Chapter 487: Terminal Lucidity

Yun Yang walked over quickly, grasped Qiu Jianhan's hand in his own and activated the Endless Divine Art without a second thought. He delivered the force of vitality into Old Marshal Qiu slowly before he began to carefully check on his injuries.

Even though he was no stranger to the battlefield, Yun Yang could not help sucking in a cold breath as he poked and prodded.

The old marshal had fought in the frontline without attempting to avoid danger and threats; he had been gashed and was peppered with a multitude of wounds, but more than ninety percent of his injuries were external. Besides having Bai Yixue as his guard, the old marshal's cultivation base was decent and it seemed that he was not seriously hurt.

There was actually only one injury that had put him in this current state, but that single wound was serious enough to be fatal.

He had taken the arrow in his left chest and it had blown a hole clear through his body. If one were to take a surface glance at the wound, it would seem that his heart had been stabbed. How could a person survive without a heart?

Thankfully, Yun Yang knew that the lethal arrow had been slightly deflected by Bai Yixue just as it was about to hit home. Thanks to the deflection, the arrow had slightly deviated as it burrowed into Qiu Jianhan's chest.

If it had not been for that tiny deflection, Qiu Jianhan would have died on the spot. There was simply no chance of survival.

Even then, Qiu Jianhan was pacing the border of life and death now. Perhaps, it was more accurate to say that he had mostly stepped into death's door; the chance to save him was remarkably low.

Yun Yang was not confident as he looked at the old marshal's current state. He had tried his best to save him, but Qiu Jianhan's injury did not improve in the slightest after an hour of the Endless Divine Art flowing through him. The art that Yun Yang had put much of his faith on and had always worked, seemed to lose its effect today. Not even the wounded man's pulse turned the least bit stronger.

Qiu Jianhan still lay in silence, but Yun Yang could feel the remains of his life being drained away. It was as if life no longer belonged to this aged and severely wounded body.

Yun Yang was unwilling to give up just like that. Other than the continuous channeling of the Endless Divine Art, he had used all the top-graded medicine he possessed, but all these had done was only to slow down the speed of life seeping away from Qiu Jianhan. They could not stop it in entirety.

At this moment, Yun Yang truly hated himself. Oh, how he resented himself! To be bereft of the Nine Supremes' power at such a critical juncture! How he loathed himself for the fact that despite his recovery of cultivation base, he was still unable to open his deific consciousness!

If he could activate the space and reconnect with Emmie, Qiu Jianhan would be saved, using Emmie's air of vitality! With Emmie's help, Yun Yang was confident he could get Qiu Jianhan back even if his breathing had stopped, as long as not too much time had passed.

In spite of it, Yun Yang could only watch his most respected elder slowly drained away right before his eyes and he could do nothing about it. The helpless sense of defeat almost maddened Yun Yang.

Behind him, everyone watched Yun Yang's attempt at rescue quietly. All of them had bated breath, afraid that the slightest movement would disrupt Yun Yang; they all wore gazes flickering with hope, hoping that Yun Yang could write another legend and actually save the old marshal.

Fu Baoguo, Marquis Yun, Wang Dingguo, Shangguan Lingxiu, Bai Yixue, the four young masters... all of them shared the same thought and intent but ultimately, they saw Yun Yang's back that had always been straight like a sword slowly crumble, as if had lost all his strength and could no longer go on...

...

"How is the old marshal? Is there any improvement?" Fu Baoguo's voice was laced with extreme distress; even as the hopeful question was uttered, his heart actually sunk.

He could see the glaring wound on Qiu Jianhan now. Such an injury must be fatal, one that could not be salvaged! No matter how strong a person's cultivation base, it must be deadly to bear such a serious wound - there was no chance at all, and luck would have very little say in this.

For Old Marshal to still be alive, all he had was his last breath. If the last breath was gone as well, he would be on his way to the underworld.

