The assassin's eyeballs bulged instantly!
A searing pain flooded his entire body!
The assassin's immobilized body twitched uncontrollably...
Fortunately, he couldn't make a sound, otherwise the tranquility of the night would have been utterly shattered.
The assassin gritted his teeth fiercely, preventing himself from accidentally biting off his tongue.
Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks into the wooden tub.
Pain!
It was damned painful!
This torment was even several times more excruciating than when his old injuries flared up!
Although the intense pain was agonizing, it also sharpened his mind to an unprecedented degree.
He felt it was utterly unreasonable!
He could clearly feel that the bones in his shoulders were shattered.
And completely pulverized.
But the problem was that even if his shoulders were normally crushed by someone, it wouldn't hurt this much.
Putting aside appearances, the assassin's resilience truly lived up to the label of a true man.
Once, when he was fighting a demonic beast, the bones in his entire right arm were pulverized.
Yet, he gritted his teeth and persevered, killing the beast.
Throughout the entire process, let alone screams, not even a groan escaped his lips!
Objectively speaking, his current injuries were less severe than that incident, yet the pain was tens of thousands of times greater!
It was as if the old pervert had injected something wicked into his body while crushing his bones, and those foreign substances were furiously stimulating his pain receptors!
Seeing the assassin covered in sweat, the Second Elder quickly used his true qi to heat the liquid in the wooden tub.
Master Xie Yan had once said that temperature had a good auxiliary effect on his massage technique.
The more sweat produced, the better the effect!
Master Xie Yan retracted his hand and made a grasping motion, as if testing the feel.
He felt that the previous maneuver, regardless of the angle or force, was slightly off, not reaching the most perfect state.
Master Xie Yan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then abruptly opened them again!
Doing so allowed his spirit to become highly concentrated!
Mental concentration was also a form of emotional change.
Therefore, the frequency of his left eyeball darting around increased significantly.
Starting at a hundred circles per second!
The red light projected from his left eyeball roamed ceaselessly over the assassin.
Though it darted around seemingly without pattern, it was in fact full of hidden intent.
If any sharp-eyed elder had witnessed this scene, they would surely have been astonished!
Although the red dots landed on different spots each time, they precisely returned to the previous positions in every cycle!
Even accurate to zero deviation!
"Young man," Master Xie Yan placed his right hand on the assassin's other shoulder, "it's going to hurt a bit more, bear with it."
Assassin: ???
A bit more pain?
Then what was the previous one?
But soon, he understood.
"Crack—!"
The other shoulder shattered with a snap!
The assassin's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted.
With such pain, he would normally have fainted without a doubt.
But now, no matter how much it hurt, he simply couldn't faint!
And the more it hurt, the clearer his mind became!
The clearer his mind became, the stronger his reaction to pain would be!
An unsolvable loop!
Unbidden tears slid silently down the corners of his eyes...
The assassin wept...
Not with heart-wrenching cries, but with a gut-wrenching realization...
The assassin clearly felt that this time was several times more painful than before!
It hurt so much that his internal organs felt like they were being twisted into a pretzel!
Compared to this pain, the torment from his old injuries was trivial!
He no longer dared to hope that his tormentor would stop; he only wished he could simply faint and be done with it...
However, life is often unsatisfactory.
This was not something he could achieve just by wishing to faint.
The pain wildly stimulated his brain nerves, and the assassin's pride in his willpower was gradually collapsing...
The room was silent.
The crisp sounds of cracking bones followed one after another.
"Crack—"
The collarbone pulverized!
"Crack—!"
The sternum shattered!
"Crack—!"
The arm bones were gone!
...
Master Xie Yan was very focused and efficient in his work.
Before long.
Every single bone in the assassin's body, except for his skull, was completely pulverized!
At this moment, the assassin floated limply in the wooden tub, like a bowl of porridge.
The assassin's expression was calm.
In truth, during the latter part, he could no longer feel any pain at all.
It was as if the bones being shattered belonged to someone else; he felt absolutely nothing.
