34: Chapter 34 A chilling aura seeps into the bones, the elixir dissolves and ignites the eyebrow.

The strangeness of the black token, Liu Xiong's identity, the ownership of the Blood Shadow Leopard horn... these were all very important.

But compared to the demon abyss sword Qi wound on his left shoulder, which writhed and eroded like a living creature, bringing piercing, bone-deep pain and a cold, numbing sensation, everything else had to wait!

Only by staying alive would he have the qualification to think about anything else.

Lin Ye lay in the cold, muddy riverbank, rain hitting his face, mixed with blood and sweat. Every breath tugged at the wound on his left shoulder; the dark red Evil Qi, like a tiny venomous snake, was attempting to spread along his bones and Meridians toward his heart meridian and brain.

The ancient ring yuan sha was absorbing it automatically, but the speed was too slow, like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water.

He had to deal with it immediately!

With a trembling right hand, he first uncorked the bottle of antidote Medicinal Pill. The Medicinal Pill was pale green, emitting a cool medicinal fragrance. Regardless of its specific effects, he poured out two pills and swallowed them directly.

The Medicinal Pill entered his stomach and transformed into a cool stream of Qi, surging toward the wound on his left shoulder. The paralyzing toxin of the Blood Shadow Leopard that had invaded the wound seemed to have met its nemesis, as it was quickly neutralized and dissolved. The numbing sensation in the wound lessened significantly, but the erosion from the demon abyss sword Qi's Evil Qi remained stubborn; the antidote Medicinal Pill had minimal effect on it.

Next, he opened the bottle of rejuvenation Medicinal Pill. The Medicinal Pill was milky white with a rich fragrance; it was a much better healing Medicinal Pill than the bigu pill. He poured out three pills and swallowed them all.

The pure, gentle medicinal power quickly dissipated, nourishing his nearly exhausted Meridians and damaged internal organs, restoring vitality. Under the stimulation of the medicinal power, the flesh at the wound on his left shoulder began to slowly writhe and heal, attempting to "squeeze" out the invading Evil Qi.

But the level of the demon abyss sword Qi's Evil Qi was too high. The medicinal power of the rejuvenation Medicinal Pill could only repair the flesh damage but could not disperse the Evil Qi itself. The Evil Qi was like a maggot attached to the bone, continuing to spread through the newly grown flesh, even forming a tug-of-war with the medicinal power, bringing even more intense stabbing pain and icy cold.

"Not enough... If this continues, the surface of the wound will heal, but the Evil Qi will be sealed inside, eroding even deeper..." Lin Ye broke out in a cold sweat, realizing where the problem lay.

He had to remove the Evil Qi, or at least temporarily suppress and Seal it!

His mind raced, and his gaze landed on the Blood Shadow Leopard horn clutched in his right hand.

The horn was warm to the touch, containing the essence of the Blood Shadow Leopard's blood Qi and a portion of the Yao Beast's Evil Qi (different from the demon abyss sword Qi). The Ice Soul Sword Art was cold in nature, while the Blood Shadow Leopard's blood Qi was scorching...

An adventurous idea emerged.

He struggled to sit up, leaning against a large rock. He gripped the thicker end of the horn with his right hand and aimed the sharp broken end at a patch of intact skin beside the wound on his left shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, he slashed down fiercely!

Chii!

Skin split and flesh tore, and blood gushed out. He endured the excruciating pain and pressed the broken end of the horn tightly against the newly created wound!

At the same time, he fully circulated the Ice Soul Sword Art!

He was not absorbing the blood Qi and Evil Qi from the horn, but rather using his icy spiritual power as a guide to forcefully "push" the stubborn demon abyss sword Evil Qi from the wound on his left shoulder toward the newly opened wound, attempting to use the scorching blood Qi and Yao Beast Evil Qi in the horn as "bait" and a "buffer" to "lure out" a portion of the demon abyss Evil Qi!

This was an extremely dangerous process, like inviting a wolf into the house. If he were slightly careless, the two Evil Qis clashing within his body, or the blood Qi of the horn causing other problems, could instantly cost him his life.

