Chapter 137: Farewell

The surroundings suddenly fell into a profound silence. Yao Xin’s heart hammered against her ribs, her gaze fixed vacantly upon the corpse lying on the ground. A faint sense of unreality washed over her—had she truly killed a formidable Dou Xiu expert? The entire process had been devoid of violent energy or superfluous movement; it was a clean, one-strike kill, executed with the fluid ease of chopping vegetables. Yet, she knew all too well that the chasm between their cultivation levels was virtually insurmountable.

Yao Xin even considered that perhaps a legendary Earth-tier Dou technique might have allowed her to injure a Dou Xiu, but to slay one so effortlessly? That seemed impossible. Even accounting for the element of surprise, it had been far too easy. She looked down at the unknown black tendon in her hand, a chill creeping into her heart. She truly wanted to ask: what on earth was this thing?

Su Yi rubbed his aching body as he walked over. Seeing Yao Xin’s dazed expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Yao Xin snapped out of her shock, shook her head, and handed the Profound Dragon Tendon back to Su Yi. She then walked over to the two scrolls that had fallen to the ground, bent down to retrieve them, and tucked them away.

Seeing Yao Xin’s unsteady gait—clearly the result of the injuries sustained during their head-on collision—Su Yi sighed softly. As he wound the Profound Dragon Tendon back up, he said slowly, "While it was risky for you to intentionally take that hit, using a Dou technique to draw his attention and make him careless was an excellent strategy."

Yao Xin’s body trembled slightly. She looked up at Su Yi, a flash of pleasant surprise on her face. "Su Yi, you saw that I did it on purpose?"

"Otherwise, how could my timing when I rammed into him have been so perfect?" Su Yi shrugged slightly, adding, "It seems our coordination is quite intuitive."

Yao Xin lowered her head, her face flushing slightly. After a long moment, she looked up, hesitated, and finally asked in a low voice, "Su Yi, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"What exactly is that black, tendon-like thing?"

"Oh, it's called the Profound Dragon Tendon. Normally, it's unremarkable, but once infused with Dou Qi, it becomes incredibly sharp. Guided by soul power, it becomes agile and unpredictable. I imagine you felt that just now." Su Yi explained slowly, though his mind was racing. The Profound Dragon Tendon was indeed wondrously strange. He recalled how, back when he only possessed the Dou Qi of a first-level Dou Zhe, he had been able to pierce the body of a Dou Xiu expert. Yao Xin, with the strength of a sixth or seventh-level Dou Zhe, would surely wield even greater power with it. Should he give it to her?

Truthfully, Su Yi was reluctant. With this tendon, even a first-level Dou Zhe could potentially kill a Dou Xiu expert—a feat likely beyond even Earth-tier techniques. In the hands of an average practitioner, it was a terrifying weapon, enough to make many Dou Xiu lose sleep. Of course, it wasn't omnipotent; enemies wouldn't just stand there waiting to be killed, and those with vast combat experience or overwhelming power wouldn't even give one the chance to strike.

Nevertheless, the Profound Dragon Tendon was a potent trump card for ambushes. Su Yi reasoned that since he lacked Dou Qi and couldn't utilize it, it was useless in his possession. It would be better to leave it with Yao Xin for self-defense. With it, she might no longer need to fear ordinary Dou Xiu experts. Thinking back to the brutal ambush they had endured the night before, if they had thought to use the tendon then, those snake-tailed wolves and mercenaries would have been cut down like wheat. The chaos of battle was, after all, the perfect time for an ambush.

"Sigh, forget it. If I still can't use the Profound Dragon Tendon by the time we meet again, I'll give it to her..." After pondering for a long time, Su Yi sighed inwardly.

The two looked at each other, falling into a silence as the reality of their impending separation set in. Finally, Su Yi gave a forced cough. "In that case... let's part ways here." He needed to go to Lunluo City, but it was inconvenient for Yao Xin to follow, so they had to go their separate ways.

