638: I can't hold on any longer.

Just as Ye Wushang had expected.

Inside the dark and twisted spatial tunnel, Yao Delong's body tumbled uncontrollably like a broken doll.

His remaining strength of the Primordial Spirit barely maintained a sliver of clarity, controlling his body to struggle through the violent spatial turbulence.

Every spatial compression brought heart-rending pain,

and blood carrying destructive Evil Qi continuously poured from the terrifying wound on his back.

Having forced his way across just a few thousand miles, the last shred of power in his body was completely exhausted!

Before his eyes, there was endless swirling darkness and flashing stars!

Pfft!

He spat out another mouthful of black blood, his consciousness like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.

"No... I can't hold on..."

With this thought, he exerted all his strength, using his last bit of willpower to tear open an unstable spatial rift ahead.

Thump!

Yao Delong's body, like a completely drained sack, slammed heavily onto the cold, hard black basalt.

"Urgh..." Scalding golden-red blood mixed with fragments of internal organs surged from his mouth again, spreading into a glaring dark red stain on the dark rock beneath him.

His consciousness sank completely. The endless darkness, like thick ink, instantly submerged him.

He lay there straight and still, his vitality as weak as a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Only the fire qilin armor on his chest, battered and covered in cracks, still stubbornly emitted an extremely faint crimson glow, like a remaining spark, stubbornly guarding the last fire of life in this body on the verge of collapse.

Inside his body, having lost the active maintenance of his will, the mysterious [Thousand Mechanism Origin Core] slowly ceased its operation.

The disguise illusion covering him dissipated rapidly like a receding tide.

The withered, cold image of the "evil Cultivator old demon" peeled away inch by inch, revealing the true appearance beneath that could make heaven and earth pale—his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, his nose bridge was straight and towering like a peak. Even though his eyes were closed tightly, his face was pale as gold paper, and his mouth was stained with glaring blood, it could not hide that peerless, handsome profile that seemed to be exquisitely carved by the heavens!

However, the hideous, gaping blood hole beneath the broken armor, deep enough to see bone, and the heavy scent of blood and tragic Dao injuries permeating his body, all signaled what kind of cruel catastrophe this perfect shell had just endured!

At the wound, the residual Evil Qi of the Nine Nether Sect was like maggots on bones, crazily eroding his flesh and attempting to penetrate deep into his marrow.

However, a force hidden deep within his Bloodline, supreme in Yang and rigidity, was completely enraged by this evil, sinister Qi!

That was the Origin of the [Great Sun Divine Fire]!

Hum!

Even though its master had fallen into the deepest coma, this power of the divine fire still erupted autonomously as if it possessed its own spirit!

Countless golden sparks, as fine as needle tips but containing the will to burn away all evil, surged from the flesh near the wound, transforming into a miniature golden flame barrier, desperately resisting and burning those invading black mists of Evil Qi!

The two forces engaged in a fierce tug-of-war at the wound, emitting faint sizzling sounds, and the black mist was being dispersed and purified at a speed visible to the naked eye! Although the divine fire was weak, it displayed unyielding dignity!

Meanwhile, about a hundred miles away from this place.

A fairly large merchant caravan was traveling along a winding mountain road.

In the center of the procession, the curtains of a luxurious carriage, pulled by three snow-white and extraordinarily spirited [Cloud-Treading Beasts], were gently lifted by a fair, jade-like slender hand.

A woman dressed in a simple yet elegant white flowing cloud dress leaned out.

Her figure was slender, and her temperament was gentle and ethereal, as if the purest, most flawless flowing cloud from the Nine Heavens had drifted down to the mortal world.

Her appearance was also extremely beautiful. Unlike the cold and otherworldly nature of Lin Qingxue, who was like an iceberg snow lotus, her beauty was more like the unfolding clouds under the warm spring sun—gentle, serene, and carrying a unique charm that could smooth the ripples in one's heart, making anyone feel at peace upon seeing her.

She—was none other than the Young Master of the White Cloud Merchant Guild, Yun Ruoning.

