274: Chapter 274 Healing in the Cave

Zhelong Hill was a vast hilly area located on the west side of Falling Star Lake, facing Yunni City across the water.

The terrain was not particularly steep, but the vegetation was exceptionally dense, with tangled vines and intermittent miasma, making the landscape as intricate as a labyrinth.

Legend has it that an ancient evil dragon once lurked and fell here, its malevolent aura tainting the earth, hence the name.

Although the Spiritual Qi here was decent, the area was full of venomous insects and fierce beasts, and frequent occurrences of eerie mist and spatial distortions made ordinary Cultivators unwilling to venture deep, turning it into a natural barrier and hiding place.

The Dragon Ape, carrying the unconscious Ye Tian on its back, crashed into the dense jungle on the edge of Zhelong Hill.

Enduring the excruciating pain and cold erosion from the wounds caused by the "Insidious Water Mine," it pushed its speed to the limit, constantly changing directions among the trees. After running for nearly an hour and going dozens of miles deep into the hills, it finally stopped upon finding a natural grotto completely hidden by thick vines.

The entrance to the grotto was concealed, and the interior was dry and spacious. Deep inside, an underground spring formed a clear pool, and the Spiritual Qi was slightly denser than outside, making it a rare place for hiding and healing.

The Dragon Ape carefully placed Ye Tian on a dry grass mat inside the cave, then staggered a few steps and leaned against the rock wall, gasping for breath.

The sight on its back was unbearable; large areas were charred and ulcerated, deep enough to see the bone. Blackish-red toxic blood continuously seeped out, mixed with stubborn Yin-Evil Qi that relentlessly eroded its flesh and demonic power.

Pale flames burned with difficulty at the wounds, attempting to purify the Yin-Evil toxic gas, but the effect was slow. Each burn brought doubled pain, causing its muscles to twitch uncontrollably.

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Tian curled up in pain on the grass mat, coughing up several mouthfuls of dark red stagnant blood, which contained a coldness like ice shards.

His face was deathly pale, and his breath was as weak as a flickering candle in the wind. Although the dozens of wounds on his body had temporarily stopped bleeding, his internal injuries were severe: his Meridians were damaged, his Dantian was exhausted, and his Divine Soul had dimmed due to successive fierce battles and the activation of the ancient sword pill.

Seeing this, the Dragon Ape ignored its own pain and hurriedly extended its left claw, transferring a stream of pure and gentle demonic power to protect Ye Tian's heart vessels. At the same time, it used its rough tongue to lick some of Ye Tian's deeper wounds; its saliva had slight healing and purifying effects.

It then pulled out several fragrant healing herbs it had gathered along the escape route from the sparse fur on its neck (where there was a tiny storage space, a talent it recovered after Awakening) and chewed them up to apply to Ye Tian's most serious wounds.

"Master... hold on..."

The Dragon Ape's voice was hoarse, its golden eyes filled with anxiety.

It knew that Ye Tian's injuries this time were heavier than ever before, reaching the brink of life and death.

Whether it was the demonic power and herbs from the Dragon Ape or Ye Tian's own tenacious vitality, his eyelashes flickered a few times, and he finally slowly opened his eyes again.

His vision was blurred for a moment before gradually focusing, seeing the Dragon Ape close at hand and the shocking wound on its back.

"Xiao Long... you..."

Ye Tian wanted to raise his hand but lacked the strength, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.

"I'm fine! Just a flesh wound!"

The Dragon Ape hurriedly shook its head, grinning to try and make a relaxed expression, but it pulled at the wound on its back, causing it to grimace and its face to contort in pain.

Ye Tian felt a pang of heartache.

How could he not see that the Dragon Ape was just forcing itself?

Although he hadn't personally seen the power of that Insidious Water Mine, he could feel the malice contained within it.

The Dragon Ape had suffered such heavy injuries just to protect him.

"Thank... you."

Ye Tian forced out those two words, his eyes filled with gratitude.

If he hadn't carelessly exposed himself and been targeted by various factions, the Dragon Ape wouldn't have fallen into such a dangerous situation.

"Don't say that, Master!"

The Dragon Ape said urgently, a fierce light flashing in its eyes. "It's those scumbags who deserve to die! Once Master and I have healed, we will definitely go back and tear apart Wanren Sword Pavilion, Shadow Calamity Tower, and those water rats!"

Ye Tian smiled weakly and said no more.

The most important thing now was to stay alive and recover his strength.

He forced himself to focus and inspected his internal condition; things were as bad as they could be.

He had to heal immediately.

"Xiao Long, you also hurry and heal to expel the Yin-Evil. We... need time."

Ye Tian whispered.

