26: Escape

In the darkness, countless pairs of blood-red eyes lit up!

Dense Yao Beast figures surged madly from the rock walls, mud, and ground fissures!

Third-tier Rock Armored Violent Bears, Fourth-tier Earthfire Poison Scorpions,

and even several Fifth-tier Yao Beasts with auras comparable to the Early Golden Core Stage, as massive as small mountains—the Earth-Rending Rhinoceros!

They were attracted by the Medicinal Pill fragrance after it formed,

and like mad demons, they surged towards the source of the Medicinal Pill fragrance—the hollow where Yao Delong and Lin Qingxue were!

A beast tide! A true beast tide!

"Go!" Lin Qingxue's face changed drastically, reacting with extreme speed! Her ice soul sword instantly grew to over a zhang long!

Yao Delong quickly put away his Cauldron and foundation establishment pill, then swiftly leaped onto his Flying Sword.

"Ice Soul Extreme Speed! Flee!"

Lin Qingxue let out a soft cry, her Golden Core spinning wildly within her, injecting boundless ice-elemental Spiritual Qi into the Flying Sword without reservation!

Buzz!

The ice soul sword burst forth with dazzling ice-blue light, its Sword Qi tearing through the air,

transforming into a streak of light dragging a long tail of ice crystals, shooting towards the entrance of the rift valley!

Its speed was so great that it left behind afterimages!

Rumble!

The very next second after they left the hollow, several massive Earth-Rending Rhinoceros, like moving mountains, slammed heavily onto the platform they had just occupied!

The hard rock shattered and collapsed like tofu!

Countless third and fourth-tier Yao Beasts followed closely, letting out unwilling roars, madly pursuing in the direction of the escaping light!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp, ear-piercing sounds of air being torn came from behind! These were the fourth and fifth-tier Yao Beasts with ranged attack capabilities!

Fireballs, venom, and rock javelins poured down like a torrential rain!

Lin Qingxue's eyes were icy cold, her Divine Sense fully open, controlling the ice soul sword to fly and dodge at incredible angles in the narrow rift valley!

ice soul sword Qi intertwined behind them, forming a curtain of ice-crystal light that blocked most of the attacks,

but sporadic fireballs and shattered rocks still grazed past the sword light, the resulting air currents making their clothes flap loudly!

Yao Delong was tightly protected behind Lin Qingxue, feeling the girl's body tremble slightly from her full exertion,

the cool, faint fragrance of her body lingering in his nostrils, a warm current and a trace of inexplicable throbbing rising in his heart.

He looked at Lin Qingxue's focused and resolute profile, her face still peerlessly beautiful even during their rapid escape,

appearing exceptionally captivating amidst the tense atmosphere of their life-or-death flight.

"Junior Sister..." Yao Delong was about to speak—

"Senior Brother, hold me tight!" Lin Qingxue said urgently without looking back,

executing another extreme nearly ninety-degree turn, dodging a dense spray of venom!

The immense centrifugal force made Yao Delong's body sway, and he instinctively reached out his arms,

embracing Lin Qingxue's slender yet powerful waist!

Her touch was soft and warm; through the thin clothing, he could clearly feel her elastic skin and taut muscles.

Lin Qingxue's body stiffened instantly, her earlobes visibly flushing red, but at this moment of life-and-death speed,

she had no time to think further, only injecting more Spiritual Qi into her Flying Sword!

The ice soul sword's speed increased again, like a meteor streaking across the sky, finally, just before the beast tide could surround them,

they narrowly burst out of the Earth God Ravine entrance, through the swirling earthy-yellow curtain!

Within the rift valley behind them, unwilling roars were deafening, but those powerful Yao Beasts seemed to have some restriction,

unable to easily leave, eventually only letting out earth-shattering roars towards the valley entrance before gradually quieting down.

The ice soul sword hovered outside Tuyao Peak. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Junior Sister, thank you!" Yao Delong quickly let go, his tone filled with sincere gratitude and a trace of awkwardness.

"...Mm." Lin Qingxue responded softly, her pretty face slightly red, not daring to look into Yao Delong's eyes,

only quietly tidying her slightly disheveled clothes and hair,

her frozen heart lake, however, was now rippling.

"Senior Brother... that Medicinal Pill..."

