Chapter 5

Looking at Wu Wenyuan's headless body lying quietly on the ground, with blood gushing out, Yun Yang fell into deep thought.

At this moment, his expression suddenly changed.

Because...

At this very moment, he felt a strange aura suddenly appear out of nowhere and enter his body. It seemed to be an aura that only appeared after Wu Wenyuan's death?

This feeling was very clear.

Since the severe injury a year ago, his dry dantian and qi sea had a sense of revival.

Yun Yang's eyes flickered, and he tried to mobilize his mystic energy. He felt a thin thread of energy suddenly rise, slowly traveling through his almost completely ruined meridians...

Yun Yang's eyes suddenly lit up!

There was hope for the recovery of his strength!

Although he didn't understand what was happening, Yun Yang was already very satisfied with this conclusion!

"You answered my questions, and this is your reward," Yun Yang said softly, looking at Wu Wenyuan's body. "I won't go back on my word."

"Even though you betrayed your country and were utterly evil, I promised you, and I won't change my mind."

"Because, this is the promise of the Nine Respects!"

Yun Yang walked out with his hands behind his back.

"Send the body and head back to the prison. Also, rescue Wu Wenyuan's wife and mother and let them go."

As the last word left his lips, Yun Yang's figure had already disappeared.

Old Mei appeared like a ghost.

...

When Yun Yang returned to the flower trellis, the moon was already high in the sky, shining brightly.

He quietly looked at the moon, and suddenly a sad smile appeared on his face: "Brothers, I know who they are. The Four Seasons Tower!"

"Mr. Nian is the leader of the Four Seasons Tower."

"Twelve months, 365 days, representing 365 people."

"There is hope for the recovery of my strength."

"Rest assured, I will live well."

Yun Yang kept repeating this in his heart, feeling the pain and bitterness surge up like a tidal wave, making his hands tremble.

After a long time, Yun Yang exhaled softly. In the bright moonlight, there was a hint of blood.

Just as he was about to stand up, the weak thread of mystic energy in his dantian had just completed a full cycle through his meridians.

For ordinary martial artists, a full cycle of mystic energy through the meridians could be completed in a single breath, even for the lowest-level martial artists. But for Yun Yang, it took a full hour.

The degree of blockage in his meridians was evident.

But this was unprecedented progress in a year!

At the moment the cycle was completed...

Yun Yang felt a sudden loud noise in his head, as if his soul was about to shatter!

The world spun, and his body swayed. A mouthful of blood spurted out, and he collapsed, losing consciousness.

Old Mei, who rushed over in shock, was about to help Yun Yang up but was surprised to see a green glow emanating from Yun Yang's body, full of life!

The powerful vitality made Old Mei tremble!

He reached out to help Yun Yang, but suddenly his whole body shook as the green light from Yun Yang's body surged!

Old Mei let out a cry, feeling an irresistible force hit him, sending him flying through the air, landing at the gate of the Yun residence with a thud! For a moment, he was so stiff and sore that he couldn't stand up!

He felt as if his internal organs were about to shatter, and his bones were falling apart!

Old Mei's eyes almost bulged out.

What was happening?

Even though his cultivation wasn't in the top three among the known experts in Tian Tang City, he was definitely in the top five!

But... he was sent flying dozens of feet by this gentle green light, with no resistance!

This...

This was terrifying!

Struggling to his feet, he looked again and saw that the green light around the young master had disappeared.

Old Mei rubbed his eyes and looked again, but saw nothing unusual.

Supporting himself, he tried to help the young master up, and there was no resistance.

No abnormalities.

"This... this is really bizarre..." Old Mei muttered. "Was I just thrown by myself? Was I bored and threw myself halfway to death for fun?"

...

Yun Yang felt as if he had entered a strange, surreal world.

A green sun-like object was rotating in the sky, and his body felt infinitely comfortable. Even his soul seemed to be moaning in pleasure.

Then, his consciousness suddenly withdrew from this strange space and returned to his body.

A foul smell almost made Yun Yang gag.

He realized he was lying in bed.

The entire room was filled with a stench that could make the whole world suffocate!

"Damn!" Yun Yang quickly jumped up and rushed out. The stench didn't diminish, and he realized it was coming from his own body. His skin was covered in a sticky substance...

Even his nostrils were filled with it...

Yun Yang held his breath and rushed out, jumping directly into the fish pond in the courtyard.

Splash!

Water splashed everywhere!

Then, a pair of terrified eyes appeared in front of Yun Yang.

Old Mei!

Old Mei had somehow already been in the pond.

Old Mei was also helpless. He was originally serving Yun Yang, but as Yun Yang's body became increasingly foul, Old Mei couldn't bear it anymore. Seeing that Yun Yang was not in danger, he directly jumped out and fled.

The entire courtyard was filled with the stench, and Old Mei had no choice but to dive into the water.

But he never expected the source of the stench to follow him... At this moment, Old Mei almost cried.

After so many years of wandering in the martial world, facing countless life-and-death situations, he had never smelled such a foul odor...

No number of strong enemies could make him retreat, but this smell... made him flee!

The worst part was... wherever he went, the smell followed him, like a parasitic worm... impossible to shake off.

I'm breaking down!

Old Mei rolled his eyes and fainted.

Yun Yang was focused on scrubbing the sticky substance off his body until...

He opened his eyes and saw all the fish in the pond floating belly-up...

Yun Yang: "..."

...

Finally, after more than an hour, he had washed himself clean, and the stench had dissipated. Yun Yang felt exhausted.

The eastern sky was already faintly bright.

