# Chapter 309: Mutated Xuan Gang
Cangfeng Imperial Palace, Emperor's Bedchamber.
Cang Wanhe was half-lying on the bed, his pale face slightly flushed. Dongfang Xiu stood by his side, his face full of anticipation.
"Is there really no need to use the Fen Hun Flower?" Cang Yue asked with some unease.
"Mm." Yun Che nodded. "The Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu is connected to the host's life pulse. Directly eliminating the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu would cause the host to die as well. To remove the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu without affecting the host's life, one must first sever the connection between the Gu and the host's life pulse. The only thing capable of this is the Fen Hun Flower, which has the power of 'soul separation.' However, I recently obtained a special ability that can also achieve this."
"Let's begin now... Your Majesty, please relax your body, calm your breathing, and stabilize your heart rate."
Cang Wanhe followed the instructions and took a few deep breaths, his breathing quickly calming down. Yun Che stood before the bed, extending his left hand. As a red light flickered, his crimson Xuan Gang appeared in the form of a spherical glow, then slowly floated to the position of Cang Wanhe's chest.
"What is this?" Dongfang Xiu looked at the Xuan Gang in surprise. On the Tian Xuan Continent, Xuan Gang was something only those at the level of the Sacred Grounds knew about. Although Ling Kun had casually mentioned Xuan Gang to the ten great sects at Tian Jian Villa that day, he had only spoken its name, and no one knew what Xuan Gang actually looked like.
Yun Che didn't answer. He closed his eyes, his concentration quickly focusing. Dongfang Xiu also fell silent, not asking further, furrowing his brow as he observed this strange thing that exceeded his understanding.
After a moment, Yun Che opened his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, withdraw every trace of your profound energy. When you feel something invade your chest in a moment, do not try to resist it."
Cang Wanhe nodded slightly.
Yun Che took a light breath. Although he felt certain he would succeed, this was his first time using Xuan Gang in this way, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. To ensure absolute success, Yun Che directly activated his first and second profound passes... the moment Fen Xin was activated, the light before Yun Che's eyes suddenly changed... The Xuan Gang, which had been crimson, abruptly transformed into orange... then, after maintaining orange for an instant, it turned yellow.
The power aura of the Xuan Gang had also doubled!
"This strange thing can even change color!" Cang Yue exclaimed in surprise. As for Yun Che, he was stunned on the spot.
What's going on!?
How could the color of the Xuan Gang have turned yellow!
Grandfather said that once Xuan Gang awakens, it never changes for life! The Xuan Gang I awakened was clearly the lowest grade, crimson Xuan Gang... how could it suddenly change!
And it wasn't just the color that changed; the intensity had clearly transformed into that of yellow Xuan Gang!
Wait, could it be...
Yun Che suddenly thought of a possibility. He quickly closed his second profound pass, maintaining the Xie Po state.
Immediately, the color of the Xuan Gang shifted from yellow to orange.
Yun Che then closed Xie Po as well, maintaining a state where all profound passes were closed... and the color of the Xuan Gang instantly changed back to crimson!
Yun Che reactivated Fen Xin, and the color of the Xuan Gang immediately changed from red to yellow again.
Watching the strange profound light continuously switching colors while Yun Che's expression was tense, Dongfang Xiu and Cang Yue both thought he was engaged in some careful preparatory work. They held their breath and dared not make a sound.
Yun Canghai would absolutely not lie to him. This change in his Xuan Gang was definitely abnormal.
Could it be because of his special profound veins?
Xuan Gang was derived from both bloodline and profound veins. The Xuan Gang he had awakened was the weakest crimson, most likely because his original profound veins had been destroyed, and his new profound veins had only formed when he was sixteen. In its normal state, the Evil God's Profound Veins were no different from ordinary profound veins, but each time a realm gate was opened, the power of the profound veins would surge dramatically.
That is to say, every time a realm gate was opened, the power of the Evil God's Profound Veins would undergo a leap... The power of Xuan Gang was related to profound veins. Could this mutation of his Xuan Gang be due to the special nature of his profound veins? A leap in profound vein power... driving a qualitative change in Xuan Gang?
It was the only explanation.
Xuan Gang could not only be a power entity, but also a spiritual entity, and could switch between spiritual and power entities at any time. This trait, which defied common sense, was the foundation of Yun Che's confidence in being able to remove the Gu poison from Cang Wanhe's body. He just hadn't expected that before he even started removing the Gu poison, he would encounter such a change... or rather! Instead of calling it a change, it was more like an unexpected surprise. Although he had only just awakened his Xuan Gang and didn't have as strong a "feeling" for it as other members of the Yun Clan, it was still an extremely powerful and unique ability. In the eyes of the Yun Clan members, it was even a power like the soul. Every increase in Xuan Gang's strength would greatly enhance one's overall combat capability.
