"GAHHHH!!!"
"RAHHHH!!!"
"ARGHHHH!!!"
Xuan Jin wailed as he felt his body tear itself from the inside out. Each muscle fiber, his tendons and ligaments, his bones and even his very organs all cried out in agony. It was as if the very weight of his own existence was crushing himself.
'Daddy, mummy help!' Jin cried internally, just as any 10 year old would. Unfortunately neither could answer his prayers. The pain continued to tear at him and his mind, and the young boy was swiftly losing hope.
'I-I can't die here!' Quitting was for the weak, and Xuan Jin was not one to consider himself weak. Immediately he began circulating his Xuan Qi throughout his body in hopes of expediting the repair of his body so as to withstand the tearing forces.
Instantly numerous tears throughout his body began repairing themselves, while Jin's Xuan Qi became embedded in the very fabric of his being. Fortunately due to the sheer size of his dantian and the immense density of his Xuan Qi as a 9th Layer Qi Gathering cultivator, he had more than enough Xuan Qi to continually repair his body.
His agony continued, and went on for another 8 hours, every second of which he was conscious for. During his time the circulation of his Xuan Qi throughout his body became almost subconscious and he had grown numb to the pain.
"Pop!"
All of a sudden a hole formed in the red barrier and his pain disappeared, soon after a figure appeared. Looking up as best he could Xuan Jin's eyes soon concentrated on this figure. It was Iris, and she had appeared with what looked like a basket full of meat.
"...Are you okay? This is the meal provided by the tribe." Iris said before setting the basket down near him. Naturally Xuan Jin was too weak and could barely move, so there was no way he could feed himself.
Seeing this, Iris had a look of sadness on her face. She then sat down near the boy and grabbed what seemed to be a leg of meat of some kind and brought it next to Jin's mouth.
Immediately Jin bit into the food before swallowing it as quickly as he could. His brow then raised in shock. 'What is....this density of energy!' He thought as the energy suffused throughout his body, healing and strengthening it.
As a Young Sect Master Xuan Jin had tried his fair share of Demonic Beast meat but this was the first time he'd eaten any with such wondrous effects. Immediately the boy began to rapidly devour the food.
"It seems you have quite the appetite." Iris chuckled before tossing the empty bone into the basket, and grabbing another leg for Jin to eat. Like this about 20 minutes passed, with Xuan Jin voraciously guzzling down the food while Iris helped him eat it.
"BURPP!"
Jin belched before patting his stomach. He had eaten well over his fair share, even Iris was shocked by how much he'd eaten and large appetites were a staple of the Iron Body Tribe. 'Well its just as father suspected. But this, its too cruel....' Iris sighed, as a thought flashed through her mind.
"T-Thank you." With some his strength now regained, Jin turned towards Iris and thanked her. While this was rather cruel and he had suffered greatly, this girl had still saved his life and treated him kindly. His debt lay with the rest of the tribe, and their leader and that would be settled in due time.
"I-Its the least I could do." Iris replied before turning back to the hole in the barrier and then back to Jin. "My father said you'd have 30 minutes to eat, its only been 20, so you have 10 more." She continued before looking at the empty basket.
Her eyes then flickered a bit a decisive light flashing through them. "Xuan Jin....if you can sit up I'll help you a bit." Iris said, confusing Jin somewhat but he decided to follow along.
With as much strength as he could muster he forced himself to sit up with his back straight. Iris then sat behind him placing her two hands on his back. 'What's she going to do? Circulate her Qi through me? But I doubt her cultivation is stronger than mine.'
This was, but wasn't the case simultaneously. If Jin had eyes at the back of his head, right now he'd see Iris' eyes glow a bright green with an image of a green iris flower appearing behind her. A Qi like green energy then wrapped around her hands before piercing into Jin's body.
The boy was shocked, and he immediately began to circulate this energy throughout his body. It was similar to his Xuan Qi, but also completely different. While his Xuan Qi was of a cold and deathly nature, this green energy seemed to promote life and vitality and as it swept through his body it rapidly repaired it.
Within these last 8 hours, his body had been rapidly repaired by his Xuan Qi enhancing it, then the energy from the meat further promoted his recovery and strengthened it even further. Finally Iris' green energy arguably had the greatest effect, healing nearly all the damage while simultaneously transforming his body in merely a few minutes.
Soon the transfer of green energy ended and Iris took her hands off of Jin's back. "This is all I can do for now. I hope I helped." Iris said before grabbing the basket and exiting the altar.
"Thank you Iris!" Jin's voice sounded just before the barrier closed up once again. And like clockwork the tearing feeling reappeared once again.
"ARGHH!!"
The pain was agonizing and his body was still ripping itself apart, but Jin quickly noticed that unlike before his body was more resistant to the tearing. Not only that but remnants of Iris' green energy helped to swiftly recover his body.
'Maybe I'll really survive a week.' The boy thought to himself before circulating his Xuan Qi. After all before thinking about a week, he'd need to survive today.