Sitting beside Lin Zhuyu, Liu Xing noticed the ambient qi Qing Yuan gathered around her was different than before. When healing Qing Yuan, it swirled slowly and gently, yet firm and uniform, like a steady whirlpool in the middle of a lake. Now, as Liu Xing pressed Lin Zhuyu's severed right limb to her stump, the qi that gathered and swirled around her was neither steady nor uniform. Its movement was sluggish, almost lazy, as if it had no real intention of saving her.

Looking to the side, Qing Yuan was fully concentrating on his task, which indicated this was the true extent of his ability to manipulate ambient qi. It wasn't Lin Zhuyu's fault, really. The ambient qi seemed exceptionally fond of Qing Yuan, and it seems that fondness didn't extend to others. Liu Xing was grateful the qi was willing to help at all and decided he needed to pick up the slack.

He pushed his potent qi from his index finger and synced its movement with the ambient qi. After a moment, the combined energy glittered with countless bright lights, like a whirlpool of twinkling stars. Lin Zhuyu's eyes widened with awe as she looked around and realized she was the center of these beautiful lights.

With their combined effort, Liu Xing and Qing Yuan pressed the swirling, glittering qi to her right leg. Instantly, the flesh from the stump and the severed leg began to grow. But unlike with Qing Yuan, the growth was incredibly slow, even slower than when Qing Yuan had been treated by the ambient qi alone. Unsatisfied, Liu Xing let the gun absorb more of his qi, converting it into bullets and projecting it into the air. He mixed it with the ambient qi, making the glittering whirlpool around them shine brighter. The light grew overwhelming, and he could feel the air become slightly hotter. When this newly mixed qi touched Lin Zhuyu's wound, she gasped in pain and her body jolted.

"Does it hurt?" Liu Xing asked.

She was silent for a moment, then she nodded. "Yes. It's like dipping my leg into water that's about to boil."

Liu Xing licked his lips, his expression twisting as his heart began to beat slightly faster. This was completely different from before. With Qing Yuan, the process had been easy, efficient, and smooth.

"Can you endure the pain?" he asked the girl.

"Yes," she nodded. "It's a fair price to get my leg back."

"Alright, then let's continue."

"Liu Xing," said Lin Zhuyu, her eyes shining with determination. "I will endure the pain. So, even if I cry or scream or thrash around, please don't stop. I want my legs back."

Her words landed on him like a giant burden. He grimaced, but nodded with equal determination. He was determined to succeed as well, and he decided that even if she screamed and thrashed around, he would see this through. With renewed focus, Liu Xing added a little more potent qi to the mix. Not wanting to be outdone, Qing Yuan began gathering more ambient qi from all around. He realized that a fine balance was needed. Too little ambient qi, and the effect would be weak. Too much potent qi, however, would make the mixture too violent, causing more pain and danger during the procedure. He thought his pills might help, but decided to play it safe for now.

"Here we go again," Liu Xing said, letting the swirling qi touch her wound.

The moment it made contact, her body jerked, and she began to whimper and bite her own hand to keep from screaming. The flesh on her stump and the severed leg began to grow and wriggled like a nest of unearthed worms. The tendrils of flesh from both sides reached for each other, and when they met, they melded with a hiss, like meat frying on a hot pan. Lin Zhuyu's body began to thrash more violently, and the spot where she bit her hand started to bleed. Liu Xing and Qing Yuan didn't stop, both doing their part as best they could. Lin Zhuyu's muffled screams were the only sound they heard. Liu Xing desperately wished he had painkillers. Alas, he had no such thing, and the only thing he could do was finish this as quickly as possible.

The process was violent, something that would likely haunt Lin Zhuyu's nightmares, but Liu Xing couldn't deny that it was working. Flesh melded, severed veins connected, and new tissue and muscle grew in the gap between the stump and the leg. Even her bones were beginning to fuse.

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"Just a little more," Liu Xing muttered, sweat dripping from his chin. "This is working. Even if it's painful, it's working." Lin Zhuyu didn't answer, her focus entirely on enduring the pain.

After ten minutes that felt like an eternity, the skin around the wound began to close. Like Qing Yuan's, her new skin was pink and raw, but it was finally over. Her right leg was reattached, leaving only a thin line marking where it had been severed. Liu Xing pulled his hand away and stopped the flow of qi. His breath came in harsh gasps, his heart hammering so fast he felt his chest would explode.

