Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

That Tier 3 hunter captain wouldn't be impatient, wouldn't be angry, and wouldn't act rashly because of a few mishaps.

He was like a true hunter, knowing that his prey was wounded and needed to eat, rest, and treat its wounds, so he only needed to keep pushing and compressing the space.

This prevents the wound from healing.

It makes it impossible for the mind to be at peace.

Let the resources be depleted little by little.

Finally, the prey will fall down on its own.

Xilun was well aware of this.

Therefore, he cannot afford to fall.

A chill permeated his body.

Initially, it followed the original route of the Xuan Yin Breathing Method, passing through the lungs and internal organs, sinking into the abdomen, entering the spine, and then spreading from the limbs and bones.

However, as the frost marrow crystals shattered completely, the cold wave suddenly intensified, disrupting the previously stable breathing rhythm.

The chill, like uncontrolled seawater, crashed into the wounds, into the internal organs, and into the meridians where the aftershocks of thunder still lingered.

Xilun frowned slightly.

A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his lips, quickly congealing into a dark red icy mark.

We can't let it run rampant.

They can no longer be tamed slowly as before.

He doesn't have time.

Xilun's consciousness sank deeper.

White spread out.

No longer suppressing pollution outwards like it did in the old St. Mary's Bell Tower, it has transformed into a thin layer of frost, slowly rotating along the spiritual core.

The restlessness was contained.

The pain was broken down into thin strands.

The cold wave is still fierce, but it is no longer chaotic.

He was like someone standing in front of a dark sluice gate, pressing his hands against the gate, guiding the icy torrent of water little by little into the riverbed where it was meant to go.

The internal organs must adapt first.

Then comes the spine.

Then comes flesh and blood.

The adaptive organs begin to function.

That life instinct, originally from the deep sea and alien species, was like a wild beast being awakened, actively absorbing the cold and adjusting the contraction, trembling, blood supply, and breathing of its internal organs.

Xilun's heartbeat slowed, but became heavier, each beat like a drumbeat striking frozen ground.

A thin layer of frost appeared on the surface of his skin.

The bleeding from the chest wound has stopped.

The sword wound on his left ribs had not yet healed, but the flesh at the edges, which had been torn apart, had finally stopped tearing.

This is not enough.

Far from enough.

Xilun tightened his grip, completely crushing the cracked Frost Mist Crystal.

Crack.

More cold mist rushed into the body.

Blood welled up in his throat again.

This time, he didn't force himself to swallow it back, but instead turned his head and spat it onto the stone wall.

Dark red blood fell to the ground and instantly frosted over.

Deep inside the mountain, everything fell silent.

Only the sound of water.

And his increasingly low breathing.

After an unknown amount of time, the dark water outside the stone cavity suddenly trembled slightly.

Xilun opened his eyes.

Someone went into the water.

Not Clement.

Too light, and too loose.

Two people, or three people.

Instead of drilling directly into the stone cavity, they slowly explored the underground water passage outside.

A very faint smell of medicinal powder wafted from the water, along with the fishy odor of leather that had been soaked.

Tusol Guards

Clement said not to go into the water cave.

But when orders are passed down, there will always be someone who thinks they are braver, and there will always be someone who wants to take the credit.

Siren silently put away the shattered crystal in his palm.

He didn't rush to make a move.

The underwater footsteps were very close together.

One of them struck the rock wall with a short stick, producing a dull thud.

The other person lowered his voice and said, "The captain said we're not allowed to go too deep."

"He's seriously injured." The man at the front said with a hint of excitement, "If we can find the bloodstains and pinpoint his hiding place, we'll have accomplished a great feat."

"But this is a water cave."

"That's why he hid here."

A brief silence.

The sound of water continued to approach.

Xilun leaned against the stone wall, his right hand pressing down on the short blade, while his left hand gently guided the flow of water on the outside.

A chill seeped from my fingertips.

There was no large-scale freeze.

