Night slowly fell, and cold, damp mist filled the ink-dark mountain forest.
Lin Yan had walked for roughly an hour when, just as his legs began to feel as heavy as if they had been filled with lead, the rumble of water reached his ears. His spirits lifted, and he followed the sound. After he passed through a dense patch of brambles, the view suddenly opened up.
A sizable waterfall hung like a length of white silk from the cliff, crashing into the pool below and sending spray into the air. Its deafening roar drowned out most of the other sounds in the forest.
"This is the place..." Lin Yan fixed his gaze on the rock face beside the waterfall. Lush green vines hung there, almost completely covering the stone. He gathered the little Soul Power he had recovered and carefully extended his senses.
A moment later, a flicker of delight crossed his eyes. Where the curtain of water met the rock face, there seemed to be a barely noticeable recess behind the vines. He carefully climbed over and parted the thick vines-a cave opening large enough for one person to enter appeared before him!
The entrance was narrow, allowing only one person to squeeze through sideways, but there seemed to be a whole other world inside. Without hesitation, Lin Yan turned sideways and slipped in.
The cave was dim but fairly dry, with decent ventilation and no stuffy, musty smell. Though its entrance was narrow, the space inside was considerable, roughly three meters across, leaving him enough room to move around. Most importantly, the waterfall's thunderous roar provided perfect background noise here. Not only could it mask any sounds he might make, but it could also greatly disrupt the spread of his scent.
"Heaven never seals off every path..." Lin Yan let out a long breath, his taut nerves finally relaxing a little.
First, he carefully removed all traces of his entry, then used stones and vines to conceal the entrance somewhat from inside. Only then did he truly let his guard down. An intense wave of exhaustion instantly swept through his entire body, and he slowly sat down with his back against the cold stone wall.
Then he quickly stripped off his soaking clothes and took a clean spare set from the Storage Soul Tool he carried-a bracelet of the lowest grade, with only about one cubic meter of space-and changed into them. Fortunately, he had kept it hidden close to his body, and the river had not washed it away.
Next, he gathered some dry twigs and moss from inside the cave and deftly lit a small campfire. The dancing firelight drove away the cave's darkness and chill, bringing a faint sense of safety as well.
The warm firelight shone on his pale face.
"Whew..." Lin Yan exhaled a long, moisture-laden breath. He did not dare rest immediately. Instead, he sat cross-legged and forced himself into a meditative state. His Soul Power was almost depleted, and his meridians ached faintly from being overtaxed. He had to recover some strength as quickly as possible, or he would have no ability whatsoever to protect himself if danger arose.
As he circulated the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique, the sparse ambient Primordial Qi slowly began gathering toward him, passing through his skin and seeping into his meridians. It became streams of warmth that nourished his dried-up dantian and damaged body. His Soul Power recovered considerably more slowly than usual, showing just how enormous his expenditure had been this time.
It was not until the latter half of the night that Lin Yan awakened from Deep Meditation. His Soul Power had recovered to roughly sixty percent. Though he was still far from his peak, he at least had the ability to handle ordinary dangers. His physical fatigue had also eased considerably, and his wounds had begun to scab over under the nourishment of his Soul Power.
Only after his injuries had temporarily stabilized did Lin Yan slowly open his eyes. The campfire crackled, its light reflected in his pensive eyes.
"Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul... Scent Tracking..." he murmured, reviewing the harrowing encounter that day. "I was too careless this time. I thought I'd shaken off the pursuit, but I never expected him to have such an obscure, troublesome Soul Skill."
He recalled the effeminate man's gaze, as though he were toying with prey, and the immense pressure the two Soul Ancestors had brought to bear. Strength! In the end, his strength was still insufficient! If he had been a Soul Elder, or even just a high-ranking Soul Grandmaster, he would never have ended up in such a sorry state.
His gaze fell on his storage bracelet. With a thought, a jade box appeared in his hand. He opened the lid. The thousand-year Blood Ginseng lay quietly inside, crimson from top to bottom and shaped like an infant, giving off rich life energy and an enticing medicinal fragrance.
Merely smelling that medicinal fragrance made him feel his Soul Power circulate a little faster.
"Returning to Nuoding City is absolutely out of the question." Lin Yan reached a clear judgment. Since the other party had tracked him beyond the city, they surely had channels through which they could uncover his background. If he returned, Lin Yan could not be certain whether that effeminate man would have other means of dealing with him.
Then his only choice now was to use this thousand-year Blood Ginseng to improve his strength as quickly as possible!
Only with sufficient strength could he handle the investigation that would follow and face whatever dangers might come.
However, with his Soul Power currently depleted and his body injured, recklessly consuming the thousand-year Blood Ginseng would be no different from setting himself on fire. Its tremendous medicinal potency might very well burst his meridians, which had yet to recover fully.
He carefully pinched off a rootlet barely thicker than a strand of hair from the Blood Ginseng and placed it in his mouth.
The rootlet melted the moment it entered his mouth. A gentle but pure stream of energy instantly flowed down his throat, then turned into a warm current that spread through his limbs and every part of his body. Unlike the cool nourishment of the Spirit-Clearing Spring he had consumed before, this energy tended more toward heat and vibrant vitality. Like a gentle flame, it tempered his meridians and replenished his depleted Soul Power. Even his wounds seemed to heal a little faster.
The effect was immediate, yet remained within his control.
"It truly lives up to being a thousand-year medicinal treasure..." A flicker of wonder crossed Lin Yan's eyes. Such an insignificant sliver had produced this effect. If he consumed the entire plant...
He suppressed his longing, knowing that the time had not yet come. He needed time to bring himself to the most perfect peak condition before continuing to consume the thousand-year Blood Ginseng. Only then could he draw out its greatest efficacy.
Putting away the jade box, Lin Yan leaned against the cave wall, feeling the warmth from the rootlet repair his body as he listened to the unceasing thunder of the waterfall outside.
The crisis had not passed. He had merely gained a temporary chance to catch his breath.
He closed his eyes and began to enter deep meditation, devoting himself fully to recovering his Soul Power.
Inside the cave, only the occasional crackle of the campfire remained, mingling with the waterfall's endless roar outside.