Chapter 121: DID JUNIOR BROTHER LI PASS OUT?

When they got out of the cave, everyone was either sitting or lying down. Li Hanye and Jiali had taken the most hits although everyone was suffering from depleted energy.

Li Yan felt his vision blur and his hands were shaking, he dragged his sleeves when he felt a burning sensation.

His wrist had turned black as though something had sapped the vitality away from it. The flesh looked withered, the veins beneath bulged a dark violet, and the skin was cold to the touch.

Was this the backlash from the devouring bloodline? He couldn’t feel anything when he touched the spot. It was completely numb.

"This is not a good sign. I did not think the Devouring Phoenix bloodline would awaken so soon." Xiaoxiao sighed, with the Miasma and poison all over the place, it made sense that his resting bloodline had become agitated.

"You should return to the sect as soon as possible. Fu Hanzheng should look into your condition as soon as possible..."

Li Yan nodded, then found a corner to sit down, his vision was blurry and his head was throbbing, there was a persistent ache in his chest that made him bite his lips from agony.

Just then he felt a vibration, somewhere in his pocket, he reached into his inventory bag and saw it was the communication stone. He had not used it in a while, not since when he tried to contact Hu Bai.

He imbued some Qi into it, just enough that only he could hear.

Bzzzz—

"Yanyan, can you hear me? It is Hu Bai..."

Li Yan felt as though he had not seen Hu Bai in a long time, there had been some distance between them ever since the Gu bug incident.

"I...can hear you, where did you go without telling me?"

Li Yan rested his head on his knees, he really wanted to know why Hu Bai and Gu Jun left without telling him.

He had been alone...

"I did not think you would want to see the figure harming you in your nightmares. You seemed terrified of me that day, so I did not want to cause you anymore harm. I know my limits, I am not as selfish as I look to be..."

Li Yan didn’t know how to respond, he had gotten over the nightmares, he was never terrified of the real Hu Bai, he had only been jumpy that day.

"I was never scared of you, my emotions made me jumpy then. It was terrifying when I called for you and you were not there. You promised me you would never leave..."

There was a brief silence from the communication stone, and Li Yan continued resting his head against his knees while waiting for Hu Bai to answer. He had not intended to sound so vulnerable, but the words had come out before he could stop them.

He guessed he had gotten so used to having Hu Bai and Hu Biyan around that he did not think there would be a day when they would disappear like this with no trace.

Now that he thought about it, there was a horrible taste in his mouth or it could just be his internal bleeding.

"I am sorry, I did not know my disappearance would make you worry. Frankly I thought with your brothers and your master around, you would not notice if I were gone. Now, I realised I was only jealous and foolish."

Li Yan laughed a little, he did not expect Hu Bai to have profound wisdom or be mature. They were only three years apart, to him, Hu Bai was still a child, just like him, who was still finding his place in the world.

"How could I not notice my fiance is gone? I am not that dense..."

Hu Bai laughed, but it was quickly swallowed up by the loud bang near him.

"What is happening there? Is the beast that powerful?"

Hu Bai’s lips twitched, this beast unfortunately had human flesh and was more slippery than an eel. He was a high ranked practitioner so it was not easy tracking him, not less catching him.

On the rewards pavilion’s reward list, he was worth three million spirit points. But that also showed how hard the mission was.

"Yanyan I have to go now, I will finish my mission in half a month and reunite with you. Until then, I will visit you in your dreams whenever you need to see me..."

There was no need to keep circulating Qi into stone, Hu Bai had already cut off the connection. "It must be an upper level mission if it takes half a month to complete..."

Feeling his eyelids grow tired, Li Yan leaned against the wall, the exhaustion left him aching in places he did not want to think about. Perhaps he would be fine after some rest.

"Wake me up if anyone approaches Xiaoxiao, I am just going to rest my eyes for a bit..."

Li Yan’s head gradually sank against the wall as the communication stone slipped lower in his hand. His breathing had become so faint that it was difficult to notice from a distance, and the hand resting beside him no longer moved. He had intended to rest his eyes for a while, but exhaustion overcame him before he could even realize that he had lost consciousness.

Li Hanye had been watching him from nearby, and the moment he saw Li Yan’s body slump against the wall, he immediately rose and hurried over.

"Yanyan!"

He knelt beside Li Yan and reached for his wrist, pressing two fingers against it while searching for a pulse. The weak beat beneath his fingertips made his expression tighten, and he quickly placed his hand beneath Li Yan’s nose. His breathing was shallow enough that Li Hanye had to wait before he could feel the faint movement of air.

"This is bad, his breath is very shallow..."

Li Hanye carefully lifted Li Yan into his arms and adjusted his position so that his head rested securely against his shoulder. Heat radiated from Li Yan’s body, and when Li Hanye touched his forehead, he saw he was very warm.

Cui Ahjun noticed Li Hanye’s expression and walked over. "Senior brother Li, what seems to be the issue? Did Junior brother Li pass out?"

Li Hanye looked down at the person in his arms before answering. "He seems to have reached his limit and has caught a fever."

Cui Ahjun looked at Li Yan for a moment before glancing at the other exhausted disciples scattered around the mountain. Most of them had barely enough strength to sit upright after the battle, yet Li Yan had been the one to use the technique that destroyed so many of the young lizards and then continued fighting until the two adult lizards were finally killed. He sneered.

"See, this is the reason I was reluctant to bring an outer sect disciple. They are simply too weak for this kind of mission. Poor child."