It simply caused a very thin layer of ice film to gradually adhere to the area below the knees of the person at the very front.

The person didn't notice.

He bent down and crawled through a low stone hole, his lantern covered by a waterproof glass cover, its dim yellow light swaying on the dark water.

The next instant, the water flowed silently and caved in.

A hand emerged from the shadows, covered his mouth and nose, and dragged him underwater.

Glug!

The bubbles burst.

The two people behind them were startled at the same time.

"who!"

The short gun was raised.

boom!

Lead bullets struck the stone wall, and fragments of stone splashed into the water.

Xilun flipped himself up from underwater, and his cold breath wrapped around the second person's ankle with the current, pulling him sharply.

The man lost his balance and fell, half of his face hitting the water. Before he could struggle, a Soul-Suppressing Nail pierced his shoulder.

The third person reacted the fastest; instead of saving his companion, he turned and fled.

He is very smart.

In such a narrow water cave, the advantage of numbers cannot be utilized, and firearms are prone to accidental injuries. Continuing to stay will only lead to being worn down and killed one by one by Xilun.

But he ran too fast and stepped into a thin layer of ice formed by the cold air.

My foot slipped.

He lunged forward.

Xilun swept in from behind, pressing his short blade against the side of his neck.

"Don't kill me—"

The sound stopped abruptly.

Instead of slitting his throat, Xilen struck the back of his neck with the hilt of his knife, knocking him unconscious.

He needs someone he can talk to.

The water cave fell silent again.

Xilun dragged the three men into the stone cavity, first taking away their weapons, medicines, dry rations, tinder, and waterproof lanterns, and then using water thread to tightly bind the limbs of the survivors.

The first two are already dead.

People who die in the water are often quieter than those who die on land.

Xilun took a couple of breaths, suppressing the throbbing pain in his left rib, and woke up the survivor.

The moment the guard opened his eyes, his pupils contracted sharply.

He saw Xiren sitting in the shadows, pale-faced, his black hair wet with water, and his eyelashes still covered with unmelted frost.

The other person looked like a wounded soldier who could collapse at any moment, but their eyes were so cold, so cold that they didn't seem like a living person.

"I ask, you answer."

Xilun's voice was very soft.

Konoe's Adam's apple bobbed. "I don't know anything."

"How many men did Clement bring?"

Konoe gritted his teeth.

Xilun raised his hand and sent his cold breath into the shoulder socket where the Soul-Suppressing Nail had pierced.

The frost-like whiteness spread along the skin and flesh.

The man shuddered, and the color drained from his face.

"Two, twenty-six men... three houndboats, two speedboats, and a broken steamboat under repair..."

"How many Blood Compasses are there?"

"Two big ones and one small one."

"Are the water-sealing nets still in place?"

"There's a spare one, it's with the captain. We still have two Tidehunter Crossbows, one is broken, the other is usable."

Xilun continued, "How did they close the mountain?"

Konoe was breathing rapidly, his eyes filled with struggle.

Xilun did not urge them.

He simply let the frost continue to crawl up his neck.

"There are sentries at the valley entrance, the old mine tunnel, and the forest path on the north slope." The guard finally broke down.

"There are also boats out at sea, waiting for you to come out. They said your injuries are very serious and you can't stay in the water indefinitely. As long as you're not pushed too hard, you'll eventually come out on your own to breathe, heal, and find food."

Where is Clement?

"Valley Entrance Campsite"

"No."

Xilen looked at him. "Where is he now?"

Konoe's lips trembled slightly.

"He said that if you can come out of the dark water cave, you are most likely to go to the abandoned mine on the north slope, because that way you can bypass the sea."

Xilun's eyes flickered slightly.

Clement was half right again.

He did indeed want to take the north slope.

There are old mining tunnels there, connecting to the barren mountains north of Baiya Town. Passing through them leads to the inland hilly area.

