Crackle!
The crackling of a fire echoed in John's mind, rousing him from his deep slumber. His groggy eyes slowly opened up, taking in the view around him. The ceiling of a cave came into view, its dark walls softly illuminated by the campfire in the middle of the cave.
His body felt excruciating pain, as well as a vibrant warmth as well; the sensation quite odd. His head shifted to the right, taking in the sight of crystal blue eyes and a beautiful face smiling at him.
"You're finally awake," Laia said to John with a warm smile on her face. Her hands, glowing with a soft green light were placed on his bare chest, clearly the source of the warmth he felt. Soft yet vibrant healing energy flooded into his body, making his pained existence feel much more at ease.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks to you," John replied with much appreciation. His gaze shifted to the left and spotted Kirii sleeping peacefully on the ground next to him.
"Kirii is fine," Laia said as she noticed his gaze. "He's just sleeping."
"I know," John replied, as he could feel through his soul connection with Kirii that he was alright. He was also clearly healed by Laia, and his recovery had been quicker due to the lesser amount of damage he had taken.
John's gaze shifted back to her hands on his bare chest and lingered there for a moment. Laia's cheeks turned slightly rosy, but her hands remained in place as she continued to infuse her healing energy into him.
"How long have I been out for?" John asked, as he had lost all sense of time.
"A week," Laia replied. "All three of us collapsed after the battle, but I woke up a few hours later and brought us here," she explained. "Thankfully we're up on the cliff, or the beasts would have gotten to us."
John made a grunt of pain as he sat up from his lying down position, while Laia removed her hands from his chest. His arms stretched out to the side to feel his body's condition, which was much more powerful than before, but also in quite a bit of pain.
"Your body is quite unlike anything I've seen," Laia said as she watched John stand up and test his condition. "Normally the heavenly nourishment is enough to completely heal someone after their tribulation, but for you it only transformed your body and dantian. It was as if there was not enough remaining nourishing energy to heal your wounds before it was sucked dry."
John tested his body out for a bit before he sat down on a log that Laia had brought in and placed before the fire.
"That's fine," John replied to her. "I received what I needed from the Heavens."
John's eyes widened slightly as he felt Laia's hands touch his back, but he said nothing as he allowed her to continue her healing. Warmth and vibrancy continued to flood into his body, slowly healing the deep rooted damage within. The healing process continued for quite some time before Laia withdrew her hands and sat on the log next to John.
"I need to recover my Qi for a bit, and then I'll continue the healing," she said to him.
John nodded his head, as he could tell she was quite low on Qi reserves at the moment. Clearly she had been going all out while healing him, and despite doing so for a week already, he could still feel lingering damage in his body.
'My body must have been in quite the brutal state after my tribulation for me to still be injured after all her healing,' John mused internally as he inspected his body closely.
The large wounds to his muscles, bones, tendons had all been healed. However, there was still faint damage to his meridians, which were far harder to heal than the rest of his body. Damage to one's meridians usually required heavenly treasures and a long time to be able to recover from, but Laia's divine healing talents had been able to heal most of the damage that had occurred.
"Your meridians are still a bit damaged," Laia said, as if reading his thoughts, "although I'm mostly done healing them. Your meridians should be fully healed in a day or two."
"Thank you," John replied warmly, as she had clearly pushed herself quite hard to get him to this state of recovery.
"Your blood cells however…those are still quite damaged," Laia said to him, confusion in her voice as if she was not sure what the reason for the damage was. "Your blood cells seemed as though they would all disintegrate when I started healing you…I've never seen anything like it. I healed them as best I could, but the damage to your blood is far more troublesome than your other injuries. I was only able to partially heal it," she explained. Her voice was a bit strange, almost as if she was frustrated with herself at not being able to heal him fully.
"The fact that you can heal it at all is beyond incredible," John replied, trying to alleviate her frustration. Based on what his mother had told him, the only thing that should have been able to heal his bloodline wounds was time. However, Laia had been able to greatly reduce the damage to his cells, which meant he would be able to use it sooner than expected once more.
Roar!
A powerful roar shook the land as both Laia and John looked towards the entrance of the cave. The roar was familiar, and clearly belonged to the creature they had seen before. The roar was a reminder that although the tribulation was over, there was still a trial of death for the two of them to undertake.
"I can't wait to silence that thing once and for all," John said as he found the roaring grating on his mind and soul. With his cultivation in the Early Heaven Tribulation Realm, the roar felt less threatening than before.
"Are you confident in being able to beat that thing?" Laia asked.
"I'm not sure," John replied, "but I think I should be able to manage. But from what I can tell, that creature is most likely only in the Early Dao Transformation Realm. If we run into something stronger…I don't know if I'd be able to beat it."
His blood cells were still damaged, and while he would be able to use his Asura Transformation, using his bloodline ability anytime soon was not possible, even with Laia's help. His bloodline abilities resistance to her healing was a testament to its power and profundity, but also its danger to his body. If he overdid it, death from within was more than possible. Without his fusion of powers, he was unsure of fighting anything stronger than that.
John was roused from his deep thought as a rich aroma and vibrant energy washed over him. He gazed over towards Laia, who held a round object in her hand. His eyes locked onto the object, which was a pill far more profound than anything he had seen in his life.
"This is the Astral Nirvana Pill," Laia said to John. "It's meant to emulate the heavenly nourishment process, and is used to help cultivators in my empire break through to the Dao Transformation Realm," she explained as she handed over the pill to John, who took the pill and inspected it closely.
"Your body and dantian are unlike anything I've ever seen before, but this pill is of the highest quality, so it should be more than enough to help you ascend to the Middle Heaven Tribulation Realm," she explained. "But first you'll need to have the necessary comprehensions for breaking through, so we can stay here for as long as it takes until you are ready to break thro-"
Laia's words cut off and eyes widened as John swallowed the pill without hesitation. His eyes closed as he focused on absorbing the incredible properties of the pill. Laia watched in silence as John's aura slowly grew in power and quickly reached the peak of the Early Heaven Tribulation Realm.
However, to break through to the next realm, one needed to comprehend the Qi of their current realm, as well as the nature of the Qi in the next realm. This process took a long time, which is why Laia suggested he wait until he had done such a thing. Otherwise, if he failed to break through, the pill would go to waste.
Boom!
Her eyes widened in shock as a muffled boom escaped John's body a while later, and his aura rose to the next level. His eyes slowly opened, his gaze calm and content. He inspected the changes within his body, before his calm gaze shifted over to Laia once more.
"That pill really is beyond incredible," John said to Laia, who stared at John as if he were an incomprehensible monster. Not only was his combat prowess monstrous, but he also revealed his comprehension talent to be equally as monstrous.
"Now that I'm in the Middle Heaven Tribulation Realm, our odds are quite a bit better at getting out of here alive."
