Chapter Sixty-Nine: Master Saves the Day!

"Master?!?"

Ye Chi almost lost his composure and shouted out in front of Tantai Wushuang. But it wasn't entirely his fault; Ya Feiyu's voice came through the long-dormant sea of ​​consciousness, but that usually composed voice sounded hoarse and weak. He could tell Ya Feiyu was trying to steady his breathing, but it didn't seem to help much; his voice would usually fade before he could finish a sentence. He was extremely anxious, his brow furrowed, and he immediately asked, "Is Master injured? What happened?"

Crow was taken aback by the question, and after organizing her thoughts, she said, "No, just some minor injuries..."

"A minor injury? Where are you hurt?"

Ya Feiyu: "...Listen to me first."

This time, the usually talkative little disciple fell silent. The other side of his mind was quiet, and Ya Feiyu could imagine Ye Chi sitting there quietly. He felt a little relieved, but he couldn't laugh. Before speaking, he looked around. His and Mo Huanchen's situation wasn't good; he hadn't expected demonic cultivators to be lying in ambush in the dense forest. Although he hadn't suffered a fatal injury, Ya Feiyu had taken a real hit while saving the unarmed Mo Huanchen. He tore off a corner of his sleeve and used the cloth to wrap his leg wound tightly.

"Something happened at the venue. There were demonic cultivators lying in ambush there. Everyone was under an illusion spell and fell into a deep sleep." He wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "The hunting grounds aren't safe either. We encountered demonic cultivators on our way here. Are you alright?"

Upon hearing that the situation on Ya Feiyu's end was also not optimistic, Ye Chi's dark eyes darkened, and his voice became heavier: "It's not safe for me here either. I've also encountered demonic cultivators chasing me. Young Master Tantai of Qing Shen Pavilion is with me. We are hiding in a mountain cave."

"Is Young Master Tantai with you?" Ya Feiyu paused slightly. "Where are the others?"

"I started hunting normally, but then a thick fog suddenly appeared in the forest..." Ye Chi answered honestly, "I didn't encounter anything except Young Master Tantai."

After a moment of silence on the other end, Ya Feiyu said, "Send me your location, I'll come find you."

Ye Chi nodded: "Okay."

He gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips, made a hand seal, and the crimson spiritual stream vanished in the blink of an eye. Tantai Wushuang, who had been curious about his behavior for some time, asked, "You've made contact with someone?"

"That's right." After learning that Ya Feiyu would come to pick him up, Ye Chi felt much more relaxed. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the stone wall, completely at ease. "The communication with Master is finally working. He will come to pick us up soon. We can just wait here."

Tantai Wushuang nodded slightly, but for some reason, he seemed somewhat absent-minded, his eyes darting around without focusing on anything. Ye Chi didn't bother with him, simply assuming it was the eldest son of Qing Shen Pavilion showing signs of unease. He considered himself a straight man and had no interest in comforting another man.

Just then, Tantai Wushuang spoke in a trembling voice: "Brother Ye..."

He paused, not finishing his sentence in one breath, which annoyed Ye Chi. He lifted his eyelids and said irritably, "Hmm?"

"Don't you think it's... a bit cold here...?"

Cultivators are invulnerable to swords and spears, let alone being able to perceive changes in temperature so keenly. They wouldn't even have a particularly noticeable feeling about whether it's hot or cold right now. But after he mentioned it, Ye Chi paused, and focused his attention to observe his surroundings—Tantai Wushuang was right, it did seem... a bit cold?

But where does this inexplicable chill come from?

Along with the bone-chilling cold came a faint rustling sound, but upon closer listening, it didn't seem to be coming from the outside; rather, it was coming from inside the cave.

Realizing this, Ye Chi reacted quickly, pinching off a flaming talisman, infusing it with spiritual power, and throwing it in without hesitation.

The blazing flames instantly illuminated the dark cave as bright as day, lasting for a mere three seconds, but enough for them to see the scene before them clearly.

—Insects, so many insects.

The insects were visibly of different species, some resembling butterflies, others centipedes; at least hundreds of different kinds of insects crawled out of the depths of the cave in swarms. Although they looked quite different, they were all uniformly silvery-white in appearance, and some of the larger ones were even translucent, revealing their fresh internal organs.

"this--!!!"

Ye Chi's eyes widened suddenly, and he subconsciously pulled Tantai Wushuang to run outside. But he stopped just before they left. He stiffly cast a pleading look to the side, only to be met with a similarly helpless gaze from Tantai Wushuang. He was pale and slowly shook his head.

They all noticed the presence of demonic energy.

Damn it. Ye Chi cursed inwardly. Why did they have to come back at this crucial moment? Why now of all times?