Yao Xin’s beautiful eyes turned slightly red. She nodded silently, unable to speak.

"Well, I must pursue my own path, and you have your revenge to seek... May we meet again if fate permits." Su Yi sighed softly, then smiled as if remembering something. "By the way, the 'Universe Shift' technique I gave you is my personal favorite. I hope to see it demonstrate its power in your hands one day."

With those words, Su Yi turned, waved a farewell, and began walking toward Lunluo City. Watching his retreating back, Yao Xin opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, her expression remained conflicted, and the words never left her lips. She could only wonder when, or if, they would ever meet again.

...

After parting with Yao Xin, Su Yi resumed his rhythmic, exercise-like pace, moving through the forest like an arrow. The journey was punctuated by the occasional distant rumble. After two days of monotonous, dry travel, dusk began to fall. Surveying the quiet forest, Su Yi decided to rest for the night.

He cleared a small patch of ground, gathered firewood, and used the flint he had acquired to ignite a blaze. The dark woods were suddenly illuminated by dancing flames. Su Yi nodded in satisfaction; while there were no high-level magical beasts here, there were still dangers, particularly venomous first-level creatures whose bites could be dire.

Although Su Yi believed his physical body was strong enough to resist such trivial threats, he preferred to be cautious. He had dealt with several such pests during the day, and they were a nuisance. A fire served to drive them away while providing a place to rest.

Since leaving the market, Su Yi had encountered no one. He was alone again, but having grown accustomed to solitude, he felt little loneliness. His only goal was to reach Lunluo City as quickly as possible. According to the map, from Lunluo City, he could head east toward the Luojia Mountain Range in the empire’s eastern reaches. It was said that the "Blood of Heaven and Earth" might be hidden there. Though he knew the chances were slim, he had to try.

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Su Yi stared into the fire. He realized that once one’s Dou Qi reached a certain level, they likely wouldn't need flint to start a fire. There were countless things in this world that Dou Qi could achieve. They said all paths lead to the same destination—he wondered if training the physical body could achieve the same results?

Su Yi sighed, reaching his hand slowly toward the dancing flames. A wave of scorching pain washed over him, but it was not beyond his endurance. His hand remained in the fire without sustaining injury—a testament to his formidable physique, even if it were only a common wood fire.

After a while, Su Yi decided to continue his training. He could train while traveling and while resting. Since he had learned to breathe through his skin, he often buried himself in the earth at night. After doing this many times, he felt his skin-breathing technique improving; even when buried, he no longer felt the suffocating pressure he once had.

He found a soft patch of ground and dug a shallow, human-shaped pit. He sat inside, burying his legs first, covering them with soil and foliage, then his torso, until he was completely submerged. Having done this many times, he moved with practiced efficiency. While not perfectly seamless, it was more than sufficient.

Once underground, Su Yi began his skin-breathing training. Time passed slowly. The firewood burned down to a pile of glowing red coals. Moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the quiet night—loud and clear, and judging by the rhythm, there was more than one person.

"Look, Second Uncle, there’s a fire!" a young girl’s voice rang out.

"Hmm. It looks like the fire died out recently. Someone must have lit it, but... there’s no one around. Did they leave?" The man answering the girl had a voice that sounded middle-aged, yet carried a hint of weariness and age.

"Well, everyone, it’s inconvenient to travel late at night. Let’s rest here for the night," the middle-aged man said after a moment’s thought. He gathered some unused wood from the pile, tinkered with it, and reignited the fire. As the flames rose, they illuminated the faces of the four newcomers: three men and one girl. Aside from the middle-aged man and the girl, there was a burly, muscular man and a man under thirty. They all carried weapons but wore no guild badges, making it unclear if they were mercenaries or something else.

The one thing they shared was the expression on their faces: a mix of pallor and lingering dread, as if they were still deeply shaken by some recent trauma.

"Sigh... who would have thought that while transporting cargo, we would run into the long-extinct Corpse-Armor Beetle Beast!..."