Chapter 76: Faintly Visible

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Faintly Visible

The ferocious avian beast swooped down from the tree with such extreme speed that Qiao Suluo barely had time to react, let alone dodge. However, she possessed no instinctual fear of such creatures. With a nimble, lightning-fast sidestep, she narrowly evaded its assault. The beast’s massive twin talons slammed into the ground, grasping nothing but earth and carving a deep crater in the soil. Qiao Suluo’s expression shifted as she stared at the impact. It was easy to imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t dodged in time—her entire body would have been shredded by those claws.

Seeing that it had missed its prey, the giant bird launched another vicious attack. A dagger suddenly appeared in Qiao Suluo’s hand. As she rapidly evaded its strikes, she viciously thrust the blade toward the avian beast. Her gaze was sharp and resolute, showing absolutely no sign of retreating.

Surprisingly, even in such a perilous situation, she didn’t call out to him for help.

Chu Moyuan raised an eyebrow, observing for a moment. Just as the giant bird’s talons were about to rip into Qiao Suluo’s arm, he made his move.

With blinding speed, he pulled Qiao Suluo behind him. At the same time, he drew his sword, its cold steel flashing in the night. Moving like a phantom, he thrust the longsword straight toward the beast’s underbelly. The giant avian reacted swiftly, sweeping its razor-sharp talons to clash against the blade. A fierce battle erupted. Chu Moyuan was incredibly fast, his dark clothes fluttering as he radiated a chilling killing intent. Standing before Qiao Suluo, he was like an impenetrable shield, warding off all danger.

Qiao Suluo’s heart trembled violently. She had never expected Chu Moyuan to protect her in the face of danger. She had assumed he would be more than happy to see her die. A deep sense of being touched and moved welled up inside her.

But just as she was watching him, another giant bird silently swooped down and snatched her with its talons, hoisting her straight into the air.

"Ah! Chu Moyuan!" Qiao Suluo involuntarily screamed his name.

Chu Moyuan, currently locked in combat with the first beast, sensed something amiss. He turned his head and saw Qiao Suluo being carried off into the sky by another giant bird. His expression hardened, his eyes glinting coldly in the night. The power within his body erupted. With a single, swift strike, his sword pierced through the chest of the beast in front of him. Immediately after, his fingertips grazed the scabbards at his waist, and several throwing knives shot out like streaks of light. The blades traced eerie arcs through the air, plunging directly into the airborne beast.

"SCREECH!"

The giant avian shrieked in agony as both of its talons were severed. Qiao Suluo plummeted straight down from the sky.

"Ah!" Qiao Suluo squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to look. However, the bone-crushing impact against the ground she anticipated never came.

"Are you still not going to open your eyes?"

At the sound of Chu Moyuan’s voice, Qiao Suluo’s eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. To her utter disbelief, she found herself cradled in Chu Moyuan’s arms. He had actually caught her.

She could hardly believe it, but she still looked at him with profound gratitude. "Chu Moyuan, thank you. You’re so kind."

Chu Moyuan scoffed coldly. "Get down already. You’re too fat and too heavy."

"Oh, right." Snapping back to reality, Qiao Suluo hurriedly scrambled out of his embrace. "I know I’m a bit chubby right now, but I’m losing weight. I’ll thin down very soon. When that happens, I won’t be heavy anymore."

Chu Moyuan was just about to say something when he suddenly sensed the two injured avian beasts flying back in a frenzied attempt for revenge. Without hesitation, he finished them off with his sword and throwing knives.

Watching his decisive and ruthless movements, Qiao Suluo felt a phantom ache in her teeth. She could easily imagine that if Chu Moyuan ever wanted to kill her, she wouldn’t be able to dodge a single strike. Yet, this man gave her an inexplicable sense of security, likely because he had just saved her life in a moment of crisis.

But at that very moment, Chu Moyuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Immediately after, he collapsed unconscious.

