In just half a day, she found herself in danger so frequently. Each time, she thought she was doomed, but the man in front of her pulled her back from the brink of danger time and time again.
She slightly raised her head and looked at Qin Luo's still wary profile. His handsome face appeared even more striking in the sunlight, and the beads of sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks, soaking his clothes.
For some reason, at this moment, Dongfang Jinyao felt a strange sensation.
Even after being so harshly rejected by himself, he still stepped forward without hesitation, shielding him from the storm time and time again.
This reckless act caused her originally unwavering vigilance to soften slightly without her realizing it, and a different kind of feeling quietly began to grow in her heart.
"Put me down."
Dongfang Jinyao said softly, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible shyness.
Qin Luo then came to his senses, realizing he was still holding Dongfang Jinyao. He quickly and gently put her down, saying somewhat awkwardly:
"The situation was urgent just now, and I apologize for any offense I may have caused, Miss Dongfang."
Seeing his apologetic gaze, Dongfang Jinyao unconsciously turned her head away, hiding the blush on her face.
"Never mind, thanks to you this time, otherwise I..."
She didn't continue, still feeling lingering fear as she recalled the terrifying scene of being surrounded by swarms of insects.
"If I'm not mistaken, the insect body should be a Hidden Stone Leech."
"Hidden stone leech?"
These words clearly touched on a blind spot in Dongfang Jinyao's knowledge. She turned to look at Qin Luo, her eyes filled with confusion.
Seeing this, Qin Luo raised an eyebrow. As expected, she was a young lady who was ignorant of worldly affairs.
He sighed and said:
"Hidden stone leeches are extremely rare and mostly inhabit open areas. They have hard shells that can withstand many common attacks, and they are good at hiding, blending into their surroundings and making them difficult to detect. Once they launch an attack, they come like a tidal wave, making it impossible to defend against them."
"Most importantly, they love to feed on the blood of physically strong people!"
Hearing this, Dongfang Jinyao nodded with lingering fear:
"No wonder it was so dangerous just now. If it weren't for you..."
Thinking about what had just happened, her voice gradually lowered, and the blush that had just faded from her face reappeared.
Unfortunately, Qin Luo didn't notice this scene. If he had seen Dongfang Jinyao's shy appearance, he could have seized the opportunity to tease her.
At this moment, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes showed a solemn expression.
He said in a low voice:
“This place of spiritual desolation is inherently eerie. Logically speaking, such a rare insect as the Hidden Stone Leech should not appear here. The fact that the Hidden Stone Leech has appeared in this place of spiritual desolation is no accident.”
Qin Luo paused here, sorting out the doubts in his mind, before continuing:
"I suspect that this was done intentionally to restrict cultivators who focus on physical training from entering. After all, in this desolate place, there is no spiritual energy for us to use, and only the power of the physical body can still be effective."
"The existence of the Hidden Stone Leech is undoubtedly a huge threat to those who temper their physical bodies. In that case, that building overflowing with spiritual energy must be hiding a major secret or an extremely precious treasure, which is why this barrier was set up to protect it, or perhaps to prevent others from getting close?"
Upon hearing his assessment, Dongfang Jinyao took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down:
"Should we continue towards that building?"
Qin Luo glanced at her and said with a faint smile:
“Since you’re already here, would you be willing to leave, Miss Dongfang? Although it’s dangerous, that building might hold the key to leaving this ruin, and there might even be a lot of valuable treasures.”
At this point, his eyes fell on Dongfang Jinyao's sleeve, and after a moment of thought, he slowly spoke:
"Miss Dongfang, may I take a look at the talisman you took out earlier?"
Dongfang Jinyao was taken aback, but still obediently took out the talisman from her sleeve.
The talisman shimmered with a golden luster in the dim light, and the flowing runes contained a powerful force.
After receiving the talisman, Qin Luo examined it carefully, then looked up with a hint of caution in his eyes and asked:
"Does this talisman require a large amount of spiritual energy to activate?"
Dongfang Jinyao subconsciously bit her lip, her voice unconsciously lowering a few decibels as she explained softly:
"It only requires a little spiritual energy to activate. I stole this talisman... I bought it specifically to deal with some special situations. Although it only requires a small amount of spiritual energy, its power can reach the full strength of a first-grade saint. It's just that it cannot be used normally in this spiritually desolate place."
After saying that, she lowered her head slightly, a hint of annoyance on her face.
Looking at the talisman in his hand, Qin Luo frowned, pondering how to deal with the current predicament.
He then implied, intentionally or unintentionally:
“Miss Dongfang, this ruin is fraught with danger and peril. Besides this talisman, do you have any other protective items? The more protection we have, the better our chances of success will be.”
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jinyao carefully took out several different talismans from her sleeve.
These talismans come in various colors; some emit a chilling blue light, while others faintly glow with a fiery red light. Each one is covered with unique runes, making them clearly extraordinary.
"I only buy talismans with this kind of talisman..."
It's worth noting that she went to great lengths to escape this time. To avoid being detected by those in her family who were always watching her, and thus being caught, she specifically chose to carry these easy-to-carry talismans with her.
The high-level artifacts that her mother and sister repeatedly told her to wear at all times were all radiating powerful and unique spiritual energy fluctuations, making them extremely eye-catching.
As for those protective jade pendants, although they could protect her in critical moments, they could also easily expose her identity.
After much deliberation, she decided to leave all these protective items at home.
In Dongfang Jinyao's mind, she had cultivated diligently for many years and had mastered many skills. With these carefully selected talismans, she believed that she would be able to cope with all kinds of challenges from the outside world.
Only then, filled with longing for the outside world, did they wholeheartedly prepare to create their own glorious future in this world.
Little did I know, just as I stepped out from under the shelter of my home, a thunderstorm was raging outside...
"I see. In that case, we have no choice but to take the risk."
Looking at the talismans in Dongfang Jinyao's hand, Qin Luo turned his gaze to the buildings on the distant mountain peak and spoke calmly.
Following Qin Luo's gaze, Dongfang Jinyao seemed to realize something. She quickly looked at Qin Luo, her worry deepening, her eyes widening, and she said in a trembling voice:
"You don't mean... you want to lure away those hidden stone leeches so I can go inside that building and activate the talisman? No, absolutely not!"
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