How about I find somewhere to hide?

Beneath the vine-covered cliff, fierce winds howled as Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou plummeted toward the abyss.

Held protectively in Jiang Lingzhou's arms, Xie Wenyun was about to struggle when Jiang Lingzhou pressed his head down. "Don't move!"

Rocks from the cliff fell at that very moment.

Pain struck Jiang Lingzhou's back. He gave a muffled groan, and his arms around Xie Wenyun slowly loosened.

"Jiang Lingzhou!"

Just as despair was about to engulf Xie Wenyun, vines on the cliff face caught them both, abruptly arresting their fall.

Jiang Lingzhou's unconscious body also caught on the vines as he fell, bringing him to a stop.

When Xie Wenyun looked at Jiang Lingzhou, who was tangled in the vines, and saw that he was only unconscious, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He lowered his gaze to his palm. In it lay a ring Jiang Lingzhou always carried, a magical artifact that could save his life.

He remembered how Jiang Lingzhou had shielded him in his arms just now. His own clothes were not even torn, yet Jiang Lingzhou was now covered in small cuts from branches and vines.

Even the face he usually took such pride in bore several wounds.

Xie Wenyun frowned slightly. He had never expected Jiang Lingzhou to be willing to risk his life to protect him at the last moment.

Neither of them could use spiritual power now, and Jiang Lingzhou was still unconscious. Without these vines, they probably would have fallen to their deaths.

He quickly drew his sword and carefully searched for footholds, inching toward Jiang Lingzhou.

The ground was only a few meters below his feet. He had to cut through the vines around Jiang Lingzhou before they could get down.

The blade glinted coldly in the dim light. He raised his sword high and hacked hard at the vines, but they were extraordinarily tough, and his blade left only a shallow mark.

He gritted his teeth and swung again, his arm trembling slightly with the effort.

Several strikes failed to sever the vines. Instead, their thorns dug into Jiang Lingzhou's flesh, making him groan in pain even in his unconscious state.

But Xie Wenyun knew that this made it all the more important not to delay.

He swung again and again, breathing heavily as sweat kept rolling down his forehead and blurring his vision.

He had no time to wipe it away, focusing entirely on cutting the vines.

The vines seemed to resist stubbornly, some winding tightly together again after being cut.

He had to choose where to strike even more carefully to avoid accidentally injuring Jiang Lingzhou.

Time ticked by, and his strength steadily drained, but he never once thought of giving up.

At last, the vines were severed one after another, and his movements gradually grew sluggish.

When only the last few crucial vines remained, he took a deep breath and put all his strength into one final swing.

With a crisp snapping sound, Jiang Lingzhou came free of the vines.

He hurriedly reached out and caught Jiang Lingzhou firmly by the arm, pulling him toward himself bit by bit.

Letting Jiang Lingzhou lean against him, he used the rock face for support, and the two reached the bottom of the cliff.

Looking at the surrounding vines, Xie Wenyun frowned. He had no idea whether they would wrap around them again in a moment. They had to leave.

"Jiang Lingzhou?" He patted Jiang Lingzhou's cheek. Seeing that he was still unconscious, he could only hoist him onto his back. "You don't look like you have much meat on you. Who knew you'd be so heavy..."

It was not usually apparent, but Jiang Lingzhou stood over a hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall. Strictly speaking, Xie Wenyun was actually a little shorter than him.

Unable to use spiritual power, Xie Wenyun had to carry such a large man all that way with physical strength alone. It was truly exhausting. Every step was incredibly difficult. His legs were already weak, and the arms supporting Jiang Lingzhou's legs ached so badly they had almost gone numb.

"You don't want to owe me, but I don't want to owe you either..."

At last, he carried Jiang Lingzhou somewhere safe.

They collapsed to the ground. Gasping for breath, he turned to look at the still-unconscious Jiang Lingzhou, then raised his hand and slipped the ring back onto Jiang Lingzhou's finger.

"Keep your own things safe, my rival in love..."

Xie Wenyun chuckled softly. The feeling of having survived a brush with death gradually eased the tension in his body. Drowsiness swept over him, and eventually, he could not help falling into a deep sleep...

"Xiao Yuan, the person you said saved you... could it be..."

Seeing Lin Yuan's radiant expression, Lin Ning's mouth fell open in surprise. "That person's here too?"

"Yes." Lin Yuan pressed his lips together. As long as Gu Yi was here, he would have a way to find him.

"Then did you two..." Lin Ning was not blind. She immediately noticed the marks on him.

"He saved me." When Lin Yuan spoke of Gu Yi, his eyes shone with irrepressible excitement.

"Sis, have you been with the people here these past few days? Was anyone missing?"

He and Gu Yi had spent several days together in the demonic beast's lair, so whoever had been absent from the group was very likely Gu Yi.

"Aside from you and Miss Ye, another disciple went out and still hasn't returned," Lin Ning said after thinking for a moment.

"I think he was the disciple who argued with Miss Ye earlier. He said he was going out to look for his junior sister."

Lin Yuan scanned his surroundings. The disciples around him were sitting or lying down, and not one of them struck him as familiar.

The only person he thought resembled Gu Yi was Ye Yiyi, but he had already tested her with the Chaos Immortal Grass. She was not him at all.

Could that disciple be Gu Yi?

Had he used looking for his junior sister as an excuse, saved me, then slipped away again and never returned?

No, I can't leave him out there alone. I have to find my Gu Yi...

"Sis, stay here and watch over Eldest Senior Brother. I'll go find him!"

Meanwhile, Gu Yi and Mu Yang were heading in the direction Lin Ning had described earlier.

After searching for a long time, they still had not found the cliff she had mentioned, the one covered in vines that made people lose their spiritual power as soon as they approached.

"Miss Ye, be careful. There's something strange about this illusion realm," Mu Yang said.

Gu Yi found that Mu Yang was a man of few words, a male lead who appeared cold and aloof but was actually very kindhearted.

He had not wanted to come out with Mu Yang. After all, everyone knew that the male lead was bound to run into something, whether it was an opportunity or an ordeal.

These were all plot events he had to experience as he grew.

But urgent circumstances called for flexibility. Gu Yi was extremely worried about Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou's safety, and Mu Yang currently had the highest cultivation of anyone here.

As they searched, a group of black-clad figures suddenly appeared and surrounded them.

"Hahaha..."

A burst of cold laughter rang out, and the black-clad man leading them revealed his true face.

Chu Jing looked at Mu Yang and Gu Yi, his gaze icy.

"So it's you, you bastard!"

Gu Yi frowned when he saw their leader, silently cursing, Isn't this the bastard who tried to kill Lin Yuan earlier? I didn't expect him to still be alive.

"Get them!" Chu Jing gave the two no chance to catch their breath, waving his hand at once.

Immediately, the surrounding black-clad figures lunged at Gu Yi and Mu Yang.

Gu Yi grumbled inwardly, Speak of the plot, and here it comes...

Mu Yang's the male lead. He's bound to turn danger into good fortune. A minor cannon-fodder villain like me shouldn't try to act tough at a time like this. How about I find somewhere to hide?