15: Sect Rescue

The Cultivator tried to block in his haste, but Lin Feng's speed and strength far exceeded his predictions.

"Thwack!"

Although the tip of the broken wood wasn't sharp, it forcefully broke through his protective spiritual light and plunged deep into the opponent's chest.

The expression on the Cultivator's face froze instantly, turning into one of incredulous horror. He looked down at the broken wood buried in his chest, opened his mouth, and as blood gushed out, he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Lin Feng panted heavily, pulled out the broken wood, and his body swayed, almost causing him to fall.

He dared not linger and staggered on, continuing to flee deeper into the forest.

He didn't know how much further he had run, but only when he could no longer hear any sounds of pursuit did he collapse from exhaustion deep into a crevice hidden by giant vines.

Before his vision blurred completely, he seemed to see a small, pale blue flower clinging to the rock wall of the crevice...

Outside the crevice, the sky was slightly bright; it was already the next day.

He struggled to sit up and checked himself.

After his Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Third Layer, his spiritual power circulated on its own, barely suppressing the cold energy in the wound on his arm, but the weakness from excessive blood loss and exhaustion remained intense.

The scene of yesterday's brutal slaughter and the figures of his fallen companions flooded his mind instantly, making his breath hitch.

He carefully pushed aside the vines and looked outward.

The direction of the camp was deathly silent, with no more sounds of fighting.

After putting the small, pale blue flower into his Storage Pouch, he endured his pain and cautiously made his way toward the camp.

The scene before him was even more shocking than in his memory.

The camp had been completely reduced to ruins.

Broken weapons, fragments of shattered Magic Treasures, and charred wood could be seen everywhere.

Dark red bloodstains soaked the soil, and many corpses were unrecognizable.

The few survivors gathered together, all wounded and in rags.

The Utility Disciples had been almost completely wiped out.

He saw Senior Brother Zhao Qian. He was still standing, leaning on his sword, covered in blood, with his original Daoist robe almost unrecognizable in color.

But one of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken, his face was pale as paper, and his lips were tightly pursed.

Senior Brother Sun Hao was sitting on a wooden stake, and an Inner Sect Disciple at the Foundation Establishment Stage was treating a deep, bone-visible wound on his left arm.

As the medicinal powder was sprinkled on, his brows furrowed in intense pain, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

His gaze swept across the tragic battlefield, and when he saw Lin Feng approaching, a flash of surprise and complexity crossed his eyes.

"Senior... Senior Brother Lin!" a voice filled with tears rang out.

Third Brother Wang scrambled out from behind a pile of ruins. Seeing Lin Feng, his eyes instantly turned red. He rushed over, wanting to grab Lin Feng's arm, but afraid of touching his wounds, his hand hovered in mid-air.

"You're still alive. That's great. I thought you... you, in order to draw them away..."

He couldn't go on, only wiping away his tears and snot forcefully, his body still trembling with lingering fear.

Hovering in mid-air was an old man in green robes, Elder Xuan Yue of the Sect.

An aura of suffocating pressure radiated from his body. His gaze swept over the tragic scene beneath his feet and finally landed on the survivors: "Count the casualties and collect the remains of our fellow Disciples. Chiyan Sect... The Tianxuan Sect will definitely avenge this!"

Just at this moment, a figure quietly appeared beside Elder Xuan Yue, bowing slightly.

This person was also dressed in Inner Sect attire, with a cultivation level of approximately the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and a handsome face.

"Revered Master," he said in a steady voice, whispering to Elder Xuan Yue,

"The Chiyan Sect's attack this time was well-prepared and had a clear objective; it doesn't look like it was for seizing the Spirit Stone mine."

"The Disciple just made a rough check; what they were carrying... were not ordinary combat Magical Artifacts, but rather something like 'Spirit-Seeking Disks'."

Elder Xuan Yue's gaze narrowed slightly, but he did not respond immediately.

Qin Yang continued to analyze calmly:

"Moreover, although their attack was fierce, they seemed to intentionally draw the fighting toward the dense forest on the west side of the camp..."

"It's as if they were deliberately covering something up, or... trying to force our people away from a certain direction?"

His voice was not loud, but in this deathly silent environment, Lin Feng, Sun Hao, and others nearby vaguely heard some of it.

Upon hearing this, Sun Hao endured the intense pain, looked up, and weakly added:

"Senior Brother Qin's words... are very likely correct."

"When I was surveying before, I also felt that the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in that area to the west..."

"seemed somewhat unusually subtle, but at the time I thought... it was interference from miasma..."

After speaking, he coughed again as he aggravated his wound.

A flash of light passed through Elder Xuan Yue's eyes. He nodded slowly, his tone still cold:

"I understand. Qin Yang, you and the others, search the western forest carefully; do not miss a single inch. If you find anything, report back immediately."

"Yes, Revered Master." Qin Yang accepted the order and his gaze swept over the survivors below. When it passed over Lin Feng, it seemed to pause for a fleeting moment, sending a chill down Lin Feng's spine for no reason.

Immediately after, Qin Yang motioned to two Inner Sect Disciples who had come to support, and they swiftly flew toward the west.

Elder Xuan Yue looked at the survivors again: "This place is not suitable for staying long. Rest briefly, collect the remains, and return to the Sect immediately."

Lin Feng joined them in silence, helping to lift the cold, stiff bodies of his former companions.

Elder Xuan Yue flicked his sleeve, and a streak of light flew out from it. It grew as it met the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a towering ship about ten zhang long, dark cyan in color, hovering three feet above the ground.

The bow of the ship was carved with a lifelike Dragon head, its mouth slightly agape, as if it could swallow the clouds and wind.

This was Elder Xuan Yue's transportation Magic Treasure, the Azure Nether Boat.

"Board the ship."

The surviving Disciples helped each other, carrying or lifting the remains of their fellow Disciples, and boarded the Azure Nether Boat. The ship's hull looked small, but it contained a spatial Formation inside, more than enough to accommodate these people.

After everyone had boarded, Elder Xuan Yue's figure flashed, and he was already standing on the Dragon head at the bow, his robes fluttering without wind.

He made no extra movements, only a shift in his mind.

Hum!

The Azure Nether Boat suddenly lit up, and a brilliant cyan light flared, forming a shuttle-shaped light shield that enveloped the entire boat.

The next moment, Lin Feng felt a huge, irresistible recoil, his feet swayed slightly, and a humming sound rang in his ears.

Through the light shield, he could still see the mountains and rivers below speeding backward, and the continuous mountain ranges became blurry undulations on the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Third Brother Wang turned pale due to the sudden, extreme speed and subconsciously grabbed onto Lin Feng.

'Xiao Li, Big Ox... their dreams were crushed so simply...'

'And so many Senior Brothers... they fought with all their might, even sacrificing their lives; wasn't it also to accumulate merit, exchange for resources, and hope for that slim Opportunity to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage and promote to an Inner Sect Disciple?'

Amidst these heavy thoughts, in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the silhouette of a towering and magnificent complex of palaces appeared in the mist-shrouded mountains ahead.

The mountain gate of the Tianxuan Sect had arrived.

The journey here took days of perilous travel, but the return took only a moment.