35: Chapter 35 Covert Operations and Strict Enforcement

To be discovered meant endless trouble. With his severely injured body, he could not withstand the interrogation of the Enforcement Hall.

Forcing his way through was a dead end, and disguising himself carried too much risk (weak aura, strange injuries that were hard to explain). His only option was to rely on this natural barrier—the turbulent river water.

Lin Ye did not hesitate in the slightest. The moment the enforcement team fanned out to search, he slid into the icy river water as silently as the most skilled otter, without even splashing much water.

He operated his Qi Concealment Technique to its limit, suppressing his own aura to the extreme, blending in with the aura of the river water, water plants, and silt.

The cold spiritual power of the Ice Soul Sword Art flowed slowly within his body, lowering his body temperature and further weakening his vital signs.

Like a lifeless piece of driftwood, he drifted silently downstream with the turbulent current. The wound on his left shoulder was submerged in the icy river water, sending bone-chilling pain and numbness, but he gritted his teeth and remained motionless, suppressing his breathing to the minimum and switching to internal respiration.

The river flowed rapidly, carrying him quickly away from the riverbank he had just left.

Through the murky river water, he could vaguely see the flickering torchlight of the enforcement team on the bank and hear their faint shouts.

"There are bloodstains here!"

"He went downstream!"

"Watch the reed beds!"

The voices were gradually drowned out by the sound of the rushing water.

Lin Ye felt slightly relieved, but he dared not relax. The captain of the enforcement team was at Qi Refining Stage 7, and his spiritual sense had a significant range, likely covering parts of the river surface.

He controlled his body, staying as close to the riverbed as possible, moving with the help of the shadows of water plants and rocks.

Sure enough, not long after, a tyrannical spiritual sense swept across the river surface like an invisible net. Lin Ye immediately sank into the silt at the bottom of the river like a real stone, his heartbeat almost stopping.

The spiritual sense swept past and paused slightly, as if it had sensed something, but the residual demon abyss sword Qi and Evil Qi on Lin Ye (though suppressed, they were high-level in essence), the Blood Shadow Leopard aura, and the chaotic nature of the river water itself interfered with the judgment. The spiritual sense finally moved away and continued to search downstream.

Lin Ye continued to drift downstream. He did not know how far he had drifted, but only when he could no longer feel any movement on the bank and the river water became calm did he cautiously poke his head out from a river bend dense with reeds.

The sky had turned completely dark; there was no starlight or moonlight, and the mountain forest was pitch black.

He climbed ashore and collapsed into the mud, gasping heavily. The cold river water had turned his lips purple, and the wound on his left shoulder began to ache faintly again.

He had to leave the water's edge immediately and find a dry, hidden place to tend to his wounds and spend the night.

He forced himself to stand up, identified the direction (away from the Qingyun Sect mountain gate, deeper into the back mountain), and, dragging his exhausted and heavily injured body, stumbled into the depths of the dense forest.

He was lucky. At the base of a steep cliff, he found a narrow cave hidden by vines. The entrance was only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways. The interior was dry and showed signs of having been inhabited by wild beasts (the excrement was already dry), but there were no living creatures inside.

Lin Ye blocked most of the cave entrance with stones, leaving only a gap for ventilation, and sprinkled some insect repellent powder (found in Liu Xiong's pouch), only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He was temporarily safe.

He immediately sat cross-legged, took out the remaining Rejuvenation Pill and Detoxification Pill, and swallowed one of each. As the Medicinal Pill dissolved, he coordinated it with the Ice Soul Sword Art and the Mystic Jade Body, slowly repairing his injuries and dispelling the cold Qi in his body.

At the same time, he began to count and organize all the gains from this trip to the Immortal Cave and the encounter at the riverbank.

[Cultivation]: Qi Refining Stage 4 (Early Stage, needs consolidation).

[Cultivation Technique]: Ice Soul Sword Art (First half, before Foundation Establishment Stage), Mystic Jade Body (Second level).

[Items]:

ancient ring "yuan sha": Absorbed and refined a large amount of Evil Qi (including a trace of the demon abyss sword's Origin), quality improved, space of half a chi, can slowly nourish the Physical Body, greatly increased resistance to Evil Qi.

bone ring "Xuanyuan": Immortal Cave sub-key, can weakly control the lighting of the Outer Chamber, sense abnormalities in the mystic yin true water veins, and resonate with the Restriction of the Inner Chamber. Space of about a chi.

gui water escape talisman (damaged): Cracks have expanded, spiritual light is weak, unsure if it can still be used.

Black "Shadow" token: Suspected communication token of the Yinkui Sect, initially refined, received a vague message about "mystic yin true water" and "Shadow Puppet".

Low-Grade Spirit Stone: About forty pieces (belongings of Outer Sect Deacon Zhou Yuan + Liu Xiong).

Medicinal Pill: Four Rejuvenation Pills, two Detoxification Pills, several bigu pills.

Sundries: Dry rations and insect repellent powder from Liu Xiong's pouch; scrapped Blood Shadow Leopard horn (can be discarded); jade box gifted by Master Xuanyuan (already empty).

Information: Secrets of the Xuanyuan Cave Abode, Chen Mo (Mo Chen)'s conspiracy, threat of the demon abyss sword, possible intervention of the Yinkui Sect.

The gains were huge, but crises followed one after another.

The Evil Qi in his left shoulder had not been eradicated; the Yinkui Sect (Chen Mo) might be in action; the Qingyun Sect enforcement team was searching in the back mountain; he was deep in the back mountain, and his location was unknown.

What should be his next step?

Just as Lin Ye was silently thinking and adjusting his breath to heal,

the black "Shadow" token in his bosom suddenly, without any warning, became slightly hot again and transmitted a message that was clearer and more urgent than before!

It was no longer vague light and shadows, but a hoarse and cold voice that rang directly in his mind:

"All 'Shadow Guards' listen: mystic yin true water is fluctuating, the Seal is about to break. 'Shadow Puppet' is in position. According to the plan, gather at 'Black Wind Valley' at 'Zi Hour, Third Quarter' to prepare to receive the power of the 'Holy Sword'. Those who delay will suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering."

The voice repeated twice and then fell silent.

The token returned to being cold.

Lin Ye suddenly widened his eyes!

Zi Hour, Third Quarter? Black Wind Valley? Receive the power of the Holy Sword?!

The Holy Sword... could it be referring to the demon abyss sword?!

The Yinkui Sect was indeed in action, and the time was tonight! The location "Black Wind Valley"... it sounded like some place deep in the back mountain.

Should he go?

If he went, the risk was huge; he might face Yinkui Sect experts and Chen Mo directly, and might even be drawn into the vortex of the demon abyss sword breaking its Seal.

If he did not go, once the demon abyss sword was controlled or released by the Yinkui Sect, the consequences would be unimaginable, and he would be found by Chen Mo sooner or later anyway.

Moreover, "Black Wind Valley"... he had no idea where it was. The back mountain was too vast.

Subconsciously, he looked at the bone ring "Xuanyuan" on his right hand.

As the Immortal Cave sub-key, it could weakly sense abnormalities in the "mystic yin true water" veins. And the Yinkui Sect wanting to receive the "power of the Holy Sword" must be related to the mystic yin true water veins and the Immortal Cave...

Perhaps, through the bone ring's perception of the water vein abnormalities, he could reverse-locate "Black Wind Valley"?