Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Self-Sufficiency

Though the name "Dirt Child" (Tu Wa) was indeed rustic, Lou Yun didn’t mock it at all. Instead, he mused inwardly to Chang Xiang, “Tu Wa, surname Tu. Should be a family bound by a contract with Earth. But does that mean the entire Tu family only has him and his father left?”

“I don’t know either. Back in that world, the Five Elements families all existed and held transcendent status. Who’d have thought they’d each become so destitute here on the Spirit Weapon Star. I bet the surviving Gold, Wood, and Fire families aren’t faring much better.”

Lou Yun continued to ask Tu Wa, “Tu Wa, is it just you and your father in your family?”

“I don’t know. There should be others. I’ve heard my dad mutter things like ‘our Tu family,’ ‘we the Tu family,’ stuff like that. But I never asked. Oh, Uncle, can you really cure my father?”

“Should be possible. It’s just your father’s physical state is extremely poor right now. When I treat him later, it’ll cause quite a bit of pain. I’m worried if he can endure it!”

The little beggar’s father’s condition was indeed at its worst — merely breathing while on the brink of death. Lou Yun’s concern was genuine.

The little beggar quickly added, “No! Uncle, my dad used to be very strong. He isn’t afraid of pain! I’ve seen him get his arm gashed by a branch; he didn’t even make a sound.”

“Haha, that’s good then. Don’t worry, I’ll be as gentle as possible!” Lou Yun said with a smile.

The two arrived at an inn. Paying no mind to the strange looks from patrons and staff, Lou Yun directly requested a top room. He ordered some wine and dishes, then led the little beggar up to the room.

After placing the middle-aged man’s body on the bed, Lou Yun turned to the little beggar. “Food should be here soon. Eat something first. Then we’ll start treating your father.”

Lou Yun could tell the little beggar hadn’t had a full meal for who knows how many days.

Soon, the food arrived. Lou Yun invited the little beggar to eat. Seeing the table laden with dishes, the boy’s mouth nearly watered. To spare him embarrassment, Lou Yun deliberately picked up chopsticks and took a couple of bites, then watched him eat with a kind smile.

Simultaneously, Lou Yun was discussing with Chang Xiang how to dissolve the earth contract on this middle-aged man.

“Elder Brother Chang, what’s precisely his current state?”

Lou Yun’s spiritual sense couldn’t perceive the state inside those with Five Elements Contracts, but Chang Xiang’s could.

Chang Xiang’s voice held a note of gravity. “His entire body is almost completely consumed by the earth contract’s backlash. The situation is quite dire. See for yourself!”

Through Chang Xiang’s spiritual sense, Lou Yun saw the internal state of the middle-aged man. It was indeed critical.

Lou Yun had observed the water contract before. He knew the so-called "Contract Symbol" truly manifested itself on the chest as red, spider-web-like tracings of heaven and earth energy, forming the character "契" (qi, meaning contract).

Now, within this middle-aged man, the "契" character remained at his chest, but its strokes had spread outwards, following the pathways of his vessels, bones, veins, and so on. Simply put, his body was almost entirely covered by the character "契". This was the consequence of contract backlash. Even his organs, his heart, suppressed by heaven and earth energy, had largely lost function. He was essentially in a state awaiting death.

Moreover, these tentacle-like spreadings of heaven and earth energy were tightly fused with the man’s bodily organs. The slightest mistake could damage an organ. It was truly difficult.

Yet, if left untouched, the man likely wouldn’t survive three days. So Lou Yun decided to risk everything; perhaps success was possible.

By this time, Tu Wa had finished eating. He watched Lou Yun, then his father, unsure what Lou Yun was doing.

Smiling at Tu Wa, Lou Yun said, “Tu Wa, I’m going to start treating your father now. But his illness is genuinely severe and strange. No matter what you see happening later, remain calm, don’t disturb me, and trust me. I intend him no harm!”

Nodding, Tu Wa seemed to vaguely understand.

Lou Yun walked to the middle-aged man’s side, ripped open the clothes over his chest to reveal the tattoo-like Contract Symbol birthmark, sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and said to Chang Xiang, “Let’s begin.”

So Chang Xiang continued to share his spiritual perception with Lou Yun, allowing him to clearly see the state of the Contract Symbol within the other’s body.

With a light flick of his finger, Lou Yun sent a tiny wisp of Fusang Fire onto the man’s chest.

The instant the Fusang Fire touched the skin, it erupted with a green light, transforming into a miniature Fusang Tree that grew at astonishing speed. Every branch and leaf of the tree rapidly extended, entangling itself around every vein of the Contract Symbol spreading throughout the man’s body.

