880 Perseverance
Among these old injuries, the most important one was a crack in his sea of consciousness. After seeing this, Ye Xuan frowned.

From the looks of things, it had been there for a very long time. Over the past hundred years since that great battle with Mengyu, Ao Lei had not participated in a battle that could result in this injury, so how had it happened?

Ao Lei should have been well aware of it as well, as the sea of consciousness was of grave importance to every cultivator.

Confused, he turned around to look at Gao Shun and the others and asked, “Has Senior Brother Ao suffered any serious injuries in recent years?”

Yuelun and Hua Rufeng had no idea at all. After all, they had not been in the Great Wilderness Divine sect for a long time. Perhaps only Gao Shun might know something about the situation.

At this moment, Gao Shun suddenly came to a realization and said in disbelief, “This… This shouldn’t be the case.”

“Didn’t Senior Brother Ao recover from his injuries in the battle in the desert region? Why is there still a crack in his sea of consciousness?”

Hearing this, Ye Xuan also understood what the reason was. The injuries from that battle when Ao Lei had almost been killed by Meng Yu had persisted until today. It was the same for his teacher, Tian Xuan.

However, Ao Lei did not tell anyone about this matter and kept it hidden, to the point that even Gao Shun was not clear about this matter.

“Sigh, I finally figured it out.”

After sighing, Ye Xuan looked at Ao Lei’s wrinkled face and felt heartfelt admiration. This senior brother of his had relied on pure willpower to survive until now, despite the heavy burdens and responsibilities.

Before his junior brothers and sisters were strong enough to support the sect, he had held down the fort. He persevered despite his injuries, and clung on to life. He was not afraid of death, but he wanted to fulfill his responsibilities to the sect before that.

As such, he had not left the sect for countless years to avoid making his injuries worse. Even when the others went to the ancient tomb, he had stayed back until he was needed.

After all, he knew very well that his body’s condition would not allow him to fight many battles, and thus he simply tried to live longer and buy more time for his junior brothers and sisters to get stronger. After all, his mere existence was a deterrent force against the sect’s enemies.

“Sigh… Senior Brother Ao, you really hid it too well.”
“Junior Brother Ye, what should we do now? Can you save Senior Brother Ao?” Yuelun asked anxiously.

After her teacher passed away in that great battle, it was Ao Lei who had watched over her. Thus, she was as attached as Gao Shun was to Ao Lei.

Ye Xuan gave her a reassuring look and thoughtfully wiped the tears off her face. Ao Lei also held an extremely important position in his heart, as Ao Lei had secretly taken care of him after Tian Xuan’s death.

Just as Ye Xuan was about to speak, Hua Rufeng knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing.

“Martial Uncle Ye, please save Martial Uncle Ao. Even if I have to exchange my life for his, I won’t hesitate.”

Seeing Hua Rufeng’s sorrowful expression, Ye Xuan felt his heart tremble.

Even Zhuge Yueyue and Feng Xiyun, who were not far away, started to cry. Just the mere thought of their teacher ever becoming like this filled their heart with grief.

“Teacher.”

Zhuge Yueyue tugged at Ye Xuan’s arm. She was about to say something when Ye Xuan interrupted her and said to the crowd that had gathered, “Make way.”

After hearing this, everyone moved aside with hopeful expressions on their faces.

Both Yuelun and Gao Shun were excited at this moment. It seemed that their junior brother really might be able to create a miracle.

Yuelun ventured a question. “Junior Brother Ye, can you really save Senior Brother Ao?”

Gao Shun was feeling particularly confident. After all, he had once been saved by Ye Xuan as well, and dragged back from the gates of hell.

Ye Xuan turned around and looked at Yuelun. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I can bring him back to life.”