Chapter 186: Abyssal Breath
Felix burst into the treatment chamber, where Sarah immediately ran toward him and hugged him tightly.
Sarah broke into tears, shouting into Felix's ear, "Mia… She doesn't deserve this!"
Felix immediately comforted his mother, patting her back while staring at his father, who slowly walked toward him with a weary expression.
Judging by the dark circles around his father's eyes and his sluggish posture, it was obvious that he was even more exhausted than his mother.
As Noah stopped in front of him, before he could say anything, Felix said,
"I will help Mia survive this tribulation. I promised."
Noah was stunned.
Sarah also stopped crying almost immediately and pulled away from Felix.
She asked, "Really?"
Felix nodded and smiled, caressing her hair.
"I will protect Mia."
Sarah smiled widely. She believed in her son's capabilities.
She hugged him once again before pulling Noah away from the treatment chamber, not giving him any chance to say anything to his son.
The door closed.
Doctor Eleanor gazed at Felix's back, slightly stunned by his words.
Felix had remained quiet after she revealed that they needed a way to help Mia's body adapt faster and overcome the Abyssal Energy.
He had even spoken at the exact moment and place where the Abyssal Energy could hear him.
Mia convulsed not long after, confirming Doctor Eleanor's suspicion that the Abyssal Energy was somehow listening to Felix.
The door opened, and Sky Marshal Kaelor entered.
He, too, was curious about Felix's ability to cure Mia.
Since Felix had already proven himself once, he could naturally prove himself again.
Seeing the relieved expressions on Mia's parents' faces outside, Sky Marshal Kaelor couldn't restrain himself from entering.
Sky Marshal Kaelor remained quiet behind the door, while Doctor Eleanor hesitated over whether to step forward or simply remain where she was, like Sky Marshal Kaelor.
However, after Mia's body finished convulsing, Felix turned around and politely asked Doctor Eleanor,
"I need your help."
Doctor Eleanor did not hesitate to walk past him and arrive beside Mia.
She asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Having worked under Doctor Eleanor and heard about her Sixfold Healing Formation, Felix instructed her to establish it around Mia.
"I need your Sixfold Healing Formation around her."
Doctor Eleanor nodded.
Without hesitation, she summoned all six of her beasts.
Each beast had a very specific role to play.
The Verdant Pulse Stag maintained Mia's vitality.
It kept Mia's organs functioning and prevented her biological condition from deteriorating.
The Stoneback Healing Tortoise stabilized her.
It prevented sudden fluctuations in Mia's Energy circulation.
The Frostmane White Wolf controlled her temperature.
It kept her fever from escalating whenever Felix attempted to stimulate the Abyssal Energy.
The Luminous Vein Butterfly observed her internal circulation, giving them a map that showed exactly where the Abyssal Energy was moving.
The Silver Thread Viper repaired any possible microscopic damage caused by the circulation process.
Lastly, the Nightwatch Hollow Owl would add a layer of protection to Mia's consciousness once the Abyssal Energy attempted to break through.
Doctor Eleanor essentially turned Mia's body into a controlled medical environment.
Felix marveled at the formation, but under Guide's instruction, he walked inside it.
[You can now begin.]
Felix nodded.
He walked forward, caressed Mia's hair, and said,
"Mia, are you listening to me?"
"B-Brother…"
Mia's lips barely managed to utter the familiar word.
Felix smiled.
"Listen to me, okay?"
As he continued to caress Mia's hair, the Abyssal Energy showed its hostility and provoked Felix, revealing its existence even more clearly.
Although it caused Mia's body to convulse as a result, the reaction was not as intense as before because of Doctor Eleanor's Sixfold Healing Formation.
"Don't fight what's harming you.
"Don't try to absorb it either.
"Try to find it now."
What Felix was attempting to teach Mia was the first level of the Abyssal Awakening—the ability to sense Abyssal Qi.
She could not devour it yet without fully sensing the existence of the Abyssal Energy.
Now, this was an extremely difficult task for Mia.
She had never cultivated before.
She didn't have the refined Energy control of a Beast Tamer.
She only had her unusual body and its adaptable meridians.
But that was also her advantage.
She was already familiar with how foreign, harmless Energy entered her body and flowed through it.
Ashen's Fire Energy was one example.
That was why Felix wasn't worried about Mia completely failing as he guided her consciousness toward sensing the foreign Energy.
Mia was courageous as well.
After becoming convinced that listening to her brother would alleviate the pain, she instantly sensed the Abyssal Energy on her first attempt.
It was not surprising to Felix.
After all, the Abyssal Energy already existed inside her body.
