Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The young man in the dark robe squatted down, his fingertips gently brushing against the sword marks in the muddy water.

"The traces of the Blue Tide Sword, and another very clean sword path of the two swords."

Samuel's eyes flickered: "Elena?"

The young man in the dark robe did not answer, but looked at the shallow marks left by dragging on the other side of the riverbank.

"The body has been taken away."

Samuel paused, his breath catching in his throat. "Hogg's body?"

The young man in the dark robe stood up, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "I heard that Blue Sword Hogg has a Sea Demon Blood Cotton Robe, which is quite nice. I originally just came to take a look around, find a few pirates to practice on, and maybe borrow it for a bit."

His tone was very calm.

It's like talking about something that's already on the table.

"I didn't expect to be beaten to it."

Samuel kept his head down and didn't reply.

Second in the inner courtyard.

Tinos!

The person before me is a true inner court expert. He has mastered the Overturning Sea Technique to an extremely high level, and it is no exaggeration to say that he can kill someone from a distance with his strength.

If the Blue Ocean pirates hadn't made such a big fuss this time, alarming the inner courtyard during the outer courtyard's training, he would never have appeared in the Black Abyss Forest.

The young man in dark robes looked into the depths of the dense forest and said calmly, "There aren't many people in the outer courtyard who could kill Hogger."

Samuel's heart sank.

He meant to say that Elena and Siron were impossible.

But recalling how Xilun tore through the musket team's defenses, and Elena's rumored, extremely troublesome magic rope, he couldn't completely deny it for a moment.

The young man in the dark robe suddenly smiled.

"interesting."

……

Meanwhile, Siren and Elena were moving quickly along the edge of the dense forest.

Hogg's body was bound with silver-gray ropes, and they were dragged along as quietly as possible.

Elena's face grew paler and paler, and Siron's breathing became labored.

Both of them knew that the real danger was not just the pirates.

Killing Hogger would bring trouble, both with the treasure and the credit.

Especially Samuel.

If he knew the whole story, things would become very complicated.

As Elena walked, she whispered, "We can't say that we killed Hogg."

Xilun said, "At least we can't say that now."

Elena nodded: "Just say we were being chased by Hogg, escaped using the terrain, the black smoke was real, and the chase by Hogg was real too. Afterwards, we took a detour back and found the battlefield in chaos, but we don't know exactly who killed him."

"Where's the body?" Siren asked.

Elena glanced at Hogg's dragging corpse: "We can't bring it back to the team. Hide it for now, and hand it over to the mission office after the mission is over. Or we can handle it through my father's connections."

Siren pondered for a moment: "What if someone asks about your injuries?"

"Black Fiend Smoke".

Elena said, "This can't be hidden. You can say you saved me, but you can't say we fought back and killed Hogg. It makes more sense that you carried me away and Hogg lost the chase."

Siren glanced at her: "Samuel saw it."

Elena's eyes turned colder: "He saw you save me, and he also saw that he didn't."

Her tone was calm, yet it held a sharp edge.

"So he won't proactively explain that part too clearly."

Xilun understood.

If Samuel were to emphasize that he stood by and did nothing when Hogg was hunting Elena, it would also be bad for his reputation.

"Where is that person from just now?" Xilun asked.

Elena paused for a moment, then said, "They were killed by Hogg after getting separated from us; we didn't see them."

Xilun nodded: "The details are consistent."

As they traveled, the two quickly came up with the questions they could think of.

From the attack, the dispersal, the black smoke, to the escape route, the duration of Elena's unconsciousness, and Xilun's consumption of the Holy Bud for healing, every detail was meticulously crafted to avoid any obvious flaws.

Despite feeling dizzy, Elena asked in a low voice, "Are you going to stay here?"

Xilun looked into the depths of the dense forest.

Scattered gunshots and shouts of battle could still be heard in the distance.

Although the ambush by the Blue Ocean pirates has been broken, the Black Abyss Forest is vast, and it is unknown how many pirates are still hiding inside.

"That could be very dangerous."

Elena continued, "The Blue Ocean pirates are too well prepared. They didn't just come ashore to make purchases; they specifically came to kill our disciples who are undergoing training."

The musket squad, the corpse handlers, the five major thugs, even the Black Fiend Smoke... there's probably an even larger pirate force pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Xilun said, "I need to collect twenty right ears."

Elena looked at him, unable to help but frown: "You're still thinking about getting into the inner court?"

"That's why I came here."

Xilun's tone was steady, "The Boundless Ocean Potion is also very important."

Elena was speechless for a moment.

She has seen many people who are greedy for credit and reckless, and she has also seen many people who are blinded by rewards.