"It's done!" Yao Delong's eyes once again burst with light, as he took out the jade bottle emitting a faint nine-colored glow,

"Nine Revolutions Foundation Establishment Pill! All thanks to Junior Sister's protection!"

Lin Qingxue looked at the jade bottle, her cold eyes also filled with shock. Nine Revolutions!

A legendary Medicinal Pill! It was actually refined by Senior Brother right before her eyes?

Looking again at Yao Delong's haggard yet spirited face,

she only felt that the mystery surrounding this Senior Brother was growing deeper, and yet... more alluring.

The lingering glow of the setting sun stretched their figures long.

"It's late today." Yao Delong looked at the last streak of sunset in the sky,

"Junior Sister has worked hard, please go back and rest. Tomorrow... may I trouble Junior Sister again to accompany me to Spirit Plant Peak?"

He needed a witness, and also an insurance, in case Bai Lengchan changed her mind.

"Mm." Lin Qingxue nodded gently, her fingertips brushing a stray strand of hair by her temple, her movements carrying a touch of maidenly softness,

"Tomorrow at Chen Shi, Clear Snow will come find Senior Brother." She paused, then whispered:

"Senior Brother... you should also rest early, and don't... overexert yourself too much."

These words of concern were completely unlike her usual cold demeanor.

"Good." Yao Delong nodded, watching Lin Qingxue summon her ice soul sword, her cool, ice-blue figure quickly merging into the deepening twilight, disappearing into the horizon.

He stood for a long time before turning back to his cold thatched hut,

sitting cross-legged to meditate and recover from today's immense exertion.

However, Yao Delong found himself unable to enter a meditative state, so he immediately got up and went to the market at the foot of the mountain to earn yin yang points.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of Spirit Plant Peak.

This place was completely different from the rugged grandeur of Tuyao Peak.

The entire hall was constructed from a warm, thousand-year-old spiritual wood, with carved beams and painted rafters, and everywhere one could see bas-reliefs of exotic flowers and plants,

the Spiritual Qi inside the hall was so dense it was almost tangible, permeated with the refreshing fragrance of a hundred herbs.

The soft glow of luminous pearls shone down, illuminating the two figures in the hall.

The main seat at the head was not empty; a middle-aged man in simple green robes sat there.

His face was refined, his eyes gentle as jade, seemingly containing infinite vitality,

a few silver strands casually fell across his forehead, not showing age, but rather adding a touch of wisdom and composure accumulated over the years.

His aura was peaceful, like a spring breeze turning into rain, yet unfathomably deep; he was precisely the Spirit Plant Peak Master—Luo Baiya!

A mighty figure whose cultivation was unfathomably deep, having long since reached the Void Refining realm!

The main seat in the hall was empty.

On a sandalwood chair below, a woman in a dark purple gauze dress leaned languidly, her curves graceful.

Her naturally alluring eyes, however, now held a rare trace of seriousness as she looked towards the high platform.

"Today's Yao Beast riot in the Earth God Ravine is likely related to what I mentioned earlier!" the woman spoke indifferently.

"Oh?" Luo Baiya's voice was calm and unruffled, betraying no emotion.

The morning light faintly appeared, and a thin mist, like gauze, gently enveloped Spirit Plant Peak.

Exotic flowers and plants, moistened by the morning dew, appeared even more delicate and vibrant, and the rich vitality, mingled with Spiritual Qi, was refreshing.

Two figures, treading on the dew, appeared early on the bluestone path leading to the Spirit Plant Hall.

Lin Qingxue, in an ice-blue dress, was as cold and aloof as the moon,

though there was less of her usual aloofness in her brows, and a barely perceptible softness had appeared.

Yao Delong followed closely behind; after his efforts last night at Myriad Medicine Pavilion, his yin-yang value had successfully reached 32 points.

But a sense of urgency and apprehension flickered deep within his cloudy eyes, like boiling water about to overflow, difficult to completely conceal.

His emaciated hand tightly clutched the jade bottle in his sleeve; inside it lay the key to whether he could obtain a large amount of Lifespan!

Just as they stepped onto the square paved with warm white jade in front of the hall, a cool, ethereal figure was already standing there quietly,

as if already merged with the morning light and mist.