With three supreme masters, they were invincible upon descending the mountain.

Ye Yaocheng said in a low voice, "Miss Lin, please stand guard at the door. The treatment must not be disturbed."

Lin Qingxue nodded vigorously, wiped away her tears, and walked quickly to the door.

She leaned against the door, her hand pressed against her chest, feeling her heart pounding wildly.

Ye Yaocheng walked to the bedside, took out the familiar cloth bag, and unfolded it on the bedside table.

Nine cold iron needles with cloud patterns gleamed with a cold, bluish light under the lamp.

The needle was very light, but it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in my hand.

Ye Yaocheng took a deep breath, looked at the dying old man on the bed, and murmured to himself:

"Master...you always said that your Nine Yang Divine Needles are a skill that can snatch people from the clutches of the King of Hell."

His fingers brushed against the needle tip; the cool touch reminded him of the old man who always wore a white robe and had an air of otherworldly wisdom.

That master, revered as a medical sage who saved countless lives, always said he was just meddling in other people's business.

"You said that this acupuncture technique, when practiced to its fullest extent, although it cannot bring the dead back to life or heal flesh and bones, can still contend with the King of Hell. As long as the patient has even a breath left, as long as that breath hasn't dissipated..."

"If the needle is removed, the life can be saved."

He had heard these words for eight years.

Every time the master talked about it, his face was filled with an almost arrogant confidence.

Ye Yaocheng listened with great fascination each time.

It's one thing to yearn for something, but when you actually stand here, holding a needle in your hand, with a life hanging by a thread in front of you, it's quite another.

Tension is unavoidable.

Ye Yaocheng admitted that he was nervous.

This was the most seriously ill patient he had encountered since coming down the mountain.

The toxins penetrate deep into the heart and erode the five internal organs, almost extinguishing the will to live. Ordinary doctors, upon seeing this, would only shake their heads and say to prepare for the worst.

"But... I am your disciple!"

Ye Yaocheng spoke softly, as if speaking to his master in the distance, or as if speaking to himself: "You have saved patients who were much more seriously ill than this, you have saved tens of thousands of patients."

"You can do it."

"I can do it too."

He exhaled and closed his eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, all the hesitation and tension had vanished.

All that remained was a calm and steadfast resolve.

He picked up all nine silver needles at once.

First injection.

The Tanzhong acupoint.

The moment the needle pierced the skin, Ye Yaocheng slightly twirled his fingertips.

A wisp of extremely fine true energy flowed into the old man's body through the needle.

The dormant meridians, like a dried-up riverbed encountering spring rain, begin to tremble slightly.

The second injection.

Shenque point.

The third injection.

Guanyuan acupoint...

Nine needles were inserted, precisely locking onto nine vital acupoints.

Ye Yaocheng held the needles with both hands and began to twist them with his fingers.

very slow.

Each rotation felt like pushing a massive boulder weighing thousands of pounds.

The effect was immediate.

Old Master Lin's ashen face visibly regained a faint tinge of color.

Her eyelids twitched slightly.

The electrocardiogram machine next to it, which had been showing a flat curve, began to show slight fluctuations.

efficient!

Ye Yaocheng felt relieved and wiped away the beads of sweat that had appeared on his forehead.

He succeeded in the most difficult step of activating vitality.

Next, as long as we use our true energy to clear the blocked meridians and force out some of the toxins, we can at least temporarily save the old man from the danger to his life.

As he was thinking, something unexpected happened!

"Buzz!"

Old Master Lin on the bed suddenly trembled!

It wasn't a tremor that was getting better; it was a painful spasm!

Immediately afterwards, the sliver of color that had just returned to his face was swallowed up by a cloud of black energy!

The lips changed from light purple to deep black!

"Beep beep beep beep—!!!"

The electrocardiograph machine emitted a piercing alarm!

The curves jumped wildly, rising and falling like a roller coaster!

"grandfather!"

At the doorway, Lin Qingxue cried out in surprise!

But she immediately covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, yet she bit her lip tightly, daring not to make a sound.

She knew that speaking up now would only harm her grandfather!

Ye Yaocheng's eyes suddenly turned cold!

He saw the black toxin deep in the old man's heart meridian, like an enraged venomous snake, suddenly launching a frenzied counterattack!

They flowed upstream along the meridians, frantically attacking the defenses laid out by the Nine Yang Divine Needles!

This is not a natural toxic reaction.

It was like a conscious resistance, as if it had been suddenly given life.

"How dare you!"

Ye Yaocheng snorted coldly and pressed down hard with both hands!

