Chapter 7: Ling Xuance Severely Wounded, Lin Yu Appears

Chapter 7: Ling Xuance Severely Injured, Lin Yu Appears

"Aaargh—!"

A miserable, agonized howl echoed through the entire misty forest. The hulking beast thrashed violently, its scarlet eyes filled with alarm and rage.

After several futile struggles, the beast knew it could no longer seize the herb. With deep reluctance, it whipped its head violently and, bearing its wounds, turned and fled into the thick fog.

The deadly clash came to an abrupt end, and the forest fell back into a deathly silence.

With the danger gone, panic flooded Lin Yu's chest. His legs buckled, and he crawled on all fours to Ling Xuance's side, wrapping his small body around the severely injured, unconscious man.

His body trembled uncontrollably, but he forced himself to hold it together. Lifting his red-rimmed eyes, he shot a wary glare at Yuan Shao and the other two standing nearby.

Given the perilous situation just moments ago, his young, naive mind instinctively concluded that these three had let Ling Xuance charge ahead alone to take on all the danger.

Lin Yu lowered his gaze to the faintly breathing man in his arms and scattered handfuls of carefully cultivated ice-type spirit herbs from his inner world over the wounds across Ling Xuance's body.

The herbs' pure, icy spiritual energy seeped slowly into the torn flesh, gently easing the searing pain and gradually steadying his ravaged meridians.

Yuan Shao and the others watched the youth appear and turn the tide out of nowhere. Seeing his wary, guarded look, they knew he'd gotten the wrong idea. They took half a step forward, meaning to explain.

But the instant they moved, the youth snapped his head up, his voice shaking as he yelled.

"S-stay back!"

The boy's voice was hoarse and trembling. Though his entire body shook, he forced himself to put up a sharp, defensive front. The scattered green vines around him seemed to sense his intent, keying in on their master's wariness.

The spirit plants that had just calmed down instantly snapped back to life, bursting from the ground and slithering at breakneck speed.

They coiled in rings around Yuan Shao and the others' feet, roots digging into the dirt, vine tips rearing up, glinting with a faint green venomous sheen.

If the three so much as twitched, these vines—vicious and bloodthirsty moments ago—would strike instantly, aiming for vitals with lethal precision.

Yuan Shao, Jin Ling, and Qing Yi froze, breath catching in their throats. They no longer dared to even think about stepping forward to explain. Rooted to the spot, they could only passively endure the intimidation.

Seeing the three cowed and unwilling to come any closer, Lin Yu didn't waste a second. He shut his eyes, pushing aside every distraction.

Deep in his dantian, the spirit herb swayed gently. Pure, gentle life-force energy poured endlessly into Ling Xuance's shattered body.

As the relentless drain of life-force continued, the herb—usually lush and vibrant—slowly lost its sheen. Its leaves curled at the edges, wilting and sagging.

The relentless drain also leeched the color from Lin Yu's pale face, his fingertips fading to a sickly white.

Time crawled by, second by second. Ling Xuance, barely breathing, felt his fingertip twitch.

He opened his heavy eyes, the exhaustion of his injuries still clouding them.

The first thing he saw was the boy's face, white as a sheet. Heartache flooded his every sense in an instant.

"A Yu! Stop it!"

Ling Xuance's voice came out hoarse and urgent. He raised his hand to cut off the boy's continuous flow of spiritual energy, forcibly severing the output of his vital essence.

With the spiritual energy cut off, Lin Yu's body went limp and toppled forward.

Ling Xuance reached out to catch the swaying youth, pulling him firmly into his arms.

His warm spiritual sense swept into the boy's dantian. Seeing the withered spirit herb and the drained meridians inside the boy's body, Ling Xuance's heart clenched.

He gathered a wisp of pure, gentle spiritual energy at his fingertip and fed it into the boy's dantian, until the herb regained a hint of green and the youth's ragged breathing evened out.

Seeing Ling Xuance awake, all the pent-up panic and hurt shattered Lin Yu's last shred of composure.

He buried himself in Ling Xuance's warm chest, small hands clutching the bloodstained lapels of his robes, broken sobs spilling out.

"Brother Che... you scared me to death..."

Ling Xuance patted his back, soothing him over and over with gentle tenderness, shedding all the cold aloofness he showed the world, leaving only warmth meant solely for the youth.

"It's alright, I'm here. A Yu, don't be afraid. I'm fine."

He patiently smoothed the boy's hair, carefully calming every trace of fear and unease, whispering reassurances again and again.

Yuan Shao and the others, still frozen nearby, watched the scene in stunned silence.

The masked cultivator who had been distant and indifferent toward them moments ago was now so gentle with this youth—almost humbly so, with not a trace of coldness or menace.

The stark contrast left the three utterly shaken.

Under Ling Xuance's tender comfort, Lin Yu's tense mind finally relaxed completely, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

Confirming the youth was sound asleep, Ling Xuance carefully raised his hand and, with a thought, settled the sleeping boy in the center of the spirit field where spiritual energy was richest.

That done, all tenderness vanished from his eyes. His cool gaze fell lightly on the three still frozen not far away.

The vines coiled around their feet remained on high alert, gleaming with cold venomous light, firmly trapping them in place, not allowing them to move an inch.

The three managed to speak, hastily offering explanations.