For the first time, Mia's consciousness tried to peek at what was attempting to break through.
She saw the Abyssal Energy with her own eyes.
It was not simply black Energy when perceived from within her consciousness.
To her, it felt enormous.
It exuded a chilling aura.
A terrifying desire to devour her very being—as if it could barely restrain itself.
It was also violent, seemingly ready to wreak havoc the moment it successfully entered her consciousness.
She instinctively tried to reject it, causing her consciousness to expand outward.
Thankfully, before her consciousness collided with the Abyssal Energy, the protective layer created by the Nightwatch Hollow Owl prevented it from reaching her.
However, the Abyssal Energy took the opportunity to attack her, causing her immense pain.
Her body convulsed.
Felix instantly understood what her body's reaction conveyed.
He immediately said,
"Don't reject it."
"It hurts…"
Felix gritted his teeth.
He felt his heart clench as he watched his dearest younger sister suffer from extreme agony.
Felix immediately leaned backward and watched the Luminous Vein Butterfly's map.
He realized that Mia's adaptable meridians were already attempting to create a circulation pattern.
It was crude, incomplete, and dangerous, but…
It existed.
Hence, Felix knew he didn't need to replace it.
He only needed to correct it.
Felix leaned forward and placed his fingers exactly where the primary meridian ran through Mia's arm.
He concentrated his Aura to the point that a tiny stream of Abyssal Energy was subdued.
The other Abyssal Energy attempted to resist, but Felix's Aura was terrifying.
At the same time, it could not retaliate by wreaking havoc inside Mia's body because it could not even overcome her body's adaptation, especially now that it was being supervised by the Sixfold Healing Formation.
Felix guided one tiny stream of Abyssal Energy—a small quantity that was not enough to threaten her, yet just enough to make the Energy move through a controlled route.
It took some time for the tiny stream of Abyssal Energy to successfully follow the process.
The Abyssal Energy followed the circulation pathway established by Felix, inevitably being refined in the process before returning to its previous location.
It became even easier because Mia did not have an Energy Core.
Her meridian network itself could act as the circulation furnace according to the principles of Stage One of the Scripture.
After the successful circulation, Felix leaned back slightly and observed how Mia adapted to the process.
It actually worked.
But her body's own circulation remained a mess.
He glanced at Mia's body and gritted his teeth.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and emptied his mind.
When he opened them again, his eyes were sharp.
Doctor Eleanor was startled.
Suddenly, Felix's Aura exploded, amplified by Sword Intent.
Even Doctor Eleanor couldn't help but freeze.
She could perceive Felix's Aura releasing dangerous Sword Energy powerful enough to wound her skin.
She watched as Felix compressed his Aura around his hand and attempted to subdue the Abyssal Energy.
However, less than half of the Abyssal Energy was tamed.
The rest attempted to wreak havoc, but its violent actions were subtle because of Doctor Eleanor's protection.
Half of the Abyssal Energy was forced by Felix to circulate through Mia's meridians.
However, the first circulation did not proceed smoothly.
Mia's body temperature spiked.
Her muscles tightened.
Her breathing became intense and irregular.
Black lines spread across her arms as the remaining Abyssal Energy attempted to leave her body, having realized that it had already failed to take control of her.
Doctor Eleanor immediately made a move.
"Frostmane!"
The Frostmane White Wolf immediately suppressed her fever.
"Torty!"
The Stoneback Healing Tortoise immediately stabilized Mia's circulation, causing the black lines to dissipate.
"Vayne!"
The Luminous Vein Butterfly revealed how the Abyssal Energy had reached a dangerous branch of Mia's nervous system.
Having been warned by the Luminous Vein Butterfly, Felix immediately redirected the Abyssal Energy slightly.
The Silver Thread Viper hastily repaired the damaged pathway.
However, the Owl suddenly cried out.
The Abyssal Energy that had attempted to leave Mia's body realized that Felix's Aura was flickering and slowly losing its dominance, allowing it to recover some of its strength.
It immediately attempted to break through into Mia's consciousness.
The Abyssal Energy successfully shattered the layer of protection that the Nightwatch Hollow Owl had created and began approaching Mia's consciousness.
Felix shouted,
"Mia, keep circulating! Sense it! I'm guiding you!"
Felix immediately realized that he could not control Mia's body for her.
The reason the first circulation had not gone smoothly was simply because Mia's body was not responding properly to his attempt to circulate the Abyssal Energy.
Mia had to control her body's adaptation.
She had to cooperate with him.
If only Felix had already reached the Lord Rank, Mia's body would have immediately responded to his control…
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