Only by escaping the coastal pursuit can the Brotherhood or Rhodes's backup get close.

But now the north slope is being monitored.

After a moment of silence, Xiren asked one last question: "Where is Lena?"

The guard paused, then asked, "That woman?"

Xilun's fingers tightened slightly.

The guard hurriedly replied, "They didn't catch her! The captain didn't chase after her! He only sent men to block the road from White Cliff Town back to Victoria, but she's carrying belongings and prisoners, so she shouldn't be able to escape quickly..."

Xilun did not ask any further questions.

This is enough.

Whether Rena can escape back depends on her own abilities.

He can't save anyone now.

The guard looked at Xilun and said in a trembling voice, "I told you... I told you everything..."

Xilun raised his hand.

A glimmer of hope had just appeared in the man's eyes when, in the next instant, the Soul-Suppressing Nail was pulled out, and the hilt of the knife fell on the back of his neck once more.

He fainted.

Siren did not kill him.

It's not because of kindness.

Rather, living people slowed Clement down more than corpses.

He drew out the blood of the three guards separately, mixed it with the dark water, and split it into several thin streams that drifted towards different forks in the river.

He then removed the outer leather armor of one of the dead men and draped it over himself, and applied waterproof powder commonly used by the Tussol guards to his cuffs and boot edges.

After doing all this, he took out the second Frost Mist Marrow Crystal.

He glanced at it, then put it back.

We cannot continue to waste our energy here.

Clement will soon discover that the person who went into the water is missing.

Xilun extinguished his lantern and dragged his wounded body into a narrower, darker waterway.

This side path doesn't lead to the north slope.

Instead, it went south.

To the south lies an underground sluice gate beneath the sea cliff.

That's the most dangerous road.

Undercurrents can sweep people into the reefs, and the underwater turbulence is like a knife; if an ordinary person enters, nine times out of ten they will have their spine shattered.

But precisely because of this, Clement might not be the first to block that spot.

The current is getting stronger and stronger.

The stone walls pressed in from both sides.

Xilun slid forward almost along the rock crevice, his chest and left ribs constantly slamming against protruding rock corners, the pain causing his vision to blur in waves.

His adaptive organs allow him to stay underwater for longer.

His talent for dividing water allowed him to cleave through the oncoming undercurrents.

But after the injury, everything became heavy.

Water was no longer just his domain; it became a cold millstone, constantly grinding away at his wounds, his physical strength, and his spirit.

A roar came from ahead.

We've arrived at the undercurrent.

Xilun did not hesitate.

He held the golden spear diagonally behind his back, tightened his arms, and was violently pushed out of the mountain by the current.

boom!

The field of vision suddenly opened up.

Grayish-white waves exploded before my eyes.

He was thrown into the sea by the undercurrent, his body tumbling and crashing against the rocks.

West London forcibly diverted water.

The water cleaved a narrow slit beside him.

The next instant, his shoulder still scraped hard against the reef wall.

The skin and flesh were torn.

The old wound reopened.

The blood spread in the seawater.

In the distance, the barking of hunting dogs echoed from above the sea cliffs.

Someone has discovered it.

Xilun surfaced for a moment, inhaling a breath of cold air with a salty, fishy smell.

Then it sank back into the sea.

We cannot go out to sea.

Clement has a boat.

We cannot return to Baiya Town.

It's full of Tusol people.

Siren clung to the shadow of the sea cliffs and swam further north into the bay.

The rain fell, and the sea became dark.

He was like a wounded black fish, weaving through reefs, seaweed, and shipwrecks, leaving behind a faint trail of blood.

Half an hour later, cold lights appeared on the sea.

The hound boat is coming.

A familiar, sharp aura stood at the very front of the ship.

Clement gazed at the churning seawater, his brow furrowed slightly.

"He went through the hidden passage."

The guard beside him paled slightly. "In a place like that... he's still alive?"

Clement did not answer.

He looked at the sea, its surface shattered by the rain, his gaze deeper than the night.