The scene unfolded so abruptly that Qiao Suluo was stunned. She rushed forward. "Chu Moyuan, what’s wrong? Chu Moyuan, wake up."

Seeing him completely unresponsive, Qiao Suluo hastily checked his pulse. It was only then she realized the severe state of his body. He had been poisoned as well. The toxin was now spreading aggressively, likely triggered by his use of physical power. Not only that, but the internal energy within him was extremely chaotic, and he was suffering from severe internal injuries.

He looked like a man on the brink of death.

Qiao Suluo’s heartstrings tugged fiercely. "You’re in such a grave condition, yet you still chose to protect me," she murmured, sighing. "Chu Moyuan, you really are a good person."

He must have known that using his power would aggravate the poison and his internal injuries, potentially costing him his life, but he had done it anyway. At this moment, Qiao Suluo felt that her predecessor had been truly despicable. How could she have had the heart to abuse them like that? Surviving such torment by the skin of their teeth, it would have been a miracle if they didn’t turn villainous.

Casting all other thoughts aside, Qiao Suluo hurriedly used her Healing Ability to treat Chu Moyuan. She channeled every ounce of her Healing Ability straight into his body. As time trickled by, a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead. Through her treatment, a portion of Chu Moyuan’s internal injuries was repaired, and a small fraction of the toxin was neutralized.

Qiao Suluo wiped the sweat from her brow. "Thank goodness I dug up a lot of medicinal herbs in the forest. They helped boost my Healing Ability enough to suppress the poison for him. Otherwise, he would’ve died from the flare-up."

She thought, "I can’t help but feel you guys were deliberately targeted."

Whether it was Que Hongjin or Bai Qianluo, they had all been afflicted with lethal poisons. As long as they utilized their powers, the toxins would be triggered, easily leading to death. She had a nagging suspicion that there was a conspiracy at play.

Unable to figure it out for now, Qiao Suluo decided to set the thought aside. She entered her Space Mall and rummaged through it for a while, but she couldn’t find any elixir capable of healing Chu Moyuan’s body, nor was there a Detoxification Pill that matched his specific poison. She would need to gather the correct medicinal ingredients and formulate a cure herself.

Qiao Suluo checked Chu Moyuan’s pulse again and discovered that his internal energy remained highly chaotic, even growing increasingly restless and volatile. If this continued, he would undergo total beastification and transform into an irrational, maddened beast. Her expression turned extremely grave. She proceeded to consume a few medicinal herbs to enhance her Healing Ability and resumed treating him.

However, his Spiritual Sea was likely too frenzied. As a result, Qiao Suluo’s spirit body accidentally slipped into his Spiritual Sea. The atmosphere inside was violently turbulent, ravaged by raging tempests. After taking a moment to adapt, she opened her eyes and saw a massive courtyard estate lying ahead.

Qiao Suluo walked toward it. Upon entering, she found herself in a grand hall. Tied to a pillar was a gigantic Ink Snake. It was covered in gashes, blood dripping continuously from its wounds, completely motionless.

Qiao Suluo was naturally afraid of snakes, but knowing this was Chu Moyuan and remembering that he had saved her, her fear subsided. She slowly approached and reached out to gently soothe its serpentine body. She knew that to provide comfort within a Spiritual Sea, physical contact was necessary.

"Chu Moyuan, you’ll be fine."

Her unique, fragrant scent carried a pacifying power that flowed directly into the Ink Snake’s body. The violent winds in the air gradually began to subside, and the manic energy radiating from him weakened significantly.

Right at that moment, Chu Moyuan snapped his eyes open.

Seeing him suddenly awake, Qiao Suluo instinctively wanted to back away. But as her gaze met his vertical slit pupils, she abruptly caught sight of her own reflection within them.

She looked down, only to realize that her spirit body inside the Spiritual Sea was barely clothed. The tattered shreds of fabric were completely inadequate to cover her figure, leaving her skin faintly exposed.

"You... you..."

Qiao Suluo’s face instantly flushed a brilliant crimson.