37: Chapter 37 Dragging the Evil Spirits to Disrupt the Enemy, the Sword's Cry Seals the Valley

Rush toward the water vein cave entrance? That was territory managed by the Yinkui Sect; it would be no different from throwing oneself into a net.

Flee into the mountains and forests to maneuver? The pursuers were at least at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, they had the numerical advantage, and he had only just recovered from severe injuries with his Qi not yet restored; he wouldn't be able to maneuver for long.

The only way was to create an even greater chaos, to muddy the waters completely, only then would there be a chance to escape amidst the chaos!

The moment Lin Ye threw the token and disrupted the altar, he had already chosen his direction—not outside the valley, nor the cave entrance, but the area where the leopard horn had landed earlier and the valley guards had been lured away!

There was the dense Evil Qi of the Blood Shadow Leopard Yao Beast, and even more, a trace of pure demon abyss sword Evil Qi that had remained in his left shoulder wound and been adsorbed by the leopard horn! This was enough to cause misjudgment and greed among the Yinkui Sect Cultivators!

His figure darted out like a leopard, unleashing the power of the second layer of his Mystic Jade Body to the extreme; his speed surged, and he rushed toward the pile of rocks on the other side of the valley!

"Stop him!"

"It's a little bug at Qi Refining Stage 4! Kill him!"

Behind him, three black-robed figures were in hot pursuit, the leader's aura clearly reaching the Qi Refining Stage 8! The other two were at Qi Refining Stage 6. Black light, bone spikes, and sinister winds—various vicious Spells and Magical Artifacts attacked from behind.

Lin Ye did not even look back, relying entirely on his spiritual sense and the keen warning of the ancient ring yuan sha regarding Evil Qi, darting left and right among the rocks, performing various unbelievable dodging maneuvers. A boulder was shattered by a bone spike, and gravel flew past his scalp.

Ten zhang, five zhang!

He could already see the broken leopard horn in the rock pile, emitting a dark red, ominous luster!

And the four patrolling Disciples who had been drawn by the movement of the leopard horn earlier were now flanking from the other side of the rock pile, forming a pincer attack!

A desperate situation?

No! This was exactly what Lin Ye wanted!

At the moment he was about to be surrounded from front and back, Lin Ye suddenly made a sharp turn; instead of continuing forward, he threw himself sideways toward a huge rock nearby, using it to shield his figure.

At the same time, his left hand grabbed a few stones from the ground, and with all his might, he shot them at the four patrolling Disciples who were flanking him!

It wasn't an attack, but a distraction!

The four Disciples subconsciously dodged or parried.

It was this instantaneous hesitation!

Lin Ye's figure darted out from behind the rock again, but he did not rush toward either side; instead, he leaped into the air, kicked hard against a protruding stone with his right foot, and his body flipped like a harrier, tracing a strange arc as he squeezed through the gap between the two forces, landing exactly beside the leopard horn!

"You're courting death!" The black-robed man at Qi Refining Stage 8 was furious, and a black phantom ghost claw descended from the air, enveloping Lin Ye's entire body!

Lin Ye seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; the moment he landed, he performed a rolling maneuver, dodging the ghost claw by a hair's breadth. At the same time, his right hand reached out and grabbed the cold leopard horn, and without even looking, he used all his strength to throw it violently toward the direction where the pursuers were densest, where the altar and the Shadow Puppet phantom were!

"Catch! The Holy Sword aura you want!" He roared hoarsely, his voice echoing in the valley.

The leopard horn tumbled in the air, and the dense Yao Beast Evil Qi remaining on it, along with that trace of pure demon abyss sword Evil Qi, acted like a torch in the darkness, instantly attracting everyone's gaze!

Especially the black-robed men on the altar, who were shocked and angry because the ritual had been interrupted and the Shadow Puppet was fluctuating; upon feeling that trace of pure Evil Qi on the leopard horn—which was of the same origin as the "Holy Sword" they worshipped but even sharper—their breath hitched!

"Holy Sword aura?!"

"Stop it!"

"It cannot fall into the hands of outsiders!"

The movements of the three people chasing Lin Ye involuntarily slowed down, and two of them even subconsciously turned, wanting to intercept the leopard horn in the air.

And from the direction of the altar, a black-robed man could not hold back, flying up to grab the leopard horn!

Chaos! Absolute chaos!

This was exactly the effect Lin Ye wanted!

Taking advantage of this brief chaos, he pushed his Qi Concealment Technique to the limit, his figure like a wisp of smoke merging into the night, and he rushed desperately toward the gap near the rock wall where the black fog had been thin when he first snuck into the valley!

"Forget the leopard horn! Kill that little thief first!" The black-robed man at Qi Refining Stage 8 was the first to react, shouting sternly. But how could he, alone, stop the others who had different agendas?

The leopard horn was caught by a black-robed man from the altar, and as he felt the pure Evil Qi within it, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes. Meanwhile, the two who had been chasing Lin Ye formed a standoff with him.

With just this delay, Lin Ye had already rushed to the gap in the rock wall!

However, the moment he was about to slip through the gap—a sudden change occurred!

In the center of the altar, the "Shadow Puppet" phantom, which had been fluctuating violently because the ritual was interrupted and it sensed the Evil Qi of the same origin on the leopard horn, suddenly let out a sharp, piercing, non-human shriek!

Immediately following this, the phantom suddenly expanded and twisted, actually breaking free from the constraints of the altar and turning into a pitch-black, blurry ghost shadow composed of countless vengeful spirits and Evil Qi, pouncing toward the black-robed man holding the leopard horn!

It seemed to regard the trace of pure demon abyss Evil Qi on the leopard horn as more delicious "food," or... as a part of the "Holy Sword" itself, triggering an instinctive desire to devour!

