Chapter 18

Both sides engaged in another fierce battle, and the outcome was somewhat unexpected. The Mount Mang bandits had to retreat temporarily, and the reason was that the ordinary villagers of Dongmang Village, who were fearless in the face of death, pushed boulders down from the steep slopes.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, let alone humans?

However, after the Mount Mang bandits retreated, as the sky grew darker, more and more villagers could not bear the pressure and began to cry.

Hong Zhongwei and Liang Xiong's faces were clouded with worry, both feeling the situation was serious.

With pursuers behind them and the treacherous Dongmang Mountain ahead, the villagers were in a desperate situation, on the brink of great panic.

However, all of this seemed to have no effect on Bu Ye. He remained calm and thoughtful as they moved forward.

Hong Zhongwei and Liang Xiong whispered to each other for a moment, then Liang Xiong suddenly shouted, "Stop advancing! Set up camp here for the night!"

Liang Xiong's shout also pulled Bu Ye out of his deep thoughts, and he looked over with some confusion.

In the previous battle, Bu Ye had exerted great effort, fearlessly holding back the third leader of the Mount Mang bandits, which significantly improved Liang Xiong's impression of him.

Seeing Bu Ye look over, Liang Xiong explained, "We are getting farther from the village, and the villagers are becoming increasingly anxious. We need to discuss a plan before moving on. Besides, it's getting dark, and it's not suitable to travel in the mountains."

Bu Ye nodded and replied, "Alright."

Now, the relationship between Bu Ye and Hong Zhongwei, Liang Xiong was more like an employment relationship. Hong and Liang had invited Bu Ye to use his strength, and the reward was their experience with the Heart Cloud Blood Stars. If there was any friendship, it was minimal, at least from Bu Ye's perspective.

Soon, Hong and Liang arranged for people to take turns on guard and monitor the movements of the Mount Mang bandits below, then went to consult with the few remaining elders in the village.

They had originally invited Bu Ye, but he declined.

After everyone left, Bu Ye leaned against a tree and sat down, closing his eyes to focus inward.

He had already learned a lot of practical experience from Hong and Liang, and combined with the knowledge in the red light in his mind, he finally began to work on activating the eighth Blood Star!

The cancer cells were like a flying sword chasing him closely. He had to run as fast as he could to increase the distance from the sword, hoping to finally shake it off and regain his life!

In his inner vision, the Heart Cloud, the four Blood Stars of the lungs, and the three Blood Stars of the kidneys were all clearly visible. Additionally, there were five other areas with strong blood energy, appearing a vibrant blood red, though not yet formed into Blood Stars, they were very promising. The area with the strongest blood energy was below Bu Ye's lungs, almost in the center of his upper body, right at the liver.

In the human body, the liver is responsible for digestion, energy storage, detoxification, and potential blood production, making it one of the most important organs. Hong Zhongwei said that the area with the strongest blood energy was the easiest to activate the next Blood Star. Clearly, Bu Ye's next target was the Blood Star in the liver!

During the fight, Bu Ye's entire body had been exercised. The liver, being an internal organ, was exercised in a hidden way, not observable. However, in intense battles, most of the body's organs work at full capacity. Understanding the principle, it was clear that his liver had indeed been actively involved in his previous battles.

Now, the blood energy in Bu Ye's liver was unprecedentedly strong, almost reaching a critical point! Once it broke through, a qualitative change would occur!

Bu Ye took a deep breath, slowly calming himself, and focused almost all his attention on his liver.

Activating a new Blood Star seemed like a completely baffling task at first. But for ordinary people, it was different for Heart Cloud Awakeners. For them, it was as straightforward as aiming at a target and shooting an arrow.

For Bu Ye, the liver was the target, and the arrow was his already awakened Heart Cloud and seven Blood Stars!

The Heart Cloud and the seven Blood Stars looked like nebulae and stars in the sky, but they were inside Bu Ye's body, and he could mobilize their power to a certain extent!

Now, Bu Ye needed to mobilize the power of the Heart Cloud and the Blood Stars and try to inject it into his liver.

However, this injection was very different from traditional pipeline conduction. It was more like a teleportation array. Once Bu Ye mobilized the power of the Heart Cloud and the Blood Stars, the power would directly jump into the liver.

At first, Bu Ye's progress was very slow. Even with his utmost effort to mobilize the Heart Cloud and the seven Blood Stars, there was no response from the liver. The energy of the Heart Cloud and the seven Blood Stars seemed to vanish without a trace.

However, as time passed, about two hours later, Hong Zhongwei, Liang Xiong, and the others had already discussed a plan and settled the villagers. Bu Ye finally felt a response from his liver to the Heart Cloud and the seven Blood Stars!

He felt it was like seven friends searching for another lost friend in a large forest. After shouting until their voices were hoarse, they finally faintly heard the lost friend's response!

This was definitely a significant step forward!

Bu Ye was extremely excited but still maintained his composure and continued to work hard.

Loud shouting!

Soft response.

Loud shouting again!

Another soft response, but the sound was a bit louder.

...

This process repeated again and again.

Bu Ye found a better metaphor: resonance!

The seven Blood Stars were searching for the eighth Blood Star that could resonate with them. However, the eighth Blood Star was still in a dormant state, or perhaps blocked by something, making the resonance not obvious. With the efforts of the seven Blood Stars, the eighth Blood Star would eventually wake up from its dormant state. When it could resonate smoothly with the other seven Blood Stars, it would be truly activated!

