Daily life of a cultivation judge

After recollecting himself, Wu Shen continued.

"After we got poisoned, as Daoist Xin explained, we were all transported to the Moon Essence Cauldron Sect for treatment.

Of our four organizations, and even in consideration of the organizations within the range as a whole, they were the only organizations we could trust to have a way to handle the issue.

But we underestimated how vindictive the tricolored white-eyed tortoise was. It may have not wanted to fight us to the death, but that didn't mean it would let things go just like that.

It sacrificed its blood essence ignoring the long period of weakness it would suffer because of it just to ensure we would have the most painful death possible.

The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced. Even getting cut by the ghost blade mantis didn't hurt as much.." Wu Shen said as he smiled bitterly.

"Our sect's core art grants us a certain level of defense against toxins and it also boosts our vitality and regenerative capabilities.

I have survived this long because of those qualities. 

There have been moments where those attributes have been overwhelmed but never to this extent.

Whether it was regeneration, vitality, or a slight level of toxin immunity, all of it was rendered useless in front of the venom from the tricolored white-eyed tortoise.

The refined body I was so confident of in its defense and strength, started breaking down like dry cracked clay, and I was too helpless to stop it, and so was the Moon Essence Cauldron Sect.

The situation was hopeless and none of our organizations could do anything about it...that was until Long Zemin showed up.

I don't know what he did, or how he did it, but when he removed the toxin, it felt like my body had been submerged in a soothing hot pool filled with cleansing herbs that slowly knit my body to full health, washing our away the pain and exhaustion I had endured.

A bit of my experience with the toxin was slightly different from what Daoist Xin Zephyr experienced. 

For me, I felt like my whole body was submerged in the coldest block of ice that forms in the deepest part of the abyss, where no warmth could ever reach. That block of ice may have well been coated with the chill of death.

That chill seeped into every part of my body like a fog that carried the sharpness of a sword that had been sharpened for 10,000 years. I felt like every part of me was being sliced apart, inch by inch bringing with it a pain I never thought imaginable.

I am ashamed to say this, but I have never been welcoming of death or indifferent to it like other more renowned cultivators are when it comes to life and death, especially in sects just like ours that treat their bodies as refined weapons of slaughter.

Our sect has always been different, we value our lives too much.." Wu Shen said with a rueful smile.

Yang Qing's eyes glittered with a strange glow when he heard that statement.

"Our legacy art focuses on adaptability and endurance, and if you want to master our core art perfectly, your frame of mind needs to be in sync with the art itself and because of that, those who have achieved success with the art loves their lives too much.

We would never face death willingly if there was any other choice. However, for the first time in a long time, because of the pain I was in from that venom, I didn't want to adapt and find a way to survive. 

I wanted that pain to end, and from the way things were going, my demise seemed like the only viable option to end it.

I broke, my spirit, and everything I grew up believing slowly shattered under that fog of pain, and Long Zemin's appearance was what kept me from the brink.

Removing that poison was like a tether that kept my soul from falling into the abyss.

However, just like Daoist Xin, I noticed changes whenever I cultivated our core art. The circulation of our art is based on movements. We need to move our bodies in a particular motion to be one with our art's movements. 

The nimble fluid movements that I could do in a single breath felt laborious. Every movement made me feel like a mountain was tied to my legs, while my muscles had melted into a slimy substance, and if I tried to force it, they would rupture.

Meditation doesn't work either, every time I try, my mind feels foggy and at times it feels like a dam that has been overrun by a flood and is about to burst which results in a sharp piercing pain coming from my mental sea.

Just like Daoist Xin, I can't cultivate or meditate either no matter what means I try, they always end in the same way which is me bleeding from a part of my body accompanied by sharp pains..."

Chief Elder Wu Shen paused as he let out a sigh.

"I do hope the Order can help us find Long Zemin, so I can ask him what he did to me and if he can reverse what he did to my fellow Daoists..

But as for me...truth be told I find it hard to begrudge him for my current state. No matter how much I want to, I just can't seem to find it in myself to blame him, but instead what I have, even after knowing what he did..... is gratitude.." said Chief Elder Wu Shen.

"Wu Shen, how can you say that?! Because of what that bastard did, none of us can ever improve our cultivation base again! What he did is no different than crippling us!! He may have alleviated the torment we went through, but he got compensated for it, more than enough even, especially in helping him collect herbs in those dangerous territories.

Long Zemin cheated us and has essentially destroyed our lives!! He is no different than the tricolored white-eyed tortoise. Just as cunning and vindictive, at least with that damn tortoise, it was an enemy, unlike that bastard!!!" said Hua Ying with a vehement tone filled with displeasure.

Wu Shen sighed again with a sympathetic look as he said,

"That may be true Daoist Ying, but I don't know for me when he removed that toxin just as it was about to completely break me, I can't explain it, but I intrinsically felt like something precious had been protected, which had it broken, I would never get back.

I have no idea why or what that thing is, but intrinsically I feel that Long Zemin's act, no matter his intentions, helped me hold on to something vital to me, something as vital as my own life. 

That is why I'm finding it hard to blame him..."

"Settle your nerves, Miss Hua Ying.."

Just as Hua Ying was about to have another outburst, Yang Qing's calm voice shook her soul, silencing her entire body.