“The risk is acceptable now. You can enter,” I tell the two of them and the door opens.

This is the first time that they have been allowed into Yun Fei’s room. Before now, the toxicity within the room has always been enough to seriously injure, cripple or outright kill the two, depending on how long they stayed. For the most part, Lan Xiaohui would open the door and float me to Yun Fei’s side, where I would perform the work necessary to keep Yun Fei alive.

Though I told them that I can keep her alive for six to twelve months, the reality is a bit different. I can keep her alive for two to three weeks, and induce a change in her Physique that would allow her to endure another treatment, extending her life another two to three weeks.

Eventually, her Physique will outgrow my ability to improve it and the balance in her spiritual veins will collapse and she will die.

The method of inducing this change in her Physique is to refine her body with my refining flame as if she was an inanimate object of high grade. The residual energy and fumes of this method are so toxic that I almost regret being unable to collect it and store it for my own use.

I don’t consider it that great of a loss because I already possess an infinite source of extremely powerful poison — the same poison I am using to “treat” Yun Fei.

Though they had seen Yun Fei before, it was only through the curtains. Now that they could approach and see her countenance once more, it leaves them deeply shocked and disturbed.

Yun Fei’s skin is so pale that her black veins are visible through the myriad scars left behind by the refining process. Each time her body expels the impurities of her previous, weaker Physique, it comes up through her skin, cutting and burning its way through.

Her skin is so delicate that it is see-through, almost like sheer silk.

Lan Xiaohui’s eyes tear up immediately and even Wu Yulan, who has no ties to this girl, cannot help but try her best to suppress sorrow and pity in her heart.

“Yun Fei…” Lan Xiaohui says, her fingers reaching out to touch the girl’s cheek.

She is no longer dangerous to the touch, so I do not stop Lan Xiaohui.

“Can… can she hear me?” Lan Xiaohui asks, gently brushing her fingers against Yun Fei’s cheek.

“No,” I tell her.

Yun Fei has not been awake for two months. She will remain in a coma for a long time to come. At the moment, the pain she is enduring is so great, that if she were to regain consciousness, she would die from shock.

“Why is she like this?” Wu Yulan asks, her voice low.

“She is beyond the point where medicine can help her,” I tell them. “Since she is already so, the only option left is to refine her like an object.”

At my words, Wu Yulan’s eyes widen — a mix of shock and anger. Lan Xiaohui’s eyes close, desperately trying to hold back her tears.

“This is too cruel…” Wu Yulan mutters under her breath.

“It depends on her luck and will, but like this, it might even be possible to treat her completely.”

“What?!” Wu Yulan exclaims.

“Is… is that really true, Yaoyue?” Lan Xiaohui asks.

“The possibility is so small, it is barely worth mentioning. But it exists.”

This time, they focus on Yun Fei. Though Lan Xiaohui squeezes Yun Fei’s hand, while also stroking her cheek, neither of them feels happy about the news.

Deep in their hearts, they understand that if Yun Fei is cured like this, she will experience only hell and pain for the rest of her considerably shortened lifespan. These scars, broken cultivation, a frail Physique — the flaws are too many to enumerate.

“How… how do we become stronger, Yaoyue?” Lan Xiaohui asks. “We have to go deeper into the Forbidden Lands.”

“You have to comprehend Empty Moon Prana,” I tell them.

Wu Yulan frowns. “We tried already. We spent day and night reading that tablet and meditating on it. It is too fragmented and incomprehensible.”

Lan Xiaohui nods. “And even if we comprehend it, how is it going to help? It is a cultivation method, not a martial art style.”

“You are correct,” I tell them. “It is a cultivation method, but there are two reasons why it is useful to you.”

Lan Xiaohui’s eyebrows rise at my words. “What are these reasons?”

“First: It is likely related to your Emptiness Prana cultivation method. Since you have practiced your Sword Domain alongside this breathing method, if this Empty Moon Prana turns out to be related to Emptiness Prana, it could directly improve your Sword Domain.”

I do not come to this conclusion frivolously. [Transient Sword] was related to [Fractured Sword]. Lady Yue also seems to have connections with the Galaxy Sword sect. She said that Emptiness Prana was something she found and never had the opportunity to cultivate in her earlier years. If Lady Yue has a background with the Galaxy Sword sect, it could be that her Emptiness Prana directly came from the sect — perhaps it is even the missing fragments of Empty Moon Prana.

Lan Xiaohui is lost in thought, likely considering the same reasoning that delivered me to my conclusion.

“I don’t practice this breathing method, but perhaps it can help me as well,” Wu Yulan says. “What is the second reason?”

“The Empty Moon Prana fundamentally improves the mind and the soul, then the body, then the cultivation,” I tell them. “To sword cultivators, it is the best possible method to practice.”

“Huh!?” Lan Xiaohui is ripped from her thoughts, and her head swivels in my direction.

Wu Yulan is equally surprised by my words. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still not understand the fundamentals of the sword? No matter how hard you cultivate, only the violent power of your energy will improve. The true force and sharpness of sword methods come from the refinement of your sword intent; your mind and your soul.”

A single mote of pure sword energy appears in the air between the three of us, and its stable existence is nothing like the trembling speck that the two of them can summon.

Yet its appearance drives deep fear into their bones. Their pupils narrow to tiny points, and cold sweat begins to slide down their foreheads.

Wu Yulan swallows. “I… you are right,” she says. “But is it… really this big of a difference?”

The mote of sword energy disappears. “It is the most important factor,” I tell them. “Having a weak soul and mind, but deep cultivation, is like wielding a very large, but blunt sword — or even a club. But with a mind and soul that can fuse into a peerless sword, even a blade of grass can become a weapon to kill thousands.”

“But how… do we learn something that is impossible to comprehend? That Empty Moon Prana… it might take months or even years to gain an enlightenment,” Lan Xiaohui says, with a heavy sigh in her tone.

Wu Yulan nods. “Xuelian is right. You have seen it too, Yaoyue. It is too fragmented.”

They are not wrong. Even if I had my [Critical Analysis] available, I doubt it would be possible for me to learn the method to any degree of mastery. It truly is garbage left over from an ancient era. Even though the latter parts of the method are barely legible, it would take an immense amount of reverse engineering to understand the most important fundamentals.

“There is an entity that I observe in my Inner World that has taught me something important in recent times,” I explain to them. “Whenever it visits this Secret Sword Realm Nexus, it returns with knowledge of new methods and a deeper understanding of the laws of the universe.”

Wu Yulan looks confused, but my words strike a chord with Lan Xiaohui. “The Second Layer reward…”

“Correct,” I tell them.

“What is this Secret Sword Realm Nexus?” Wu Yulan asks.

“I do not have that information. It is most likely a formation that induces forced enlightenment — like that Ancient Sword Graveyard.”

When I mention the three words “Ancient Sword Graveyard”, their eyes come to life full of hope. They have personally witnessed and felt the power of this ‘forced enlightenment’ and the method they have learned — and managed to fuse with their own martial arts — was incomparably powerful.

“When is the next Cycle?” Lan Xiaohui asks.

“Tomorrow at dusk.”

Lan Xiaohui smiles and strokes Yun Fei’s hair. “You will be fine, Yun Fei,” she says. “I will save you.”