“Fu Feng! Put me down!”
The old man struggled with all his limbs, finally tumbling down from Fu Feng’s broad shoulder onto the ground in a rather disheveled manner. Once he steadied himself, he immediately reached up to smooth his crumpled lapel, glaring fiercely at Fu Feng with wide eyes. His white beard trembled slightly with his rage.
Fu Feng did not mind in the least. He simply laughed heartily and stepped aside to introduce the two of them.
“This is Elder Mo Xu, a highly respected elder of our Artifact Sect. He is the chief professor of Human Meridian Cultivation and Prosthetic Manufacturing and Application, as well as the top physician in our sect. Most of the prosthetic fittings and meridian repairs for the wounded cultivators from the front lines rely on his expertise.”
Mo Xu let out a heavy snort through his nose, his expression entirely filled with the impatience of someone who had been dragged away in a hurry, his brow furrowed into a tight knot. “Speak up if you have something to say. I still have a massive backlog of disabled disciples from the front lines waiting for custom prosthetics and meridian treatments. My daily schedule is packed to the brim; I have no spare time to waste on the wild fantasies of young people.”
Fu Feng had an easygoing temperament and did not get angry at the old man's short fuse. He turned back to Lu Yan and introduced him.
“This is Lu Yan, a professor of Formation Studies. He is currently the main lecturer for the newly opened formation classes in the lower levels of the Molten Heart Tower.”
Hearing the words “professor of Formation Studies,” Mo Xu’s impatience instantly vanished by half. His cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly as he earnestly sized up the young Lu Yan before him.
He had long heard that a successor of the Formation Dao had recently arrived at the Molten Heart Tower. However, the Molten Heart Tower had many levels and endless affairs. He spent his entire day buried in the clinic and the workshop—teaching classes, receiving injured patients, and crafting various prosthetics. He was not like those idle juniors who would run up and down just to join in on the excitement of something new.
But now that he thought about it, rumor had it that this Professor Lu was the last successor of the Ten Thousand Formations Sect. If they could get him to engrave formation lines for conducting spiritual energy onto the prosthetics, the issues of sluggish spiritual energy and stinging meridians that disabled cultivators faced when using prosthetics might be easily resolved.
At this thought, a trace of eager light instantly burst from Mo Xu’s eyes. His previous impatience vanished without a trace, and his tone became much more polite. “Professor Lu, I have heard much about you. May I ask what business you have with me today?”
Lu Yan had originally only guessed that Fu Feng would bring over a reliable doctor, but he had never expected the man to directly drag over such a titan who spanned both fields of meridian medicine and prosthetic modification. A wave of wild joy washed over his heart.
If even Mo Xu was willing to help, the matter of the artificial heart would have the most solid foundation, at least regarding physical compatibility.
He quickly picked up the roughly sketched drawing on the table, placed his fingertip on the outline of the heart, and briefly explained the situation.
Compared to his anxiety when explaining it to Fu Feng earlier, his words were much more concise now. He only said that he had a close friend whose heart's source was damaged and missing, and that her life-prolonging secret art was about to expire, so he hoped to forge a mechanical heart to forcibly keep her alive.
To his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, the expression on Mo Xu's face changed dramatically, and he immediately turned around to leave.
Fu Feng was quick to react. He stepped forward and blocked the doorway, his broad body acting like an iron gate, preventing Mo Xu from moving even half a step.
Lu Yan’s heart instantly sank to the bottom, and his voice carried a trace of apprehension. “Professor Mo? Is this completely impossible?”
“Impossible?” Mo Xu looked down at the drawing on the table, so angered by this bold idea that he nearly laughed. He reached out and flattened the sketch firmly onto the wooden table. “It is far worse than impossible. You two are simply indulging in wild fantasies and pipe dreams!”
Saying that, he retrieved a faded, ancient diagram of human meridians from his storage bag, picked up the broken charcoal pencil Fu Feng had used earlier, and pressed the tip heavily onto the position of the heart in the diagram.
“The heart is the monarch of all meridians. It belongs to the fire element in the Five Elements, and the soul resides within it. Yet you want to forge a metal creation to replace it. In the Five Elements, this is the most dangerous scenario: ‘replacing fire with metal’!
“First of all, the heart harbors the soul. Geng Metal is by nature chilling and lethal, and only a heart of flesh and blood can nourish the soul. If the chest cavity is replaced with metal, within a few years, the person's emotions and desires will be slowly eroded by the cold energy. Ultimately, they will become numb and indifferent, like a cold puppet.”
The tip of the charcoal pencil then moved to the other four organs, analyzing them one by one. “Furthermore, the lungs belong to the metal element in the Five Elements. They are meant to be restrained by the monarch of heart fire to prevent the metal energy from becoming too dominant and causing excessive descending qi.
“Now, if the heart itself becomes Geng Metal, it is equivalent to a subject usurping the throne of the monarch. The metal of both the heart and lungs will share the same energy and echo each other. From then on, this person will surely suffer from chronic chest tightness and shortness of breath, making them highly prone to constant coughing and wheezing.”
“The liver belongs to the wood element, relying entirely on the heart fire to nourish its growth. Once the monarch fire is extinguished, the liver qi will have no outlet to disperse. Over time, the stagnation will make their temperament increasingly violent and irritable.”
Coming to the most dangerous part, Mo Xu’s tone grew even more solemn. “The most fatal part is the kidney water. Originally, the heart fire could balance the flooding of kidney water. Only when water and fire aid each other can yin and yang be harmonized.
“But now, the fire that holds sovereign power is replaced by metal, and metal generates water. Over time, the cold water in the kidneys will continuously multiply, and the yin-cold toxins will travel through the meridians to the entire body. From then on, she will have to endure the torment of bone-piercing cold day and night, with absolutely no escape!”
He looked up and stared deeply at Lu Yan, his gaze like that of someone trying to advise a youth blinded by obsession. “Having said all this, do you still think a metal heart is some wonderful thing that can easily save a life?”
After a brief silence, Lu Yan slowly raised his eyes. There was not a single trace of retreat on his face as he softly asked, “This junior only wishes to ask one thing. Even if the future consequences are endless, can this mechanical heart preserve her life for now?”
Mo Xu could not help but freeze slightly. He clearly had not expected that after he had painstakingly explained so many hidden dangers, the other party's focus from beginning to end remained solely on the words “preserving life.”
He frowned, shook his head, and sighed. “How much of what I just said did you actually take in? This method has profound drawbacks. Even if it barely prolongs her life, it will only buy her a dozen years at most. With the long-term imbalance of the Five Elements' qi, her entire physical body will decay at a speed visible to the naked eye. She will only suffer for the rest of her life.”
But Lu Yan gently shook his head. A very faint yet exceptionally firm smile played at the corners of his lips, and a solemn promise settled in his eyes.
“As long as it can keep her alive for now, that is enough. I promised her long ago that no matter what, I would definitely make sure she lives.”
As for the future imbalance of the Five Elements, the cold toxins ravaging her body, and the damage to her emotions...
“All the remaining trouble, I will handle it in the future.”
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