Traveling Together

"Mmm..."

Su Muxue let out a pained groan and slowly opened her eyes.

When she saw Lin Ye, her pupils constricted, and she instinctively tried to retreat. But the movement tugged at her wounds, forcing a muffled grunt of pain.

Lin Ye said indifferently, "The Bone-Eroding poison you were struck with has been temporarily suppressed by me, but the toxins have already seeped into your marrow. You need to circulate your energy to force them out yourself."

Su Muxue sensed the condition of her body, and her expression shifted slightly. She could feel that the poison at the wound on her left shoulder was being suppressed by a strange power, preventing it from spreading further.

"You saved me?" Su Muxue looked at Lin Ye. The vigilance in her eyes had not vanished, but it was now tinged with a hint of complexity.

"It was just a matter of convenience," Lin Ye said calmly. "I need information about the secret realm in exchange."

"What kind of information do you want?"

"The movements of everyone in the secret realm. Especially who is targeting me." Lin Ye stared into her eyes, his gaze seemingly capable of piercing through to the heart.

Su Muxue met his gaze without backing down. "After I entered the secret realm, I was ambushed. The five attackers were all masked and used standard-issue longswords. Their sword techniques carried a baleful aura of blood; it looked like the methods of the Blood Fiend Hall."

"Blood Fiend Hall?" Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.

The Blood Fiend Hall was a mysterious assassination organization within the Qingyun Sect, rumored to be secretly controlled by an inner sect elder, specifically tasked with handling matters that could not see the light of day.

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Su Muxue nodded, a flash of coldness in her eyes. "I practice the Ice Heart Art of Shuiyue Peak, so I am sensitive to these things. The blood-baleful aura contained in their sword techniques was not a disguise."

"Why would they ambush you?"

"I don't know." Su Muxue shook her head. "I suspect someone wants to clear out 'obstacles' in the secret realm. The Shuiyue Token I carry might be one of the targets."

"We are being watched," Lin Ye said flatly.

"Is it because of Wang Meng?"

Su Muxue looked at him. "Because you killed Wang Meng at the Outer Sect Competition?"

"Not just that." Lin Ye did not elaborate, instead asking, "Do you know of any clues to leave the secret realm?"

Su Muxue hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have a partial map in my possession that records the location of a teleportation array in the secret realm, though I don't know if it still works."

As she spoke, she took a map from her bosom and handed it to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye took the map and unfolded it. He could see that a location in the southeast region of the secret realm was marked with an ancient teleportation array.

"Where did you get this map?"

"I found it on a deceased fellow disciple," Su Muxue said. "Before he died, he said this map was passed down from his ancestors. I don't know how reliable it is."

Lin Ye compared the map with the one in his own mind. The teleportation array regions marked on the two maps were completely different; the one Chen Feng gave him was primarily in the northwest, while this map marked the array in the southeast.

"Do you want to verify it?" Lin Ye looked at Su Muxue.

"Yes." Su Muxue nodded. "Staying here, we will be found sooner or later. Rather than waiting here for death, it is better to take a gamble. If the teleportation array can be activated, we might be able to leave the secret realm directly, or be transported to some unknown place."

Lin Ye pondered for a moment and handed the map back. "We can cooperate. If we encounter danger, we will each rely on our own fate."

"Fine." Su Muxue took the map, signaling her agreement.

In this secret realm, having a temporary ally was already rare; she dared not ask for more.

"How long until you can move again?" Lin Ye asked.

"In one hour, I can force out most of the poison and recover fifty percent of my strength," Su Muxue said.

"Then do it quickly." Lin Ye closed his eyes again to regulate his breathing.

An hour later, Su Muxue stood up. Her face was still pale, but her aura had stabilized significantly, and she could move normally.

"I'm ready." She looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye stood up and slung the Star-Shattering Sword onto his back. "Let's go."

The two moved one after the other, heading toward the southeast.

Su Muxue led the way; she was clearly quite familiar with the Bone-Eroding Forest and could avoid some of the more obvious danger zones. Lin Ye followed behind, keeping a lookout on their surroundings.

