Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 106 Hardship

The magic boat sped through the night, and in order to completely shake off the pursuers behind it, Master Guyue steered the magic boat into a hidden underground fissure midway.

The two followed the intricate underground river network deeper and deeper, finally settling down to rest in a spacious, damp cave.

The sound of the underground river echoed between the cave walls, masking the noise of the two entering.

Xia Dong steadied himself and looked at the blood-stained white-robed Master Gu Yue beside him, speaking in a deep voice: "Senior—"

"We are being chased by five Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom is about the same level as me, and the other four are useless mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators." Without turning around, Master Guyue interrupted Xia Dong's words succinctly, directly presenting the perilous situation to Xia Dong.

While she was speaking, her hands never stopped moving.

That eerie green flame was extremely volatile and could destroy the Sacred Heart Lotus enveloping it at any moment.

Master Guyue's expression turned slightly cold. He formed hand seals, and the extremely domineering Taiyin Divine Light seeped into the flames layer by layer, forcefully suppressing their violent outburst.

A moment later, she successfully extracted a tangible, deep blue Taiyin divine light, which, like a perfect ice crystal sphere, sealed the strange fire and the Sacred Heart Lotus within it.

Immediately afterwards, Master Guyue took out a pitch-black jade bottle from his storage bag, which exuded an extremely cold and yin aura, and put the sealed strange fire and the Sacred Heart Lotus into it.

Xia Dong, who was watching closely, immediately recognized that the bottle was carved from a single piece of rare "Yinling Jade," and that its pure color and coldness were several levels higher than the one he had obtained in the spider's nest.

They're really rich and powerful.

However, compared to such a display of power, the reality of being hunted down by five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators feels like an overwhelming sense of despair.

If it were an ordinary person, their legs would probably be weak by now, or they would be thinking about how to part ways and escape for their lives.

But Xia Dong didn't run, he didn't even move his feet an inch.

Leaving the Great Cultivator Gu Yue, who had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, would have meant certain death if they had unfortunately encountered that group of evil cultivators.

Without a doubt, staying by Master Guyue's side is the safest option right now.

"Aren't you afraid?" After dealing with the Sacred Heart Lotus, Master Guyue turned to look at Xia Dong, who was unusually quiet beside him. His cool tone revealed a hint of surprise, and he seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

"I'm afraid," Xia Dong answered honestly, his tone calm. "But I know in my heart that it's safer to stay by your side, senior."

Upon hearing this, Master Guyue's eyes flashed with amusement. She scrutinized Xia Dong for a moment, then said calmly, "Since you're so bold, then do something about it."

She paused, glanced at the wound on her left shoulder from which black blood was seeping out, and continued, "I need to expel the toxins from my body. You will protect me."

After saying that, Master Guyue sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and circulated his magic power. Within a few breaths, he entered a deep meditative state.

She casually placed the Yin Spirit Jade Bottle containing the Sacred Heart Lotus and the Strange Fire on a rock not far from her.

This attitude can only be described as incredibly audacious.

She seemed completely unconcerned that the group would come after her like a persistent leech, and showed no wariness towards Xia Dong beside her.

Xia Dong, however, was not as relaxed as his opponent. He cautiously surveyed the surrounding cave terrain. He didn't know what trump cards Gu Yue Zhenren was hiding, but he had to do his job well and not become a burden to be slaughtered.

With a thought, the "Netherworld Spawn" talisman seed in his dantian quietly activated, suppressing the fluctuations of his blood and magical power to the extreme.

Immediately afterwards, he quickly took out two specially made "invisibility talismans" and "breath concealment talismans" from his pocket and slapped them on himself without hesitation.

With a flash of light, Xia Dong's figure vanished silently into the deepest shadow beside the dark river, like a melting drop of ink, leaving not even a trace of clothing or scent.

Just as Xia Dong concealed himself, Gu Yue Zhenren, who was sitting cross-legged, opened his tightly closed eyes a tiny crack.

Her peripheral vision precisely swept over the spot where Xia Dong had disappeared, and a rare look of surprise flashed across her eyes.

Then, she peacefully closed her eyes again.

"These hidden methods are indeed quite sophisticated. Is this the foundation of the Xuantian Temple?" Master Guyue thought to himself.

Of course, Xia Dong's disguise was exquisite, but it was still not enough to completely deceive the spiritual sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her.

However, Master Guyue knew perfectly well that with him as a live target to attract attention, those greedy fools like the Five Ghosts of Tianshui would be fixated on him and the jade bottle once they caught up, and might not even notice that there was another person hiding in the shadows.