But Xilun wasn't excited.

He seemed to have already weighed the risks and rewards in his mind, and as long as he hadn't crossed the line, he would continue to move forward.

This reminded her of what he had said in the training ground.

How will you know if you don't try?

Elena pressed her temples and sighed, "At least find a place to rest first. If I get any more mental pollution now, I'm afraid I'll collapse. You won't be in much better shape either."

Xilun did not refute.

He definitely needs to recover.

The lingering black smoke caused a dull ache in his mental core, and the continuous use of Prayer Sprout and Profound Yin Coldness had slightly disrupted his internal balance.

The evil god's remains, deep within the right arm, still lay dormant, like a cold snake hidden in the crevices of the bones.

We can't hold on any longer.

The two eventually stopped at a cave behind a river bend.

The cave is not deep, and the entrance is covered by vines and damp moss. The sound of the river outside can just mask the slightest movement.

Xilun cast a few wisps of cold air at the cave entrance as a warning, and used his affinity for water to draw rainwater to wash away the footprints.

Elena leaned against the cave wall and finally let out a long breath.

Her silver-gray rope coiled around Hogg's corpse, like a giant python guarding its prey.

Xiren carefully placed Hogg's curved sword, blood-stained cotton coat, and right ear separately, and then examined the fragments of the Black Fiend Wolf Smoke Bottle again.

Unfortunately, Hogger used it so thoroughly that no complete product remained.

Elena watched his movements and said, "Keep the spoils with you for now."

Xilun looked up: "Aren't you afraid I'll take it?"

"Afraid."

Elena answered directly, "But I'm more afraid of being found now. It's easier for you to hide things than for me, and you're better suited to keep watch than I am."

Xilun nodded, without further pleasantries.

Elena closed her eyes and regulated her breathing for a moment, then whispered, "Silen."

"Um."

"If it weren't for you, I really would have died."

Xilun paused for a moment: "You saved me later too."

Elena opened her eyes and looked at the rain outside the cave.

"That's different."

She said softly, "That was something I should do after I regained consciousness. When you rushed into the Black Fiend Smoke, you didn't know how long it would take me to wake up."

Xilun did not answer.

The cave was quiet for a while.

Elena suddenly smiled, a very faint smile: "I used to think that someone like you was probably not suited for a monastery."

"And now?"

"Now I think the correctional facility might need someone like you."

Xilun sat cross-legged and began practicing the Moon Memory Meditation Technique.

A chill quietly spread at the cave entrance, isolating it from dampness and fishy smells.

"We'll talk about it when we get back alive."

Elena watched him close his eyes, and the complex emotions in her heart slowly sank into the depths.

Yes.

We'll go back alive.

The rain in the Black Abyss Forest had not yet stopped.

……

The sound of rain outside the cave never stopped.

The rain in the dense forest was not as clean as that by the lake in the east of the monastery; it fell on the leaves and decaying mud, carrying a damp, fishy, ​​sweet, and putrid smell.

The sound of the river flowing along the outside of the cave, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, was like someone breathing in a low voice in the dark.

Xilun sat cross-legged inside the cave entrance, with his golden spear held horizontally in front of him.

He didn't move all night.

A chilling, yin energy spread out along the cave entrance, like an invisible, thin net.

Rain dripped from between the vines, and as soon as it approached the chill, it condensed into tiny ice beads, rolling down the moss and into the mud.

If someone were to step through this chill, even if it were just a single fallen leaf, Xilun would immediately sense it.

Deeper inside, Hogg's body, bound by silver-grey ropes, leaned against the shadows of the rock wall.

The sea monster blood-red cotton coat had been stripped off, folded, and placed beside Xilun.

The curved sword, short flintlock pistol, several medicine bottles, money pouch, and the severed right ear were all carefully sorted and stored away.

Elena sat on the other side, her back against the rock wall, her two swords within easy reach.

Her face remained pale, and her brow furrowed slightly from time to time, as if the lingering sting of black demonic smoke still lingered deep within her spirit.

As dawn broke, the rain finally subsided.

Xilun opened his eyes.

His eyes were calm, like a deep well sealed by cold air.

His breathing was slightly deeper than usual, and there was a barely perceptible tightness in his chest and abdomen.

Elena seemed to have never truly fallen into a deep sleep. Hearing the slight movement of him opening his eyes, she opened her own and asked softly, "How are you?"

Xilun looked down at his right hand.

Several faint gray-white cracks were visible on the metacarpal bone, and black lines seemed to be slowly moving under the skin.

But as the power of the Overturning Sea Technique subsided, those black lines once again lurked deep into the crevices of the bones.

