Chapter 92 Self-creation and Self-destruction

  After another three days of drowsiness, Tang Yan finally woke up.

  The black dog guarding beside immediately came up happily, intimately licking his cheek. It was just over-exhausted that day and didn't suffer too much damage, with strong self-healing ability, after seven or eight days of rest, it basically recovered.

  "Awake? Come and have something to eat, I just finished preparing it." Not far away by the small lake, Du Yang was roasting a few wild chickens, the thick meat aroma wafting through the forest.

  This is a mountain valley, with green trees shading and ancient trees stretching across, although not to the extent of blocking out the sky and sun, it's still a good place to hide.

  Tang Yan's body was still very weak and he needed to rely on a walking stick to barely stand up.

  "Where is Ren Tian Cang?"

  "He's gone." Du Yang looked haggard and coughed several times.

  He regained consciousness two days ago and took the only drop of spiritual liquid in the jade bottle, recovering some energy and not being too weak to get up. However, his meridians were severely damaged and he couldn't circulate his spiritual power smoothly, so... for a very long time, he probably wouldn't be able to use martial arts.

  "Really ruthless, saying go and then leaving us here." Tang Yan sat down against the ancient tree, looked at Du Yang who was limp and spiritless, and smiled bitterly: "What's wrong with you?"

  "What do you think? Not much better than you." Du Yang handed the roasted meat to Tang Yan: "Eat something, Hei Tuan's credit, if it wasn't for it, we would have been eaten by this beast long ago."

  The black girl proudly raised her neck and invited Tang Yan to take credit, as they had been guarding the two for days.

  Tang Yan smiled weakly and hugged it tightly in his arms, dividing the meat evenly.

  "Why did you let Tang Qian and Adie go? This is not like your style." Du Yang heard something from Ren Tian Cang.

  "The Tang family has been troubled by me enough, I don't want to make Grandfather sad again, even if it's for the sake of the family... leaving a descendant behind." Tang Yan didn't take Tang Qian seriously at all, and even if he wanted to kill him, he would do it himself, defeating him with his own hands and executing him on the spot, rather than relying on Ren Tian Cang's power.

  "What are we going to do next? If Tang Ba and the others can be found, there might still be a chance, but if it's just us, I'm afraid we won't last much longer. We'll either get caught by the Ling Wang Fu or eaten by the demonic beasts."

  "Let's just go with fate for now and hide out here for a while. How long will your body need to recover?"

  "It will take three to five years if it's long, or three to five months if it's short. My meridians are now all cracked, and in order to fully recover, I would need a miracle medicine; otherwise, I can only rely on its own slow healing."

  "Let me tell you some bad news, my Qing Huo can't be used for the time being."

  "What?! How long is this 'temporary'?"

  "Uncertain, I'm afraid it'll take some time, during which we can only rely on absorbing the energy of heaven and earth to nourish ourselves."

  Du Yang shook his head with a bitter smile: "The house leaks and the rain pours in on a stormy night. This is what they mean by 'disasters never come alone'."

  Tang Yan leaned against the ancient tree, gazing up at the azure sky through the mottled branches and leaves. The battle of Giant Elephant City had cost him a lot, but also made him realize many things - the bonds of family and friendship, as well as the confusing emotions he felt. Family was like the Tang household, with its tightly closed doors and resolute expulsion, yet ultimately receiving help from Old Master Tang; Friendship was like Du Yang's, though he appeared to be full of complaints on the surface, in reality he never abandoned him, fighting to the death; And his feelings for Ailinda were like a sister, a burst of ice butterflies, destined to become the most beautiful and sorrowful scene etched in Tang Yan's memory.

  Tang Yan's heart was filled with a strong desire for battle, his hot blood still surging, and he really wanted to return to Giant Elephant City to wash away the shame. However, he also understood that it would be very difficult to have the opportunity to take revenge within ten years.

  This is the first farewell since arriving in this alien continent, the first real experience of love and hate, a pain that tears the soul apart, a hatred born from blood, and a sincerity that understands many things between life and death.

  Tang Yan climbed up to the treetop, sat cross-legged in stillness, concentrated his mind and held his breath, regulating his bodily state. He opened his mouth to inhale and exhale, using the most basic method to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and according to the mantra given by Xue Wa, searched for the 'Soul of Life'.

  A mouthful of inhalation and exhalation, the spiritual energy surged into the meridians, nourishing the dry meridians, soothing the physical trauma, not as pure and dense as the Lingyuan liquid, but with a kind of wildness that requires meticulous refinement to absorb.

  But during this time, Tang Yan never felt the existence of the soul of life.

  Du Yang finished collecting his things and found a relatively quiet place, absorbing the energy of heaven and earth in the usual way, slowly repairing his meridians, inch by inch. His spiritual power was not abundant, and refining it was extremely difficult, making the process even more complicated. At this rate, it might really take one or two years to fully recover.

