Chapter 41: Crisis and Ups and Downs

Inside Li Ye's body, two forces were pulling at his bones and muscles. Even though he tried his best to endure it, the pain still made him break out in a cold sweat and his jaw clench.

Seeing him like this, Si Yao panicked, "Xiao Yezi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

After she finished speaking, she reached out and sent a wisp of spiritual energy into Li Ye's body.

Unexpectedly, the spiritual energy vanished without a trace, and Si Yao was unable to ascertain Li Ye's current condition.

Seeing that he was trembling incessantly, Si Yao touched his hand and found that it was extremely cold.

"You're cold, aren't you?" Si Yao said, sitting down next to Li Ye and gently pulling him into her arms, trying to warm him with her own body heat.

However, Li Ye was still conscious. Being held by Si Yao like this, he tried to struggle and wanted to resist.

But he didn't have much strength; he was completely limp and could only lie in Si Yao's arms.

"Could it be that you've depleted too much spiritual energy today?" Si Yao muttered to herself, intending to transfer some of her spiritual energy to Li Ye.

But Li Ye's body rejected it. Si Yao suddenly withdrew her hand, frowned, and muttered, "Strange, I can't understand you at all."

"Don't... worry about me, just leave me alone."

Li Ye struggled to raise his hand and used Si Yao's arm to prop himself up. He tried his best to roll out of Si Yao's embrace.

Seeing his intention, Si Yao quickly said, "Alright, alright, I'll let go right now."

After saying that, she let go of his hand, helped Li Ye sit cross-legged on the ground.

If he doesn't want her to manage it, then she'll leave it alone for now.

Si Yao took a few steps forward and sat down about ten feet away from Li Ye. She decided to just watch him from a distance and help him if any emergency occurred.

Before long, the so-called emergency still occurred.

A strange movement came from the water's surface, and in an instant, water splashed everywhere as a giant green crocodile leaped into the air.

As the mist dissipated, the giant crocodile emerged and charged directly at Li Ye.

"You monster, where do you think you're going? Come at me!"

Si Yao shouted angrily, and then her whole body flashed to Li Ye's side.

She formed hand seals, swung them forward, and kicked out with both feet. Amidst the fluttering of her clothes, she struck the giant crocodile in the head.

The giant crocodile retreated several feet, lying prone in the water, still furious, and finally spat a jet of water at Si Yao, creating a huge splash.

The water column was full of energy; if you were hit by it, you would inevitably get hurt.

Compared to the enormous crocodile, Si Yao was much more agile. She leaped and spun around, quietly dodging the attack.

The water jet struck the stone wall behind where she had just been standing.

With a loud crash, a large hole was punched in the stone wall.

Si Yao took a deep breath, "That was close."

The crocodile missed, fueling its rage.

In its eyes, tiny ants like humans should be easy to crush.

Unwilling to give up, it leaped into the air and pounced on Si Yao.

Si Yao reached out, preparing to summon the Yan Yun fan, but because Yan Yun had been greatly depleted, it was now as if it were asleep.

All right.

Si Yao now has no choice but to fight the giant crocodile with her bare hands.

Fortunately, she was not in a hurry. Instead, she was calm and composed. As she formed a hand seal, a blue totem rose in front of her. At this moment, the giant crocodile suddenly swung its tail.

The scales on its tail were incredibly sharp, and they shone brightly under the glow of the surrounding jellyfish.

Never get hit by the tail.

The blue totem stood firm, like a barrier, effectively blocking the giant crocodile's tail attack.

However, the totem was shattered as a result, and the force of the impact caused the air to fluctuate. Facing the impact that spread in all directions, Si Yao went against the wind and rushed directly to the giant crocodile.

She wanted to resolve the matter quickly, since Li Ye's condition was already very bad, and dragging it out would only make things worse.

Si Yao flipped her hands and unleashed three enormous handprints, aimed directly at the giant crocodile's face.

"Bang bang bang—"

The handprints were incredibly fast; the clumsy crocodile couldn't dodge them and took three blows from Si Yao.

It was repelled, and its entire body submerged in the water, instantly creating huge waves.

Si Yao pressed her advantage, using the towering waves to infuse her spiritual energy into them.

In an instant, the water waves transformed into several ice spikes, each containing the magical power of her powerful blade, which struck the giant crocodile with overwhelming force.

The giant crocodile let out a scream and struggled to rise from the water again. It leaped forward and ran in the opposite direction from Si Yao.

Judging from its appearance, it seems to be trying to escape.

Si Yao would not give it a chance to escape or catch its breath.

Finally, a powerful force erupted from Si Yao's hands, tearing the air apart with a series of booming sounds.

Si Yao swung her hands out, and the giant crocodile in the air was instantly pierced through. Its entire body crashed heavily to the ground, its luster dimmed, and it could no longer move.

With the giant crocodile dead, Si Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

After the fight, her spiritual energy was exhausted, and she was also somewhat physically weak.

However, Si Yao still moved to Li Ye's side. She didn't say anything, but just quietly watched over him.

He just said to ignore him.

