Within the inner landscape, there was absolute silence.
But after this silence came a thunderous roar, as if the heavens and earth were being created anew!
Yun Qi clearly felt the fireball symbolizing the heart acupoint suddenly contract, shrinking into an extremely tiny point of light.
Then, it exploded fiercely, transforming into a bright, crimson nebula.
This nebula was no longer hazy; every detail was crystal clear, illuminating the entire inner world.
Its radiance even surpassed that of "Peach Capital."
Within the nebula, a blood-red river flowed slowly, spiraling without a visible source or destination, hidden within the nebula.
Yun Qi knew this was the manifestation of his vital essence and blood.
With this blood river, as long as his heart or throat wasn't cut, ordinary wounds from blades or axes could heal.
Even reattaching severed limbs would be no problem.
Immediately after, a surge of immense vitality erupted from the blood river, spreading to every corner of the inner world.
This vitality, in an instant, even overpowered the deathly aura brought by the True Fiend rushing through his acupoints.
In that moment, Yun Qi felt an unprecedented strength.
In that instant, the skin and hair destroyed by the fiendish energy began to regrow!
This vitality, this strength, intoxicated Yun Qi.
It was an overwhelming joy, an incomparable comfort, an indescribable sensation.
As the master of this body, Yun Qi knew what this meant.
Opening the Heart Mansion extended his life by half a jiazi (30 years).
Looking again at the blood river, a figure sat quietly within, its face indistinct but its red robe striking.
It could be called the Daoist of the New Year or the Star Official of the Sun.
The aura it exuded—darkness before it spoke, infinite light after—remained unchanged.
This was Yun Qi's inner deity of the Heart Mansion.
From now on, it would manage his essence and blood, absorb fire energy, govern all acupoints, and form talismans without Yun Qi needing to lift a finger.
The Palace of Light before the Heart Mansion slowly drifted into the depths of the blood river.
Under the illumination of the nebula and the blood river, it solidified, settling there.
The plaque on the palace automatically changed from "Palace of Light" to "Heart Mansion of Light."
The inner deity entered the mansion, sitting as still as a Buddha.
In that fleeting moment, the True Fiend energy, manifesting as a gray torrent, rushed into the heart acupoint.
But now, the Heart Mansion shone brightly, its blood energy surging, firmly resisting the gray torrent, as if declaring, "This place has a master!"
With the vitality of half a jiazi's life extension, the Heart Mansion stood like a pillar in the flood, unmoved no matter how the True Fiend surged.
However, the other organ acupoints, like the minor acupoints throughout his body, were clogged by the True Fiend.
The liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all dimmed one by one.
Yun Qi watched from above, unable to describe the feeling.
Finally, perhaps only a moment later—though it felt like an eternity to Yun Qi—the gray torrent reached the Purple Palace.
"Peach Capital" erupted with dazzling light once more.
The flying sword whirled like a fiery tornado, treating the True Fiend as an enemy, slashing any fiendish energy that approached, not allowing a single strand to enter the Purple Palace.
Seeing this, Yun Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His life was saved!
And this "poisonous miasma" wouldn't wreak havoc much longer.
Yun Qi could feel that all the acupoints and meridians in his body were filled with this vile energy.
He was like a dried melon rind thrown into water; once soaked, what could the water do to him?
Returning his thoughts to the outside world, he opened his eyes.
Thanks to the immense vitality earlier, he had returned to normal from his ghastly, bloodied appearance.
This vitality still lingered within him, though it was slowly dissipating.
For Yun Qi, it was now a perfect life-saving charm.
He moved his eyes, realizing that was all he could do.
His body felt like wood, like clay.
He still lay on the "Dragon Chariot," but he couldn't control it.
His meridians were blocked, and not a trace of magic power flowed through him.
He rolled his eyes, finally thinking of a solution.
Though his meridians were clogged, his thoughts were free.
He sent a strand of thought into the cave stone on his wrist.
The gift from the Golden Phase Sect was indeed extraordinary.
