Chapter 11

“The lamp went out.”

Sighs and murmurs of sorrow sounded within the dim ancestral hall.

One life flame had been extinguished, but many others were still flickering. Yet as they brightened and dimmed, who knew how much longer they could last?

This place was one of Changguan Sect’s ancestral halls, where the life lamps of the disciples who had gone to the secret realm this time were kept.

“Senior Brother Sect Leader.” Zhou Dingyuan’s brows were tightly furrowed. As he walked, the ornaments at his waist gave off crisp metallic sounds. He cupped his hands toward Chen Zhuya and said worriedly, “Something is definitely wrong inside the secret realm! Quite a few Orthodox sects have already sent word that many of their disciples have died within. They all had entry talismans in their hands. No matter what happened, they shouldn’t have fallen into such a situation. I suspect the Demon Sect tampered with something.”

Chen Zhuya’s brows drew together.

The Orthodox and Demonic paths had always been in conflict. A few years ago, when news of the Demon Sect’s Ten Prodigies spread, they had known the Demon Sect could no longer hold itself back and was no longer prepared to remain hidden.

What was happening now inside Dengying Secret Realm… could not be called entirely unexpected.

“We can only wait until the Penglai Qi’s ownership is decided. Only then will the secret realm close. At present, there is nothing we can do.” Chen Zhuya let out a long sigh.

Zhou Dingyuan fell silent for a moment before continuing, “This time, Junior Brother Ye’s eldest direct disciple, You Pei, is leading the group. He has already stepped into the third level of Golden Core. He should be able to protect our sect’s disciples bailiantales.comand bring them back safely, right? I heard that one of the disciples under Junior Sister also went. Was it that girl Suwei?”

Hearing this, Chen Zhuya turned around. He looked deeply at Zhou Dingyuan and said something shocking.

“I’m afraid Junior Sister is also inside Dengying Secret Realm!”

“What?” Zhou Dingyuan was greatly shocked. He stared at Chen Zhuya in disbelief. “Wasn’t Junior Sister in seclusion? Could that have been false news?”

What answered him was only Chen Zhuya’s long silence.

“Junior Sister has now fallen to Golden Core. At most, she has the strength of the second level of Golden Core. She did not go together with the sect’s disciples. If she is alone and encounters danger, what then?” Zhou Dingyuan asked urgently.

Junior Sister was the only bloodline their master had left behind. When Junior Sister suffered qi deviation that day, he had already blamed himself enough. If something happened to her, how would he explain it to their master?

“It will be fine. I already had someone follow her,” Chen Zhuya sighed. “Junior Sister’s talent is above ours. Even if she has fallen to the Golden Core realm, she is still not someone who can be slaughtered at will. She also has many Dao-protecting artifacts on her. She should be capable of protecting herself.”

The more he spoke, the lower Chen Zhuya’s voice became.

His thoughts turned, and he added, “The Demon Sect has come aggressively. As for the Demon Court, we still don’t know where they stand. We will have no shortage of work in the days to come!”

In the dense forest, sword wind swept apart the tangled vines.

Wei Hanzhen’s gaze sharpened as she sensed a ripple of spiritual power. A protective light immediately opened around her body. With a point of her finger, sword light shot out.

A sharp clang rang out as the sword light clashed with a brilliant clear radiance.

The moment this disturbance arose, Wuchen and the others swept toward Wei Hanzhen’s location. Each guarded one direction, their hearts filled with vigilance.

Purple-gold lamplight floated like drifting stardust.

A female cultivator covered in blood stood with her long sword hanging upside down in one hand, while her left hand held a faintly glowing six-sided palace lantern. Coldness filled her brows and eyes. When she saw Mu Lingxin, her eyelid twitched, and she immediately snapped angrily, “Shameless traitor! You actually went and brought reinforcements!”

Seeing that Luo Jinghong was not dead, Mu Lingxin relaxed.

She smiled at Luo Jinghong. “Benefactor Luo, do not be angry. Did you encounter an attack from Demon Sect cultivators?”

Luo Jinghong’s expression was still very ugly. She opened her mouth, but the only words she could curse out were, “Bald donkey!”

However, Mu Lingxin was not wearing her hood at this moment. Her long, ink-black hair fell down freely, and she had nothing to do with the word “bald.”

Originally, the two had encountered a spirit herb and had agreed ​read the original at bailiantales.com​that it would belong to Luo Jinghong, while Luo Jinghong would give Mu Lingxin some Danyu in exchange. Who would have known that after Luo Jinghong called her “Reverend Nun,” Mu Lingxin would immediately turn hostile?

The cultivators of the Buddhist land—what was wrong with calling them Reverend Nun?

No wonder, before she set out, her master had repeatedly warned her that everyone from Xumi Holy Realm had something wrong with them.

Yun Chiyue bent her elbow and nudged Mu Lingxin, afraid that the two of them would start fighting again the moment their words disagreed. They had not come here to make enemies.

Mu Lingxin’s eyelid twitched. Her prayer beads clacked rapidly as they turned. She smiled at Luo Jinghong and said, “I apologize for what happened earlier.”

After a pause, she added, “Fellow Daoist Luo, you are badly injured now. You need rest.”

Luo Jinghong looked at Mu Lingxin and sneered. “You harbor evil intentions!”

She grew angry just looking at Mu Lingxin’s face, which appeared “bathed in Buddhist light” but was actually full of wicked schemes.

The sword strike she had released earlier made her feel unwell. She swallowed down the blood rising to her throat and shifted her gaze to Wei Hanzhen.

