Chapter 166: Isn't Living Well Worth It?

In the darkness, Yu Ye opened his eyes.

A trace of light filtered through the cave entrance not far away.

He picked up the short sword beside him and carved a mark on the ground. Every time day turned to night, he would carve a sword scratch. Ten sword scratches were now etched into the ground, meaning he had stayed in this place for ten days.

After ten days, his sword wounds had healed by sixty or seventy percent. When he reached out to touch his shoulder, a dull ache still lingered. Fortunately, his internal injuries were not serious, and the consumed spiritual energy had fully recovered.

Having delayed too long, it was time to return.

Because of his injuries, he had been forced to remain trapped in this place. Now that twelve days had passed, he needed to find his way back and walk out of the Kongtong Realm before the final deadline arrived.

Yu Ye slightly gathered his thoughts and once again took out the four storage rings he had previously seized. He sorted and stored the items within them separately so that he could access them at any time.

Five or six hundred spiritual stones—just looking at them brought a sense of solid reassurance.

There was a saying in the village: a household with surplus grain has an undisturbed mind. The days of cultivating immortality were much the same. Though they might seem aloof from worldly affairs, who could truly be free of such mortal desires?

Aside from a large pile of spiritual stones, there were dozens of talismans, flying swords, elixir pills, and cultivation manuals.

Although he had suffered a heavy loss this time and almost lost his life, the harvest was also abundant. As the saying went, opportunity and danger coexist, and hope and hardship walk hand in hand.

Yu Ye tidied himself up, shaking off the fragments of spiritual stones clinging to his clothes.

Healing for ten days had consumed three spiritual stones. The improvement in his cultivation seemed to have accelerated once again; perhaps after a little more time, he would be able to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refining. Previously, he had not deliberately pursued a high cultivation level, but now he only wished to achieve complete Qi Refining and advance to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. When all was said and done, it still stemmed from a reverence for the powerful. Although he had accidentally killed two Foundation Establishment experts, in a true one-on-one fight, he had no ability to parry at all, just like the encounter ten days ago.

Yu Ye reached out again to touch the sword wound on his shoulder.

With a flash of light, four small flags fell into his hand.

Yu Ye stood up, bent over, and walked toward the mouth of the cave...

Outside the cave.

Ancient trees towered, vines hung downward, weeds grew in abundance, bizarre rocks jaggedly jutted out, and a chilling mist shrouded the area.

Yu Ye stood there in a daze.

It was obvious that the Ghost Escape Talisman had brought him into a dense forest of ancient trees. Having had no time to think before, he now knew neither the path he had come from nor the direction he should take.

Yu Ye walked toward a nearby giant tree.

Before he had taken a few steps, his feet sank deep into the thick fallen leaves.

With a sudden burst of strength, he propelled himself upward, rising thirty to forty feet. Before his momentum faded, he kicked his feet repeatedly against the tree trunk, borrowing a slight force to continue shooting upward.

The giant tree was fully over twenty zhang tall.

The tip of Yu Ye’s foot brushed against a tree branch, and his body soared up to land upon the canopy.

From such a height, the surrounding view opened up.

Under the gray, hazy sky, distant mountains appeared vast and desolate, while the winds and clouds looked dim and bleak; still, he could not distinguish the four cardinal directions.

This was troublesome!

If he took the wrong direction and missed the deadline, trying to walk out of the Kongtong Realm would inevitably become even more difficult, adding many unknown variables.

"Bang—"

Right at that moment, an explosion sounded in the distance. Although extremely faint, it still drifted over on the mountain wind.

Yu Ye focused his gaze into the distance, but could see nothing. He leaped across the treetops, following the sound all the way.

A moment later, the sounds of spiritual energy clashing echoed once again, growing increasingly clear, accompanied by angry curses...

This was an open clearing within the forest.

Seven or eight cultivators were locked in a fierce battle.

Sword lights flickered, talismans exploded, some people fell to the ground, and others roared in rage.

The two sides locked in combat were, on one side, Yu Fei and Bai Zhi, who were fighting while retreating; and on the other, five burly men who, judging by their attire, appeared to be rogue cultivators, acting aggressively and shouting curses loudly.

On the grassy ground not far away lay several corpses. Both the enemy and their own side had clearly experienced a bloody battle, but now, with the disparity in numbers, the outcome had already been decided.