If Heaven wants your life, then it's completely unreasonable. Ye Chi closed his eyes, letting the crystalline worm crawl onto his limbs, slowly making its way up his legs. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and the bone-chilling cold from the outside world spread upwards from his spine. He gritted his teeth in pain, hoping that the demonic cultivators outside wouldn't notice anything amiss...

Compared to him, Tantai Wushuang's situation was relatively more miserable. He was pampered and spoiled, let alone getting close to insects. Under normal circumstances, these unclean creatures wouldn't even have the chance to come within a meter of him. But now he could only endure their contact. Tantai Wushuang watched helplessly as a centipede of considerable size crawled up his thigh from the sole of his shoe. He closed his eyes in despair. He really wanted to scream for help, but to survive, he had to grit his teeth and desperately suppress his voice.

"They're gone...?"

"They shouldn't have gone far..."

"Look...in this area...look around..."

A rustling sound came from outside. Ye Chi overheard the noise and felt even more uneasy—this group of demonic cultivators seemed to be deliberately torturing them, slowly and methodically searching the vicinity. Judging from the commotion they were making, he didn't know when they would leave. More importantly, Ye Chi discovered that these crystalline insects weren't just different in appearance from ordinary insects; they carried intense ice-attribute spiritual energy. As more and more insects approached, the chill intensified. The cold brought by spiritual energy was different; it could easily seep into a cultivator's internal organs, and over time, it could even damage their meridians, causing their spiritual energy to stagnate, hindering their cultivation, and possibly even preventing them from ever cultivating again.

Realizing this, the chill that had been emanating from his body seemed to slowly coalesce into killing intent.

Ye Chi could only rely on his current cultivation level and the protective talisman given to him by Ya Feiyu to hold on, but he didn't know how long he could endure the demonic cultivators. Maybe before they even left, he would turn into a freeze-dried corpse...

His thoughts began to wander, and just then, a loud bang came from outside, scattering the bushes blocking the cave entrance. Ye Chi took advantage of this brief opening to look outside, but before he could see what had happened, a dark shadow suddenly flew past him.

"...?"

Ye Chi was startled. The dark shadow, like a kite with a broken string, crashed into a boulder with a violent roar. The concentration of demonic energy in the air suddenly increased. Ye Chi plucked the blood-sucking leeches clinging to his body and looked outside. A snow-white figure stood among the demonic cultivators, creating an extremely oppressive standoff. Ye Chi was overjoyed: "Master! I'm here!"

He wasn't afraid of revealing his location. Even if the group of demonic cultivators only belatedly realized he was there, it wouldn't help. The moment they discovered him, Ya Feiyu unleashed extremely strong spiritual power, as if he were burning his own life force. He quickly repelled the demonic cultivators, ignoring the corpses on the ground that were in the way, and wiped them all out. Then he quickly ran to Ye Chi's side, cupped his face, and examined him closely to make sure he was really alright.

Before he could even catch his breath, he saw the crystalline insects on his body again. His gaze sharpened slightly, and without giving him a chance to speak, he pulled him out of the hole and took him to a safe place. Tantai Wushuang received the same treatment. This young master's face had turned pale, and when he was pulled out, he was unconscious and had fallen into a coma.

Ya Feiyu first used her spiritual power to check the pulses of the two men. After confirming that they were temporarily out of danger, she gave Ye Chi a pill and then went to treat Tantai Wushuang. His condition was obviously much worse than Ye Chi's. Although the effects of the crystallized insects had not penetrated into his body, their power was still not to be underestimated. If this young master's body were any weaker, he might be left with a lifelong illness.

"Master, your leg..." Ye Chi's voice came from beside him. Ya Feiyu was slightly distracted, but his gaze remained on Tantai Wushuang's wound. He replied casually, "Hmm?"

"The minor injury you mentioned, are you referring to this area?"

As he spoke, a sharp pain shot through him, and Ya Feiyu groaned involuntarily. His hand trembled slightly, and he released Tantai Wushuang's wrist. He had no choice but to turn his gaze to Ye Chi, who had a somewhat gloomy expression and was pressing on the wound on Ya Feiyu's leg, which had only been bandaged recently, with seemingly excessive force. Noticing the cold gaze from Ya Feiyu, he turned his head away unwillingly and said, "So, Master feels pain too?"

Ya Feiyu: "..." No, is this person sick?

He sighed. Tantai Wushuang's condition was urgent, and he didn't have time to deal with his disciple who was inexplicably sulking. Only after all the cold energy in Tantai Wushuang's body had been expelled and absorbed did Ya Feiyu breathe a sigh of relief. He fed her some hot water and carefully warmed Tantai Wushuang's slightly cold hands before looking at Ye Chi, saying irritably, "What are you doing?"

Ye Chi, carrying a cup of water, plopped down next to him and said matter-of-factly, "Master's wounds must not have been treated. Let me treat them for you."

Ya Feiyu: "..."

Okay, he really didn't handle it.

He rubbed his temples: "I'm scared of you."