At this moment, he was seriously contemplating a question.
I...
Am I still alive?
And he felt warm all over, incredibly comfortable.
Could it be that everything he experienced was an illusion?
Master Xie Yan withdrew his right hand and let out a deep breath.
The massage's effect was even better than he had anticipated, so the cupping phase could probably be skipped.
"Alright, now we can begin the acupuncture treatment," Master Xie Yan said, looking into the assassin's eyes, "but don't worry, it won't hurt at all."
After speaking, Master Xie Yan shoved his right hand into his pants and began to rummage.
Perhaps cleanliness was an ingrained factor in the assassin's genes; upon seeing Master Xie Yan's actions, the assassin's unfocused gaze immediately sharpened.
A very bad premonition instantly formed in his mind, and it was incredibly strong!
"Don't be nervous," Master Xie Yan said, looking up with a cheerful expression, "I'll show you a great treasure, hehehe...!"
"Whoosh!"
He withdrew his right hand from his pants, simultaneously pulling out a gleaming set of silver needles!
At that instant, the assassin felt a strange odor drift into his nostrils.
His stomach churned violently, and stomach acid mixed with remnants of food surged towards his throat.
Just as they were about to break free of his throat, they fell back into his stomach due to gravity.
The assassin felt even more nauseated...
Stomach acid and food remnants, driven by instinct, surged towards his throat again.
Then they fell back down...
Up it comes.
Down it goes.
Up it comes.
Down it goes again...
...
Back and forth!
Each time, it was just a little bit short, yet he couldn't vomit it out...
The assassin's face turned completely green...
"Thirteen needles?!" Looking at the silver needles in Master Xie Yan's hand, the Second Elder exclaimed, "Master Xie Yan, have you finally mastered the long-lost 'Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles'?!"
Although the Second Elder was not a professional physician, he had heard of the renowned 'Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles'.
It was rumored that mastering the 'Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles' to its extreme could even defy fate!
Perhaps because this acupuncture technique was too heaven-defying and not tolerated by the heavenly dao, it had been completely annihilated in the long river of history hundreds of thousands of years ago.
He was unsure how Master Xie Yan obtained the needle manual for the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, but he knew the man possessed a secret technique that drove countless people mad.
And he had successfully practiced up to the twelfth needle!
Master Xie Yan had once said that the thirteenth needle transcended the realm of technique.
To comprehend it, one could only rely on enlightenment.
"The thirteenth needle is a heaven-defying existence, how can it be so easily comprehended?" Master Xie Yan said sincerely, looking into the Second Elder's eyes.
He felt he had to explain this matter clearly.
After all, he and the Second Elder were the best of friends, and if he were to achieve enlightenment of such a fortunate event without telling him immediately, the Second Elder would surely be very sad.
Such a thing that would damage their friendship absolutely could not happen.
"Although I haven't comprehended the thirteenth needle, I have researched a simplified version," Master Xie Yan continued to explain. "I call it the 'Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate Pass.' Although its effectiveness is far inferior, it should be sufficient to treat this young man."
"So that's how it is," the Second Elder nodded in understanding. "But it's still very impressive!"
"Second Elder, this improved version of the technique is also something I only recently comprehended, and the consumption is still too great for me currently."
Master Xie Yan said, picking up a silver needle:
"Afterwards, I'll need your elixirs to recuperate."
"Don't worry, I will use the best elixirs to help you recover!" The Second Elder said with a solemn expression, looking at Master Xie Yan's back.
To witness the legendary thirteenth needle with his own eyes was already a great honor.
Even though it was a weakened version, it was still incredibly powerful!
The Second Elder suddenly felt that he was about to witness a historical moment in the cultivation world today!
The assassin looked at Master Xie Yan raising the needle in despair.
His eyes were filled with despair.
You're going to stab me with needles taken from *that* place?
Disgusting!
Get away!
The silver needle fell swiftly.
The despair in the assassin's eyes turned into pleading.
No...
It can't be...
Please...
Don't...