"Yin Ming! Yin Ming, how are you?!"

Lingyao hurriedly pushed the body that had fallen on him, but no matter how he called out to it, the other person did not respond to a single word.

"Yin Ming...why are you so foolish..."

The life force emanating from that body grew weaker and weaker, and Lingyao's voice became tinged with sobs. He anxiously reached out to hug the person on his body, but no matter how tightly he tightened his arms, the fear in his heart continued to grow, as if something important was about to be lost forever.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, which excited the eighth-realm demonic beast even more. Its enormous form swept through the air, seemingly trying to snatch the body that was clinging to Lingyao.

Lingyao rolled around twice quickly while holding Yin Ming, barely avoiding the giant claws that the demonic beast reached down.

Ling Yao placed Yin Ming in a corner, quickly tidied his appearance, then stood up and faced the eighth-realm demonic beast, clenching her fists tightly.

It's all that monster's fault!

He stared intently at the eighth-realm demonic beast, then stepped towards it, his aura growing stronger with each step.

Upon seeing this, the Eight Realms Beast quickly opened its mouth and condensed a ball of resentment in an attempt to block his advance.

Ling Yao easily dodged them all. When his cultivation level reached the peak of the seventh realm, it only paused for a moment before instantly breaking through to the eighth realm.

His advancement to a higher realm caused the resentment of heaven and earth to surge and rage around him, continuously pouring into his body.

Lingyao paid no attention to the changes in his body and stood in front of the Eighth Realm Demonic Beast with an icy expression.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Eighth Realm Demon Beast flapped its wings again, but this time, Lingyao raised the Lingming Sword and cleanly cut off its wing.

Amidst the splattering of blood, the eighth-realm demonic beast, having lost a wing, raised its head and let out a painful roar. Ling Yao coldly narrowed his eyes and quickly activated the Spirit Cry Sword in his hand.

The towering beam of light exploded like thunder, and the whole world seemed to be enveloped in a white light.

Yin Ming secretly squinted to observe the battle. After the light dissipated, he saw that the eighth-realm demonic beast had been cut into eight pieces, all scattered on the ground.

Lingyao, standing with his sword in hand, looked like a god descending from heaven with his back to him. His dark hair danced in the wind, and his clothes fluttered, exuding a fierce fighting spirit that was unstoppable.

Yin Ming silently gave a thumbs up in his heart. Wow, wow, no wonder he's the protagonist. He always manages to advance at crucial moments, carrying the whole team and dominating the game.

Lingyao seemed to sense something and quickly turned his head to look in the direction where Yin Ming was.

Because of his overly sharp gaze, Yin Ming was so frightened that he immediately closed his eyes and continued to play dead.

A slightly cool touch pressed against his neck, and Yin Ming dared not move, letting the other person check his pulse.

Lingyao let out a soft sigh of relief, then gently but urgently shook Yin Ming's body, softly calling, "Yin Ming, Yin Ming, wake up..."

Yin Ming sighed inwardly; pretending to be dead was clearly not going to work.

Knowing he hadn't fooled Ling Yao, Yin Ming could only slightly open his eyes and weakly call out, "A Yao..."

This weakness was definitely not feigned; after all, he had really almost died just now, and he could still feel a burning pain in his back.

Even his internal organs were in excruciating pain; this feeling was no better than what he experienced at Shenyin Mountain.

I wonder how many ribs he broke this time.

Forget it, Yin Ming is already numb from the pain. He'll just give up completely; as long as he's not dead, that's fine.

"Yin Ming, thank goodness you're alright..." Seeing Yin Ming slowly wake up, Ling Yao was overjoyed and hugged him tightly.

Yin Ming's wound was aggravated by his movement, and he couldn't help but hiss in pain.

Lingyao belatedly realized that he had touched the other's wound, so he quickly helped Yin Ming to a rock half a meter high so that he could lean against it and rest. He frantically searched his spatial ring for any suitable medicine.

Ling Yao's condition wasn't much better than Yin Ming's at this moment. In order to kill that eighth-realm demonic beast, he had exhausted all the resentment in his body, but fortunately he still had the ability to move.

"Ah Yao, I want some water. Could you go and get me some?" Yin Ming said slowly, his thin lips pale.

Lingyao had no suspicions. He first gave Yin Ming a healing pill, then set up a barrier around Yin Ming before taking the water bag Yin Ming handed him and leaving to find a water source.

Once he was sure Lingyao had gone far away, Yin Ming lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Come out."

He felt a blur before his eyes, and a dark figure stood in front of him.

Upon seeing the guard again, Yin Ming was instantly enraged.

"What are you doing? You know perfectly well that I only have the cultivation of the seventh-level high stage, yet you brought me an eighth-level magical beast. Are you really planning to kill me?"

Yin Ming no longer wanted to be polite with the guard. This guard had almost killed him, and now he wanted him to be polite?

Didn't we agree it was just a fake death? Why make it so real? If it weren't for the Xuan Tie Armor, Yin Ming would have really said goodbye to this beautiful world.

A reasonable explanation must be given!

"This eighth-realm Qiongqi was not arranged by us." The guard's eyes remained emotionless, and even his tone was flat.

"The original plan was to begin deployment in five days, but you were expected to arrive at the Forbidden Forest in ten days."

"Now that you've arrived ahead of schedule on your own initiative, if it weren't for my contracted magical beast being able to fly, you would probably be dead here right now, and we would never know."

Whoa, what are you saying?!

Damn it, it was clearly his fault for not explaining things clearly! Now he's blaming Yin Ming for arriving early?! Is being a little faster a mistake?!

Besides, Yin Ming thought they had already arranged everything, which is why he asked him to bring Ling Yao over. Who knew they were so lazy and insisted on making arrangements five days later?

How can this be blamed on Yin Ming?

“I just searched the area, and it seems that the eighth-realm Qiongqi was previously engaged in a fierce battle with an eighth-realm nine-tailed celestial fox.”

"And when the Heavenly Fox died, the Eight Realms Qiongqi was also injured. Perhaps it was bewitched by the Heavenly Fox that caused the Eight Realms Qiongqi to become mentally unstable, more bloodthirsty and brutal, and to kill you all."

The guard ignored Yin Ming's constantly changing expression and continued speaking to himself.

Caught off guard by the truth behind his beating, Yin Ming's lips twitched. So that's how it was. What a damn bad timing.

It's a pity he suffered so many injuries and almost died; who can he complain to?

"So what exactly is your plan? Can you tell me now?" They've already arrived at the Forbidden Forest; it would be impolite not to tell them soon.

The guard glanced calmly at Yin Ming, then opened his palm, revealing an exquisite jade box lying quietly in his hand.

To avoid aggravating his wounds, Yin Ming carefully reached out and took the jade box, opening it to reveal a black pill radiating pure resentment.

"Is this the pill that allowed me to fake my death?" Yin Ming picked up the black pill and examined it closely in the sunlight.