I long to return home!

In order to avoid being attacked by the demonic beasts of the Thunder Domain while waiting for Xue Wu to wake up, the royal family members used a secret palace technique and formed a "Thunder Array" with four soldiers led by Mo Kun to ensure their safety.

This formation covered an area of ​​tens of meters, completely enveloping Xue Wu and his group. When the formation was activated, lightning formed a net that could only go out and not enter. Any demonic beasts or cultivators who tried to enter would be eroded by the lightning and suffer excruciating pain.

In addition, everyone needs to take turns standing guard to be vigilant against high-level magical beasts that may launch a surprise attack at any time, as well as Han Sen and his group. The guards will be replaced by the Luoyun Sect disciples who originally accompanied Li Yunfei.

Three days later.

Even Xue Wu, whose physique had been tempered, needed several days to regain consciousness, which showed how serious his injuries were. He leaned against a big tree and slowly opened his eyes, looking around at the current situation. He coughed lightly and tugged at his lips. His injuries were too severe. Although he had regained consciousness, he still needed to calm down and adjust for a while before his cultivation could recover.

The coughing quickly woke up the group of people who were meditating nearby. Jin Lingjiao, who was closest to him, was the first to come over and check Xue Wu's injuries.

"Are you alright? Are you still in pain? Is anything bothering you?"

Jin Lingjiao looked anxious. She covered Xue Wu's face, which was bouncy and smooth. Then she pulled off Xue Wu's clothes and sighed when she saw that his originally broken body had been mostly healed. She was relieved.

At this moment, Lei Mengying also walked over, looking at Xue Wu coldly. But as she looked at him, an indescribable emotion flashed in her eyes. After a moment of contemplation, she asked softly, "Has your cultivation recovered? Are you able to move?"

These words were undoubtedly cold to say, but as the princess of the Wuji Empire, she held a high position and had been pampered for many years, which meant she didn't need to speak to people in a humble manner, let alone care about an unknown cultivator. Even though she had warmth in her heart, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"It's alright, but it will take some time for your combat strength to return to its peak. Don't worry, it won't be long."

"Could you tell me some details about the sword you need? And the actual information about the beast guarding the sword?" Xue Wu sat cross-legged, placed his hands on his dantian, and closed his eyes to recover his cultivation.

Lei Mengying hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the majestic and treacherous Lei Mountain, saying slowly, "What I know is not comprehensive, but I still know a little..."

"The sword I need is located at the top of this Thunder Mountain. At the top, there is a lake filled with thunder element, called Thunder Pool. Only cultivators with sufficient cultivation can cross Thunder Pool to reach the flat land in the center. The sword I need is guarded in the flat land. This is one of the reasons why I asked you for help."

“A powerful magical beast with strong lightning element lives in this Thunder Pool. As far as I know, it is a Thunder Bird. I don’t know exactly what it looks like. The only thing I know is that it is a fourth-order beast with the level of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and has a high degree of immunity to lightning-attribute attacks. You, on the other hand, have dual spiritual roots of lightning and fire and have certain attack methods. This is the last reason why I came to find you.”

Furthermore, the news was undoubtedly shocking to Xu Tao and the others. They had originally thought that it was just a fourth-order Foundation Establishment mid-stage magical beast, which they could handle with their combined strength. However, as Lei Mengying further explained, it was clearly no different from taking Xue Wu's life.

Upon hearing this, Jin Lingjiao suddenly stood up, glaring angrily at Lei Mengying and shouting, "Why didn't you say so earlier? What's the difference between this and taking his life? If you want to die, don't take us with you!"

"How dare you speak to His Highness like that!" Mo Kun, along with a group of soldiers, shielded Lei Mengying behind him and raised his sharp blade towards Jin Lingjiao.

"I...I..." Lei Mengying murmured. Jin Lingjiao's words left her with no room for objection. Indeed, she hadn't explained herself clearly, but Jin Lingjiao's angry rebuke still displeased her.

Seeing this, Gu Qingcheng quickly pulled Jin Lingjiao into her arms, while Xu Tao drew his sword to stand against her.

"So what if she's a noble princess? All I know is that she's my junior brother, not a member of your royal family, and she'll never risk her life for you. Take this knife if you want; we will never risk our lives for your pleasure."

The situation reached a stalemate when Xue Wu's cough broke the tense atmosphere. He slowly stood up, walked to the middle of the group, and turned to look at Lei Mengying, who was lost in thought.

“You didn’t explain this clearly. We don’t need to risk our lives to take that so-called knife from you. Even if she is very important to you, I only have one life. She belongs to me, and even more so to my family.”

Lei Mengying was taken aback. She stared at Xue Wu. What he said was true. His life did not belong to her, so there was no need for him to risk his life for her. She reluctantly tugged at her lips, feeling disheartened, and told Mo Kun and the others to put down their weapons.

"But I will still help you. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that I have to help you. Even if I am in danger, I will still help you." Xue Wu placed one hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and looked at Lei Mengying with a firm gaze.

These words undoubtedly surprised everyone, especially Lei Mengying, who looked at Xue Wu with gratitude in her eyes and slowly said, "Is it what you called familiarity?"

Xue Wu nodded, giving Lei Mengying a positive answer. At this moment, he felt no fluctuation in his heart. At first, he thought he had agreed to the request because he was attracted by her beauty, but gradually he found that he was not afraid of the danger Lei Mengying mentioned. On the contrary, he felt that he would definitely agree as long as she asked.

"Xue Wu, are you crazy?! That's a fourth-tier demonic beast in the Foundation Establishment stage! What are you, a Qi Refining stage cultivator, doing going to your death! So what if you have dual spiritual roots? You haven't mastered the Cloud Peak Sword Technique, nor have you learned any other cultivation methods. What are you going to use to kill it?!"

"We can just live our ordinary lives, when will you ever stop going on these adventures?!"

"The inner sect selection was the same, as was the time at Chishui Cave. Can't we just not try to be heroes?!" Xu Tao was furious, veins bulging on his face. He turned around, grabbed Xue Wu's clothes, and cursed loudly.

Although he was furious, all of this was to prevent Xue Wu from taking unnecessary risks. During the inner sect selection, Long Yu, at the sixth level of Qi Refining, fought Xue Wu, at the ninth level, and Long Yu lost an arm; Chishui Cave had been missing for a year while rescuing Jin Lingjiao. Each time, Xue Wu had risked his life, and he truly didn't want to lose this junior brother again…

Xu Tao's angry shout left Xue Wu bewildered, and Gu Qingcheng, who had also wanted to advise Xue Wu, fell silent. But he had no choice; using his friend as a bargaining chip, he would fight without hesitation. Even if he had to choose again, the answer would remain the same…

After a moment, Xu Tao realized he had gone too far. He lowered his head and said calmly, "Is it only those with a lightning spirit root who can cross that lightning pool? What would happen if I forced my way through?"

Lei Mengying pondered for a moment and said, "It will be eroded by lightning until it is submerged in the lightning pool."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tao took a deep breath, released Xue Wu's clothes, and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes: "Be careful in everything. If you can't hold on, you must crush the jade slip and escape for your life." As he spoke, his face was gloomy, and he walked towards the top of the mountain with a bitter smile.

He must clear all obstacles on his way to the summit to ensure that Xue Wu has better combat power when facing the monsters.