Chapter 2896 — What Are You Saying?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"I hear your sect has a certain treasure—something called Earth-Element Essence Liquid?" Wei Zhao asked.
"That... we do indeed have it..." The Earth Drill Star's expression shifted slightly. This was one of the sect's greatest treasures. Surely Wei Zhao was not going to demand it?
"Good, that's all I needed to hear. Two vials of Earth-Element Essence Liquid, plus the method for using them, and I can bring your Young Sect Master back to life!" Wei Zhao said.
"Two vials..." The Earth Drill Star's face turned even grimmer. Still, for the Young Sect Master's life, he pressed on. "Senior Lin, I will report your terms to our Sect Master and request his instructions. But please wait a while..."
"That's no problem. Go and ask." Wei Zhao nodded.
"Very well, Senior Lin. If we agree to your terms, you can certainly heal our Young Sect Master's injuries, yes?" the Earth Drill Star asked.
"Who said anything about healing him? I only said bringing him back to life," Wei Zhao said flatly.
"That... isn't it the same thing?" The Earth Drill Star was puzzled.
"Of course not. Bringing him back to life merely means he lives—no longer dependent on Great Return Pills to keep going, able to live like a normal person. Healing him means repairing every meridian in his body so that he can continue to cultivate. Those are two entirely different notions. Do not conflate them." Wei Zhao waved a hand.
"Ah? Then... how might he be healed?" The Earth Drill Star could not help a bitter smile. "Senior Lin, why not state all your terms at once? I will go ask the Sect Master..."
"Bringing him back to life, yes. Repairing meridians is reserved solely for those close to me—my kin, my subordinates, that sort of person. I do not offer that treatment to outsiders under any circumstances, because it consumes vast amounts of my physical stamina and true qi. No terms will change that!" Wei Zhao declared with absolute finality.
"This..." The Earth Drill Star was briefly taken aback. Yet recalling what the Heavenly Silkworm Transformation had said about Wei Zhao's temperament, he supposed it was hardly surprising. And there was no real problem in it either: once the Earth Tyrant was alive, he could simply pester Wei Zhao relentlessly until Wei Zhao took him on as a follower—and then he could be treated, could he not?
So the Earth Drill Star's pressing task was to seek instructions from Earth Green Pine. He said to Wei Zhao, "Very well, Senior Lin. Please wait a moment—I will consult our Sect Master of the Yellow Earth High Sect!"
"Go on." Wei Zhao waved him off.
The Earth Drill Star stepped out of the room and went to telephone Earth Green Pine.
The call connected quickly. For some time now, Earth Green Pine had been sick with worry over the Earth Tyrant. The boy was his only nephew, and the only direct blood descendant of the Yellow Earth High Sect! The sect might be considerable in size, but its direct bloodline was thin.
This had to do with the inheritance of the Yellow Earth High Sect's bloodline. Their blood carried an abundance of earth-element essence—which, by any reasonable measure, made for a superb earth-attribute constitution, ideally suited to receiving the earth-element legacy of enlightenment.
But because male cultivators could not receive that legacy—only females could—the male cultivators of the Yellow Earth High Sect's bloodline were truly wretched. If they had not reached the Heaven rank before the age of twenty, their only fate was to wait for death!
True, Earth-Element Essence Liquid combined with materials taken from Heaven-rank earth-element spirit beasts could prolong life, but each extension lasted only five years. By thirty, there was nothing left but a quiet death. And Heaven-rank earth-element spirit beasts were exceedingly rare; even though the Yellow Earth High Sect kept one in captivity, they could not draw its blood too often, or the beast itself would not survive and would die.