Crimson Xuan Gang could only utilize ten percent of one's own power.
Yellow, on the other hand, could utilize thirty percent of one's own power.
Since opening a realm gate could trigger a qualitative change in Xuan Gang, then when opening "Lian Yu," it should become green Xuan Gang, representing forty percent power!
In the future, when "Hong Tian" was opened, it would be the same cyan Xuan Gang as Yun Canghai.
And if the fifth realm, "Yan Huang," was opened, it would surpass Yun Canghai's blue Xuan Gang, representing sixty percent power... just how terrifying a boost would that be!
Thinking of this, Yun Che felt a slight surge of excitement. He quickly suppressed these distracting emotions and focused his concentration... Soon, the yellow Xuan Gang slowly disappeared before Cang Wanhe's chest, transforming into a special spiritual entity separate from Yun Che's soul. Guided by Yun Che's consciousness, this spiritual entity turned into an invisible stream of light, flowing from Cang Wanhe's chest into his body, reaching his heart meridian, and then penetrating deeper until it finally found the existence of the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu. Like a needle, it stabbed straight into the body of the Gu.
The Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu was now more than twice its size from the last time. Its plundering of Cang Wanhe's life force had reached an extremely terrifying level. If not for the fact that Cang Wanhe was an emperor with countless medicinal herbs to nourish him, he would never have been able to hold on until now. Yun Che calmed his heart, and the Xuan Gang that had pierced into the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu's body tightly coiled around its life soul, then forcefully pulled it out, and with lightning speed, released it into Cang Wanhe's heart meridian.
With a light "噗" sound, a blood hole the size of half a fist appeared on Cang Wanhe's chest. A huge, deathly white Gu worm flew out from it, fell to the ground amidst a startled "Ah!" from Cang Yue, struggled violently a few times, then completely stopped moving, quickly dissolving into a puddle of clear water and disappearing without a trace.
Cang Wanhe sat up abruptly as if awoken from a nightmare, his face filled with pain and his forehead drenched in sweat. Yun Che withdrew his Xuan Gang and quickly used his profound energy to seal the wound on Cang Wanhe's chest.
"Father, are you alright?" A greatly startled Cang Yue hurriedly supported Cang Wanhe.
Cang Wanhe watched with his own eyes as the terrifying Gu worm flew out from his body and dissolved into a puddle of clear water. A look of relief appeared on his pale face. He took a long, deep breath and said, "I... I'm fine. Yun Che... thank you. You not only fulfilled my greatest wish in life, but now you've also saved my life. I... have no way to repay you."
Yun Che had said before that the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu, once implanted, attached itself to the host's life pulse and shared the life pulse with the host. If one died, the other would die immediately as well. Now that the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu had perished, its manner of death was exactly as Yun Che had described—turning into a puddle of clear water—and although Cang Wanhe was in great pain, he was still alive... This also meant that Yun Che had succeeded!
Yun Che smiled slightly and said, "I have fulfilled my mission. The process was lighter than I expected. After all, it was just a Gu worm; its soul power was pitifully weak... From now on, Your Majesty only needs light nourishment for half a month, medium nourishment for another half a month, and then heavy nourishment for another half a month... Within two months, your body will be fully recovered, as vigorous and energetic as before you fell ill."
"Re... really?" Cang Yue and Dongfang Xiu said in unison. "Can he really fully recover?"
"Hahahaha! Yun Che's words... I absolutely believe them!" Although Cang Wanhe was trying his best to maintain his imperial dignity, there was already an excited tremor in his voice. For a man who had been bedridden for years, on the verge of death, and had completely given up hope, Yun Che's words were truly the most beautiful sound in the world.
"Mm!" Yun Che nodded with certainty. "Your Majesty's weakness is only due to too much of your vital energy being taken away. But vital energy is not blood essence; it can gradually recover. Moreover, given the conditions of the imperial family, this process won't take too long. Not only will you fully recover, but if you take good care of yourself and regularly temper your body with profound energy, you could live another hundred years without issue."
"Wonderful... wonderful!"
Dongfang Xiu laughed with joy, and Cang Yue was so overjoyed she almost fainted. She grabbed Yun Che's arm, tears glistening in her eyes: "Junior Brother Yun, thank you, I... I..."
Overwhelmed with excitement and joy, she didn't know what to say. Cang Wanhe laughed heartily, "Yue'er, why thank him anymore? You've already given him your whole heart. Could you possibly find anything more precious than that to thank him? Hahahaha."
"Father..." Although she had embraced him tightly in front of everyone before and poured out her heart, being so bluntly called out by Cang Wanhe still brought a blush to her cheeks. However, her jade hand did not loosen its grip on Yun Che's arm.
