Martyrdom in the Cold Pool, Clever Breakthrough of the Locked Mountain

The black mist of the Forgotten River Forest slowly receded behind them, like a giant beast closing its eyes.

Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi stood side by side at the valley entrance, their hearts still filled with lingering fear.

After this battle, the initial politeness and probing between the two had completely faded away.

No words are needed; tacit understanding arises spontaneously.

"It looks like we're deep inside Yanyu Mountain," Xiao Yunsheng said in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the jagged rocks around him.

Shen Lingxi nodded slightly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the hilt of her sword. She turned to look at Xiao Yunsheng, her voice even softer:

"Three years ago, my mother was afflicted with a kind of Yin-cold curse, which is of the same origin as the Gu technique of the Jade Toad Sect. Now it seems that this matter is inextricably linked to the Sword Pivot Academy."

This was the first time she had told outsiders about her mother's secrets.

Xiao Yunsheng was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "Since we're traveling together, your business is my business."

Before the words were finished, a piercing scream suddenly came from the deep canyon shrouded in cold mist on the left.

The wind blew in from the valley, carrying with it a strong smell of blood, and a faint trace of the spiritual energy of the green bamboo mountain plants.

"Someone's there." Xiao Yunsheng's eyes suddenly narrowed!

Shen Lingxi's expression changed slightly: "People from Qingzhu Mountain! Qingzhu Mountain is a sect founded on benevolence and has a mortal feud with the Jade Toad Sect."

The two quickly lowered their bodies and followed the air currents into the canyon.

The deeper they went, the stronger the stench of blood and the heavier the chill became. Reaching the heart of the valley, the scene before them made their hearts sink—

On the rocky ground beside the cold pool lay the corpses of two boys in blue robes, their chests torn open by sharp claws, already lifeless.

The remaining three disciples of Qingzhu Mountain were surrounded by twelve snow-white Iceback Hounds with exposed fangs, leaving them with nowhere to retreat.

These hounds were unlike any other ferocious beasts. A black Gu thread was wrapped around their brows, their eyes were bloodshot, they were fearless, and their claws were covered in a chilling blue poison. Wherever they passed, the ground would instantly freeze into ice.

The leader, Su Mobai, held a bamboo sword. The defensive sword formation in front of him had long been broken, and his sword moves were scattered.

"Senior Brother Su! I can't hold on any longer!" The junior brother behind him roared, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Shut up!" Su Mobai gritted his teeth, slashed horizontally with his bamboo sword, and forced back a charging hound, but was hit hard in the chest by another one, flying backward and crashing heavily into the stone wall!

The twelve fanged dogs let out a low growl and tightened the encirclement step by step!

It's another deadly trap set by the Jade Toad Sect—the Gu-controlled Fang Hound!

Shen Lingxi's heart tightened at the sight, and she lowered her voice: "Twelve Gu-controlled hounds, and a chilling poison, and there are only two of us..."

Xiao Yunsheng's gaze was fixed on the two corpses of Qingzhushan disciples on the ground.

Even in death, they maintained the posture of protecting their fellow disciples.

This scene was like a needle piercing his heart.

Over the past three years, he has witnessed the indifference of the red-robed disciples of the Heavenly Palace Sect towards the abandoned children in blue robes, and he has become accustomed to the world where "abandoned children are cheap"!

But at this moment, he saw someone willing to die for their fellow disciples!

There were no impassioned words, no straightforward declarations of vision, only a fleeting pity in his eyes and a chilling anger that seeped into his bones.

"Save them." He uttered only one word, with an unquestionable resolve.

Shen Lingxi had no objection whatsoever: "You tell me how to fight, and I'll cooperate exactly as you say."

Xiao Yunsheng's gaze swept quickly across the entire room, instantly calculating all the variables:

"These hounds are controlled by the Gu threads, fearless of death, yet they fear tremors, fire, and even more so, the breaking of the Gu threads. Above the icy pool is a suspended ice floe. Use your sword imprint to draw sword energy, shatter the ice floe, create an avalanche, and draw the hounds' attention to the front. I will approach from the side and rear, not killing the hounds, but only severing the Gu threads between their eyebrows, giving the disciples of Green Bamboo Mountain a chance to catch their breath."

The next instant, Shen Lingxi leaped to a high place, and the innate sword seal trembled slightly.

A wisp of pure sword energy shot out, piercing straight into the suspended ice above the icy pool!

"Snap—!"

A tremendous tremor shook the area, and large chunks of ice and rock crashed down with tremendous force! The twelve Iceback Hounds were instantly startled, turning their heads and barking wildly, their formation thrown into chaos.

This is the moment!

Xiao Yunsheng moved with lightning speed, his movements as swift as flowing clouds and shadows, silently cutting into the rear of the beast horde.

He didn't use a killing move; his sword merely touched the Gu thread between the fanged hounds' brows! One sword severed one Gu thread, and in an instant, the eight fanged hounds lost control of the Gu threads, collapsing to the ground, their ferocity completely dissipated.

The remaining four were shocked and enraged and launched a counterattack, but Su Mobai, who had recovered, seized the opportunity and used his bamboo sword to draw upon the spiritual energy of the plants and trees, killing them on the spot.

In an instant, the desperate situation was reversed!

Su Mobai looked at Xiao Yunsheng, who had sheathed his sword and stood there, then at Shen Lingxi, who had fallen from above. He was both surprised and respectful. Despite his injuries, he stepped forward and bowed deeply to the two of them.

