Aotian, who had been looking at the ground, didn’t notice the imminent fall and was caught off guard when they suddenly plummeted.

The two hit the ground hard and rolled from the impact. When he regained his senses, Aotian realized he was lying on top of Rihai, his face pressed against her chest.

He blinked a few times, confused, feeling the unexpected comfort of the position.

“Well, I guess not everything was bad.”

He joked as he got up, but the next instant, his eyes widened in shock upon noticing Rihai’s condition.

Blood trickled from her lips, her eyes were tightly shut, and her body trembled slightly in involuntary spasms.

“Rihai!!!” Aotian shouted in alarm and quickly held her in his arms.

His heart raced as he cupped her face, anxiety burning in his chest. He didn’t know what to do.

Quickly, he tried to recall what he had seen in movies. He pressed his ear near her nose, not entirely sure what he was looking for, until he felt a faint breath against his skin. That calmed him slightly.

‘She’s breathing…’

He thought as he used the little spiritual energy he had left to check her body for injuries. However, he found nothing—only ended up draining what little energy he had left, increasing his distress.

‘No… I can’t run out of energy. I need to check on Rihai and also defend us in case we’re attacked.’

Thinking of replenishing his energy, he quickly remembered the spirit stones.

Taking a mid-grade spirit stone from his storage pouch, for the first time since arriving in this world, he attempted to absorb energy from a spirit stone, recalling what Rihai had taught him.

‘Unlike what one might think, spirit stones aren’t very useful for cultivation. As a source of purified energy, the presence of the five elements in them is minimal. The higher the stone’s quality, the purer the energy and the lower the presence of the five elements.’

Aotian began to rotate the energy in his dantian, connecting to the spirit stone in his hand. Soon, under the pull of attraction, the energy began flowing into his body.

Since it was a mid-grade stone, there were still traces of the five elements within it.

‘Roots need to absorb the five elements to grow, so it’s uncommon for cultivators to use spirit stones for cultivation. Their efficiency in nurturing roots is quite low. Because of this, along with the fact that they are a finite resource and, of course, the existence of spiritual veins—which are far superior—spirit stones have lost much of their value for cultivation. Still, they serve many purposes, making them a strong currency in the cultivation world.’

As he recalled Rihai’s teachings, he, with the help of his avatars’ minds, quickly refined the few elemental traces present in the stone’s energy.

If he were a normal cultivator, even one with five-element roots, he would have to waste time expelling unwanted elements before absorbing the energy.

That’s why higher-grade stones are so valuable—if the goal is simply to replenish spiritual energy, a higher-quality stone is much more efficient.

The higher the grade, the better the quality and the amount of energy contained within.

Of course, since the energy was very pure, the elements within were also very pure and excellent for cultivation. If not for the fact that there were very few elements in them, spirit stones would be far more valuable.

This is why the rare elemental spirit stones are so expensive.

Since Aotian had no issues with the elements, he quickly refined a portion of the energy from the mid-grade spirit stone, which was enough to fully replenish his dantian.

Without worrying about the remaining energy in the stone, he let it drop and turned his attention back to Rihai.

She looked slightly less pale, but still far from well.

“Think, Aotian, think!”

He hit his own head, anxious and frustrated, until a thought occurred to him.

“Let’s try this!”

He attempted to insert his energy into Rihai’s roots to check her condition.

However, before he could even proceed, her energy violently repelled his, exuding a scorching heat.

“Damn it!”

He quickly withdrew his hand, his skin still warm from the rebound of Rihai’s energy.

Looking at her unconscious and discomforted face, he felt helpless and anguished.

‘My strength is too weak to force my way in, and her body is unconsciously rejecting any external force.’

He was completely at a loss until his avatars’ minds snapped him out of his daze. That was when he realized something crucial—he had been standing still.

‘Damn it, why am I so lost? I’m a freaking Refiner-Tier Alchemy Master! Not to mention, we’re being hunted! If they find us, we’re dead!’

Steeling his resolve, he picked Rihai up in a princess carry. He looked at the wings on her back—now lifeless, with none of the energy they had before.

‘The wings must have burned through all their power just operating with a single mid-grade spirit stone.’

With no other choice, he stored them in his storage pouch. Once Rihai woke up, he would return them to her.

He knew he couldn’t access her storage ring or pouch to store them. With his weak cultivation, it was impossible to break through their protective measures.

He also picked up the mid-grade stone he had used and the sword Rihai had dropped when she passed out, leaving fewer clues for their pursuers.

Without hesitating any longer, he started running. He had no set direction—he only knew he had to find a safe place, refine pills, heal Rihai, and grow stronger.

And one day, he would return for revenge.

…

Some time later, several figures arrived at the scene.

They exchanged glances upon seeing some traces and quickly headed in the same direction Rihai had initially been going.

Unfortunately for them, Aotian had already chosen another path.

…

It was late at night when, after traveling a long distance, Aotian found a mortal city.

From afar, the city was poorly lit, its low walls visibly neglected.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided that hiding there would be a good idea. Rihai needed a place to rest—carrying her in his arms while running wasn’t ideal for her recovery.

He also needed a place to forge and practice alchemy.

He hadn’t bought a cauldron earlier because he had intended to forge one himself. Although he regretted not having one now, he also knew that the time invested in refining a personalized cauldron would greatly improve the quality of his pills, helping Rihai more.

Taking advantage of the guards’ distraction and the cover of night, he jumped over the wall and disappeared into the shadows of the city.

Without drawing attention, he found an inn on the outskirts and used his spiritual energy to manipulate the window latch, silently breaking into an apparently empty room.

Confirming that the place was unoccupied, he walked to the bed and gently laid Rihai down.

He took a step back and observed her. Her face was still pale and strained, smeared with blood. Her body, covered in dust and enemy blood, looked fragile.

After hesitating for a brief moment, he made up his mind.

‘I have to clean her up and check for additional injuries. Besides, we’ve already confirmed our relationship, so there’s no reason to hesitate.’

Without allowing distracting or perverted thoughts to cloud his mind, he tore a piece of cloth from his robe, moistened it with water energy, and began wiping her down seriously.

He wouldn’t allow himself distractions—those would be saved for when she was awake and well. Right now, she needed him.

Seeing Rihai so weak made his heart ache. And he hated himself for letting this happen.

‘If only I were stronger… I got too comfortable, too used to everything going smoothly and always going according to plan…’

That thought rooted itself in his mind.

Gently stroking her face, he vowed in a low voice:

“Hai’er, I swear… I will never let something like this happen to you again. Never again…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep