The stone crevice was deep, damp, and winding, as if it had no end. Carrying Xiao Qi on his back, Zhao Tiezhu relied on the last of his strength as a body-cultivator to run wildly through the darkness, stumbling with every step. The earth-shattering explosions behind them gradually became muffled and distant, blocked by the rock. But the smell of scorched air and blood, along with the image of Second Senior Brother Luo Feng lying in a pool of blood, his fate unknown, clung to the two of them like a nightmare.
"Second Senior Brother… Second Senior Brother…" Xiao Qi lay on Zhao Tiezhu's back, murmuring absently. Tears mixed with the blood and dirt on his face, leaving winding trails. That second senior brother, who usually tinkered with strange gadgets, liked to slack off, but was more reliable than anyone else in critical moments, had resolutely chosen to sacrifice himself to buy them a sliver of hope. The weight of it nearly crushed his already weakened soul spirit.
Zhao Tiezhu said nothing. He just clenched his teeth, relying on his tenacious will and powerful physique to fight against the rampaging toxin and severe injuries, pushing forward desperately. His breathing sounded like a worn-out bellows—each inhale carried the smell of blood, each exhale seemed to drain the last of his strength. The dagger in his left shoulder blade jolted with every step, bringing waves of tearing pain, but he didn't so much as grunt.
No one knew how long they had traveled through the darkness. Finally, a faint light appeared ahead. Their spirits lifted, and they quickened their pace, rushing out.
Before them opened up a mountain stream with fast-flowing, misty water. This was already the outer edge of the Black Wind Mountains. According to the marks Second Senior Brother had left, they had successfully escaped the most dangerous core area. Yet neither of them felt the slightest relief.
Zhao Tiezhu carefully set Xiao Qi down on a relatively dry rock. Then he himself could no longer hold on. His massive body swayed, and he fell to one knee, vomiting a large mouthful of dark red, foul-smelling congealed blood. The black aura on his face had already spread to his neck, and his aura was as weak as a candle in the wind—frighteningly faint. The霸道 potency of the azure toxin was far beyond imagination.
Xiao Qi struggled to sit up. Looking at Zhao Tiezhu's miserable state, then at his own empty, aching body that could barely even stand, an unprecedented wave of despair washed over him. In their current condition, forget about returning to Qingxu Temple—even walking out of the Black Wind Mountains would be nearly impossible. And the crisis their sect might be facing, the unknown fate of Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister, the sacrifice of Second Senior Brother… All of it pressed down on him like mountains, suffocating him.
No! He couldn't give up!
Xiao Qi suddenly gripped the jade pendant on his chest. Its cool, gentle touch seemed to give him a faint sliver of strength. He could not waste the chance Second Senior Brother had bought with his life. He could not stand by and watch the sect fall into danger!
He had to get back as soon as possible! No matter the cost!
A mad, desperate thought ignited in his heart like wildfire.
With trembling hands, he took an object from an unremarkable storage bag at his waist. It was a palm-sized, elegantly shaped, streamlined wooden kite of a cyan color. This was the Green Kite Shuttle—a mid-grade flying magical artifact that his master had given him before departure, knowing his cultivation was still shallow, specifically for saving his life. At his Qi Refining stage cultivation, he could barely activate it, with limited speed and at great cost of spiritual power.
But now, he couldn't care about any of that.
"Brother Tiezhu…" Xiao Qi's voice was hoarse, but carried an undeniable resolve. "We… fly back."
Zhao Tiezhu lifted his heavy eyelids. He looked at the small wooden kite in Xiao Qi's hand, then at Xiao Qi's face—pale as paper but filled with determination. As if understanding something, his lips moved as if to protest, but in the end, only a heavy sigh escaped him. He nodded. He knew this was the only way, the last way.
Xiao Qi took a deep breath. He poured the last remaining, threadlike wisps of spiritual power in his body without reservation into the Green Kite Shuttle. The runes on its wooden surface lit up one by one, emitting a faint cyan glow, and its size slowly expanded, finally turning into a wooden kite large enough to carry two or three people.
But this meager spiritual power was only enough to make it hover. Its speed was pathetically slow. Forget about reaching Qingxu Temple—they probably wouldn't even make it out of the Black Wind Mountains before being caught by pursuers.
A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Qi's eyes. He extended his right index finger and jabbed it fiercely at the Tanzhong acupoint on his own chest! That was where a cultivator's essence blood was stored—the source of life itself!
*Pfft!*
A mouthful of vital essence blood, crimson with faint golden traces, was forcibly expelled from his body and sprayed onto the core rune of the Green Kite Shuttle!
The moment the essence blood left his body, Xiao Qi felt as if part of his soul had been torn away. His vision went black, his entire being seemed hollowed out in an instant, and he nearly collapsed. This was a far more severe depletion than overdrawing spiritual power—it damaged the very foundation of his cultivation, his very lifespan!
"Xiao Qi!" Zhao Tiezhu cried out, trying to reach him.
But Xiao Qi forced himself not to fall. He pressed both hands onto the Green Kite Shuttle that had absorbed his essence blood and hoarsely roared: "Burn my essence blood, help me… void-shift!"
*Hum—!*
Having absorbed the essence blood containing the source of life, the Green Kite Shuttle suddenly erupted with unprecedented, dazzling cyan light! Its originally plain wooden surface now seemed to transform into translucent cyan jade. On its streamlined body, layers of profound runes spun rapidly as if alive, emitting intense spatial fluctuations!
Cyan light enveloped Xiao Qi and Zhao Tiezhu, and a powerful pulling force came over them.
"Go!"
With the last shred of his consciousness, Xiao Qi controlled the Green Kite Shuttle.
*Whoosh—!*
The next moment, the Green Kite Shuttle transformed into a cyan streak of light that tore across the sky—not merely flying, but performing something close to short-distance void-shifting! Its speed was far beyond the normal遁光 of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, leaving behind only a fading cyan rainbow and a violent sonic boom!
Driven by burning essence blood, the Green Kite Shuttle exploded with astonishing speed, carrying the two of them like the wind toward Qingxu Temple.
Inside the streak of light, Xiao Qi's face was as yellow as gold paper, his aura extremely faint. He curled up on the wooden kite, deeply unconscious. The backlash from burning essence blood, combined with the previous injuries from overdrawing the Purification Source, had fully detonated. His life flame seemed as if it could go out at any moment.
Zhao Tiezhu, enduring severe pain and dizziness, held Xiao Qi tightly in his arms. Looking at the mountains and rivers flashing past below, feeling the speed bought with burning life itself, tears welled up again in his eyes. He knew that Xiao Qi was using his own future and life to buy them the last bit of time.
He turned his head to look back toward the Black Wind Mountains. There, it seemed, the smoke of battle still lingered, and the faint auras of pursuers remained. Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother… Please, be safe!
The cyan streak of light tore across the sky, fleeing desperately toward Qingxu Temple with a tragic and resolute determination. Every inch of progress was soaked in blood and sacrifice.