The walls of the nameless ravine were not smooth, they were jagged and uneven with rocky protrusions on both sides that resembled teeth of some ancient colossal beast. As Han Bei fell down he crashed into these protrusions and knocked several of the rock teeth out. In return, the ravine took a bite out of him as well and broke several of his bones before he hit the bottom like a sack of potatoes. Several seconds passed with no movement from Han Bei's shattered form while shards of broken rocks rained down from above.
The bottom of the ravine could only be described as barren. The shining grass that cleared away the night up above, grew only in rare patches down there, making the place almost completely dark. In the rare spots not covered by the darkness brittle gray rocks and white bones of poor souls that chose this place as their final destination covered the ground. Fauna there was scarce and the most commonly seen plant was a black bush that probably could survive the vacuüm of space and the heat of the volcano just as well as this place. The only sign of supposed life was a small yellow spring that ran through the middle of the ravine, but no fish or plant life was to be found there. Any life form that wandered to close would be assaulted by a foul smell of rot and decay.
As the dust cleared and Han Bei's broken twisted body was revealed he was suddenly poked by a wooden finger-like branch. Seconds passed and nothing changed. Surrounded by an air of determination the branch poked the pale body with increased intensity.
As there was no reaction from the insistent poking an impatient elderly voice called out, " How long you are going to sleep you lazy bum?" The old monk swung his branch in a wide arc and aimed for Han Bei's head. The blow almost landed but in the nick of time, a broken pale arm snapped back into place and caught the stick. The corpse-like man opened his green eyes and loudly shouted at the old monk that attempt to practice sword forms on him, " Will you stop hitting me you old fool, I was assessing the injuries on my body not sleeping, and how did you even get here so fas...you know what nevermind. "
The Monk innocently smiled, " Well little corpse, if you had answered to my probing immediately you wouldn't have to suffer such annoyances, so you only have yourself to blame." As if he remembered something he had forgotten the old monk also added," So how is your body? " Han Bei released the hateful stick from his grasp and snorted, " Crippled for life. All of my limbs were shattered, my spine got broken in two different places and I got a dent in my skull. " The old monk nodded as if he already expected such an answer before he gave a truly ridiculous request, " Now stand up. "
The bones all over Han Bei's body rearranged themselves and set themselves back in their place. Even when they were broken his blood congealed around the shattered pieces of the bones and fixed the broken shards together. No blood flowed from any of Han Bei's many open wounds, instead, they resembled red cracks on his pale flesh. The whole process only took around 10 seconds, and Han Bei easily stood without much discomfort.
The old monk's eyes beamed with delight, " Remarkable, your body is capable of preserving its functions and form, despite extreme damage that would cripple or kill most living beasts or cultivators." He silently observed Han Bei's body before he politely made a request, " Would you please give me your hand? "
Han Bei was, quite honestly, creeped out by the way the old monk leered at him, but the need to know of his condition far outweighed the discomfort he felt from the old monk. He hesitantly extended his hand, and the old monk tightly held it by the wrist and then used the branch to make a small puncture in the middle of Han Bei's palm.
Han Bei's hand twitched while the old monk observed the small injury with fervor in his eyes. " Now this what I'm talking about. " He quickly inserted two of his fingers inside Han Bei's new wound. Shocked Han Bei broke free of the old monk's hold and pulled his hand away. No blood spilled from the small wound but instead, it extended like rubber, as the old monk still held a part of it pinched between his fingers. Han Bei accusingly shouted, "By the Heavens, what the hell did you do to me? "
" HaHaHaHa, " the old monk joyfully laughed. " I didn't do a thing. " He released his hold and pointed at Han Bei. " It's you, little corpse, your body. It's unlike any I've seen before, " He continued with increased fervor while Han Bei inspected his hand, the blood had already shrunk and returned inside his body on its own after 30 seconds. " If a body of a normal person is a collection of countless intricate mechanisms your is a single solid mass that can essentially ignore absurd amount of damage and reconstruct itself when it's necessary, Whatever change facilitates your ability to ignore damage it also seemingly allows you to directly absorb ghost qi without going insane or crippling yourself. "
The monk mumbled under his nose in an incomprehensible manner, and it took Han Bei several attempts before the old monk returned at the topic at hand." Well moving on little corpse, strictly speaking, it isn't true that your mmm...undying physique can't heal, it just needs a certain stimulus. "
The old monk didn't break eye contact as he took a bloody piece of meat out of his sleeve. It was still fresh and warm blood slowly dripped from it. Han Bei's gaze was immediately drawn to the flesh in the monk's hands before he quickly averted his eyes in shame.
The old monk tossed the piece of meat to the young corpse and explained, " It ain't human, just take a bite. " Han Bei hesitated, " If you're lying then, you're the next dish on the menu. " He did what the monk asked, and immediately he felt a warmth that spread from his gut throughout his body. A warmth that was familiar but different at the same time. It spread from his stomach and circulated throughout his body. The warmth gathered at the places he was injured and fused with the broken bones and damaged flesh. It repaired and restored what was damaged, and just under 2 minutes many of Han Bei's injuries were healed. The old monk gave him another piece and after a grand total of 5 minutes, all of his injuries were gone without a trace.
" How do you feel? " the old monk posed a question. Han Bei answered still amazed by his own recovery, " Like some senile old fart didn't throw me down a kilometer deep ravine. " The old monk had a wide smile on his face." Well little corpse, you just may leave a mark on the long river of history, depending on what path you take forward. " This thought filled Han Bei with expectation. " I yet may pull a star down from the heavens then. "