The cave returned to deathly silence, with only the sound of the underground river concealing the impending bloodshed.

In the dark underground fissures, the underground river water lapped against the slippery rock walls, producing a hollow echo.

With a series of faint footsteps, a hunched-over, red-haired monk with a large red nose silently appeared at the cave entrance. He twitched his comical red nose, his eyes gleaming eerily in the dim light, and whispered coldly:

:

He laughed and said, "As expected, it's here."

Just then, hidden in the deep shadows, Xia Dong suddenly heard the clear, cold voice of Master Gu Yue: "This red-haired demon has awakened the Buddhist supernatural power of 'sense of smell,' his sense of smell is comparable to that of a bear or canine demon beast, and his tracking ability is remarkable. He really was the first one to find us. Don't move yet, wait until he gets closer before we make our move."

The red-haired demon slowed his pace, like an extremely patient lone wolf, cautiously approaching the Lone Moon Immortal who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

When his gaze swept over the Yin Spirit Jade Bottle placed on the rock, radiating an extremely cold aura, his eyes were instantly glued to it.

An uncontrollable greed welled up from the depths of his eyes.

If he could suddenly launch an attack now and kill the heavily injured Lonely Moon alone, not only would he be able to enjoy the immense opportunity of the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed all by himself, but the storage bag of a Foundation Establishment Perfected Great Cultivator would also be an immeasurable windfall.

However, this greed only boiled over in his mind for half a breath before being defeated by the rationality he had developed over the years of living on the edge.

He squinted and scrutinized Master Guyue with extreme care.

Although the opponent's aura was slightly disordered at the moment, and he was healing with his eyes closed, he was still a terrifying being capable of severely injuring the Black-Faced Demon with a single finger. The Red-Haired Demon made a decisive decision and abruptly stopped his approach. Without any hesitation, and without even using any extra spells to test him, he clasped his hands together and rapidly chanted an obscure incantation.

laugh!

An invisible fluctuation, imperceptible to ordinary people, spread violently outward from him along the air of the underground river.

This is a unique communication method used by the Wusheng Sect!

Master Guyue, whose eyes had been tightly closed, suddenly opened them the moment the fluctuation spread, a cold and fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Xia Dong, lurking in the shadows, was also greatly shocked upon seeing this. He never expected that a mid-Foundation Establishment expert would act in such a "slow and tactless" manner!

Faced with a severely wounded prey, they didn't even make the most basic attempt to probe, and immediately started calling for reinforcements on the spot?

Can't we be a little more arrogant and conceited, like that kind-hearted monk?

Xia Dong's inner thoughts flashed by like lightning, but his physical reaction was incredibly fast.

Seeing that the red-haired ghost had given the signal, Xia Dong didn't wait for Gu Yue Zhenren to give the order to attack. At that moment, the dormant Transcendent Realm blood and energy in his body exploded.

"Clang!"

Xia Dong drew the incredibly heavy, rusty wood-cutter's knife from his waist.

As his blood and qi surged, the invisibility talisman and the concealment talisman he had attached to his body instantly ignited and became ineffective, turning into ashes.

His figure was like a ferocious beast suddenly unleashed, bursting out from the blind spot behind the red-haired demon without warning.

Without holding back, Xia Dong directly unleashed the most powerful and domineering third move of the three introductory moves of the Demon Sect's martial art, "Asura Yin Sha Blade," which was capable of destroying everything in its path—"Yin Sha Sweeping the Netherworld!"

His spine snapped straight like a fully drawn bow, his violent martial arts blood and profound Yin magic power perfectly merging and pouring into the rusty blade. With a single swing, the piercing whistle of the blade instantly drowned out the sound of the flowing water in the dark river.

Although his stealth techniques, which he was so proud of, became ineffective as soon as he used his swordsmanship, completely exposing his presence.

But at this extremely close distance of less than a few feet, this strike had already given him an absolute advantage.

The heavy, blunt, rusty wood-chopping knife, carrying a nauseatingly strong aura of death and malevolence, was like a collapsing black mountain, with overwhelming force, as it cleaved straight at the back of the red-haired demon!

The red-haired ghost's entire mind was originally focused on the Lonely Moon Immortal and the Yin Spirit Jade Bottle. He never expected that Xia Dong would be lurking in this cramped shadow.

But how swift is the spiritual sense of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator! Just as the rusty woodcutter's knife was about to strike, the red-haired ghost, relying on his powerful fighting instincts, suddenly twisted his body and narrowly avoided the fatal blow to his back.

