# Chapter 504: Undercurrents in the Illusion Demon Realm
“Ah? Brother Yun, you also know medicine?” Yun Xiao asked in surprise.
Yun Qinghong looked Yun Che over once more. With over a hundred years of life experience, he should have been able to easily see through a young man's true nature, yet what he saw in Yun Che's expression was earnestness, sincerity, and even a hint of urgency—something he found difficult to understand. Facing such an unusual situation, his instinctive reaction should have been to be cautious. Yet somehow, facing this young man who was meeting him for the first time yet seemed strange in every way, he found himself unable to feel any wariness or aversion. Instead, he felt an indescribable sense of trust and warmth.
In his entire life, this was the first time he had experienced such a peculiar feeling. He looked at Yun Che for a long while, his heart stirred by an inexplicable tremor, yet he could not grasp the source of that tremor. He smiled faintly and said, "Young Brother Yun has achieved so much at such a young age; your medical skills must certainly be extraordinary. However... alas, what I suffer from is not an ordinary injury or illness, but an old, lingering affliction. Back then, I sought out every renowned physician across the land, and all of them were helpless. Now, over twenty years have passed, and it has long since penetrated deep into my blood and marrow. I fear even if a great golden immortal descended to this world, there would be no way to treat it. I am already deeply grateful for your kind intent, so please don't waste your efforts."
Yun Che remained unmoved and said calmly, "I beg to disagree, Senior Yun. When I first began learning medicine, my master taught me: all things in the world mutually give birth and overcome each other; all matters have their cycles of cause and effect. If a person can go from health to illness, then they can absolutely go from illness back to health. There is no such thing in this world as a truly incurable disease or an unhealable wound. Even if it cannot be cured, it is only because the method of treatment has not yet been found. My master is the greatest medical sage under heaven, and all my medical knowledge comes from him. Under his teachings, I have believed since childhood that there are no wounds or illnesses in this world that cannot be healed. So please, Senior Yun, let me give it a try."
Yun Qinghong had encountered countless famous physicians, but he had never heard such confident, proud words that brooked no argument—and these words came from a young man barely over twenty. Yun Xiao opened his mouth, then suddenly recalled the strange profound energy he had felt from Yun Che when he was severely injured before. He said excitedly, "Father! Let Brother Yun try. When I was injured by those three black-clothed men before... well, it wasn't too serious, but it was a little serious, and Brother Yun stabilized my injuries in a very short time, to the point where I could barely feel any pain. Maybe Brother Yun really can do something to alleviate Father's condition."
With both of them saying so, Yun Qinghong naturally found it hard to refuse. He smiled lightly and said, "Very well, but don't push yourself. I know my own body well."
Yun Che said nothing more. He stepped forward, stood before Yun Qinghong, and extended his left hand. "Senior Yun, let me first use profound energy to examine your body's condition. Please do not resist."
Yun Qinghong nodded slightly and adjusted his sitting posture. His eyes were calm, and that calmness also indicated he held no hope—as he had said, no one knew his body's condition better than he did. Over twenty years ago, no famous physician in the land could cure him; after another twenty-plus years of sedimentation, it was even more impossible for a cure to exist.
Yun Che extended his hand and carefully pressed it against Yun Qinghong's chest. He closed his eyes, and his profound energy slowly entered the other man's body. Beside them, Yun Xiao stepped back a few paces, his hands clenched anxiously in front of his chest... Unlike Yun Qinghong's certainty, he desperately wished for a miracle to occur.
After just a single breath, Yun Che's brows furrowed sharply. This reaction made Yun Xiao's heart lurch.
From Yun Qinghong's complexion and his floating, erratic breathing, Yun Che knew his physical condition must be extremely poor. But upon examination, he was shocked to find that Yun Qinghong's condition was far worse than he had imagined. All his internal organs were severely atrophied—there was hardly a single intact organ to be found. His heart, spleen, lungs, profound veins... all bore the marks of wounds as if carved by sharp swords. For a powerful practitioner, internal organ injuries could be self-repaired over time with profound energy, yet these sword scars had persisted for over twenty years... Clearly, the source of these internal injuries was anything but ordinary. They must have been caused by an extremely powerful sword energy!