"It can move," Xilun said, "but it can probably only unleash about 60% of its power."

Elena raised an eyebrow: "Sixty percent?"

There was no disdain in her tone; rather, it sounded somewhat strange.

Last night, even though Xiren was supposedly "injured," she was still able to break through the Black Fiend Smoke and join forces with her to kill Hogg.

Now he says there are only 60% left, which doesn't sound reassuring at all.

Siren understood her meaning and calmly said, "If we encounter someone like Hogg, we can't drag it out like we did last night."

Elena paused for a moment, then nodded.

She raised her hand to rub her temples, her voice finally carrying a hint of weariness:

"My strength and physique are not badly damaged, but the Black Fiend Smoke mainly damages my spirit. Right now, my brain feels like it's stuffed with a wad of damp, cold cotton. I can still swing my sword, but if I were to experience another mental shock, my reaction time would be slower."

She looked at Xilun, as if remembering something: "Could you do that technique you used on me last night again?"

"Praying for the sacred bud?"

"Yes." Elena sat up straighter against the rock wall. "That method is strange, unlike ordinary healing techniques. It doesn't simply replenish qi and blood; it's like sprouting a tender shoot in the spirit, slowly pushing out all that impurity."

Xilun glanced at her.

Elena spoke casually, but she was clearly observing his reaction.

She continued, "Could it be the method of the Holy Light Academy? I've heard my father say that the Holy Light Academy has some profound prayer techniques that can heal mental injuries."

"But this kind of method is generally not passed on to outsiders. How could you, a rogue cultivator from the outer seas, possibly understand it?"

Xilun stretched out his hand, a gentle white light emanating from his palm.

The white light was very faint, unlike the bright and clear light commonly seen in the Holy Light Monastery; it was more like a sprout emerging from a crack in the rock after a night rain.

The light fell near Elena's brow, slowly seeping into the depths of her spirit.

Elena closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders slightly.

Xilun said, "Perhaps, I learned it by chance."

"accidental?"

Elena opened one eye to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips:

"You always talk like that. You either learned it by chance or you come from a small town. But none of the things about you seem like something a small town could produce."

Xilun offered no explanation.

The warmth of the sacred buds spread little by little, dispelling some of the chill between Elena's brows.

She let out a long breath, as if she were surfacing from cold water.

"It seems you have quite a lot of experience," she said.

"If you live a long time, you'll always encounter some things."

"How old are you?"

Xilun thought for a moment: "Not that big."

Elena couldn't help but chuckle: "You sound like an old man."

The atmosphere inside the cave was a little more relaxed than last night.

Both knew they couldn't stay long, but their injuries were still unstable, and going out rashly would only allow pirates or other groups to take advantage of them.

The sporadic gunfire still echoed in the dense forest outside, indicating that the mission was far from over.

Since the Blue Ocean pirates have set up such a grand scheme, they certainly wouldn't have only ambushed Hogg.

They need at least one more night to rest.

Xilun withdrew the power of the Prayer Sprout, his face even paler than before.

Elena, seeing this, whispered, "That's enough. If you keep using it, you won't be able to handle it."

Xilun nodded, picked up a piece of dry food, and slowly chewed it.

The dry rations were hard and cold, with a hint of sea salt flavor, and felt like they were scraping against my throat when I swallowed them.

But for them now, being able to eat in peace is already a rare treat.

Elena took out her water pouch and drank a sip, then suddenly said, "I wish I were a man."

Xilun looked up at her.

She leaned against the rock wall, tilted her head slightly, and looked at the cold, damp stone edges hanging down from the cave ceiling.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the vines, falling on her pale yet radiant face, which made her eyes appear cold.

"If I were a man, not so many people would idolize this face."

Elena's tone was calm, but it sounded like she had been holding back for a long time. "No one will deliver letters every day, no one will pretend to be charming and approach me while saying disgusting things, and no one will treat me like an ornament while putting on an act of charity."

Xilun paused his chewing for a moment.

He thought of Aldrich, and he thought of Samuel.

Elena smirked, "Many people think that being beautiful is a blessing in disguise for women, but for me, that blessing only annoys me."

Xilun said, "You're never satisfied."

Elena turned to look at him, a dangerous glint in her eyes: "What are you thinking?"

Xilen did not avoid her gaze, but calmly said:

"In the place where I was born, if someone wants to transcend social class and become a normal citizen, one of the fastest and easiest ways is probably to have innate beauty."

Whether it's pursuing a career or marrying into a respectable family, it's much easier than for many others.

He paused, then added, "Many people spend their whole lives working hard, just to get a chair to sit at a table."