Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Arriving above the courtyard that Zhu Lian was currently staying in after she had arrived at the Flying Sword Sect, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit surprised upon detecting the presence of several unfamiliar elders inside the courtyard.

Whoosh~

"I see... So, it's a group of alchemists from the Spring Flower Sect who are trying to treat her." After a quick scan with his divine sense, Xuan Hao quickly found out who the group of elders present in the courtyard below was.

"We will see you at a later time Elder Zhu! Although your body's condition is terrible you should be able to recover given enough time, you are after all a Nascent Soul Realm Expert!"

"Hehe, indeed, but I fear that might take a few dozen years to accomplish..."

"No need to be so negative about it! With your current lifespan, a few dozen years should not be anything to you!"

"That is true, I will see you all again next week."

"Bye~"

Watching as the group of elders from the Spring Flower Sect left the courtyard, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious about how Zhu Lian had managed to befriend this group of elders after having made it to the Flying Sword Sect.

From the looks of it, it seemed like she was more friendly with the alchemy elders from the Spring Flower Sect compared to the elders from the Flying Sword Sect. Not something bad, as the two sects would be merging together... And who knew, maybe she had also managed to make friends with the alchemy elders of the Flying Sword Sect?

Given the state of her body, they should at least have visited her when Zu Fei had brought her back and seen if there was anything they could do to help speed up the recovery of her broken body.

"Hm... They also have their tournament for new members of the Alchemy Hall to take care of. Maybe they got the elders of the Spring Flower Sect to take up the task instead of them?" Muttering this to himself as he thought of another possibility, Xuan Hao landed in front of the courtyard before making his way towards Zhu Lian still standing at the entrance to the courtyard.

"Elder Xuan!?" To say she was surprised to see him suddenly descend in front of her would be an understatement, as Zhu Lian almost jumped into the air from the shock of suddenly seeing Xuan Hao appearing in front of her.

If not for the fact that her body was still gravely injurie to the point that it was difficult for her to move like she wanted to, Xuan Hao was almost certain that she would have jumped a few meters into the air out of surprise.

Although it would have been a rather entertaining thing to see, it was probably for the best that it didn't happen... Mainly because he would have no idea what to do if she accidently ended up injuring herself in the process...

"Indeed, I'm here to help you out with your current condition like I told you back then... I got a bit delayed due to my disciples and a lecture popping up, I hope you don't mind." Nodding his head to her question, Xuan Hao came up with a quick excuse as to why he didn't come to help her out the moment he returned to the sect like he had promised her. Not wanting to say that he actually didn't really have anything that could help her recover fully at that point in time and just said it so she would make it to the sect without worrying along the way.

It was not wrong either, as he had indeed been busy with his disciples and the lecture after returning to the sect.

To be honest, if not for the reward from the system that could help out Zhu Lian, he might have forgotten about helping her and made his way to the Shattered Star Peaks to set up the Qi Gathering Formation...

"Really!? You have a way to help me recover!?"

"Of course! Let's go into your courtyard for now." Feeling his lips twitch slightly upon hearing the doubtful tone of her voice, Xuan Hao instantaneously responded to her question before entering her courtyard.

"Ah... Wait up!" Taking a second to process what had just happened, Zhu Lian showed an understanding expression for an instant before following behind him, as both of them entered the courtyard.

...

"So... How are you going to help me recover? Given my body's current state, it shouldn't be something easy to do..." Finding a place to sit down and relax her exhausted body after entering the courtyard, Zhu Lian asked this with a curious glint in her eyes.

From what she had talked about with the group of alchemist elders from the Spring Flower Sect, she very well understood how bad the current condition of her body was and how hard it would be for her to fully recover within a short period of time.

However, in the end she did not truly doubt Xuan Hao. After all, with his current position, there was no reason for him to lie to her about something like that.

Given that he had said he could help her, he would have a way! Zhu Lian was just curious about how he was going to do it...

"I plan to have you eat this!"

Swish~

Taking out the Spirit Blood Leaf that could be used to recover her damaged body, Xuan Hao smiled confidently. Unaware of the scared expression that appeared on Zhu Lian's face the moment she saw the appearance of the Spirit Blood Leaf.

"This is... A human heart... You... Want me to eat this...?"

"..."

Hearing what Zhu Lian said, Xuan Hao had no idea how to respond as he turned to look down at the Spirit Blood Leaf in his hand.

To be honest, this was the first time he saw the Spirit Blood Leaf in person... And Zhu Lian calling it a human heart was not too off the mark, as the spiritual herb in his hand truly did look like a human heart.

Bump~ Bump~

It was even rhythmically bumping like a normal human heart would, the only difference being that it was a spiritual herb and not a heart inside the chest of someone. How it even bumped to start with and why it did something like that was a complete mystery...

"E-Elder Xuan... Are you sure eating something like that will help me recover...?"

"Yes, I mean, this is not a human heart! It's a rare spiritual herb called a Spirit Blood Leaf! Consuming it will help your body recover within a few hours at most!" Hearing the nervous voice of Zhu Lian echoing out from beside him, Xuan Hao was quickly brought out of his own thoughts as he quickly reassured Zhu Lian that the thing in his hand was not a human heart but instead a spiritual herb.

"R-right... Not a human heart..."

"..."

Seeing Zhu Lian still clearly doubtful expression, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he had no idea how to convince her that it was not a human heart.

"Hah... Open your mouth."

"B-but- Agh!"

Knowing that there was no chance that he would be able to convince Zhu Lian that the Spirit Blood Leaf in his hand was not a human heart, Xuan Hao directly forced her mouth open with his domain before forcefully feeding her the Spirit Blood Leaf.

Fwoosh!

Instantly following the Spirit Blood Leaf entering Zhu Lian's stomach, the surrounding qi was drawn towards her, as her body began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye. Not only that, but her cultivation realm also began increasing. Growing closer and closer to the Second Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Knowing her current situation, Zhu Lian quickly sat down and focused on the power coursing through her body from the Spirit Blood Leaf. Not having any time to complain over how Xuan Hao had force fed her what she believed to be a beating human heart, that would have to wait until after she had recovered and stabilized her current condition.

...

BOOM!

Not even one hour passed like this before Zhu Lian's body managed to fully recover under the powerful healing powers of the Spirit Blood Leaf and at the same time allowing her to break through from the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm to the Second Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm!

Overtaking Elder Song who was now the only First Stage Nascent Soul Realm Expert in the Flying Sword Sect and placing her on the same level as her old friend Chi Hu, who had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm before her.

"Hah..."

Taking a deep breath as her cultivation base stabilized, Zhu Lian opened her eyes before staring directly towards Xuan Hao who was sitting not too far away from her. Making sure no one came to disturb her and at the same time being ready to help out in case something went wrong.

I already told you it was not a human heart, but a rare spiritual herb...

Rolling his eyes as he saw her staring towards him clearly demanding an explanation, Xuan Hao let out a sigh in his mind before he went on to reassure Zhu Lian that the thing, he had force fed her was not a human heart and instead a spiritual herb that just happened to look a lot like a human heart.