is only digging out your Spirit Root, it won't hurt very much at all."
"Trash doesn't deserve to be my junior sister!"
"Si Nansheng, are you heartbroken? Are you grieving? Your Spirit Root, your cultivation, the Divine Bone you nurtured, and everything else you are belong to me, Liu Xuewei.
Today, I am merely taking back what is mine. Do not hate me; if you must hate someone, hate yourself for being useless!"
"Si Nansheng, you were merely a cauldron I found to nourish the Divine Bone. If not for the fact that your Spirit Root and cultivation were beneficial to Wei'er, how could I have kept you around until now?
Now that your final value has been exhausted, go die!"
Scenes from her past life flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern, playing over and over again. Those heartbreaking, soul-crushing words echoed ceaselessly in her ears.
Si Nansheng, who had been on the verge of collapsing, suddenly snapped her eyes open!
No! She still had a mountain of debts to repay; she could not give up. She absolutely could not give up like this!
She had to survive, and trample beneath her feet everyone who had once looked down on her and hurt her.
"Ahhh—" Si Nansheng let out a roar, and the Spiritual Energy inside her body exploded outward.
"Bang!" Li Tianhen and Ye Yanqing, who were still fighting over the roasted Spirit Chicken, sensed the intense wave of Spiritual Energy rolling out from Si Nansheng's quarters.
The two of them exchanged glances, dropped the Spirit Chicken in their hands, and sprinted straight over.
To their shock, the already modest courtyard was now in absolute ruins. The building had collapsed amidst billowing dust and smoke, and Si Nansheng was lying on the ground, covered in blood.
She looked far worse off than when she had severed her own Meridians.
"Master, is Junior Sister hurt?" Ye Yanqing asked anxiously, staring at the trembling Si Nansheng.
"Don't move. She is reshaping her Meridians." Li Tianhen stopped Ye Yanqing from stepping forward.
"Reshaping her Meridians? Master, you mean..." Ye Yanqing stared blankly at Li Tianhen.
"Mm, pay close attention to the fluctuations of the Spiritual Energy." Li Tianhen looked down at Si Nansheng and spoke quietly.
Ye Yanqing closed his eyes and carefully sensed the area. Sure enough, a faint current of Spiritual Energy was circulating within Si Nansheng's body.
So, Junior Sister had actually succeeded?
"Master, is Junior Sister really going to be fine like this? She looks in so much pain! Is there anything we can do?" Ye Yanqing watched as Si Nansheng's small, tormented body curled up into a tight ball, frantic with worry.
"She has to pull through this on her own. All we can do is wait." Li Tianhen furrowed his brow deeply, found a spot to sit down, and quietly waited alongside Si Nansheng.
Si Nansheng gradually calmed down. Before Ye Yanqing and the others could even let out a sigh of relief, however, her body began to tremble once more.
Her skin turned flushed red as if she were about to burn up from the inside out, and even her breathing grew terribly faint.
Ye Yanqing and Li Tianhen had no idea what was happening to her, nor how they could possibly help, and could only watch helplessly.
Only Si Nansheng knew what she was enduring.
The Spiritual Energy rampaged through her body, repeatedly tearing apart the Meridians she had just managed to mend, only for them to reform and be shattered all over again.
Over the next few days, Si Nansheng drifted through a cycle of pain—repair—pain.
Seeing that Si Nansheng's vital breath had finally stabilized, Li Tianhen dismissed Ye Yanqing.
Li Tianhen then cast a defensive Barrier all around Si Nansheng.
This would prevent any falling debris from the surrounding structures from disturbing her.
"Did I make it?" After holding on for who knew how long, Si Nansheng finally regained consciousness.
She closed her eyes and tested her condition, clearly sensing the rush of Spiritual Energy flowing into her body.
"Fantastic, it worked." Si Nansheng happily inspected her Dantian.
As a result...
What in the world is this?!
"Master! Master, help me!" Si Nansheng rushed into Li Tianhen's small courtyard like a whirlwind.
"You're finally awake? Why are you in such a frantic rush?" Li Tianhen put down the book in his hand and looked up at her.
"Master, Master, something's happened—something terrible has happened! Take a quick look at my Dantian. Is this even normal? Can it still be saved?!"
Si Nansheng stared at Li Tianhen in absolute terror.