"Sizzle!"

With a muffled thud like tearing silk, the rusty wood-cutter's knife, carrying Xia Dong's unreserved and domineering force, slashed fiercely across the red-haired demon's waist.

A look of disbelief flashed in the red-haired demon's eyes. The protective inner armor he wore was strong enough to withstand the full force of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but it was easily torn apart by this inconspicuous, broken woodcutter's knife, leaving a shallow bloodstain on his waist.

Before he could even finish his shock, an indescribable, extremely cold and deathly aura spread wildly into his body along the shallow wound, instantly freezing the surrounding flesh and meridians.

The red-haired demon didn't have time to think; reason instantly overwhelmed his greed for killing and looting. He had no intention of engaging Xia Dong in a prolonged fight. He stomped his feet and tried to retreat. If he could delay even a moment, once the Black Spider King and his group arrived, these two would have no chance of survival.

But just as he was flying backward, a huge handprint formed from extremely cold magical power slammed down from mid-air, carrying an overwhelming pressure, heading straight for his forehead.

The red-haired demon was horrified and tried his best to twist his waist to avoid the fatal blow, but his shoulder took the full force of the blow.

"Bang!"

The extreme cold power of the Taiyin Divine Light poured in instantly, freezing almost all of the red-haired ghost's magical power on one side of his body. His blood and qi also became stagnant and difficult to circulate, causing him to stagger uncontrollably.

Xia Dong keenly seized this fleeting opportunity, his body moving with the blade, and with another powerful chopping blow, he blocked all of the red-haired demon's escape routes.

Driven to the brink, the red-haired demon let out a roar like a trapped beast. Ignoring the damage to his meridians, he suddenly opened his mouth wide and spewed out an extremely blazing and foul-smelling crimson flame.

Xia Dong's expression changed slightly, and he immediately used the "Crane Shadow Step" to dodge like a ghost. However, he was too close after all. Although he avoided the direct impact of the flames, the scorching flames suddenly burned his right hand that was holding the knife.

In an instant, an extremely domineering fire poison rushed up his arm and directly attacked his heart meridian. Xia Dong felt as if half of his body was plunged into a fiery pit. Even his powerful Transcendent Realm blood and qi could not circulate smoothly, and his movements became sluggish.

A chilling "Mysterious Yin Finger" beam shot out silently and swiftly, piercing directly through the red-haired demon's dantian.

"what!"

The red-haired demon let out a shrill scream, knowing he was doomed, and without hesitation bit his tongue, spitting out a large clump of blood.

His entire body was suddenly enveloped in a thick layer of bloody light. He disregarded the risk of greatly damaging his vital energy and used the extremely insidious "Blood Escape" technique, transforming into a bloody afterimage as he frantically fled out of the cave.

However, before the blood-red light could burst out of the cave entrance, the two extremely cold auras that Master Guyue had injected into his shoulder and dantian were completely detonated within his body.

"Snap!"

With a sickening freezing sound, the red-haired demon's speeding body suddenly froze in mid-air, his entire body instantly transforming into a translucent dark red ice sculpture.

Immediately afterwards, the ice sculpture shattered under the onslaught of the Muhan power, turning into countless ice shards.

Under this terrifying, chilling power, even his soul, which was trying to escape, was annihilated inch by inch.

Completely annihilated, body and soul!

"Let's go."

Master Guyue slowly stood up, his usually cold face visibly paler, and his voice revealed an undisguised weakness.

If she were in her prime, killing a red-haired demon in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage would be as easy as taking candy from a baby; there would be no need for such a big fuss, and she wouldn't need Xia Dong's assistance.

However, she was currently using most of her magical power to suppress that strange fire, and she had just forced herself to attack, so her condition was indeed much worse than usual.

Xia Dong took a deep breath, enduring the excruciating burning pain in his arm, and took out a self-made antidote pill from his pocket and swallowed it, temporarily suppressing the fire poison that was heading straight for his heart meridian with the power of the pill.

He strode over to Gu Yue Zhenren's side, extended his uninjured left hand, and naturally supported her slightly swaying arm.

Master Guyue stiffened slightly.

Given her personality, she was not used to such physical contact between Sun and others, and a hint of suspicion instinctively flashed in her eyes.

But feeling the steady strength from Xia Dong's arm, she ultimately didn't push him away. Instead, she gently placed her hand on Xia Dong's wrist, and a pure, cool aura swirled up, directly drawing out the fire poison from Xia Dong's body.