64: Chapter 64 The Iceberg Beauty, Her Dao Foundation Damaged

Within the valley, following the helter-skelter flight of the final enemy, silence was finally completely restored.

Only the drizzling rain remained, unceasingly washing away the shocking bloodstains and scorch marks on the ground.

Gu Yan slowly turned around, casting his gaze toward the woman in white who had witnessed everything from start to finish.

Leng Yuechan was also watching him.

Within her cold Phoenix eyes, the despair and unwillingness from before had long since vanished, replaced by an extremely complex expression mixed with shock, scrutiny, and... deep wariness.

The man before her was too strong.

And too... mysterious.

Whether it was the strange footwork that killed with a flick of a finger, or the overbearing and peerless fiery Sword Qi, everything far exceeded her understanding of a Cultivator at the "Qi Refinement Stage Great Perfection"!

This person was definitely not an ordinary Loose Cultivator!

Gu Yan met her gaze and walked over slowly.

With every step he drew closer, Leng Yuechan's hand gripping the sword hilt would subconsciously tighten.

Although the other party was her savior, in this desolate mountain wilderness, facing a mysterious expert whose strength far exceeded her imagination, she dared not relax in the slightest.

Gu Yan stopped at a distance of three paces from her.

He did not look at her stunning face, but instead bent down and picked up the green-bladed longsword that had fallen at her feet, its blade shimmering with flowing light.

He handed the longsword over with a gentle smile on his face: "Young lady, your sword."

Leng Yuechan looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and finally extended her slightly trembling jade hand to take the longsword.

"Many thanks... many thanks to Your Excellency for taking action to save me."

She forced herself to stand, performing a standard Sect Disciple salute toward Gu Yan. Her voice was crisp but carried a sense of alienation that kept people at a distance: "Great kindness needs no thanks. For today's favor, Leng Yuechan will definitely repay you generously in the future."

Her voice was like a clear spring in a mountain stream, crisp and pleasant, yet carrying an inherent chill.

[Host, go for it! Quickly ask if she's cold, or if she needs a warm hug!]

[Oh my, look at how pale her face is; she must have been poisoned by cold toxins. Isn't your Cultivation Technique of the extreme Yang attribute? Quickly tell her you need to 'heal' her! Yin and Yang harmony, hehehe...]

[Such a good opportunity, don't just stand there! Don't you even know the standard plot after a hero saves a beauty? Noob!]

In his mind, the System, acting as a "wingman," was spamming its provocative words frantically.

Gu Yan ignored it directly.

He just looked at the woman before him calmly and asked with a smile: "I am Gu Yan, a mere Loose Cultivator, just passing through this place. May I ask how the young lady is addressed? And why were you being hunted like this?"

"I..." A flash of wariness appeared in Leng Yuechan's eyes.

Her identity was her greatest secret at this moment and must not be easily exposed.

After a slight ponder, she answered evasively: "This young lady's given name is just Yue. It was only because I inadvertently offended a Disciple of the Black Fiend Sect that I met with this disaster. Today, I am fortunate to have been saved by Young Master Gu, and I am endlessly grateful."

"Since the thieves have retreated, this young lady will no longer intrude and will take her leave now."

After speaking, she bowed to Gu Yan once more with great decisiveness, then forced herself to turn around, intending to leave.

However, she had overestimated her physical condition too much.

The toxicity of the "Bone-Eroding Powder" had already invaded her internal organs. Coupled with her forcing the circulation of True Qi just now, at this moment, she was truly at the end of her rope.

She had not even taken two steps when she felt the world go black before her eyes, and a sweet taste rose in her throat.

Pfft!

A mouthful of bright red blood sprayed uncontrollably from her mouth, splashing onto her snow-white dress like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow, heartbreakingly beautiful yet stinging to the eyes.

Her body could no longer hold up and, limply, she began to fall to the side.

A strong and powerful arm reached out from the side in time, steadily supporting her tottering delicate body.

It was Gu Yan.

"Young lady!"

A gentle stream of True Qi carrying a scorching aura was transferred from Gu Yan's palm into her body, temporarily helping her stabilize her rampaging, chaotic True Qi.

Liu Ruyan's body trembled violently.

She could feel that the cold, toxic True Qi within her body, upon contacting the other party's extreme Yang and rigid True Qi, was instantly suppressed as if it had encountered its nemesis!

The intense pain caused by the reversal of her True Qi also eased significantly.

Subconsciously, she wanted to break free.

Yet she discovered that although the other party's hand was only lightly supporting her, the strength was as steady as a mountain, making it impossible for her to shake it in the slightest.

"Let... let go of me..." Her voice remained cold, but it now carried a hint of weakness.

Gu Yan did not let go.

His other hand, seemingly unintentionally, rested upon her smooth, jade-like wrist.

The moment his fingertips touched her skin.

Gu Yan's brow furrowed ever so slightly.

So cold!

It was as if he had touched a chill that penetrated to the marrow, like ten-thousand-year black ice!

And under the investigation of his spiritual sense, which far exceeded that of ordinary people, as well as the exquisite pharmacological knowledge attached to the Basics of Alchemy.

The condition inside Leng Yuechan's body caused his heart to sink suddenly!

Broken Meridians and damaged internal organs—these were only superficial wounds.

What was truly fatal was her Dantian Qi Sea, which had long been riddled with holes, eroded by a sinister toxic Qi!

Within her Dantian, the "Dao Foundation" that should have been the root of a Cultivator was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and at any moment, it could... completely collapse!

Once the Dao Foundation collapsed, it meant that all of her cultivation would be completely...

Washed away!

Furthermore, there would be no possibility of any further progress for the rest of her life!

"Young lady."

Gu Yan slowly withdrew his hand.

He looked at this ice beauty who was still forcing herself to stand, attempting to distance herself from him, and slowly shook his head.

He spoke in a calm yet somewhat pitying tone, uttering a sentence sufficient to make Leng Yuechan's eternally unchanging ice-cold pretty face change color completely.

"Your injuries are very severe."

"The toxic Qi attacking your heart is only one part."

"The real trouble is..."

"Your Dao Foundation has been damaged."