67: The ship's corridor is attacked again; Qingxin quells the chaos.

The Spiritual Qi in the Vein Nurturing Chamber nourished the three like a warm current. Bai Wanqing's shoulder wound, under the dual effect of the Formation and ice heart liquid, had stopped bleeding, and new flesh had even grown at the edge of the scab; Su Qingyue's waist injury had also significantly alleviated, allowing her to circulate her True Essence normally; Lin Yang's liquid True Essence had completely stabilized, with a faint grayish-gold glow on the surface of his chaos star core, a change after absorbing the energy of the Chaos crystal pillar, putting him just one step away from the Gang Qi Realm.

"We must return to the Core Cabin as soon as possible to get the chaos inheritance." Lin Yang stood up and stretched his limbs. There was no longer the previous feeling of stagnation in his Meridians; instead, they felt tougher than before. "Elder Yun Song definitely won't give up. He might have already set up an ambush outside the starship. We must improve our strength before he launches his next attack."

Su Qingyue and Bai Wanqing also got up. Su Qingyue rewrapped the ice silk around her waist, while Bai Wanqing gripped the ice soul pearl. The three walked along the ship's corridor towards the Core Cabin. The light in the corridor was still dim, illuminated only by the faint blue glow of the wall lamps. The Chaos Qi in the air was thinner than before, but there was a faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood — clearly, enemies had infiltrated the starship and had even fought inside.

"Be careful, there's a smell of blood inside the ship, there might be an ambush." Bai Wanqing's ice soul pearl emitted a faint red glow, a sign of perceiving hostility. "There are four Soul Power fluctuations at the corridor corner fifty meters ahead. They are from the White Cloud Sect!"

Lin Yang immediately activated the Clear Heart Art. Pale green runes circulated around his body, which not only stabilized his True Essence but also masked his aura. "It's Deacon Wang's aura. He must have brought the remaining Disciples to infiltrate the ship, intending to ambush us. Senior Sister Qingyue, use your ice silk to entangle their weapons; Wanqing, lock onto their Soul Cores; I'll take the main attack, let's finish this quickly."

The three slowed their pace and approached the corridor corner. As soon as they reached the corner, four dark figures suddenly darted out. The leader was none other than Deacon Wang of the White Cloud Sect! His left arm was still bandaged, a mark of the injury Lin Yang had inflicted earlier. His eyes were now full of malice: "Lin Yang, let's see how you escape this time! Soul-Locking Talismans, release!"

Three White Cloud Sect Disciples simultaneously threw out Soul-Locking Talismans. The burning green smoke from the talismans instantly filled the entire corridor, carrying a pungent sulfurous smell, attempting to interfere with Lin Yang's Sea of Consciousness and True Essence circulation. As soon as the green smoke approached Lin Yang, it was blocked by the pale green runes of the Clear Heart Art, unable to penetrate in the slightest — the Clear Heart Art could not only guide True Essence but also resist such sinister energies. The Shen Family technique taught by Shen Shuanghua now came in handy.

"You think such meager tricks can trap me?" Lin Yang sneered, his liquid True Essence condensing into a fist in his palm, striking towards the charging Disciple. That Disciple hadn't expected Lin Yang to ignore the Soul-Locking Talisman smoke and hastily raised his sword to block. With a "bang," the longsword was knocked away, and the Disciple was slammed in the chest by Lin Yang's palm, spitting blood as he flew backward.

Seeing this, Deacon Wang swung his short blade towards Lin Yang, the blade shimmering with a dark purple poisonous light: "Kid, don't get cocky! This blade of mine is coated with 'Soul-Devouring Poison.' As long as it cuts you, it can throw your Sea of Consciousness into Chaos!" The short blade, with a sharp whistle of cutting wind, thrust directly at Lin Yang's throat, at an extremely tricky angle.

Su Qingyue reacted extremely quickly. The ice silk instantly unfurled, wrapping around the short blade's body, and Ice True Essence froze Deacon Wang's wrist along the blade: "Wanqing, lock onto his Soul Core!" Bai Wanqing's ice soul pearl shot out a blue light, landing precisely below Deacon Wang's left eyebrow bone — that was the location of his Soul Core.

Lin Yang seized the opportunity to close in, pressing his left hand against Deacon Wang's wrist. Chaos True Essence, with its devouring power, began to absorb the True Essence and Soul-Devouring Poison within his body. "You dare to devour my poison?!" Deacon Wang's face changed drastically. He tried to pull his hand back, but it was firmly entangled by Su Qingyue's ice silk, leaving him immobile.

Pale green Clear Heart Art runes circulated in Lin Yang's palm, rapidly decomposing the devoured Soul-Devouring Poison and converting it into harmless energy. Deacon Wang's body visibly shriveled at a speed perceptible to the naked eye. His eyes were filled with despair: "The White Cloud Sect won't let you go..." Before he could finish his sentence, his True Essence was completely devoured by Lin Yang, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

The remaining two White Cloud Sect Disciples, seeing their leader killed, were terrified and turned to flee, but Su Qingyue's ice silk wrapped around their ankles, making them fall heavily to the ground. "Keep them alive, we might be able to find out Elder Yun Song's movements." Lin Yang said. Su Qingyue understood, tightening the ice silk, binding the two Disciples securely.

After dealing with the ambush, Lin Yang picked up the spoils of war from the ground — Deacon Wang's short blade, three unused Soul-Locking Talismans, and a rift seal blade fragment glowing with black light. "This rift seal blade fragment can absorb Soul Power. Combined with the armor fragment we got before, it can be used to forge better defensive equipment." Lin Yang put away the fragment and turned to look at Bai Wanqing, seeing that her face was a bit pale. He quickly walked over, "Did the Soul-Locking Talisman smoke affect you just now?"

Bai Wanqing shook her head and leaned against Lin Yang: "I'm fine, I just consumed some Soul Power by activating the ice soul pearl earlier." Lin Yang didn't ask further but circulated his Chaos True Essence. A pale golden airflow enveloped Bai Wanqing, combined with the pale green runes of the Clear Heart Art, helping her nourish her Soul Power.

As the pale golden halo and pale green runes intertwined, Bai Wanqing's complexion gradually regained its rosy color. She looked at Lin Yang's focused profile, a warmth rising in her heart, and softly said, "Thank you, Lin Yang."

Lin Yang looked up, meeting her gaze. Their eyes interlocked, and the air seemed to gain a hint of ambiguity. Su Qingyue, seeing this, lightly coughed and turned to guard the captives: "We should hurry to the Core Cabin, lest we invite further trouble."

Lin Yang and Bai Wanqing simultaneously snapped back to reality. Bai Wanqing's ear tips turned red, and she quickly averted her gaze. Lin Yang also lightly coughed and withdrew his True Essence: "Let's go, the Chaos Legacy in the Core Cabin is waiting for us."

The three continued forward. The bloody smell in the corridor gradually dissipated, but a tense atmosphere still lingered. Lin Yang knew that Elder Yun Song's reinforcements could appear at any time, and they had to obtain the Chaos Legacy and improve their strength as quickly as possible to protect themselves and their companions in the upcoming crisis. This journey within the ship was not only about contending for a treasure but also a test of their strength and bond, and they were steadily approaching their goal.