Duosheng Danyuan

"You mean, you want to continue?" After a long silence, Elder Huaizhen finally spoke.

"Mm." Zeng Yixi nodded, her body unconsciously straightening up completely.

"...You'd better know what you're doing," Elder Huaizhen frowned, pinching his aching nose with his right hand, then sighed before continuing, "Whether you give up or use my method, you'll both get a relatively safe outcome—survival. If you remain stubborn, the worst consequence might really be death, you know?"

"Hmm..." Elder Huaizhen's words caused Zeng Yixi to tremble slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she said in a slightly trembling voice, "That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"What makes no sense?"

"There's no reason why Chen Yu can do something that I can't."

"you..."

"Elder Huaizhen, I want to read a book."

"Book?"

"Yes, the 'Secret Method of Longevity Elixir' must contain detailed records of the method for generating elixirs from the spleen," Zeng Yixi said confidently, pursing his lips.

"Hiss—" Upon hearing Zeng Yixi's request, Elder Huaizhen immediately gasped.

Just as Zeng Yixi was about to return to her seat to get her book, Elder Huaizhen slammed her hand on the table in displeasure and said in a deep voice, "Zeng Yixi, I only helped you for free because of Su Wanqing. Your current behavior, not to mention offending me, is completely betraying Su Wanqing's good intentions. Do you understand?"

"I..." Upon hearing Elder Huaizhen say this, Zeng Yixi turned around and glanced at Su Wanqing sitting in her seat, a moment of hesitation in her eyes.

"Zeng Yixi, no matter what, surviving is the most important thing, right?" Before Su Wanqing could speak, Qian Zhe, who was in the last row, suddenly spoke up.

"Tsk, damn it..." Hearing Qian Zhe say that, Zeng Yixi gritted her teeth, turned around, and looked at Elder Huaizhen, who was still sitting in front of the podium. Her eyes had lost some of the determination they had shown earlier.

"Qian Zhe's words are more pleasing to the ear," Elder Huaizhen nodded with a smile.

"Su Wanqing, could you ask Elder Huaizhen to help Zeng Yixi one more time after she fails again?" I whispered in Su Wanqing's ear as I watched Zeng Yixi on the stage, who seemed to have discovered something.

"This..." Su Wanqing pondered for a moment, then said somewhat hesitantly, "I'm not sure, but... is it okay?"

"Should it be okay?" I murmured, repeating Su Wanqing's words as I pondered.

"What do you want to do?" Lin Xu, who was further away, overheard my conversation with Su Wanqing. He looked at me with concern and whispered, "Could it be that you're planning something?"

"Hmm..." I nodded, looked at Zeng Yixi on the stage, made up my mind, stood up, and said, "Your book is still on the table, right? I'll give you mine."

"Gu Changfeng, you..." Surprised, Zeng Yixi never expected that at this moment, the person closest to her would hand her the book.

"Gu Changfeng, you're harming her," Elder Huaizhen said, frowning with displeasure.

"Yi happy, don't take it!" Tang Anran immediately reminded Zeng Yi Xi, disregarding everything else.

"Perhaps," I handed the book to Zeng Yixi, then forced a smile at Elder Huaizhen, sweating as I said, "The so-called success or failure in the Refining Heart Hall is random. What does 'random' mean? I think it should be seen as opportunity, chance, or even chance. Since Zeng Yixi wants to take a gamble, as a fellow disciple, I have no reason not to support him, right?"

"..." Elder Huaizhen looked at me without speaking for a long time. After a while, he sighed and said to Su Wanqing with dissatisfaction, "You saw and heard it all. This was their own reckless choice. You can't blame me for the consequences, can you?"

"Ah, it won't be on your head. How could I possibly be on your head, Elder Huaizhen?" Su Wanqing waved her hand, somewhat surprised.

"That's good. Hmph." Elder Huaizhen snorted coldly as he watched Zeng Yixi accept the "Secret Method of Life Elixir" and said no more.

"Are you confident?" I asked Zeng Yixi, who was holding the "Secret Method of Life Elixir," with some concern as I sat back down.

"Confident? Not at all." Zeng Yixi shook her head with a smirk.

"Is that so..."

"But thank you anyway," Zeng Yixi said to me as she flipped through "The Secret Method of Life Elixir".

"What are you thanking me for? If you fail again or even die, you can be sure that I'll be held responsible." With a wry smile, I glanced back at Zhang Muyun and Tang Anran, who were looking at me with disapproval.

"Thank you for your support." After tearing out the page about the Spleen-Generating Elixir, Zeng Yixi smiled at me again, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Then she turned to Zhang Muyun, Tang Anran, and Xie Qinghan and said, "Don't blame him. This was my choice."

"Hmm..." Tang Anran pursed her lips, as if tears were about to fall again.

At that moment, the restraints Elder Huaizhen had placed on Zeng Yixi came to an end. The green light on Zeng Yixi's chest slowly dissipated, and blood began to seep out again.

