With the twin Flying Swords of Ice and Fire circling to guard her, Huangfu Bing'er clutched the unconscious Ye Qin to her chest and darted swiftly through the boundless crimson vapor.

"Whoosh!"

The Rock Fire Butterfly Wings beat once, leaving a faint red streak in the sky as she flew a hundred zhang away from the enemy, constantly shifting direction to avoid pursuit.

Huangfu Bing'er glanced nervously at Ye Qin in her arms, her exquisitely beautiful face etched with anxiety and worry.

Suddenly recalling something, she quickly drew a Vajra Shield Talisman from her storage pouch, pressed it against Ye Qin's chest, and layered a protective golden barrier around him.

Golden light immediately shone brightly around Ye Qin, repelling the surrounding blood mist.

This mist was a crimson vapor spat out by the Blood Mist Demon Insects, possessing a strong corrosive effect capable of eating away at flesh and spiritual power. While this mist posed a severe threat to lower-tier cultivators, it was not a significant problem for Golden Core stage cultivators. However, Ye Qin was unconscious and unable to resist, necessitating the protection of the talisman against the mist's erosion.

When Ye Qin endured the first strike from the Green Robe Ancestor, he had sustained considerable internal injuries. The second attack from the Green Robe Ancestor charged toward him again. Although the power was partially absorbed by the other treasure-hunting cultivators, Ye Qin, who was at the epicenter of the strike, still endured the immense impact of the Green Fiend Sword. Under the blow of the flying sword, he was severely injured and knocked unconscious.

"I wonder how my husband's condition is...?" Huangfu Bing'er was consumed by worry in her heart.

But she dared not stop to check Ye Qin’s injuries, continuing her flight toward the center of the giant island. If the Green Robe Ancestor and the savage island's rogue cultivators caught up, her strength alone was utterly insufficient to resist them.

In a short time, Huangfu Bing'er had flown nearly a hundred li into the blood mist, yet she showed no intention of stopping.

Suddenly, a massive pressure descended upon Huangfu Bing'er from the sky, forcefully pulling her down toward the ground.

"This ancient ruin has an Anti-Sky Formation!?" Huangfu Bing'er's expression changed drastically; with her mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, she couldn't even muster the strength to resist. She reacted instantly: power of this magnitude must belong to an Anti-Sky Formation laid down by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Huangfu Bing'er dared not resist the overwhelming pressure head-on. She retracted the Rock Fire Butterfly Wing magic artifact and rapidly plummeted, landing amidst the ruins of a small encampment below.

The moment she touched down, she couldn't help but cough out a mouthful of bright red blood, her face turning pale. The Green Robe Ancestor's earth-shattering sword strike had killed or injured more than ten Golden Core cultivators, and she, too, had been affected by the residual power of the Green Fiend Sword. Fortunately, she was on the periphery of the attack, far from the center where Ye Qin was hit, so her injuries were less severe.

Landing on the ruins, Huangfu Bing'er ignored her minor injuries. With both jade-like hands, she quickly pressed against Ye Qin's chest, channeling a gentle stream of spiritual power into the various meridians within his body, swiftly repairing those that had been severely damaged.

Stimulated by the external spiritual power, Ye Qin suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of clotted blood, and opened his eyes, regaining consciousness.

"Husband—you're awake!" Seeing Ye Qin awake, Huangfu Bing'er was instantly overjoyed and watched him anxiously.

"Mm. Bing'er, where are we...?" Ye Qin scanned his surroundings rapidly. "The depths of Blood Zero?"

His gaze encompassed the ruins of the encampment shrouded in the dense blood mist, where he could only clearly discern the scene within a radius of about two or three li. This ancient battlefield ruin on the giant island was said to have once been a temporary garrison for the cultivators of the East Sea; structures must have been erected here, naturally leaving behind substantial walls.

In the distance lay an endless barren plain. Many desolate, towering ruins flickered in and out of sight, their outlines only vaguely discernible. The wasteland was littered with broken stones and decayed wood, all shrouded by the thick blood mist, giving everything a dark, sanguine hue.

Scattered around the inner and outer perimeter of the encampment ruins were the remains of various living creatures. The remains that had aged for many years had mostly turned to dust, crumbling upon the slightest touch. Near these remains lay various pieces of scrap flying swords, broken magic artifacts, and the like, all long devoid of spiritual energy, dull and lusterless, possessing no more value than the decaying remnants.

Amidst the ruins' walls, scattered stones, and wreckage, thin, withered patches of vegetation grew sparsely, mostly gray or black in color. There were also a very small number of scarlet, vibrant plants emitting an eerie, bloody halo, inspiring awe and fear, making one unwilling to touch them.

The walls of the encampment ruins were pockmarked everywhere with dense clusters of insect holes, each about the size of a fist. Inside and outside these holes, large amounts of dried, dark red, viscous slime were present.

"These holes in the ruin walls must be the nests of the Blood Mist Demon Insects! ... Good thing all the nests are empty, or that would have been trouble!" Ye Qin paused slightly, but he had little time to concern himself with such matters now.

Huangfu Bing'er also quickly surveyed the surroundings. What startled her was that her spiritual sense could only probe the area within two or three hundred zhang in this blood mist. Beyond that, it became completely useless.

The two or three dozen treasure-hunting cultivators who had fled in panic from outside the giant island into the blood mist inside had long vanished without a trace, their whereabouts unknown. Within Huangfu Bing'er's field of vision, no other cultivators could be seen, nor could her spiritual sense detect their location.