Sword energy... Tian Wei Sword Domain!?
The most terrifying thing was not his internal injuries, but the fact that over ninety percent of his meridians had atrophied!
Atrophied—not severed!
Even if a person's meridians were completely severed, Yun Che had ways to reconnect and repair them. But this kind of atrophy was far more terrifying than severance. If a normal person's meridians were compared to thriving roots and stems, then over ninety percent of Yun Qinghong's meridians had basically turned into dead wood, with hardly any sense of vitality left.
Atrophied as well was his profound vein. The damage to his profound vein was not severe, but it was like a dried-up mud pond—lifeless and stagnant.
For a profound vein and meridians to reach such a state of atrophy, one could imagine the extent to which he had overexerted his profound energy and physical strength back then.
According to Xiao Lie's brief description twenty-two years ago, when they fled to Liuyun City, they were covered in wounds and nearly at the end of their strength... After that, they had gone through who knows how many more days of perilous escape. Perhaps from that point on, every single breath they took was a complete and utter overexertion. Under such strain, how could they have had the mind to tend to their injuries? In their desperate flight, expending every last bit of strength and will, their wounds inevitably worsened step by step...
The reason they could persist might have been the child they held in their arms at the time...
If it were just the atrophied profound vein and meridians, along with the worsening internal injuries, after more than twenty years of recuperation, even if Yun Qinghong could not recover his profound energy, he should not have been so close to having his life force extinguished... Yun Che soon found the answer. Within Yun Qinghong's body, he discovered a cold poison that had invaded every corner of his being!
It was this cold poison that made him furrow his brow deeply.
Because this cold poison was exactly the same as the one suffered by Hua Minghai's wife, Ru Xiaoya!
Back then, Hua Minghai had stolen large quantities of Purple Vein Heavenly Crystals to prolong Ru Xiaoya's life, and had constantly searched for various rare medicines. Yet they only managed to sustain her for a few short years. If she had not met Yun Che, Ru Xiaoya would have perished a year ago. The cold poison on Yun Qinghong had already existed for over twenty years; it had long completely invaded his blood, marrow, and even his life force. Compared to Ru Xiaoya's condition, it was many times more dire.
Hua Minghai had said that Ru Xiaoya's cold poison came from the Sun Moon Divine Palace's poisonous hand.
Could it be that among those villains back then, it wasn't just the Tian Wei Sword Domain... but also the Sun Moon Divine Palace!?
After a long while, Yun Che slowly moved his palm away from Yun Qinghong's chest. His brows remained tightly furrowed, never relaxing, and his expression was somber. Yun Xiao looked at him with nervous anticipation, but after waiting for a long time without hearing Yun Che speak, he finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Brother Yun, how is my father...?"
Yun Che did not answer directly. Instead, he let out a light breath and said, "Senior Yun's profound energy cultivation back then must have been at the pinnacle. If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't have lived to this day—they probably wouldn't have survived even three years."
"I heard from Mother that Father's achievements back then shook the entire Illusion Demon Realm. At the age of thirty-six, he broke through to become an Emperor Lord, making him the youngest Emperor Lord in the history of the Illusion Demon Realm. Combined with your Arcane Firmament's power, before the incident, none of your peers in the entire Illusion Demon Realm were a match for you. At that time, although the clan had lost Grandfather and the ten Supreme Elders, and we bore the burden of guilt, with Father around, no one dared to look down on the Yun Clan."
Yun Xiao spoke slowly. There was no pride in his voice as he mentioned Yun Qinghong's former glory—only bitterness. "Later, Father successfully broke through to the mid-stage Sovereign Xuan Realm, and could no longer control his longing for Grandfather. Together with Mother, who had just broken through to the Sovereign Xuan Realm, they used the clan's secret artifact to enter the Tian Xuan Continent. The result was... was..."
Thirty-six years old... Emperor Lord...
The Sovereign Xuan Realm was too far beyond Yun Che's reach. For that very reason, the concept of "entering the Sovereign Xuan Realm at thirty-six" struck him with an immense spiritual shock. He was the youngest Emperor Lord in the history of the Illusion Demon Realm... Perhaps even in the Tian Xuan Continent, no one could break that record.
