Forced to Join Forces

Lu Yuan swung more than two hundred meters between the stone pillars using the Blue Silver Grass, and the noise from the camp behind him gradually faded away.

He stopped in the shadow of a thick stone pillar, his heart still pounding.

Mo Chen's short, startled cry was like a nail driven into his mind.

We can't go back.

Reason screamed. Mo Chen's exposure had alarmed the entire camp, and with the Soul King personally taking action, returning now would be tantamount to walking into a trap. His Soul Power was only level seventeen, and the Blue Silver Grass could play a negligible role in such a direct confrontation. The wisest choice was to leave immediately and disappear completely under the cover of night and the complex terrain of the stone forest.

Can...

A muffled thud of colliding Soul Power could be faintly heard from below, along with Mo Chen's suppressed groan of pain.

The paralyzing toxin in his left arm hadn't been completely cleared, and his Soul Power was already sluggish. How long could he hold out against Soul King and at least four or five Cloud Mist Sect disciples?

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into the cracks in the stone.

The cold touch brought him to his senses slightly.

Why is Mo Chen there? Wasn't he supposed to stay in the crevice to recover from his injuries?

Is this guy... worried about the danger of venturing into the camp alone, so he secretly followed me to provide backup from the outside?

stupid.

That's so stupid.

But it is precisely because of this "stupidity" that he can no longer simply walk away.

Lu Yuan breath, forcing himself to suppress his emotions. His mind raced: the commotion in the camp had only just begun, and most of their attention should be drawn to Mo Chen. The Soul King was personally pursuing him, but he might not immediately kill him—the other party was searching for important items, and the sudden appearance of an unidentified person would be more valuable to capture and interrogate alive.

There's still a chance.

Without further hesitation, he slid down the stone pillar, his body pressed against it Blue Silver Grass spread silently, like a thin layer of moss covering the stone surface. He suppressed his Soul Power fluctuations to a minimum, almost blending into the chaotic environment around him.

The journey back was slower and more cautious than when he escaped.

When they were fifty meters from the camp, Lu Yuan got a clear picture of the situation.

Mo Chen leaned against a low rock about half his height, his left arm hanging limply at his side, his right hand gripping his modified Soul Tool, the tip of which gleamed dimly. His face was deathly pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat, but his eyes were as fierce as a trapped beast.

There were three people surrounding him.

The two Soul Ancestor, one on the left and one on the right, had both released their Martial Soul. The one on the left had his hands covered with rock-like grayish-white armor, and his knuckles were thick; the one on the right had two translucent thin wings spread out from his back, and his toes were half a foot off the ground, hovering.

The third one is that "Martial Uncle Sun".

He stood a little further away, hands behind his back, without releasing his Martial Soul. But his aura, as heavy as a mountain, was even more profound than the other two combined. Moonlight shone on his face, outlining his strong features and a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes.

"Surrender and you'll suffer less," the Soul Ancestor with the rocky arm said coldly. "Otherwise, I'll cripple your arm."

Mo Chen spat. "Bullshit."

Before he could finish speaking, the Thin-Winged Soul Ancestor behind him suddenly moved.

The speed was extremely fast, almost leaving a trail of afterimages in the air. A flash of cold light appeared in his short sword as it thrust straight at Mo Chen's nape!

Mo Chen reacted quickly, parrying with his short staff.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew. He was already injured, and the blow sent him staggering backward. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Soul Ancestor with the rock-like arm stepped forward and slapped his chest with his fan-sized palm.

It's over.

Mo Chen's pupils contracted. If that palm strike landed squarely, at least three of his sternum bones would be broken.

Just as the palm strike was about to reach his body, a sudden change occurred.

Several thin, almost invisible, pale golden blades of grass emerged from the cracks in the low rocks without warning and wrapped around the Rock Soul Ancestor's wrist with lightning speed. The blades of grass seemed fragile, but they carried a clever force and suddenly pulled to the side.

Rock Soul Ancestor's seemingly inevitable palm strike was deflected by half a foot, grazing Mo Chen's clothes as it slammed into the low rock.

"Boom!"

Gravel flew everywhere.

Thin Wing Soul Ancestor was startled, his short sword flashed back to protect him, and his gaze swept towards the direction from which the grass had come.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He was a teenager.

He was rather thin, dressed in faded coarse cloth clothes, and his face still retained a hint of childishness. The most striking feature was the Soul Ring around his feet—a solitary white ring, so dim it seemed as if it might go out at any moment.

In his palm floated a slender, pale golden Blue Silver Grass.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

The two Soul Ancestor were initially taken aback, but then revealed undisguised sneers.

"Blue Silver Grass? A white Soul Ring?" Thin-Winged Soul Ancestor chuckled. "Kid, are you lost?"

Rock Soul Ancestor flicked the blade of grass off his wrist, and it immediately shrank back into the boy's palm. He stared at Lu Yuan with the look of someone looking at a madman who didn't know his own death.

Only Martial Uncle Sun, who hadn't moved an inch, fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan's face, then swept over the Blue Silver Grass in his palm, and finally settled on his overly calm eyes.

