Chapter 368: Chapter 367: The Body is Dead
From the moment Yang Fei entered this secret room, he had noticed Xu Jian’s body.
There were no signs of life emanating from this body, just like a dried-up corpse that had been desiccated for many years.
During the time they had just been talking, Yang Fei had been sensing Xu Jian’s cultivation realm, but he had discovered nothing.
This person’s body had no characteristics of life, more like an object of death.
If it weren’t for Xu Jian’s ability to speak and his profound gaze, Yang Fei would have even suspected that this person had been dead for many days.
This was a situation he had never encountered before.
Miss Qin was not a doctor, but as an Innate Realm Cultivator, she was quite sensitive to the life aura of the human body. At this moment, Xu Jian asked Yang Fei to check his body, making her somewhat nervous, and she couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Yang Fei’s hand.
Yang Fei fell silent for a while, then gently patted the back of Miss Qin’s hand, smiling and saying, "Don’t worry, I will go have a look at Senior Xu."
Xu Jian gave a slight smile and said, "Miss Qin, if you’re not at ease, you may come along with him."
Miss Qin smiled and said, "Then I would be imposing."
Saying this, she pulled Yang Fei toward him.
Yang Fei had intended to go alone, but since Miss Qin wanted to join him, he was touched and did not refuse her kindness.
When they reached Xu Jian’s side, they still could not sense any aura from him, which made Yang Fei even more curious and he couldn’t help but say, "Senior, there’s something very strange about this body."
Xu Jian smiled, "What is strange about it?"
Yang Fei said, "If Senior weren’t continuously talking to me, I would suspect you had been dead for a long time."
Xu Jian laughed wryly, then sighed, "Yes, in this state, I am pretty much half-dead."
"May I take a look?" Yang Fei asked.
Xu Jian responded, "I called you over to help me examine this body, please feel free to look."
Yang Fei nodded and said, "Then I shall impose."
Saying this, he reached out and grabbed Xu Jian’s right wrist.
This was an extremely desiccated arm, and touching it gave Yang Fei a feeling of laxity.
Below the rough human skin was bone, almost devoid of the feel of flesh.
Yang Fei was startled inside and came up with a bold speculation.
However, he did not jump to conclusions, but instead stimulated his True Yuan and injected it into the body to check the other’s pulse.
After a moment, Yang Fei’s face showed a look of horror, his eyes widened as he stared at Xu Jian saying, "Senior, you... your body has no pulse at all, this is..."
Xu Jian sighed and nodded, "Even you can’t detect my pulse?"
Yang Fei shook his head and said, "Junior’s abilities are limited, indeed I cannot detect your pulse."
Miss Qin exclaimed, "How can this be, a living person can’t possibly lack a heartbeat pulse."
Yang Fei with a solemn expression let go of Xu Jian’s hand and asked in a deep voice, "Senior, how long has this condition been going on?"
"Fifteen years," Xu Jian said.
"To be precise, it started fifteen years ago when my body started to have problems. Initially, it was the soles of my feet that slowly lost sensation, the blood stopped flowing, and then gradually it extended upwards. To this day, I’ve lost sensation below my neck, almost no different from a vegetative state."
"Haven’t you sought medical consultation?" Yang Fei asked.
Xu Jian smiled faintly, shook his head, and replied, "I am a doctor myself."
"A doctor cannot heal himself," Yang Fei said.
Xu Jian nodded, "Though I cannot heal myself, I am well aware of my own condition. It’s that the functions of my body have reached their limit, stopping metabolism. To put it more scientifically, the cellular tissues have aged and died, unable to regenerate."
Yang Fei’s pupils contracted slightly as he said, "You mean, your body is gradually dying?"
Xu Jian nodded and replied, "That’s probably it."
Yang Fei and Qin Yanyang exchanged glances, simultaneously inhaling a sharp breath of cold air.
This was the first time they had heard of such a situation, and also the first time they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
According to Yang Fei’s examination, Xu Jian’s body indeed showed no signs of life—it was dead.
However, Xu Jian’s head still maintained signs of vitality, which was strange.
Not right.
Yang Fei had a thought and said, "Senior, please forgive me, I need to examine you further."
"No problem," Xu Jian replied.
Yang Fei extended two fingers and placed them on Xu Jian’s neck.
After a good dozen breaths, he detected a faint pulse.
Having waited a while longer, Yang Fei indeed found there was still a pulse.
However, this pulse was extremely weak and was only being transmitted to the head area of Xu Jian.
Withdrawing his hand, Yang Fei looked at Xu Jian with a complex expression and said, "Senior, I have never encountered such a situation before, and with my current medical skills, I really am not confident of treating it."
Xu Jian smiled upon hearing this, shaking his head, "My case isn’t something that can simply be ’treated’."
Yang Fei was struck by a thought and asked Xu Jian, "Senior, did you ask me to come not to help treat you?"
Xu Jian nodded, "I asked for your help with treatment, but not in the ordinary sense of the word."
Yang Fei was puzzled.
Xu Jian smiled slightly.
Yang Fei and Qin Yanyang felt a chill in their hearts and instinctively held hands and swiftly retreated.
They saw air currents swirling around Xu Jian’s body as he stood up.
Yang Fei’s pupils contracted, his gaze locked onto the area around Xu Jian’s body, and he immediately noticed something peculiar, but deep inside, he grew even more admiring of Xu Jian’s realm.
After standing up, Xu Jian moved around freely for a few steps and even smoothed his gray-white robe with both hands.
Qin Yanyang’s eyes still held a look of terror, as if looking at a monster watching Xu Jian.
This person’s body was clearly dead, unable to walk, yet he was able to stand and move about freely, and his withered hands moved as usual.
It was too eerie!
However, soon enough, Qin Yanyang also realized the crux of the matter and exclaimed in surprise, "You can actually manipulate the power of Heaven and Earth to control this dead body?"
"Correct," Xu Jian smiled and replied.
Yang Fei sincerely commented, "Senior’s realm is truly profound and inscrutable; this is indeed the Divine Travel Realm."
Xu Jian smiled faintly, his face showing no pride, but instead his deep eyes conveyed a deep sense of helplessness and sorrow: "It’s a pity it’s too late. Although I possess a powerful Divine Soul realm now, I lack a healthy body to sustain it. In less than a year, my Divine Soul will likely have no place to reside, and it will dissipate with the complete death of my body."
Yang Fei was struck by a thought, finally understanding Xu Jian’s real concerns, and guessed the true reason Xu Jian had asked him to come.
"Senior, do you want me to find a way to prolong your life?" Yang Fei asked.
Xu Jian looked at Yang Fei, his eyes filled with expectation and passion: "More precisely, I want your help to recreate my body."
"Recreate your body?" Qin Yanyang exclaimed in shock.
Xu Jian said, "With the current level of state-of-the-art medical technology, it wouldn’t be a problem to transplant this head of mine onto a healthy body."
Yang Fei took a deep breath and said solemnly, "If that’s the case, why would you need me?"
Xu Jian nodded and said, "Exactly, I wouldn’t have asked you to come then."
"What do you wish for, Senior?" Yang Fei asked solemnly.