Chapter 81: Alive

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…

Mu Feng’s abdomen rose and fell heavily. With each movement, a surge of scorching blood rushed through his body, fiercely resisting the cold and Yin Energy seeping into him.

Wearing only a thin blue robe and walking unprotected in the howling cold wind, he finally understood how terrifying the restriction of the Ethereal Temple was.

At that moment, he felt like a person who could not swim, accidentally falling into an endless ocean. The vast forest was the ocean, and the dense Yin Energy was the water, seeping into every pore. Any living being that entered this place would inevitably suffer terrible erosion, lose all Yang Energy, and die.

“Brother, do you remember how we first met? Who made the first move?”

Mu Feng’s Adam’s apple moved as he gritted his teeth and walked forward, speaking to Sky Splitting Tiger, who was on his back. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

“It… it was you. No… it was… me!”

Sky Splitting Tiger’s voice was faint. He raised his head slightly, his vision blurred, and his consciousness began to waver. Hazily, he seemed to return to the moment when he first met Mu Feng.

Back then, he was so fierce and spirited. With a single roar, all the tigers within ten miles would tremble. Who would have thought that now he would be on the verge of death, unable to move as he lay on Mu Feng’s back? The terrifying Millennium Tree Demon and the restriction here had already taken most of his life, leaving him with only a faint breath.

“That’s right, you made the first move, but I blocked it with a punch!”

Mu Feng felt his steps growing heavier. The terrifying Yin Wind had seeped into his bones. The situation was getting worse, but he still did not dare to stop talking to Sky Splitting Tiger. He continued, “On the first day, we were evenly matched, and it ended in a draw. After a night of hard training, I thought we would still be evenly matched on the second day. It wasn’t until the third day that we took out our weapons for a decisive battle. Brother, your first strike was good, but when you thrust the second time, I almost thought I was doomed. What was that move called? Emperor’s Thrust?”

“Hmm…”

Sky Splitting Tiger’s voice grew weaker. His body was cold to the bone, and only the faint heartbeat let Mu Feng know he was still alive.

“Brother, hold on! You must hold on!”

Mu Feng bit the tip of his tongue, jolting himself awake. He mustered all his strength and ran desperately. His body grew colder, and his Spiritual Power and Yang Energy were rapidly depleting. But thinking of Sky Splitting Tiger, who could take his last breath at any moment on his back, it seemed as if he had endless strength. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

Whoosh…

The cold wind howled, and dust flew everywhere.

Amid the bone-chilling Yin Wind, where no living being could survive, a figure suddenly emerged step by step from the swirling dust. His steps were heavy, and he leaned on a long spear while carrying a taller figure on his back. The moment he stepped out of the raging cold wind, he could no longer hold on. His foot slipped, and he fell to the ground. The Blood Vine formed by coagulated blood completely dissipated.

A moment, a day, or a year…

Mu Feng’s mind was dazed. The moment he fell, his forehead hit a rock, and blood flowed from the wound. However, Sky Splitting Tiger on his back remained completely unharmed.

Under the erosion of the cold wind and Yin Energy, his body was extremely stiff and numb, as if his blood and soul were frozen. He forgot how long the cold wind had raged, and he even forgot where he was. There was only one thought in his mind: to carry his dying brother, Sky Splitting Tiger, out of this place and far away from here.

“Pingyuan Ancient Town, Ethereal Temple, Sky Splitting Tiger…”

Mu Feng murmured to himself. His fingers twitched slightly, and his body gradually regained sensation. Although he had lost a great deal of Spiritual Power and Yang Energy and was exhausted, without the cold wind and the erosion of Yin Energy, his condition at least stopped worsening. When he mentioned his brother Sky Splitting Tiger’s name, his heart suddenly jolted, and he remembered everything. With great difficulty, he moved Sky Splitting Tiger off his body and placed him aside. Then, he reached out and touched his chest.

His hand touched something stiff and cold, without a trace of warmth. Only by carefully sensing could he feel a faint, intermittent heartbeat.

Alive! His brother was still alive!

Mu Feng was overjoyed. He wanted to stand up, carry him, and quickly leave to find Ghost Mother for treatment. But he found his limbs weak and his Spiritual Power almost depleted. Nearly every inch of his muscles and bones was filled with terrifying Yin Energy. Even the Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood had turned ashen gray, having consumed an astonishing amount of energy.

If he had hesitated for just a moment, if he had stepped out half a step later, he would have likely remained forever in the Forest Sea, never to see the sunlight outside again!

Squeak, squeak…

Just as Mu Feng was feeling relieved and lucky to have escaped the terrifying restriction, a scrawny rat emerged from not far away. It moved cautiously, looking around for food. Its belly was so empty that only a thin layer of skin remained. Since people had fled their homes in Pingyuan Ancient Town in a panic, these little creatures hiding in the darkness had gradually lost their food sources.

Dried corpses could be seen from time to time in the town. However, these ominous things, filled with Yin Energy, were something even the tenacious wild rats dared not eat.

Perfect, you’re the one I need!

Watching the rat approach, Mu Feng held his breath and pretended to be a cold corpse. When the little creature cautiously came close, he suddenly struck, grabbing one of its legs. Before he could crush it, the rat thrashed wildly, almost escaping his grasp. He tightly held its hind leg with his left hand, picked up a sharp stone with his right hand, and slammed it down, finally killing it.

“Even a little rat is so difficult to handle. Have I gone back to being a frail scholar again?”

Mu Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly. After catching his breath, he mustered his strength to use the Blood Refining Art and the Sun-Stealing True Scripture. He condensed the rat’s blood essence and Yang Energy into a small Blood Pearl. Just as he was about to swallow it, he glanced at Sky Splitting Tiger, who was barely breathing. He quickly split the Blood Pearl into two halves. He swallowed one half to replenish some of his energy and carefully fed the other half to Sky Splitting Tiger.

Sure enough, after swallowing the half that melted in his mouth, Sky Splitting Tiger, though still tightly closing his eyes, seemed to have a faint warmth inside him. His faint, intermittent heartbeat also grew slightly stronger.

“Brother, let’s go. We’re going home together!”

Mu Feng struggled to stand up, laboriously carrying Sky Splitting Tiger’s tall and heavy body. Step by step, he moved away from the ancient city buried underground for thousands of years and far from the terrifying restriction.

Whoosh…

A night breeze blew by, and a head suddenly emerged from a dry, thousand-year-old well.

After enduring countless hardships, Mu Feng finally gritted his teeth and carried Sky Splitting Tiger out from the depths underground. At last, he could breathe the fresh air outside. The moonlight was dim, and everything was pitch black. The endless night had long enveloped this lifeless ancient town.

“Huh? Where’s Chu San?”

Looking at the empty circle, Mu Feng, who had just emerged from underground, was startled. He instinctively tightened his grip on the Overlord Spear in his hand. His nostrils twitched slightly as he caught the scent of unfamiliar blood.