Chapter 2598 — Li Cihua's Departure
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Reporting to the Old Master, judging by Old Bi's present condition, he must have failed in his breakthrough attempt, causing his blood and vital energy to flow in reverse until his body burst and killed him. This is a circumstance that often befalls ** practitioners who force a breakthrough!" Zhao the Medicine King was deeply versed in the medical arts, and knew a great deal about the healing of ** practitioners in particular; Old Bi's manner of death was not especially rare.
When ** practitioners attempt a breakthrough, they invariably face a certain degree of danger—only for some the margin is a hair's breadth, so the risk of breakthrough is comparatively small; at worst they fail, but they will never die.
The so-called forced breakthrough is this: certain ** practitioners, having reached a certain age and knowing their days are numbered, understand that unless their strength advances to the next tier they are doomed beyond question—and so they choose to force the breakthrough.
In other words, such a person still has some distance to travel before breaking through, but because time runs short, he employs some secret method to compel himself through the barrier. This is what is called shutting oneself in the gate of life and death: no breakthrough means death. And the fatal signs that follow such a seclusion—Zhao the Medicine King knew a thing or two about them.
"Failed in his breakthrough?" Though Old Master Zhao had never witnessed such a thing, he had heard of it. Hearing Zhao the Medicine King's conclusion, his expression eased considerably; recalling what Zhu the Leader had told him before, he turned to look at Zhu the Leader. "Zhu the Leader, could this Barrier-Breaking Elixir be the legendary potion used precisely for forced breakthroughs, for sealing oneself in the gate of life and death?"
"I... I don't know..." Zhu the Leader's face was ashen. "That Heaven-rank expert only told me that either he recovers and breaks through, or he dies..."
"Then that must be it!" Old Master Zhao nodded after hearing this. Thinking on it now, it truly did resemble the sealing of the gate of life and death—it was only that the thought had not occurred to him at the time. "Never mind, this is not your fault. You did not know either."
"Thank you for your understanding, Old Master!" Zhu the Leader breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly.
"As things stand, Zhu the Second held out, but Old Bi did not... Alas, the affairs of this world are truly beyond reckoning!" Old Master Zhao said. "Still, there is cause for celebration—our Hidden Zhao family has gained another early Earth-rank expert. That counts as a good thing, I suppose!"
"Thank you for your trust, Patriarch. We two brothers will surely do our utmost in service to the family!" Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second hastened to declare.
Yet in Zhu the Leader's heart there was only contempt. He sneered coldly to himself: serve, my arse—from now on we serve Leader Wei Zhao!
"This matter must remain an absolute secret of our Hidden Zhao family. That Heaven-rank expert surely does not wish us to go around spreading it!" Old Master Zhao pondered a moment, then gave his orders. "Old Mian, see that Old Bi is buried with all due honor—he was a great contributor to our Hidden Zhao family! And Zhu the Second, since your injuries are fully healed, you shall continue to attend Zhao Qibing as before. Zhu the Leader, you too go back to Songshan City and keep watching over Chen Xi."
"Yes!" The others answered one after another, while Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second quietly exhaled in relief. It seemed Shen Yushu's scheme had indeed been sound—it had successfully fooled Old Master Zhao and Zhao the Medicine King. Old Bi, though, had been rather unlucky, to drop dead just like that, carrying his regrets and his bitterness with him.