Chapter 177: Let’s be Scientific

To achieve this, the power could not cause hemorrhaging in areas where blood could be expelled, such as the stomach or lungs. Thus, the only place left to direct such force without spilling blood was…

The bones.

By now, the power was rampaging through his skeletal structure. His bones and marrow were being slowly ground down, torn apart, and boiled from within.

Scientifically speaking, the pain inflicted on Elder Ming represented the absolute upper limit of human nociceptive suffering, a level of torment that modern pain neuroscience would classify as “catastrophic multi-modal marrow hyperalgesia,” with no documented real-world equivalent.

The qi-driven boiling of his bone marrow instantly pushed intra-medullary temperatures beyond 60 °C, denaturing proteins, vaporizing interstitial fluid into pressurized steam, and spiking intra-osseous pressure inside the completely rigid cortical shell to levels that activated every Piezo2 mechanosensitive channel and TRPV1 heat-gated nociceptor simultaneously.

At the same moment, the grinding shear forces micro-fractured the trabecular lattice from within, flooding the marrow cavity with a concentrated inflammatory mixture of bradykinin, prostaglandins, NGF, substance P, and TNF-α.

This lowered the activation threshold of every C-fiber and Aδ-fiber by orders of magnitude, turning the entire skeletal system into a closed-loop pain amplifier with no escape.

(Author Note: These five substances, bradykinin, prostaglandins, NGF, substance P, and TNF-α, are key chemicals involved in inflammation and pain. Simply put, they are pain-producing substances. As for C-fibers and Aδ-fibers, they are neurons responsible for transmitting pain signals.)

Because the technique deliberately spared the lungs, stomach, and major vessels, not a single drop of blood could leak to dilute or signal the damage. The agony therefore remained trapped, escalating relentlessly and exponentially as each new pulse of qi re-boiled and re-ground the marrow.

In clinical terms, this would register as sustained 20 out of 10 pain, far surpassing the worst documented bone marrow crises such as sickle cell infarction, multiple myeloma infiltration, or an un-anesthetized marrow biopsy.

It would produce an immediate sympathetic storm, total motor lock, involuntary diaphragmatic spasms, and a scream that originated not from the throat, but from the primitive brainstem itself.

(Author Note: “Sympathetic storm” is a state of sudden, massive overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. It is often seen in severe traumatic brain injury, acute heart failure, and spinal cord injury.)

Cognitive dissolution would follow within seconds. Rational thought would be annihilated, replaced by pure animal panic as the victim experienced the sensation of his entire skeleton being cooked alive and pulverized from within, while the outside world saw an untouched, bloodless body.

No analgesic, no cultivation pill, no mental technique could blunt it. Only unconsciousness, or the death of the marrow nociceptors themselves, would grant relief. This was not a mere injury. This was scientifically engineered skeletal hell.

So… in conclusion… it was terrifying, hellish, and brutally hurt as hell!

And this kind of hellish state of injury… was applied to all of Shen Tianqing’s men.

The agonized screams reverberated throughout the hall. All of the guests’ faces paled. They saw the arrogant and domineering Elder Ming, the one who had fought Wei Chen before and managed to injure him, now lying on the ground in spasms, his eyes bloodshot and filled with terror.

Snot ran down his face, tears streamed endlessly, and his mouth frothed with saliva. His bowels gave out, and warm liquid leaked between his legs. This state was not unique to Elder Ming. The other seven people from Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary were experiencing the same fate.

The four black-armored warriors seemed to notice that they had ruined the mood of this auspicious occasion. They quickly rushed toward their victims and precisely sealed their silence acupoints.

The screams ceased, but the expressions on all eight victims told everyone exactly how hellish their suffering was.

The four warriors then tore cloth from their garments and covered the victims’ faces, carefully laying them flat on the ground.

This reduced the visible brutality somewhat. The guests no longer had to witness the grotesque details, and the hall fell silent.

The four warriors looked back at Youqi, their mistress, and saw her slightly annoyed expression.

They immediately understood what they should do. The four warriors quickly asked Mo Jue where the cleaning supplies were kept, and Mo Jue instructed one of the servants to lead them there.

