"Master..."
Jingliu bit her lower lip hard, nearly drawing blood.
The images projected by the jade message clearly recorded that unknown past.
The laboratory lights were a deathly white, reflecting off Qi Zhimu's face, which was drenched in cold sweat.
Once the modification of the elixir organ was complete, the synchronization of the genetic sequence began.
Qi Zhimu controlled the power of The Self-Actualization Aspect, forcibly twisting the most microscopic genetic structures within his body.
It wasn't just a modification; it was a process of self-destruction and reconstruction starting from the cellular level.
The breaking and reconnecting of every base pair was accompanied by a piercing pain that reached deep into his marrow.
His body began to convulse violently, his muscles twitching frantically as if something were about to tear its way out from within.
「Lord Zhimu! If you can't hold on, stop for now!」
Clear Cold watched the data jumping wildly on the monitoring instruments, her face full of worry.
「I can't stop... Once I stop, all previous efforts will be wasted.」
Qi Zhimu gripped the edge of the operating table tightly; the specialized alloy surface actually had ten deep finger marks gouged into it by his strength.
Sweat mixed with beads of blood seeping from his pores dripped down his chin, forming a shocking pool on the floor.
Jingliu felt as if her heart were being squeezed hard by a giant hand, every beat bringing a suffocating pain.
It was all for her... To save her, this disappointing disciple, what kind of terrifying torture was Master enduring?
Yet she had been lying on the sickbed beside him, unconscious and completely oblivious.
Even when she woke up later, she had never imagined that her Master had paid such a tragic price to cure her.
"...How could I have been so foolish?!"
Jingliu's eyes were blurred with tears. She reached out, wanting to touch that pained figure in the images, wanting to give him a hug, but her fingertips could only pass through the cold light and shadow.
After an unknown amount of time, the genetic sequence synchronization was finally complete.
Qi Zhimu panted, clearly feeling the rejection reaction within his body significantly weaken.
Continue.
The next item was the reconstruction of various cells and blood types.
This modification was even more thorough.
He wanted to change his own blood to be exactly the same type as Jingliu's.
As the modification progressed, Qi Zhimu's aura underwent a subtle change without him realizing it.
Aside from gender, he was slowly turning himself into another Jingliu.
A Jingliu with a healthy elixir organ, capable of extending the life of his true disciple.
Time passed second by second. Every second was an ordeal for the onlooker, and even more of a purgatory for the one experiencing it.
When the final item, the partial chromosome modification, was completed, the surging complex data on the monitoring instruments finally settled.
All the red lines representing rejection reactions dropped to zero.
Qi Zhimu slowly lifted his eyelids. His eyes were full of exhaustion and bloodshot, yet they were exceptionally bright.
He looked down at his own body, then turned his head to look at Jingliu on the sickbed.
At that moment, the pain, the distortion, and the exhaustion on his face all vanished.
They were replaced by a sense of relief and a curve at the corner of his mouth that was tender to the bone.
「It succeeded...」
Qi Zhimu murmured softly, raising his hand to gently stroke his disciple's thin, wan cheek.
「...Master will cure you now...」
"Master!!!"
In reality, Jingliu could no longer control herself. She let out a heart-wrenching cry and collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest tightly, crying like a child who couldn't find their way home.
That smile... That smile was the sharpest blade, stabbing deep into her heart.
It turned out that while he was torturing himself to the point of wanting to die, the only thing on his mind was still her.
There was no weighing of pros and cons, no being forced by circumstances.
There was only a pure, desperate persistence—
Master will save you.
The images did not stop because of Jingliu's breakdown.
Qi Zhimu didn't even give himself a single minute to breathe before immediately beginning the transplant surgery.
He picked up the cold, gleaming scalpel and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged it straight into his own body.
In a state of complete consciousness, he quickly cut open his abdominal cavity.
His hand was not steady, failing to precisely avoid important blood vessels and nerves, causing himself even more trauma.
Soon, Qi Zhimu deftly cut out his elixir organ, which contained a vast amount of life force.
The moment he lost the elixir organ, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body trembling violently.
His originally powerful regenerative ability was now operating with extreme difficulty.
It took more than half a minute for the shocking wound on his abdomen to barely stop bleeding, yet it still failed to heal completely.
Not only did his face turn as pale as paper, but his aura withered to the extreme.
"Don't... Master... don't go on..."
Jingliu felt as if she were there in person, her whole body twitching as she cried, having ignored the fact that the images before her were all things that had happened in the past.
With Master's former constitution, such a wound would have recovered in the blink of an eye.
What did this mean?
It meant that for this modification and transplant, he had overextended himself too much, putting his life on the line!
The Qi Zhimu of the past completely ignored his own condition. With trembling hands, he held that highly active elixir organ as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
He staggered to Jingliu's side and carefully cut open her shriveled abdomen.
He removed the elixir organ that was about to lose its vitality and cast it aside.
The elixir organ that carried all his effort and hope was gently implanted into the young girl's body.
Throughout the process, Qi Zhimu's hands were terrifyingly steady, without any redundant shaking or deviation.
Vessel anastomosis, nerve connection, Abundance Power guidance... Qi Zhimu performed every step with extreme meticulousness, for fear of making even the slightest mistake.
At the same time, he continued to overextend himself, continuously supplying blood and energy to maintain cellular activity for Jingliu.
A miracle finally arrived.
As the elixir organ began to function, a massive surge of vitality quickly spread through Jingliu's entire body.
Her skin, which had been as sallow as straw paper, began to show a healthy flush, and her shriveled, sunken cheeks became plump and moist once more.
Her fallen long hair also regrew at a visible speed, becoming smooth and lustrous.
A flower that was about to wither bloomed again with dazzling radiance under the nourishment of sweet dew.
But... behind that radiance was a process of fading away.
Qi Zhimu's already haggard face was now aging at a terrifying speed.
Wrinkles spread from the corners of his eyes, frost and snow dyed his temples, his upright frame gradually became hunched, and his muscles withered.
In a short period, he had actually turned into an old man in the twilight of his life.
This special transplant surgery was a true life-for-life exchange.
"Aaaaaah——!!!"
Jingliu could no longer bear to watch.
She abruptly turned off the jade message and collapsed onto the ground, a beast-like wail coming from her throat.
This affection was too heavy... so heavy it made it hard for her to breathe, so heavy it made her feel that every breath she took was plundering her Master's life.
Once, she had always thought she was a pitiful soul, never able to receive her Master's tenderness.
She had always wanted to prove herself, to be worthy of his attention.
But what was the truth?
Her very life had been given to her by her Master!
Everything she possessed—her health, her appearance, her talent, and even her future—was built upon her Master's near self-destructive sacrifice!
"Why didn't you tell me... Why did you lie to me..."