Nie Tian examined Li Langfeng briefly with his soul power, and soon realized that the internal damage he was suffering from was far worse than Pei Qiqi.
Li Langfeng had allowed too many toxins into himself.
Even though those toxins contained a significant amount of power, and they had helped him achieve rapid progress and breakthroughs, he wasn't a Fiend. The toxins were inflicting serious damage on him at the same time.
In Li Langfeng's spiritual sea, profound spiritual power and deadly toxins were mixed together.
His whole body was under the unceasing influence of the toxins. Even his meridians and internal organs had become deeply eroded.
The reason why he would spit out grimy blood from time to time was because he had been suppressing his injuries with his spiritual power, and continuously forcing the most deadly kinds of toxins out of his system.
However, as long as he kept practicing his special incantations, he would allow more toxins into himself, which would form more toxic residue and further the erosion of his insides.
As this continued, Li Langfeng's body would soon be drained of its essence, and his lifespan would drop significantly.
It was these toxins inside of him that made him so powerful, but they also riddled him with injuries, pushing him closer and closer towards death.
In order to advance to the late Worldly realm, he would have to allow more toxins into his body, which was already afflicted with severe damage.
If he did that, Nie Tian deemed that he would be like a flickering candle in the wind that could go out at any moment.
Li Langfeng sighed and said with a frustrated look on his face, "I don't have a choice."
Under Nie Tian's inquiring gaze, he remained silent for a short while before slowly telling his story. "My clan was originally one of the Spirit God Sect's subordinate clans in the Realm of Dark Underworld. We were given the responsibility of managing a mine for the Spirit God Sect. In return, the Spirit God Sect would bring us under their protection.
"One day, my father, the head miner, discovered a stone room in the depths of the mine by accident.
"It was a built in the Phantasm's typical style. Inside the stone room, he found a skull, along with a few other small items.
"Then, he was surprised to discovered that there seemed to be a soul inside that skull."
"A skull..." Nie Tian muttered with an intense look in his eyes.
Li Langfeng didn't stop because of Nie Tian's reaction, but went on telling his story. "Then, my father planned to inform their backer in the Spirit God Sect of his discovery, hoping they would give some advice as to what they should do with that stone room.
"However, someone in the clan leaked the information to another person from the Spirit God Sect first.
"That person was at the middle Worldly realm back then, and he happened to have a lasting feud with our clan's backer in the Spirit God Sect.
"When he had learned about our discovery, he planted evidence of some random crime on our clan and massacred my clansmen.
"He wiped out my entire clan. My parents and younger sister all died at his hands.
"I only survived because I was sent to the Spirit God Sect to give word of our discovery to our backer in the Spirit God Sect.
"In order to suck up to Chang Qiu, one of the Spirit God Sect's powerful elders, the man later gave everything we had discovered in the stone room to him.
"By the time I arrived in the Spirit God Sect, I learned of that man's monstrous crime.
"However, our clan's backer didn't want to confront Chang Qiu, so he eventually drove me away and told me to forget about what had happened.
"I was afraid that that man would try to silence me if I continued to stay in the Realm of Dark Underworld, so I went to the Realm of Black Marsh, where I took on a new name and joined the Poison Sect. There, I only learned and practiced the incantations that would allow my cultivation to progress the fastest, since all I could think about was becoming strong enough to avenge my family and clansmen within the shortest time possible.
"However, later when my master in the Poison Sect learned about my true identity and my feud with the man in the Spirit God Sect, not only did he not help me, but he even talked to that man and planned to give me to him.
"I learned about his plan by accident, so I fled the Realm of Black Marsh overnight. That's how I ended up in the Realm of Split Void."
Li Langfeng looked down at the ground, his eyes brimming with hatred. "That fucker who killed my whole family is named Wu Qinghe. He's probably already entered the late Worldly realm, considering that he has access to the Spirit God Sect's profound cultivation resources.
"I, on the other hand, have no sect at my back. My cultivation base was way lower than his when I made up my mind to kill him. If I cultivated the regular way, I'd never have the chance to slay him myself.
"While I make progress in my cultivation, he's making progress in his. That way, he'll always be stronger than me.
"So I could only find another way to cultivate, a way that would allow me to make rapid advancements, even if they come with a price. All I want is to kill him before the toxins kill me.
"Wu Qinghe is a lucky bastard. He didn't die at Hua Mu's hands.
"I have to enter the late Worldly realm as soon as possible since I want to slay him myself. I can't allow him to die at someone else's hands!"
