One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Chapter 104, Step 1 Success

"A tonic." Nie Lingfeng turned around without changing his expression, stirring the soup pot with a wooden spoon to make the golden color more even. "Your body is too weak, and your meridians and internal organs are severely damaged. You need to be slowly nourished and regulated. From now on, I will add a little to our meals every day. It will be good for your health."

He spoke casually, as if this "tonic" were as ordinary as salt.

Chen Duo simply said "Oh," without any doubt or further questioning. In her simple understanding, Nie Lingfeng was someone who "helped her," "wasn't afraid of her," and "had a way," so his adding things to the food was naturally for her own good.

The soup was ready, and Nie Lingfeng served two bowls. His own bowl looked like an ordinary wild vegetable and meat soup, while the bowl he handed to Chen Duo had a faint, comforting warm golden hue.

Chen Duo took the bowl, held it with both hands, and first brought it close to her nose to smell it. The strange fragrance made her feel a little dazed, as if she had never smelled such a... "good" scent before. It wasn't a "good" scent in terms of taste, but a scent that directly affected her spirit, making her feel warm, comfortable, and peaceful.

She carefully blew on it, then took a small sip.

The broth was warm to the touch, and its flavor was actually quite simple—just the taste of salt and the food itself. But the warmth it brought was extraordinary. It didn't linger in the mouth or esophagus; rather, it seemed to have a life of its own, quickly seeping down, starting from the stomach, transforming into countless warm and gentle streams that spread to every part of the body and internal organs.

The primal poison lurking within her body, cold and causing constant hidden pain and restlessness, did not violently resist or try to devour it as it usually did when it came into contact with this warm current. Instead, it became like a hibernating snake encountering the early spring sun, becoming sluggish, quiet, and even... giving off a faint "comfortable" feedback.

Chen Duo was stunned, holding the bowl, feeling the unprecedented changes in her body, her emerald green eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

"It's delicious." She only managed to say those two words, but her tone carried a subtle sense of satisfaction and dependence that she herself was unaware of.

Nie Lingfeng looked at her slightly bright eyes and smiled, "If you like it, drink more. There's more in the pot."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His blood, modified by the Qilin marrow, was now indistinguishable from Qilin blood. Its power indeed had a restraining and soothing effect on the original Gu poison; this first step had been correct. But it also meant that he must be even more careful in the subsequent treatments.

That night, an oil lamp was lit in the cabin. Its dim, yellowish light barely illuminated the small space.

As Nie Lingfeng had instructed, Chen Duo sat cross-legged on the wooden bed covered with a blanket, her back straight. She had changed into softer old clothes for sleeping (also Nie Lingfeng's), her long hair loose, gleaming softly under the lamplight.

Nie Lingfeng sat behind her, also cross-legged, adjusting his breathing and state of mind.

"Next, I will use my internal energy to help you clear your meridians and force out some toxins that have accumulated in your internal organs and blood vessels." Nie Lingfeng's voice was exceptionally clear and solemn in the quiet night. "This process may be a little... uncomfortable. It may even be very painful. Because those toxins have become entangled with a part of your body tissues, forcibly separating them is like pulling out thorns that have grown into your flesh."

He looked at Chen Duo's slender yet upright back: "If you feel too much pain and can't bear it, immediately recite the Ice Heart Mantra and concentrate your mind. Do not try to tough it out, and do not let your emotions get out of control, otherwise it may trigger a backlash from the Gu poison. Understand?"

Chen Duo nodded, her voice calm: "Understood."

"Okay. Let's begin."

Nie Lingfeng closed his eyes, and the Xuanwu True Scripture within his body slowly circulated. Unlike the fierce and domineering power he displayed in battle, the internal energy he was now channeling was mellow, continuous, and full of gentle vitality, like a gentle stream nourishing all things after the ice melts in spring.

He reached out his hands and gently placed his palms on Chen Duo's thin back. Through her thin clothing, he could clearly feel the coolness of her skin and the faint yet tenacious pulse of life beneath it.

The internal energy, passing through the Laogong acupoint in the palm, cautiously and extremely slowly probed into Chen Duo's body, like the most delicate tendrils.

However, the moment the internal force truly entered Chen Duo's meridians, Nie Lingfeng's expression suddenly changed!

He "saw" it.

Using his internal energy to perceive the situation, Chen Duo's internal condition unfolded clearly before his "eyes" like a cruel and despairing painting—

This is no longer the body of a young girl!

Almost every internal organ was in disarray! The heart felt as if it were wrapped in a thick, constantly writhing black grease, each beat heavy and labored; both lungs were covered with tiny black spots, as if they were already necrotic, and breathing was accompanied by labored, rattling sounds; the liver was dark and black in color, with a pitted surface; the kidneys were atrophied, and the meridians were tangled; the spleen and stomach were weak, almost having lost their proper function…

This isn't even the most shocking part.

Her meridians, those channels that should have been unobstructed, facilitating the flow of qi and blood, were now riddled with holes! In some places, they were completely blocked by black, living toxins, as hard as stone; in others, they were corroded like worm-eaten rotten wood, full of holes and cracks, ready to collapse at the slightest impact from internal energy; and in still others, the meridian walls were exceptionally fragile, as thin as cicada wings, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch…

This is not the body structure of a living person at all! It is more like a broken shell that has been gnawed at from the inside by countless poisonous insects for decades, already on the verge of collapse, and forcibly held together by some strange force!