The nine silver needles trembled simultaneously!

An even more powerful surge of true energy, like a flood bursting its banks, poured into the old man's body through the needle!

"Give me... the town!"

True Qi transforms into a battle formation, rampaging through the meridians!

Wherever it passed, the black toxins retreated steadily, melting away rapidly like snow meeting the scorching sun!

But the deepest toxin cunningly retreated into the heart meridian, stubbornly entrenched there, and no longer dared to surface.

It's like knowing you can't win, so you hide away.

Ye Yaocheng did not press his advantage.

He stopped what he was doing, staring at the old man's chest, his eyes growing colder and colder.

Something's not right; the toxin's reaction is too much like that of a living creature.

No, it's not just like it; strictly speaking, it's alive.

Or rather... they were "supported" by others.

Inside the Yangxin Pavilion, all was silent.

Only the electrocardiogram machine was still beeping, but the alarm had been lifted and the curve had returned to normal.

The dark aura on Old Master Lin's face faded, and his breathing became even.

Although he hasn't woken up yet, at least his life has been saved.

Ye Yaocheng did not relax.

He stared at the old man's chest, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the skin and flesh to see the true nature of the poison.

That counterattack just now was so targeted.

It was as if someone was manipulating these toxins from afar, preventing him from saving people.

"Soul Palace..."

Ye Yaocheng uttered those two words in a low voice.

If it was the work of the Soul Palace, then everything makes sense.

Controlling drugs, controlling the soul, killing people remotely and invisibly.

That's their style.

Otherwise, how could a toxin possibly think like it has a life of its own?

But the question is, how did the people from the Soul Palace manage to poison Old Master Lin?

And why would you want to deal with an old man?

Ye Yaocheng couldn't understand it.

But he knew that the answer might lie in that mass of toxins.

He closed his eyes, and his true energy surged forth once more.

……

At the same time, in the Lin family manor, in the patriarch's private study.

Lin Ruhai sat behind a large mahogany desk, holding an ancient book in his hands, reading intently.

The soft light shone on his face. He was in his forties, with a refined appearance and gentle temperament. He looked like a well-read scholar.

No one could have imagined that such a man would be the head of the most prominent family in Linjiang.

"Knock knock!" A knocking sound rang out on the door.

"Enter."

Lin Ruhai didn't even look up.

The door opened, and a middle-aged butler rushed in, his face panicked: "Master, something terrible has happened!"

Lin Ruhai frowned slightly, put down his book, and said in an unhappy tone, "What's the panic? What major event could possibly happen in Linjiang?"

The butler swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "News just came from the Yangxin Pavilion that the old patriarch's vital signs have suddenly fluctuated violently!"

"The attending physician said... said that I'm afraid... I won't be able to hold on much longer!"

"What?!"

Lin Ruhai suddenly stood up!

The chair slid back half a meter after he bumped into it, crashing into the bookshelf with a loud bang!

He braced his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently at the butler: "Explain yourself!"

"It was, it was just now..." The butler was frightened by his gaze and could not speak properly.

"The monitoring equipment suddenly alarmed, my heartbeat and blood pressure were all out of control. The doctor has arrived, but he said the chances of recovery are slim..."

Lin Ruhai didn't speak; he stood there, motionless.

The light shone down on him, casting deep shadows on his face.

Several seconds later, he took a deep breath and slowly straightened up.

The shock and panic on his face gradually faded, replaced by a complex emotion.

There was reluctance, heartache, and struggle.

But in the end, it all turned into a cold, unwavering resolve.

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were completely calm.

"understood."

His voice was flat, revealing no emotion: "I'm coming right now."

He turned around, picked up the coat hanging on the hanger, and did so slowly and deliberately.

But in the instant he turned around, the butler saw that the master's fingers were trembling slightly.

It's very slight, but it's definitely shaking.

Lin Ruhai put on his coat and walked towards the door.

As he passed the steward, he paused and whispered, "Notify the clan elders."

"I was just saying... the old man might not make it through the night."

The butler trembled and lowered his head carefully, saying, "...Yes."

Lin Ruhai didn't linger and strode out of the study.

The corridor lights cast a long shadow on him.

He walked quickly, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

As he approached the Yangxin Pavilion, his pace suddenly slowed.

He stood in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach, gazing at the brightly lit attic in the distance for a long time.

Then, in a voice only she could hear, she whispered, "I'm sorry... Father."

After saying that, he straightened his collar, his face once again showing worry and anxiety, and strode towards Yangxin Pavilion.

Under the moonlight, his eyes were unfathomable.