Chapter 93: Being Rescued

Dong Shuye had originally intended to search for Lu Ye's body, but a message from his battlefield imprint unsettled him, and he no longer cared about Lu Ye.

Cao Ye sent another message, consisting of just three simple words:

"Danger! Return quickly!"

He had previously received Cao Ye's message, knowing that the Xuanmen cultivators had launched an attack on the Nine Star Sect's stronghold. However, he wasn't panicked, as attacking a sect's stronghold was no simple matter. He estimated that even if the Xuanmen launched an all-out assault, his stronghold's grand formation could hold for a day or two, which would be enough time for him to kill Lu Ye and then rush back.

But how long had it been? Cao Ye had sent such a message, indicating that the situation at the stronghold must be dire.

He rushed back immediately, while also sending a message to Cao Ye, wanting to inquire about the situation. However, his message was like a stone sinking into the sea; there was no reply.

Beneath the pond, Lu Ye was in a daze, his spiritual power nearly depleted. A large amount of blood churned around him, along with some severed limbs and fragmented flesh.

Only after entering the water did he realize there was someone else at the bottom. From the person's appearance, they seemed to be collecting something underwater.

They both startled each other upon meeting.

Lu Ye had no time to explain anything to this person. After stabilizing himself underwater, he immediately activated his Imperial Guard Spirit Mark above his head. Moments later, golden arcs of light sliced through the water towards him.

The unfamiliar cultivator was torn to pieces without even a whimper, suffering an undeserved catastrophe. Lu Ye's Imperial Guard Spirit Mark shattered after blocking one strike, but fortunately, the remaining golden arcs didn't hit him.

The attack quickly ceased, but he didn't dare surface, unsure of Dong Shuye's movements. Suppressing his fatigue and body aches, he swam underwater for several tens of breaths. Only when he was about to run out of air did he awkwardly surface.

He took a deep breath, then quickly submerged again, continuing his arduous journey underwater.

After repeating this several times, Lu Ye was utterly exhausted. However, he was relieved that Dong Shuye hadn't attacked him again.

A quarter of an hour later, as Lu Ye surfaced once more, a strong force suddenly struck him from behind. Something had hit him hard.

He already had injuries on his back, and his condition was dire. This impact almost made him pass out.

Instinctively thinking Dong Shuye had returned to kill him, Lu Ye drew the long saber from his waist and slashed back.

There was no one there, only a section of decayed wood, which he had cut into two. It was this piece of wood that had hit him.

He looked around, but Dong Shuye was nowhere to be seen.

Holding the saber in his hand, Lu Ye felt bewildered. Where was that guy? A cultivator of the seventh realm, who had chased him to the brink of death, shouldn't have given up just like that...

Yet, he searched for a long time and still couldn't find Dong Shuye. It was clear that the guy had indeed left.

He soon realized something. Earlier, beneath the pond, a cultivator had been killed by Dong Shuye. Could that guy have thought he had succeeded?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Furthermore, with the Xuanmen already attacking the Nine Star Sect's stronghold, Dong Shuye probably wasn't in the mood to thoroughly investigate the underwater situation and had hastily left after confirming a kill.

Was that why he had escaped this ordeal?

As his thoughts cleared, Lu Ye felt a wave of relief, followed by an overwhelming surge of exhaustion and pain. His body uncontrollably began to sink underwater.

He quickly raised his hand, grabbed the decayed wood, and painstakingly floated back up.

His consciousness was hazy, and he could pass out at any moment. However, Lu Ye knew that if he were to fall unconscious now, it would be difficult to wake up again. He was very, very severely injured this time.

With a trembling right hand, he fumbled inside his storage pouch at his waist, pulled out a jade bottle, opened its mouth, and without checking how many healing pills it contained, he poured them all into his mouth, chewed them, and swallowed.

He wanted to switch his cultivation method to Gluttonous Feast to accelerate the refinement and absorption of the pills' potency, but his spiritual power was almost exhausted, his spirit apertures were dry, and the Golden Cicada's Freedom Art had stopped functioning. How could he have any energy left to switch cultivation methods?

He could only use all his remaining strength to tie his clothes to the decayed wood.

"Please don't drown... that would be a joke."

As this last thought surfaced, Lu Ye's vision was enveloped by darkness, and he completely lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, Lu Ye found himself face down on a bed. After a brief moment of disorientation, an indescribable pain swept over him.

To his surprise, someone was sitting beside him. A faint fragrance wafted to his nostrils, and from the plump figure he glimpsed out of the corner of his eye, the person beside him was a woman.

Not only did he feel pain on his back, but also a tingling sensation, along with faint spiritual energy fluctuations and intermittent emerald green light.

Had he been rescued? He remembered tying his clothes to the decayed wood before losing consciousness. After that, he should have drifted with the current, yet now he was in this place; clearly, someone had saved him.

He made no sound, as he didn't know who had saved him, and quietly assessed his own condition.

It was very bad. His spiritual power hadn't recovered, and his injuries were severe. Not only did he have a very deep slash wound on his back, but his chest and hands were also completely burned.

Such injuries would be fatal for an ordinary person. It was only because he was a cultivator that he could still endure. Moreover, he had consumed a bottle containing several healing pills before losing consciousness, and they must have taken effect.

Still, the situation was far from optimistic.

"Your breathing has changed," a pleasant, soft voice suddenly entered his ears. "It's natural to be wary of strangers, but if I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Lu Ye felt a bit awkward, speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

A fair, small hand suddenly appeared before him. The woman said, "Although I saved you, I still need to confirm: which faction do you belong to?"

As she spoke, a light blue glow emanated from the back of her hand, indicating she was actively revealing her faction affiliation.

This eased Lu Ye's mind. He slightly urged the meager spiritual power remaining in his body, and a light blue glow also appeared on the back of his hand.

"Then I didn't save the wrong person," the woman said in a gentle tone.

Yet, Lu Ye was certain that if he hadn't displayed the glow of his battlefield imprint, or if the light had been red, the other party would have undoubtedly killed him!

In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, differing factions were reason enough for a fight; there was no room for sympathy or mercy.

The tingling sensation on his back became more pronounced, and the emerald green light flickered more frequently.

After a while, the spiritual energy fluctuations behind him ceased. Immediately after, the woman applied something to his wounds, causing Lu Ye to break out in a sweat from the pain.

Once applied, she then placed something on the wound on Lu Ye's back. Lu Ye couldn't see it, but he guessed it was a plaster or patch.

After doing all this, the woman stood up and said, "You are gravely injured. Do not move around too much for now; it will hinder your recovery."

"Thank you!"

The woman said, "Lingyu found you and brought you back." With that, she turned and left.

Only then did Lu Ye catch a glimpse of the woman's profile. Perhaps it was because he was indebted to her, but he found her as beautiful as a fairy, especially her full, high chest. Her hands were clasped in front of her lower abdomen, and her steps were graceful.