Can you... help me up...?

An Yunzhi showed a great deal of sincerity.

Since Lu Xiao had saved her, she willingly and proactively revealed her background.

She was a disciple of the Nine Star Palace, and at twenty-one years old, she had already reached the perfection of the Spirit Fetus Realm. Compared to Lu Xiao’s martial arts realm, there was a vast chasm between them. If not for the restrictions set here by the Immortal Tianlin, Lu Xiao would never have been in a position to rescue her.

Lu Xiao hesitated for a moment and chose not to disclose his full name. He only mentioned his surname, Lu, and stated his age.

Their forms of address changed accordingly. Since Lu Xiao was younger by a year, An Yunzhi addressed him as Junior Brother Lu. As fellow martial arts practitioners of the Great Xia, addressing each other as junior and senior siblings was entirely appropriate.

The only inappropriate thing was that Lu Xiao considered his own strength to be vastly inferior to hers. Calling each other senior and junior felt a bit embarrassing on his part.

Under the present circumstances, the two of them naturally decided to travel together to cope with any potential crises that might arise.

An Yunzhi shared all kinds of information about this place in detail with Lu Xiao.

Ever since the celestial phenomenon manifested, this was the second time restrictions had been generated here. The elders of the Nine Star Palace and the Xuanheng Sect had been injured precisely because they tried to forcefully break through last time. Failing and ending up wounded, they ultimately had no choice but to rely on the younger generation.

"I recovered here for a day, but the blood dripping around here was a bit too much, and the blood aura has drifted far. I was lucky yesterday that those fierce beasts didn't give chase, but our luck won't hold out forever."

An Yunzhi proposed leaving this place and shared her own thoughts on the matter.

Lu Xiao thought about it and agreed that changing their location was necessary. If they were only going to stay in this patch of forest for a day or two, he could rely on the Dragon Blood Body-Tempering Technique to mislead the fierce beasts. However, if they had to remain here for twenty days, relocating was indeed imperative.

To avoid encountering fierce beasts, it would be most appropriate to choose a dead-end location for their shelter.

A so-called dead-end location meant a place that led nowhere—such as the edge of a cliff or the bottom of a precipice. These spots deep within the mountain forest were places people simply wouldn't pass by. If someone wanted to go somewhere else, it was impossible for their path to take them past the edge of a cliff.

Hiding their dwelling in such an area could greatly reduce the chance of unexpected encounters. At their current location, even with concealment, there was still a risk of accidentally running into roaming fierce beasts. If they truly had to spend twenty days here, they definitely needed to pick a prime location.

Lu Xiao had previously climbed to the mountain peak and roughly observed the overall terrain. A short distance further west, there was a precipice.

When Lu Xiao suggested moving there, An Yunzhi nodded in agreement.

When she and Senior Sister Ruan Xian had entered this place, they actually carried a map. However, that map was in the hands of her Senior Sister Ruan, and An Yunzhi hadn't even glanced at it once. Since Lu Xiao had a plan, that was naturally for the best.

Before leaving, Lu Xiao first dismantled the wooden hut back into separate planks. To cut and chop new wooden planks from scratch would take a considerable amount of time, not to mention the energy and physical stamina consumed by refining them.

With everything prepared, the two of them set off toward the west.

Wearing Lu Xiao's outer robe, An Yunzhi followed closely behind him. Relying on the cultivation techniques she practiced and various medicinal pills, her condition had indeed recovered significantly. However, her wounds could not heal overnight. Furthermore, with her martial arts realm suppressed, the pain from her injuries felt even more pronounced.

They hadn't walked very far before An Yunzhi's delicate brows furrowed repeatedly, she didn't know how many times.

Having attained the Spirit Fetus Realm at twenty-one, An Yunzhi’s cultivation journey had been exceptionally smooth—she had practically sailed through all the way. Experiencing the torment of having a wound tear with every single step was something she had never encountered before.

After walking about two miles, Lu Xiao stopped and looked back at An Yunzhi by his side. "Would you like to rest for a moment?"