Perhaps he will be able to regulate his body on his own.

However, Si Yao didn't have much time to rest and catch her breath.

Just as one wave subsides, another rises.

After the giant crocodile died, it seemed to have triggered some mechanism in this space.

The ground began to shake violently, and the surrounding stone walls moved, gradually approaching Si Yao and Xiao Yezi from all directions.

It was as if the space here had been intentionally shrunk, trapping Si Yao and Li Ye in a small world.

The stone wall continued to advance. Si Yao stood up and looked up at the sky.

The sky above was a vast expanse of darkness, making it impossible to see clearly. I had no idea what would happen if I rashly took Li Ye up there.

If there is no way up, it will be all in vain.

Worst of all, several thorns sprouted from Si Yao's feet, tightly binding them.

So right now, she can't go anywhere at all?

"My disciple, are you alright?"

Si Yao asked a question, but Li Ye's brows were furrowed and his face was as white as a sheet of paper.

With a "poof," Li Ye spat out a mouthful of blood, fell backward, and fainted.

Si Yao was horrified; things were definitely getting worse now.

The stone wall continued to close in, and the once spacious area had shrunk several times over, making Si Yao feel as if she were trapped in a very small stone chamber.

She tried to summon her spiritual energy, but it was limited, and her feet were tightly bound.

We can't just let the stone wall keep getting closer and get crushed into mincemeat, can we?

Si Yao roared and unleashed her spiritual energy in all directions. However, this did not cause any damage to the stone wall. Instead, it caused iron spikes to grow on the stone wall.

The iron spikes were extremely sharp at the tip, and were only three feet away from Si Yao and Li Ye.

If they had gone any further down the cliff, they would have been riddled with holes.

The space was getting smaller and smaller. Just a moment ago, there was the light of jellyfish, but now in this cramped space, the light had decreased several times over.

Soon, Si Yao felt as if she were in darkness.

The more she felt this way, the more uncomfortable she became.

Her chest heaved, and she felt the air was thin and she could hardly breathe.

A chill ran down her spine, and a sense of fear welled up within her.

The fear made her limbs go weak, and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her head, feeling the stone wall approaching in the darkness.

But the thought of Li Ye lying beside her made her realize that if she didn't try her best now, she and Li Ye would lose their lives.

Si Yao's shoulders were shaking, her hands were shaking, and her teeth were chattering.

However, she still opened her eyes, even though she couldn't see clearly, even though the terror of the darkness chilled her to the bone.

But Si Yao still stood up, even though she was swaying, she finally managed to stand up.

She waved her hands, spiritual energy clinging to her palms, invisible to her, and could only wave them in all directions.

"Bang--"

His palm struck the iron spikes that were closing in from the stone wall, shattering them into pieces with a sound, and a burning pain came from his palm.

Si Yao didn't care about anything else and continued to blindly swing her palms in all directions, just like before.

Spiritual energy is limited, and after several battles, she now seems to be relying solely on physical skills to attack.

I don't know how many times I used my palms, but my hands were already numb as if I had lost the ability to feel pain.

Finally, she exerted all her strength, using the last of her accumulated spiritual energy, and suddenly formed a hand seal, unleashing it in all directions.

A tremendous roar resounded, and she destroyed all the iron spikes on the stone wall.

At the same time, the stone wall finally stopped approaching, and the thorns that had been wrapped around Si Yao's feet disappeared completely.

The space stopped shrinking, but from then on, Si Yao and Li Ye were trapped in this space, their bodies pressed tightly together, with no other room to move.

"Should this be okay?"

Si Yao muttered weakly to herself, then her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

She was still shrouded in darkness; she had only managed to survive by sheer willpower.

But as the crisis temporarily subsided, her innate fear of darkness once again overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She began to tremble all over again, had difficulty breathing, and her consciousness gradually became blurred.

But none of that mattered anymore. She smiled and said, "Maybe it'll be fine in a little while."

She muttered to herself and closed her eyes.

Li Ye, who was beside him, stirred slightly. He opened his eyes and found Si Yao lying on his chest.

He summoned the Soul-Destroying Lamp, which shimmered with light.

Only then did Li Ye see clearly that Si Yao's hands were covered in blood, with countless wounds, and her wedding dress was already stained with a lot of blood.

Just now, she went through a fierce battle.

Li Ye took a deep breath and gently patted Si Yao's shoulder. "Master?"

However, Si Yao's consciousness was already blurred, and she did not give any response. Her expression was particularly painful, and she occasionally let out a painful moan.

Li Ye frowned. He had seen this scene three times in total, including this time.

Looking around again, Li Ye realized how cramped the space was.

He activated the fire extinguishing lamp, using all his spiritual power, and in the blink of an eye, he shattered all the stone walls surrounding them.

He cleared away these crowded stone walls for her, as if he were splitting open a wide space for her.

Looking at her bloodied and mangled hands, Li Ye couldn't help but be moved, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes, which he himself didn't even realize.

Finally, he couldn't help but pick Si Yao up, let her lean against his chest, and then gently stroked her back.

"Master, wake up quickly."