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Su Muxue's fingertips tightened around the cold box as she watched Lin Ye's retreating figure vanish in the distance, her expression unreadable.
Chen Feng clenched his fists. His eyes held worry, along with a helpless frustration that he couldn't do anything to help.
Lin Ye drew in all the energy around him, his figure slipping into the darkness until he was almost one with this killing ground.
He circled the camp's perimeter, carefully surveying it. The restrictions around the camp weren't especially profound; to Lin Ye, who was skilled in formations and possessed a special sense, they were far from flawless.
He soon found a steep rock face, hidden from the patrols' line of sight.
He climbed it without a sound, sensing the flow of energy through the restrictions below.
A moment later, a flash of light passed through his eyes. He seized his chance, gathering a wisp of true qi at his fingertip and precisely striking a node in the restrictions' energy flow.
The node dimmed at once, opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
"Who's there?!" Two nearby Blood Fiend Hall disciples seemed to sense something. They warily looked in his direction.
Lin Ye flashed past and silently dropped into the shadows inside the camp wall. He quickly concealed his aura, blending into the shadow in the corner.
The two patrolmen searched around the gap but found nothing amiss. Muttering a few words, they turned and left.
Lin Ye felt slightly relieved.
The camp's layout was crude and simple. Several of the largest stone buildings stood in the center, surrounded by dozens of smaller stone huts and tents.
In the open ground, more than a dozen Blood Fiend Hall disciples were practicing a coordinated battle formation.
He had to find out their exact purpose as quickly as possible, along with the camp's defenses and any potential weaknesses.
Like an invisible shadow, he used the buildings' shade and the gaps between patrols to silently make his way toward the largest stone buildings in the camp's center.
The closer he got to the center, the more heavily guarded it became. There were not only guards in plain sight and hidden sentries, but also even stronger restrictions around the stone buildings.
Lin Ye didn't dare get too close. Instead, he chose a relatively secluded stone hut as his target.
He circled around behind it, where he found a tiny window. With his current control over his body, he could just barely bring his eye close enough to peer inside.
The room was dim. By the light of a few oil lamps on the walls, Lin Ye made out what was inside.
The room was spacious, with more than a dozen people shackled by thick iron chains.
Most of them wore tattered clothes and bore obvious wounds and marks of torture. They were clearly cultivators from other sects.
At the very back of the cell, a girl lay unconscious, locked up separately.
The moment Lin Ye saw her face, his pupils abruptly contracted!
It was Shui Linglong!
The inner sect prodigy from Shuiyue Peak who had subtly warned Lin Ye to beware of Zhao Mingxuan.
Had the Blood Fiend Hall captured her too? Judging by her condition, she was gravely injured and had also been afflicted with some kind of restriction.
If Shui Linglong was here, then where was the "Shuiyue Token" she carried?
As Lin Ye pondered this, the cell door was pushed open.
Two Blood Fiend Hall disciples walked in, heading straight for Shui Linglong.
"This woman's got a real hard head. She still won't hand over the activation incantation for the 'Shuiyue Token,' even after all this." The scar-faced disciple cursed.
"Hmph. No matter how hard her head is, she'll talk under the Soul-Refining Blood Flame. The vice hall master is already out of patience. The 'blood sacrifice' is tomorrow, so we have to get the Shuiyue Token today." The tall, thin disciple sneered.
The two walked up to Shui Linglong and roughly grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up.
Shui Linglong groaned in pain and managed to open her eyes. A trace of cold defiance still lingered in them.
"Talk! What's the activation incantation for the Shuiyue Token? Otherwise, tonight you'll find out what the Soul-Refining Blood Flame feels like!" the scar-faced disciple barked.
Shui Linglong's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but all she did was cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Stubborn to the end!" A murderous glint flashed in the tall, thin disciple's eyes. He took a palm-sized bone token from his robes and moved to press it against Shui Linglong's head.
A cold gleam burst from Lin Ye's eyes! He couldn't stand by and watch Shui Linglong be tortured to death, and he couldn't let the Shuiyue Token fall into the Blood Fiend Hall's hands.
He had to save Shui Linglong and stop their "blood sacrifice" tomorrow.
In the split second that followed, thoughts raced through Lin Ye's mind.
His gaze swept over the other shackled cultivators in the cell, then over the two Blood Fiend Hall disciples focused entirely on Shui Linglong. He made his decision.
He quietly stepped back a few paces, took out the Soul-Bewildering Smoke pellets he had found on the gray-robed man, and then pulled out the bone fragments he had collected earlier.
He gently flicked the fragments toward the opposite side of the cell.
"Clack! Clack!"
The sound of bone hitting the floor rang out sharply in the silent cell.
"Who's there?!" The Blood Fiend Hall disciples sprang to attention and turned toward the sound.
Lin Ye moved!
He squeezed through the gap in the window in an instant, firing two Soul-Bewildering Smoke pellets straight at their faces!
"Cough, cough! We're under attack!" The scar-faced disciple cried out in shock and fury, swinging his weapon wildly as he raised the alarm.
The tall, thin disciple shouted too, and the "Soul-Refining Blood Flame" talisman in his hand burst into a dark red glow.
Lin Ye flashed in front of them! The Star-Shattering Sword pierced straight through the blood-red shields they had hastily gathered...
"Ugh..."
The scar-faced disciple and the tall, thin disciple stiffened at the same time, their eyes wide with terror. Then they slumped to the ground, lifeless.
A single strike, a clean kill!
But the alarm had already been raised! The camp outside the cell was instantly thrown into an uproar!
"Enemy attack! From the cells!"
"Someone's breaking the prisoners out! Hurry!"
The clatter of footsteps surged in from every direction! Several powerful auras erupted from the largest stone buildings at the camp's center.
He'd been discovered!
Lin Ye's expression remained cold, without a trace of panic. He rushed to Shui Linglong, cut through her chains, and hoisted her onto his back, securing her with a strip of cloth.
Shui Linglong's body was cold. She was still faintly conscious and managed to clutch Lin Ye's robe.
"Hold on." Lin Ye spoke in a low voice, hoisted Shui Linglong onto his back, and charged toward the cell door!
Since he'd already been exposed, he'd fight his way out! Taking advantage of the chaos, he would rush back to where Su Muxue and Chen Feng were hiding, then break out together!
"Boom!"
Lin Ye kicked the cell door open! Seven or eight Blood Fiend Hall disciples had already gathered outside. Seeing him charge out with someone on his back, they immediately roared and lunged at him!
"Anyone who stands in my way dies!"
Killing intent surged in Lin Ye's eyes. The Star-Shattering Sword swept out a storm of death, wrapped in a terrifying force as he charged brazenly into the crowd!
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