Wind-Erosion Canyon

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The threat of the subterranean fire was now imminent. The stone steps beneath their feet grew scorching hot, the pungent scent of burning sulfur in the air intensified, and the dark red glow churning from deep underground became blinding.

"Do or die!"

Su Muxue stowed away the dimming crystal, hoisted the unconscious Lin Ye onto her back, and gritted her teeth to drag the severely wounded Chen Feng, struggling to move upward along the stairs.

"Rumble—!!!"

A deafening roar exploded from the depths of the staircase. The entire passage shook violently, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly crawled across the stone walls on both sides.

A terrifying torrent, laden with intense heat, whistled upward, surging madly along the steps.

Lin Ye's body shuddered violently without warning.

"Hum—!!!"

An invisible force field erupted from the center of Lin Ye, enveloping both Su Muxue and Chen Feng.

The violent fire-attribute energy within the subterranean flames, the essence of the earth, and even the chaotic baleful aura lingering in the Ancient Battlefield were forcibly devoured and absorbed by the seed within his body.

The force field surrounding the three grew increasingly stable as a result, with the surging subterranean fire being continuously drawn in and converted entirely into nutrients for the seed.

What... had Lin Ye become?

It was unknown how much time had passed before the subterranean fire surging from the depths gradually subsided.

"Thud."

Su Muxue's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground along with Lin Ye on her back.

She looked at Lin Ye, who remained unconscious beside her, then glanced at Chen Feng, whose breathing had gradually stabilized, her heart still racing with lingering fear.

"We must leave this place as soon as possible..."

Su Muxue gritted her teeth and dragged Lin Ye and Chen Feng out of the cave entrance, finding a sheltered rock face to rest temporarily.

She swallowed a healing pill and leaned against the rock, circulating her energy to recover.

When the blood moon in the sky had shifted a distance further, Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes.

The moment their gazes met, a chill ran down Su Muxue's spine.

"Lin Ye?"

"Su Muxue." Lin Ye's voice was hoarse and dry.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've recovered some."

"What about Chen Feng?"

"He hasn't woken up yet, but his life is not in danger; he just needs time to recuperate."

Lin Ye struggled to sit up, his movements stiff. Su Muxue reached out to help him, but he gently waved her off.

He sat cross-legged, actively circulating his internal cultivation technique to guide the seed in absorbing and converting the residual subterranean fire energy.

Su Muxue suppressed the doubts in her heart and closed her eyes once more to recover.

By the time Lin Ye opened his eyes again, the sense of weakness throughout his body had dissipated.

"How is your recovery?" Su Muxue opened her eyes at the right moment to ask.

"We can move on."

"We must reach the Wind-Erosion Canyon as soon as possible."

"Chen Feng, he..."

"I'll carry him." Lin Ye walked over to Chen Feng and easily hoisted him onto his back.

"Let's go."

He took the lead, heading toward the depths of the forbidden zone.

"According to the map, once we pass through that Ghost-Howl Stone Forest ahead, we will reach the entrance of the Wind-Erosion Canyon." Su Muxue pointed to an area ahead composed of dark red stone pillars.

The map indicated that this stone forest was the transition zone between Feiqiu and the Wind-Erosion Canyon, with complex terrain and many hidden demonic beasts skilled in ambush.

Lin Ye nodded, his pace unceasing as he was the first to step into the stone forest.

Inside the stone forest, the light grew dimmer, and the paths were winding and narrow.

Not long after they entered, several black shadow spiders slid silently down the stone walls on both sides.

But the moment they approached within three yards of Lin Ye, they suddenly froze in place as if they had collided with an invisible, thick wall. Their eight legs scrambled frantically, and they instantly turned around, scurrying back into the shadows of the stone crevices and disappearing.

It was that same inexplicable deterrent force field.

The journey proceeded without further incident, and the three soon passed through the Ghost-Howl Stone Forest. The view ahead suddenly opened up, and a bottomless canyon rift lay before them.

This was the Wind-Erosion Canyon.

"Down we go." Lin Ye did not hesitate in the slightest. Carrying Chen Feng, he found a relatively gentle slope and leaned forward to climb down.

The moment they stepped into the canyon, a gale suddenly raged, and sand and dust swept across the sky.

