"Roar!"
A furious roar echoed outside the mountain ravine, but the narrow entrance blocked the massive beasts from squeezing in.
Several smaller ones tried to push through, only to be stopped by the venomous vines Xie Zhaolin had set up earlier.
"We're safe for now…"
She forced herself upright and dumped a handful of healing pills into her mouth. As the medicine dissolved, a wave of cool energy spread through her body, easing the burning pain in her meridians just a little.
Peering inward at her dantian, her expression immediately darkened. The backlash of the Swift Step Talisman was far worse than she'd expected. Even though her meridians had been tempered many times, they were severely damaged. Wounds like these would take at least half a month of rest to recover.
"Cough…"
Another mouthful of blood spilled out. She wiped it from her lips, her gaze turning firm. The price was heavy, but she'd finally shaken off those beasts. Now the only thing that mattered was reaching her destination before her injuries worsened and finding a safe place to heal. She pulled out a jade map slip and checked her position.
The valley where the cultivator's cave residence lay was less than a hundred li away. On a normal day, it would've been just half an hour's journey.
But with her body in this state…
Taking a deep breath, she used the rock wall for support and slowly pushed herself to her feet. Every step sent tearing pain through her meridians, but she couldn't stop. She had to take advantage of this short window while the beasts were distracted.
"Just a hundred li left."
She gritted her teeth, moved on a while longer, then paused once she was certain the beasts weren't chasing anymore. Finally, she allowed herself to catch her breath and looked around.
The ravine was deep and narrow, blocking almost all sunlight. A small stream at her feet wound into the depths of the gorge, and to her surprise, it flowed in the same direction as her destination.
"A blessing in disguise, huh…" she muttered with a bitter smile.
The Swift Step Talisman had nearly destroyed her body, but it had also carried her across what would've been two days of travel, and by chance, she'd stumbled upon this hidden water route.
She took out her spirit beast pouch and scanned it with her divine sense.
The queen bee had a broken wing, and more than half the worker bees were gone. The survivors were huddled together, resting quietly inside. In their state, they were useless in this part of the wilderness.
After a moment of thought, she sighed softly and put the pouch away.
"Rest a bit first…"
Finding a relatively flat rock, she sat down and pulled out a few bottles of pills from her storage ring. She swallowed a Meridian-Nurturing Pill, then carefully spread green ointment over her shoulder wound. The instant it touched her skin, the sharp sting faded beneath a soothing coolness.
Once she'd finished tending to her external injuries, she hesitated, then decided to risk cleaning herself. Days of fleeing had left her covered in blood. In this dangerous middle region, the stench was like hanging a target on her back. She slipped out of her tattered robes and stepped into the stream.
The cold water lapped at her ankles, making her shiver, but once she got used to it, an odd comfort spread through her whole body.
"Huh?"
When the water touched her wounded shoulder, she felt something strange. Instead of making the pain worse, it actually soothed it!
Quickly, she looked inward again and almost froze. Her torn meridians were slowly repairing themselves under the stream's touch.
"This water…"
She scooped some up with both hands and stared. The clear surface reflected her pale face, and faint silver specks shimmered within. They were so tiny that anyone without sharp divine sense wouldn't notice them at all.
She tried running her cultivation art, and to her shock, the silver specks followed the flow of her qi, attaching themselves to the damaged meridians and knitting them back together.
"This is incredible…" she whispered.
A treasure that could heal meridians directly was rare even in her past life. To think she'd stumble on such fortune here of all places!
Without further hesitation, she sat cross-legged in the stream and focused on circulating her cultivation art. More and more silver specks were drawn into her body. Her meridians mended faster, and she even released the queen bee and its hive, letting them absorb the light as well.
Two hours later, she finally opened her eyes.
Her meridians were already thirty percent healed. It wasn't perfect, but she could move freely again. Even better, the repaired meridians had toughened, becoming stronger than before.
"Pity I can't take it with me…"
She looked at the flowing stream with a trace of regret. The specks vanished the instant they left the water, impossible to store.
After redressing, she checked her jade map slip again. If she followed this stream for about eighty li, she'd reach the valley. And since the waterway was hidden, she'd likely avoid most beasts. Packing her things and putting the queen bee back into the spirit pouch, she followed the current forward.
The ravine grew darker the deeper she went, though her eyesight made it no problem. The stream widened, and glowing moss appeared along the rock walls, casting a faint blue light. It wasn't much, but it was enough to brighten the way. She stepped carefully over protruding stones, avoiding the occasional whirlpool. After about ten li, the stream suddenly narrowed into a chokepoint barely wide enough for one person.
She stopped and extended her divine sense.
The rocky walls were full of tiny holes, air whistling faintly through them. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled a luminous pearl from her ring and tossed it forward. Under its glow, she saw what lurked inside. The holes swarmed with fist-sized violet crystal spiders. They clung to the stone, glaring at her with predatory hunger.
"Violet Crystal Spiders…" Her brows knitted. They were like Shisha Spiders, but weaker in direct combat.
The difference was their sheer numbers—and their venom, which was vicious.
She weighed her options and decided not to charge through. Stepping back, she pulled out a pouch of powder. This was Spider Repellent, refined from insect-repelling grass, effective against most arachnid beasts. Sprinkling it into the water, she watched it dissolve and spread.
Moments later, the spiders grew restless and scuttled back into the holes. Seizing the chance, she darted through the narrow passage. Beyond it, the stream widened again. But instead of relaxing, she grew even more alert.
Because beneath the surface, her divine sense picked up more and more signs of life stirring.
===
Why she didn't fully healing herself in that ravine? Isn't better 100% than stop at 30%?