Marquis Yun, Bai Yixue, and the others looked grim while Shangguan Lingxiu's eyes were already dotted with tears. She stared unblinkingly at Yun Yang. Other than Fang Mofei, only Shangguan Lingxiu, among those who were there, knew of Yun Yang's true identity.

Shangguan Lingxiu had placed all her hope on him. To her, there was nothing in this world that the Nine Supremes Lords could not do. Just like today's battle, they were already at an impasse, but Yun Yang's arrival had forcefully overturned the situation, breaking a path of survival and effectively challenging the siege.

While everyone could see that Yun Yang was troubled now, Shangguan Lingxiu was still hoping for him to say that it was alright; then, Old Marshal still had hope, he could still live. However, if Yun Yang could do nothing... then the situation was truly hopeless!

Yun Yang sat down kneeling in silence; his face was pale while his gaze was lifeless. Suddenly, he spat a gout of blood onto the ground.

His injuries had never really healed, and the rush during his journey was detrimental to a recovering patient. Right after that, he had forced himself to enter the battlefield and was engaged in violent battle all the way, especially the duel against Ma-i Sect's two experts. All of those had only aggravated his situation; he could barely support himself.

In spite of this, Yun Yang had still hoped that the old marshal was fine and the Fortress of Resilience must not be lost.

The latter had become reality while the former was left with one last breath. Unfortunately, the last breath would be gone anytime now. It looked like both the matters were turning into bubbles that were about to pop...

Yun Yang was both exhausted and anguished. He had tried again to activate the deific consciousness space earlier to find Emmie, to fight with his all for Old Marshal's survival, but it was like the space had disappeared; Emmie was nowhere to be found.

The mythical powers that had flowed within him, powers that he used to wield easily could not be used, not even a drop.

The power of vitality, the power of a star, the power of the nation's fate, and the power that eradicated evil and praised the kindness of Endless Divine Art... as long as any of them could be used, Yun Yang was confident that he could stabilize Qiu Jianhan's injuries. At least, he would not die instantly. However, all of the mentioned energies were stored and sealed in his divine sense; he could not come into contact with any of them let alone use them.

Yun Yang's heart sunk, like it had fallen into an abysmal void...

Must he face another heartbreaking loss of a family member?

Thinking about it, his vision went dark and his emotions were in a turmoil; the old and new injuries he bore acted up together, forcing him to vomit blood, almost fainting from the pain.

"There's no other method. There's nothing I can do..." Yun Yang's weak voice came like a powerful blow to everyone's hearts.

They were in agony, Shangguan Lingxiu's tears were dripping in streams. Not even the Nine Supremes Lords could help, was there no hope for the Old Marshal then? Fu Baoguo lowered his head, the muscles on his face were twitching; he suddenly collapsed onto the floor, kneeling with his forehead against the ground, unable to make a sound as he cried.

As Fu Baoguo fell to his knees, the tent was lulled into an atmosphere of utmost grief.

"Cough..."

A fragile cough suddenly broke out. As the group searched for the source through their teary eyes, it was Qiu Jianhan on the bed who suddenly coughed. The harsh rise and fall of his chest began before his eyes opened after a long stretch of time had passed.

In spite of this, the old marshal's breathing hastened, wheezing like a wind box.

Qiu Jianhan had miraculously woken up at this critical juncture.

The old marshal opened his eyes slowly, his gaze a little lost as if he was thinking of something. Seeing the faces that swam above his sight, his gaze brightened weakly. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

Shangguan Lingxiu stuck her ear close to him at once, but Qiu Jianhan's voice was soft like a buzzing mosquito, almost inaudible. Perhaps it had taken all of his remaining energy for him to finally utter, "Has... Yun... Yun Yang... come?"

Shangguan Lingxiu nodded quickly, answering tearfully, "Yes, yes. He's just got here... He has saved us from the siege..."

The old marshal's eyes brightened instantly like his energy had come back to him and his voice grew louder. "Out... all out... Yun... Yang... stays..."

The old man's pale face was miraculously beginning to gain a flush.

However, everyone present had a clear realization. This was terminal lucidity... Old Marshal truly did not have much time left to him!