However, Zeng Yixi was not affected by her weak chest at all. Her attention was focused on the page in her hand that contained notes about the spleen's ability to generate elixir.

As Zeng Yixi silently recited the sentences above, her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

At first, blood only flowed from the corner of her mouth, then from her nose, then her ears, and finally from her eyes. Kneeling on one knee, clutching the paper tightly in her hand, Zeng Yixi trembled as blood seeped from her seven orifices, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably again, as if she was about to lose her balance.

"Su Wanqing!"

"ah."

Tang Anran's sudden exclamation startled Su Wanqing. Turning around to look at Tang Anran, whose eyes were filled with tears, Su Wanqing asked somewhat helplessly, "W-what's wrong?"

"Please, please beg Elder Huaizhen again! Please, please let Elder Huaizhen save Yixi one more time!"

"I..."

"I refuse."

"What?"

Before Su Wanqing could respond to Tang Anran, Elder Huaizhen immediately refused, his face full of mockery.

"I said, I refuse. Understand?" Elder Huaizhen repeated his words again, still wearing that smug smile.

"Why? Elder Huaizhen, didn't you say it was for Su Wanqing's sake...?"

"I think you've misunderstood something." Elder Huaizhen immediately interrupted Tang Anran, rolling his eyes in exasperation and gesturing for her to shut up before continuing, "I'm not obligated to comply with Su Wanqing's request. Indeed, Teacher Yuehu values ​​Su Wanqing highly, and I admire her greatly. But I have no subordinate relationship with her. Do you, and indeed all of you, understand that? As I said, my actions just now weren't based on any exchange of benefits, but simply to give Su Wanqing face. But clearly, Zeng Yixi doesn't want that face, so I can only regretfully refuse to give face to anyone else."

"How could this be..."

"Pfft! What? How could this happen? You should ask Zeng Yixi how dare he do that!" Elder Huaizhen shrugged, looking disdainfully at Zeng Yixi, who was almost collapsed on the ground, and spat, "You ignorant fool, it's a waste for you to die here, but it'll make me feel better, hahahahaha!"

For a moment, only Elder Huaizhen's maniacal laughter remained in the Refining Heart Hall.

Amidst the maniacal laughter, Zeng Yixi, lying in a pool of blood, suddenly stirred again.

"Ha—" As Zeng Yixi exhaled a large breath of turbid air, suddenly, beneath the blood-stained red robe, a point of emerald green light began to shimmer with an unusual brilliance on the upper left side of Zeng Yixi's abdomen.

This radiance is exactly the same as when Qian Zhe, Tang Anran, and Chen Yu successfully produced the elixir!

"It worked?" Zhang Muyun rubbed her eyes in disbelief and murmured tentatively.

"No way?" Wang Hao said in disbelief.

"Whether it succeeds or not depends on Elder Huaizhen's opinion," Chen Yu said in a deep voice after a moment's thought.

"Did it succeed...?" Xie Qinghan looked at Zeng Yixi with a complicated expression and muttered to himself.

"It will definitely succeed." Tang Anran hadn't opened her eyes yet; she was just clasping her hands together, as if praying.

"It's a success." With a slight glint in her eyes, Su Wanqing said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

"..." For a moment, the chattering crowd fell silent, each with their own thoughts, and shifted their gaze from Zeng Yixi to Su Wanqing.

At that moment, Elder Huaizhen's lips twitched, and he shook his head and sighed, "Indeed, it was a success. Impressive, resilient, or rather, it has a sense of perseverance. But then what? The wound in the chest cavity that was torn open by spiritual energy is still there. Even if the elixir is successfully formed in the spleen, only the wound in the spleen will heal. The wounds in the heart and lungs are still there."

"How could this be..." Tang Anran murmured in disbelief as she listened to Elder Huaizhen's sarcastic remarks.

"Elder Huaizhen," Su Wanqing spoke again, her tone sincere and her eyes humble, pleading, "Please help Zeng Yixi again. After what happened last night, I understand how rare it is to have someone like Zeng Yixi, whose elixir-making process was forced to stop but was restarted and ultimately succeeded. She...she will definitely grow into someone who can help the future of the Elixir-Making Academy."

"..." Faced with Su Wanqing's request, Elder Huaizhen remained silent for a moment, his face grim. Then he sighed, shook his head with a less-than-comfortable smile, and said, "Just as I said, Su Wanqing, although I respect you greatly, I am unwilling to help Zeng Yixi again. She has also said that this is her choice. She chose the option of not letting me help her, so now she should also bear the consequences of refusing my help. Isn't that a price to pay?"

"What kind of twisted logic is that, you..."

Zhang Muyun gritted his teeth, about to explode again, but Su Wanqing interrupted him and said, "I'm willing."

"Willing to what?" Elder Huaizhen asked, looking completely bewildered.

"I am willing to pay you, Elder, with my life essence on behalf of Zeng Yixi." Su Wanqing pursed her lips, let out a long sigh, and said this.