"Fellow cultivator, this is all a misunderstanding! The beast's might was too overwhelming—the shockwave cut us off from the battlefield. We simply couldn't get close to assist!"

Ling Xuance's expression was calm, his eyes unreadable.

He naturally understood the blocking force of a peak sixth-tier beast's furious aura and had never held it against them.

Without unnecessary pleasantries, he extended his hand before the three.

"The Demon-Breaking Herb."

Three cold, crisp words, devoid of any oppressive hostility.

Yuan Shao and the others felt their hearts tighten. They had witnessed the boy's fierce protectiveness and knew the cultivator before them was unfathomably powerful.

Jin Ling moved quickly, producing the undamaged Demon-Breaking Herb and presenting it with both hands, not daring to delay.

Ling Xuance's fingertip brushed the cool leaf, confirming the Demon-Breaking Herb was intact.

The tension eased slightly. Qing Yi hesitated a moment, glancing at the still-coiled vines at their feet, then carefully ventured.

"Fellow cultivator... could you recall these spirit plants? We harbor no ill intent, nor do we mean any offense to your friend."

Ling Xuance lowered his gaze to the crisscrossing green vines at his feet.

A hint of warmth crept into his eyes. He slowly bent down, extending his cool, slender fingertips.

Yuan Shao and the others instinctively held their breath.

But the very next second.

The fierce, bloodthirsty vines, the moment they touched Ling Xuance's fingertips, shed their sharp thorns and chilling venom.

The taut vine tips drooped gently, the supple leaves curled up docilely, nuzzling affectionately against his palm—so tame, utterly bereft of any killing power.

"Thank you."

As if understanding his words, the vines' leaves rustled, their stems shrinking back shyly, and with a series of whooshes, they all retreated into the earth, vanishing without a trace, leaving only flat soil behind.

The three stared blankly, utterly dumbfounded.

Unnoticed by the others, Ling Xuance's fingertips curled slightly, and with a subtle motion, he gently wrapped a tender vine shoot in spiritual energy and tucked it away into the small world within his jade pendant.

The restraints were fully lifted, and the danger had settled to dust.

The legs of Yuan Shao, Jin Ling, and Qing Yi gave way, and they collapsed in unison onto the muddy ground.

With the Demon-Breaking Herb already secured, Ling Xuance only wanted to return immediately to watch over A Yu. He suppressed his aura, and though his injuries were severe, his steps remained steady and firm even as he turned to leave.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Jin Ling hastily called out to stop him. Bracing her aching body, she raised a hand and produced from her personal storage two lotus seeds, entirely translucent, radiating a faint, soft emerald glow.

The seeds exuded a tranquil, gentle aura, their lotus fragrance subtle yet enduring—clearly no ordinary spiritual object.

Clutching the spiritual lotus seeds in her fingertips, her expression hesitant but sincere, she spoke softly in explanation.

"Earlier, I observed your friend treating injuries from the sidelines, and I vaguely noticed he possesses a rare wood-type spiritual root. Moreover, the root's foundation showed signs of brief withering and decay—likely caused by forcibly overdrawing his spiritual power."

"These are two Biluo spiritual lotus seeds. Their properties are mild and strengthen the root foundation, ideal for nourishing wood-type spiritual roots and repairing foundational damage. They may help stabilize your friend's dantian and restore vitality, making up for today's losses."

Hearing this, Yuan Shao and Qing Yi also forced their weary bodies up and each took out their own treasured items.

In Yuan Shao's hand was a smoothly polished greenwood spiritual jade, its surface suffused with pure wood-type spiritual energy; Qing Yi produced a small porcelain bottle of condensed green soul liquid, a remedy for withered spiritual roots and depleted spiritual energy.

All three were apologizing sincerely—both to ease the earlier misunderstanding and rift, and out of gratitude for Ling Xuance's desperate efforts today in holding off the demonic beast and securing everyone's opportunity.

Ling Xuance lowered his gaze to the rare treasures in their palms. Without declining, he reached out and accepted them one by one, tucking them away securely.

"Thank you. I'll remember this debt. Should you ever be in need, you may seek me out."

The three quickly waved their hands, their hearts growing even more guilt-ridden and uneasy.

"Fellow Daoist, you're too kind! If not for your desperate rearguard action today, the three of us wouldn't have obtained the spiritual materials—we'd likely have died in the beast's maw. With your life-saving grace before us, our paltry gifts are hardly worth mentioning!"

As she finished speaking, Jin Ling produced two Taiyi Sect tokens, neatly crafted and engraved with the sect's cloud motifs, and offered them with both hands.

"These are the tokens of my Taiyi Sect. Please accept them, Daoist friend. Should you run into trouble in the future, you may use the token to seek aid from the sect. Even as a rogue cultivator, I can also recommend you to join the sect for cultivation."

Ling Xuance's fingertips accepted the ice-cold tokens.

Taiyi Sect—a renowned orthodox sect in the cultivation world, famed for its alchemy and lotus arts, whose supreme treasure was precisely the Biluo spiritual lotus.

The Biluo spiritual lotus specialized in nurturing vitality, and was exactly what Lin Yu needed. It could subtly nourish the innate life ability within him, greatly aiding his future cultivation.

His mind stirred slightly, committing the Taiyi Sect to memory. He gave a faint nod in acknowledgment. "Understood. Should fate allow, I will pay a visit in person."