Chapter 918: Agreeing to Help

This Golden Core cultivator differed from others. His first act was to expel Shadowless, but he underestimated Ye Mo's Illusion Cloud Whirlpool Strike. He believed his Foundation Establishment opponent, while strong, could be suppressed indefinitely. However, the instant he forced out Shadowless, countless purple sword rays sliced him apart. Despair filled the cultivator's eyes as he perished at the hands of a Foundation Establishment insect.

Guang Wei stared, dazed, at the sky filled with sword rays that had dismembered the level-four Golden Core cultivator. She momentarily forgot she was undressed. The realization struck her that the cultivator had also seemed distracted before his death.

“Did you help me kill that Golden Core cultivator?” Guang Wei asked, finally reacting.

Ye Mo scanned her and replied plainly, “I think your priority is finding some clothes.”

Ye Mo then collected the level-four cultivator's ring and sat down to recover. Guang Wei only then realized her own nudity, flushing with embarrassment. Before she could ask Ye Mo not to look, he had already turned away. Without hesitation, Guang Wei cast a simple barrier, cleansed herself with a water spell, and changed clothes.

When Guang Wei emerged, Ye Mo was standing, blood-covered, his injuries obscured.

“I’m leaving,” Ye Mo said, turning to depart. Days of fighting had convinced him it was time to form his core; he preferred to do so alone.

“Huh?” Guang Wei reacted, instantly remembering her plight. Desperately, she pleaded, “Ye Mo, please save my martial sister Muxin! She’s trapped by cultivators from South Peace State.”

Ye Mo studied Guang Wei, surprised. After a long pause, he asked, “You want a Foundation Establishment cultivator to defeat Golden Core cultivators and rescue your martial sister?”

Guang Wei insisted, “Ye Mo, you can do it! You killed that Luo fellow. Your power rivals a Golden Core cultivator. With me, we can help! You must go! Remember, before you arrived, Muxin aided you—”

Ye Mo smiled. “Aided me? Do you think I needed help? In fact—” He paused, studying Guang Wei, before continuing slowly, “In fact, you shouldn't have come here. If I were you, I'd be home concocting pills.”

Guang Wei blushed.

Ye Mo hadn't entirely dismissed helping; Qin Muxin had indeed assisted him. However, his recent encounter underscored his relative weakness against a strong Golden Core cultivator. Moreover, he didn't know Muxin's fate. He prioritized recovering and ascending to the Golden Core state. Everything else could wait.

Seeing Ye Mo's imminent departure, Guang Wei's face paled. An idea struck her. “My martial sister and I were hunted for discovering a large patch of Yellow Three Leaves. Their journey here implies importance. Besides, we've already killed two of the four Golden Core cultivators. If we join Muxin and the others—”

At the mention of Yellow Three Leaves, Ye Mo instantly spun around. “What are we waiting for? Let's go!”

He mounted his flying pike. He neared Golden Core, but lacked the necessary herbs. Reaching higher states faster demanded significant resources; he wouldn't hesitate to acquire them from Golden Core, let alone Hollow Spirit cultivators.

Guang Wei stared, astonished. His agreement seemed impulsive. He'd just professed his inability to defeat Golden Core cultivators, yet the mention of ‘Yellow Three Leaves’ spurred immediate action. She dared not dissuade him. His low-grade flying spirit artifact didn't surprise her; an overpowered cultivator like him might well have one at the Foundation Establishment stage.

She picked up the level-three Golden Core cultivator's storage ring. “You killed him; it's yours.”

Ye Mo replied flatly, “I killed the level-four and took his ring. The level-three is yours. I won't take what's yours.” He denied any further involvement, though Guang Wei suspected otherwise.

“You pilot the pike; I need to recover,” Ye Mo instructed.

His injuries seemed severe, but Ye Mo knew it was mainly cultivation essence depletion and superficial wounds. Four hours later, he was fully recovered. Instead of taking the controls, he examined the level-four Golden Core cultivator's ring.

It contained over 100,000 top-grade spirit stones, a similar number of mid-grade stones, numerous Golden Core cultivation pills, the four-colored swords, and an incomplete jade slip detailing the 'Wang Four Swords' technique. Ye Mo possessed Illusion Cloud, so he ignored it. He also found a jade card identifying 'Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, Luo Zixiang', along with dozens of jade boxes containing herbs.

Ye Mo took everything, showered, and changed before emerging.

“How much longer?” he asked a worried-looking Guang Wei.

“Almost there,” she replied.

Ye Mo infused cultivation essence into the flying pike, increasing its speed. Thirty minutes later, they landed outside a vast valley.

“Martial Sister Muxin! You're alright! Where are those villains?” Guang Wei rushed towards Qin Muxin, surprised to find her only slightly injured.

Qin Muxin, overjoyed, exclaimed, “Martial Sister! I was so worried, but didn't know where you'd gone! I'm so glad you're safe!”

“What’s this?” Guang Wei sensed something amiss. Turning, she saw the two Golden Core cultivators who'd attacked them, along with others. Her martial sister was fine; why were they still present?

“These martial brothers from the God Sword Sect and Duo Heart Valley helped us,” Qin Muxin explained, introducing Ximen Chao and Zhe Qiushiu.

Guang Wei quickly thanked them; without their intervention, Immortal Herb Valley would have suffered greatly.

Ye Mo, seeing Qin Muxin surrounded by others, knew she was safe. However, upon stowing the flying pike, he sensed a tense stalemate between the two groups.