"Dog and bitch, don't even think of leaving—"

"Daring to kill my brothers, so what if you are from the Yunchuan Immortal Sect? Today I will surely avenge this grudge..."

"Senior Sister, you go on ahead..."

"Junior Brother Yu..."

All five rogue cultivators were experts at or above the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refining, continuously driving their flying swords to launch frantic attacks against the two disciples of the Immortal Sect.

Yu Fei’s face was pale and his steps were heavy; he no longer had the strength to drive his flying sword and could only rely on talismans to desperate fend off the attacks.

Bai Zhi’s beautiful hair was also disheveled and she was panting heavily. Seeing the situation turning critical, she pulled back to flee, but two beams of sword light blocked her path. Hurriedly driving her flying sword in an attempt to break through, she was instead sent flying backward with a loud "bang." Overwhelmed with panic, she could not help letting out a sharp scream.

Yu Fei was already unable to protect himself, waving his hand to deploy two talismans. With "boom, boom" explosions of fire, he barely managed to block the incoming flying swords.

Bai Zhi crashed heavily to the ground, coughing up blood. Struggling to her feet, she managed to grip her flying sword, but her figure swayed uncontrollably as a look of despair surfaced on her face.

"Kill this pair of ungrateful dogs!"

"Avenge our brothers..."

The five rogue cultivators had trapped the two Immortal Sect disciples, and their arrogance grew even more rampant.

At this moment, Yu Fei’s robes were tattered, his entire body covered in blood, looking thoroughly wretched. Raising his flying sword and clutching his final two talismans, he put on a posture of fighting to the bitter end. Turning to look at Bai Zhi, he said tenderly yet tragically, "To die together with Senior Sister, Yu has no regrets!"

Bai Zhi shook her head, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak, but she held back.

She did not want to die!

Even with a young and handsome fellow disciple willing to sacrifice his life to accompany her, she had no wish to die in this place.

Yet she did not know how to articulate it. Amidst this anxiety, her eyes suddenly lit up and she blurted out involuntarily, "Yu Ye..."

Yu Fei was slightly startled.

Sure enough, a figure had appeared above the tree canopy a hundred paces away. Although they were separated by a great distance, she could still make out his appearance. That young man was precisely Yu Ye. He was seen spreading his arms wide, his Dao robes fluttering in the wind like a soaring bird, his posture exceptionally ethereal. Perhaps coming too fast, he suddenly stepped into empty air, losing any leverage, and violently plummeted downward from the treetop.

The five rogue cultivators also noticed the situation, assuming the two Immortal Sect disciples had summoned strong reinforcements. Each of them was startled and hurriedly turned around to meet the change.

"Bang—"

Yu Ye crashed into the ground, rolled twice, and then climbed back up, unable to help groaning, "Ouch..."

He had followed the sounds to get here, unable to see the situation on the ground. By the time he realized what was happening, he could no longer check his momentum and had fallen straight from mid-air onto the ground, inevitably jarring the sword wound on his shoulder.

When he looked at the corpses on the ground, the five unfamiliar cultivators, and the besieged Yu Fei and Bai Zhi, he asked in confusion, "What is going on here, everyone..."

"Junior Brother Yu, hurry and leave! Go seek help from our fellow sect members, I beg of you!"

Yu Fei was deeply disappointed and urgently urged Yu Ye to flee the place.

That Junior Brother Yu’s robes were tattered, his body covered in blood and grass clippings, and a piece of scrap cloth was wrapped around his shoulder; his wretched state was even worse than his own. Rather than letting him stay here to be buried with them, it was better for him to seek out sect members for rescue, which might leave a sliver of hope.

Instead, Bai Zhi chimed in, "Yu Ye, who injured you..."

Yu Fei interrupted her, "Senior Sister Bai, make him leave quickly—"

Senior Sister Bai was both beautiful and kind-hearted.

Yet this was not the moment to express concern. Once the five rogue cultivators diverted manpower to deal with Yu Ye, even if he wanted to leave, he would not be able to escape.

"Where is Mingye?"

Yu Ye took in the surrounding situation, ignoring the question and asking instead.

"Were you injured by him?"

"Hmph, he doesn't have the ability to hurt me!"

"Then you..."

"Bitten by a dog!"

The two of them exchanged questions and answers as if they were just making casual conversation.

