Chapter 31

"Since I saved you, I believe you won't treat me poorly. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, we have to take a chance," Chen Xun said. He knew that even if he tried to escape alone, the Bai Xi tribe's martial warriors who were pursuing him would never let him go.

Killing and guarding treasures, the most important thing is to eliminate witnesses and leave no eyewitnesses.

Chen Xun bent down and picked up the two broken sword segments from the bottom of the pit. The two seemingly ordinary, dark-colored black gold broken swords were heavier than Chen Xun had imagined.

A heavy spear weighs over a hundred pounds. In Chen Xun's view, even if it were made of divine iron, it would be a formidable weapon. However, these two broken sword segments, which were only about a quarter to a fifth the size of the heavy spear, weighed three to four hundred pounds. He wondered what material they were made of.

If the heavy spear were made of such divine iron, wouldn't it weigh one to two thousand pounds? How much strength would it take to wield it?

"The swords are broken, and the spirit has dissipated; they are no longer useful. If you truly save me, the benefits I can offer you in the future will far exceed these broken swords," the girl said, seeing that Chen Xun, despite his young age, was still greedy for the broken swords and even planned to carry them while escaping with her, which made her so angry that she spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Five figures from Xi Ling flew out as rainbows. If they see the broken swords left here, might they guess the extent of your injuries?" Chen Xun asked.

The girl realized that this thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy was far more cautious than she had imagined. She closed her mouth and said nothing more. Moreover, the broken swords still had a faint trace of spirit that had not dissipated, so she couldn't just hide them under a snowball. She had to carry them with her, no matter how heavy they were.

Her consideration was not as meticulous as this young boy's.

Seeing the girl close her mouth, Chen Xun smiled with satisfaction.

Although the situation was urgent, one must learn to find joy in hardship and not lose composure.

He didn't know who the Five Venerables of Bai Xi were or how strong a mid-stage Rebirth Realm cultivator was. His best chance was to prevent the Five Venerables from guessing the severity of the girl's injuries from the broken swords.

Clearly, the girl was foolish enough to fight a golden giant ape in Xi Ling, at the edge of the Bai Xi tribe's territory. When she was not injured, she must have been fearless of the Five Venerables of Bai Xi.

What kind of formidable force must her background be, whether it's her sect or family?

As long as the Five Venerables couldn't determine the extent of her injuries, Chen Xun guessed they might not dare to pursue her recklessly.

They would have to consider whether they could bear the consequences if their pursuit failed and the girl's sect or family retaliated.

Chen Xun didn't care about the weight of the broken swords. He wrapped them in a piece of animal skin, put them in his medicine basket, and carried the girl, climbing out of the pit and heading into the dense forest.

Seeing the boy not escape south but head into the forest towards Xi Ling, the girl knew he must have considered that the Five Venerables could see where she had fallen.

Whether the Five Venerables came out personally or sent people to intercept, they would first block her path. By taking the opposite route, they might temporarily avoid being caught.

However, with the girl and the broken swords on his back, plus his own weapons and the medicine basket, he was carrying nearly six to seven hundred pounds. With his cultivation, he couldn't possibly leave no trace in the snow. He couldn't help but remind her, "Be careful not to leave footprints..."

If they left footprints in the snow, they would still be hard to escape. But as soon as she said this, she turned around and saw that the footprints Chen Xun left were not human but those of a giant wolf.

She was stunned for a long time, wondering how human feet could leave wolf prints.

The intense battle in the dense forest had already frightened the birds and beasts within a hundred miles. Chen Xun, carrying the girl, ran for a while and soon saw dozens of wild boars rushing towards them.

Chen Xun quickly sat down and changed into another pair of animal skin boots.

The girl then noticed that the animal skin boots Chen Xun had taken off had wolf paws nailed to the bottom. She was shocked; no wonder he left giant wolf prints in the snow, as if a giant wolf had walked through it.

She had only seen him from a distance and hadn't noticed this hidden detail.

Even Rebirth Realm cultivators wouldn't dare to rush through the Lake and Marsh Plain. It was no wonder this boy, with such low cultivation, could walk all the way to Xi Ling without any trouble. His mind was truly terrifyingly meticulous.

The girl's thoughts calmed down, and she thought this boy might really be able to save her and return to Canglan.

Chen Xun didn't know what the girl was thinking behind him. He put on the animal skin boots with wild boar hooves and carried the girl, following the wild boars into the dense forest without a specific direction.

After walking for twenty to thirty miles, Chen Xun put the girl down and dug a snow cave at the edge of a cliff, where they both hid...

Then, two more groups of wild beasts ran past, trampling the snow cave solidly, burying Chen Xun and the girl deeply in the snow and completely obscuring any possible traces.

After a long time, seeing no more movement outside, Chen Xun didn't dare to stick his head out but dug a little deeper into the snow cave to allow him to move slightly.

