In the inner chamber, a group of people watched as Alphonsas treated Dilia, and Lin Lei was the most anxious of them all — sweat beads had even formed on his forehead, yet he seemed completely unaware of it.
*Swish~~* A green airflow swirled, emitting a faint sound. Alphonsas's expression turned grave as he suddenly gave a low grunt, and the green airflow surged in speed, continuously flowing into Dilia's mind.
"Mmn~~" Dilia let out a faint sound of pain, her brow furrowing slightly.
That tiny sound was like heavenly music to Lin Lei. His eyes lit up as though he'd been struck by lightning: "Dilia is conscious! She's reacting!" Lin Lei's body trembled with excitement.
The others' faces also lit up with joy.
"Boss, Dilia is going to be saved,"
"Mm." Lin Lei nodded, his entire being seemingly bursting with renewed vitality.
Gaisleisen, Pusiro, and the others all broke into smiles. Lin Lei continued watching Alphonsas treat Dilia, the hope in his heart swelling with every passing moment: "Dilia, you will definitely get better. You will."
Just then — Alphonsas withdrew his right hand, ending the treatment.
"Mr. Alphonsas, is my wife cured?" Lin Lei asked immediately. Alphonsas turned to look at Lin Lei, and he could clearly see the anticipation and hope burning in the young man's eyes. But Alphonsas let out a soft sigh: "Lin Lei, brace yourself."
"Brace myself? For what?" Lin Lei's heart sank instantly.
"Mr. Alphonsas, what happened?" Gaisleisen, who moments ago had been all smiles, also changed expression and hurriedly asked.
Alphonsas shook his head: "I can tell you clearly — this woman, I do not have the ability to cure her. And I would advise you to give up. Saving this woman is virtually impossible."
Lin Lei's mind went completely blank upon hearing Alphonsas's words.
"No!"
Lin Lei suddenly cried out, then fixed his gaze on Alphonsas like a maddened lion: "Mr. Alphonsas, you must be lying to me! Just now Dilia was reacting — she had consciousness! How can you suddenly say she can't be saved?"
"That's right — wasn't she getting better just now?" Gaisleisen added.
Seeing the wild look in the young man's eyes, Alphonsas sighed and said: "Lin Lei, just now your wife was not regaining consciousness. What happened was that during my treatment, her soul's rejection was extraordinarily intense — so extreme that her body produced a slight reflexive movement."
"But — but didn't Castell say you had a ninety percent chance of saving my wife? How can it now be…" Lin Lei couldn't accept it.
He truly couldn't accept it!
Three months ago, Lin Lei had believed that Dilia would definitely be cured. Over those three months, he had constantly looked forward to this day. Even just moments ago, he had thought Dilia was about to recover.
But now…
Alphonsas sighed: "If this were three months ago and I treated your wife here, I could have absolutely saved her. But now, it is too late."
"What do you mean — you could save her three months ago but not now?" Lin Lei pressed urgently.
Alphonsas glanced around at everyone present before speaking: "Everyone, this type of soul attack is extremely sinister and vicious. After those green specks penetrate the soul, they continuously devour and replicate — one becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight…"
"Although a Highgod's soul is powerful, making it difficult for them to be devoured, the exponential nature of this replication means the speed becomes increasingly terrifying as it progresses," Alphonsas said gravely.
Everyone present nodded.
"I know all this, but why can't you save Dilia anymore?" Lin Lei pressed.
Alphonsas looked at Lin Lei and sighed: "Lin Lei, haven't you understood yet? The speed of this devouring replication becomes more and more extreme. Three months ago, the devouring speed compared to now… differs by a factor of millions!"
Lin Lei froze.
One becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight — if you extend that chain just dozens of times, the number becomes an astonishingly astronomical figure.
"To save your wife, I would need to reverse-devour and replicate those green specks," Alphonsas explained.
Lin Lei understood. The cure was simply the reverse of the devouring process.
"Only if my reverse-devouring speed exceeds the 'devouring replication speed' can I save your wife," Alphonsas said. Lin Lei understood completely now.
"My current healing speed can no longer keep up with the devouring speed. Even if I push myself to the limit, at best I can slow the devouring process and extend your wife's life by a small margin." Alphonsas sighed. "If it were three months ago, I could have easily saved your wife. But now, please forgive my inability."
Lin Lei stood there, stunned.
He understood completely. This devouring speed was like a spark on a prairie — the longer it burned, the wider the devastation. A single spark could consume an entire grassland. These 'green specks' worked exactly the same way.
The longer time passed, the faster the devouring became… and the slimmer the chance of saving Dilia.
"Boss! Boss!" Bei Bei called out urgently.
"Lin Lei." Pusiro also called his name.
But Lin Lei stood there as though he had gone mute, perfectly still.
"Alas." Alphonsas let out a sigh of his own.
Gaisleisen, the
"Mr. Alphonsas." Lin Lei suddenly spoke, his voice urgent. "I beg you — please continue treating her for now. Try to extend my wife's life. Give me enough time, and I'll find someone else to save her. Is that possible?" Lin Lei looked at Alphonsas with desperate hope.
Lin Lei understood — if Alphonsas's healing speed couldn't match the devouring speed, then to extend Dilia's life, Alphonsas would need to keep treating her continuously. His request was, admittedly, rather unreasonable.
But he had no choice!
"Lin Lei."
Alphonsas spoke solemnly: "Whether it's because of your Four Divine Beast families or because of the Mansion Lord, if I had the ability, I would absolutely help extend your wife's life. However, I must tell you — even with my help, I can extend it by at most one or two days."
"Only one or two days?" Lin Lei was stunned.
He had originally hoped for several years — the longer, the better.
"Soul healing is not as simple as you imagine. When I treated your wife, as I just explained, because her soul's rejection was so extreme, even her body produced direct reactions." Alphonsas continued, "The soul is an extraordinarily delicate place. My treatment requires extreme precision. If even a wisp of energy escapes, it will damage your wife's soul and kill her."
"For short periods, I can maintain perfect control without making errors. But in these circumstances, if it goes on even slightly longer, my soul power will be depleted and mistakes become inevitable. The moment an error occurs, your wife will…" Alphonsas trailed off apologetically.
Lin Lei fell silent.
"Lin Lei, the Mansion Lord will arrive soon as well. Perhaps the Mansion Lord can save your wife," Gaisleisen quickly suggested.
Lin Lei's eyes lit up: "Right — there's still the Mansion Lord."
But Alphonsas said: "Lin Lei, I've already told you to brace yourself. Though I deeply admire the Mansion Lord, honestly… I do not believe the Mansion Lord has the ability to save your wife."
"Mr. Alphonsas." Lin Lei's frustration was beginning to show.
"There are only three methods to save your wife," Alphonsas said.
Lin Lei listened intently.
"First, a powerhouse who has cultivated the Law of Life to near its absolute limit — their healing speed might be able to surpass the devouring speed. Such a person could save your wife. Of course, this would need to happen now. If two or three more months pass and it reaches the final stage, even the most powerful expert in the Law of Life would arrive too late." Alphonsas paused. "But someone who has cultivated the Law of Life to near its limit — forget about the
Gaisleisen eagerly interjected: "Life Highgod power — our Four Divine Beast families do have some!"
"Yes, use Life Highgod power!" Lin Lei echoed immediately.
"You haven't let me finish!"
Alphonsas shook his head: "Life Highgod power is extraordinarily potent, and its restorative speed would be astonishing. However… Life Highgod power is too powerful. A Highgod cannot control it with perfect precision. You must have used Highgod power before and know that it tends to dissipate, correct?"
Lin Lei froze.
That was right…