"Luckily, you arrived in time. Don't worry, take your time to adjust. Even if we encounter another Daoist Monarch of the Vientiane Realm, it might be hard to fight with all our strength again."

Lu Chong forced a smile towards Jiang Shu, his face pale, but his expression calm. If it weren't for the blood continuously trickling from the corners of his mouth and his tightly knit brows, there would be no sign of his injuries.

Only Jiang Shu knew the extent of the backlash and immense pain Lu Chong was enduring inside his body.

"Cough, cough, alright, you guys are seriously injured, don't surround me here anymore. Take advantage of Daoist Monarch Taixuan's protection and quickly go heal."

Then, Lu Chong looked at the junior brothers surrounding him, gestured with his hand, and instructed them.

Seeing that he seemed relatively stable, they were relieved, nodded obediently, dispersed, and found quiet spots nearby to sit cross-legged and heal their injuries.

After they left, Lu Chong took a deep breath of the cold air, his face gradually turning ashen. He looked up at Jiang Shu's complex expression and smiled warmly to comfort him:

"It's fine, it's not like someone died, just a minor injury."

"It's just a pity, I'm afraid my cultivation will hardly improve further in the future since this breakthrough was unstable and damaged my foundation. Without a major battle, I could naturally spend a lot of time and treasures to make up for it. But now... the sect still needs me, even if I leave the Ancient Demon Sect relics, I have to participate in battles. With all these injuries, I'm afraid it's hard to suppress them."

It turned out that earlier, he interrupted Jiang Shu in front of a few junior brothers precisely because he didn't want to reveal his injury and unsettle them.

Previously injured by Daoist Monarch Black Soul's Divine Skills, Lu Chong's body had absorbed a lot of Black Evil Primordial Power. This extremely yin and evil power was clinging to his vital organs like maggots on a corpse, constantly eroding his vitality.

Even if he mobilized Primordial Power to refine and remove it, he could only suppress the Black Evil Primordial Power temporarily; it couldn't be eradicated. His severe internal injuries were equally difficult to heal.

Only by returning to the sect and requesting the Supreme Sect Leader of the True Martial Sect to personally intervene could Lu Chong completely rid himself of the toxins and heal the internal injuries.

If he allowed the injuries to continue, his realm would never advance further.

For a genius of the True Martial Sect like him, this was unquestionably the cruelest fate.

Yet, even so, Lu Chong felt no regret.

He grew up in the True Martial Sect, viewing his fellow disciples as family. How could he remain indifferent in times of peril?

If he had any selfish thoughts when the Black Soul and Daoist Monarch led the Demon Sect and Demon Race to encircle the True Martial Sect's team, he could have abandoned his fellow disciples and broken through alone.

After all, with his skills, if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him, not even Heavenly Phoenix and Black Soul with all their might.

Shaking his heavy head to clear his thoughts, Lu Chong prepared to struggle to his feet to check on the other junior brothers.

After all, he considered himself half-disabled at this point, so healing sooner or later didn't seem too urgent.

But, just as Lu Chong was about to move, a gentle voice suddenly spoke by his ear, freezing him in place.

"Senior Brother, don't lose heart, I can heal your injuries!"

Lu Chong's body trembled violently; he looked up quickly, staring fixedly at Jiang Shu in front of him, his voice trembling slightly:

"Daoist Monarch Taixuan, what did you say?"

"Senior Brother, I can heal the injuries inside your body."

Jiang Shu smiled warmly and nodded firmly.

For others, eliminating the Black Evil Primordial Power might be extremely difficult, but to him, it wasn't a troublesome issue at all.

You see, among the nine Great Dao that Jiang Shu mastered, there is the Thunder Dao, which specifically counters evil!

Moreover, he recently comprehended the Thunder Law in the deepest part of the Thunder Sea, making his Thunder Dao even more perfect and proficient.

Just a few words and Lu Chong understood, the ashen look on his face receded instantly, replaced by overwhelming joy.

The joy of finding hope in despair was most touching to the heart, even for a Daoist Monarch of the Vientiane Realm soaring high in the clouds.

