"They're... preparing a blood sacrifice." Su Muxue's voice was hoarse. "The Shuiyue Token is one of the keys. Without Shui Linglong's incantation, forcing open the Blood Pool will cause a huge disturbance and might even backfire on them. But judging by the way things look, they can't wait any longer."
"We have to get out of here," Chen Feng said in a low voice. "Brother Lin and Senior Sister Shui won't last much longer. If we stay here, we're just waiting to die."
"How do we leave?" Su Muxue gave a bitter smile. "The Blood Fiend Hall's people are all outside. If they spot us..."
"Cough, cough..." Shui Linglong, who had been unconscious all this time, suddenly coughed violently. Dark red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her aura grew terribly erratic.
"Senior Sister Shui!" Su Muxue hurriedly supported her and sent True Qi into her body, trying to stabilize her heart meridians.
But Shui Linglong's injuries were severe, and she had also been poisoned by a bizarre blood fiend toxin. Now that it had suddenly flared up, Su Muxue's True Qi couldn't stop the poison from spreading.
"The Shuiyue Token... is in my arms..." Shui Linglong struggled to open her eyes and gripped Su Muxue's hand tightly. "Use Ice Heart Blood to activate it... It can open a passage... to the Shuiyue Forbidden Land..."
"Senior Sister, don't speak. Hang on!" Su Muxue cried urgently.
"No... listen to me..." Summoning the last of her strength, Shui Linglong pulled a palm-sized token from her robe and pressed it into Su Muxue's hand.
"The passage... can only send one person..." The light in her eyes quickly dimmed. "Tell Master... the Blood Fiend Hall has allied with the Master... and is plotting against Guixu..."
Before she could finish, Shui Linglong's head lolled to one side, and she slipped completely into unconsciousness.
"Senior Sister Shui!" Su Muxue cried in grief. No matter how much True Qi she poured into her, Shui Linglong gave no response.
Clutching the Shuiyue Token, she looked at the unconscious Shui Linglong and Lin Ye, torn by indecision.
The Blood Fiend Hall had allied with the Master and was plotting against Guixu... If this came to pass, the entire Qingyun Sect would face disaster. Someone had to get the message out.
But who should go?
"Senior Sister Su..." Chen Feng had realized something was wrong, and his expression turned complicated. "Senior Sister Shui, she..."
"The Shuiyue Token can open a passage out of here, but it can only send one person," Su Muxue said without hiding anything.
After a moment of silence, Chen Feng spoke slowly, his voice hoarse. "Senior Sister Su, you should go. You're a disciple of Shuiyue Peak. You're the only one who can survive in the forbidden land and get the message out. We'll stay behind and hold them off as long as we can, to buy you time."
"No!" Su Muxue immediately shook her head. "If we leave, we leave together. If we stay, we stay together! How can I..."
"This isn't the time to act on impulse." Chen Feng looked straight at her, his gaze unwavering. "If one of the four of us survives, that's better than all of us dying here. The Shuiyue Token can only serve its purpose in your hands. And Brother Lin has some strange abilities. There may still be a chance for him."
Su Muxue opened her mouth, but found herself unable to argue.
"There isn't much time left." Chen Feng looked outside. "The blood sacrifice could begin at any moment. Once the Blood Pool takes shape, we won't be able to leave even if we want to. Senior Sister, decide quickly!"
The hand holding the Shuiyue Token trembled slightly.
"Senior Sister Su!"
"Fine." She gritted her teeth and agreed, no longer hesitating.
She bit the tip of her tongue and forced out a drop of Ice Heart Blood, letting it fall onto the token.
"Buzzz—!"
The Shuiyue Token suddenly erupted in brilliant icy-blue light. Runes intertwined in midair, forming a swirling passage in the narrow crevice.
The disturbance immediately alerted the people outside.
"Over there! There's an energy fluctuation!"
"Quick! They're hiding there!"
