Chapter 55: The Alleged Exiled Sword Immortal Descends to the Mortal Realm

Around Lin Heng's body, the vital energy of heaven and earth had been constantly swirling, spontaneously pouring into his frame.

Yet, Zhang Yuan could not detect any trace of cultivation within Lin Heng; no internal breath existed in his meridians or acupoints.

To verify his own suspicions, Zhang Yuan instructed Qu Yang, who stood nearby: "Junior Brother Qu, go to the nearby towns and villages and inquire about this child's background."

Qu Yang acknowledged the order and immediately stepped outside.

Not long after, he returned and recounted Lin Heng's situation: "Senior Brother, this child is named Lin Heng. He used to live with an old beggar known simply as Old Lin, frequently begging in the vicinity. Even the name Lin Heng was given to him by the old beggar, who begged others to help choose it."

"According to the locals, neither of them knew martial arts; they were just ordinary people. The last time they were seen in public was ten days ago, when Lin Heng went to buy medicine for Old Lin."

"I inspected the surrounding traces and discovered a new grave. It seems Old Lin fell seriously ill and died a few days ago. Lin Heng spent a long time burying the old beggar, then ran out of food and became too weak to walk, staying in this dilapidated hut to wait for death."

"And then, things turned into what we see now."

As he spoke, Qu Yang glanced at the gruesome crime scene before them.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan basically confirmed his guess.

Lin Heng, starving and awaiting death, had encountered the human trafficker named Wu Chou, which in turn had triggered his innate sword dao potential.

Such a powerful sword qi—possessed by someone who had never practiced martial arts, yet capable of repelling even a practitioner of the fifteenth stage of the Innate Realm—was simply too astonishing.

"A pitiful child with no one to rely on; we cannot simply abandon him here to fend for himself and die. It is only a pity that I lack the ability to save him."

"A child with such an unblemished background, filial piety, and astonishing talent is someone our Sect Master and Senior Uncle will surely cherish."

"If we take him into our sect, he might well become a tremendous asset in our crusade against evil and villains."

Looking at Lin Heng, whose body was drenched in blood and resembled a jade artifact on the verge of shattering, Zhang Yuan recalled the child's desperate filial piety in burying the old beggar, and his heart stirred with compassion.

He spoke again, issuing an order: "Junior Brother Qu, take my token and ask the Sect Master to make a trip here. Remember to report the situation here truthfully!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan untied a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Qu Yang.

In truth, the best course of action would have been to take Lin Heng with them to find Xiao Rang so he could receive treatment as quickly as possible. But the current situation was too extraordinary; moving Lin Heng at all was out of the question, leaving them no choice but to ask Xiao Rang to come over.

"Understood, I'm on my way."

Qu Yang roughly grasped Zhang Yuan's intention, took the jade pendant, and turned to run in the direction where Sect Master Xiao Rang was staying.

Xiao Rang was still residing in the Leaving Hatred Pavilion manor nestled within the mountains of Anning County and had not yet left. Setting off now meant he could be summoned before long; otherwise, waiting for Xiao Rang to return to the sect before seeking his help would take far too long.

Because he did not know how much longer Lin Heng could hold on, Qu Yang paid no heed to his internal energy consumption, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

Before long, Xiao Rang received the message.

"This old man understands."

Xiao Rang spoke, his figure instantly vanishing from where he stood.

Employing his movement technique and sparing no internal energy to push his speed to the maximum, he rushed toward the desolate village in the suburbs of Anning County where Lin Heng was located.

The ethos of the Cloud Sword Sect was precisely like this: the internal atmosphere tended strongly toward unity, with eradicating evil and upholding justice as its core tenets, accompanied by a disposition of pride toward the strong and compassion toward the weak.

The speed of a Grand Master was far beyond what any Innate realm expert could compare to, and Xiao Rang arrived at the destination very quickly.

"Sect Master and Senior Uncle, this child is Lin Heng."

The waiting Zhang Yuan saw Xiao Rang arrive and greeted him.

"Let me take a look at this child."

Xiao Rang spoke, crouching down beside Lin Heng.

Mindful of Zhang Yuan's previous experience, he instructed Zhang Yuan to step back.

Then, not only did he channel internal energy to cover his outstretched hand in a powerful protective aura, but he also remained ready to evade any sudden attack.

Having prepared himself, Xiao Rang reached out to examine Lin Heng's condition.

"Such formidable sword qi!"

A powerful surge of sword qi rebounded violently, instantly collapsing the entire dilapidated hut and causing even Xiao Rang a jolt of alarm.

This spontaneously emanating sword qi grew stronger in response to resistance, and its current magnitude had already reached the level of a Grand Master.

Had he not known that Lin Heng was a boy with an unblemished background who had grown up near this desolate suburban village, and whose physical development clearly showed him to be barely over five years old, he would have thought Lin Heng was some ancient monster who had regained his youth.

Yet, given the current circumstances, rather than an old monster rejuvenating himself, it was far more likely the descent of an exiled sword immortal; otherwise, how could anyone be born with such formidable sword qi?

Fortunately, this sword qi was still barely within the scope of what Xiao Rang could handle.

Xiao Rang's internal energy penetrated Lin Heng's body, carefully inspecting his condition.

"This child's vitality is exceptionally tenacious, but his vital essence, breath, and spirit are being continuously converted into sword qi to consume his own origin. This constant internal attrition is the reason he cannot wake up."

"Watch as I act to suppress this sword qi; this crisis will resolve itself."

With these words, Xiao Rang began to circulate his energy to the fullest, intending to use his boundless internal energy to suppress the sword qi within Lin Heng's body, granting the boy's frame a respite so it could heal on its own.

Soon, driven by a powerful intent, a stream of Xiao Rang's own sword qi was left within Lin Heng's body to shield his frame, replacing Lin Heng's native energy in absorbing the relentless torrent of sword qi surging from his heart.

This allowed the skin on Lin Heng's body, previously slashed apart by the sword qi, to begin recovering and finally heal.

However, this healing was incomplete—it merely managed to staunch the bleeding, leaving behind numerous grim scars that could not be erased.

Deep within Lin Heng's body, numerous fractures remained, his meridians and acupoints were tangled like a ball of hemp, and the circulation of his blood and vital qi was chaotic. The crisis was far from thoroughly resolved.

Yet matters were finally shifting in a positive direction. Lin Heng possessed formidable vitality, and once given a moment to breathe, he began to mend.

After a period of recuperation, to say nothing of a full recovery, he would at least be able to wake up on his own.

By then, he might even be able to exercise personal control over the sword qi within his body.

"Treating the symptoms rather than the root cause."

After a while, Xiao Rang looked at Lin Heng and frowned.

The sword qi he had left inside Lin Heng's body would likely only sustain itself for another three hours before being entirely worn away, at which point Lin Heng would once again lapse into a state where he could neither wake nor die.

"Although the child's current condition is poor, his vitality is tenacious. We can move him without worrying that he will succumb to the jolting of the journey."

"Let us return to the mountain gate and have the other elders assist."

Having made up his mind, Xiao Rang instructed Zhang Yuan: "Junior Nephew Zhang, go and handle the cleanup here. This old man will take the child named Lin Heng back to the mountain gate first."

As he spoke, Xiao Rang used his internal energy to brush away the grime and tattered clothes from Lin Heng's body, removed his own outer robe to wrap the boy's sword-scarred, barely human-shaped form, and prepared to leave with him.

Zhang Yuan understood that this instruction was meant for him to re-verify Lin Heng's identity to prevent any future complications.

"As you command."

With a nod of assent, he watched as Xiao Rang departed with Lin Heng.