Chapter 108: Earth-Vein Syndrome

Liana slowly sank back into her seat.

The bright, cheerful expression that had illuminated her flawless face all evening had dulled.

Seris looked at Liana, her pale purple eyes filled with genuine concern. "Liana... what is happening? Why did Senior Solas leave in such a hurry?"

Liana let out an exhausted sigh.

"It is the ongoing conflict between Ashvele Clan and Solari Clan," Liana explained, her voice losing all of its usual energetic cadence. "Recently, their feud escalated into a bloodbath. Solari Clan launched brutal assaults on Ashvele Clan’s properties. So many of their pill shops across the city were either looted or completely destroyed."

She looked at Seris, her expression turning incredibly solemn.

"Our Silvercrest Clan has always relied heavily on the Ashvele Clan for our medicinal pills. Because of this sudden war, our supply had already been halved."

"But then, just today, something entirely inexplicable happened," Liana continued, rubbing her temples as if fighting off a looming headache. "For some completely unknown reason, every single Ashvele Clan alchemist was abruptly expelled from the Mirravele Alchemy Guild."

Rhain quietly listened evrything, without a change in his expression.

"With their resources crippled, we knew they were struggling and planning to reduce our pill supply to conserve their own resources," Liana continued, entirely unaware of the culprit sitting right across the table, "But the recent rumours has worsened situation beyond measure."

"A rumor?" Seris asked.

"Yes. A rumor claiming that our Silvercrest Clan is secretly supplying weapons to the Solari Clan."

Seris blinked, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Are you really supplying them?"

"Of course not!" Liana denied instantly, shaking her head. "Our Silvercrest Clan has always had a much closer relationship with the Ashvele Clan compared to the Solari Clan. In fact, when this bloody conflict first broke out, the Ashvele Clan secretly reached out to my father, asking us to supply them with high-grade weapons."

"But father refused them politely," Liana sighed bitterly. "He explained that arming them would negatively impact our relationship with Solari Clan. Solari experts are Insane right now, and in their fury, they might have even directed their attacks at our Silvercrest estates."

"To keep our people safe from the crossfire, father declared that our Silvercrest Clan would remain strictly neutral in this war, supplying weapons to neither side."

Liana dropped her head, her voice lowering as she tried to control her frustration.

"But now... because of this sudden rumor, Ashvele Clan must have misunderstood our intentions. They think we broke our promise of neutrality to secretly side with their greatest enemy."

Her hands clenching into tight fists over her silver dress.

"Hence, they are cutting off our entire pill supply in retaliation. For a clan of our size, suddenly losing all medicinal resources right before the Stormveil Academy’s recruitment... it is a catastrophic blow."

Seris looked at Liana with sympathy, not knowing how to comfort her.

After all, they were directly responsible for this predicament of hers.

"If I am not wrong," Rhain suddenly spoke up, "that your clan must be in the most vital need of the Earth Vein Pacifying Elixir."

Liana’s head abruptly snapped up, her beautiful eyes widening in deep surprise as she stared straight at Rhain.

"How... how do you know about that?"

The fact that their Silvercrest Clan purchased massive quantities of the Earth Vein Pacifying Elixir from the Ashvele Clan was not a secret in the upper echelons of Mirravele City.

However, for Rhain who had supposedly just traveled here from a remote valley to casually pinpoint their clan’s most critical lifeline... it was simply unbelievable!

"I am an alchemist," Rhain replied with a smile. "Obviously, I would know. It would be ridiculous if I couldn’t see something so glaringly apparent."

Liana almost thought she heard it wrong. "You... you are an alchemist?"

Even Seris turned her head slightly, her delicate eyelashes fluttering in mild surprise.

She knew Rhain was unfathomably strong, but an alchemist? Since when?

’Well, since this morning.’ Rhain thought in his mind.

"When I first stepped into your Silvercrest estate," Rhain continued, "I immediately noticed something bizzare about your clan members. I noticed that there was something fundamentally different about the way the people here circulated their essence. It was unstable, and also felt as if something was opposing the flow."

Rhain paused for a moment before continuing,

"At first, I only suspected it. But when I watched you and Sylvan use your essence during the sparring matches, my suspicion was completely confirmed. You, Sylvan, and a large portion of your Silvercrest Clan are afflicted by the Earthfire Vein Syndrome."

"You... you can actually see that?" Liana was dumbfounded.

Rhain did not answer her directly, but rather continued his deduction.

"Your Silvercrest Clan is renowned for forging weapons. For generations, your people have spent their days and nights surrounded by extreme, heavy earth-flames. Over time, that scorching fire poison silently seeps into the body. It invades the internal organs, bone marrow, blood, and most importantly... the meridians!"

"Normally, when you do not use your essence, it remains suppressed. But the moment you circulate it, the fire poison erupts, causing the meridians to spasm and severely restricting the flow of your essence. Over time, this earth-fire toxin fuses with your bloodline, turning into a hereditary curse passed down from generation to generation!"

"It is what forces your clan to rely entirely on the Earth Vein Pacifying Elixir to suppress the burning pain and keep your meridians from bursting!" Rhain stated with absolute confidence. "Am I right, or am I wrong?"

