Chapter 80: A Fragile Balance

‘What a… perfect vessel.’

Bai Zhileng uttered a silent commendation in her heart, even as her hands began to move.

From the medicine pouch at her waist, she produced a needle case carved from warm jade.

The case opened, revealing a row of silver needles, fine as ox hair and varying in length, lying quietly within. Each needle’s tail was adorned with a tiny jade leaf, intricately carved with different herbal runes.

These were the Hundred Herbs Divine Needles, the supreme medical treasures of the Penglai Immortal Palace. Each needle sealed the medicinal soul of an ancient spirit herb.

Bai Zhileng’s slender fingers delicately plucked out a long needle, its tail inscribed with the ‘Calming Grass’ rune.

Through the thin layer of Shen Zhaoqing’s disciple robes, she gently inserted the long needle precisely one *fen* below the Heart Seal acupoint.

A peculiar sight unfolded.

As the silver needle pierced the skin, the small jade leaf at its tail began to move without a breeze, emitting a faint, almost imperceptible hum. A warm, spring-like medicinal energy slowly seeped into Shen Zhaoqing’s body along the needle.

Immediately after, the second needle, its tail bearing the ‘Blazing Fire Grass’ rune, was inserted into the *Danzhong* acupoint at her chest.

The third needle, inscribed with ‘Profound Ice Grass,’ was then placed into the *Qihai* acupoint in her *Dantian*.

****

One after another, nine needles were deftly placed.

Bai Zhileng’s movements were as fluid as flowing water. The positions where she applied the needles, though seemingly scattered across Shen Zhaoqing’s body, each precisely corresponded to the most intense points of conflict between the immortal and demonic energies.

When the ninth needle finally settled, the tumultuous battlefield within Shen Zhaoqing’s body miraculously fell into a brief silence.

The domineering demonic blood-fiend energy was enveloped and soothed by a supreme Yang medicinal force, preventing it from clashing wildly. Meanwhile, the cold, emotionless sword intent was guided and dispersed by a supreme Yin medicinal force, gradually calming down.

Though the essence of the two forces remained unchanged, Bai Zhileng had forcibly separated them with nine distinct medicinal energies, forging a delicate and precarious balance.

Gu Chang’an, who had been holding Shen Zhaoqing tightly, was the first to sense the change.

The body in her arms no longer shifted between icy cold and burning hot. The heart-wrenching tearing sensation that had emanated from within her had also vanished.

Trembling, she lowered her head and saw Shen Zhaoqing’s tightly furrowed brows slowly unfurl.

A faint flush of color returned to her paper-pale face.

Gu Chang’an’s pupils, in that moment, dilated sharply.

‘So… so comfortable.’

Shen Zhaoqing felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring. She struggled to pry open a slit of her eyes.

Her vision was blurry, dappled with light and shadow.

She saw a vague figure dressed in white, their back to her, seemingly tidying something. The figure’s silhouette was soft, their long, silver-blue hair cascading like a waterfall, appearing to glow in the dim ice chamber.

The air was filled with a pleasant, faint herbal scent, mingled with a hint of the sweet, fresh aroma of grass after rain.

This scent was far more agreeable than the aloof chill of Gu Chang’an’s presence, and a thousand times better than the faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood that clung to that madwoman, Ling Shuangjue.

‘Finally… a normal person has arrived!’ Shen Zhaoqing thought, her mind a jumbled mess.

‘Saved…’ Shen Zhaoqing let out a long sigh of relief in her heart. Immediately, an irresistible wave of exhaustion washed over her again, and her consciousness once more sank into darkness.

Just before she completely lost consciousness, she seemed to hear a soft sigh, as if tinged with a smile.