After a brief moment, four shadows rushed back into the hall. It was the same black-armored warriors, now carrying cleaning supplies.

They swiftly cleaned the saliva and urine, then carefully moved the eight victims out of the hall. After that, they returned to spray deodorant and scatter floral fragrance to freshen the air.

Once everything was done, they returned to Youqi’s side as if nothing had happened.

“Bloody hell…” The scene was so brutal that even Wei Chen slipped into a British mode.

….

Outside, people only saw eight living, spasming bodies with cloth covering their faces. Since there was no noise, everyone outside simply assumed they were drunken troublemakers who had been dragged out by the staff to sleep it off.

….

Shen Tianqing was now sweating buckets. Those eight were not ordinary cultivators. All of them were elites of his Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary, and yet all of them had been reduced to… that.

Some of them were even on the verge of reaching the Void Refining Realm.

And those four black-armored warriors had reduced them to such a state without spilling a single drop of blood. What kind of qi control was this? There was no way ordinary Void Refining Realm cultivators could achieve something like that.

No…

More importantly, why would cultivators at the Void Refining Realm serve as guards? Wait… if they could do that, did it mean their cultivation was beyond the Void Refining Realm?

Impossible!

As the patriarch of Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary, his cultivation stood at the very peak that could exist in the lower realm, the middle stage of the Great Ascension Realm.

And even that, he had only achieved through the sanctuary’s special cultivation method, using the Heavenly Altar.

Who were those four?

Wait…

Did this mean that what this woman said, that she was from the Underworld Palace, was true?

Impossible! There was only one Underworld Palace, he refused to believe that the one before him was the real one!

Then… Did this mean he was facing a new faction with power comparable to the Underworld Palace he knew? That was very likely.

Youqi was enjoying the clown’s performance very much. She even unconsciously revealed a beautiful, sadistic smile that captivated Ximen Hao.

Ximen Hao’s eyes lost focus as he looked at Youqi as if she were a goddess. He did not dare to sully her by staring at her well-endowed bosom. Instead, his gaze slowly drifted downward to her feet.

It was then that he noticed… a pair of strange shoes with high heels.

A glossy red pair of high heels, seemingly crafted from the fine leather of some powerful beast. And somehow…

Somehow, he felt the urge…

The urge to be stepped on by them… by the one wearing them.

“So? How are you going to let us experience your wrath then?” Youqi asked, a hint of her darker side leaking through.

Shen Tianqing gritted his teeth and quickly decided to play his strongest card.

He cupped his fists. “This humble one, Shen Tianqing, has eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. This humble one beseeches Senior to not mind my lack of insight. As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime.”

“Yeah, but arrogance is,” Mo Jue remarked sarcastically.

Shen Tianqing’s brow twitched, but that was all. He chose to ignore the demon’s remark.

“May this humble one know the great name of the sect from which Senior comes?” he asked. Maybe… This was a chance for him to connect with a powerful hidden ancient faction.

With that thought in mind, the pain and humiliation he felt were greatly reduced.

“Didn’t I just say I’m from the Underworld Palace?” Youqi replied.

“Senior must be jesting. I do know some people from the Underworld Palace, and they…”

“Interesting… so this means there are others using the name Underworld Palace, huh? I wonder who they are.” Youqi fell into thought.

Hearing this, Shen Tianqing quickly changed his approach. “If Senior does not wish to reveal her true origin, this humble one does not dare pry any further. This humble one will take his leave first.”

With that, Shen Tianqing quickly tried to sprint away. But the moment his spiritual qi gathered in his legs, he felt a powerful pressure slam him to the ground.

Boom!

His knees buckled under the pressure. He looked up and saw Youqi glaring at him.

“You came uninvited, and you think you can leave as you please?” she asked.

{What!? This… this woman only use her cultivation pressure to force me to kneel!? Who actually is she!?}

Shen Tianqing was alarmed. This was no joking matter. He had unknowingly kicked a steel plate.

Seeing this, Shen Tianqing forced out his words under the immense pressure.

“Then… then… may this humble one know what Senior wishes this humble one to do?”

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