Yun Yang lay in the pond, not wanting to move.

"Master, your skin..." Old Mei finally came to his senses, turned to look at Yun Yang, and was speechless for a long time. He bit his tongue hard and said in disbelief, "This... innate golden jade body?"

Yun Yang's face was smooth, like a flawless piece of jade, white with a hint of red, and had a crystalline texture.

He seemed to be glowing.

The original Yun Yang was already handsome, but he still had some scars from years of battles, especially from the life-or-death battle a year ago, which left indelible marks on him.

But now, all the scars were gone.

"Washing the meridians and refining the body! Innate golden jade!"

Now, this was all Old Mei could think about.

What happened to the young master?

How could such a phenomenon, which would make all martial artists envious and jealous, suddenly appear?

Yun Yang used his energy to check his body.

After a long time, a smile of joy appeared on his face.

Except for his cultivation, his body was as healthy as a newborn baby, and even more flawless!

"As long as my meridians heal, my cultivation will just be a matter of time." Yun Yang was already very satisfied with the current situation, even though he didn't know how it happened.

But Yun Yang's mind was very steady.

Since it happened, there must be a reason.

Although he couldn't find it for now, he would eventually find it. What he needed to do now was to quickly recover his strength!

Since the fierce battle a year ago, Yun Yang had not felt the sensation of "power" for a whole year.

Suddenly, Yun Yang's gaze sharpened.

Where was the ice jade on his wrist?

Finally, after cleaning up, facing Old Mei's strange gaze, Yun Yang returned to his room, changed everything on the bed, and then lay down comfortably to find the reason.

His consciousness sank into his mind, and he saw a thick white mist.

In the white mist, a lotus seed emitting countless golden rays was slowly rotating.

In the next moment.

The lotus seed was surrounded by a green glow, and a fragrant aroma suddenly filled the air.

The lotus seed split open from the top.

A delicate green sprout quietly emerged, fresh and green, like transparent jade, making one feel refreshed and at ease.

The tender sprout swayed, and a mysterious force slowly spread.

What... what is this?

At this moment, Yun Yang felt a dizzying sensation, as if countless pieces of information were suddenly flooding his mind...

His head almost exploded on the spot.

A sharp pain made Yun Yang almost faint!

Dimly, a line of golden words seemed to rotate and appear in his mind, as if coming from the end of the universe and spinning right in front of him.

"...Chaos without limits, the Great Way gives birth to one; from nothing, something is born, life continues without end... Absorb all the unjust energy in the world; soothe the endless grievances of living beings; the Great Way moves forward, without betraying kindness; the lotus heart is bitter, but it is the foundation of life; the will is a knife, cutting through all evil... Punish evil and slaughter the wicked, the lotus seed sprout is formed. Illuminate the universe, and the dust is cleared, light is born..."

"Life Continues Without End."

A mysterious thought also appeared at this moment.

Yun Yang closed his eyes, and after a long time, slowly opened them, with a look of understanding.

"Originally, it was like this..."

"I finally understand..."

Yun Yang's eyes showed understanding.

Suddenly, his meridians were washed and refined...

Then, such a miraculous thing appeared in his mind!

He understood, but his expression became even more painful.

If he had known earlier... If it had appeared earlier, how could his brothers have died?

It turned out that in the fierce battle at the Heavenly Mystic Cliff, he ultimately didn't die and crawled out of the pile of corpses because of this...

He suffered seventeen fatal injuries but still survived because of this.

That small lotus seed.

Yun Yang closed his eyes, his thoughts swirling, and the scene of that day appeared before him.

...

That day, just after joining the Nine Respects and experiencing three battles, something suddenly fell from somewhere and hit his head.

He fainted on the spot.

His eight brothers rescued him.

Later, they found that what had knocked him out was a small lotus seed, embedded in his head.

This became the biggest joke among his brothers.

"The youngest of the Nine Respects, knocked out by a lotus seed! Hahaha..." The laughter of his brothers still echoed in his ears.

Yun Yang was both embarrassed and angry, and he was about to smash the lotus seed when the First Respect laughed and said, "Old Nine, keep this thing. Anything can happen on the battlefield. Keep it as a reminder to be cautious of all unexpected things. Remember, even a lotus seed can knock out the Nine Respects..."

Everyone laughed wildly, but he accepted his brother's advice and kept the lotus seed, threading it with ice silk and hanging it around his neck.

When he had free time, he would take it out and look at it.

After all, if a lotus seed could knock him out, what else could?

Since then, he became more and more cautious; from being the youngest, he gradually became the core and strategist of the Nine Respects... Even the leader said that since being knocked out by the lotus seed, Old Nine had grown up...

Although everyone laughed at first, after a few times, no one joked about it anymore. Because Yun Yang's meticulous thinking and flawless strategy had earned the heartfelt respect and recognition of his brothers. Even his brothers generally believed that if Yun Yang continued to grow, he would become a terrifying figure on the entire Tian Yuan continent!

Yun Yang himself also felt that the lotus seed had made him more cautious and had greatly promoted his growth.

So he cherished it even more.

He was even more unwilling to take it off.

Even, Yun Yang had secretly vowed: when the world was peaceful and he retired, he would use every method to bring this lotus seed to life, build a large pond for it, and let it take root and grow into a lake of lotus flowers. He would build a cottage by the pond and live out his days in peace.

This was the lotus seed now in his mind.

And now, this lotus seed was in his mind, and it had sprouted!

And for some reason, the name of the lotus seed naturally came to his mind.

Life Continues Without End Lotus!