The moment those three words flashed through his mind, the mass of dark green blood in the Yaochi acupoint began to stir restlessly, seemingly wanting to break free from the restraint of the hidden apertures. Nie Kong was startled and quickly retracted that strand of spiritual energy. Immediately after, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, condensing his spiritual energy into a needle, and tapped the nine major hidden apertures in succession.

Only when the hidden apertures vibrated in resonance did the agitated mass of dark green blood finally quiet down.

Nie Kong let out a soft breath, feeling immense surprise in his heart. Could the old man Hua Mei had casually bumped into on the street also possess the same kind of blood?

After a moment of contemplation, Nie Kong placed his fingers back on the old man's pulse point, thinking that with the old man's dilapidated body, if he were allowed to wake naturally, he might never open his eyes again. With that thought, Nie Kong took out nine golden needles from his robe, looked up, and said, "Sister-in-law, help me hold him steady."

"Mm."

Hua Mei, who had been closely watching Nie Kong's movements, immediately nodded without hesitation upon hearing this, supporting the old man's shoulders to keep him seated on the recliner.

Nie Kong inserted the golden needles one by one into the old man's hidden apertures.

After the needle pierced the Yaochi acupoint that day, quite some time passed before Nie Kong began to gently manipulate it, slowly and softly. The resonance produced by the nine golden needles was extremely weak; Nie Kong could only proceed this way for the elder whose body was exceptionally frail. Any more force might destroy the old man's body.

Executing the "Nine Revolutions Golden Needle Technique" at this speed consumed even more mental focus, but since Hua Mei had knocked the man unconscious, Nie Kong could not simply abandon him.

Time slipped by slowly. Seeing the beads of sweat welling up on Nie Kong's forehead, Hua Mei’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, her beautiful eyes darting between Nie Kong and the old man...

...

"Hah..."

About half an hour later, Nie Kong finally sighed softly to himself.

Just as he was preparing to conclude, his mind suddenly moved, and as if guided by fate, he channeled a thread of spiritual energy through the golden needles towards the vicinity of the old man's "Three Spiritual Acumen." If he didn't take this opportunity to ascertain whether the old man truly harbored "dark green blood," Nie Kong felt he would be haunted by the matter for the rest of his days.

A wisp of spiritual energy slowly approached the Yaochi acupoint.

The Yaochi acupoint lay between the "Three Spiritual Acumen." Given the cultivation path of this world, probing the Yaochi acupoint was impossible without traversing the "Three Spiritual Acumen." Exploring the "Three Spiritual Acumen" of another person was extremely perilous; any oversight could potentially harm both the probee and the probe. Nie Kong was exceptionally cautious.

"Jingle bells..." A string of clear sounds rang in his mind, followed immediately by a thought...

"The little one is awake!"

Nie Kong rejoiced internally.

He recognized this as the signal for the little one's advancement, but this moment was critical—his spiritual energy was entering the Yaochi acupoint—allowing for absolutely no distraction. Nie Kong stabilized his focus, concentrating his spirit on the old man's "Three Spiritual Acumen," unable to spare any attention to decipher the content of that preceding thought.

"Aiya ya."

The moment the spiritual energy successfully passed through the "Three Spiritual Acumen" and carefully infiltrated the Yaochi acupoint, the little one suddenly let out an excited cheer, and a dense shade of green surged along Nie Kong's spiritual energy right in. An instant later, a trace of dark green was drawn out from within the Yaochi acupoint by the little one.

"It really is the same dark green blood!"

His conjecture confirmed, Nie Kong suppressed his astonishment and prepared to withdraw his spiritual energy and remove the needles. However, the little one cried out anxiously, "Aiya ya."

Nie Kong paused, only to see that wisp of dark green, enticed by the little one, actually followed the spiritual energy into the golden needle and rapidly retreated into Nie Kong’s body. Nie Kong’s expression soured; was the little one trying to stir up trouble? How could it pull this source of disaster into his own body?

The little one was incredibly fast; in a few moments, all the dark green essence between the old man's apertures had entered its own Yaochi acupoint. Nie Kong shook his head helplessly, withdrew his spiritual energy, and pulled out the golden needles one by one.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry, he will wake up soon."

Nie Kong smiled at the worried Hua Mei, but feeling the little one cheering triumphantly within his Yaochi acupoint, and seeing the dark green blood doubled in volume, he felt like crying but had no tears!

Truly a little rascal! Why couldn't it choose something else, instead of sucking in this scourge? It sucked it in but wouldn't consume it, leaving his master to deal with the headache...

Nie Kong largely understood now: the reason for the old man's extreme weakness must be intrinsically linked to that dark green blood. He wondered if he too would end up like this old man in the future? Nie Kong sighed silently, but he kept the underlying anxiety hidden in his heart.

"That's wonderful."

Hearing Nie Kong’s words, Hua Mei finally let her heart settle. She carefully helped the old man lean back onto the recliner. Seeing Nie Kong’s fatigued expression, Hua Mei felt a pang of sadness and guilt, saying, "Uncle, it's all my fault for being careless earlier; otherwise, we wouldn't have caused such a big problem."

Nie Kong smiled wryly, "Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. It has little to do with you. This old gentleman is gravely ill, his body extremely weak. Even if you hadn't bumped into him, he would have fainted after walking a few more steps. Come now, Sister-in-law, since we are out, let me take you somewhere else."

"Uncle, I don't want to go anywhere else. Let's go home. You can go cultivate in the 'Ice Flame Cave,' and you'll recover your spiritual energy quickly," Hua Mei shook her head.

"It's really fine," Nie Kong laughed helplessly. Although he was indeed a bit tired, he truly didn't take this level of exhaustion to heart.

"But..." Hua Mei stammered.

"No 'buts.' We must go wander around some more. Let's go!" Nie Kong pulled her small hand without waiting for Hua Mei's objection and walked towards the exit of the pharmacy.

"Oh."

Hua Mei’s small face flushed slightly, and she followed obediently beside Nie Kong, looking like a wronged young wife. "But, that old gentleman hasn't woken up yet."

"He is already awake..."

"Huh?"

"..."

...

"These young uncle and sister-in-law pair are quite interesting."

As Nie Kong and Hua Mei’s figures vanished from the doorway, the old man slowly opened his eyes, a benevolent smile spreading across his face. "'Ice Flame Cave'? Is this little fellow a descendant of the Nie family too? I never thought I would owe anyone a favor in my life, yet before death, I was saved by a young man."

"This little fellow's golden needles can actually be used to clear the body; how miraculous. I estimate I can live another two or three days." The old man shook his head and closed his eyes again. But after only a few seconds, his upper body sprang up like a coiled spring, his cloudy old eyes showing unconcealed astonishment, and he gasped, "That mass of blood is gone? What happened? Did the little fellow drive out the poison with just a few needle pricks?"

"The 'Yin Xu Blood Poison' that clung to me like a shadow for half my life is gone just like that?" The old man opened his dry lips, his face full of disbelief.

This old man was the Grand Elder of the Nie family, Nie Shengong. His move that day had appeared earth-shatteringly powerful, but after making that strike, he was already at the end of his tether, worse off than an ordinary elder. After enduring for a few more days, Nie Shengong knew his end was near, so he decided to venture out one last time to see Jiyang City before he died. Unexpectedly, after walking barely a hundred meters, he was bumped into by a young girl and then, in a daze, treated by a young man with needles.

"Nie Shengong, oh Nie Shengong, how will you ever repay this debt of gratitude?"

After a long while, a deep sigh echoed in the somewhat dim little pharmacy. Yet, within that sigh, there was a hint of an ineffable joy...