Xilun is still alive, of course.

Such a person cannot be considered dead unless one has seen the body with their own eyes.

"Bloodletting compass".

Konoe hesitated and said, "The seawater will dilute the bloodstains."

"He's bleeding," Clement said. "As long as he's bleeding, there will be a way out."

The small compass was removed.

The pointer trembled, slowly veering towards the northern reef.

Clement gripped his rapier tightly.

He suddenly remembered the orders Oin had given him.

There's no need to capture them alive.

Retrieve the items.

Kill Siron.

It's a very simple command.

However, things have become more complicated now that they've been implemented.

Despite being severely injured at level two, he managed to escape time and time again despite being surrounded by the sealing net, the hunting crossbow, the blood-sensing compass, level three pursuers, and the entire hunting team.

This is not luck.

This is a skill.

It is also a threat.

Clement whispered, "Keep chasing, but don't get too close."

The hound boat cut through the rain.

Further down in the reef, Celen grabbed onto a wrecked ship mast and forced himself to stop for half a minute.

He can no longer blindly flee.

We need to rest and recuperate.

Even if it's only for half a minute.

He took out a piece of cold bone crystal from his pocket and bit off half of it.

Extreme cold exploded along the back of my tongue.

Xilun's vision went black, and he almost lost consciousness.

He gripped the mast tightly, letting the chill seep into his lungs.

The Xuan Yin Breathing Technique was activated once again.

At this moment, the seawater, the icy bone crystals, the chill of loss, and the approach of death all transformed into the same thing.

cold.

The cold is everywhere.

He no longer resisted it.

Instead, it swallowed it.

The ship's lights in the distance grew closer.

Xilun opened his eyes, a faint wisp of frost-white light appearing in his eyes.

Almost there.

It was so close.

But this is like being separated by an entire deep sea.

He loosened the mast and continued swimming into the darkness.

On the third night, the rain stopped.

The sea was unusually calm.

But this calm did not bring Xilun any sense of security.

No rain means less sound of water.

Without waves, it means that every time he breaks through the water, every breath he takes, and every drop of blood he sheds into the sea becomes clearer.

He hid in a half-submerged cave.

The entrance to the cave was covered by seaweed and wood chips, and there was only a narrow gap inside that allowed a person to squeeze in sideways.

At high tide, this place is completely filled with seawater, and after the tide recedes, a small damp space remains between the rocks.

Xiren sat in that damp space, his back against the cold rock wall.

His black trench coat was already tattered and torn.

The leather armor of Tusol's guards was also cut in several places by the rocks.

The sword wound on his left ribs neither worsened nor healed. The edges of the wound had an unnatural grayish-white color, a trace left by Han Xi forcibly sealing the flesh and blood.

The spot in my right chest where Clement stabbed me still occasionally throbs, as if a tiny needle is hidden in the bone crevice, slowly rotating with each breath.

Resources are running low again.

Of the three Frost Mist Marrow Crystals, only two remain.

There is one and a half pieces of Cold Bone Crystal left.

Less than a third of the Yinlingyuan water remains.

One and a half tubes of dust-removing agent.

Two pieces of incense purify the soul.

There are only two healing pills left.

There was some dry food, but it was difficult for him to digest it now.

The body is rejecting all useless burdens.

It just wants to live.

Xilun took out a healing pill, held it under his tongue, and waited for the medicine to slowly dissolve.

The bitter taste mixed with the smell of blood was like rusty iron.

He closed his eyes and meditated.

The soothing techniques are no longer complete.

The prolonged escape, fighting, and blood loss had left the core of Bai Yi's spirit as if it had been repeatedly sanded, with fine cracks appearing on the outer layer. Bai Yi could still stabilize his consciousness, but he could not erase the exhaustion.

Exhaustion washes over me like a tide.

Layer upon layer.

If he relaxes even slightly, he will be dragged into darkness.