As dawn broke, Zhao Yuansong and four others, disheveled and battered, arrived at a small riverbank.
After a night of pursuit and evasion, they were all more or less injured, with their magical energy nearly depleted.
Most crucially, all their elixirs and other supplies had been completely exhausted, and they had no idea when their pursuers might reappear.
"If this continues, we won't last much longer!"
One disciple said in a low voice.
At this moment, they paused by the riverbank, seizing every moment to recover their strength. As for magical energy, they dared not meditate and recuperate here.
No one knew when the pursuers might show up. If they rashly began meditating to restore their energy and an unexpected situation arose, they would have no time to react.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuansong's expression also became extremely grave. Ever since they were teleported from an underground training ground to a cave dwelling in Liufeng Prefecture due to a formation pattern, and after years of effort to break free, they had been targeted by a group of cultivators.
That cave dwelling had already been discovered, and after more than a decade of excavation, its restrictions and formations had been largely deciphered.
Their appearance, coupled with the emptiness of the cave, naturally drew the attention of this force, thus initiating a pursuit that spanned thousands of miles.
Originally, besides Zhao Yuansong, there were eight inner disciples of the Jiuxuan Sect. Now, only five remained.
One of them, in order to cover their escape the previous night, had used a secret technique to burn everything about himself, even his soul turned to ash, leaving no possibility of reincarnation.
However, not only could they not return to the Jiuxuan Sect, but they were still countless miles away from Lingyang Prefecture.
With their elixirs and all other supplies gone, each of them injured and their magical energy severely depleted, no one believed they could go much further.
"Hold on a little longer, our sect members must be waiting for us ahead!"
Zhao Yuansong was silent for a long time, then said with determined eyes.
He believed that as long as the sect received the signal they sent through a special channel, they would definitely send someone to bring them home.
If everything went smoothly, sect members might have already reached Chongyuan Prefecture, or in the best-case scenario, arrived in Fengming Prefecture.
Mention of the sect instantly invigorated them, but soon the light in their eyes dimmed again.
They naturally believed that their sect would never abandon them, but now they themselves were reaching their limit.
Seeing this, Zhao Yuansong's heart sank. He knew clearly that if everyone lost hope in themselves, then they truly wouldn't be able to get out and hold on until the sect's reinforcements arrived.
But to boost morale, the most important thing now was to obtain some supplies.
"You all head forward along the river, I'll go see if I can get something."
Zhao Yuansong said in a low voice.
The immediate priority was to obtain some healing items and elixirs to restore magical energy.
Only then could they endure long enough to wait for the sect's powerful reinforcements.
Upon hearing this, the four disciples' expressions tensed, and they all tried to dissuade him.
"No, that's too dangerous!"
They all repeatedly shook their heads.
The pursuers' cultivation level was indeed much higher than theirs, and their actual combat strength was formidable.
But after fleeing all this way, with tens of thousands of miles of pursuit, Zhao Yuansong's condition would not be much better than theirs.
If he acted alone, any accident would magnify the risks exponentially.
However, Zhao Yuansong ultimately decided to leave alone to find the necessary supplies, and no amount of persuasion from them could change his mind.
Not long after, he got up and set off, heading back rapidly in the direction they came from, concealing his tracks as much as possible along the way.
The four disciples by the river immediately understood his intentions and felt a surge of worry.
But they also knew their own condition. It was all they could do to be slightly stronger than cultivators of the same realm, let alone engage in combat.
Helpless, they could only follow the plan, continuing forward along the river, while also trying to find a safe place.
Several hours later, Zhao Yuansong, while creating diversions, arrived in a vast expanse of wilderness and mountains.
A large portion of the relentless pursuers behind him were indeed led astray by the traces he deliberately left, and they had already dispersed to search carefully.
He hid in the shadows with a grave expression, suppressing his aura to the extreme, silently searching for suitable targets to act against.
As the moon hung high in the sky, a warm flame flickered to life in a dilapidated mountain god temple.
Several Jiuxuan Sect disciples rested here, forced to take turns on watch, recovering their severely depleted magical energy.
About an hour later, two disciples suddenly sensed something and looked warily towards the entrance of the mountain god temple, where a wavering footstep was slowly approaching.
A moment later, the two finally sensed a familiar aura.
One of them quickly stepped forward, flung open the closed door, and then saw a blood-stained Zhao Yuansong appear before them with a smile.
He had successfully brought back a batch of healing elixirs, items to restore magical energy, as well as various resources like talismans and spirit stones, temporarily alleviating their urgent crisis.
However, he had paid a great price for it, his magical energy nearly exhausted, and his injuries worsened significantly, leaving him on the verge of collapse.
In fact, after Zhao Yuansong handed over the supplies he brought back, he directly fell into a deep sleep.
If he hadn't still had a faint breath, the others could only have tearfully buried him.
With this batch of supplies, their injuries were finally suppressed and began to heal gradually.
When Zhao Yuansong awoke, three days and three nights had passed. This deep sleep had, surprisingly, healed a small portion of his injuries, and his magical energy had recovered by about thirty to forty percent.
He knew clearly that all of this was thanks to the magical artifact in his dantian. Although he couldn't activate its power in the slightest, this artifact was constantly influencing him.
Seeing Zhao Yuansong awaken safely, the others were undoubtedly greatly relieved, and the worry in their eyes significantly diminished.
"It's fine, I don't need it."
Looking at the elixir being offered, Zhao Yuansong shook his head and refused.
He had the magical artifact left by Daoist Chixin within him, which allowed him to recover slowly from both injuries and magical energy depletion.
Since that was the case, there was no need to consume the already scarce elixirs. It was best to save them for the others in case of emergencies.
"Where have we arrived?"
He got up and looked around, finding himself in a small space filled with piled-up goods, and the air was thick with a damp smell.