"The Medicine Immortal Society... those beasts who deserve to be torn to pieces!!!"

A chilling, almost tangible killing intent erupted from the deepest recesses of Nie Lingfeng's heart! The Qilin tattoo on his chest suddenly burned, and a violent power surged forth almost uncontrollably! He could almost imagine the inhuman torture and erosion that an innocent child, thrown into that so-called "Gu Body" project, would endure day after day, year after year! It was not only physical devastation, but also the most thorough trampling of the soul!

"Calm down... Nie Lingfeng, calm down!" He shouted to himself in his heart, forcibly suppressing the surging killing intent and anger. Now is not the time to be angry. Anger will not solve any problems, it will only interfere with the treatment, and may even harm Chen Duo.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing his mind to calm down again, returning to a state of stillness.

Then he began this massive, meticulous, and extremely dangerous water-milling process.

He further subdivided the internal energy surging into Chen Duo's body, transforming it into energy threads hundreds or thousands of times finer than a strand of hair. These energy threads contained the unique mellow vitality of the Xuanwu True Scripture and the nourishing and purifying power brought by the Qilin blood.

The first thread carefully approached a tiny meridian completely blocked by black toxins. The tip of the thread, like the most precise scalpel or the most patient craftsman, began to scrape and wear away the stone-hard toxins with extreme slowness, bit by bit. Each scrape was accompanied by a slight tremor in Chen Duo's body and a muffled groan squeezed from the depths of her throat, suppressed to the extreme.

The pain was undeniable. It was akin to using a fine needle to pluck out rotten flesh and bone fragments embedded deep within the flesh without any anesthesia.

But Chen Duo endured it. She didn't scream, she didn't struggle, her body was taut like a fully drawn bowstring, large beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on her forehead and rolled down her pale cheeks. Her lips were bitten until they lost their color and even bled slightly. But she never stopped chanting the Ice Heart Mantra under her breath; those peaceful words became her only anchor against the excruciating pain.

"A pure heart remains unperturbed even when the sky falls; composure remains amidst countless changes; a tranquil mind and peaceful spirit prevail..."

Her voice was soft, trembling violently, yet unusually persistent.

Nie Lingfeng remained unmoved, his heart as hard as iron, and continued to manipulate the energy threads. He would scrape away a small amount of toxin, then immediately use his gentle internal energy to envelop and repair the damaged meridian wall, before carefully nourishing and warming it with the power of life. This cycle of scraping, repairing, and nourishing repeated itself endlessly, the progress of which was excruciatingly slow.

Time passed slowly in silence and pain.

The flickering flame of the oil lamp cast the shadows of the two figures onto the mottled wall, swaying slightly with their movements. Outside, the forest was completely asleep, save for the occasional mournful cry of an owl, adding to the stillness.

Nie Lingfeng's forehead was also covered in sweat. This kind of extremely precise control over internal energy is incredibly taxing on the mind. He must maintain 200% focus at all times; any mistake could cause irreversible damage to Chen Duo's already fragile meridians.

Chen Duo's body trembled more and more violently, and the sound of her chanting the Ice Heart Mantra grew weaker and weaker, almost becoming a whisper. Sweat had already soaked through her clothes, leaving dark stains on the blanket beneath her. But she persisted, refusing to break down or give up.

Finally, as the first hint of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, Nie Lingfeng slowly withdrew his hands and let out a long, weary breath.

His face was somewhat pale, and his eyes were filled with weariness, but more than that, they showed a sense of relief at having completed the first phase of the work.

Chen Duo's body seemed to lose all support, and she slumped forward, only to be caught by Nie Lingfeng in time. Her whole body was ice-cold, as if she had just been pulled from the water, and her face was frighteningly pale, the blood on her lips already dried. But her eyes slowly opened.

Those emerald eyes, though filled with extreme exhaustion and lingering fear from past pain, seemed to hold a faint, unusual light deep within them. It was as if, after a night of torture, something deeply buried had been cleansed and revealed a glimmer of light.

"That's all for today." Nie Lingfeng's voice was a little hoarse. He helped Chen Duo lie down and covered her with a blanket. "I've cleaned and repaired less than one percent of the toxins and meridian damage in your body tonight. But at least... I've cleared a small section near the most crucial heart meridian, so your blood and qi circulation will be a little smoother in the future, and your cultivation of the Ice Heart Technique will be more effective."

Chen Duo lay on the blanket, so exhausted that she could barely move her fingers. She turned her head slightly to look at Nie Lingfeng, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, also looking tired.

After a long while, she finally mustered all her strength and, with utmost softness, uttered two words from her chapped lips:

"……Thanks."

The sound was as soft as a sigh.

Nie Lingfeng looked at her, a gentle, encouraging smile appearing on his tired face. He reached out and gently wiped the cold sweat remaining on her forehead with his sleeve.

"You're welcome. Go to sleep. Get some rest. Tomorrow...we'll continue."

Chen Duo slowly closed her eyes, almost instantly falling into a deep, near-comatose sleep. Her breathing, though faint, became much more steady.

Nie Lingfeng sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the girl's slightly furrowed brows as she slept. After a long while, he got up and went outside.

The sky was already bright, the mountains and forests were awakening, and birds were singing and flowers were blooming.

He took a deep breath of the crisp morning air, feeling the immense internal energy he had expended, and the still warm pulse emanating from the Qilin tattoo on his chest.

Three months.

This is only the first day.

The road ahead is still long.

But at least, the first step has been taken.

Moreover, it was very stable.