Miscalculation

"Ugh... Ah!..."

It hurt. It hurt too much.

Ye Shu originally thought he could endure it.

But he had thought it would be too simple.

The feeling was like doing it thirty times a day, continuing even when the chamber was about to explode. Even knowing it wouldn't explode, the body was constantly fighting against his will.

As this intense pain washed over him, Ye Shu almost fainted on the spot.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

At this moment, he wished he could just blow up and get it over with.

However, his desire to survive forcefully pulled him back from the brink of unconsciousness.

If he really fainted.

Then, after the medicinal power of the Iron Armor Pill ended, he would explode like a balloon, leaving only fragments behind.

He wanted to release this pain by screaming, but the Iron Armor Pill made it difficult for him to even make a sound.

Amidst this agony, he still had to maintain the circulation of his spiritual energy.

Although she understood Ye Shu's intentions, Danxia's eyes still couldn't help but show worry.

How many billions of years had the cultivation world existed?

How could no one have thought of this method?

It was just that, without exception... they were unable to withstand the powerful medicinal force and died from their bodies exploding, or their dantian was filled with cracks from being stretched by spiritual energy. Even if they succeeded, they could never progress again.

But what Danxia could think of, Ye Shu could also think of.

Thump thump thump thump thump—

Along with a piercing sound, starlight-like dots suddenly lit up all over Ye Shu's body.

Because of the Universal Starry Sky technique.

Ye Shu's cultivation was different from others. In order to maximize the ability of the technique, the first step was to open his acupoints. The acupoints were the key to his future realm breakthroughs.

But to fully open the acupoints, the normal process was simply too slow.

Because no matter how profound the Universal Starry Sky was, spiritual energy always had to start from the dantian. That meant he had to first guide the spiritual energy to his dantian, and then guide the spiritual energy from his dantian to slowly open the acupoints.

Normally, he couldn't speed it up even if he wanted to.

First, the spiritual pressure was not high enough to break through directly.

And forcefully breaking through would definitely cause irreversible damage to the meridians and acupoints.

Second, the amount of spiritual energy stored in the dantian each time was insufficient. Just to open one acupoint, he might have to adjust his breathing several times and slowly consume several Qi Recovery Pills.

Therefore.

What would be a suicidal act for ordinary people had instead become his shortcut to quickly lay the foundation for the Universal Starry Sky.

Accompanied by the violent spiritual energy roaming through his meridians.

At this moment, Ye Shu was like a pressure cooker, emitting steam all over his body. Just as he was trying his best to guide the spiritual energy.

Crack...

A faint, crisp sound.

It wasn't loud, but it was incredibly clear in the silent night.

It sounded like a piece of iron shattering.

Ye Shu's expression suddenly changed.

He miscalculated.

He only remembered that the Iron Armor Pill could grant someone the hardening of the Golden Core stage, but he forgot that the hardening of the Iron Armor Pill was not like a human's physical body; it had absolutely no flexibility.

And the only consequence of forcefully expanding the meridians was...

Cracks.

Following the first crisp sound, a crack appeared on the metal-like hardened skin. Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

Densely packed cracks rapidly spread.

The violent spiritual energy escaped through the cracks, carrying the burning blood from Ye Shu's body and dyeing his clothes red.

And the cracks were still intensifying, showing no signs of stopping.

"I miscalculated..."

He had overestimated himself and the effects of the Iron Armor Pill. It was just a second-grade pill, how could it withstand a force comparable to an internal self-destruction?

Damaged from the inside versus damaged from the outside.

These were two completely different concepts!

Crack crack crack...

The cracks continued to expand. Ye Shu could feel that even his face had begun to crack. His vision was blurred by his own blood, and he could even hear his bones groaning under the overwhelming burden.

It's over...

I'm really going to explode...

"Mmm..."

The pungent smell of blood made Xiaobai on the bed wrinkle her little nose, and she immediately opened her sleepy, hazy eyes.

When she saw Ye Shu next to her, bathed in blood and covered in cracks, her pupils shrank and her sleepiness vanished instantly.

"You, you, you, what happened to you?"

Xiaobai hurriedly got out of bed and scrambled over to Ye Shu. Her big eyes were full of panic. Her little hands wanted to touch him, but she was frightened by the cracked skin and pulled her hands back.

Facing imminent death, Ye Shu actually smiled.

"I might be a little bit dead."

"How can you die? How, how can you die?"

Xiaobai was so anxious she was about to cry.

He was perfectly fine before going to sleep. How could her chosen one be on the verge of dying right after she woke up?

The script wasn't written like this at all.

"Wait."

Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she thought of something.

"It's okay. Danxia, Danxia can save you. She's a remnant soul of the Void Refinement Realm. Handling your situation will be very easy for her."

Hearing this, Ye Shu didn't feel happy at all.

"You mean to say that right now I've almost played myself to death, which counts as suicide. Danxia only needs to stand by and watch me die with a clear conscience. She doesn't even need to feel guilty because I went crazy and killed myself."

"As long as I die, she can show up to save Lin Qingxue's life, and then have Lin Qingxue take her back to the Azure Profound Sect. I believe that in the memories implanted by the system, in the future before her rebirth, that guy named Su Xiao definitely helped her reconstruct her body."

"So..."

Ye Shu said helplessly.

"You want Danxia to give up a guaranteed chance to reconstruct her body, just to save me, a guy who, in her mind, will betray her in the future?"

"But she was clearly helping you just now!"

Xiaobai retorted.

"Homicide and suicide are two different concepts."

"Good words can't persuade a damned ghost. If I commit suicide and die, Danxia won't have any psychological burden."

"So you want her to save me, a mad bomber?"

Ye Shu smiled bitterly in his heart.

"Don't make your Brother Ye laugh."

However, just as his voice fell.

A pair of illusory hands gently pressed against his back.