Yun Qi had expected the cave stone to be unaffected by the True Fiend, being a treasure of void space.
But the white cord holding the stone was also unharmed, which pleasantly surprised him.
His thought entered the cave stone, where there wasn't much inside.
With a quick scan, he found a yellow talisman paper.
On it were cloud-like characters, forming a pattern of auspicious clouds.
In the center was a series of purple dots, arranged like the Big Dipper.
His thought landed on the handle of the Dipper.
As his thought connected with the talisman's intent, the "Dragon Chariot" beneath him moved!
Yun Qi wanted to laugh but couldn't.
And so, the "Dragon Chariot" carried Yun Qi slowly upward, swaying in the fierce wind, sometimes dropping down, but always rising.
Now, he didn't need to avoid what he thought was the poisonous miasma.
Like a carp swimming upstream, he struggled upward.
Along the way, he saw the bodies of the Miao people, the demons of Hundred Barbarians Mountain, and the Shu Dao.
But Yun Qi didn't think about retrieving the Miao people's bodies.
First, he couldn't.
Second, in this "poisonous miasma," the bodies would either be clogged by the miasma, turning into mummies, or be ground into dust by the fiery winds rising from below.
In any case, this place was far from damp and dark, so there was no chance of the corpses turning into zombies.
However, he didn't see Li Yingqiong.
He wondered if the ten-thousand-year cold jade could protect her.
After what felt like an eternity, when he felt his thought had nearly exhausted the talisman's power, he finally saw daylight.
Huh, had the rain finally stopped?
Yun Qi thought to himself.
Around Rotten Peach Mountain, the Red-Haired Ancestor, Green-Robed Ancestor, Li Yuanhua, Hong Changbao, Xin Chenzi, and Liu Tianfang, who had stopped fighting at some point, all looked at the center of the mountain with strange expressions.
Amid the漫天煞气华光 (fiendish energy and radiant light), a red cloud slowly rose, carrying a young Taoist.
"Who is that? Did anyone besides Wen Sukong go down there?" the Red-Haired Ancestor asked.
Liu Tianfang squinted, somewhat incredulous.
"It seems to be her disciple, Cheng Yunqi?"
"Then where is Wen Sukong?"
"Could she still be searching down there?"
Seeing no one answered the master, Hong Changbao chimed in with a redundant reply.
The Red-Haired Ancestor waved his hand, summoning the red cloud closer.
He smiled, thinking this was a good seedling for fire cultivation.
As the red cloud approached, everyone saw the young Taoist.
Those present were no ordinary folk; they could tell at a glance that this first-realm Taoist had been thoroughly ravaged by the True Fiend rushing through his acupoints.
His body was almost like a corpse, yet he had protected his heart and Purple Palace, escaping with his life.
"Quickly, call Wen Sukong out!" the Red-Haired Ancestor urged.
Hong Changbao obeyed, not entering the cave but using his magic to call out from afar, "Sister Wen! Sister Wen!"
Yun Qi now wished he had died in the cave.
Who knew why there were so many people above Rotten Peach Mountain?
And he was completely naked!
The Red-Haired Ancestor and Green-Robed Ancestor exchanged glances, both noticing the green dragon scales stuck to Yun Qi's chest.
At that moment, Wen Sukong, who had been searching the cave for a long time, arrived in a flash of dark light.
Seeing Yun Qi, her eyes turned red.
She casually took out a piece of clothing from her随身洞天法宝 (portable cave treasure) and covered Yun Qi, then transformed into dark light again, preparing to leave with her disciple.
But the Red-Haired Ancestor suddenly stopped her.
"This child risked his life for my disciple and hastily opened his heart acupoint to survive, depleting his vital energy. I feel guilty. This drop of heart's blood is my compensation. A proper gift will be sent to Three Purities Mountain later."
With that, the Red-Haired Ancestor flicked a drop of blood, which floated to the dark light.
The blood drop glowed red, crystal-like and jade-like.
The dark light didn't hesitate, enveloping the blood drop and swiftly departing.
(End of Chapter)