After traveling more than ten miles, the mist ahead suddenly became dense.

"Be careful, there is a patch of 'Soul-Bewildering Mist' here. It can disrupt one's sense of direction and make people walk in circles," Su Muxue warned.

She took a pale blue jade talisman from her bosom and infused it with true energy. The talisman emitted a soft glow, dispersing the surrounding mist slightly.

Lin Ye nodded, his true energy circulating through his eyes, and the fog before him became much clearer.

This was the prototype of the Star Eye ability he had recently comprehended, capable of seeing through illusions and perceiving the essence of things.

The two stepped into the mist.

The surrounding scenery twisted and changed; at times illusions appeared, and at others, eerie whispers could be heard. Lin Ye's Star Eye remained clear, and the glow from Su Muxue's talisman held steady. The two walked steadily for several miles when the sounds of fighting suddenly erupted ahead.

"There are people ahead!" Su Muxue's expression changed, and she stopped in her tracks.

Lin Ye heard it too; the sounds of combat were coming from several hundred feet away.

"Should we go around?" Su Muxue looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye shook his head: "Let's go take a look."

He took the lead, sneaking toward the direction where the sounds of fighting originated. Su Muxue hesitated for a moment before following him.

The two of them crouched behind a cluster of jagged rocks and peered forward.

In the open clearing ahead, five masked men in black were surrounding an inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

The disciple was struggling to defend himself, clearly at the end of his rope, with wounds covering most of his body.

The five men in black moved with practiced coordination, their swordsmanship fierce and every strike lethal; they were clearly well-trained assassins.

"It's the Blood Fiend Hall!" Su Muxue whispered, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

Lin Ye's gaze swept across the battlefield, and he spotted a familiar figure—Chen Feng!

Chen Feng was drenched in blood, his left arm hanging limp at his side. He held his sword in his right hand, his technique still sharp, but his breathing was erratic, and he was clearly nearing his limit. Two others beside him were also heavily wounded.

"Are we saving him?" Su Muxue asked.

Lin Ye did not answer, his eyes fixed on the men in black. Among these five, three were at the fourth level of the True Qi Realm, and two were at the third level. Under normal circumstances, if he and Su Muxue joined forces with Chen Feng, they would be more than enough to handle them. However, both he and Su Muxue were currently injured and had not yet recovered their full strength.

"Chen Feng and I have some history," Lin Ye said calmly, "but if the situation becomes impossible, I will leave immediately."

Su Muxue nodded: "Understood."

In the middle of the fray, Chen Feng forced one of the men in black back with a strike and shouted sharply: "Who exactly are you people? Why are you trying to kill us all!"

The leader of the men in black sneered: "A dying man has no right to ask questions. Kill him!"

The attackers intensified their assault, their sword light weaving into a net that completely enveloped Chen Feng.

"Now!"

A cold light flashed in Lin Ye's eyes as he lunged from behind the rocks, his sword energy tearing through the air to strike directly at the back of the leader!

Su Muxue also charged out from the other side, her longsword transforming into a beam of ice-blue light as she lunged at another assassin.

"Watch out!"

The leader of the men in black sensed the killing intent behind him, turned in shock, and raised his sword to block.

"Clang!"

The Star-Shattering Sword struck the opponent's blade, and dark golden sword energy erupted, actually carving a notch into the man's weapon! The leader let out a muffled groan and stumbled back several steps, his eyes filled with terror.

"It's you?!" Chen Feng was both shocked and overjoyed to see Lin Ye.

"Deal with the enemies first!" Lin Ye shouted, his sword momentum never faltering as his energy poured out like a cascading galaxy, completely shrouding the leader.

Su Muxue was also locked in combat with another assassin, her ice-blue sword light clashing against his blood-red energy, neither side gaining the upper hand.

Chen Feng's spirits were bolstered, and he fought back with desperate resolve, clashing with the remaining three assassins.

In an instant, the tide of the battle had turned.