With these words, Li Langfeng's eyes became wide and bloodshot, while his whole body was wreathed in intense killing intent.
Nie Tian let out a sigh, as he felt for Li Langfeng.
"Chang Qiu from the Spirit God Sect..." Nie Tian muttered. He pondered for a few seconds before asking, "Who's Chang Yuan to him?"
"Chang Yuan is Chang Qiu's son," Li Langfeng said bitterly. "I heard that Chang Qiu gave the our findings Wu Qingyuan had presented to him as a gift to his son. Chang Yuan is one of the chosen ones of the Spirit God Sect. With Chang Qiu there to protect and support him, his future should be very promising."
"Interesting." Nie Tian snorted a smile as he took out a skull from his ring of holding. "Is this the skull your father discovered in that stone room?"
Li Langfeng was taken aback. "Exactly! How come it's in your possession?"
"I killed Chang Yuan in that dimension we went to, and this was on him," Nie Tian explained.
Li Langfeng looked very pleased as he said, "Even though Chang Qiu isn't the one who slaughtered my family and clansmen, he's still involved. Even though I can't believe that you actually killed his son, this gives me great relief!"
"Lu Jian died too," Nie Tian added.
Li Langfeng gasped with astonishment. "Lu Jian too?! Lu Jian is by no means an insignificant character. His status in the Spirit God Sect is even more noble than Chang Yuan's! Word has it that he's the bastard son of the sectmaster of the Spirit God Sect! If you've killed him, the entire Spirit God Sect will make you their sworn enemy!"
Nie Tian curled his lips. "Well, I didn't kill him myself, but I contributed to his death. Plus, not only the Spirit God Sect, but the Poison Sect, which you also hate, is going to make me their sworn enemy. Zhang Jiu's death also had a good deal to do with me."
Li Langfeng was flabbergasted. "What the hell did you do in that dimension?"
"I killed about half of the major sects' chosen ones from throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars," Nie Tian said with an expressionless face.
As unruly as Li Langfeng was, he stuttered in shock while staring closely at Nie Tian in a way as if he were staring at a demon from hell. "H-how did you dare to do these things?!"
At that moment, something seemed to suddenly occur to Nie Tian as he exclaimed, "Li Langfeng! It just occurred to me that I can help you with your internal injuries!"
Li Langfeng was intrigued. "What do you mean?"
"What if I told you that I can treat your injuries, and at the same time, accelerate your cultivation advancement?" Nie Tian asked excitedly. "What if I could prolong your lifespan and make sure that you get to slay your enemy yourself?"
A shudder ran through Li Langfeng's body as he exclaimed, "If you can do that, then my life will be yours!"
Nie Tian laughed wildly. "Actually, what I can bring you might exceed your expectations!"
With these words, he took out the glassware that contained the Fiend's heart and handed it to Li Langfeng. "This heart belonged to a Fiend. If you can make good use of it, perhaps it can even help you advance to the Profound realm!"
The Poison Sect was based in the Realm of Black Marsh, which used to be home to Fiends. Therefore, many of the Poison Sect's secret magics had profound connections to the Fiends.
In order to make rapid progress in his cultivation, Li Langfeng would need a large amount of deadly toxins. However, a Fiend's heart happened to be the part that held most of a Fiend's toxins.
Nie Tian believed that, if Li Langfeng was able to refine that Fiend's heart, his cultivation base and battle prowess would progress by leaps and bounds.
As for the backlash Li Langfeng suffered from practicing poisonous incantations, he was confident that he would be able to help him with Heavenly Wood Heal and the Wood Thriving Formation.
The way he saw it, as long as Li Langfeng could find a way to survive the backlash from his cultivation, he would eventually join the ranks of the most powerful and fierce experts throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars.
If he were to be Li Langfeng's means of surviving the backlash from his cultivation, that meant he would be forever in his debt.
Meanwhile, he could use a person like Li Langfeng to take care of certain things for him, especially before his cultivation reached a fairly high level.
With such a fierce and relentless person by his side, he would be able to ride out some deadly tribulations more easily.
"Is there a place in the Realm of Split Void that's covered in lush vegetation?" Nie Tian asked.
"Umm... Actually, there is!" Li Langfeng said as his eyes lit up.
"Take me there, and I'll help you stabilize your injuries first, so that you'll be able to head towards your next breakthrough without any scruples." With these words, Nie Tian sprang to his feet, summoned his Golden Chariot, and urged Li Langfeng to jump on board.
With a swift leap, Li Langfeng jumped on board and called out. "I'll show you the way!"