Jumanji and the elderly High Elder continued through the corridors of the sprawling house.
Silence blanketed the place like a protective shroud, shadows dancing on the walls with every step. No human bustle could be heard; it was as if the house had been emptied in preparation for this decisive moment.
The only sound was the rhythmic echo of their footsteps, which grew heavier as they approached the heart of the residence.
They finally stopped before a wooden door adorned with translucent engravings that allowed a faint light to seep through from within.
Before the Elder could ask for permission, a majestic voice—weak but carrying an unbreakable resonance of authority—pierced their ears:
"Come in."
***
The door opened slowly to reveal a spacious room filled with the scent of spiritual incense.
Seated alone in the center was a man who scrutinized them with eyes as sharp as a polished blade. It was Leader Neron.
Despite his pallor, his presence dominated the room, making the air feel heavy and charged with silent anticipation.
Neron had recently faced a severe spiritual setback. Ever since his "Farm Fetus" entered a deep slumber, his body had suffered a violent energy backlash that nearly decimated his foundations.
The internal hemorrhaging had drained his strength, leaving him with a deathly pallor. Despite this frailty, he remained seated with the dignity of a solid rock unmoved by the wind.
The elderly Elder bowed with total reverence, followed by Jumanji with a measured bow befitting a confident cultivator before a tribal lord.
Neron raised a hand in a weary but majestic greeting. Before Jumanji could settle into his place, the Leader spoke in a voice echoing with exhaustion:
"Spiritual Fellow... we meet again."
"I hope the sixty days you spent in seclusion have prepared you fully to heal the leech. As you can see, time is no longer a luxury, and life is slowly slipping away from me."
Jumanji scrutinized Neron's face. With his deep experience, he thought with hidden irony:
*You talk about running out of time? What a liar. I know for a fact you can endure for much longer.*
Despite his internal monologue, Jumanji maintained his outward calm.
"I am fully prepared to heal this leech," he said confidently. "Those months of seclusion were not in vain; they were a critical phase to gather enough energy before beginning the treatment of the Fetus."
Neron nodded, his face turning solemn. "Very well then, let us begin. There is no room for further delay."
***
The moment Neron finished speaking, he made a subtle movement with his hands that seemed to tear the very fabric of reality.
In the blink of an eye, Jumanji and the High Elder found themselves inside the Leader's "Spiritual Farm."
The landscape was vast and green, flourishing with dense spiritual energy. However, the scene was horrifying.
The ground was saturated with deep fissures, like bleeding wounds in the body of the world—a clear sign of the imminent collapse threatening Neron's core.
Jumanji did not linger on the scenery. He spoke in a sharp, decisive tone:
"I want to see the Fetus. Now."
Neron and the Elder exchanged quick glances before Neron nodded in silence. At that moment, the air before them ripped open, and the Spiritual Fetus emerged.
The leech floated in a weak aura that was nearly vanishing, taking the form of a black "Seahorse" with majestic features and dark, studded scales like ancient armor.
*A Seahorse leech!* Jumanji shouted in his mind, examining the crumbling creature.
Though the specific abilities of this type remained a mystery to him, his experience confirmed one fact:
*This isn't just an ordinary spiritual creature... it's a Fetus belonging to the Seventh Rank!*
***
Jumanji pulled out a vial containing a liquid he had meticulously prepared during his seclusion—a complex blend of rare spiritual plant extracts fused with the energy of two Ninth-Rank leeches.
He then produced the "Dawn Dew Coral leech" he had received from the Flower Elder.
In Jumanji's Spiritual Farm, where time accelerates, this leech had undergone a terrifying refinement. It had been treated daily with Jumanji's own blood for what equated to a full year of saturation.
The Coral leech now carried a piece of Jumanji's vital essence. This was the true secret behind the long delay; Jumanji wasn't just looking for a superficial cure—he had something else in mind.
"Now," Jumanji said with unwavering confidence. "The healing begins."
He sat cross-legged before the failing Fetus, focusing entirely on the moment.
He held the purple vial in one hand and the Coral leech in the other. With a sudden, artistic movement, he squeezed the leech in a strange manner.
A concentrated essence, like a miniature waterfall of blood, flowed into the purple liquid.
Amidst this mixture, a microscopic leech—hidden carefully by Jumanji—slipped in.
Neither Neron nor the Elder noticed it, but it was the missing piece of Jumanji's puzzle. Upon contact, a thick red smoke accompanied by a pungent scent of blood filled the Spiritual Farm.
The two men watched in astonishment. Jumanji whispered to himself, "Now... is the time."
***
He began dripping the purple mixture onto the black Seahorse's body.
Every drop that touched the dark scales pumped a wave of pure vital energy into the Fetus.
But as that tiny, unknown leech fell with one of the drops, the scene changed instantly.
The Fetus shook with unprecedented violence, as if lightning had struck its core.
The entire Spiritual Farm began to reel; the cracks in the earth widened, and Neron's spiritual stability was pushed to the brink.
Neron's blood ran cold as he watched his inner world tremble.
"Is the Farm collapsing?" the Elder cried in terror.
Jumanji was in a difficult position. Sweat poured from his brow as he gritted his teeth.
*Damn it... the blood the leech absorbed earlier wasn't enough to tame a Seventh-Rank beast!* Realizing the situation required a massive gamble, Jumanji made a swift move.
He sliced his wrist with an invisible spiritual blade, letting his hot blood pour into the purple liquid and directly onto the "small leech" resting on the Fetus's back.
Neron and the Elder watched in shock.
"What is this madman doing?" Neron wondered, but he dared not interrupt.
As the tremors grew more violent, Jumanji realized he had to go to the extreme.
He sliced his other hand without hesitation, doubling the waterfall of blood pouring over the Fetus in a desperate attempt to impose his vital will upon the Black Seahorse and extinguish the Farm's rebellion.
The Dawn Dew Coral leech received the blood with terrifying greed, as if it were a creature that had been parched for centuries.
It "bathed" in the crimson liquid, draining Jumanji's spirit even faster than his body. His face grew as pale as a corpse.
***
Finally, the tiny, unknown leech slipped deep into the black Fetus, leaving a microscopic hole that quickly healed under the purple liquid.
*You little rascal...* Jumanji thought, gathering his strength.
*It is the "Dominator's Blood leech." It's not an ordinary leech; it's a parasite that only thrives inside another leech, and the Coral leech is its only vessel.*
Jumanji breathed a secret sigh of gratitude for having extracted this secret from the labyrinth of Mahinour's mysterious memories.
After what felt like an eternity, the Spiritual Farm regained its lost stillness.
A majestic golden aura gathered around the Fetus, spinning the chaos back into a stable fabric.
Jumanji breathed a sigh of relief. "It worked... in the end."
He didn't waste a second. He pulled a "Black Cat Plant" from his bag and swallowed it quickly.
Moments later, his deep wounds began to close, and the flow of blood stopped.
The deep fissures in the Farm's ground slowly began to knit back together, as if the place was regaining its breath.
The Elder and Neron watched this miraculous transformation in stunned silence.
A smile of relief and appreciation finally
touched Neron's lips. He could feel life flowing back into the Black Seahorse leech.
His Farm was returning to its former glory.
**End of Chapter**