Xue Ziye gasped for breath, clutching her throat, her face pale. She glanced coldly at the Sect Leader, then at Miao Feng standing to the side, a hint of mockery flashing across her face. Miao Feng's hand had been trembling as she pressed her sword, yet she dared not draw it. Now, seeing Xue Ziye's cold glance, her whole body shuddered violently, unable to meet her gaze.
Miao Shui simply watched from the sidelines, seemingly unaffected.
Xue Ziye lowered her hand and exhaled: "Alright... Ziye will use the Golden Needle Acupuncture Technique from the 'Pharmacist's Secret Collection' to open up all the meridians in the King's body—but I also hope that the King will keep his word and let Mingjie go down the mountain."
“Of course,” the Pope smiled kindly. “I keep my word.”
Xue Ziye nodded, opened her medicine pouch, and laid out a row of medicine boxes—red and white mixed together, emitting a fragrant aroma. She selected two: "This is the Purple Gold Life-Generating Pill, which replenishes qi and blood. Your Highness can take it first, and after a quarter of an hour, when the medicine takes effect, you can use the golden needles. This box of benzoin is a medicine for calming the mind and relieving pain. Please light it with the incense burner."
"Wind." The Pope did not answer directly, but spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes." Miao Feng stepped forward, picked up the pill without thinking, smelled it, and then put a little bit into his mouth, actually testing it on himself—Xue Ziye looked up at him with a complicated expression.
"It's fine." After trying it, he bowed slightly and replied, "It works."
"Then, light it." The King reached out, took the pill, swallowed it, and gestured for Miaofeng to light the incense.
A rich fragrance filled the cold, empty hall. No one uttered a sound; the silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop. Xue Ziye lowered her head, held the golden needle over the lamp for a moment, then looked up: "Please turn around."
She carefully picked up a needle and said, "Begin the acupoint transfer. Please relax all your meridians and be sure to stop your internal breathing."
The Pope's eyes flickered, but he ultimately turned away. As he turned, Miao Feng stepped forward and stood behind him, keeping watch. The Pope turned and slowly pulled down his outer robe, exposing his bare back to strangers for the first time—the moment the magnificent golden robe was removed, everyone in the hall paled!
Xue Ziye forcibly suppressed the gasp that was about to escape her lips, looking at her exposed back.
This was hardly a human body—countless wounds crisscrossed, weaving a horrifying scene, with even one or two patches of bone faintly protruding from under the skin, resembling a doll that had been broken many times and then clumsily sewn back together.
"Isn't it terrifying?" The Pope chuckled softly, his back to her. "You know what? I also came from a hellish battlefield."
"..." For the first time, a look of shock appeared in Xue Ziye's eyes, and the golden needle in her hand trembled.
"Let's begin," the Pope said solemnly.
Miao Shui watched coldly from a distance beneath the jade throne, watching as she picked up the golden needle and inserted it into the acupoint on the King's back. Her hand unconsciously clenched in her sleeve—finally, it was about to happen!
"Hmm." The first needle pierced the Tian Tu acupoint in the middle of the spine. The King let out a low groan, his brows furrowing slightly. Miao Feng's expression was solemn, and he almost couldn't help but put his hand on the hilt of his sword. However, Xue Ziye's move was as fast as lightning. After the first needle was inserted, the Xuanji, Huagai, Zigong, Yutang, and Tanzhong acupoints felt a sharp pain. All five golden needles were inserted at once.
The sting was only momentary, and then the flow of qi and blood was immediately restored!
As the golden needles pierced the body, the previously stiff meridians gradually came back to life, and the internal energy that had been surging wildly within was guided back to its acupoints. The stabbing pain that had plagued his entire body for days slowly disappeared. The King loosened his tightly clenched hands, closed his eyes, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Miao Feng also breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the woman who was intently applying the needles with admiration.
Finally, the acupoints along the spine were opened, and the seventy-two gold needles were placed. Xue Ziye gently twisted the needle ends, adjusting the depth and position of the gold needles in the acupoints. Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from her forehead. Applying gold needles to acupoints is extremely taxing on the mind and eyes. Given her long-term weakened constitution, it was already extremely difficult for her to open the eight extraordinary meridians for the patient in one go.
