Chapter 2215: Saaruk Sometime later, Xiao Meilin brought Yuan to the Spirit Tree, which was located only a few miles away from the Asura Clan’s residence. Shortly after they left the residence, Mu Xuelian, who followed them, spoke, "Yuan, Lord Shiva has something to tell you." "Hm? What is it?" Yuan turned to look at her. "She said that man doesn’t have long to live." "What?" Yuan raised an eyebrow. "That first-level God Ascension cultivator we were just with." "Cangming? What is her reason for saying such a thing?" Yuan immediately stopped moving and glared at her with a serious frown. Mu Xuelian closed her eyes and, after a moment of silence, responded in a different tone. "That man has been afflicted with a particular technique by a certain Eternal," said Shiva, who just took control of Mu Xuelian’s body. "You mean his illness? So an Eternal was involved, after all..." Yuan sighed. "What are you talking about?" Xiao Meilin asked. Yuan explained calmly, "The beings we know as Outer Gods refer to themselves as Eternals—and your father’s illness was caused by one of them." "And how does she know that?" Xiao Meilin glared at Mu Xuelian with a suspicious face. "Long story short, there’s an Eternal living within her." Xiao Meilin’s eyes narrowed at the revelation. "I knew there was something off about her the moment I saw her," she muttered. "Now I understand why." "Master, why are you traveling with someone like that? Aren’t you enemies with these Outer Gods?" He nodded, "Yes, but there are many of them out there, and I am not at war with all of them." "Is that so? Well, this is news to me," said Xiao Meilin. "Anyway, what was that about father? He’s going to die soon? Can you elaborate on that? He’s managed to survive tens of millions of years with this illness, after all." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 "That’s because the technique used on him wasn’t meant to kill him quickly," Shiva said. "It was designed to inflict pain for as long as possible. Tens of millions of years may seem long to mortals—but to us Eternals, it’s nothing. In fact, I have taken naps far longer than that." "Since you know what it is, do you know how to cure him?" Yuan then asked. Shiva calmly nodded, "Of course. It’s actually very simple." "I’m listening." "You just need to absorb it." "What?" Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten the essence of our powers already—the power of your physique?" "You mean I can just refine the illness into essence and absorb it, turning it into my power?" Yuan asked with a somewhat dumbfounded face. Shiva silently nodded. "In that case, let’s return now," Yuan said to Xiao Meilin. "What about the Spirit Tree? We’re about to arrive." "That can wait. Your father will be crafting Xiao Hua’s vessel soon, and I don’t want anything to go wrong when that happens." Yuan didn’t want to risk Xiao Cangming’s illness affecting him during the creation of Xiao Hua’s vessel and decided to take care of it as soon as possible. Moreover, Xiao Cangming’s life was on the line. "If you say so." Xiao Meilin didn’t argue and immediately turned around. Sometime later, they returned to the room where Xiao Cangming and Li Zhenwu were. "You’re back already? Did you forget something?" Xiao Cangming asked. "No. I came back because I learned about the cause of your illness and the method to cure it," said Yuan. "What?" Xiao Cangming stared at him with a bewildered face. "How did you acquire this knowledge in such a short time?" After all, they’d only been gone for a few minutes. Yuan looked at Mu Xuelian and explained, "Actually, there is an Outer God dwelling within my friend here, and she was the one who told me about it." "That’s..." Xiao Cangming was left speechless. As far as he was aware, all Outer Gods were enemies. Seeing his reaction, Yuan quickly explained, "Just like humans, not every Outer God is friendly with each other, and they even fight amongst themselves. In other words, not all of them are our enemies." "I see... So, what about my illness?" Mu Xuelian then spoke, "According to Lord Shiva, it’s a technique used by the one known as ’Saaruk’, meant to torment you with unbearable pain." "Then what about the treatment?" "I just need to absorb it," Yuan replied. "Didn’t you try that already?" "That’s different, since I treated it like a poison. What I am going to do this time is entirely different." "It sounds risky. How risky is it?" Xiao Cangming asked with a slight frown. "That’s... it shouldn’t be too risky, right?" Yuan turned to look at Mu Xuelian. "Lord Shiva said it’s not risky, but it will be very painful for you, the absorber, since you’re essentially consuming the power of an Eternal." "You heard her. It’s not risky." Yuan said with a calm smile. "When do you plan on absorbing it?" Xiao Cangming then asked. "Right now." "Right now? But we’re about to start crafting Xiao Hua’s vessel." "That’s exactly why we must do it now. I don’t want anything to go wrong, and since there’s a chance the illness might strike during the process, I want to deal with it before you start." Xiao Cangming couldn’t refute his reasoning. Since it was true that the illness could surface at unpredictable intervals, Yuan’s concern was entirely justified. "Alright, let’s get this over with." Xiao Cangming nodded. Hearing this, Yuan gestured for Xiao Cangming to take a seat before him. Once Xiao Cangming was seated, Yuan took his place behind him and rested both hands against his back. Yuan closed his eyes and started trying to sense the illness in Xiao Cangming’s body. Li Zhenwu, who had been focused on the ingredients, paused and watched them in silence, a faint trace of worry flickering in her eyes. A few minutes later, once Yuan found the source of the illness, he said, "I am going to start now." Then, he started to refine its very essence. Shortly after Yuan started to absorb it, a loud and unfamiliar voice thundered inside his head. "Which bastard dares to covet this mighty Saaruk’s power?!"