Over the next two years, Qi Zhimu exhausted all the knowledge he had acquired throughout his life and tried countless methods, yet he remained unable to stop Jingliu's elixir organ from weakening day by day.
In less than a year, she would likely have her life force completely drained by her congenitally deficient elixir organ and face death.
"This shouldn't be her end..."
Qi Zhimu's palms couldn't stop trembling, and his breathing grew rapid.
"I promised her... I promised her, I promised her!!"
"Lord Zhimu, calm down!"
Seeing signs of his mara affliction being triggered again, the two sisters hurriedly stepped forward to hold his wrists, anxiously trying to soothe him.
"There must be a way. If even you fall apart, then Jingliu truly has no hope left."
"Huff... huff..."
Though his breathing remained heavy, the turbid chaos in Qi Zhimu's eyes slowly receded, and the crimson in his pupils faded.
"The biological knowledge I've mastered in my life cannot save her; I need to research a new method."
"If clinical trials are needed, let us be the test subjects," Clear Cold said without hesitation.
"...Mm." Qi Zhimu did not offer thanks.
He knew they wouldn't like it.
Over the next few months, Qi Zhimu tried no fewer than several hundred new methods, searching for that one path that might be feasible.
However, reality was cruel; not a single method worked.
Through the perspective of the three, Jingliu saw herself lying on the sickbed—her long hair withered, her skin sallow, her entire body so thin she was little more than a skeleton.
Her Master sat at the edge of the bed, holding her hand tightly. The profound self-reproach on his face stabbed sharply into her tear ducts.
It's not your fault, Master... You have done so much, too much for your disciple. How could I ever blame you?
After trying dozens more treatment methods to no avail, Jingliu's life had slid to the edge of withering away.
Qi Zhimu's face, which was usually composed and calm, was now filled with the determination of a man staking everything on a single throw.
Clear Cold was in low spirits as she whispered, "Is the only path left truly to activate The Self-Actualization Aspect for Jingliu?"
Sleeping Snow remained silent, subconsciously tightening her fists.
As those who had already activated The Self-Actualization Aspect, they knew full well why the Xianzhou classified this technique as forbidden.
Activating The Self-Actualization Aspect not only required an immense amount of Power of Abundance to sustain the consumption, but it was also irreversible.
In other words, one would live in the shadows for their entire life; if it were ever leaked, the Ten Lords Tribunal would never tolerate it.
The so-called irreversibility also included the modification of the physical body.
Anything that did not belong to oneself, once transplanted, devoured, or modified, would remain for a lifetime.
Back then, after Lord Zhimu helped them activate The Self-Actualization Aspect, they had also absorbed many 'traits' of Abominations.
To put it bluntly, they were now monsters wearing human skin, no longer fit to be called human.
"...I can only try the most primitive method," Qi Zhimu took a deep breath.
Seeing this, Jingliu's nerves became highly strung, fearing she might miss any detail.
"The most primitive?" Sleeping Snow was puzzled.
"An elixir organ transplant," Qi Zhimu said in a low voice.
The sisters were stunned for a moment, and then their expressions changed drastically.
Would this... work...?
They were Long-lived Species with the blessing of abundance. As long as they didn't die, any part of the body except the elixir organ could be restored, with the only difference being the speed.
Even extracted wisdom teeth would grow back, let alone transplanting organs?
The reason the Xianzhou called congenital defects in the Long-lived Species a heaven-deficient condition was precisely because they could not be transplanted.
How one was born was how one remained until falling into mara affliction; there were no exceptions.
For instance, someone born blind would suffer original rejection from their body whether they received a corneal transplant or a neural visual prosthetic, only increasing their pain.
To this day, no Healer has been able to break through this limitation.
Unless... the patient activated The Self-Actualization Aspect.
But looking at Lord Zhimu's expression, it didn't seem like he was preparing to activate The Self-Actualization Aspect for Jingliu.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Exploit a loophole."
"Huh?"
"As long as one can endure it, The Self-Actualization Aspect can grant the ability to modify the physical body without limit, merging all external things into oneself."
Qi Zhimu gripped Jingliu's skeletal hand, his voice growing even softer.
"But since the Xianzhou obtained longevity and created The Self-Actualization Aspect, modification has always focused on adapting things to oneself. No one has ever used reverse thinking to consider a question—"
"Is modifying one's own organs to adapt to someone else also a viable path?"
The two sisters understood.
Qi Zhimu intended to modify his own body's biological data to match Jingliu's!
Theoretically speaking, with the power of The Self-Actualization Aspect, this was not just a fantasy.
As long as one was willing and specific conditions were met, The Self-Actualization Aspect could completely transform oneself into another person—a flawless version.
There are no two identical leaves in the world, yet there can be two identical people.
And this was also the terrifying part of The Self-Actualization Aspect, one of the primary reasons it was listed as a forbidden technique.
"...But if you do that, won't your biological data completely become Jingliu's?"
"There's no need for a total modification."
Qi Zhimu shook his head slightly, musing:
"A localized modification will suffice. First, I'll modify the imaginary fluctuation energy frequency of the elixir organ to match Jingliu's and observe if rejection occurs."
"If it rejects, I will then gradually change the DNA sequence, blood type, local chromosomes, and so on to match hers."
"If the elixir organ's rejection reaction disappears, it will prove this method is feasible."
Hearing this, Clear Cold hesitated, starting to speak and then stopping, before finally being unable to help herself.
"In that case, you would essentially become a male version of Jingliu..."
"Theoretically, yes." Qi Zhimu nodded.
The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, Sleeping Snow raised the most critical follow-up question.
"Under normal circumstances, a Xianzhou person dies if they lose their elixir organ. If one has activated The Self-Actualization Aspect, what happens if they lose their elixir organ?"
"They also die," Qi Zhimu said calmly.
"!!!"
Jingliu's expression changed immediately, but she quickly realized that if her Master would die upon losing his elixir organ, how could he have been fine afterward?
There must have been another turn of events.
Back then, the sisters didn't know the future, and they immediately became anxious upon hearing this.
"Then you still..."
"My situation is not normal."
Qi Zhimu pointed to his chest.
"Even without an elixir organ, I still have this heart that is essentially an abundance scourge; it can replace all functions of the elixir organ."
"Jingliu doesn't have much time left. My mind is made up."
"After all, as her Master, I promised her. Her becoming like this also started because of me; I owe her."
"...You fool..."
The tears Jingliu had managed to stop now filled her eyes once more.
It was clearly always she who owed her Master, always!
The plan began to be implemented.
Watching Qi Zhimu modify his own elixir organ step by step to match hers, even though Jingliu already knew the outcome, her heart was still filled with tension.
Once the modification was complete, the intense rejection from within his body brought Qi Zhimu extremely terrifying pain.
The veins on his forehead bulged one by one, his face contorted in agony, and cold sweat covered his entire body.
Seeing this, Jingliu's heart ached terribly.
One must know that her Master had once endured the iron fists of an Aurumaton for several hours without ever showing such a state.
One could only imagine how terrifying the pain brought by this rejection was.