A handkerchief was gently placed over her and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
She looked up at Miaofeng, then suddenly smiled and said softly, "Alright."
"It's done so quickly?" Miao Feng was somewhat surprised, but then she saw Xue Ziye suddenly raise her hand and pat the King's back flat!
She knew no martial arts, and her strike was completely powerless. Yet, miraculously, with that gentle strike, the silver needles inserted into the seventy-two acupoints seemed to come alive, instantly piercing into the King's back!
"Ah—" The King of Pop shuddered and suddenly let out a scream of extreme pain.
At the same instant, Miao Feng, who was beside the King, was startled and acted with lightning speed. Without thinking, he struck Xue Ziye with a palm, intending to kill the assassin on the spot!
However, just as the palm struck her back and was about to release its force, Miao Feng's face turned pale, and she suddenly turned her palm down.
With a deafening roar, immense power surged from his palm, shattering the floor of the main hall.
Taking advantage of that brief opening, Xue Ziye stood up, grabbed the medicine pouch, and slammed it down on the King, shouting, "You villain! This attack is for the Moga clan that you killed twelve years ago!"
But what kind of person is the King of Pop?
When suddenly attacked, the Qiankun Great Shift was activated instantly, shifting all the acupoints in the body in a split second, causing all the inserted golden needles to deflect slightly. However, the internal energy within the body instantly became disordered again, and the pain was even more intense than before.
This woman...this woman wanted to kill him!
The King's face turned ashen. He suddenly turned his head, his eyes filled with madness, and swung his palm towards Xue Ziye's crown!
"No!" Miao Feng was shocked and immediately thrust out a palm at an angle, trying to pull Xue Ziye away.
However, Xue Ziye stood quietly, a smile playing on her lips, watching the thunderous strike come without dodging or evading—as if having completed this attack, she was ready to face death with composure.
The cult leader's palm strike was already a foot away from Xue Ziye, the intense and powerful force of the strike causing her clothes to flutter wildly. Miao Feng had no time to think; she swiftly changed her move mid-strike, pulling Xue Ziye aside and rushing forward to meet the cult leader's palm strike head-on!
With a deafening roar, he staggered back three steps, feeling his chest heaving with blood.
However, right after that palm strike, the King of Pop was forced back more than ten feet, and finally staggered and fell into the jade throne, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Wind!" The old man stared in disbelief at his subordinate who had defied him at the last moment. "Even you... even you..."
"Your subordinate..." Having directly confronted the attack, Miao Feng was somewhat at a loss—he had never intended to betray the King, but in that instant, he didn't have time to think further; he absolutely could not let Xue Ziye die before his eyes!
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty..." he finally murmured, his hand unconsciously loosening its grip. As soon as it was released, Xue Ziye staggered and collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, blood gushing from her mouth—although Miao Feng had pulled her away at the last moment, she had still been affected by the King's terrifying attack, and her internal organs had been severely injured.
She spat out mouthfuls of blood onto the ground, staining it with large red flowers.
"Your subordinate has offended the King of the Sect, committing a heinous crime," Miao Feng stared blankly at everything, his mind in turmoil. Suddenly, he knelt down before the jade throne and whispered, "Your subordinate is willing to accept any punishment on behalf of Valley Master Xue, only begging the King of the Sect not to kill her!"
"You want to die in her place?" The King of Pop sneered, coughing violently. "Feng, you're willing to die for someone who plotted to assassinate me? You...haha, you're truly my good disciple!"
The King raised his golden staff little by little, pointing it at the disciple kneeling below the jade throne. Miao Feng lowered his head and remained silent, kneeling on the steps, neither dodging nor yielding.
"No!" Xue Ziye cried out in alarm, struggling desperately to sit up and move closer. "Stop! It's not his fault, I'm the one who wanted to kill you! Don't kill him!"
The bloodstains stretched out inch by inch, finally reaching Miaofeng's side.