Chapter 149: In Imminent Peril

"How are you holding up?" With everyone else having fled, Lin Yanghao rushed quickly to Gu Shi's side, his voice filled with urgent anxiety.

It was glaringly obvious that Gu Shi's condition was far from optimistic.

"I'm afraid I won't make it much longer. Take good care of yourself from now on. The world of cultivation is fraught with danger and malicious hearts; you must be extremely cautious and never be as careless as I was," Gu Shi said weakly, having already reached the very end of his life force.

He likely could not hold on much longer.

"No, I won't let you die. Hang in there, you must not fall asleep," Lin Yanghao said in deep grief. Gu Shi had been through so much with him; they were companions who had shared life and death through countless storms.

The bond between the two of them had grown profoundly deep.

Seeing Gu Shi reduced to this state naturally weighed heavily on Lin Yanghao's heart.

Gu Shi no longer had the strength to speak, his complexion turning ashen.

......

"Supreme Elder, what should we do now?" At that moment, Sovereign Yuding and the others had fled several miles away before stopping.

"That fellow is an absolute lunatic. Having consumed so much of his own life force, his days are definitely numbered; he surely won't survive tonight," Sovereign Yuding said with a fixed gaze.

"Should we go capture him now, then?"

"No. In case he detonates his cultivation in desperation, the loss would outweigh the gain. It's better to wait until early tomorrow morning to track him down," Sovereign Yuding instructed.

"Supreme Elder, there's also the matter of that brat Leng Ya being captured by them."

"He's nothing more than a piece of trash, failing even to defeat someone at the Core Formation stage. Such trash deserves to die!" Sovereign Yuding said with a sneer of contempt.

......

"Linger, what can be done to save him?" Lin Yanghao could only turn to Linger for answers. If even Linger had no solution,

Then...

Gu Shi would undoubtedly face certain death.

"Even a celestial immortal from the higher realms could not save him now. His death is certain, and it's beyond anyone's power to reverse," Linger's response plunged Lin Yanghao into profound despair.

Could Gu Shi truly not escape death today?

"However, while saving his current body is impossible, who do I think I am? There is still an alternative way to save him in a roundabout manner," Linger added, noticing the look of utter disappointment on Lin Yanghao's face.

"Quickly, tell me what method it is! No matter how difficult, I must try!" Lin Yanghao's words were filled with absolute determination; as long as there was the slightest glimmer of hope, he would not give up.

"This secret technique has nothing to do with you; it all depends on his own fortune." With that, she began staring intently at the unconscious Leng Ya.

"Ah? Then go ahead and tell me what the method is!" Seeing Linger playing coy again, Lin Yanghao urged anxiously.

Why did Linger always love to keep him in suspense? Did she not know how agonizing this was for someone?

"I possess a secret art known as the Heavenly Dipper Soul-Shifting Great Technique."

"Why does that sound so evil? It sounds nothing like a technique meant for saving people!" Lin Yanghao remarked speechlessly.

Was this supposed to be saving someone or harming them?

"Of course I'm saving him! This secret art can transfer the souls between two bodies, but it is not the same as a forcible soul seizure—it is far more profound and powerful than mere possession," Linger explained.

Had she not clarified, goodness knows what kind of bizarre ideas Lin Yanghao would have conjured up about her secret art.

"So that's how it is! Then hurry up and help them swap souls, or it will be too late and Gu Shi will truly perish!" Lin Yanghao's eyes lit up. Put like this, didn't it mean Gu Shi could be saved?

Although Linger claimed this wasn't soul seizure, it practically shared the exact same marvelous effect.

"Do you think this is something that can be performed on a whim whenever you want?" Linger said, feeling thoroughly helpless.

Lin Yanghao's temperament was simply far too impatient.

"Ah? Then what should we do? What on earth is required? I'll go look for it immediately. If we drag this out any longer, he really won't be able to hold on!" Anxiety welled up in Lin Yanghao once more.

"No, this can only be performed on the night of the full moon when the Yin Qi is at its strongest. Otherwise, all efforts will be in vain."

"The night of the full moon? By that time, he'll already be dead and gone!" Lin Yanghao was dumbfounded...

He had to wait until the night of the full moon? By then, wouldn't everything be completely ruined?

"No, tonight happens to be the night of the full moon. We can only hope there will be moonlight tonight."

"That's good, that's good," Lin Yanghao breathed a massive sigh of relief. Unless their luck was explosively bad, how could they coincidently run into an overcast night?

Time flew by, and the night gradually enshrouded every corner of the Thousand Saints Marsh.

"What on earth are we to do?" Lin Yanghao said with a pounding heart.

As it turned out, the sky had grown dark, yet there was not the slightest trace of the moon to be seen anywhere in the firmament.

The entire sky was completely empty.

"Don't panic yet, let's wait a little longer. What if it comes out shortly?" Linger said. Her own mood was currently extremely complex; she had never expected they would genuinely run into a cloudy night.

How atrocious their luck was...

"Linger, do you know why an overcast night happens?" A countermeasure had already formed in Lin Yanghao's mind.

He was simply not entirely certain of it.

"Why does it happen?" Linger wore a look of utter confusion.

She truly could not fathom why Lin Yanghao was asking this.

"An overcast night happens because the clouds in the sky block the moon. If we can disperse the cloud layer, doesn't that mean we can proceed with the secret art?" As a modern individual, how could Lin Yanghao possibly be ignorant of such basic common sense?

"Then how are we supposed to disperse them?"

"I have my own brilliant plan."

"What method could you possibly have? To my knowledge, only those at the Tribulation Transcendence stage or above have any remote possibility of ascending and barely dispersing the cloud layer. What means do you have to accomplish this?" One had to know that only a physical body possessing the strength of the Tribulation Transcendence stage would dare attempt such a feat, whereas ordinary people would be torn to shreds by the turbulent currents the moment they approached the clouds.

"These clouds are afraid of intense light. As long as we find a way to create an intense light source, dispersing the clouds will be a breeze." It was well known that intense light could heat the cloud layer, causing it to vaporize and thereby achieving the effect of dispersal.

"But where are we supposed to find such intense light? And even if we had it, how would we get it up to the cloud layer?" Linger asked skeptically.

"I have my own ways of dealing with that. Just watch me." Without further ado, he directly summoned his sword and soared upward, gradually drawing closer and closer to the cloud layer.

Although Lin Yanghao did not possess any conventional sources of intense light, he had the Fireball Technique.

The Fireball Technique would undoubtedly yield an effect far superior to ordinary intense light.

The reason, naturally, was that the Fireball Technique possessed sufficient heat, not to mention the blinding brightness emitted by the fireball itself.

Lin Yanghao pushed upward with desperate resolve, casting all caution to the wind.

"Are you out of your mind? Stop right now! This is already your absolute limit!" Linger cried out in alarm, panic surging as she watched Lin Yanghao charge upward recklessly.

"It's fine, I can do this." Upon hearing her, Lin Yanghao not only failed to stop, but instead accelerated even faster.