293: Chapter 293 Mist Dragon Gorge

The icy lake water instantly engulfed Ye Tian. Bubbles churned in his ears, and his consciousness began to blur rapidly.

The black scabbard command token finally exploded with silver-black light, forming a protective barrier that offset some of the impact of entering the water, but that was all.

The currents in Mist Dragon Ravine were far more turbulent than imagined. Powerful undercurrents tore at Ye Tian's body, causing him to sink involuntarily.

It was pitch black all around. He didn't know how many ribs he had broken. The wound on his left shoulder was very deep, and blood seeped out continuously, even staining the surrounding water red.

As for his internal injuries, they were even more severe. His Meridians were damaged in many places, his True Essence was exhausted, and the ancient sword pill had fallen silent due to excessive consumption.

Had the chaos bead not protected his heart vessels, he would likely have perished during the fall from the cliff.

"Can't pass out... can't die..."

Ye Tian knew he was powerless to fight the current, so he simply relaxed his body and went with the flow to minimize consumption.

At the same time, he activated the Turtle Breathing Technique, reducing his bodily functions to the minimum to maintain only basic life requirements and preserve his True Essence.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Tian's body jolted as he was swept into a more powerful underground river.

His body slammed against the rock walls, worsening his injuries. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Just as he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, a faint light appeared ahead, and the speed of the current began to slow down.

Next, a surge of buoyancy arrived. His body was pushed out of an underwater cave opening by the river's current and entered an open stretch of water.

"Splash..."

Ye Tian barely managed to poke his head above the water, greedily sucking in several breaths of air.

He looked around. It seemed to be an underground karst cave. The ceiling was extremely high and covered with fluorescent moss, making the entire cave look dreamlike.

In the middle of the cave was an underground lake shimmering with a blue luster.

The place he had just emerged from was merely an inconspicuous outlet on the rock wall.

He struggled to swim toward the nearest shallow bank.

The short distance of little more than ten zhang nearly exhausted all his physical strength.

When he finally crawled onto the bank, he was completely spent, unable to move even a finger.

"For now... I've survived..."

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, his vision went black, and he fell completely unconscious.

At Lijian Villa, atop the ruins.

The chaos had gradually subsided.

Although those few explosions had caused a commotion, they hadn't caused any actual loss. Clearly, someone had intentionally created chaos to divert attention, creating an Opportunity for Ye Tian and Hou Xiaojie.

The villa's Disciples were putting out fires and treating the injured under the Elders' command.

The two Disciples who had fallen into a frenzy had been forcibly suppressed by Ling Juexiao himself. However, the sword-bane was eerie; though they weren't dead, their minds were severely damaged, leaving them as good as crippled.

Ling Juexiao stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at the wind chasing sword in his hand, which now had cracks on its blade. His face was incredibly gloomy.

To have his personal sword damaged in public by a junior in the True Martial Realm was a humongous humiliation to him!

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

Qiu Qianchuan smashed a fist into a wooden post on the nearby execution platform, shattering it to pieces. He roared at the surviving Shadow Calamity Tower assassins under his command, "You couldn't even keep an eye on a half-dead little brat, a little waste, and a dead monkey!

What use do I have for you?!"

The black-clad assassins were as silent as cicadas in winter; none dared to respond.

"Deputy Commander Leng,"

Ling Juexiao slowly turned around and looked at Leng Wenzhou, who had been watching from the sidelines. His tone was icy. "You saw what happened today.

That Ye Tian is heinous and cruel. He committed violence in public, killing and wounding my Sword Pavilion Disciples. Furthermore, he is in league with such eerie Evil Qi—this is truly the conduct of the Demonic Path!

The Xuanjing Division maintains order in Yunni City. Surely you won't just stand by and watch this scoundrel escape by jumping off the cliff?"

Leng Wenzhou's expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, "Pavilion Master Ling, please calm down.

Today's events were truly sudden; even this official did not expect them.

The methods Ye Tian used at the end were indeed suspicious.

As for jumping off the cliff... the dangers of Mist Dragon Ravine are well known. Even a Sea Transformation Realm Cultivator would find it hard to guarantee their safety if they fell in.

With his heavily injured body, his chances of survival are slim.

However, since Pavilion Master Ling is uneasy, this official will immediately issue an order to blockade the downstream of Mist Dragon Ravine and the relevant waters of Falling Star Lake. I will also send Xuanjing Division experts to assist in the search. If he's alive, we want him; if he's dead, we want his corpse.

How about that?"

These words were airtight, both absolving the Xuanjing Division of responsibility and showing a cooperative attitude.

But everyone knew that how much effort the Xuanjing Division's 'assistance' would actually entail was hard to say.

Ling Juexiao snorted coldly in his heart, knowing Leng Wenzhou was unreliable.

He said in a deep voice, "No need to trouble the Xuanjing Division.

This is a private vendetta of my Wanren Sword Pavilion; I have my own plans.

Pass down the order: from this day forth, blockade the area within a hundred miles of Lijian Villa. Set up checkpoints on all entry and exit routes for inspection!