But at this moment, there was no other way!

The icy spiritual power acted like the finest carving knife, carefully guiding and forcing the demon abyss Evil Qi. The scorching blood Qi in the horn was stimulated and automatically surged toward the wound, colliding and entangling with the invading demon abyss Evil Qi.

Hiss...

A sound like cold water dripping into hot oil came from the wound, the intense pain intensified, and Lin Ye almost fainted.

But the effect was also significant!

A portion of the outermost, relatively less pure demon abyss Evil Qi was truly "attracted" by the blood Qi of the horn, flowing along the wound into the horn! The horn's warm, blood-red color turned dark red and cold at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a thin layer of black-red frost even condensed on its surface.

And the erosion speed of the wound on his left shoulder had clearly slowed down!

At the same time, the ancient ring yuan sha also accelerated its absorption and refinement of the relatively mild Evil Qi that had been "lured out."

As one weakened, the other grew!

Lin Ye's spirit lifted; he gritted his teeth and persisted, continuously operating his Cultivation Technique to guide the Evil Qi outward.

He did not know how much time had passed. When the horn became completely cold, covered in black-red frost patterns, and was about to shatter, the demon abyss Evil Qi in the wound on his left shoulder had finally been cleared away for the most part. The remaining portion was also temporarily suppressed by the medicinal power of the rejuvenation Medicinal Pill, forming a fragile balance with the newly grown flesh.

The intense pain had lessened significantly; although the wound was still gruesome and terrifying, and the remaining Evil Qi was like a time bomb, at least it would not deteriorate in the short term.

Lin Ye let out a long breath, almost collapsing from exhaustion. He threw away the ruined, crack-filled horn, leaned back against the large rock, and gasped violently.

The rain had stopped at some unknown time, and the sky was gradually darkening.

He took the last rejuvenation Medicinal Pill and swallowed a few more bigu pills (left over from before), silently regulating his breathing to restore his nearly bottomed-out stamina and weak spiritual power.

This time, it was truly a narrow escape from death.

But the harvest was also huge: not only was the injury temporarily suppressed, but his cultivation had also improved on the edge of life and death, stabilizing at Qi Refining Stage 4, and his control over spiritual power and Evil Qi had become more refined. More importantly, he had obtained Liu Xiong's Storage Pouch (leather bag), as well as the black "Shadow" token that had caused the ancient ring to react.

His stamina had recovered a bit, and the wound on his left shoulder was also temporarily stable.

Only then did Lin Ye have the energy to inspect that leather pouch and the black token.

There were not many things in the pouch: fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones, five remaining rejuvenation Medicinal Pills, three antidote Medicinal Pills, and some dry rations and miscellaneous items. The most eye-catching thing was the token.

The token was the size of a palm, pitch black, neither metal nor wood, and felt cold and heavy to the touch. The front was engraved with a "Shadow" character written in a sweeping, dragon-like style, filled with a murderous aura. The back had blurry cloud patterns, and hidden within the clouds seemed to be an extremely tiny mark. Looking closely, it looked like an abstract... side profile of a Puppet?

"Shadow" token? Puppet mark?

Lin Ye's heart stirred, recalling the mention in Master Xuanyuan's last testament of "Rebellious Disciple Mo Chen (Chen Mo) being bewitched by demonic thoughts," as well as the "Yinkui Sect" mentioned in the previously found notes of Outer Sect Deacon Zhou Yuan.

Could it be... that this Liu Xiong was a member of the Yinkui Sect? Or was he a subordinate developed by Chen Mo?

He tried to inject a trace of weak spiritual power into the token.

The token had no reaction.

He tried dripping a drop of fresh blood onto it.

The blood fell onto the surface of the token and was surprisingly absorbed quickly! Immediately after, the cloud patterns on the back of the token lit up slightly, and the abstract Puppet mark seemed to come alive, projecting an extremely blurry and unstable light and shadow.

