Kiosks, pavilions, small bridges, flowing water.

Pieces of sandalwood were connected piece by piece, forming a winding path of sandalwood. From afar, it looked like a long dragon made of sandalwood.

Soon, Jiang Yingrong led Ou Yangming and He Jian to a woman’s room. Purple smoke was rising in the air. It was light and elegant, and the fragrance was refreshing. It had the effect of removing congestion and activating blood circulation.

Jiang Yingrong placed her index finger on her red lips and gestured to the men to keep quiet. She lowered her voice and said, “Elder Zhihai’s preparing to use silver needles on Lil’ Man. Don’t make any noise as he doesn’t like to be disturbed. Besides, it’ll also be beneficial to Lil’ Man’s injuries.”

Ou Yangming and He Jian immediately understood. They nodded and looked over.

They saw Lil’ Man lying flat on the bed. His upper body was bare, and his face was pale. His eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and his aura was indistinct. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer as agile as before. He was only dazed and at a loss.

Jiang Zhihai happened to look over at this moment. His gaze met that of Ou Yangming and He Jian met in the air, but no one spoke.

After a moment, Jiang Zhihai retracted his gaze and focused on his spiritual altar. He put down the medicine furnace and a package. Following that, he lifted his hand to open the package and took out a silver-white box. He lifted his finger, put his thumb and middle finger together, and made the shape of a flower. Afterward, the elder took out a silver needle and transferred his spiritual power onto it. The silver needle jumped up, emitting a faint fluorescent light. He rubbed his fingers twice and pressed down lightly. The silver needle was like a stream of light, accurately landing on Lil’ Man’s Tianling acupoint.

Nonetheless, Lil’ Man did not feel anything at all. Even his expression did not change.

Ou Yangming discovered that Jiang Zhihai was very fast in applying the needle. No, this was definitely more than just being fast. It was proficiency—a level of proficiency that had reached an astonishing level.

Even so, his brows were still slightly knitted together. He felt that this method was somewhat inappropriate.

Jiang Zhihai was immersed in applying the needle. He did not notice Ou Yangming’s expression at all. On the contrary, it was Jiang Yingrong who was meticulous and caught this subtle change in the young fellow’s expression. She thought to herself, ‘Elder Zhihai’s the Jiang family’s most proficient elder in medicinal acupuncture. Why does Brother Yu still feel dissatisfied? Could it be…’ With this thought, she felt that the sky that was covered by dark clouds turned bright once again, and she saw hope again.

It was at this moment the second silver needle was picked up by Jiang Zhihai. Spiritual power flowed along his meridians to the tip of his finger, and he lightly shook his fingers.

As if the silver needle had eyes, it accurately landed on Lil’ Man’s Quchi acupoint.

Then, the third and fourth needles landed on the Tianhui acupoint and the Baiya acupoint respectively.

After a full hour, Jiang Zhihai had applied tens of silver needles.

He put away the medicine furnace and the package, raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and slightly cupped his hands. He lowered his voice to the lowest possible and expressed “Young Lady, I’ve tried my best. The poison in Lil’ Man’s body has invaded his internal organs and penetrated deep into his bone marrow, to the point that it assimilated into his Bloodline Power. At this stage, it’s impossible for even a deity to save him.” His voice was very soft, and it was filled with deep regret.

“Elder Zhi Hai, is there really no other way?” Jiang Yingrong’s voice was bitter.

“Yes. The poison’s too overbearing. It’s constantly evolving, and they even cooperate with each other. I’ve been dealing with poison my whole life, but this is my first time seeing such a poison. Besides, spiritual herbs are scarce in the Big Ruins. Even if we were to refine pills for him, there won’t be enough medicinal herbs.” Jiang Zhihai looked at Jiang Yingrong with a helpless expression. He also kept sizing up He Jian and Ou Yangming through the corner of his eyes to guess their identities.

“I’ll give it a try!” Ou Yangming took a step forward when he heard this. Without waiting for the others to answer, he walked directly to the bedside.

Jiang Zhihai looked dubious, but he did not say anything. He quietly looked at Jiang Yingrong.

The woman pondered for a moment and said softly, “I believe in Brother Yu…” She sounded as if she was encouraging herself, then she continued, “The medicinal pills Brother Yu refined in the ancient city caused a sensation. All the forces fought to buy them. Pills and poisons are connected—this is a principle left behind by our great ancestors. I think it can’t be wrong.”

After hearing this, the look of suspicion on Jiang Zhihai’s face lessened a bit. Since Ou Yangming could refine medicinal pills, he must have some attainments in detoxification.

Ou Yangming looked at Lil’ Man with a pained expression. With a flash of thought, he entered the state of the connection between Heaven and man. A mysterious aura spread out.

It was as if he had become the only ruler of this space at this moment. He could say whatever he wanted, and his words and actions were in accordance with the heavenly path. This was the mysterious aspect of the connection between Heaven and man.

Golden mental power surged out and entered Lil’ Man’s body to check on his injuries.

Immediately, a shocking wound appeared in Ou Yangming’s spiritual world. He knew right away that it was a scar left behind by the forceful extraction of Lil’ Man’s Bloodline Power. It had healed, but there were still traces left behind. Around the wound, faint black lights flickered. The young fellow observed it for a moment, and then his boundless mental power pressed down.