At that moment, An Yunzhi's brow was tightly knit, and a thin layer of cold sweat had seeped onto her forehead, likely due to the excruciating pain.

"Could you... please help support me..."

Resting would not make these wounds stop hurting. If they stopped to rest every two paces, it was very likely they wouldn't reach their destination before dark. Once they arrived, they would still need to build a shelter and carry out concealment work. All of these tasks required time.

Realizing this, An Yunzhi finally made such a request. Continuing to drag her feet would only plunge them both into danger once again.

The two of them weren't familiar with one another; holding her up like that felt somewhat intrusive... Moreover, the remaining distance was quite far, and the terrain was difficult to traverse. Constantly brushing and touching against each other somehow felt like taking advantage of someone's vulnerability.

"Senior Sister An, please wait a moment. I'll piece these wooden planks together so you can sit on them, and I will pull you."

Without missing a beat, Lu Xiao immediately took out his firewood chopper and stripped some tree bark. He lashed the wooden planks together and fashioned a makeshift pull-rope using the bark.

An Yunzhi sat down on the wooden planks, and Lu Xiao towed her along toward the west.

Having tempered his physique through the Qi-Gong Heart Sutra, Lu Xiao felt that his physical strength was quite decent. The refined Qi-Gong Heart Sutra was indeed no weaker than many high-level cultivation techniques.

Sitting on the wooden planks, An Yunzhi still felt a twinge of pain whenever they encountered a bump along the way. Even so, it was immeasurably easier than walking on her own two feet.

Turning her head to look at Lu Xiao walking ahead, a deeper sense of gratitude welled up in her heart.

Along with that gratitude, however, was a faint trace of awkwardness hidden deep within her mind. She had taken the initiative to ask him to support her, yet he had been unwilling... Was he... looking down on her...

Such petty thoughts vanished in an instant. An Yunzhi was not the kind of overly sentimental, pretentious young girl who would dwell on such matters. Besides, in their current situation, surviving safely was the absolute priority.

The journey wasn't actually all that long; it was just that much of the terrain was difficult to navigate.

Lu Xiao had made the wooden board hoping to make things easier for An Yunzhi while avoiding unnecessary embarrassment. However, there were numerous slopes and ridges along the route, going constantly up and down. In the end, Lu Xiao still had to reach out and support An Yunzhi to give her a hand.

The inevitable accidental touches passed without either of them uttering a word. As long as neither brought it up, there would be no awkwardness, and Lu Xiao truly had no intention of taking advantage of her.

Along the way, the two exchanged a great deal of conversation.

Once she regained her composure and physical state, An Yunzhi reverted to her lively and animated self. This was her true personality, not some deliberate, affected tone. Furthermore, An Yunzhi's appearance matched her vibrant voice perfectly—she possessed an ethereal beauty, tinged with a playful and charming allure.

Lu Xiao's words and actions remained entirely proper throughout, at most stealing a glance out of the corner of his eye...

Through their conversation, Lu Xiao learned a lot more news.

She hadn't entered this region alone; she had come in with Senior Sister Ruan, who had been traveling with her earlier. The reason she was by herself when Lu Xiao bumped into her was that her Senior Sister Ruan Xian had drawn away the majority of the fierce beasts to let her escape.

At that moment, it was still uncertain whether her Senior Sister Ruan had managed to escape danger.

Whenever this was mentioned, a trace of unmasked worry would unconsciously hang on An Yunzhi's face. Yet, compared to An Yunzhi herself, Ruan Xian was far more likely to turn misfortune into safety. Her practical experience in trials far exceeded An Yunzhi's, and her footwork, combat strength, and other abilities were likewise superior. Even with both of their realms suppressed to the Stone-Moving Realm, the gap between them remained.

Aside from all this, An Yunzhi also brought up the fierce beasts.

"Senior Sister Ruan said these fierce beasts are extremely abnormal. For the most part, they aren't ordinary wild animals of the mountain forest, but rather beasts raised and nurtured through some kind of malicious sorcery..."