Andrew remarked, “One strike was enough to nearly take his entire life. There aren’t many in Gabo Creek who could do that.”

Eric interjected with another cold snort, “Not just Gabo Creek… even across the entire Holtrien Southern Martial Union, such top-level monsters can be counted on one hand. Unless it was Dad, no one else could have managed it. But he would have neither the reason nor the interest to kill Joe.”

Joe’s heart meridian had nearly been severed, so Andrew’s first task was to protect it. He pressed his palm against Joe’s chest, then shifted it to his back, sending a steady flow of true energy into him.

Now that Andrew had fully entered the martial saint realm and broken through the second seal, this method was the most direct way to heal.

Of course, it came at a heavy cost to the martial artist. Only someone like Andrew would treat his own core energy as if it were nothing. Most other masters clung to every drop of true energy, considering it their very essence. After all, losing even a little was like losing part of their life, requiring rare treasures and exhausting effort to restore.

Joe’s ghostly pale face slowly began to regain color. His eyelids twitched, then opened weakly, and the first thing he saw was Andrew’s calm, unreadable face.

“How do you feel? If you’re steady enough, then tell me everything so I can chase Shiloh down.”

Joe stayed silent for a moment before speaking in a raspy voice. “He was too strong. So strong that I couldn’t even see his face clearly. But when he struck, I noticed something… The back of his hand bore a red snake mark. It looked like… a tattoo of a small red snake.”

Andrew froze.

A red snake? That was the same mark carried by the cult emissary who once bewitched the Ulrich family.

Andrew himself had killed that man, yet now it seemed this twisted cult had returned, and their target was Shiloh.

“With Shiloh’s strength, she shouldn’t have been captured so easily. What happened at the scene?” Andrew pressed.

Joe coughed hard, throwing up a mouthful of blood before gritting his teeth. “His method was sinister. He drew a strange symbol on Master Shiloh with her own blood, and her martial power was instantly sealed, completely useless. But worse, her memory loss is getting worse… So many times, her mind just goes blank.”

His eyes darkened as he went on. “When the man attacked, I stepped in to block him. She reacted, but even then, she couldn’t escape his strike.”

Andrew’s expression turned to ice. “One last question. Do you know where he took her?”

Joe nodded weakly. “I do. Goldridge. Before I blacked out, I heard him calling someone there for pickup.”

He coughed before adding, “Andrew, take me with you to Goldridge. I want to save her.”

Andrew ignored him and looked at Eric instead. “Looks like we’re heading back to Goldridge, your old lover’s territory.”

Eric’s face tightened. “Don’t bring that up again. Let’s go. Goldridge isn’t far. If we move quickly, we might catch up.” Joe forced himself upright, insisting, “Andrew, I’m going too, I…”