Chapter 1940: Gu Insects

Not only was he confused, but Old Man Yi, standing nearby, also twitched his lips, unable to restrain himself any longer. "Young Master Zhang... stop messing around!"

It was a matter of life and death, and he was still joking. If I had known this person was so unreliable, I wouldn't have let the young master save him!

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Xuan knew they certainly didn't believe him. He put his hands behind his back, wanting to display an air of importance, but ended up tearing his wound. His lips couldn't help but twitch, and he nearly fell to the ground.

He stopped moving, enduring the pain. "Your meridians, damaged during childhood, cannot circulate vital energy. Your dantian was also damaged, unable to accumulate power. That's why you can't cultivate! Am I right?"

Shan Xiaotian nodded.

That year, when he was six, his family experienced a misfortune, and his dantian and meridians were shattered by a force. They haven't recovered to this day. Therefore, although he practiced sword fighting every day, his strength made no progress, and all his moves were merely flashy, empty gestures.

He had consulted countless famous doctors, all of whom said there was no cure. Over time, he had grown accustomed to it.

"Then do you know what injured your meridians and dantian?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It was a powerful vital energy that invaded my body," Shan Xiaotian said. "I'm already fortunate to be alive..."

After multiple treatments over the years, he knew exactly what had happened inside his body.

"Vital energy?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "If it were merely vital energy, you've persisted in cultivation every day, hoping to improve your condition. But why has there been no change for so many years?"

Shan Xiaotian was speechless.

Indeed, this was what puzzled him.

Over the past ten years, he had consulted all kinds of famous doctors. Countless methods—potions, pills, acupuncture, medicinal baths—had been tried, but none had the slightest effect. His body was like a broken sack; any spiritual energy that entered it would dissipate sooner or later and could not be accumulated at all.

According to many famous doctors, if it truly were vital energy that damaged his body, such treatments should have been able to repair it. Yet, there was no effect whatsoever, which many found unbelievable.

After a moment of silence, Shan Xiaotian looked over. "If it wasn't vital energy, then what could have damaged your meridians and dantian without causing death? And without even affecting your normal life?"

Aside from being unable to cultivate, his injury had no other impact. The claim that he was incapable of normal physical functions was false; he was perfectly fine every morning and quite formidable.

"It's a Gu worm!" Zhang Xuan said. "Someone implanted this thing in you, which is why no medicine has worked!"

"A Gu worm?" Shan Xiaotian couldn't believe it. "Do you mean... this worm inside me is still alive?"

"Not only is it alive," Zhang Xuan said, "but over the years, it has continuously absorbed the power you've cultivated and has already become very powerful!"

Through the Library, he had discerned the root cause of the other party's ailment.

It wasn't that his foundation was damaged, but rather that a Gu worm had been implanted in him. This Gu worm continuously devoured the power he cultivated, which was why he had made no progress in ten years of cultivation.

"A living Gu worm..."

Shan Xiaotian and Old Man Yi, standing by, exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock.

What this person in front of them said was truly too terrifying, making them unable to believe it.

A Gu worm actually inside his body, and it had been there for ten years... So many famous doctors hadn't discovered it; how did this person in front of them figure it out?

"I know you don't believe me, but I can prove it now!"

Knowing from their expressions that they certainly didn't believe him, Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "Do you happen to have any silver needles here?"

"Yes!"

Old Man Yi nodded, turned and entered the room. Before long, he returned with a box of silver needles.

Given the young master's long-term illness and daily treatments, these commonly used items were always readily available.

"Alright, I'll help you extract it now..."

With a slight smile, Zhang Xuan casually picked up a silver needle and flicked his finger.

*Clink!*

The silver needle dropped onto the ground less than three meters away from him.

"Ahem, ahem, I don't have any strength right now. Please come closer..."

Seeing the silence around him, Zhang Xuan felt awkward.

He was used to shooting needles from a distance, only then remembering that he couldn't use any vital energy at all. At this moment, he was no different from a cripple.

"Okay!"

Although he felt this person in front of him wasn't very reliable, Shan Xiaotian hesitated for a moment but still walked over.

Anyway, it had come to this; there was nothing to lose by trying.

Taking out another silver needle, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath. Following the position recorded in the Library, he swiftly jabbed it forward.

His lips twitched.

Without any strength, the silver needle couldn't even pierce the other party's skin.

Although Shan Xiaotian couldn't cultivate, his true cultivation level was still Saint 6-dan. Individuals like him, nourished by mercury spiritual energy for years, had bodies tempered to be harder than steel, which Zhang Xuan certainly couldn't easily pierce.

"Please give me a hand!"

Zhang Xuan turned his head.

Old Man Yi, standing nearby, walked over. With a flick of his finger, he channeled vital energy into the silver needle. In the blink of an eye, the bent fine needle straightened, and with a *whoosh!* it pierced into Shan Xiaotian's body.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to move forward to control the silver needle, he found that it flew back out at an even faster speed, directly embedding itself into the wall and disappearing from sight.