  But things have come to this, he has no other choice.

  Fortunately, he was resolute in character and never gave up easily, taking it as a test instead.

  The little black girl was young and naive, but very clever, squatting in the corner, silently guarding the two of them.

  Tang Yan's persistent inhalation and exhalation, his devoted refinement and absorption, were also carefully searching. Finally, after seven hours of persistence, he captured a strand of unusual energy fluctuations in a mouthful of heavenly spiritual power, extremely weak and fragile. Tang Yan's spirit was greatly stirred, and he hastily wrapped it up according to the incantation method, resulting... in a sudden collapse, turning into spiritual power and sinking into the spiritual veins.

  Tang Yan was stunned for a long time, insisting on it for so long, and finally catching a glimpse of it, only to have it disappear like that? This strand of the soul of life is even more fragile than expected.

  For the sake of their own lives, Tang Yan quickly adjusted his state and continued to absorb and spit out. It was quiet here, which was conducive to their hiding, but the corresponding killings would decrease, and this soul of life would be extremely rare. To catch a glimpse, one had to rely on luck and patience.

  Another five hours passed, and after the sky gradually darkened, Tang Yan once again captured a wisp of soul, this time without blindly decomposing it. He carefully approached it, slowly peeling it off bit by bit, spending a full ten minutes before finally separating it from the dissipating misty infant that sank into his Dantian.

  A strange wave of fluctuations slowly spread, invisible and colorless, yet permeating the entire body's bones and flesh. Tang Yan had a very wonderful feeling, which couldn't be described clearly, and before he could carefully savor it, everything returned to normal again.

  With this success, Tang Yan regained his spirit and continued to persevere. The nighttime forest slaughter became more frequent, perhaps he could capture three or four souls of life by luck.

  Tang Yan persisted stubbornly without giving up, while Du Yang was also quietly cultivating.

  Time passed minute by minute, second by second, and the two of them held on to each other, neither disturbing the other.

  Two days later, Tang Yan suddenly thought of a plan. Why not arrange for Hei Dou to catch some low-level demon beasts and bring them back here? Then kill them here, their life essence will surely be separated, making it more convenient for Tang Yan to capture.

  Hei Dou and Tang Yan were extremely in sync, with a simple introduction, Hei Dou completely understood. Not long after, they really brought back a second-level demon beast, the Alligator Hound, which was bitten to death under an ancient tree. Tang Yan concentrated his mind and swallowed, capturing the soul of life very smoothly, and it was much clearer and more condensed than before, making it easier to peel off and refine.

  However, the black Qiu is still in its juvenile state and has super strong assassination ability, but it cannot hunt stronger demon beasts alone. The basic prey are secondary demon beasts, occasionally there will be some primary third-class ones.

  Tang Yan didn't want Hei Dou to leave too far, nor did he want it to encounter danger. He only allowed it to be active and wait in the vicinity of this mountain valley, and the number of hunts was naturally limited.

  The crisis has not yet touched them, they must remain vigilant at all times.

  It lasted for about ten days, and Tang Yan absorbed enough heavenly energy to refine his spiritual power, which flowed through his meridians like a gentle stream, healing his injuries. However, he only managed to absorb twenty-three strands of the Soul of Life, which did not slow down his aging process. He still looked like an old man with white hair, but his mental state had improved significantly and was no longer on the verge of collapse.

  On this day, a thin fog began to appear in the depths of the valley. Tang Yan and Du Yang were extremely sensitive to it and did not dare to continue staying. They took Hei Tuan and quickly escaped.

  Tang Yan stood on the treetop, gazing out at the vast and endless undulating mountain range: "We head west, passing through the desolate city graveyard to the Delos Empire."

  "The Ling Wang Fu should have anticipated this, we went there, aren't we just jumping into a trap?"

  "Staying in the Mystic Forest is not a solution after all, we can't afford to drag it out with the Ling Wang Fu. We can only go over there and try our luck, you disguise yourself as a medicine boy collecting herbs, my current appearance doesn't need any modification, pretend to be your grandfather."

  "I think I'd make a better partner for you." Du Yang retorted bluntly.

  The two of them exchanged a smile and rushed into the bewildering forest, moving westward.

  The black creature crouched on Tang Yan's head, its sense of smell extremely keen, able to capture the aura of powerful demonic beasts. With its help, Tang Yan and Du Yang narrowly avoided the terrifying demonic beasts surrounding them, traveling by day and hiding by night, proceeding with extreme caution.

  On the road, I found some branches and wove them into a basket, and picked up some ordinary herbs to prepare for future disguise.

  During this time, he did not forget to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, repairing his weak body.