Chương 71: The Dying Heart of the Jade Lake

The home of the Clearwater Jade Carp Clan was a two-day journey to the east, nestled in a secluded, crescent-shaped valley known as Jade Moon Vale. The journey itself was a pleasant, insightful experience. Li Yu and Brother Kai traveled on the clan's flying vessel, a beautiful artifact shaped like a massive, graceful carp, its scales carved from pure white jade that shimmered in the sunlight. During the journey, Li Yu spent his time in quiet conversation with Clan Head Feng.

He was a humble junior seeking knowledge. He learned the clan's long, proud history, their centuries of dedication to a single, magnificent bloodline. He learned of their unique, symbiotic relationship with their beasts, a bond that was less about command and more about a shared, familial existence. It was a philosophy that resonated deeply with his own.

"Our clan does not rule the carp," the old man explained, his voice filled with a deep, reverent sadness as they sat in the vessel's main cabin, sharing tea.

"We are their caretakers. Their health is our health. Their prosperity is our prosperity. To see them suffer like this… it is like watching our own children waste away." Brother Kai, listening in, was deeply moved. He had spent his life in the sect, where demonic beasts were categorized as tools, assets or threats. This gentle, respectful harmony was a new and profound concept for him.

"Your clan's dao is a noble one, Clan Head Feng. It is a path of true harmony."

"It is a path that is about to end," the clan's First Elder, a grim-faced man named Feng He, interjected, his voice heavy with despair.

"We have spent a fortune on alchemists and beast masters. None have been able to even slow the decay. They all treat it as a common illness of the flesh." Li Yu listened patiently, absorbing every detail. He understood their desperation. He had seen it in the eyes of Old Man Feng at the Fisherman's Wharf and in the frustration of Elder Quan at the Golden Sea Guild. The problems were different but the pain of a beast tamer watching their companion suffer was a universal language.

When they finally arrived at Jade Moon Vale, Li Yu understood the source of their pride. The valley was a paradise. A massive, crystal-clear lake, the color of the finest jade, lay nestled between two gentle, forest-covered mountains. The spiritual energy was so pure and so infused with a gentle, water-attributed nature that it felt like breathing in a fine cool mist.

Elegant, white-walled pavilions with jade-green roofs were built along the lake's edge, their architecture in perfect harmony with the natural beauty of the place. But beneath this surface of breathtaking beauty, Li Yu could feel the sickness. The vibrant life force that should have been thrumming from the lake was weak, a flickering candle in the wind. The aura of the entire valley was one of quiet creeping despair. They were greeted by the entire clan.

They were a small, tight-knit community of a few hundred cultivators, their faces a mixture of hope and a deep weary anxiety. They looked at Li Yu, this young man from the great Green Mountain Sect, as if he were their final, desperate hope, a god sent to answer their prayers. The weight of their expectation was a heavy thing. Clan Head Feng led them directly to the heart of the valley, to the clan's sacred ancestral pond.

It was a smaller, secluded lake, separated from the main body of water by a series of natural rock formations. The water here was so clear it was like looking through pure crystal and the spiritual energy was so dense it was almost liquid.

"This is the Jade Heart Spring," the clan head said, his voice a low, reverent whisper.

"It is the source of our clan's unique spiritual water and the home of our Ancestors." At the bottom of the pond, two magnificent creatures lay, their forms as still as statues. They were the original progenitors of the entire Clearwater Jade Carp bloodline, a pair of ten-foot-long, ancient Rank 6 Dragon Carp. Their bodies, which should have been a vibrant, jewel-like green, were a dull, sickly grey, their powerful auras weak and flickering like a dying flame.

A faint, almost invisible black miasma, a barely perceptible thread of corrupting energy, clung to their scales.

"We have tried everything," Elder Feng He said, his voice choking with grief.

"We have poured our own life essence into the pond, we have used every spiritual herb in our treasury. Whatever it is… it is relentless. It devours every form of energy we try to use to heal them." Li Yu stood at the edge of the pond for a long time, his expression unreadable. He could feel the ancient consciousness of the two great beasts. They were not just sick; they were dying, their very souls being slowly, inexorably erased by the ancient, parasitic curse.

He could also feel their deep, unwavering will to live, their desperate silent struggle against the encroaching darkness. He knew that this was a problem of a depth he had never encountered before. This was a battle against a spiritual law, an ancient hatred woven into the very fabric of a bloodline.

"This is a problem of a profound depth," he said finally, his voice grave, echoing his thoughts.

"I cannot promise you a solution. But I will try." He looked at the anxious faces of the clan elders.

"I will need to enter the pond. I must commune with your Ancestors directly to understand the nature of this curse from its source. And I will need undisturbed privacy. The process will be delicate and dangerous. Any interruption could be catastrophic for both myself and your Ancestors." Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! The clan elders did not hesitate.

"Of course, Young Master Li!" Clan Head Feng said.

"Whatever you need." The entire ancestral pond area was immediately sealed. A triple-layered defensive formation was erected and the clan's own elders stood guard, a silent unmoving wall against the outside world. Li Yu, with Brother Kai watching from a safe distance, took a deep steadying breath and stepped into the crystal-clear spiritually dense water of the Jade Heart Spring. He swam down into crystal-clear depths until he was floating directly above the two ancient dying Dragon Carp.

