Chapter 1809: Ice Marrow Body

Fairy Yuehua was still confused by Han Li's words and deeply uneasy, wondering why "Senior Han" seemed to attach such great importance to Bai Guoer.

However, the young woman reconsidered. Given Bai Guoer's current condition with the cold poison, things couldn't get much worse. Furthermore, with the old woman continuously giving her meaningful glances, she gritted her teeth and responded:

"Since Senior places such importance on Guoer, I shall lead the way."

After speaking, she led Han Li and the others towards the rear hall of the cave dwelling.

Passing through a side door and a simple long corridor, the group entered a bedroom.

On a light red wooden bed in the bedroom, the young girl named Bai Guoer lay unconscious.

The girl's small face was slightly contorted in pain, faintly covered by a bluish hue, and her lips appeared somewhat purplish.

As Han Li approached the wooden bed, he felt a wave of heat wash over him, which made him pause slightly.

After glancing at the bed, he understood a few things and immediately shook his head, saying:

"While using blazing wood as a warming object can suppress some of the cold energy, the girl's cold poison has already integrated into her meridians. This amount of warmth is practically useless."

"I am aware of that, Senior. But I always held out some hope, thinking that, to some extent, this blazing wood bed might at least reduce Guoer's pain during the cold poison's attacks," Fairy Yuehua said from the side, her gaze at the girl on the bed filled with tender affection.

Han Li listened, first nodding, then still shaking his head. He then took a few steps forward to the red wooden bed, grabbed one of the girl's arms, and simultaneously, blue light flickered in his pupils.

Seeing this, the old woman and the others held their breath, daring not to make a sound.

The middle-aged man and the young woman, on the other hand, were filled with hope.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li's eyes flashed. The hand holding the girl's arm suddenly glowed with a five-colored cold light.

As the cold light circulated, the bluish mist covering the girl's face flowed downwards, converging towards Han Li's palm. In a moment, it coalesced into an egg-sized bluish energy mass, faintly visible at the girl's wrist.

A glint appeared in Han Li's eyes. He flipped his other palm, and a shimmering silver needle suddenly appeared between his fingers. With a flash, he pricked it into the girl's wrist.

"Ah!"

The young woman and the middle-aged man's expressions changed. It took considerable effort for them to restrain themselves from rushing forward to stop him.

As the silver light flashed and vanished, a small hole was made in the girl's wrist. With a surge of Han Li's magic power, a drop of bright red vital blood slowly emerged from it.

Han Li's finger moved slightly again, and the silver needle vanished with a flick, replaced by a palm-sized white jade plate.

It was smooth, flawless, and exquisitely crafted!

Han Li placed the jade plate below the girl's wrist, and the vital blood immediately dripped onto it.

With a "clink," the moment the vital blood dropped into the plate, it instantly froze into ice, emitting a crisp, clear sound.

Upon witnessing this scene, the old woman and everyone else turned pale.

Han Li, however, showed an expression of "just as expected." He collected the drop of vital blood and the jade plate, and the five-colored cold light on his palm, which still held the girl's arm, suddenly intensified.

The bluish energy mass, shimmering within the cold light, quickly faded and dispersed, finally vanishing without a trace.

At this moment, the girl groaned faintly and opened her eyes in a daze.

The young woman and the middle-aged man were overjoyed and profusely thanked Han Li.

Han Li merely smiled. After the five-colored cold light on his hand dissipated, he released the girl's arm. However, he then extended a finger from his other hand and gently tapped the girl's forehead. A white incantation flashed and disappeared instantly.

The girl, who had just woken up, trembled slightly and fell unconscious once more.

This startled the others!

"Don't worry, the cold poison in her body has just been dispelled, so she will be somewhat weak. It's best for her to rest more. All right, I'm done here. Let's discuss other matters back in the front hall." Han Li offered a brief explanation, then ignored the others and stood up to leave.

Although the old woman and the others were filled with questions, they naturally dared not disobey and followed closely.

A short while later, Han Li was back in his original seat in the main hall, sipping a cup of spirit tea. His eyes flickered slightly, as if he were contemplating a difficult decision.

Seeing Han Li's solemn demeanor, the others naturally dared not disturb him. From the old woman to Young Master Hai and the rest, they all respectfully remained silent, waiting for Han Li to speak first.

After an unknown period, Han Li raised an eyebrow and placed his teacup on a nearby table, as if he had finally made a decision.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, how much do you know about the cold poison in your daughter?" Han Li asked the middle-aged man.

"I have also invited several highly skilled individuals to diagnose her carefully. They said Guoer's cold poison is caused by a very rare type of subterranean cold qi, quite different from ordinary ice poisons found in the world. Besides a Body Integration stage cultivator forcefully expelling it with immense magical power, only a few legendary ultimate Yang spirit medicines might be able to neutralize this cold poison." Bai Huaji was startled and quickly recounted everything he knew.

"Heh heh, no wonder they said that," Han Li remarked indifferently, neither confirming nor denying.

