Chapter 81

Wei Shizhe felt that he could hardly hold on any longer. The earth qi in his acupoints was about to dry up, and his arms felt as heavy as lead. The iron rod seemed to weigh a thousand catties, but the ice blades and snow swords that rained down from the sky became increasingly sparse. Could it be that the other party was also approaching their limit?

He struggled to lift his head, his cervical vertebrae creaking like a rusty iron gate hinge. To his disappointment, the reason was not as he had expected. It was because the ice and snow within a few miles had been exhausted, forcing the other party to slow down their attack.

This brief respite was enough. Wei Shizhe spurred the remaining primordial energy in his body, enduring the continuous strikes of ice and snow, and rolled into the dried-up hot spring.

Miaozi retracted her demonic technique, swallowed the demon core into her belly, and moved toward the hot spring. Her steps were unsteady, as if she were walking on a pile of cotton. Before she could see Wei Shizhe, a chill ran down her spine, and she hurriedly retreated. Suddenly, the world darkened, and a tall figure leaped out from the hot spring, baring its teeth and gnashing its jaws, chewing on something. Blood dripped down, staining his clothes red. He swung his right arm with all his might, and a black iron rod flew out of his hand, heading straight for her heart.

Time split into two segments, one fast and one slow. Her mind told her that she had a hundred, a thousand ways to avoid this devastating blow, but her body was more than a beat slow, completely unresponsive. She could only watch helplessly as the iron rod drew closer. The previous demonic technique had drained too much of her physical strength and primordial energy. Miaozi's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and a third eye opened on her forehead. She suddenly opened her mouth, and the demon core shot out, striking the end of the iron rod heavily. It then quickly retracted and was swallowed back into her belly.

The third eye closed wearily, disappearing into her forehead. A sudden dizziness overcame her, and the world spun wildly. She clearly felt that the surface of the demon core had cracked with several fine lines, causing her great pain.

The iron rod, struck by the demon core, flew back at several times its original speed. Wei Shizhe had no time to react. A pain in his chest, and the iron rod had already pierced through, leaving a hole that was visible from both sides. The iron rod continued its momentum, flying far before landing on a rock with a light "clang."

A thought flashed through Wei Shizhe's mind: compared to this three-eyed demonic creature, the prey on Jietian Ridge were as docile as the little rabbits and hedgehogs in fairy tales. Then his vision went black, and he lost control, falling backward into the hot spring, blood gushing out. He was injured in his right chest, with his lung pierced by the iron rod. He coughed continuously, blood spurting from his mouth and nose. If the iron rod had been a few inches off and shattered his heart, even the most powerful physical cultivator could not have repaired the damage.

This was already the second time he had suffered at the hands of a demon core. Fortunately, the demon core had not entered his body, and it was just a physical injury, not as dangerous as the last time in the snow cave.

Wei Shizhe hurriedly took out the flesh of the beauty python from his Penglai bag, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it roughly before swallowing it. Soon, a warm current surged through his body. The flesh transformed into thick earth qi, slowly repairing his injured body. The bleeding gradually stopped, and the wound began to heal, filling the hole and closing at a visible speed.

He needed time to recover.

Disordered footsteps approached gradually. Wei Shizhe looked up and saw the emaciated woman standing on a high spot, her clothes and long hair fluttering in the wind, her face covered in wrinkles, as if she had aged several decades in a short moment. Spitting out the demon core for a desperate attack was also her last resort.

"Still not dead?" Her voice sounded ethereal, as if coming from a distant place.

Wei Shizhe struggled to get up. "Your condition isn't good either, right?"

"Ha ha ha..." Miaozi laughed a few times and fell silent. After a moment, she said, "You're not a sword cultivator; you're a physical cultivator. Tell me, which sect are you from?"

"A disciple of Xiandu, a trial disciple." Wei Shizhe was happy to chat with her, buying more time.

Miaozi snorted, remembering the unpleasant events from years ago, the sword wound left by Xi Huizi that had never healed. "Another disciple of Xiandu... But that's fine. I've already killed over a dozen, and adding you to the list means I won't be lonely in the underworld!"

She forced herself to jump down into the hot spring, her steps unsteady, almost falling to the ground.

Wei Shizhe's eyes lit up, seeing a glimmer of hope. He immediately spurred his primordial energy, kicked off with both feet, and leaped out of the hot spring, fleeing like a galloping horse. Miaozi watched his figure quickly disappear, her teeth grinding in frustration. She sat down on the ground and suddenly laughed, "Heh heh."

Wei Shizhe ran for a dozen or so zhang, saw the iron rod stuck in a rock crevice, and casually picked it up, putting it in his sword bag. Without looking back, he rushed into the dense forest, zigzagging and vanishing from sight.

After crossing several mountain peaks, Wei Shizhe slowed his pace. The wound on his right chest had healed by more than half, but it still ached. He found a decayed tree hollow to rest for a moment. Once his strength had somewhat recovered, he immediately set off, heading toward Tiandu Peak.

The demonic creature had been asleep for thirty years, clearly not fully healed, and its body was weak, urgently needing to replenish its blood. His first choice would undoubtedly be the trial disciples at the base of Tiandu Peak. Only by quickly informing the senior members of his sect could he prevent another tragedy.

The time left for him was not much.