"..."

No words came out.

His mind was a bit dazed, his brain racing at full speed. For a moment, he even wondered if there was something wrong with his intelligence. Why would such an outstanding heir to the Imperial Family suddenly undergo such a drastic change in disposition?

What exactly is this so-called Feathered Disease? Why must an unborn fetus be extracted directly from its mother? Are you an Evil Cultivator?

Only Cen Yueyue scowled, her almond eyes sweeping fiercely, revealing a domineering and cold gaze.

"Hmph, truly nothing good. If this person falls into my hands, I'll surely let him taste the agony of being devoured by a myriad of Gu Worms."

To give credit, although Cen Yueyue always seemed unserious, when she harbored murderous intent, her oppressive aura was considerable. The characteristic of Southern Border Witchcraft was inherently unpredictable. They never excelled in frontal confrontations, making Cen Family Village exceptionally unique in the entire Southern Border.

Yet Elder Ge did not agree with the young girl's statement. A slight smirk appeared on his lips, seemingly tinged with mockery, though it wasn't aimed at Cen Yueyue, nor was it mocking that Prince Ji.

Instead, it was a mockery of the pitiful fate of this prince.

"His Feathered Disease is probably a hundred times more painful than your Southern Border's myriad Gu Worms devouring the soul."

The pupils contracted!

Her first reaction was disbelief, wanting to voice opposition. The myriad Gu Worms devouring the soul was one of the most venomous tactics in the entire Southern Border, devouring not only the blood and flesh but also the soul of others, using the opponent's body as a host for the worms.

Continuously devouring, leaving one conscious while being gnawed to bare bones alive, then using the power of the Gu Worms to regenerate flesh and blood, cycling repetitively until the body completely loses its capability to regenerate, even the Divine Soul is tortured to become a parasitic host for the worms.

Even someone like Cen Yueyue from the Southern Border couldn't think of a torture more cruel than the myriad Gu Worms devouring the soul, but Elder Ge merely smiled patiently. For before knowing of the "Feathered Disease," he could not fathom a torture more terrifying.

"The myriad Gu Worms devouring the soul can only torment a cultivator for several years; most cannot sustain their flesh and Divine Soul for more than a year before they utterly collapse and perish. But this Feathered Disease, you simply can't imagine."

"What is Feathering?"

"A pupa transforming into an insect, an insect becoming a cicada, this is feathering. The physical body and Divine Soul are purified and elevated, human and Tao become one, breaking the cocoon, being reborn, this is the achievement all cultivators yearn for, and indeed is the ascent by Feathering."

"But Prince Ji's illness is notably absent of the ascent; he merely transforms repeatedly back into a pupa, shedding his outer layer again and again, cycling continuously, not just his physical body undergoes this metamorphosis, his Divine Soul as well."

"His whole skin and flesh peel away to reveal stark white bones, only to be healed and restored as new under the protection of the Imperial bloodline of the East Sea Clan and the means of his kin, the Divine Soul too follows this cycle."

"That Prince Ji lies on the bed as if alive yet dead, every time restored by his kin's efforts and bloodline enrichment, he can only watch as his body, much like a corpse long neglected, begins to decay and putrefy, a fate worse than death."

"Skin flakes away like wall paint revealing fresh red muscle, thereafter the muscle rots exposing stark white bones. During this entire process, he remains conscious, experiencing the dual decay of body and Divine Soul, endlessly cycling for a century."

"This is the Feathered Disease."

Both faces changed simultaneously.

The simple, understated description was enough to give one goosebumps just by listening. Cen Yueyue's expression changed drastically because it was an utterly terrifying condition beyond her comprehension. She could fully imagine the enormous disparity for such a once-grand person to become so now.

Enduring the torture while alive without release, the family could not even grant him peace for the sake of continuing the bloodline, merely prolonging his life by every means possible, at least until the next heir is born, he absolutely cannot die. Such family legacy is something she understands very well, along with how significant a bloodline is.

The Heavenly Dao is merciless, the more one enjoys a superior bloodline, the more it imposes severe limitations on a family or even a race, particularly such Imperial bloodlines mostly single-handedly passed on, usually not exceeding two individuals, the more the bloodline power is inherited, the more heavily it dilutes.

This holds true even for the Human Clan; high-level cultivators often expend great effort to nurture a prodigious child, only to lose the ability to have more. Some with unstable foundations might even drop a realm, much like Cen Yueyue.

If you now ask Cloud Fairy for another child, setting aside the question of successfully giving birth, even if it were successful, it couldn't possess Cen Yueyue's talents. Just like many emperors' offspring, the East Sea Clan's Imperial bloodline follows suit.

The entire clan's bloodline, fortune, all converge into one, paving the way for his current excellence; this level of bloodline simply doesn't permit premature deaths, nor innate deficiencies, as it's the culmination of the top cultivators and the clan's fortune.

With the entire clan safeguarding, no unexpected events could occur, one prospers, all prosper, one declines, all decline, the rise and fall of the whole clan rests on one person, this is the so-called Imperial Rank.

And this prince didn't disappoint his kin either; judging by his reputation and realm advancing before he got ill a hundred years ago, it tells what a monster he was, a Nascent Soul in his twenties, possessing the world's top bloodline, using your toes to think can still realize how monstrous Prince Ji would become once grown.

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