In the light and shadow, there seemed to be a figure in a black robe with a blurry face, speaking intermittently in a hoarse voice: "...The time of 'Gui Water'... advanced... 'Shadow Puppet' has arrived... according to plan... receive..."

The voice stopped abruptly, and the light and shadow dissipated.

The token returned to its original state, but there was an extremely faint feeling on its surface of being connected to Lin Ye's heart blood, as if it had been preliminarily refined by him.

"A communication token? And it's one-way reception?" Lin Ye frowned. There was too little information, but it mentioned "Gui Water" (mystic yin true water?) and "Shadow Puppet," as well as "receive." This seemed to confirm that Liu Xiong was related to some force (most likely the Yinkui Sect), and they were planning an action related to mystic yin true water, and the time seemed to be very urgent?

He put away the token and checked Liu Xiong's other items, but found nothing more.

Night fell, and the howls of various Yao Beasts came from the mountain forest.

This place was not suitable for a long stay. Liu Xiong might not be dead, or he might have accomplices. He had to leave as soon as possible.

He struggled to stand up and identified the direction. Which direction was the Qingyun Sect mountain gate? He was completely lost. The back mountain was vast and filled with dangers.

The top priority was to find an absolutely safe place to fully heal his injuries, digest the harvest from this Immortal Cave trip, and at the same time figure out his location and his next plan.

He looked at the ruined horn in his hand, which still retained some fierce Evil Qi. Perhaps... this thing could be of some use?

Lin Ye was just about to leave the riverbank to find a place to spend the night.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he caught the sound of extremely light but rhythmic footsteps coming from afar, as well as... the sound of metal armor plates rubbing together?

It was not a Yao Beast, it was people! And there was more than one; their movements were quite methodical, as if they were searching for something.

Were they Liu Xiong's accomplices? Or the Qingyun Sect's patrol team? Or perhaps some other force?

The footsteps were approaching the riverbank!

Lin Ye's heart tightened; he immediately crouched low, hid in the dense reed thicket, and fully operated his Qi Concealment Technique.

Soon, a group of about five or six figures appeared upstream of the riverbank.

They wore uniform standard leather armor, with long swords hanging at their waists; their movements were agile, their gazes sharp, and their cultivation was all between Qi Refining Stage 4 and 6. Leading them was a cold-faced middle-aged man with Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivation and a steady aura.

On their leather armor, a symbol was embroidered—a towering mountain peak with a small sword floating above it.

The symbol of the Qingyun Sect Outer Sect Law Enforcement Team!

Lin Ye's pupils contracted slightly. How could the Law Enforcement Team appear in the depths of the back mountain? Were they patrolling, or searching for something?

The cold-faced middle-aged man squatted down, inspected the traces of the fight on the riverbank (between Lin Ye, Liu Xiong, and the Blood Shadow Leopard), and then looked toward the reef downstream where Lin Ye had just been hiding, his brows furrowed tightly.

"There is a smell of blood, lingering Yao Beast aura, and the spiritual power fluctuations of a Cultivator's fight... not just one party," the middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "Search carefully! The Sect Master has ordered that the back mountain has not been peaceful recently; there are suspected evil spirits or outsiders who have infiltrated. Anyone who encounters suspicious persons must bring them back to the Sect for interrogation!"

Evil spirits? Outsiders?

Lin Ye's thoughts raced. Did this refer to the influence of the leaking demon abyss sword Evil Qi? Or did it refer to Chen Mo (Yinkui Sect) and his people?

In his current state (heavily injured, tattered clothes, weak aura), if he were discovered by the Law Enforcement Team, he would definitely be taken away as a "suspicious person." Once he entered the Law Enforcement Hall, many things would become unclear, and the secrets he carried might also be exposed.

He had to leave immediately!

But the Law Enforcement Team had already spread out, searching downstream in a fan shape. Although his Qi Concealment Technique was excellent, his aura was unstable due to his heavy injuries, and it would be very difficult to completely hide from the Qi Refining Stage 7 captain.

What to do? Forcing his way through was courting death. Hiding in place, it was only a matter of time before he was discovered.