"Not good! The Shadow Puppet is backfiring!"

"Quickly suppress it!"

The black-robed men around the altar were thrown into chaos, one after another casting Spells in an attempt to control the Shadow Puppet.

But the Shadow Puppet had absorbed too much black fog and Evil Qi, and with its ritual interrupted, it was now out of control, its ferocity unleashed, and it began fighting with several black-robed men!

The entire valley had descended into complete chaos!

The black-robed man at Qi Refining Stage 8 who had been chasing Lin Ye was also startled by the incident behind him and glanced back.

Just with that one glance, Lin Ye's figure had already disappeared beyond the rock wall gap, merging into the vast night.

Lin Ye rushed out of the valley without a moment's hesitation, not even daring to flee in a straight line; instead, he immediately turned, diving into the deepest part of the dense forest, specifically choosing routes overgrown with thorns and bushes and rich in Yao Beast aura, not caring about being covered in cuts and bruises, just to cover his tracks and scent to the greatest extent.

In the valley behind him, the sounds of Spell explosions and ghostly wails could be faintly heard; clearly, the Shadow Puppet's backlash and the Yinkui Sect's internal strife were still continuing.

He dared not relax in the slightest, pushing his speed to the limit until he had run dozens of miles in one breath, confirming that he had completely shaken off any potential pursuit (at least for a short time), before collapsing in a hidden tree hollow, panting heavily.

The wound on his left shoulder had reopened due to the strenuous exercise, and blood had soaked his clothes. His internal Qi was also almost completely exhausted.

Yet, a cold smile of survival appeared on his face.

Luring the disaster elsewhere, it worked!

Not only had he successfully escaped, but he had also caused the Yinkui Sect to turn on each other, the Shadow Puppet to backfire, and their "reception" ritual would inevitably be greatly affected, perhaps even failing completely.

More importantly, that leopard horn stained with the demon abyss sword Evil Qi had fallen into the hands of the Yinkui Sect, which might bring them some "surprises."

He took the last bit of Detoxification Pill (to suppress the Evil Qi remaining in his left shoulder) and a bigu pill, silently adjusting his breathing.

An hour later, his state had slightly recovered.

He took out the black token with the word "Shadow" and tried to sense it again.

The token remained cold, but it seemed that because of the previous "throwing" and the chaos in the valley, the communication fluctuations within it had become more disordered and weak. For the time being, no new information came through.

He put away the token and began to think about his next plan.

After this turmoil, the Yinkui Sect should be unable to organize a large-scale "reception" operation in the short term, but with the demon abyss sword on the verge of breaking its Seal, they would never give up. He could not go back to Black Wind Valley.

The Qingyun Sect Law Enforcement Team was searching the back mountain for "evil spirits" and "outsiders," and going out in his current state would also be troublesome.

Then, it seemed only one path remained—find a place to hide completely, heal his wounds, Cultivate, digest his gains, and improve his strength.

At the same time, closely monitor the movements of the token, and... the changes on the side of the Xuanyuan Cave Abode.

He recalled the abnormal fluctuations of the mystic yin true water vein in the perception of the bone ring "Xuanyuan". The demon abyss sword breaking its Seal would inevitably cause a drastic change in the true water vein, and might even affect the entire back mountain.

He had to find a place that was sufficiently hidden and safe, yet could observe the changes in the water vein (to provide early warning).

His gaze turned toward the deeper, rarely visited mountains of the back mountain.

Over the next few days, Lin Ye moved through the depths of the back mountain like the most cunning beast. He avoided Yao Beast nests and dodged several sporadic searches by Cultivators (some from the Yinkui Sect, some from the Qingyun Sect), eventually finding a natural cave located halfway up a cliff, completely covered by vines.

The cave was not large, but it was dry and ventilated, and had natural stone cracks to observe the outside and allow for air circulation. The entrance was narrow and hidden, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

He settled down here for the time being.

Every day, he took Medicinal Pill to heal his wounds, operated the Ice Soul Sword Art and Mystic Jade Body to Cultivate, and used Spirit Stones to replenish his Qi.

The demon abyss sword Evil Qi in his left shoulder was being forced out and refined, bit by bit, under the dual effect of the Medicinal Pill and the Cultivation Technique, and the wound was slowly healing.

The ancient ring yuan sha, having absorbed and refined more Evil Qi (including the demon abyss sword Qi and the Shadow Puppet's aura), had become more restrained and deep in color, and the nourishing power it fed back was also stronger.

The bone ring "Xuanyuan," meanwhile, was continuously nourished by him with icy cold Qi, making his perception of the water vein increasingly clear.

His cultivation, amidst life-and-death battles and dedicated Cultivation, was steadily advancing toward the Middle Stage of Qi Refining Stage 4.

One day, while he was meditating in the cave, his heart suddenly stirred, and he took out the "Shadow" token.

The token became slightly warm, and a new, intermittent message came through:

"...Black Wind Valley... failure... Shadow Puppet damaged... 'Holy Sword' fluctuations intensifying... Seal... at most three days... 'Shadow Envoy' arriving... plan... changed... 'blood sacrifice'... speed up..."

The message came to an abrupt end.

Lin Ye opened his eyes abruptly, cold light flickering in his pupils.

Blood sacrifice?!

The Yinkui Sect wanted to use a blood sacrifice to speed up the demon abyss sword breaking its Seal? Or did they have another scheme?

And "Shadow Envoy" arriving... meant that a stronger Yinkui Sect expert was on the way!

Three days... at most three days, the Seal would break, and the demon abyss sword would emerge!

The storm was truly coming.