If he had not suffered such a calamity, the heights he could have reached would be unpredictable!
But heaven was so jealous of geniuses, casting down such a disaster.
He had once been an Emperor Lord—a mid-stage Emperor Lord at that. His wife was also an Emperor Lord—one of the most..." No worries" appeared in his eyes, but deep within them flickered a profound pain... and longing.
"Ah? The clan head is being replaced by someone else?" Yun Xiao was shocked. "What's going on? When did this happen? I... I haven't heard about it. Was it decided by the Grand Elder and the others?"
Yun Qinghong shook his head and smiled faintly. "Xiao'er, don't dwell on it. I have held this position of clan head for a hundred years—it's long past time to pass it to someone else. Although no one has ever come to me directly asking me to step down... three months from now will be the hundred-year grand ceremony marking Xiao Yaohou's enthronement. At that ceremony, the Twelve Guardian Clans are bound to engage in another fierce struggle for dominance, and perhaps even some major event will occur."
"Major event? What major event?" Yun Xiao asked in surprise.
"You'll find out when the time comes." Yun Qinghong's calm voice carried a profound helplessness. His gaze was slightly clouded, yet it still projected a wisdom that seemed to see through everything. But his frail body made him powerless to act even though he saw through it all. He continued, "At the hundred-year grand ceremony, our Yun Clan must also do everything in our power to face it. Otherwise, we may face the crisis of being expelled from the Twelve Guardian Clans—or even from Yao Huang City."
"Wh... what!?" Yun Xiao was utterly shocked.
"At a time like this, we father and son should also be abandoned." Yun Qinghong closed his eyes, his expression blank. "To prepare for Xiao Yaohou's hundred-year grand ceremony, our Yun Clan will hold a full clan grand competition in two months. That will be the time when I abdicate... But Xiao'er, you need not worry. After all, your maternal grandfather is still around. The Yun Clan dare not mistreat us. Even if we truly have to leave, we will not be without a place to go. Leaving this troubled and dusty place of the Yun Clan might not be a bad thing for our family."
Yun Qinghong said many things that made Yun Xiao's eyes widen in shock—things he had never prepared for. And he did not avoid saying them in front of Yun Che.
Before this, he had not told Yun Xiao even a hint of such matters.
Clearly, the incident where Yun Xiao was ambushed while meeting with Tianxia Diqi had made him keenly aware of a certain scent.
Two months later, the Yun Clan's internal grand competition...
Three months later, Xiao Yaohou's hundred-year grand ceremony...
Yun Che's chest rose and fell slightly. Then he gritted his teeth, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He looked at Yun Qinghong and said with firm conviction, "Senior Yun, if you could fully recover your body within two months and regain all your former profound energy, would you still consider abdicating the position of clan head?"
Yun Che's sudden words stunned both Yun Qinghong and Yun Xiao. Yun Qinghong raised his eyebrows slightly, then let out a bitter laugh. "There is no such 'if.' My body cannot possibly be fully healed. Regaining my former profound energy is even more of a pipe dream."
"Don't mind whether it's possible or not for now." Yun Che's tone did not change, his gaze locking onto Yun Qinghong's. "Senior Yun only needs to answer me: if two months from now, your body and strength were the same as Yun Qinghong twenty-five years ago, would you willingly abdicate the position of clan head... even if the people in your clan use despicable means to force you?"
Yun Qinghong stared fixedly at Yun Che. In the young man's eyes, he saw something that made his heart pound violently. He was silent for a moment, then slowly—and with unwavering determination—shook his head. "No! This position of clan head has been passed down through a single line from my great-great-grandfather... grandfather... father! It is the identity and duty my father bestowed upon me! If I were to yield it to another, when I am buried beneath the yellow earth, I would have no face to meet my father! Moreover, the Yun Clan's danger is like ten thousand jun suspended by a single hair. There are petty villains who harbor ill intentions in the shadows. If I had sufficient strength, I would never just close my eyes and ignore it as I do now... Only I can revive the Yun Clan!"
Yun Qinghong's last words no longer held any of his usual peace. They revealed a determination and pride etched into his very bones!