"We have entered about a hundred li deep into the island’s blood mist. The other treasure hunters have scattered to unknown locations within the ruins. The ruins are fraught with danger and are not safe. How is your injury?" Huangfu Bing'er asked, unable to suppress her concern. "It would be best if you could heal as quickly as possible; otherwise, it will be extremely perilous here in the ancient ruins."

"Let me take a careful look!"

Ye Qin sat cross-legged and surveyed his internal condition with his spiritual sense. Opening his eyes and seeing Huangfu Bing'er's anxious expression, he couldn't help but shake his head. "Seventeen major meridians are fractured! One hundred and sixty-three minor meridians are ruptured. I can currently only barely mobilize a small portion of the faint spiritual power within my body, temporarily losing my combat ability... But fortunately, even though the major meridians are fractured, they can all be repaired, it just takes time."

"Mm." Huangfu Bing'er nodded, and the fear in her heart finally subsided.

Meridian fractures like this were considered severe injuries for ordinary cultivators. It would require at least one or two months of recuperation, using top-grade spirit pills and elixirs to heal. Moreover, even after recovery, there was a high likelihood of sequelae. Once meridians were permanently damaged, it would affect the speed of future cultivation progress and spellcasting agility.

However, for her and Ye Qin, this was not a major issue. Both of them were rare Alchemy Grandmasters in the East Sea Cultivation World. Besides refining elixirs to boost cultivation essence, the majority of what they concocted were healing elixirs. Ye Qin, in particular, could already refine ninth-rank healing elixirs. Even Nascent Soul cultivators in the East Sea Cultivation World often used elixirs of this grade to mend grievous wounds.

After assessing his injuries, Ye Qin did not delay. He took out a cyan gourd from his storage pouch, tipped out a milky-yellow elixir the size of a pigeon's egg, rich with spiritual energy and carrying a faint sweet fragrance, and swallowed it directly, allowing it to slowly travel down to his lower abdomen. This was the Tortoise Marrow Meridian-Mending Pill, which he had personally refined; it was exceptionally effective at repairing damaged meridians.

"After taking this Tortoise Marrow Meridian-Mending Pill, it will take three days to repair all the damaged meridians. However, I will use the foundation-building chapter of the Sitting in Oblivion Scripture technique to enter a state of deep dormancy. This way, the time required to repair the meridians can be drastically reduced," Ye Qin stated calmly after some thought.

"How long will you need to remain dormant to mend all the meridians and awaken?" Huangfu Bing'er quickly inquired.

"I estimate it will take about one day to complete the repair of all the fractured meridians," Ye Qin replied.

"One day—that’s fine!" Huangfu Bing'er's gaze was resolute.

"Good. This small patch of encampment ruins on the Blood Mist Wasteland can serve as concealment from view. I will enter dormancy here for a day to expedite the meridian repair. Unless other cultivators approach this area, they will hardly discover someone is hidden here! However, the dangers within this ancient ruin are immense. We still have no idea what vengeful spirits or demon beasts haunt this place; we must prepare as much as possible!"

Ye Qin was not one to dither indecisively. The ancient ruins were indeed unpredictably dangerous. If he entered dormancy, he might die in that slumber and never awaken. Conversely, if he didn't repair his fractured meridians in the shortest possible time, he could still perish when danger struck due to the severity of his injuries. Furthermore, in the cultivation world, how could one avoid peril? If one desired comfort and absolute safety, one should forgo cultivation entirely. Otherwise, when the tribulations of Golden Core or Nascent Soul arrival—even a minor or major heavenly tribulation—could vaporize a cultivator. Without sufficient tempering, honing the will to survive in desperate straits, and mastering battle techniques through struggles between life and death, it would be extremely difficult to withstand such terrifying heavenly tribulations.

Ye Qin found a secluded corner within the small encampment ruins to serve as his hiding place for dormancy. He took out a spirit beast pouch from his waist and tossed it out. The seven-layered Golden Core Skeleton Demon Alligator, dull-witted, crawled out of the pouch and gazed blankly at Ye Qin. Ye Qin immediately used his spiritual sense to command it to guard by his side. It lay on the ground but turned its head toward the depths of the blood mist, letting out a few low growls, seemingly sensing something extremely dangerous far within the crimson vapor.

Ye Qin also possessed a Silver Armor Guard in his storage pouch. This Silver Armor Guard was controlled via a secret puppet technique, which Ye Qin had acquired from several artifact refining diagrams sold to him by the Yin family, direct descendants of the Sacred Emperor. Ye Qin transmitted the puppet technique for the Silver Armor Guard to Huangfu Bing'er. With her understanding of puppet techniques, she too could control the Silver Armor Guard. However, driving this secret silver puppet consumed an enormous amount of top-grade spirit stones, meaning it should not be used lightly unless facing a life-or-death situation.

Ye Qin sat cross-legged in a corner of the encampment, closed his eyes, circulated the Sitting in Oblivion Scripture technique, and forced himself into a deep slumber, maximizing the repair of his internal damaged meridians with the aid of the Tortoise Marrow Pill. He would not intentionally wake up until his meridians were fully mended.

In a short moment, Ye Qin fell asleep. Huangfu Bing'er closed her eyes, focused her spirit, and quietly stood guard in a corner of the ruins beside Ye Qin, paying complete attention to any movement on the Blood Mist Wasteland.

One hour, two hours, time slipped away silently.

After an unknown duration, a faint 'crack' suddenly sounded outside the desolate, blood-colored encampment ruins, as if something had stepped on the withered grass beyond the camp perimeter.