Lin Luoyu deliberately slowed her pace, only accelerating when she was close.
The surrounding forest had been flattened by powerful force.
The original location had become an open clearing.
Further away, the battle still hadn't ceased.
Lin Luoyu didn't head toward the fighting.
Instead, she stopped and looked at Cui Hao lying motionless on the ground, his clothes remarkably clean.
Glancing at the dust-filled distance, Lin Luoyu walked to Cui Hao's side and placed her hand on his wrist.
The moment she touched it, she understood the situation.
Lin Luoyu decisively struck Cui Hao's chest. "If you have anything to say, say it quickly."
"Cough…" Cui Hao's closed eyes snapped open.
His gaze carried a hint of grievance as he looked at Lin Luoyu. "Easy with the hits. You'll actually injure me for real."
Lin Luoyu looked down. "You're lying there with your eyes closed without a scratch. Who knows what you're playing at."
Cui Hao closed his eyes and lay peacefully: "I took medicine."
Lin Luoyu's tone was surprised. "Master's medicine?!"
Could this Cui Hao actually possess Second Senior Brother's backbone?
Had she truly underestimated him?
"That senior sister thinks too highly of me. It's just a small candy pill. Made from winter-picked flower honey."
"So what's your condition now?"
"Whatever. You can say I'm poisoned, or that my spiritual energy is flowing in reverse. The point is I'm lying here unable to move."
"If you can't express emotion, just learn from Second Senior Brother. Keep a straight face while speaking."
Lin Luoyu stood up. "You seem to underestimate me. Worry about yourself first."
Cui Hao said nothing, only continued playing corpse.
Lin Luoyu raised her sword and headed toward the battle.
As soon as her spiritual sense probed the area, the fighting there had completely subsided.
A vague power was rapidly departing into the distance.
"We were ambushed! Cui Hao collapsed on the spot for some reason. To prevent the battle's aftershocks from reaching him, I had to forcibly pull the fight here."
As soon as Lin Luoyu arrived, Dong Gua's urgent voice came.
Dong Gua was covered in blood, with blood even at the corner of her mouth.
Multiple wounds on her body were still bleeding.
And the originally dying Ban Xi Gua now stood on one leg with an expression that suggested he didn't want to live, also bearing wounds.
Lin Luoyu asked: "Have all the ambushers retreated?"
Dong Gua looked extremely self-reproachful. "They should have all retreated. It was only a small group, and their cultivation wasn't high. But Cui Hao is only at Foundation Establishment. Their methods worked on him. It's all my fault."
Lin Luoyu expressionlessly took two deep breaths: "This place is no longer safe. I'll take Cui Hao. You two follow me."
Dong Gua looked at Lin Luoyu, seeing no unusual expression.
Had Cui Hao's mysterious pill actually worked?
Regardless, at least the first step of the plan had succeeded.
Dong Gua nodded gently. "I'll protect you."
The group retreated.
Lin Luoyu raised her hand and grabbed Cui Hao by the back of his neck like a chick, beginning to move rapidly.
Lin Luoyu said nothing, but Dong Gua clearly noticed she'd changed their route.
Having encountered an ambush, the enemy likely knew their path.
Changing routes was unquestionably the correct move.
In this critical moment, Lin Luoyu could still keep a clear head. She was quite capable.
It was just a shame she'd ended up with such a junior brother.
The group pressed forward, heading straight for a cliff with high waters and streams.
They found a small, hidden cave suitable for concealment.
Lin Luoyu placed Cui Hao on the ground and put her hand on his wrist.
Lin Luoyu's calm face gradually furrowed with the passage of time.
Her surrounding spiritual energy seemed to leak some oppressive force due to her intense emotions.
Dong Gua glanced at Lin Luoyu's expression and reached out to touch Cui Hao's other hand.
But Lin Luoyu deflected it with her sword sheath.
Lin Luoyu's gaze was calm, but within that calm lay distrust and scrutiny toward Dong Gua.
Along the journey, Dong Gua had felt Lin Luoyu never truly trusted her.
But this undisguised action was a first.
Dong Gua retreated a distance on her own, then asked:
"What's… wrong with him?"
"Meridians severed and disconnected, spiritual platform confused." Lin Luoyu's voice was slightly cold.
"Before we left, I already fed him the sect's most precious life-saving divine pill, but the effect was negligible."
Lin Luoyu stood and swept her gaze over Dong Gua and Xi Gua:
"His condition is critical. I can no longer take you two with me. I must take him directly to the Taodao Sect. Only there can his life be saved."
"You'll have to fend for yourselves. I can only help you this far."
Dong Gua quickly spoke: "That route may already have evil cultivators lying in ambush. If you charge straight there and hit a trap, there truly will be no hope."
"Moreover, even if the situation is critical, you might not make it in time."
"Some things have never been about whether one can, but whether one should." Lin Luoyu reached down and lifted Cui Hao. "If I don't go, he dies. If I go, there's still a chance. At worst, it's just using my life to bet on his slim chance."
Hearing these words, Dong Gua made her decision.
Her tone suddenly softened: "I have a method that will definitely save Cui Hao's life, and it won't require Fellow Daoist Lin to risk herself."
Lin Luoyu's gaze sharpened as she looked directly at Dong Gua.
Dong Gua raised her hand and cast a spiritual barrier.
She then took out that experimental product—a transparent crystal emanating faint blackish-gray turbid energy.
Lin Luoyu was silent for a moment before finally asking: "How can this thing save him?"
Dong Gua extended the crystal, her tone even more gentle, almost seductive: "Since Fellow Daoist Lin was heading to investigate the Wuxuan Temple, you must understand that the former Wuxuan Temple controlled a power that could manipulate prayer power and make it evolve."
"That was a rule, a Dao. Although this one in my hand isn't as pure as the Wuxuan Temple's, it still possesses some power."
"We don't yet know its exact rule, but it has the abilities to devour, transform, and evolve."
"As long as we use it correctly, we can definitely save Daoist Cui's life. After all, no method is stronger than a rule."
Lin Luoyu looked at the experimental product.
After a moment of silence, her voice was calm: "How do we use it?"
Hearing this, Dong Gua gently pressed the experimental product against Cui Hao's heart: "Use our spiritual energy and flesh to help Cui Hao evolve somewhat. As long as his meridians widen and repair, and his spiritual platform regenerates, all these injuries won't be a problem."
Lin Luoyu stared directly at Dong Gua. "Can this thing do all that?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would the Taodao Sect and the Evil Spirit Sect both be chasing it?" Dong Gua's expression was sincere.
"Fellow Daoist Lin has treated me with sincerity, and I've seen it all. I naturally want to reciprocate. This time, let me help Fellow Daoist Lin."
Lin Luoyu looked at Dong Gua for a moment before finally setting Cui Hao down.
Dong Gua struggled to suppress the smile on her face.
Cui Hao had been foolish after all, thinking he'd truly obtained something good.
There was no such thing as a free gift in this world. Everything had its price.
And the price of this thing…
Was one's life.
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