It was magical, yet it followed its own rules and logic!

"Looks like every world has its own rules, no matter how magical. Hmm, as long as we grasp these unchanging rules, what's there to fear about the dangers ahead? After the eighth Blood Star is activated, my physical strength will improve by another 20%, which will definitely increase the distance from those damned cancer cells! Judging by the current progress, the response from the liver is getting stronger. Maybe it can be activated tonight? At the latest, tomorrow night, definitely!"

Bu Ye thought while working hard, completely unaware of the approaching footsteps.

Liang Xiong came to Bu Ye's side and, under the moonlight, saw that Bu Ye's eyes were still closed. He frowned and said, "Bu Ye."

This finally woke Bu Ye up. He opened his eyes and asked, "What's up?"

"Go eat something."

Liang Xiong's words made Bu Ye realize his empty stomach and hunger. He stood up and said, "Alright."

Under Liang Xiong's guidance, Bu Ye quickly arrived at a campfire, where Hong Zhongwei, Chai Ren, and others were also present.

"Hmm..." Hong Zhongwei coughed heavily, his voice weak due to his injuries, and directly handed Bu Ye a stick with a half-roasted wild chicken, "Eat something first."

"Thanks." Bu Ye took it and started eating without much thought.

Bu Ye didn't notice that his "thanks" gave everyone, including Hong Zhongwei, Liang Xiong, and Chai Ren, a strange feeling. They thought they knew Bu Ye, some of them having watched him grow up. After understanding the truth, they all believed that Bu Ye's awakening of the Heart Cloud Blood Stars had caused his ego to inflate, leading him to kill Yang Yuanda. His killing of Yang Zhaocai in the chaos further confirmed this. Now, Bu Ye no longer wanted to be bound by anything, acting like a reckless, lawless young man.

However, Bu Ye's "thanks" was so polite and sincere, and the look of sympathy and concern in his eyes when he looked at Hong Zhongwei was even more surprising.

What was going on?

No one spoke, only the crackling of the fire and the occasional sound of Bu Ye eating.

In this atmosphere, many felt uneasy, but Bu Ye was completely unaware, enjoying his meal.

The contrast made everyone feel that the Bu Ye sitting by the fire, eating under the glow, was a complete stranger.

This feeling was so absurd that no one believed it, thinking it must be an illusion.

But they didn't know that this was the truth.

After Bu Ye finished eating and drank half a pot of water, Hong Zhongwei, who had been thinking for a long time, spoke again, "Bu Ye, you are now one of the three major combat forces in the village. In this critical moment, everyone hopes you will stay and help the village through the crisis."

Bu Ye was taken aback and then said, "As long as you and Captain Liang teach me your experience sincerely, I am willing to stay for a while. Of course, the condition is..."

Hong Zhongwei interrupted Bu Ye, "I understand."

Bu Ye's condition was that there should be no life-threatening danger, but Hong Zhongwei didn't want Bu Ye to say it in public, as it would demoralize the others. This was another reason he found Bu Ye strange. How could a villager born and raised here have so little affection for the village?

"Now, let me tell you our plan," Liang Xiong said, directly revealing their plan, "Although we don't know why the Mount Mang bandits are pursuing us relentlessly, with our current combat strength, we are not their match. Dongmang Village is on the border, and with the ongoing war, it will eventually be affected. Therefore, we are considering abandoning the village."

"Tomorrow, we will continue into the mountains. After about six or seven miles, there will be a canyon leading north, where the terrain is relatively easier to navigate. We will set an ambush there. If we can successfully injure the Mount Mang bandits, we will pursue them and return to the village. However, we will only stay briefly to gather our belongings and then head north to Muyuan City via the official road."

"If the ambush fails, we will have no choice but to continue north in the Dongmang Mountains. When we find suitable terrain, we will head west out of the mountains and onto the official road. As for the wild animals in the mountains, with so many of us moving together, most animals should not dare to attack, unless we encounter a herd or a fierce beast. However, we have made arrangements. Du Shu will lead twenty well-equipped young men to clear the way and alert us in time."

Bu Ye asked, puzzled, "Du Shu?"

Liang Xiong couldn't help but smile, and the others also showed admiration and relief. "Du Shu is in the village defense team. Everyone always thought the village chief gave him a job to eat. No one has ever seen him in action. Who knew that despite his limping right leg, he has quietly developed excellent archery skills. He also has military experience and can command well, making him the perfect choice to lead the young men."

Du Shu, whose full name is Du Sanhui, is the old cripple in the village. His timely emergence slightly alleviated the current crisis in Dongmang Village.

Thinking of how Du Sanhui had saved his life when the Mount Mang bandits first invaded, Bu Ye nodded. This old man was one of the few in Dongmang Village he could trust.

"Alright, let's do it this way," Bu Ye said.

Seeing how much everyone valued Bu Ye, Chai Ren, who was sitting by the fire, couldn't hold back. This old man was determined to become the next village chief but had lost face when the Mount Mang bandits came. Now, he was eager to regain his standing. While others respected Bu Ye, he planned to belittle him to prove his "uprightness."

As soon as Bu Ye finished speaking, Chai Ren said sarcastically, "Du Sanhui stepped forward in the crisis, setting an example for us villagers. Unlike some people who eat, live, and grow up in the village, now that they have grown strong, they haggle over staying when the village is in danger."

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