Chapter 34

The night wind was fresh, but the air was filled with too much noise, like the cries of monkeys, and the beautiful, pale face with blood at the lips.

"Ahh!" Gu Xuyao let out a startled cry and woke up from his unconsciousness.

The warm bed beneath him and the soft candlelight on the table made this place seem vastly different from the imagined underworld.

A headache suddenly hit Gu Xuyao, ending his daze. The moment of clarity did not bring back his memories, but after looking around, he realized where he was.

"No, no!" Gu Xuyao clutched his aching head. "Why am I here? Zibi, where is Zibi?!" Thinking of Zibi, the memories of that night suddenly flooded back, and without thinking, Gu Xuyao got out of bed.

But as soon as his feet touched the ground, a wave of weakness swept over his entire body. If he hadn't managed to grab the wooden table in front of him, Gu Xuyao would have fallen to the ground.

"How is this possible? I am a cultivator at the third level of Root Formation..." Cold sweat broke out on Gu Xuyao's forehead. The sight before him was unbelievable: a cultivator unable to even stand!

"Is there anything impossible about it?" The door opened, and a white figure instantly entered the room. "Do you know that the stone fragment almost hit your heart? If your enemy hadn't missed, would you even be standing on the land of Taiheng Sect today?" The person who entered was Yixia, her face as cold as usual.

Gu Xuyao was stunned for a moment, lost in thought. After a while, he shouted, "Right, the attack! Senior Sister Yixia, Zibi and I were practicing in the wilderness when we were attacked by a group of black-eyed apes at night! I was exhausted and unconscious, and Zibi, right, how is Zibi?!"

In his agitation, Gu Xuyao tried to grab Yixia's shoulders, but his weak body held him back.

Yixia frowned. The Taiheng Sect usually let cultivators practice on their own, and had clearly stated which areas were off-limits. If a cultivator went missing, it was considered a violation of the rules, and the sect was not responsible. This rule had been in place for a thousand years and had never been changed. Now, with Gu Xuyao returning severely injured, it was initially thought to be a personal matter, but hearing Gu Xuyao's story, it seemed Zibi was also involved.

"You mean, Zibi was still by your side when you were unconscious, and then you knew nothing after that?"

Gu Xuyao was frantic. "Senior Sister Yixia, hasn't Zibi returned? She can't, she can't have anything happened to her, right? What should I do? What should I do? Black-eyed apes like to attack humans; Zibi can't be..."

Yixia seemed to understand the situation, her frown easing. She said calmly, "Gu Xuyao, you are severely injured, so don't worry about other things. The stone fragment pressed on the blood vessels supplying your body, causing a lack of blood flow and inability to breathe. When your fellow disciples found you, they thought you were dead." Yixia turned around. "Well, let's not talk about it anymore. Rest well. I will inform the Sect Leader about Zibi." With that, Yixia pushed open the door and disappeared into the night.

"Senior Sister..." Gu Xuyao wanted to say more, but he couldn't even see Yixia's back.

His hand fell weakly, and Gu Xuyao felt a sharp pain in his chest. His legs gave out, and he fainted again.

When he woke up again, he didn't know how many days had passed. His strength had recovered significantly, and the pain in his chest was gone.

However, no matter how much he recovered, his worry for Zibi would not stop. He was about to go upstairs to ask how to handle the situation when he opened the door and saw a familiar figure.

"Brother Gu, you're awake? I heard you were injured. How are you feeling now?" The person was Li Shuisheng, who had been waiting outside Gu Xuyao's door for who knows how long.

Gu Xuyao was surprised. He hadn't expected anyone in the Taiheng Sect to care about his condition besides Zibi. He then smiled sincerely. "I'm fine, a wound that won't kill me isn't a big deal. By the way, Shuisheng, I have important matters to attend to upstairs, so I can't chat with you now."

With that, Gu Xuyao nodded and rushed toward the array leading to the upper levels.

However, when Gu Xuyao reached the array, he realized Li Shuisheng was following him!

"Shuisheng, I know you care about me, but I really have important matters to attend to. Why don't you go back and I'll find you later, okay?" Gu Xuyao didn't know much about Li Shuisheng, but over the past two years, they had interacted quite a bit. He knew Li Shuisheng was an extremely meticulous young man, sometimes even more considerate than girls.

"Brother Gu, I want to go back too, but my senior brother told me to wait at your door until you woke up and then go with you to see the Sect Leader." Li Shuisheng looked aggrieved.