Every word Rhain spoke struck Liana’s heart like a heavy hammer.

She just looked at him, unable to find a single word to refute him.

Because what he said was not only true, it was impeccably precise! It went straight to the crux of the matter without a single flaw.

The Earthfire Vein Syndrome was the Silvercrest Clan’s greatest, most agonizing trouble. Because of their ancestral weapon-forging techniques, the fire toxins had permanently contaminated their bloodlines.

Even she, who rarely forged weapons herself, had inherited the scorching pain within her meridians.

It was a generational disease they were forced to bear. Without a constant supply of the Earth Vein Pacifying Elixir from the Ashvele Clan, their clan’s cultivators would suffer excruciating pain every time they channeled their essence, eventually crippling their foundations altogether.

Liana’s mind was in turmoil.

How could a boy his age possess such monstrously keen eyes?

"You..." Liana’s tone changed slightly as she looked at Rhain with a completely new light. "You really are an alchemist? To be able to see through our clan’s hereditary disease with just a glance... your medical and alchemical knowledge must be astonishing."

Rhain nodded slowly. "I possess some qualifications in the medicinal path."

Liana’s pink lips trembled as she asked, "Could you... could you possibly help us deal with this disease?"

Her voice lacked any real hope.

How could she hope? Silvercrest Clan had borne this agonizing curse for more than two centuries.

Even the Alchemists of the Ashvele Clan could only concoct elixirs to temporarily suppress the pain, never eradicate it.

Rhain looked at her and gave a firm nod. ""I can help you. In fact, I can completely cure it."

The night breeze sweeping over the lotus lake seemed to freeze.

Liana glared at him as if he had just claimed he could pluck the moon from the sky.

"Completely... cure it?" Liana stammered, finding it almost impossible to believe

It was impossible! A hereditary bloodline disease that had plagued a Great Clan for two hundred years, and a young man was casually claiming he could completely eradicate it?

Anyone in their right mind would find it impossible.

Rhain saw the deep suspicion and shock written all over her face.

He didn’t take offense.

It was a natural reaction when something is beyond their idea of possibility.

"I don’t expect you to blindly believe words," Rhain said, standing up from the table. "Take me to a secluded area. I will refine the pill right here, and you can test it yourself."

Liana hesitated for a moment.

But looking at Rhain’s confident gaze, she finally nodded.

"Follow me. We will go to my private courtyard. No one will disturb us there."

Liana led Rhain and Seris away from the lotus lake, passing through the quiet, heavily guarded corridors of the Silvercrest estate until they arrived at a tranquil, highly secure courtyard.

"Will this place do?" Liana asked.

"It is sufficient," Rhain replied.

Rhain didn’t waste any time. He walked to the center of the courtyard and casually waved his hand.

With a flash of light from his spatial ring, a heavy cauldron and several bundles of spiritual herbs he had taken from the Alchemy Guild materialized on the ground.

He sat cross-legged before the cauldron.

Under the two girls’ stunned gazes, Rhain raised his hand.

A mesmerizing, blood-red flame ignited above his fingertips.

The moment Heavenly Flame appeared, Liana who was intimately familiar with all kinds of earth-flames and beast-fires, felt the extraordinary nature of this flame.

Just a wisp of that flame gripped her soul with fear.

With a gentle wave, Rhain sent the flame beneath the cauldron and began throwing the herbs into the vessel with blinding speed.

His movements were exceptionally fluid, carrying a profound elegance that left Liana spellbound.

She had seen high-ranking alchemists at work before, but none possessed this kind of mesmerizing, effortless mastery.

Within a mere few minutes, an intoxicating medicinal fragrance burst from the cauldron, filling the entire courtyard.

Inside the vessel, Rhain used his Eyes of Truth to perfectly balance the turbulent medicinal energies.

As the essence began to condense into spherical shapes, Rhain intentionally suppressed his control just a fraction.

’I cannot let them achieve perfect Pill Veins.’ Rhain thought inwardly.

If he accidentally triggered a Pill Tribulation right here in the Silvercrest estate, the explosive lightning would draw the attention of every single expert in Silvercrest Clan.

Clang!

The heavy lid flew open.

Eight glowing pills shot out, landing perfectly into Rhain’s palm.

Even though they lacked the legendary Pill Veins, every single one of the eight pills radiated a flawless, one-hundred-percent purity.

Rhain picked up one of the luminous pills and held it out toward Liana.

"Try it," Rhain said simply.

Liana looked at the flawless pill in his hand.

She took it cautiously, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor, and placed the pill into her mouth to refine it.

The pill dissolved instantly, turning into a cooling stream of energy that flooded her meridians.

After a short while, Liana’s delicate body trembled.

She abruptly opened her eyes, sheer shock written all over her exquisite face.

"It’s gone... the pain is actually gone..."

The agonizing, burning sensation that had plagued her meridians since childhood was vanishing.

The Earthfire toxins were not just suppressed.

A portion of the deeply rooted, centuries-old curse had actually been cleansed!