Yun Che's face also reddened slightly, and he quickly said, "Uh... Senior Sister, your father needs a good rest now. Let's go out first. Mansion Master Dongfang, I'll leave His Majesty's chest wound and his safety to you. As for Gu Qiuhong, it's best not to let him near His Majesty anymore. His methods of underhanded schemes are hard to see through for someone who doesn't understand medical arts."
"Mm!" Dongfang Xiu nodded. "Rest assured, I won't let His Majesty be schemed against a second time. As for Gu Qiuhong... Hmph! Although this person can't be dealt with recklessly, if I get the chance, I'll make sure he dies without a burial place."
Yun Che and Cang Yue took their leave and walked out of the bedchamber, then walked side by side all the way to Lan Yue Palace.
At this moment, all the ribbons and red lanterns at Lan Yue Palace had been taken down, with no traces left behind. Seeing this, Cang Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, afraid that Yun Che might feel uncomfortable seeing them.
After their encounter, they finally had a moment alone. Cang Yue closed the palace door, hugged Yun Che tightly, nestled against him, closed her eyes, and didn't want to let go.
"Junior Brother Yun... it's good not to lose you," Cang Yue murmured softly.
"Same for me... it's good not to lose you," Yun Che said gently.
"Pfft..." Cang Yue suddenly chuckled lightly, feigning anger as she said, "It should be 'you plural,' not just 'you,' right? You bad man, you always have to be so stubborn. Sixteen months ago, not only did you almost lose your life, but you also exposed all your romantic history... Hmph!"
As she spoke, Cang Yue's nose and lips both pouted slightly, but there was no sign of anger at all. Having regained what she had lost, she was infinitely grateful to the heavens, so how could she bear to blame him or hold anything against him?
"Uh? Romantic... history?" Yun Che was stunned. "This..."
"Your marriage to Xia Qingyue was proper, I knew that. But I never expected that you... you actually... and Chu Yuechan... Hmph! You've practically become the public enemy of all men in the world!"
"...!?" Yun Che's eyes widened, and he stammered, "This this this... My matter with Xiao Xiannü... ah no, Chu Yuechan... how... how could it..."
"After she heard the news of your fall, she went mad and ran to the Yu Jian Tai, trying to destroy the Xing Tian Sword... and then she spat blood and fainted on the spot. Her feelings for you truly ran deep, so deep that I couldn't even feel a trace of jealousy. But no one could have imagined that the Bing Chan Xianzi, with her icy face, icy soul, and icy heart, who once had countless top young talents infatuated with her without even being able to see her face, would actually fall for you... Heh! It can only mean that my Junior Brother Yun is too good, too outstanding. I believe that if Junior Brother Yun is willing, there is no woman in this world you cannot conquer."
As she said this, Cang Yue's face was full of pride.
Yun Che's mouth was slightly agape, momentarily stunned. At Tian Jian Villa, Chu Yuechan had repeatedly shown him cold resoluteness and ruthlessness. His experiences with Chu Yuechan were something she would never tell anyone, nor had he planned to tell anyone. He had thought that unless Chu Yuechan wavered, it would remain a permanent secret. He never expected that it would become known to the entire world.
Yun Che's scalp went numb... It was easy to imagine how much figures like Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Juetian must hate him to the bone! The Bing Chan Xianzi, whom they could only fantasize about, had been won over by a junior!
"This matter, this matter... Ahem... Speaking of Yuanba? By the way, where is Yuanba now? Is he alright?" Yun Che originally wanted to change the subject, but the moment he mentioned Xia Yuanba, his heart tightened. He was afraid that after that day, Yuanba might do something foolish.
"Yuanba... I don't know." Cang Yue shook her head. "After you were suppressed by the Xing Tian Sword, I fainted and had a long nightmare. I didn't wake up until the next day... When I woke up, I heard from Mansion Master Qin that Yuanba had left on his own. He didn't allow anyone to stop him or follow him. No one knows where he went. During this time, I've sent people to look for him more than once, but there has never been any news of him. It's as if he vanished from the Cang Feng Empire overnight."
"But I believe Yuanba is fine. Because before he left, he told Mansion Master Qin that his life was bought with yours, and that no matter what, he wouldn't let himself die." Speaking of Xia Yuanba, Cang Yue also looked worried.
"Yuanba..." Yun Che murmured lowly, lost in thought for a moment before softly saying, "That's fine. Yuanba, I hope that by the time I find you again, you've truly grown up and can stand on your own... I think that's also the reason why you insisted on leaving alone."
"By the way!" Cang Yue lifted her head from Yun Che's chest and asked, "Junior Brother Yun, before you returned to the imperial city, did you go see Chu Yuechan... and your child? Is your child a boy or a girl?"
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