The night was as dark as ink, and Xuantie Fortress headquarters was shrouded in silence.
Yuyi emerged quietly from the shadows of Youyue Valley, wearing a Shadow Dharma Robe, his face covered by black cloth, revealing only a pair of calm eyes. He took a deep breath, activated the Cloud-Treading Step, and his figure streaked across the night sky like a phantom, rushing toward Xuantie Fortress headquarters.
Moonlight spilled down, coating the fortress in a layer of silver radiance. Xuantie Fortress was built against the mountain, towering dozens of zhang high, constructed entirely from Black Iron Essence Stone, gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the moonlight. On the fortress walls, restriction talismans could be seen flickering, emitting faint spiritual light, like vigilant eyes watching every living being that approached. Yuyi stopped his figure on an ancient tree a hundred zhang away from Xuantie Fortress, observing intently. The lights inside the fortress were sparse, and there were few patrolling guards, seemingly lax in security. He frowned slightly—such lax defense actually made him suspicious. With Xuantie Fortress's strength, they shouldn't be so careless. Could there be an ambush?
"Could there be an ambush?" Yuyi thought to himself, but saving someone was like fighting a fire, leaving no room for hesitation. He carefully observed the terrain and discovered that the pavilion imprisoning Yunzhi was located in the northeast corner of Xuantie Fortress, three stories high, with windows tightly shut, and faint light could be seen leaking from the first floor.
Yuyi weighed his options for a moment and decided not to infiltrate through the main entrance. Although flying claws could help him climb the pavilion, the sound of metal clashing would easily alert the restrictions. His gaze fell on a towering tree beside the pavilion, its branches extending, only three zhang away from the pavilion's top floor.
"I'll borrow the power of this great tree."
Yuyi's figure flashed, arriving beside the great tree. He took a deep breath, activated the Thousand Jun Drop, and the spiritual power in his body suddenly stagnated, his body seeming to be infused with the weight of a thousand jun, suddenly becoming heavier. He could feel the flow of spiritual power within his body, every inch of muscle bearing enormous pressure, as if an invisible mountain pressed on his shoulders. The thick branch under his weight made slight creaking sounds, slowly bending downward. Then, he withdrew the power of the Thousand Jun Drop, the flow of spiritual power returned to normal, and borrowing the rebounding force of the branch, his figure shot toward the pavilion's top floor like an arrow.
In mid-air, Yuyi tapped his feet several times on the pavilion's outer wall, dissipating his momentum, and landed silently on the top floor's windowsill. He held his breath, listening intently, and after confirming no one was inside, he activated dark energy, lightly tapping the window latch with his fingertip. The dark energy passed through his fingertip like invisible ripples, precisely acting on the vulnerable point of the window latch.
With a soft "click," the window latch broke without startling anyone. Yuyi pushed open the window, flipped inside, and landed without a sound.
The top floor of the pavilion was empty. Yuyi quickly scanned his surroundings and discovered stairs leading downward. He restrained his aura, slowly descending along the stairs, each step landing firmly without making any sound.
Reaching the second floor, Yuyi stopped again, listening for movement. Below came faint footsteps and conversation sounds, likely guards on the first floor. He continued downward, stopping at the stairway corner, observing the situation on the first floor through a gap.
The first floor hall was spacious and bright, with four guards standing scattered, all at the early Qi Refining Realm. Two stood at the entrance, one leaned against the wall, and another sat in a chair dozing, their expressions lax, clearly not expecting anyone would dare infiltrate Xuantie Fortress headquarters.
A cold light flashed in Yuyi's eyes, and his figure suddenly erupted. The Cloud-Treading Step was executed to its limit, and he was like a black lightning bolt, instantly streaking past the four guards. The guard leaning against the wall had just detected movement, shock flashing in his eyes, opening his mouth to call out, but a sword light flashed, and his throat already showed a blood mark. The other three didn't even have time to turn their heads before the sword light swept across their throats like a wandering dragon. The Quick Sword Art struck—sword light like a rainbow, flashing and gone, fast beyond capture, like a meteor streaking through the night. All this happened too fast; in the blink of an eye, four guards at the early Qi Refining Realm had perished.
The four guards didn't even have time to scream before their throats were pierced by the sword, softly collapsing to the ground. Blood gushed from the wounds, staining the ground red, and a faint bloody smell permeated the air. Yuyi stood with his sword withdrawn, his breathing not disordered in the slightest. He quickly dragged the four bodies to a corner, restrained his aura, and pushed open a room door.
The room was spacious, about seven zhang square, elegantly furnished. The windows were sealed by restrictions, faintly glowing with spiritual light. In the center of the room, on an ornate large bed, Yunzhi was sleeping, her face pale, apparently having been given a sedative.
Yuyi quickly walked to the bedside, reached out to check Yunzhi's breath, confirming she was only in a deep sleep, and let out a sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he pressed Yunzhi's sleeping acupoint, ensuring she wouldn't wake up midway, then carried her on his shoulder along with the bedding, turning to rush toward the pavilion roof.
