"The reconstruction of meridians is a very complicated process, involving the Blood Reincarnation of the Ancient Sages. I had to browse through many ancient manuals before I was able to a feasible method," Yang shi said.
"Blood Reincarnation?" Zhang Xuan asked.
Noting Zhang Xuan's confusion at the term, Yang shi explained, "After making the breakthrough to Ancient Sage, one will be able to achieve Blood Reincarnation. In other words, as long as the cultivator retains a single droplet of their blood, there would be a way for them to come back to life."
"This" Zhang Xuan's heart jolted in astonishment.
Vicious had reached the level of Blood Reincarnation as well. Because of that, he had been able to come back to life despite having his body shredded into innumerable pieces.
That being said, it was important to note that there was still a fundamental difference in the lifespan of humans and Otherworldly Demons. The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was blessed with inherent longevity, so an Ancient Sage human cultivator would not even come close to living as long as an Ancient Sage Otherworldly Demon. As such, even if traces of Ancient Sage human cultivators were found, it would be impossible to revive them anymore.
Nevertheless, if Ancient Sages were able to revive from mere droplets of blood, surely reconstructing meridians would be a piece of cake for them!
"The meridians of my student over here, Zhao Ya, have collapsed completely. I wish to restore her meridians so that she can continue cultivating. Do you have any way that I can possibly do so?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Her meridians have collapsed completely?" Astonished, Yang shi quickly turned his gaze upon the young lady. He did not think that the young lady with a healthy glow on her face would be afflicted with such a severe condition. A moment later, he nodded grimly and said, "Her meridians have indeed collapsed entirely. I fear that it'll be extremely difficult for her to recover to her former state."
"Extremely difficult?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"Indeed. The person whom I helped reconstruct his meridians had sustained some tears in his meridians as a result of old age, so all I had to do back then was connect them together. On the other hand, Zhao Ya's meridians have collapsed entirely, leaving nary a trace at all. That means that you will have to reconstruct her meridians from scratch, and I fear that she won't be able to take the strain that will be placed on her during the reconstruction process given her current weakened state." Yang shi shook his head. "If we use my method on her, the chances of success will be exceedingly slim."
"What's the method that you used to reconstruct meridians?" Zhang Xuan asked. "I want to see if I can come up with an alternative method that will be feasible on her!"
While Yang Xuan felt that the chances of success were slim, the same might not necessarily apply for Zhang Xuan. Possessing the Library of Heaven's Path, he would be able to resolve any flaws in Yang Xuan's meridian reconstruction technique and uncover the most feasible and correct method to do so.
That should increase the chances of success considerably.
"The theory behind my meridian reconstruction technique is rather simple. I extracted the meridians from high-tier saint beasts and used a unique method to connect them with the meridians of the patient's body. As the meridians of most saint beasts are similar in terms of flexibility to those of humans, while it might not be as easy to use, it should still suffice!" Yang shi said.
"You used the meridians of high-tier saint beasts?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
In a sense, this was similar to the act of organ transplant from his previous life.
"Saint beasts also differ in their constitutions as well, so their meridians should be different from one another." Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before raising a doubt. "I don't think that it would be viable to use the meridians from any saint beasts, right?"
Just like how it was possible for a body to reject a transplanted organ, the same problem should apply to meridian transplants.
"Of course, the saint beasts selected should possess a similar constitution to the patient. Your student possesses the Pure Yin Body, but saint beasts of the pure yin attribute are nearly non-existent. That's also the reason I said that it would extremely difficult or perhaps even impossible!" Yang shi shook his head.
"This" Zhang Xuan fell silent.
It would be difficult to find even a human with Pure Yin Body, let alone a saint beast. This was indeed not a viable solution.
Hearing the conversation of the duo, Zhao Ya interjected for the very first time with a smile. "Teacher, I'm fine with this. If I can't recover from my condition, I have no qualms with living as an ordinary human for the rest of my life!"
