35: My dear friend, you are my savior!

Just as Elder Su Chongyue's Blood Shadow was about to devour Li Yan, he released a white lotus of Holy Light.

The golden Holy Light was blindingly bright, dispelling all shadows around it!

Outside the poisonous mist, Elder Su Chongyue seemed completely drained, his knees giving way as he collapsed to the ground.

Su Chongyue's pupils dilated, his eyes vacant, and the old man stared blankly at the floor for a long time before slowly regaining his senses.

Elder Su Chongyue raised his hands in disbelief: "I... I... have finally broken free from the Blood Shadow's control!?"

After Elder Su regained consciousness, he slowly stood up.

As for the other Su Family Disciples around them, they had all fainted under the illumination of the white light.

Li Yan, the one responsible for all of this, also had a pale face and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Li Yan gasped for breath, looking at the treasure lotus lamp in his hand: "I didn't expect that activating this Demon Shadow Sect Sacred Artifact would almost completely drain my Qi and blood."

The White Lotus Bloom Spell he had just used had almost completely emptied his Dantian and Qi Sea.

And the Spell he had been practicing blindly had coincidentally activated the treasure lotus lamp's wick, allowing it to produce such intense light.

Li Yan focused his gaze, and a line of text appeared before his eyes.

"The Host's blind Cultivation of the Blood Lotus Burning Lamp Method has triggered a side effect, granting 100 times Comprehension Ability. Congratulations to the Host for comprehending [White Lotus Bloom] and activating an ancient Sacred Artifact."

Because his blind Cultivation Technique had unleashed infinite potential, it had activated the blood glass treasure lotus lantern in his hand at a critical moment.

The lamp's light had extinguished the Su Family's Elder Su's shadow, freeing him from the Blood Shadow's control and restoring his clarity.

This was also the reason Li Yan had decided to take a gamble at that time.

It seemed he had gambled correctly.

The System had said that cultivating the Blood Shadow Art to its final stage would result in being controlled by the Blood Shadow.

Looking at the current Elder Su Chongyue of the Su Family, his face was filled with shock and ecstasy.

Compared to Elder Su who was previously controlled by the Blood Shadow, the current Su Chongyue seemed more like a person and less like a grotesque entity.

Su Chongyue, having regained consciousness, cupped his hands and thanked Li Yan.

"Little friend, if you hadn't intervened, I wouldn't know how many years I would have been controlled by this Blood Shadow."

Li Yan, hidden within the poisonous mist, did not venture out rashly, but continued to use the protection of the poisonous mist to observe Elder Su.

He feigned ignorance, asking knowingly, "Elder Su, what is that Blood Shadow?"

"Alas, it's a long story, but I'll briefly explain it to you."

"From the beginning of their Cultivation, the men of my Su Family had to Cultivate the Blood Shadow Art."

"When we were young, none of us noticed anything amiss with the Blood Shadow, but after breaking through to the Blood Core Realm, the Blood Shadow began to develop its own consciousness."

"The shadow silently eroded my Physical Body, and eventually, I was taken by Possession, becoming a Shadow Slave."

"In reality, for a very long time, the Su Family, from top to bottom, had already become servants of the Blood Shadow."

After listening to Elder Su's words, Li Yan's guess was not far off.

The Su Family had been Cultivating the Blood Shadow Art for a very long time, and generation after generation, under their arrangement, had embarked on a path of no return.

Even Su Family Head was a Shadow Slave; how could those Juniors have noticed?

From birth to the beginning of Cultivation, these Juniors were completely manipulated.

Now, Li Yan, holding the treasure lotus lamp, an ancient Sacred Artifact, had extinguished Su Chongyue's Blood Shadow, thus saving Elder Su.

Elder Su was also immensely grateful for this: "Little friend, I have been enslaved by this shadow for hundreds of years. If you hadn't helped me, I..."

Imagine his Soul trapped within his body, his Physical Body becoming the shadow's shadow, a century of solitude, helplessly imprisoned in a cage.

That kind of taste, anyone who has experienced it once would absolutely not want to experience it again.

From Elder Su's eyes, one could see uncontrollable joy and gratitude.

