Chapter 116-I'm Here
Chu Linyuan's power, guided by this thought, began to circulate on its own within Xie Zhao's depleted and broken meridians, following an extremely mysterious trajectory! This trajectory was not a healing method, but... a talisman!
A pale golden heart talisman, composed of pure energy, exuding an aura of protection, concentration, and soul-strengthening, took shape! Using Xie Zhao's body as the talisman paper and the power transferred from Chu Linyuan as the talisman ink, it was slowly outlined and formed by the will that originated from the talisman pen and the talisman path's instincts!
As the talisman's initial form appeared, the situation within Xie Zhao's body instantly changed! As if drawn by an invisible light, the scattered spiritual energy began to slowly converge towards the heart talisman's initial form! Under the flow of the talisman's power, his depleted meridians, like a long-awaited rain after a long drought, greedily absorbed the nourishing force, healing at an accelerated rate! His previously extremely weak aura suddenly became clearer and more stable, as if injected with a stimulant!
"This... what is this?!" The poisonous mist at Luo Hongyi's fingertips trembled violently, and shock filled her beautiful face! She had never seen such a bizarre sight! Using a human as a talisman, drawing external forces as ink, and spontaneously outlining the protective heart talisman in the face of death!
Su Tang's psychic eyes shone even brighter. She stared intently at the faint golden shadow of the talisman that was vaguely visible on Xie Zhao's chest, her voice trembling with excitement. "Miracle! Second Senior Brother's talisman instinct has been stimulated! Senior Brother Chu's power has become talisman ink!"
For the first time, shock clearly flashed across Chu Linyuan's icy eyes! He clearly felt that the power he had brought in was no longer a random nourishment, but was being precisely guided and utilized by a weak yet tenacious will, transforming into the power of a talisman to protect Xie Zhao himself!
This thought came from Xie Zhao, and also from the Jinghong Talisman Pen that resonated with his power!
What shocked him even more was that when the prototype of the heart talisman slowly took shape in Xie Zhao's body, a faint but extremely clear warm thought with Xie Zhao's unique aura, like a newborn firefly, followed the dark golden light connecting his palm and the talisman pen, went upstream, and gently touched his mind!
In that thought, there was no pain, no fear, only a pure sense of peace and trust, as if one had found their way home. It was as if silently telling him: Brother, I am still here.
When the last wisp of disordered breath was completely calmed down by the flow of the talisman light, Xie Zhao's long and thick eyelashes trembled very slightly like butterfly wings.
Then, the pair of peach blossom eyes that had been closed for who knows how long finally slowly opened.
At first, his eyes were hazy and distracted, like dust-covered glass, the look of someone recovering from a serious illness. He rolled his eyes around aimlessly, his sight struggling to focus.
The first thing that caught his eye was the rough lines of the main hall's stone beams and the familiar dark golden glow emanating from the talisman array. Then... he saw a cold, angular face, yet one etched with fatigue, close at hand.
He was still sitting cross-legged at his side, one hand lightly pressed on the spot just an inch above his heart - under that palm was where the warm talisman light was flowing.
His black robe was slightly wrinkled, stained with murderous dust and a solidified dark crimson. The dark golden dragon pattern on his left cheek seemed even clearer than before he fell unconscious, like a brand, radiating a restrained yet dangerous golden light under the dim glow of the talisman array.
He closed his eyes, with a deep weariness between his brows, like an iceberg that had exhausted all its energy. Even the usual cold and murderous aura around him had subsided a lot. Only the hand pressing on his heart still carried an unquestionable stabilizing force.
Xie Zhao's heart felt as if it had been gently bumped. The last fragments of his memory before he passed out instantly flooded back—the turbulent evil energy at the core of the abyss, the talisman array on the verge of collapse, the dragon-like spear force that tore through the darkness, the talisman light he had desperately activated, the dark figure engulfed by the source of terror...
And in the final moments, before his consciousness faded, he felt the icy yet endless protective power...
It turns out... it's my senior brother...
He opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but his throat was so dry that no sound came out.
This subtle movement was like a stone dropped into a calm lake. Chu Linyuan's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened!
Those cold eyes instantly locked onto Xie Zhao's face, and the fatigue surging deep in his eyes was dispersed by a stronger emotion, as hot as lava - it was the ecstasy of surviving the disaster, the relief of confirming that the target of protection was safe, and a hint of tension of regaining what he had lost that he himself had not even noticed!
Xie Zhao looked at the undisguised fiery emotions in Chu Linyuan's eyes, and the clear fatigue and worry on the other's face. His heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, feeling sore and swollen. An unprecedented warmth instantly broke through all the barriers of joking.
The corners of his pale mouth pulled upwards bit by bit with great difficulty, finally forming a weak but incomparably real smile that carried the look of someone who had survived a disaster. He used all his strength and uttered a hoarse, broken voice:
"Master... Senior Brother..."
"…Is it true…that this time…you didn't…lose…the lamp oil…in vain?"
The two words "lamp oil" were used with Xie Zhao's weak ridicule, but they clearly pointed to the power that Chu Linyuan continued to bring in to maintain his heart talisman.
Chu Linyuan's body stiffened for a moment, almost imperceptibly. He looked at the weak, yet genuine smile on Xie Zhao's face, the relief of having survived the ordeal and... a hint of indescribable dependence in his eyes.
Deep within his icy eyes, the surging lava seemed to be plunged into cool spring water, instantly softening and settling. He didn't respond to Xie Zhao's teasing, but the hand that was pressing on Xie Zhao's heart, suspended above the talisman light, extremely slowly, yet with incomparable determination, gently lowered an inch.
The cold fingertips, through the thin clothes, very lightly and almost tentatively touched the heart symbol that was emitting warm light.
The moment their fingertips touched, the light of the Heart Talisman seemed to be injected with new vitality, suddenly brightening for a moment!
A gentle yet tenacious talismanic thought, following the touch of his fingertips, was clearly transmitted to Chu Linyuan's mind! That was Xie Zhao's thought, with the weakness after awakening, but full of vigorous vitality and the agility of the talismanic way!
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