In Tu Wa’s eyes, he could only see his father’s body densely entwined with green branches, trussed up like a bundle. And most eerily, tiny flames suddenly flared upon the green branches!

Although Lou Yun had forewarned him, Tu Wa, witnessing something completely beyond his understanding, couldn’t suppress his inner shock. Thankfully, he was very sensible. Seeing the intense concentration on Lou Yun’s face, he knew he absolutely could not make a sound to disturb him. So he thrust his hand into his own mouth and bit down hard.

Lou Yun controlled the fully grown Fusang Tree, wrapping up every vein of the Contract Symbol covering the middle-aged man’s body, and then ignited the flames.

At that moment, Lou Yun suddenly felt his spiritual energy was struggling to keep up. The main reason was the sheer expanse covered by the veins inside the man’s body. Extending Fusang Fire to envelop every location was immensely taxing on spiritual energy.

Lou Yun inwardly chided himself for carelessness. He’d been flying continuously for a long time without rest, so his spiritual energy was already significantly depleted. Now, on top of that, purging the earth contract demanded even more spiritual energy!

Without sufficient spiritual energy, the Fusang Flame’s temperature wouldn’t rise. Without higher temperature, it couldn’t burn away these Contract veins. Lou Yun suddenly felt trapped in a vicious circle.

But he couldn’t possibly abort the purification process now. Not only would the effort be wasted, but it might also instantly kill Tu Wa’s father!

Just as Lou Yun prepared to simultaneously control the Fusang Fire to purify the earth contract while reaching for a spiritual crystal to replenish energy, he heard a series of thunderous cracks resonating from within his own body.

Lou Yun hastily looked inward. Above his magical weapon, the Dream Emperor Sword, a palm-sized, glowing orb slowly rose. Inside this orb was a small blue sphere, surrounded by flickering silver snakes – flashes of lightning. This was unmistakably the seed of the heavenly fire storm!

Last time, when Lou Yun helped Shui Lingluo dissolve the water contract within her, the Fusang Fire had spontaneously revealed its true, complete form and taken root within him.

Therefore, seeing the seed of the Thunderstorm Fire detach itself from his magical weapon, Lou Yun’s heart stirred faintly. Could this mean the Thunderstorm Fire was also about to reveal its true, complete form?

This sparking seed slowly ascended to the center of Lou Yun’s body and finally settled at his heart, rotating slowly.

Strangely enough, with the emergence of the Thunderstorm Fire seed, Lou Yun immediately felt his nearly depleted spiritual energy replenish in an instant. The Fusang Fire’s temperature rapidly increased and began igniting the Contract Symbol veins covering the middle-aged man’s body!

Given the man’s critical physical state, Lou Yun had to concentrate entirely on controlling the Fusang Fire to refine the Contract Symbols on him. He naturally couldn’t spare any attention for the heavenly fire storm within his own body.

In any case, with the support of the Thunderstorm Fire, the Fusang Fire maintained a stable temperature, gradually refining away the Contract Symbols covering the man’s body. Only when the large "契" character on his chest was finally scorched clean did Lou Yun exhale a long sigh of relief. He immediately turned his focus inward!

It seemed the seed of the heavenly fire storm held a particular fondness for Lou Yun’s heart. It had now completely expanded, enveloping his heart itself. Shimmering electric sparks occasionally flashed right through the heart tissue, yet Lou Yun felt absolutely nothing.

Most bizarrely, as lightning crackled within the Thunderstorm Fire seed, small sparks were intermittently generated. These sparks didn’t stay inside the seed but directly passed through it, flitting about like tiny fireflies inside Lou Yun’s body. Ultimately, however, every spark would land upon the Fusang Tree and vanish.

Each time a spark drifted onto the Fusang Tree, Lou Yun could distinctly feel a little more spiritual energy appear within him. He instantly realized: these sparks were the spiritual energy generated by the heavenly fire storm, freely offered to him!

“Is this the genuine heavenly fire storm?” Chang Xiang inquired, puzzled.

Nodding, Lou Yun said, “Yes, this is the true heavenly fire storm. Unlike Fusang Fire, which arises from wood kindling flame, this fire originates from lightning itself. Therefore, its destructive power is greater. Plus, it has an additional benefit!”

“What benefit?”

“The seed of the heavenly fire storm independently produces lightning. The sparks generated by the intersecting flashes are actually condensed energy, which can naturally convert into spiritual energy. Meaning, from now on, even in an environment devoid of spiritual energy, I can absorb the spiritual energy supplied by the heavenly fire storm!”