"Elder Su, since that is the case, we should leave this place as soon as possible."

"If the Su Family's Blood Shadow realizes that you are out of control, they will certainly send people to investigate."

Upon hearing this, Elder Su's body trembled.

"Right! What the little friend says is true. I've been imprisoned for a hundred years, and my mind has become dull."

Su Chongyue nodded repeatedly, then turned to look at the confused Su Family Disciples around him.

"Juniors of the Su Family, I believe you all heard what was just said."

"The Blood Shadow Art is not some ancient immortal Cultivation Technique; it is an evil Spell of the ancient demonic sect!"

"Cultivate it to the end, and you will have a powerful Cultivation, but your Physical Body will be taken by Possession by the shadow!"

"Now that you all know about this, that Shadow Demon will certainly not let us go."

As soon as these words were spoken, the young Disciples of the Su Family exchanged glances, one after another.

Everyone's faces were filled with fear and unease, unsure of what to do next.

Elder Su raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"We should leave this place as soon as possible and find a secluded haven to escape the Blood Shadow's pursuit."

None of the Su Family Disciples dared to refute anything; after all, they had all witnessed it with their own eyes, and Su Chongyue was also a highly respected Elder in the family.

"We are willing to follow Elder Su!"

The Disciples rallied behind Su Chongyue, and Su Chongyue also breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned to Li Yan: "Little friend, I plan to go to Mi Mountain City to seek refuge."

"Are you willing to come with us?"

Mi Mountain City?

Li Yan recalled carefully; after absorbing Old Ghost Xuanwang's memories, he also had a concrete understanding of Bugui Mountain in his mind.

Bugui Mountain was not a single mountain, but a region.

This place stretched thousands of miles north to south, and the entire area was within the range of the Bugui Mountain peak.

Bugui Mountain also had another name, Ten Thousand Mountains.

This showed how vast the place was, with continuous overlapping mountain ranges.

And this Mi Mountain City was located to the east of Bugui Mountain, a mountain city where Cultivators of both Buddhist and Daoist sects gathered.

Seeking refuge in Mi Mountain City was indeed a good choice.

From Old Ghost Xuanwang's memories, it was known that Mi Mountain City was a relatively safe place.

Pulling his thoughts away from his memories, Li Yan glanced at Elder Su.

"The journey to Mi Mountain City is long. If Elder Su leads the way, this Junior is naturally willing to go together."

Having a Blood Core Realm Cultivator lead the way was much safer than traveling alone.

Moreover, Li Yan had no idea where Mi Mountain City was located specifically.

If he relied on himself, traveling and asking for directions, he would probably encounter many bandits and evil Cultivators along the way.

"Then let's set off quickly, let's go!"

Elder Su, trusting Li Yan completely, turned his back to him and led a group of Disciples out of Broken Sword Valley.

Li Yan weighed his options again and again, and finally decided to follow Elder Su and his group.

"Su Mo, let's go."

Corpse Puppet Su Mo followed closely behind Li Yan until the group walked out of Broken Sword Valley, emerging from the mist.

Elder Su asked curiously, "By the way, I haven't asked for the benefactor, little friend's esteemed name yet?"

"My name is Li Yan."

Elder Su politely cupped his hands and said, "Now that I see the little friend's true face, I didn't expect him to be so young."

"I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it..."

Li Yan generously said, "Please speak, Senior."

"Su Mo is my grandniece. What is her condition?" Elder Su looked at Corpse Puppet Su Mo, noticing that she had no Soul, yet still had vital signs, which was very strange.

It felt as if Su Mo was in a peculiar state between life and death.

Li Yan couldn't just tell him everything, so he began to speak nonsense with a serious expression.

"When I found her in Broken Sword Valley, she was already in this state. She just followed me."

Elder Su heard this and pondered, "So that's how it is. It seems you, little friend, also don't know what happened to Su Mo. Never mind... I can barely protect myself, so I don't have the energy to research Su Mo's situation."

Just as Li Yan and Elder Su walked out of Broken Sword Valley together, Senior Martial Uncle Mystic Fiend, who was guarding the roadside, widened his eyes.

"You brat actually dared to come out!"