Gu Xuyao was taken aback.

"Sect Leader? Why, why do we need to go there?"

Li Shuisheng shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

Gu Xuyao knew guessing was pointless, so he took Li Shuisheng and activated the array. The two quickly arrived at the upper levels of the Taiheng Sect, where Yixia had been waiting for them for a long time.

Li Shuisheng greeted Yixia respectfully, while Gu Xuyao looked anxious.

"Senior Sister Yixia, Zibi..."

But before he could finish, Yixia's gaze stopped him from continuing. She said, "Follow me," and started leading the way.

Confused, Gu Xuyao had no choice but to follow. He thought that if they were going to see the Sect Leader, he might get a clearer answer.

The upper levels of the Taiheng Sect were arranged in a chaotic manner, like a maze.

The room where the head of the sect resided was in an unexpected corner, simple and peaceful, like any ordinary cultivator's room.

Gu Xuyao knew this was a maze array designed to confuse intruders, so without Yixia leading the way, they would never find the head of the sect or the Sect Leader's room.

After many twists and turns, Gu Xuyao arrived at the room of the Sect Leader, Ling Sanshi. Yixia announced their arrival, and the door opened automatically.

The three entered one after another. The room was still dim, but the light gradually filled the entire space.

"Grandfather, the two are here." Yixia bowed and stood to one side.

The emaciated Ling Sanshi opened his eyes, looked at Gu Xuyao, then at Li Shuisheng, and finally back at Gu Xuyao.

"Gu Xuyao, tell me everything that happened that day."

Gu Xuyao was surprised at first, but then he realized that the reason they were called up was to ask about what he wanted to know. He recounted the events of that night in detail.

Ling Sanshi pondered in silence for a long time before speaking.

"Based on my speculation, Zibi is not dead."

This statement filled Gu Xuyao with immense hope.

"Sect Leader, if that's the case, should we go and rescue Zibi?"

Yixia scolded, "Ridiculous! How dare you interrupt the Sect Leader!"

Ling Sanshi waved his hand to stop Yixia.

"Zibi is a disciple of the Taiheng Sect. If there is a chance she is still alive, we will certainly go to rescue her, but not now."

Gu Xuyao was frantic. He knew the dangers of the forest, and the longer Zibi was missing, the greater the risk of harm.

"Don't be hasty. Don't you want to know why I can guess that Zibi is not dead just by hearing your story?" Ling Sanshi smiled and nodded.

Gu Xuyao suppressed his emotions and nodded obediently.

"The black-eyed apes bring their young out to train them. Encountering you and Zibi was a significant blow, or rather, a humiliation. After confirming your death, the remaining Zibi would likely be kept alive by the ape king."

"The reason for keeping Zibi alive is not for anything else, but to let the young apes see the human who once humiliated them, to remind them of the lesson and help them grow quickly into independent black-eyed apes."

"So, Zibi is likely being tortured by those black-eyed apes?" Although the possibility of Zibi being alive was high, the thought of her suffering still worried Gu Xuyao.

Ling Sanshi nodded slightly. "Physical pain is inevitable, but it can be considered a punishment for her lack of dedication in her cultivation."

"How can this be? Although Zibi doesn't take her cultivation seriously, her progress is very fast. Sect Leader, please organize a team to rescue her from the Great Wild Forest!" Gu Xuyao couldn't agree. If Zibi, a woman, were left to be tortured by those beasts, even if she survived, how could she live on?

Ling Sanshi smiled and shook his head. "Gu Xuyao, don't be hasty. From your reaction, it seems you care a lot about Zibi, don't you?"

Gu Xuyao frowned and nodded. "Not only did I fail to protect Zibi, but she is my only friend in the Taiheng Sect, which is enough reason for me to be this agitated."

Ling Sanshi smiled with satisfaction. "Rest assured, we will certainly search for Zibi. Even if she is dead, we will bring her body back, but not now." Ling Sanshi stopped Gu Xuyao from asking with a look. "I know what you want to ask. Do you think the Great Wild Forest is a place to enter casually? Do you know that the black-eyed apes are just the outer beasts of the Great Wild Forest? No one in the Taiheng Sect knows what beasts are in the center. Sending a few people to search for Zibi is out of the question, and even with the full strength of the Taiheng Sect, it might not be enough to forcibly rescue Zibi from the heavily guarded black-eyed ape camp!"