115: Don't be afraid, this time, I'll save you.

The Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace looked grim; clearly, she had not expected the Ghost Spirit Sect to suddenly appear and disrupt her plans.

Mu Yurou, who had been protected behind Lin Feng and was currently in a state of despair, trembled even more violently as she listened to these two factions of Demonic Path Cultivators arguing over her ownership as if they were discussing merchandise.

"Attack!"

It was unclear who had shouted first, but the scene spiraled completely out of control.

The leading expert of the Blood Fiend Sect charged directly at the leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect. A blood-colored palm print collided fiercely with a ghost claw, erupting with a dull, thunderous roar, while the shockwave sent gravel on the ground flying.

"Ghost Spirit Sect, you dare to ruin my good deed?" the Blood Fiend Sect expert roared, beside himself with fury.

"A good deed? Finders keepers. If you want to swallow it all alone, you have to see if you have the appetite for it." The person from the Ghost Spirit Sect responded with a sinister chuckle, and several twisted ghost shadows flew out from his sleeves.

Meanwhile, Yun Tianhe led several other Blood Fiend Sect Disciples to confront the remaining Disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

For a time, spiritual light flashed violently across the top of Moon Gazing Cliff, and the roaring sounds were ceaseless.

Amidst the chaotic battle, Lin Feng faintly heard a Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator not far away, while dodging blood light, glance at the despairing Mu Yurou and sneer to his companion:

"Look over there. That girl from the Bishui Palace actually came. Is there really such a 'simple-minded' person in this world?

She knew it was a pit of fire and still jumped in. She's willing to throw away her life just for a single word from her Master? Truly... her stupidity is eye-opening."

On the other side, a Blood Fiend Sect Cultivator swung his blade to disperse the ghost Qi: "Damn it. Junior Brother Yun is really putting in a lot of effort for this performance.

But then again, who would have thought she believed her Master's words to such an extent?"

These words, like cold needles, pierced into Mu Yurou's ears, every single one of them. Her body trembled violently, and the last glimmer of light in her previously hollow eyes was completely extinguished.

Just then, the leading expert of the Blood Fiend Sect turned his head and looked at the Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace: "Palace Mistress Yushu. Why are people from the Ghost Spirit Sect here? How did the information leak?"

The Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"My Lord, please see clearly. This matter was definitely not leaked by our palace." She defended herself hurriedly, and at the same time, her gaze shifted, locking onto the despairing Mu Yurou, who was being protected behind Lin Feng.

"It must be this girl who caused this trouble. I will capture her personally right now and hand her over to you, my Lord, to deal with."

Gritting her teeth, she took action herself. Her spiritual power surged, transforming into a sharp blue light as she broke through the battle formation, her five fingers forming a claw, striking directly at Mu Yurou.

"Revered Master. You..." Mu Yurou stared at that face, which had become incomparably ferocious, and froze completely.

"Get lost!" Lin Feng's eyes were splitting with rage as he met her head-on.

"Bang!"

Taking a full-force blow from a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator head-on, Lin Feng felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, and a shattering pain erupted from his Dantian. His vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

However, relying on his tenacious willpower, he used the force of the impact to pull Mu Yurou onto his back, using his last bit of spiritual power to activate the wine immortal gourd.

"Thanks!"

The moment the wine immortal gourd carried the two of them away as a streak of light, a fleeting silence descended upon the top of Moon Gazing Cliff.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily followed that impossibly fast streak of light, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"How could it be so fast?" a Blood Fiend Sect Cultivator blurted out subconsciously. That was certainly not the escape speed a Foundation Establishment Cultivator should possess.

After a brief moment of shock, everyone's gaze fixed unanimously upon the Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace.

Especially the leading expert from the Blood Fiend Sect, whose gaze seemed almost ready to pierce through her: "Yushu. He just said 'thanks' to you. Could it be that your attack just now was faked? Don't tell me your Bishui Palace is still trying to play both sides!"

The leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect also chuckled sinisterly: "Heh heh, Palace Mistress Yushu, what a fine move of 'openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang'. Are you perhaps waiting to sell to the highest bidder, seeing which of our two sects offers more?"

The Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace's face instantly became incredibly ugly, her heart filled with both shock and rage. She was shocked that the gourd's escape speed far exceeded her imagination, and enraged that these two sects were actually splashing dirty water onto her.

Just as she was about to defend herself sternly, the Blood Fiend Sect expert, already impatient, waved his hand violently: "Pursue them. They are at the end of their rope and won't get far."

In an instant, several streaks of blood light and ghostly shadows shot into the sky, chasing rapidly in the direction where the wine immortal gourd had disappeared. Palace Mistress Yushu gritted her teeth and followed closely behind.

However, after chasing for only a few dozen miles, the leading Blood Fiend Sect expert stopped his Escaping Light, staring ahead with an ashen face.

Where was there any trace of that gourd? Not even a hint of spiritual power fluctuation could be sensed.

"Trash. A bunch of trash." He furiously smashed a giant rock beside him to pieces with one palm. Turning around, his gaze, filled with murderous intent, locked once again onto the newly arrived Palace Mistress Yushu, "Look at the good deed you've done."

The Palace Mistress of Clear Water Palace inwardly groaned, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and endure this baseless accusation and the surging rage.

Lin Feng forced himself to maintain his last shred of clarity, steering the wine immortal gourd as he broke through the encirclement. He didn't know how far they had flown, but until the gourd's spiritual light faded completely, the two plummeted from low altitude, rolling into a hidden mountain stream.

Lin Feng slammed heavily onto the gravel by the stream, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. He wanted to prop himself up but found his spiritual power completely empty; he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.

Mu Yurou fell to the side, disregarding her own pain, and scrambled over to Lin Feng's side.

Seeing his face as pale as gold paper, his breath as thin as a thread, his clothes soaked through with blood at his chest, and those eyes that were always calm now dim and lifeless, her heart felt as if it were being fiercely clutched, and tears instantly blurred her vision.

"Brother Lin... Brother Lin, hold on..." Her voice trembled as she used her hands to cover his continuously bleeding wound, her cold fingertips stained with warm blood.

She once again activated her remaining spiritual power, attempting to heal him, but the weak light merged into his body like a stone sinking into the ocean, unable to stop the passing of his vitality in the slightest.

Despair, like a cold tide, drowned her. She looked at this man who had saved her from danger time and time again, yet was now on the verge of death because of her, and recalled the journey they had taken...

Fragments of memory surged uncontrollably:

It was the little girl in the Bishui Palace who often gazed at a patch of sky, filled with infinite longing for what lay outside the palace gates...

It was the first time she met him, his eyes sharp despite his injuries, and that aura that was different from anyone else in the palace...

It was him stepping in to save her by the water's edge, his silent but solid protection on the run, him clumsily handing her wild fruits in the cave, and him softly saying "I'm here" under the moonlight...

These brief yet incomparably real fragments were the only vivid colors in her pale life, more profound and warmer than the twenty years of routine life in the palace combined.

The world was so big, and she had only just seen a little bit of it. It was him who let her see mountains higher than the palace gates and a sky more vast than the Tranquil Heart Lake.

A thought, like a flame ignited in the darkness, became clearer and firmer.

She looked at Lin Feng's gradually unfocused eyes, and the pain and confusion in her heart caused by the betrayal of her sect were suddenly replaced by a stronger emotion—it was determination, a desire to protect this light that had illuminated her life.

The tears on her face had dried at some point, and her eyes became unusually calm. She leaned down, gently wiped the blood from Lin Feng's lips, and revealed an extremely gentle smile to him.

"Brother Lin," she smiled gently, "don't be afraid... this time, it's my turn to save you."