"Lin Zhuyu," he called. "It's over. Please move your toes a little."

Her leg might have been reattached, but it was useless if she couldn't move it. Before they moved on to her left leg, he needed to make sure her right foot was working properly. All he could do now was think positively, because if it didn't work, he had no idea what to do next. He certainly wasn't going to sever it again.

Lin Zhuyu was breathing heavily. Vapor escaped her mouth and nose like smoke. Her face was deathly pale, her lips were coated in blood, and so was her right hand. He couldn't imagine how much pain she had endured. It must have felt like being sliced with a glowing-hot sword. Liu Xing had to repeat his question several times before Lin Zhuyu finally acknowledged him. She closed her eyes as if moving her toes were a monumental task requiring all her willpower. Maybe it was.

His and Qing Yuan's eyes were fixed on her toes. Her foot and toes, especially her big toe, were covered in a mixture of blood and sand. Seeing the sand, he hoped that the mixed qi had not only reattached the limb, but also sterilized it so that infection would not occur. Shaking his head, he forced his mind back to the present and stared intently at her toes. All eyes were on her bloody foot. Everyone held their breath. At that moment, it was the most important foot in the world. If it moved, it meant hope. If it didn't, it meant despair.

Lin Zhuyu grunted, as if she were pushing the biggest boulder in the world. Then, the muscles in her right foot twitched, and her big toe jerked. Liu Xing's heart skipped a beat. His eyes told him it had really twitched, but doubt and anxiety warred with what he saw and trying to convince him it was a mere illusion.

"Again," Liu Xing muttered. With another effort, Lin Zhuyu moved her big toe to the side. He stared at the toe with a surprised expression, as if it were the most incredible thing he had ever witnessed. A surge of emotion rose in his chest, and his fist clenched in triumph. But he reined it in. Not yet, not yet. He had to be one hundred percent sure. "Once more."

Lin Zhuyu bit her lip. With another great effort, she moved her big toe to the left, and then, to Liu Xing's astonishment, to the right. Then, in an action that made his jaw drop, Lin Zhuyu wiggled all of her toes at once. All of them moved. They moved!

"Yes!" Liu Xing shot to his feet and punched the air. "Hell yeah!"

Not only her toes, but the muscles in her calf were moving, some of her veins wriggling beneath the skin. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Qing Yuan's face bloomed into a bright smile, as if he too had witnessed a miracle. Lin Zhuyu was sobbing with relief, and the other people, their own limbs still severed, smiled and cheered at the success.

"You all see that?" Liu Xing grinned, pointing to her right foot. "It moved! It moved!"

Liu Xing wanted to dance, but instead, he knelt beside Lin Zhuyu again. She smiled at him brightly, as if she had just been given the most amazing present in the world. "Let's attach your left leg!" Liu Xing continued. "It will still hurt, but I know you'll endure."

Lin Zhuyu thanked him, then nodded and began to prepare herself for the next procedure. Despite the hellish pain, she was eager. He was eager. Even Qing Yuan was eager. They had seen that reattaching their limbs was not impossible. Now, even if the pain was akin to being cut into a thousand pieces, Lin Zhuyu would endure it.

The next reattachment still took time and considerable effort, but everyone involved felt rejuvenated. After a while, her left leg was whole again, and Lin Zhuyu wiggled all of her toes as if trying to make them dance.

"Let's move to the next person," Qing Yuan said with a smile, then announced, "Who's next?"

But, just as Qing Yuan shouted and the wounded cried out, "Me!," Liu Xing felt a sudden fluctuation of qi around him. Moments before, the potent qi had settled in the air, ready to be called upon. Now, it fled from him as if he were a predator and it was prey. Instantly, a bad premonition settled in his heart. His smile vanished and his heart began to beat frantically. Then, suddenly, black smoke began to emerge from his stomach.

"What—" Liu Xing stopped himself. He remembered something like this happening once before, when he was fighting Han Jiulao. The black smoke had emerged from his body and compromised his invisibility. Realizing the implication, Liu Xing's eyes widened. To this day, the creature of darkness inside his consciousness—the mark—still existed. He hadn't had time to deal with it thoroughly. The mark's function was to locate him, which meant…

"Liu Xing," Qing Yuan said, pointing to the silhouette of the island in the distance. "There are no more sounds coming from there. No silhouettes of those monsters in the sky."

Liu Xing looked at the island, then down at his stomach.

The Nether Lotus Sect was coming.

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