"I am Su Mobai from Qingzhu Mountain. Thank you, Senior Brothers and Sisters from Tianque, for your help!"

Xiao Yunsheng didn't speak, but slowly walked to the two corpses of the Qingzhu Mountain disciples who had died in battle, squatted down, and closed their wide-open eyes.

This action startled Su Mobai.

It is a matter of righteousness for disciples of righteous sects to help each other, but it is rare to see them willing to collect the remains of a disciple from the lower classes whom they do not know.

The four found a secluded cave and rested there temporarily.

Su Mobai took out the healing herbs made from the secret recipe of Qingzhu Mountain, first applied them to his junior brother, and then handed the medicine bag to Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi with both hands: "This is Qingzhang Grass, which can cure the remaining poison of the Jade Toad Sect's Gu poison and also resist the evil spirits in the mountains."

Xiao Yunsheng took the medicine pouch, lightly pinched the herbs between his fingertips, instantly identified their properties, and nodded slightly.

Shen Lingxi then asked softly, "Senior Brother Su, you've been in the mountains for quite some time now, do you know what exactly happened in Yan Yu Mountain?"

Su Mobai's face instantly darkened, and he sighed, saying:

"Not only the Heavenly Palace Sect, but also our Green Bamboo Mountain Sect, Danxia Sect, and Xuanshui Sect—over a hundred disciples who entered Yanyu Mountain in the past six months have gone missing!"

"The Jade Toad Sect has set up hundreds of Gu formations inside the mountain, colluding with the Wu Heng lineage of the Witch Gu Clan to guard all the mountain passes and specifically hunt down disciples like us who are alone."

"We've encountered disciples from the Danxia Sect before. They said that deep within the Yanyu Mountains, there is an ancient altar. The Yuchan Sect and the Wugu Clan came here for that altar, but no one knows its exact location."

This information instantly filled in the gaps in Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi's understanding of the situation at Yanyu Mountain.

Xiao Yunsheng's hand, which was holding the medicine pouch, tightened slightly.

The coldness in his eyes deepened.

Just then, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave, accompanied by the unique sweet and pungent smell of the Jade Toad Sect, as well as the buzzing of the array being activated.

"Search! Search thoroughly! The strange movement of the ice fang just now means someone is nearby!"

"The Vice Sect Master has ordered that the Mountain-Locking Gu Formation has been set up, sealing off both ends of the canyon. Not even a fly can escape!"

Eight disciples of the Jade Toad Sect, carrying the Mountain-Locking Gu Formation, have completely sealed off the entire canyon.

A direct assault would inevitably trigger the Gu formation, attracting more pursuers and revealing our location!

Shen Lingxi and Su Mobai tensed up instantly and looked at Xiao Yunsheng.

Xiao Yunsheng remained unusually calm, tapping lightly on the stone wall with his fingertips. In just a few breaths, he had already devised a plan.

He looked at Su Mobai and asked softly, "Brother Su, could your Green Bamboo Mountain's plant illusion technique create the illusion of multiple people moving about on the western cliff face, thus drawing away at least half of them?"

Su Mobai immediately nodded: "Yes! Within half an hour, it will be absolutely indistinguishable from the real thing!"

Xiao Yunsheng then looked at Shen Lingxi: "Could you use your sword imprint to activate the sword energy, without alerting the array's core, and only blast open the entrance to the Ice Fang's lair?"

Shen Lingxi replied without hesitation, "No problem."

Xiao Yunsheng's lips curled into a very faint smile, his eyes sharp as an eagle's:

"Good. Let's use a feint to the east while attacking the west, and borrow the beasts to break the formation."

"Brother Su, lead half the group away. We'll blast open the Ice Fang's lair and drive the remaining Fang dogs towards the Gu formation. The Jade Toad Sect members, entangled by the Fang dogs, will inevitably trigger their own Gu formation, throwing them into disarray. We'll take this opportunity to circle around to the east cliff!"

Su Mobai's eyes lit up, his face full of admiration: "Senior Brother Xiao is truly talented! I'll go make the arrangements right away!"

Half an hour later, a strange noise suddenly came from the west side of the canyon, and the Jade Toad Sect's search team immediately sent four people to investigate.

Immediately afterwards, the Ice Fang's lair exploded, and the remaining four Fang dogs barked wildly as they charged toward the Gu formation.

The Jade Toad Sect disciples guarding the array's core were caught off guard and pounced on by the fanged hound. In their panic, they triggered the Mountain-Locking Gu Array, and poisonous mist instantly filled the air, with screams echoing everywhere.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yunsheng, Shen Lingxi, and Su Mobai had already taken advantage of the chaos to quietly circle around from the east cliff and even took away the Yanyu Mountain defense map left by the Jade Toad Sect at the array's core!

The chaos in the canyon continued, while the three had already fled far away.

Su Mobai looked at the deployment map in his hand, then at Xiao Yunsheng, and was completely convinced.

Xiao Yunsheng looked down at the densely packed Gu array markings on the defense map, his eyes showing no joy, only an increasingly resolute coldness.

Looking at the pages filled with hunting traps, and at the disciples of various sects being treated as prey, he had only one thought in his mind:

This world shouldn't be like this!

Even the fate of being abandoned is fate!

What he didn't know was that the wind and rain on Yanyu Mountain would only intensify!