The timing, angle, and force of that Entanglement were all incredibly precise.

This is not luck.

"Are you in cahoots with him?" Martial Uncle Sun asked, his voice low but drowning out all other noises.

Lu Yuan didn't answer. He walked to Mo Chen's side, turned to block half of his body, and calmly met the Soul King's scrutiny.

"We are merely people who have secluded ourselves here for research," Lu Yuan said. "We have no intention of offending you, much less of an enemy of your esteemed sect."

"Research?" Thin-Winged Soul Ancestor scoffed, "Researching how to cultivate Blue Silver Grass in this godforsaken stone forest?"

Lu Yuan ignored him and only looked at Martial Uncle Sun. "My companion is seriously injured and needs treatment. If your sect allows us to leave, we can pretend that tonight's events never happened."

Martial Uncle Sun didn't respond immediately. He looked at Lu Yuan, then at Mo Chen, who was barely holding on, especially at the strangely structured short staff in Mo Chen's hand and the several metal parts protruding from his waist.

Soul Engineer.

Although he was down on his luck, the oil-stained leather apron and the deformed fingers on his hands were signs of years of handling Soul Tool.

And this Blue Silver Grass boy before me...

"Two cowards, lurking around here in this stone forest," Martial Uncle Sun said slowly, a hint of coldness in his voice. "Could they also be after the ' Earth Vein Soul Marrow '?"

The moment the words "Earth Vein Soul Marrow" were uttered, the expressions of the two Soul Ancestor beside him changed immediately. Thin Wing Soul Ancestor raised his short sword, locking his Soul Power onto Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

As expected, that's what they wanted to achieve. And by stating it directly, they meant they didn't intend to leave any survivors—at least not to easily let anyone who might know the information escape.

A direct confrontation is a dead end.

His mind raced, and he made a decision almost instantly.

"We have indeed heard of the ' Earth Vein Soul Marrow '," Lu Yuan frankly admitted, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather, "But we have no intention of stealing it. On the contrary, we have lived in seclusion here for several years and have done some research on the disordered patterns of Soul Power in the Thousand Needle Stone Forest."

He paused, noticing a barely perceptible flicker in Martial Uncle Sun's eyes.

"Perhaps," Lu Yuan offered as bait, "That could help your sect narrow down the search area."

Rock Soul Ancestor was taken aback, then angrily retorted, "Senior Brother, don't listen to this kid's nonsense! With a Trash Martial Soul and such low Soul Power, what kind of research could he possibly produce!"

Martial Uncle Sun raised his hand to stop him from speaking.

He stared at Lu Yuan, his gaze so sharp it seemed he wanted to peel back his skin to see what lay beneath.

"With just you two?" Martial Uncle Sun's voice was cold. "A Trash Martial Soul and a half-crippled craftsman?"

"Research doesn't require high Soul Power, just correct observation and thinking." Lu Yuan met his gaze without flinching. "The Soul Power turbulence in the Stone Forest isn't completely random; it has cycles and periods of strength, especially after nightfall. And in recent days, the timing and location of the chaotic peaks have been shifting in a regular pattern."

What he said was the conclusion he had drawn from his previous eavesdropping and observations. Now, as he spoke, the details were thorough and his tone was confident, making it seem completely unlike something he had made up on the spot.

Martial Uncle Sun's scrutinizing gaze intensified.

He could tell the boy wasn't lying—at least not about the observations. Those descriptions subtly matched the difficulties they'd encountered during their explorations over the past few days.

Just then, a Cloud Mist Sect disciple who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, seemingly sensing the world, suddenly opened his eyes and called out urgently, "Senior Brother Sun!"

Everyone looked at him.

The disciple's face flushed red, and he pointed southeast, his voice trembling with excitement. "Southeast, about five miles away! From underground... from underground, there's a strong, pure fluctuation of Soul Power! It's very concentrated and rapidly increasing! It seems... it seems like a sign of the ' Soul Marrow ' maturing and erupting!"

In an instant, the entire camp fell silent.

Martial Uncle Sun abruptly turned his head and looked southeast. There lay the deeper part of the Stone Forest, where only a hazy, jagged black shadow could be seen in the night.

Has the Earth Vein Soul Marrow truly manifested in the world?

He abruptly turned his gaze back to Lu Yuan's face. In those calm eyes, there was no surprise, only an almost cold understanding.

This kid... did he foresee this all along?

Time waits for no one. The time for the Soul Marrow to mature and erupt may be very short, and the emergence of such a rare treasure of heaven and earth is difficult to completely conceal, and may attract other observers at any time.

Martial Uncle Sun no longer hesitated.

"You," he pointed at Lu Yuan and Mo Chen, his tone leaving no room for argument, "Come with me."

His gaze swept over Lu Yuan, chilling him to the bone.

"If it's nonsense, or if they dare to play any tricks..."

The second half of the sentence was left unsaid, but the meaning was crystal clear.

Mo Chen's breath hitched, and he looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan's face remained expressionless; he simply nodded slightly.

Opportunity and danger struck at the same time.