The light in the snow cave was very dim, but the girl's eyes, which were as clear as water, seemed to hold the moon, emitting a beautiful light.

Seeing the girl's eyes staring at him, Chen Xun wanted to speak but quickly pressed his finger to her soft lips, signaling her to be quiet.

He could sense weak auras up to twenty to thirty meters away with his spiritual senses; who knew how sensitive the auras of Heaven Rebirth Realm cultivators would be?

The birds and beasts in the forest, along with the wind and swaying branches, could mask their subtle movements, but speaking was absolutely not allowed.

Chen Xun fumbled in his pocket and took out a bottle of Essence Gathering Ointment to give to the girl.

The girl shook her head, indicating that such a low-level spiritual medicine would not be very effective for her injuries.

Even if the Five Venerables of Bai Xi didn't come to pursue her, crossing the Lake and Marsh Plain would not be easy for the two of them.

The Essence Gathering Ointment was a low-level spiritual medicine, which she usually wouldn't even look at, but now she had to use it sparingly.

Unfortunately, when she was severely injured, her protective inner armor was destroyed by the giant ape, and the jade bottles and leather bags containing her pills were shattered and lost. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in such a predicament.

Seeing the girl shake her head, Chen Xun took out two more small bronze bottles filled with Essence Gathering Ointment from his pocket.

He could continue to gather herbs and refine more Essence Gathering Ointment along the way. He hoped the girl could recover somewhat, otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for the two of them to escape the pursuit of the Bai Xi tribe and the fierce beasts in the plain.

Hiding and evading was a completely different concept for one person compared to two.

Moreover, the Lake and Marsh Plain was rarely visited by humans, and the herbs needed to refine Essence Gathering Ointment were more abundant than expected. He really didn't lack this bottle of Essence Gathering Ointment.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

She had watched this boy gather herbs and refine spiritual medicines along the way, but she guessed his consumption on the journey north must have been significant. It was hard to imagine how he could have saved four bottles of ointment. She wondered how many spiritual medicines he had refined on this journey.

Even a pharmacist from the academy, familiar with herbs and skilled in refining, might not have such high efficiency on a trip to the Lake and Marsh Plain.

Chen Xun handed the Essence Gathering Ointment to the girl's smooth, delicate hands and watched her swallow it and silently refine the medicine. He focused his mind on the outside of the snow cave.

Chen Xun didn't know if the golden giant ape had been severely injured or if the Bai Xi tribe's strong cultivators had gone to find it. But he didn't dare to relax his vigilance, fearing that any slight leakage of aura might attract the Bai Xi tribe's strong cultivators to come and pursue them.

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In the snow cave, over the course of a day and night, three groups of people passed by the cliff outside.

Each time he sensed people or beasts passing by the cliff, Chen Xun收敛气息，连呼吸都停住了，生怕露出半点破绽。

尽管女孩受了重伤，但她吞服了聚元膏，炼化药力，连一丝气息都不外泄，就像青木道人在帛书里描述的五蕴敛藏境界。

陈寻与她紧挨着，如果不是肌肤相触，散发出去的灵觉，甚至一点都感应不到她的存在，简直就像一块略带温度的石头贴在他的怀里。

三拨人过后，直到深夜，都没有百奚部族的蛮武寻来，陈寻才揭开头顶的覆雪，从雪洞里爬出来。

此时天际圆月如盘，如水清辉洒下，散落崖头密林。

只有寒风从枝叶稀疏的林梢、孤山独峰的崖头呼啸而过。

夜深后，林间寒气极重，不要说虫兽通常都不会出来活动，修为稍弱的蛮武，在野外稍有不慎，或许会冰毙当场。

陈寻相信百奚部族不会轻易放过杀人夺宝的机会，但生活在奚岭南山的百奚部族，他们彼此间要相互提防，又能派出多少开悟蛮魂的蛮武强者，在纵横数百里的原始密林里，搜索他们的行踪？

要穿过百奚部族可能撒出的包围搜索圈，他们还是趁寒夜南下，不能在奚岭附近久留。

越是到外围，百奚部族可能撒出的包围搜索图，漏洞将会越大。

只要能走出五百里外，陈寻就有信心带着女孩逃脱生天。

听到雪洞里有些微动静，陈寻探头见女孩已经将一瓶聚元膏的药力炼化吸化，似乎意识到身上衣裳有些破不遮体，正拉身上的那几片衣甲破片，想遮住关键部位。

陈寻这才仔细打量女孩，见她大约十六七岁，如鸦秀发散落下来，就像漆黑夜里的清澈湖水，闪动明泽的反亮，眸如星子，有着陈寻绝没见过的脱尘出俗。

肤如凝脂的脸蛋上，虽因恶战留下几道淡淡的伤痕，却丝毫不影响她绝