Nevertheless, as soon as Ou Yangming’s mental power approached, the wisps of black light fused into Lil’ Man’s flesh and bones. It was difficult to get rid of them. The only way was to scrape off all of the child’s flesh and bones then break them into pieces. It would have been fine if that was all but what was even more terrifying was that the black lights kept devouring the spiritual power in Lil’ Man’s flesh and bones. They strengthened themselves and further derived where 1 turned into 10, 10 turned into 100, and it was endless. It was also because the child had a deep obsession in his heart, or he would have withered like a flower long ago.

Another kind of light silver energy separated every bone in Lil’ Man’s body, delaying the spread of the poison.

Ou Yangming knew this silver energy was left behind by Jiang Zhihai when he used the silver needles.

He took a deep breath, and multicolored light appeared in his dantian. His white robe fluttered even though there was no wind. Vast spiritual power circulated in his veins and followed his palm into Lil’ Man’s body, protecting his internal organs and veins. After just a moment, Ou Yangming was surprised to find that his spiritual power was slowly being devoured by the black lights, and more black lights were generated.

Ou Yangming was silent for a while, and a ruthless look flashed across his eyes. He sneered internally. ‘Devouring? Let’s see if you have the ability to do so!’

With a flash of thought, he mobilized the Devouring Power and pointed at the spot between Lil’ Man’s eyebrows. This power that seemed to be able to devour all things immediately followed Ou Yangming’s will and circulated through Lil’ Man’s meridians. In an instant, the black lights in the child’s body seemed to have met their natural enemy as they continuously shrank their range of movement. They entrenched themselves in the child’s flesh and blood.

Despite that, the Devouring Power was overbearing. It tore the black lights out in a tyrannical manner and devoured them directly.

Having said that, there were simply too many of these black lights, and they had fused with Lil’ Man’s flesh and blood. Ou Yangming could only settle for the second-best. He used the Devouring Power to protect Lil’ Man’s heart meridian and slowly worked on it.

As the Devouring Power continued to circulate, the poison in Lil’ Man’s body stopped spreading and was developing in a positive direction.

After an hour, Ou Yangming let out a long sigh of relief. He opened his eyes and turned around, then he said with a light smile, “The poison in Lil’ Man’s body has been temporarily controlled. When the poison’s a little weaker, I’ll refine a kind of medicinal pill. In less than a month, he’ll be full of vigor again.”

“That… Brother Yu… Is what you said true?” Jiang Yingrong was startled at first, then he revealed a pleasantly surprised expression.

After seeing Ou Yangming, she had been feeling guiltier than she was. An invisible voice in her mind was constantly scolding her. Finally, the heavy weight in her heart lightened after she heard the young fellow’s reply.

“Of course, it’s true!” Ou Yangming nodded heavily.

He Jian’s body trembled, but his face did not change much.

Jiang Zhihai took a step and walked out. His face looked complicated. He asked softly, “Can you let me take a look?” He refused to believe it. He could not do anything about the poison, and yet it was controlled by Ou Yangming within an hour. Most importantly, the young fellow was too young. It was hard to convince him.

“Please!” Ou Yangming was calm. He raised his hand and beckoned.

Jiang Zhihai walked to the side of the bed. His center of gravity sank, and his mind was as one. With a light tap of his finger, spiritual power entered Lil’ Man’s body through his fingers and circulated through her meridians.

Instantly, every subtle change in Lil’ Man’s body appeared in his senses. The black lights that were originally rampaging seemed to have encountered the most terrifying thing. They curled up, but they were still mercilessly devoured by that mysterious power and became lesser.

This power was fearsome to them. It was not the amount of power, but its nature.

If words were to be used to describe it, it was a power of a higher level.

Of course, Jiang Zhihai was only an Intermediate Spiritualist, so he naturally did not know what was different. He only felt his heart palpitate as if he was being stared at by a venomous snake in the darkness.

When he opened his eyes he took in a breath of cold air and forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart. He cupped his hands and said, “Master Yu, your attainments in detoxification are above mine. I’m ashamed of my inferiority.” Previously, he heard Jiang Yingrong addressing Ou Yangming as a brother, so it would not be wrong for him to call Master Yu.

“Elder Zhihai, you flatter me.” Ou Yangming returned the bow with a smile.

The worry in the corner of Jiang Yingrong’s eyes finally eased, and she said with a light smile, “Brother Yu, since Lil’ Man’s injuries have been controlled, the two of you should rest first and take a hot bath.” As she said that, she shifted her gaze to He Jian and pretended to be bitter. “Don’t you think so, Elder He?”

He Jian smiled bitterly. He knew what she meant by calling him “Elder He’.

At this moment, Jiang Qingcheng quietly poked her head in from outside the door. She curved her eyes and said with a smile, “I’ll take Uncle Yu to rest first!” Obviously, she had been hiding outside the door for a long time. As soon as she finished, she took small steps to Ou Yangming’s side and gently grabbed the corner of his sleeve to tell him to leave quickly.

Jiang Yingrong’s face revealed a look of pity, but she could not bear to say anything harsh. Besides, Qingcheng being close to Ou Yangming was something she could not have wished for. After all, she had seen and remembered the young fellow’s various strange abilities. If the little girl could learn just a little bit, would she not be able to enjoy endless benefits in her life?