Following Jiang Shu's instructions, Lu Chong sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed tightly, his hands forming a Mysterious Seal in front of him.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shu stood behind him, breathing slowly, his eyes gleamed as he raised his hand to summon a Thunder Dao filled with violent fluctuations.

Hiss!

Carefully channeling the power of the Thunder Dao, he injected it into Lu Chong's body, holding his breath and focusing intently, not daring to become careless.

As threads of thunder attacked the cluster of Black Evil Primordial Power, dense white smoke immediately wafted out from Lu Chong's body. His face flushed red, his brows knitted tightly, teeth clenched as if enduring tremendous pain.

As time passed, the white smoke gradually thinned, and the Primordial Power coursing through Lu Chong's body finally showed signs of solidifying again!

At the last moment, Jiang Shu's eyes turned sharp, he curved his fingers and struck Lu Chong's back sharply, while shouting coldly:

"Withdraw!"

Thunder Power receded like a tide, and along with it, a small cluster of Black Evil Primordial Power was expelled from Lu Chong's body, only to be completely refined and dissipated by the rampant thunder the moment it left him!

Buzz——!

Just as Jiang Shu withdrew his hand, Lu Chong's eyes snapped open. His long hair fluttered without wind, an overwhelming aura erupted from his body, piercing the sky!

The majestic Primordial Power circulated within his body for a cycle, and the injuries that were difficult to heal due to the Black Evil Primordial Power showed signs of recovery.

"Huh…"

Exhaling a long breath to calm his turbulent emotions, Lu Chong dispersed the seal in his hands and rose to his feet.

Facing Jiang Shu, he didn't hesitate and directly clasped his fists and bowed deeply to express his gratitude.

Jiang Shu hardly dared to accept.

He quickly stepped forward to support Lu Chong.

"Daoist Monarch Taixuan, I will never forget this kindness of rebirth!"

Despite his repeated insistence, Jiang Shu continued to stop him, so Lu Chong had to give up for now but still expressed his highest gratitude sincerely.

"Senior Brother, you overpraise me. I was merely fulfilling the duty of a fellow disciple."

"Now that Senior Brother has entered the Vientiane Realm and achieved Daoist Monarch status, congratulations. In the future, just call me your junior brother as usual."

Jiang Shu responded with a gentle smile, his behavior calm and collected. Even though he had reached the Vientiane level, he didn't display any arrogance in front of his fellow disciples.

After checking Lu Chong once more to confirm no Black Evil Primordial Power remained, both were relieved and then approached the severely harmed True Inheritor, Luo Jun.

Compared to earlier with Lu Chong, Luo Jun's internal injuries were equally severe. The enormous backlash he suffered from forcing a breakthrough to the Vientiane Realm left him in a miserable state inside and out. If not for the critical moment when Lu Chong intervened to block most of the rampant Dao Origin for him, he might have perished there.

However, such injuries clearly weren't troublesome in Jiang Shu's presence.

Buzz!

A moment later, a Five Elements Dao emerged suddenly within the canyon, surging and floating in mid-air. Under Jiang Shu's stimulation, a Power of Dao Origin, appearing in a green hue and radiating vibrant vitality, condensed from the Five Elements Dao and infused into Luo Jun's body.

This Green Essence Power was naturally the Wood Dao Origin spawned from the Five Elements Dao.

The power of the Five Elements can generate and counteract each other, circulating endlessly, and can be transformed at will. Though it provides limited combat enhancements for Jiang Shu, it was just what was needed at the moment.

With the continuous infusion of the Wood Origin, Luo Jun's once pale face visibly regained color, and the ghastly wounds all over his body began to heal and regenerate gradually.

However, the backlash he suffered was too intense and the injuries severe, so complete recovery will still take some time.

Fortunately, there was no need for Jiang Shu to continuously activate the Power of Great Dao to heal him; later, he could simply use spiritual medicine for self-recovery.

As Luo Jun and the others settled into healing, Jiang Shu's gaze shifted to the Heavenly Phoenix Corpse not far away.