"Senior, is there something else wrong with Guoer's cold poison?" The young woman asked, startled and greatly concerned by Han Li's words.

"When did you two discover that this girl had cold poison in her body?" Han Li did not answer the young woman's question, but instead posed one of his own.

"It was when she was nine years old! Guoer suddenly fainted in her cultivation chamber, and that's when we discovered this cold poison. At first, it was just an insignificant trace, and we didn't pay much attention, trying some ordinary methods to remove it. But that only made it rapidly worsen, like adding fuel to fire. In just a few years, it became what it is now. Yet, when Guoer was just born, my mother-in-law and I thoroughly examined her entire body, and there were no abnormalities whatsoever. Most likely, some malicious enemy ambushed our Guoer when we weren't paying attention. It's a pity we've never been able to find out who was behind this. Otherwise, even if it cost me my life, I would..." The middle-aged man first spoke with a pained expression, then gritted his teeth.

The young woman beside him also had a grim expression, clearly harboring intense hatred for that "enemy."

"An enemy? No, this cold poison originated from within her at birth. It's not subterranean cold qi, but something with a significant history." Han Li glanced at the two and said calmly.

"Since Senior has said so, it must be true. But could Senior perhaps offer a brief explanation or two to my disciples to clear their doubts?" The old woman, who had been listening from the side, respectfully asked.

"It's nothing, Fellow Daoist, even if you hadn't asked, I would have explained it clearly. This girl actually possesses a legendary spiritual physique called the 'Marrow-Penetrating Physique.' This type of physique is undetectable at birth, with symptoms only appearing around the age of nine during the yin hour. However, the first onset of the cold poison is extremely violent. It's said that most individuals with this spiritual physique perish during their first outbreak. Therefore, even in some ancient texts, records of this physique are rare. If I hadn't coincidentally known about this, I might have also treated the cold poison in this girl as ordinary subterranean cold qi." Han Li finally began to explain slowly.

"Ice Marrow Physique!"

The young woman and the middle-aged man exchanged glances, their faces filled with surprise. They had indeed never heard of such a spiritual physique before, and naturally, felt some doubt, quietly wondering about its authenticity.

However, when the old woman heard the name "Ice Marrow Physique," her wrinkled face twitched, showing an expression of profound shock.

Young Master Hai and his companion, of course, had never heard of an "Ice Marrow Physique" either, and could only stare blankly at the others.

As for Han Li, after he finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and took a light sip, appearing as if he didn't care whether the young woman and the others believed him or not.

"Ice Marrow Physique... Guoer actually possesses this physique. In that case, it's truly hard to tell if it's a blessing or a curse," the old woman murmured at this moment.

"Master, you know about this unusual spiritual physique too..." the young woman asked, somewhat surprised.

"I myself didn't know, but years ago, I heard a friend occasionally speak of this spiritual physique, and what they described was exactly the same as Senior Han's explanation. I never would have imagined that Guoer would possess such a physique. However, whether this is a misfortune or a blessing is truly difficult to say." The old woman looked at Han Li before speaking.

"Master, do you mean...?" the young woman asked, her expression changing.

"My friend told me that the Ice Marrow Physique not only begins to manifest at the age of nine, but the cold energy within the body also intensifies year by year. Under normal circumstances, by the age of fifteen or sixteen, the owner of such a spiritual physique is certain to die. There are only two ways to survive," the old woman sighed.

"Master, what are those two methods?" The young woman was overjoyed to hear this and eagerly pressed for details.

"One method is to ask a Body Integration stage cultivator to use powerful magic power each year to dispel the cold poison, and then spare no true essence to help cleanse the spiritual roots and meridians. After enduring for a hundred years, the owner of the spiritual physique will adapt to this cold energy, and it will no longer cause any harm to their body. Moreover, with a little cultivation, this extraordinary cold power can be transformed into a great divine ability called the Ice Marrow Cold Soul, whose might is unimaginable," the old woman replied with some hesitation.

"There's such a thing? Then this Ice Marrow Physique should be an excellent talent! Why did Senior say it's hard to tell if it's a blessing or a curse?" The middle-aged man asked, surprised and delighted.

"That's because the extreme cold associated with the Ice Marrow Physique is not easily suppressed. For the first few decades, it's manageable; a Body Integration stage cultivator can suppress it with some effort. But in the later decades, not only must the cultivator ensure their magic power doesn't harm the spiritual physique's owner, but they also have to forcibly dispel the cold poison. Almost every suppression will deplete a significant amount of the Body Integration stage cultivator's true essence. Especially in the final decade or so, this depletion cannot be recovered through meditation alone. Not to mention, during this period, the Body Integration stage cultivator also needs to expend more magic power to cleanse the spiritual roots and meridians of the spiritual physique's owner. All things considered, this would delay the cultivating Body Integration stage cultivator's arduous cultivation by several hundred years. Which senior would be willing to undertake such a self-sacrificing act?" The old woman explained with a wry smile.