She had seen how far her teacher had gone for her. If it still did not work out despite that, perhaps this was just the path that fate had chosen for her. There was no need to force the impossible.
"Rest assured. Since I have said that I'll cure you, I will definitely pull it off!" Zhang Xuan said with a confident wave of his hand before turning his gaze back to Yang shi. "Other than this, are there any other feasible solutions?"
"This" Yang shi paused for a moment before saying, "It's indeed not too easy to find beasts of the pure yin attribute. Alternatively, it might be possible to replace her meridians using plants!"
"Plants?"
"That's right. Plants are more adaptable to their surroundings, especially those of neutral attributes, thus making them suitable to be molded into meridians. Unfortunately, most plants have a cap to their strength, and that means that the future accomplishments of the cultivator will be limited as well," Yang shi explained.
Even the formidable millennium old herbs could not come close to comparing with the vitality of saint beasts. While they could be used to reconstruct one's meridians, that could only be considered a mediocre solution, used only when there were no other alternatives available. This was because the limits of the plants would spell the limits of the cultivator, thus preventing the cultivator from reaching greater heights.
"You're right. Unless the plant is extremely high-tier, it won't work out well. However, it's no easy feat to find such plants Hmm?" Just as Zhang Xuan was in a state of loss, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he slapped his forehead in realization. "The vine of the Dongxu Gourd!"
The vine of the Dongxu Gourd was an artifact that could absorb even the violent energy of a lightning tribulation. On top of that, it harnessed the power of space, such that in terms of prowess, it would not pale in comparison to a Saint 8-dan cultivator. There was no doubt that it would serve as a much better meridian compared to a saint beast's.
After all, not even saint beasts would dare devour lightning!
Hu!
With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and the vine immediately appeared in his hand. He hurriedly brought it toward Yang shi and asked, "Junior, can you have a look to see if this will do?"
"This?" Yang shi quickly turned his gaze over, and it took only a few seconds for his face to warp with shock. "What is this plant?"
Astonishingly, he could not tell what it was even with his eye of discernment.
"It's the vine of a Dongxu Gourd!" Zhang Xuan explained.
"Dongxu Gourd?" Yang shi pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that's not right. I have seen a Dongxu Gourd before, and its vine isn't like that. The one that you have should have been nourished by a spirit vein for at least several dozen millenniums, and on top of that, it seems to harness the power of space and lightning"
"This" Zhang Xuan blinked before explaining, "The anomaly might be due to this vine absorbing plenty of lightning energy!"
"No, that isn't it. As powerful as the Dongxu Gourd is, it still flees as far as it can in the face of lightning. After all, that's retribution from the heavens. It shouldn't be possible for it to absorb any lightning energy!" Yang shi refuted Zhang Xuan's words.
"Let's just put that aside for the moment. Is this vine suitable for replacing my student's meridians?" Zhang Xuan asked.
The Dongxu Gourd that he had was left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu. It had slipped right into his dantian shortly after its appearance, refusing to leave no matter what Zhang Xuan did. From such a perspective, there was indeed something rather bizarre about it. However, this was not the time to look into it. At this point, Zhang Xuan was only interested in knowing if he could use the vine to reconstruct Zhao Ya's meridians and cure her.
"Considering that it harnesses the power of space and lightning, it's indeed the ideal artifact to use to replace one's meridians." Yang shi examined the vine closely, and his eyes lit up in agitation. "If Zhao Ya's meridians are reconstructed using this vine, her cultivation will surely be brought to new heights. In the future, she might even be able to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage."
The vine in front of him harnessed incredible energy and properties, such that even he had some trouble trying to discern it. If it was used to reconstruct Zhao Ya's meridians, she would surely be able to drive her zhenqi much easier and more efficiently. Not only so, her zhenqi capacity would also be enhanced to an unbelievable level.
"That's great" Hearing that it was a viable option to use as Zhao Ya's meridians, and it would benefit her cultivation as well, Zhang Xuan could not help but heave a sigh of relief.