"Mm!" The Dragon Ape nodded heavily, knowing the situation was critical and that pursuers might already be on their way.

At that moment, the man and the ape spoke no more, each beginning the arduous process of healing.

Ye Tian sat cross-legged, a simple action that almost exhausted his remaining strength, and began to operate the Star Qi Induction Art.

As soon as the technique started, his damaged Meridians sent waves of tearing pain, and his Dantian was empty, barely able to absorb any Spiritual Qi from the outside.

He clenched his teeth, enduring the agonizing pain, as he extremely slowly guided slivers of weak Spiritual Qi through his broken Meridians. Simultaneously, he guided the chaos bead to nourish his nearly dried-up Sea of Consciousness and wounded Divine Soul.

The medicinal power of the healing Medicinal Pills was also slowly dissolving, repairing the damage to his Physical Body.

The Dragon Ape lay prone on the ground, its body radiating pale gold demonic power that intertwined with the pale flames burning at the wound on its back, fighting with all its might to refine the Yin-Evil toxic gas.

Every bit of refinement was accompanied by the slight burning of flesh and unbearable itching and pain, causing its massive body to tremble violently from time to time, its low growls of pain echoing in the grotto.

Time passed slowly in silence and pain.

Outside the cave, the sky turned from light to dark and then from dark to light; a full day and night had passed.

Ye Tian's condition finally stabilized, and he moved away from the most dangerous brink of death.

Under the influence of the chaos bead's clear light and the pills, his Meridians began to slowly repair. A sliver of weak true essence re-condensed in his Dantian; though it wasn't even one percent of what it used to be, there was finally hope.

The exhaustion of his Divine Soul had also eased considerably.

His external wounds began to scab over due to the herbs and his own powerful recovery ability.

However, he was still incredibly weak, his strength likely inferior to a Ningyuan Realm Cultivator, and with his internal injuries unhealed, he could not use true essence to fight.

The Dragon Ape's condition was slightly better.

With its powerful Physical Body and abundant demonic power, after a day and night of full-out expulsion, the stubborn Yin-Evil toxic gas at its back wound was finally seventy to eighty percent refined by the pale flames. Although the wound was still hideous and terrifying, it was no longer worsening and had begun to heal slowly.

However, this process had consumed a great deal of its demonic power and energy, leaving it quite listless now, its aura having dropped significantly. Still, its foundation as a Sea Transformation Realm beast remained, and it still possessed some combat capability.

"Master, are you feeling better?"

Seeing Ye Tian open his eyes and his complexion seemingly improved slightly, the Dragon Ape hurriedly asked.

"Mm, I won't die for now."

Ye Tian's voice was still weak, but it held more strength than before.

He looked at the Dragon Ape's back, his brow furrowed. "Your injury..."

"Heh, it's nothing! It'll be healed in another two days!"

The Dragon Ape waved its left claw, pretending to be at ease, but the hint of fatigue and pain deep in its eyes could not be hidden from Ye Tian.

Ye Tian's heart felt heavy.

Their current situation was still dangerous.

They had to regain a certain level of mobility and self-protection as soon as possible.

He took out the soul-nourishing wood core and pressed it to his forehead to accelerate the nourishment of his Divine Soul. He also took an astral essence crystal in his hand, slowly absorbing the pure Astral Power within; this was much more efficient and gentler than absorbing the chaotic Spiritual Qi outside, making it suitable for his current state.

At the same time, his mind was racing.

Wanren Sword Pavilion and Shadow Calamity Tower would never let this go.

Next, they would inevitably face a large-scale search, and there might even be Sea Transformation Realm experts personally searching the hills.

Though this grotto was hidden, it was by no means a long-term solution.

"Xiao Long, we need to find a safer place and find a way to recover our strength as quickly as possible," Ye Tian said solemnly.

The Dragon Ape nodded. "Master, deep within Zhelong Hill, I vaguely feel that some places aren't quite right. There's an aura that makes my Bloodline throb slightly, but it's also full of danger.

Perhaps... there are things there that can help us recover quickly, or a more hidden place to stay."

Upon hearing this, Ye Tian's heart stirred.

The Dragon Ape had awakened an ancient Bloodline; its intuition might not be wrong.

Danger often comes with Opportunity.

He took out the fragment, which faintly pointed toward a certain direction in Zhelong Hill, which actually roughly overlapped with the dangerous area sensed by the Dragon Ape!

Could it be... that the clues to the Taichu Sword Scripture, or related Opportunities, are deep within Zhelong Hill?

And there, treasures that could help them heal or achieve a Breakthrough might also exist?

This thought brought a glimmer of hope to Ye Tian's heart.

But for now, they needed to deal with the imminent search.