The strange force field around Lin Ye's body spontaneously expanded once more, forming an invisible barrier that blocked out the majority of the wind and sand. Su Muxue quickly hurried closer, ducking into the range of the field, and the pressure on her body plummeted instantly.

They trudged forward with difficulty against the howling gale along the side of the canyon, searching for the sheltered cave marked on their map.

About an hour later, a dark, gaping hole finally appeared beneath the rock wall ahead.

"This is the place." Lin Ye stepped into the cave first.

"It's safe here for now. You look after him; I'm going to scout the area outside and see if I can find some water and food." Lin Ye turned to say to Su Muxue.

Su Muxue nodded and cautioned, "Be careful."

Lin Ye gathered some relatively normal-looking moss and lichen around the canyon and took out the empty jade bottle he carried with him to collect a few bottles of fresh water.

Just as he was preparing to head back to the cave, a sharp, piercing avian cry suddenly rang out from overhead!

"Skree--!"

Lin Ye looked up abruptly to see three Wind-Rending Falcons with cold, gleaming eyes folding their wings and diving straight toward him.

His gaze turned icy. He stomped hard against the ground, his body launching into the air like a bolt from a crossbow, and he swung his sword directly to meet the Wind-Rending Falcons.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Caught off guard, the three Wind-Rending Falcons felt as if they had slammed into an invisible mountain, their diving momentum coming to an abrupt halt.

Taking advantage of their brief moment of paralysis, Lin Ye closed the distance, his sword tip piercing precisely into the throat of one of them.

"Shing!"

The blade passed through without resistance, instantly snuffing out its life.

The other two Wind-Rending Falcons were filled with shock and rage. They let out even sharper shrieks and flapped their wings frantically, sending several invisible wind blades slicing toward Lin Ye.

The force field around Lin Ye's body surged instantly. The wind blades only stirred up tiny ripples as they struck it. He didn't stop, closing in once more as the Star-Shattering Sword struck out repeatedly, aiming precisely for the heads of the two falcons.

"Puff! Puff!"

After two soft sounds, the heads of the two Wind-Rending Falcons burst open.

Lin Ye landed steadily back on the ground, his expression calm as he looked at the three carcasses. He stepped forward to dissect the bodies of the Wind-Rending Falcons, extracted their monster cores, and carved off a few pieces of tender breast meat before turning back toward the cave with his spoils.

A flash of joy crossed Su Muxue's eyes when she saw the monster cores and meat he brought back.

Lin Ye handed the monster cores to her: "Wind-attribute monster cores; they might be useful for your cultivation."

Su Muxue reached out to take them and said softly, "Thank you."

The night passed without incident; the wind howled outside the cave, but inside, it was steady and peaceful.

The next morning, Chen Feng finally opened his eyes slowly.

"Don't move." Su Muxue quickly reached out to press him down. "Your injuries are severe; you still need to rest."

Chen Feng looked around blankly. Once he realized where he was, his gaze fell on Lin Ye, who was standing with his back to the cave entrance. His tense body relaxed slightly, and his voice was weak and hoarse: "Where are we? And Brother Lin..."

"A temporary shelter in the Wind-Erosion Canyon. Lin Ye is fine." Su Muxue briefly explained what had happened along the way.

After listening, Chen Feng sighed softly: "I owe Brother Lin my life once again."

Su Muxue didn't say much, handing him the prepared roasted meat and water.

Over the next two days, the three of them remained in the cave to recover from their injuries. Lin Ye circulated his cultivation technique to digest the earth-fire energy he had absorbed, while Su Muxue looked after the severely wounded Chen Feng and occasionally refined the wind-attribute monster core. Both their injuries and their cultivation levels were slowly recovering.

On the morning of the third day, Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of dark gold light vanished from his pupils, and his aura was steady; his strength had already recovered by seventy percent.

It was time to move on.

"Pack up. We leave today to cross the Wind-Erosion Canyon and head toward the Skeleton Plains." Lin Ye stood up and said in a deep voice to Su Muxue and Chen Feng.

Su Muxue nodded and quickly packed the meager luggage they had left, while Chen Feng also forced himself to stand up despite his injuries.

They had no way back; only by pushing forward and finding a way out of this wasteland could they truly survive.

The three of them finished their preparations and walked out of the cave together, throwing themselves once more into the howling winds of the canyon.