Shan Xiaotian and Old Man Yi's eyes simultaneously widened, especially the former, who was filled with disbelief.

As the person involved, he knew he hadn't used any strength. Yet, the silver needle flew out at such a high speed. Could it be... that there really was something else inside his body?

"You must have felt it; the Gu worm pushed the silver needle back out..." Zhang Xuan explained.

With his current strength, killing the Gu worm was certainly impossible. However, the Gu worm's counterattack allowed the other party to clearly feel its presence.

"There really is a Gu worm?"

Shan Xiaotian was speechless.

Before, he hadn't believed it at all, but now, he was somewhat shaken.

Not to mention he hadn't used any strength; even if he had, it would have been impossible to embed such a fine silver needle backward into a rock wall without leaving any trace.

"Although that jab just now didn't harm it in the slightest, it was equivalent to discovering its location," Zhang Xuan explained. "Barring any surprises, this thing will find a new home. And when it moves, you'll feel the power of vital energy, and your injured leg will also feel relieved!"

"Of course, this is only temporary," he continued. "Once it stops, everything will go back to how it was, with no change. The only way is to find a way to kill it!"

"This..."

Shan Xiaotian was somewhat skeptical. However, before long, his eyes instantly widened, with a look as if he had seen a ghost.

Because, just as the other party had said, inside his body, he indeed felt the flow of vital energy. Immediately afterward, his left leg, which had been numb, seemed to regain feeling.

He couldn't help but take a few steps forward, and surprisingly, he moved like a normal person, without any impediment.

However, this feeling only lasted for a dozen breaths before stopping, and his leg became like wood again.

"This time, you should believe me, right...?"

Seeing his expression, Zhang Xuan knew his diagnosis was entirely correct and smiled faintly.

"Your disciple pays respects to Master!"

Without further hesitation, Shan Xiaotian knelt down.

So many famous doctors had examined him with no results. This person in front of him, however, simply took one look, without even getting close, and found the root of the problem. Everything was exactly as he said. Based on this alone, he knew Zhang Xuan was a person of great capability.

"Rise!"

After the other party officially completed the apprenticeship ritual, Zhang Xuan helped him up.

Taking the other party as a disciple was also a way to repay the life-saving kindness.

"Master... how can this Gu worm be removed?"

After completing the apprenticeship, Shan Xiaotian looked over.

He hadn't known before, so he hadn't felt anything. But now, knowing there was a worm growing inside him, he could no longer bear it. If it wasn't removed quickly, he might not be able to eat or sleep peacefully.

"Once my injuries recover, dealing with it will be easy..." Zhang Xuan said.

If he weren't severely injured, with his Heaven's Path vital energy flowing into the other's body, the so-called Gu worm wouldn't last a single breath. But now, he couldn't use his vital energy; even knowing the thing's location, he couldn't kill it.

The crucial point was that the Gu worm had even smugly shot the silver needle back out, practically challenging his bottom line.

"Recover your injuries?"

After a moment of surprise, Shan Xiaotian said, "That's simple. I have many precious healing medicines here. I originally planned to give them to you, but since you weren't awake, I didn't dare use them. Now you can just swallow them. Once they dissolve in your body, you should recover most of your strength in no time!"

Powerful healing medicines have very strong effects; if taken while unconscious, they might have adverse effects, unless there's enough vital energy to help dissolve the medicinal power.

And he, being unable to cultivate, hadn't done so.

Old Man Yi entered the room again and soon returned with a jade bottle. He gently uncorked it, and a rich medicinal fragrance immediately wafted over.

It was a Grade 8 healing pill.

Zhang Xuan took it and swallowed it. A moment later, he couldn't help but shake his head. "This medicine is useless to me..."

Although he appeared to have no power at the moment, he was actually a Pseudo Saint 4th-dan expert, capable of shattering space. A Grade 8 pill was definitely a sacred healing medicine for a Saint 6-dan, but for him, it was completely useless.

"Useless?"

Shan Xiaotian then had Old Man Yi fetch the best healing medicines from their home, but none of them helped much.

"Are there any large markets here where I can buy healing pills or medicinal herbs?" Zhang Xuan asked, frowning.

"There are markets, but... the medicinal herbs and pills sold there aren't very high-grade," Shan Xiaotian said, scratching his head. "These medicines I have were bought from there..."

These medicines were completely useless to the person in front of him, and even buying more wouldn't help.

"Then where can I find higher-grade pills?" Zhang Xuan asked.

If his injuries didn't recover, he couldn't help the other party with treatment. If the treatment wasn't good, let alone lasting three days, it was hard to say if he would even survive the night.

"Cultivators purchase higher-grade pills using Spirit Communication Jade Tokens!" Shan Xiaotian said. "As long as the transaction is successful, the items are delivered quickly, without much delay..."

"Spirit Communication Jade Token?" Zhang Xuan paused, then said, "Where can I find one of these? Or can I buy it?"