Bai Zhi’s eyes flickered, a trace of expectation mingling within her despair.

While patting the grass clippings off his backside, Yu Ye wandered over, looking around curiously. He seemed completely oblivious to the five aggressive rogue cultivators, and asked with wonder, "Where are Chen Qi and Gu Muzi..."

Before his voice had even faded, his path was blocked by someone.

Seeing that he was young and his cultivation level low, the rogue cultivators set their minds at ease and detached one person to deal with him. The remaining four Qi Refining experts still tightly trapped Bai Zhi and Yu Fei.

Yu Ye was forced to stop, looking at the person blocking his way two or three zhang away.

It was a man in his thirties, at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, with a flying sword circling around him and intense killing intent emanating from his face.

Yu Ye frowned, displaying patience as he persuaded, "To be alive—isn't that a good thing?"

"Heh!"

Finding it amusing, the man couldn't help letting out a grim laugh. Several of his companions also wore cold smiles as they simultaneously formed hand seals.

Yu Fei stepped forward to shield Bai Zhi, preparing to make a desperate final struggle.

Bai Zhi secretly concealed a talisman in her hand, holding back its activation while keeping her eyes fixed on Yu Ye, her gaze shimmering with a mix of expectation and anxiety.

This should be the final clash between the two sides, for some among them were about to die.

"Bang—"

"Puff—"

"Thud—"

Just as the battle was about to erupt, someone suddenly collapsed to the ground. It turned out to be the man who had blocked Yu Ye; half of his head was gone, with red and white matter flowing all over the ground.

Without the slightest flurry, Yu Ye picked up the flying sword and the storage ring, complaining, "To be alive—isn't that a good thing?"

The other four rogue cultivators looked at each other in dismay, then abandoned Yu Fei and Bai Zhi, turning instead to pounce together as streams of sword light frantically surged toward him.

"Boom, boom—"

Sword lights flashed, deafening roars erupted, and dust and debris flew everywhere.

Yet there were no corpses to be seen, nor any severed limbs; the person who had been killed had vanished without a trace.

The four rogue cultivators stared intently, not forgetting to remind each other—

"Invisibility technique, be careful!"

Suddenly, a series of stern shouts rang out: "Bind, bind—"

Amidst the dust, restrictive spells flew in all directions. The four rogue cultivators were too late to dodge, and each of them froze stiff on the spot.

At the same time, Yu Ye reappeared, but instead of using sword Qi, he gripped his sword with both hands and launched into a frenzied hacking and slashing spree against the four rogue cultivators.

"Bang, bang..."

Under the binding of the *Heavenly Restriction Art*, they could not sustain their cultivation, and their protective spiritual energy could not function smoothly, rendering them completely incapable of withstanding such brutal ravaging.

Following a series of explosive impacts, their protective spiritual energy shattered, flesh and blood flew, and figures fell to the ground one after another.

A moment later, all around fell abruptly silent.

Amidst the lingering dust and the overwhelming stench of blood, a single figure stood alone, sword Qi flickering on his blade while the killing intent on his face had yet to fade. Glancing around, he muttered resentfully, "To be alive—isn't that a good thing? Yet you insist on rushing to your deaths, how can you blame me for killing..."

More than ten zhang away, Yu Fei and Bai Zhi remained frozen in place, though their expressions were vastly different.

Yu Fei gave a slight shudder.

In the blink of an eye, he had killed five Qi Refining experts?

Even having witnessed it with his own eyes, he could not fathom the profound mystery behind it. But he clearly saw the murderous look in Junior Brother Yu’s eyes—that was a killing intent born only from experiencing countless slaughters!

When Junior Brother Yu first entered the sect, he possessed only the third layer of Qi Refining. And now, his age was barely eighteen...

Bai Zhi reached out to pinch a strand of her hair, biting her lower lip as her eyes flickered, silently staring at that familiar Junior Brother Yu.

The last time she saw him kill was in the Spirit Dragon Valley of the Great Marsh. Faced with the pursuit of Qizhou Qi Refining cultivators, he had had no choice but to flee in panic. Yet in a short span of a little over a year, he had effortlessly slaughtered five Qi Refining experts. It seemed what Dang Guiyi said was no empty boast; nowadays, beneath the Foundation Establishment stage, he could hardly find a match. But after killing people, why was his grievance so overwhelming? What grievance had he suffered, and who had injured him...