The faint fluctuation caused by Yao Delong forcibly tearing through space and falling naturally could not be hidden from the perception of the experts in the caravan.

Yun Ruoning slightly knitted her dark eyebrows, her clear, autumn-water-like eyes gazing toward the direction from which the fluctuation came, carrying a trace of annoyance at being disturbed:

"Uncle Bai, what is the situation? Could it be that some blind bandits are robbing the road? Do they not know this is the caravan of the White Cloud Merchant Guild?"

Her voice was clear and gentle, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.

The White Cloud Merchant Guild's industries spread across the Eastern Domain, the Demon Domain, and even the Demon Domain, with far-reaching influence and a deep foundation that even many top sects had to show respect to; ordinary riffraff would never dare to provoke them easily.

A shadow like a ghost instantly appeared beside the carriage, silent and traceless.

It was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face, but his aura was as steady and condensed as a mountain—a Void Refinement Mid-stage expert, the guild's consultant, Cang Bai.

He bowed slightly, his voice low:

"Reporting to Young Miss, it seems a Cultivator has fallen from the sky ahead. His aura is extremely weak; he should be severely injured. He just happened to fall on our path."

"A severely injured Cultivator?" Yun Ruoning's eyebrows knitted even tighter. She naturally disliked trouble and was even less willing to be drawn into unnecessary disputes.

"Uncle Bai, go take a look quickly." Her tone was flat.

"If I'm not mistaken, this place is the border between the Xuan Ye Dynasty and the Demon Domain, where the Nine Nether Sect's influence is rampant. If this person is a disciple of the Nine Nether Sect... then there is no need to pay him any mind."

She had long heard of the actions of those from the Nine Nether Sect and had absolutely no affection for them.

"Yes, Young Miss." Cang Bai acknowledged, his figure flickering, and he had already vanished from the spot.

A few breaths later, Cang Bai had appeared at the place where Yao Delong had fallen.

He saw the figure lying on the black rock at a glance.

"Hmm?" When Cang Bai's gaze landed on Yao Delong's face, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

"What a handsome shell..."

He inwardly praised, and then immediately felt the other person's weak aura, like a candle in a gale, and the Nine Nether Evil Qi in that hideous wound being stubbornly resisted by a strange golden fire.

"Evil Qi has entered the bones... this wound on the back... Hiss! This aura... it was left by one of the Nine Nether Sect's signature ultimate techniques, the 'Nine Evil Thunder Spear'!"

Cang Bai's eyes narrowed, and he made a judgment instantly.

"Looking at the speed at which this Evil Qi is fading, the golden flame within his body is not simple... It is definitely not the sinister path of the Nine Nether Sect! This kid looks more like a victim being hunted by the Nine Nether Sect!"

He was a bit conflicted. The Young Miss only said "no need to pay mind to people from the Nine Nether Sect," but this person was clearly injured by the Nine Nether Sect... Should he care or not?

"Sigh, forget it!" Cang Bai shook his head, deciding not to act on his own.

"I will bring him back for the Young Miss to decide."

He bent down to check and attempted to feed Yao Delong a Rank 6 Medicinal Pill, the [Rejuvenation and Pulse-Renewing Pill].

However, once the Medicinal Pill entered his mouth, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean; the vast medicinal power only slightly moistened his dried-up Meridians before it was quickly swallowed by the astonishing Dao injuries and the exhausted Primordial Spirit deeper within, with negligible effect!

"Such a heavy injury! Even a Rank 6 Medicinal Pill is like a cup of water on a burning cartload of firewood?" Cang Bai's expression changed slightly.

"It seems there is already a powerful Rank 7 Medicinal Pill's power in this kid's body, slowly repairing his Physical Body injuries, but this Primordial Spirit exhaustion... I'm afraid it's not something that can be quickly saved by Medicinal Pills; he must rest quietly."

He no longer hesitated, picked up the unconscious Yao Delong like a chick, and with a flicker of his figure, quickly returned to the caravan.