Their position was completely exposed.
"Go!" Chen Feng stood in the entrance to the crevice with his saber held across it.
Su Muxue no longer hesitated. Carrying the unconscious Shui Linglong, she stepped into the vortex.
"Buzzz!" Blue light flashed, and her figure was swallowed up.
"Stop her! Don't let her escape!"
"Boom!"
The vines were ripped apart, and several Blood Fiend Hall disciples rushed in, just in time to see the vortex about to vanish.
"Looking for death!" the leader roared, swinging his saber at Chen Feng.
"Clang!" Sparks flew. Chen Feng staggered backward from the impact, but still blocked the entrance with all his strength.
"Kill him! Seize that brat!"
More Blood Fiend Hall disciples surged in, and a flash of blades swallowed Chen Feng in an instant.
He roared and fought desperately, but several wounds appeared on him in an instant.
"Pfft—"
A long sword pierced straight through his chest.
Chen Feng's body stiffened. He lowered his head and stared at the sword tip jutting from his chest. The bewilderment in his eyes faded, leaving only a trace of relief.
"Brother Lin... In the next life... we'll fight side by side again..."
Before he could finish, the light in his eyes went out, and his body slowly fell.
"Chen Feng—!!!"
Su Muxue's anguished cry rang out from deep within the vortex. As the spatial fluctuations faded, the passage vanished completely.
Lin Ye lay quietly on the ground, utterly unaware of the tragedy unfolding around him.
"The deputy hall master ordered us to bring him back alive or dead! That brat's still breathing. Tie him up and take him away!" The leader sneered.
Two of his men immediately took out specially made chains and went to bind Lin Ye.
The moment their fingers touched Lin Ye—
Lin Ye, who hadn't moved at all, gave a slight shudder.
An invisible field slowly spread out from him, covering only the three feet around his body.
The two Blood Fiend Hall disciples abruptly froze. The sneers on their faces locked in place, and their eyes widened with utter terror. They toppled straight to the ground, blood pouring from every orifice.
"What?!"
The leader's expression changed drastically. He staggered back several steps, staring at the two corpses in disbelief.
"Monster!" His voice trembled.
An unconscious man, gravely wounded, had killed two experts at the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm without making a sound.
"Deputy Hall Master! Something's wrong here!" The leader didn't dare approach and shouted toward the outside.
"Useless! You can't even handle a half-dead man!"
Xue Li swept his gaze over the scene and fixed it on the invisible field around Lin Ye. His eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Good! Good! So you really are no ordinary person!" Xue Li licked his lips. "No wonder you killed so many of my men and fought your way out of the camp! There's definitely a great secret hidden in this brat. This strange field... Could it be some kind of lost special constitution?"
"Deputy Hall Master, what do we do now?" an elder asked gravely, eyeing Lin Ye with deep wariness.
"Take him back! Lock him up with the Soul Refining Lock and haul him to the Blood Pool!" A crazed look flashed in Xue Li's eyes. "The blood sacrifice still needs high-quality offerings and souls! This brat, together with Shui Linglong's soul, will be enough to fully activate the Blood Pool and draw down even more of the Master's power!"
"Yes!"
Four disciples carrying Soul Refining Locks cautiously approached Lin Ye.
They didn't dare touch him directly. Instead, they threw the Soul Refining Locks from a distance, sending them toward Lin Ye's body.
Lin Ye's body shook even more violently, and the strange patterns on his skin lit up.
"Boom—!"
A field brimming with an urge to devour instantly spread through the entire crevice and surged outward.
The moment the field erupted, the blood-red runes on the four Soul Refining Locks disintegrated. The chains snapped apart inch by inch, like rotting wood.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
All four disciples were sent flying into the rock wall. By the time they hit the ground, they were barely breathing.
"What?!" Xue Li's pupils shrank. This bizarre field could shatter magical artifacts and grievously injure cultivators in an instant?
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