Leaping onto the roof, Yuyi looked around. The night remained peaceful, but this calmness actually made him alert. Xuantie Fortress headquarters had lax security, and his rescue mission had been so smooth—it was truly abnormal.
"Did they deliberately let me leave?" Yuyi wondered, but at this moment there was no retreat. He calculated the distance—from the pavilion to the Xuantie Fortress wall, he would need at least three landings to leap out.
Yuyi took a deep breath, activated the Cloud-Treading Step, his figure soaring into the air, rushing toward the wall.
Just as he leaped from the pavilion, two fierce spiritual forces suddenly attacked from behind! The sound of breaking through the air was sharp and piercing, spiritual power fluctuations surging like a tide, carrying deadly killing intent.
Yuyi's pupils contracted, and he tapped in mid-air, continuously flipping, barely avoiding these two spiritual forces. The spiritual forces grazed past his body, hitting a distant wall with a loud boom, sending stone fragments flying. He landed steadily, looking back to see two figures streaking out from the pavilion—precisely Xuantie Fortress Master Xuantie and expert Liekong!
The two were less than fifty zhang from Yuyi, both at the Golden Core Realm, with powerful auras. Yuyi's heart tightened, but he didn't panic. He turned in mid-air, swinging his long sword, sending four sword qi attacks toward both of them.
Xuantie and Liekong grunted, their figures swaying slightly when landing, apparently suffering light injuries. But both quickly stabilized their forms and pursued Yuyi again.
Yuyi took advantage of this to continuously leap, widening the distance. After over a hundred zhang, his heart settled slightly, but just then, the sound of breaking through the air came from behind!
He looked back to see Xuantie, borrowing Liekong's push, his speed dramatically increased, pursuing like an arrow leaving the bow. At the same time, a fierce sword qi shot straight for Yuyi's throat!
Yuyi urgently turned to dodge, and Xuantie's Spirit Sword passed less than an inch from his throat, raising a strand of blood. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, his heart pounding like a drum, and he could feel the chill brought by the sword edge passing, like the scythe of death brushing past. In that instant, he could even feel the fierce sword intent contained on the sword edge, stinging his skin with faint pain. His heart was greatly alarmed—Xuantie's sword technique was unexpectedly this fierce! If not for his quick reaction, he would already be decapitated!
Before Yuyi could catch his breath, Xuantie struck again, throwing his Spirit Sword. The Spirit Sword transformed into a stream of light, piercing through Yuyi's right chest!
Severe pain struck, as if a ball of fierce fire was burning in his right chest. Yuyi grunted, his vision instantly blurring, his steps staggering. But borrowing the impact force of the Spirit Sword, his speed was actually faster, instantly flipping over the wall and falling into a small alley.
Xuantie pursued to outside the wall, only to see bloodstains winding on the ground, seeming to circle around before disappearing. He was furious, concluding that this masked black-clad person must be an insider, otherwise they couldn't be so familiar with Xuantie Fortress's terrain.
Liekong arrived and said in a deep voice, "Fortress Master, the place where Yunzhi was imprisoned is an alliance secret. This person's weapon is also not from Youyue Valley, but he acted masked, definitely an insider."
Xuantie snorted coldly, turned and left, already beginning to calculate how to investigate internal traitors.
Yuyi endured the severe pain, cut off a corner of the cotton quilt, covered the wound, and executed the Cloud-Treading Step at its limit speed, rushing back to Youyue Valley. After confirming no one was following, he entered his residence.
Inside the room, Shaying had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Yuyi covered in blood, his face pale as paper, her face changed drastically, shock flashing in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down, rushing forward to support Yuyi and let him sit down.
"Quick, Healing Pill." Yuyi said in a low voice, his voice weak but still calm.
Shaying hurriedly took out a Healing Pill and fed it to Yuyi, then quickly tore open his robe, revealing the wound on his right chest. The wound was deep enough to see bone, blood still gushing out, staining half his body. She took out Hemostasis Powder, sprinkled it on the wound, then tightly bandaged it with gauze, her movements skilled and rapid. At the same time, she stored Xuantie's Spirit Sword and Yunzhi in the Storage Ring, destroyed the Shadow Dharma Robe and blood-stained towel on Yuyi's body, and changed him into the Golden Thread Immortal Robe.
"Your face is too pale, it will easily arouse suspicion." Shaying said while applying makeup for Yuyi, covering his pale complexion.
Yuyi sat cross-legged, hands forming seals, circulating energy to heal. The medicinal power of the Healing Pill circulated in his body, transforming into a warm current, slowly flowing along the meridians toward the wound on his right chest. He could feel the medicinal power repairing the damaged meridians and muscles, the pain at the wound gradually lessening, but the trauma to his right chest still ached faintly. He didn't dare be careless, continuing to circulate energy, guiding the medicinal power to the injury, accelerating healing. Time passed second by second, and fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
Just then, rapid footsteps and voices came from the entrance of Youyue Valley, followed by the room door being blasted open by a great force!
Shaying screamed, and Yuyi suddenly opened his eyes, his figure flashing, standing beside the Storage Ring, looking calmly toward the door.
Several people stood at the door, and the person in front was precisely...