He reached out with his spiritual sense, a gentle empathetic touch, a message of pure, benevolent intent. He was immediately met with a wave of weary gratitude from the two great beasts. He did not try to heal them. He simply listened. He spent an entire day in silent communion, his soul-bound link allowing him to experience the curse through them. He felt the way it coiled around their life force, the way it subtly twisted their bloodline, the way it fed on any spiritual energy that was introduced.

He understood that simply pouring in life energy was useless; it was like pouring water into a leaking bucket. The curse itself, the source of the leak, had to be removed first. A new, audacious theory began to form in his mind. His Koi spirit's core nature was to devour. It devoured the Qi of beasts and through Khaos, it had even touched upon the nature of the void. What if it could devour this curse? This negative death-aspected energy? He decided to test his hypothesis.

He focused his will and manifested his blood-red Koi spirit, its form a beacon of pure vitality in the dim sacred pond. He guided it to the smaller of the two Dragon Carp, the female, and instructed it to do something it had never done before. Not to absorb Qi but to target the black miasmic curse clinging to the carp's scales. The Koi spirit hesitated for a moment then its primal devouring instinct took over. It opened its mouth and began to suck.

A single, thin, black thread of the curse was pulled from the Dragon Carp's body and drawn into the Koi's mouth. Li Yu felt the process with perfect clarity. The curse energy was violent, chaotic and filled with an ancient hatred. The process of controlling his spirit to perform such a delicate operation while resisting the curse's corrupting influence was a massive strain on his Foundation Establishment soul. But as the energy entered his spirit, the «Myriad Rivers Returning to the Sea Art» roared to life.

The curse was ground down, purified and transformed into a strange new type of energy—a cold, dark, but incredibly pure power that was absorbed by the Koi spirit. He felt his own spirit grow a fraction stronger, its aura deepening, the golden lines on its body shimmering with a new, more profound light. It had worked! His spirit could not only devour the curse but it could also use it as a source of nourishment. At the same time, the female Dragon Carp let out a weak, psychic sigh of relief.

The removal of even a single thread of the curse had lessened its eternal burden. Li Yu immediately stopped. He could not absorb it all at once. He didn't want to take the risk, he wanted to first see if there were any side effects from doing so. The curse was also too vast and the Dragon Carp were too weak. To pull it all out now would be like ripping a deeply embedded parasite from a dying man; it would kill the host. He now had a plan. A slow, meticulous path to victory.

He withdrew his spirit and swam to the surface. He emerged from the pond, his face genuinely pale and his brow beaded with sweat. The spiritual surgery was truly draining on him. He faced the anxious clan elders.

"I have found the nature of the curse," he said, his voice steady but laced with a very real weariness.

"And I have found a method to remove it. But it is not a simple fix." He looked at them, his gaze serious.

"The curse is a living entity, deeply rooted in your Ancestors' souls. To remove it requires a delicate spiritual surgery. It cannot be rushed. It will require daily treatments, a little bit at a time to slowly draw the poison out without harming the host. The entire process will probably take at least two weeks, I cannot be sure." A wave of tearful relief washed over the faces of the clan elders. Two weeks? After all their suffering and despair, two weeks was a miracle.

"Young Master Li," Clan Head Feng said, his voice choked with emotion, "Our clan owes you a great debt, let us know if you ever need anything. If it's within our means we will do it." The two weeks that followed were a testament to Li Yu's skill and unwavering determination. Each morning he would enter the Jade Heart Spring for a grueling four-hour session. He would manifest his Koi spirit and meticulously, painstakingly, draw out a portion of the curse from the two ancient carp.

The process was a tightrope walk, requiring absolute focus to avoid harming the weakened beasts. After each session, he would emerge, his spiritual energy nearly depleted and spend the rest of the day in quiet meditation, recovering his strength. The clan elders watched with bated breath. After the third day, they saw the first miraculous sign of progress. A small patch of scales near the female carp's head, no bigger than a coin, had regained a faint, jade-green luster.

With each passing day, that patch of life grew. The dull grey death that had covered the great beasts began to recede, chased away by the slow inexorable return of their vibrant natural color. The water of the Jade Heart Spring felt clearer, purer, the faint poisonous miasma slowly vanishing. Their hope turned into belief. They treated Li Yu not as a guest but as a living savior. They brought him their clan's spiritual herbs and medicines to aid his recovery, offerings he graciously accepted.

Brother Kai watched the young boy with a mixture of pride and deep worry. He saw the genuine exhaustion on Li Yu's face after each session and understood the immense burden he had taken upon himself. This was not just a display of power; it was an act of selfless effort. As the second week drew to a close, Li Yu knew he had reached the final stage.

He had successfully drawn out over roughly ninety percent of the curse and his own Koi spirit having feasted on the negative energy felt more powerful and profound than ever before. The two Dragon Carp, their bodies now almost entirely a vibrant jade-green, were no longer listless. A new powerful life force was stirring within them.