Solemnly, she asked, “How should I address Fellow Daoist?”

Wei Hanzhen smiled. “Changguan Sect, Wei Taoyuan.”

She looked at Luo Jinghong and said, “We bear no ill intent. We came specifically to find you because of the Demon Sect. Right now, a group of Demon Sect disciples is killing people inside Dengying Secret Realm. We need to obstruct them.”

Compared with the Penglai Qi, the lives of the new generation of disciples were more important.

Who knew if the Demon Sect was not thinking the same way? If they were only fighting over the Penglai Qi, why would they carry something that could block the spiritual mechanism of the entry talismans?

“Changguan Sect.” Luo Jinghong’s tightly furrowed brows loosened slightly.

She put away her long sword, but in the end, she could not hold back and covered her lips as she coughed up blood.

Seeing this, Mu Lingxin stepped forward and reached out to pull Luo Jinghong into her arms.

How could Luo Jinghong possibly allow Mu Lingxin to approach? She clenched her fist and punched toward Mu Lingxin’s face.

Mu Lingxin twisted her waist, stretched out her foot, and tripped Luo Jinghong. Seeing Luo Jinghong stumble unsteadily, she bent her knee and half-caught her in her arms.

“Fellow Daoist Luo is injured, so don’t struggle.”

Luo Jinghong was so furious that the anger attacked her heart, and she actually fainted outright.

Yun Chiyue stared at Mu Lingxin in stunned silence.

Strong. Buddhist disciples were truly strong.

Even the way they saved people was unusual.

Although the process had deviated from what they expected, the result was still the same. Wei Hanzhen pressed her fingers against her brow, unable to bear looking at the scene any longer.

Mu Lingxin had also found quite a few good things in Dengying Secret Realm. After carrying Luo Jinghong onto the flying ship, she immediately took out a precious cauldron and began refining pills.

After all, she was not an alchemist. Her technique was rough and simple. But she could not help the fact that everything she used was precious material. By the time the pills emerged after half a quarter of an hour, although their appearance was poor, their medicinal effects were quite good.

At this moment, Luo Jinghong had not yet awakened. Mu Lingxin pinched her chin, stuffed the lump-like pill into her mouth, then sent several streams of spiritual power into her to help her circulate and refine the medicine.

“Senior Sister Wei, can you refine pills?” Yun Chiyue watched from the side, her face somewhat pale. She suddenly turned to Wei Hanzhen, a trace of hope in her eyes.

After Wei Hanzhen shook her head, she turned toward Wuchen, full of expectation.

Wuchen: “……I cannot.”

“I see.” Yun Chiyue looked deeply disappointed and said wistfully, “Then we absolutely cannot get injured.”

Seeing that Luo Jinghong was fine, Wei Hanzhen no longer concerned herself with the matter between Mu Lingxin and her.

The Cloud-Stepping Flying Ship sped onward, but now they did not encounter a single cultivator.

Wuchen stood at Wei Hanzhen’s side. As though she could read Wei Hanzhen’s thoughts, she deliberated for a moment before saying, “I have a sword that can track the location of Demon Sect disciples.”

Wei Hanzhen raised a brow. “An arrow?”

Wuchen shook her head.

A surge of sharp sword intent suddenly erupted from her body.

“It is a sword!” she said.

This sword arose from the mind and spirit. Since she had slain Demon Sect disciples before, her sword intent could capture each trace of qi from the same source.

“Only—” Wuchen paused, then continued, “This ​unauthorized copy​sword consumes an extreme amount of mental energy. For a period of time afterward, I’m afraid I will have no ability to fight.”

Wei Hanzhen furrowed her brows.

Wuchen was a second-level Golden Core cultivator and an important combat force. If she lost her ability to fight, their side’s strength would undoubtedly be weakened.

Wei Hanzhen did not agree immediately. She only said, “Let us observe the situation a little longer.”

Wuchen gave a soft “Mm,” her gaze dimming slightly, as though she was somewhat disappointed.

Wei Hanzhen did not notice her emotions. Instead, she changed the subject.

“Fellow Daoist Wuchen, that bow of yours was made from dragon bone, wasn’t it? With dragon bone as the material, the dragon soul manifests on its own. It must be a Profound Artifact. I thought you specialized in the way of the bow. I did not expect Fellow Daoist to also know the sword path.”

“That bow is named Walks Alone. I obtained it while training outside.”

After a pause, Wuchen furrowed her brows and said, “When traveling outside, one can only rely on oneself. If one can learn life-preserving divine abilities, all the better.”

Wei Hanzhen raised a brow. “Fellow Daoist Wuchen’s techniques should be orthodox methods of the righteous path. Do your elders not protect you?”

Wuchen was silent for a while before saying lightly, “Only those who survive have the right to enter my master’s eyes.”

Wei Hanzhen smiled. “That is rather wonderful.”

Wuchen’s eyelids trembled. She looked deeply at Wei Hanzhen.

“Fellow Daoist thinks so too? Fellow Daoist Wei must have disciples in your sect as well, yes? Do you send them all out to train instead of keeping them by your side and protecting them?”

There seemed to be a little emotion in that question.

Wei Hanzhen met the frost-cold eyes beneath the mask, then felt she must have heard wrong.

She sighed softly. “I did raise one disciple by my side. But now that I think of it, that was unfair to my other disciples.”

Yuyan’s background was pitiful, but she could not forget that Suwei and Qingsheng were pitiful people as well.

Wuchen gave a soft “Mm” and did not speak again.

Her gaze passed over Wei Hanzhen and fell on the boundless sky.