The Sword Pavilion's 'Wind Patrol Guards' and 'Law Enforcement Hall' are to be fully mobilized. Search every inch along the banks of Mist Dragon Ravine and Falling Star Lake for me!

Any suspicious persons are to be killed without mercy!

At the same time, issue the 'Wanren Pursuit Order.' Anyone who provides the exact whereabouts of Ye Tian and his accomplices will be rewarded with one hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!

Anyone who takes his head will be rewarded with an Earth Rank Cultivation Technique or a treasure of the same rank, and may enter my Sword Pavilion's Outer Sect to cultivate!

Anyone who harbors or shields them will be treated with the same guilt, and their entire clan will be executed!"

The killing order quickly spread throughout the villa and expanded toward the entire Yunni City and the surrounding areas.

The Wanren Sword Pavilion was truly moved to thunderous rage this time, willing to pay any price to completely eradicate Ye Tian, this major threat.

Qiu Qianchuan added, "The Shadow Calamity Tower's 'Blade Division' will also fully intervene in the investigation!

The ancient sword pill and mysterious Sword Intent on that kid, as well as that beast—I am determined to have them!"

In the underground karst cave, time passed.

Ye Tian didn't know how long he had been unconscious.

When he regained consciousness again, his vision blurred for a moment before gradually becoming clear.

He was still lying on the rocks of the shallow bank, a small pool of blood having accumulated beneath him.

He inspected his internal condition; it was as bad as it could possibly be.

But fortunately, the chaos bead was still nourishing his damaged Meridians and internal organs, keeping him alive by his last breath.

Although the ancient sword pill was dim, its Origin had not been damaged, and it was spontaneously absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the cave to slowly recover.

"I can't lie here and wait for death..."

Ye Tian struggled to pull the last few healing Medicinal Pills from his robes and stuffed them all into his mouth.

As the pills entered his mouth, they barely suppressed some of the pain and restored a bit of his strength.

His gaze swept across the karst cave.

The Spiritual Qi here seemed slightly denser than outside and possessed a bit of vitality, which seemed related to that glowing moss.

Moreover, he felt that the air here was also mixed with Evil Qi from the same source as Dragon Slaying Abyss, but it was more peaceful than Dragon Slaying Abyss and seemed capable of being absorbed and converted by the chaos bead.

His heart stirred as his gaze landed on the rock crevices near the underground lake water.

There, several clusters of darker, pitch-black moss grew, emitting even denser Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi.

He crawled to those clusters of black moss, reached out to pluck a small piece, and put it in his mouth to chew.

The moss was bitter as it entered his mouth, but it quickly turned into a surge of energy with a stinging sensation that flowed into his stomach.

Though this energy was thin, it was of significant help in repairing his injuries and replenishing his Origin Qi. Furthermore, the trace of Evil Qi within it was easily converted by the chaos bead; not only was it harmless, but it actually strengthened that surge of energy.

"Heaven never seals off all paths..." A trace of clarity returned to Ye Tian's clouded eyes.

This inconspicuous black moss was undoubtedly a life-saving straw at this moment.

He continued to pluck the black moss and take it bit by bit along with the Medicinal Pills. At the same time, enduring the intense pain, he sat cross-legged and began to fully operate the Star Qi Induction Art to repair himself.

The chaos bead helped him convert the Evil Qi into energy.

Ye Tian didn't know how much time had passed outside. He was very worried about Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape, not knowing if they had escaped safely.

Moreover, he knew that with the temperaments of Ling Juexiao and Qiu Qianchuan, they would never rest easy without seeing his corpse. They would definitely send people to pursue him, and the pursuers would find this place sooner or later.

He had only one thought: survive, recover, and then kill his way back!

The energy from the Medicinal Pills and black moss was slowly refined, and his Meridians began to slowly regain vitality.

His damaged internal organs healed under the nourishment of the energy, his broken bones began to slowly realign, and True Essence gathered once more in his Dantian.

Time passed bit by bit.

One day, two days...

When his severe injuries were temporarily stabilized and his True Essence had recovered to ten percent, Ye Tian stopped his healing.

He knew that simply meditating to recover was too slow.

In normal times, it wouldn't have mattered.

But with pursuers behind him and the fates of Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape unknown, he didn't have that much time to recover from his injuries through meditation!

Furthermore, he needed even greater power; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to handle the upcoming crisis, let alone take revenge!

His gaze turned toward the underground lake.

"The bottom of this lake, or deep within the karst cave..."

A look of determination appeared in Ye Tian's eyes.

He needed an Opportunity; he needed to improve quickly!

Risk?

In his current situation, what risk was greater than falling into the hands of Ling Juexiao and Qiu Qianchuan?

He barely summoned some True Essence for protection and walked into the underground lake, diving toward the depths of the lake's center.

He didn't know whether danger or Opportunity awaited him ahead, but at this moment, this was the only path he could take!

Meanwhile, above the karst cave and along both banks of Mist Dragon Ravine, countless Wanren Sword Pavilion Disciples, Shadow Calamity Tower assassins, and bounty hunters who had caught wind of the situation were launching a carpet search.