Chapter 211 : Agreeing to Settle
Peak Master Qingyu had brought two disciples—her second disciple remained in danger, and now her highly valued first disciple was nowhere to be seen. Seeing this situation, Peak Master Qingxu and the others felt their hearts sink, and hurriedly asked: "Where is Junior Nephew Qingyue?"
Four of the five senior disciples had appeared. Su Hao and the others had emerged together, and the Xuanqing Sect disciples had clearly stayed together as a group, even bringing along Buddha Sect and Tiandao Sect disciples. There was no reason they would have left a fellow disciple behind. Moreover, Jianbing had always been attached to Yun Qingyue and wouldn't have abandoned her alone, unless something had happened to her.
Fortunately, before the severely injured Su Hao and others could answer, Jianbing spoke first: "She's with me."
Hearing this, Peak Master Qingxu was momentarily stunned before remembering divine beasts' Innate Space ability. His slow reaction wasn't without reason—one rarely heard of divine beasts casually bringing people into their Innate Spaces; this one probably did so because of her young age. However, since this was the case, he wasn't in a hurry to have Jianbing release her, especially since the chaotic situation before them hadn't yet ended...
When the White Tiger descended, Chu Yang had been rescued by the Nine Abyss Sect elder, but his condition wasn't good. Despite having numerous defensive magical treasures, he had first been attacked collectively by Su Hao and the others, then struck by a Fusion cultivator's sword. Now, not only were all his magical treasures destroyed, but he also looked quite disheveled—his life truly had been barely saved.
As proud as Chu Yang was, having finally reached his people, he naturally wasn't willing to let matters rest. He opened his mouth to give orders to the Nine Abyss Sect members, but before the words could come out, someone sealed his voice.
The Nine Abyss Sect elder gestured with his eyes for him to look ahead, and following his indication, Chu Yang immediately saw the white-robed Sect Leader of the Crimson Blood Sect—truthfully, judging by appearance, she resembled someone from the Harmony Sect; by attire and demeanor, she seemed more like someone from the righteous path. In any case, her image didn't quite match the Crimson Blood Sect. Yet no one dared question this, as those who had questioned had not lived to see today.
Chu Yang looked at her back, his pupils first contracting sharply, then his gaze beginning to flicker.
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader's perception was extremely acute. Sensing the unusual gaze behind her, she turned around. In that instant, Chu Yang reacted quickly, swiftly lowering his head to conceal the peculiar look in his eyes.
After the interruption by the White Tiger and Wuxiang, the battle between the righteous and demonic factions had temporarily ceased. The light screen of the secret realm exit also seemed to have ejected most people and remained quiet for a long time. Both sides tacitly refrained from attacking again, and the various sect elders took this opportunity to count their disciples, ultimately discovering that the losses far exceeded expectations, causing their expressions to darken.
The Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect, his face black with anger upon hearing that many of his sect's disciples had been killed by those righteous path cultivators, looked at the opposite side with eyes that could devour people. However, he also understood in his heart that now was not the time for war, so he spoke: "Sect Leader Zhu, what are your plans next?"
The four demonic sects were roughly equal in strength, making the Crimson Blood Sect Leader the highest-ranking person present. Though the others didn't follow her orders implicitly, she was indeed their leader. Thus, when the Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect inquired, the rest also turned their gaze toward her, waiting to see her reaction.
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader had no reaction, remaining coldly indifferent as she swept her sleeve and turned to leave: "Let's go back."
From beginning to end, she had merely made an appearance—not participating in the fighting, and now leaving decisively. With her departure, the Crimson Blood Sect members naturally followed, and after exchanging glances, the other three sects' members also left.
With the demonic path leaving first, the tightly strung nerves of the righteous path cultivators relaxed slightly, and they quickly took their respective disciples back.
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Zhong Heng's condition wasn't good. Everyone had left the secret realm exit, but Peak Master Qingyu remained behind to regulate his spiritual energy. Peak Master Qingxu stayed to protect them, while Peak Master Qingyuan led the remaining Xuanqing Sect disciples back to the spirit boat.
Calculating carefully, Xuanqing Sect's losses in the Canglán Secret Realm were the smallest. They had selected the elite of the next generation for the secret realm—though not many in number, of the ten who entered, eight returned. Tiandao Sect lost more than half, and Buddha Sect also lost several disciples, immediately widening the gap between the next generation of disciples among the three sects.
Fortunately, only about a dozen people had been sent into the secret realm, and even with losses, this damage was within the three sects' ability to bear—these disciples were all under fifty years old, having cultivated for only a few decades. With the Three Sect Martial Arts Competition just concluded, by the next competition in sixty years, this gap would likely be filled by new disciples, so the impact wasn't particularly far-reaching.
Of course, the Xuanqing Sect members had encountered the Demon Monk at the end, so their condition upon emerging wasn't good either.
Peak Master Qingyuan had studied various disciplines. Although not an alchemist, examining disciples' injuries wasn't difficult for him. After returning to the spirit boat, he diagnosed Su Hao and the others, then shook his head: "So reckless. That Demon Monk Wuxiang had already reached Spirit Division. Even as a clone, his power far exceeded ordinary Void Crossing cultivators. How could you hope to fare well facing him directly?"
Su Hao and the others were all exceptional talents, most capable of fighting opponents above their level. However, this ability to fight above their level didn't span major realms, but rather minor realms—for instance, at Early Nascent Soul stage, they could kill ordinary Late Nascent Soul cultivators.
But against Void Crossing, they still lacked sufficient skill, especially against someone like the Demon Monk.
Su Hao and the others hadn't fared well and received moderate criticism from Peak Master Qingyuan—which they had brought upon themselves. After all, in their situation, having wandered on the Ice Plain for nearly half a year, if they hadn't gone to the canyon seeking trouble and had evaded Wuxiang for another ten days or half a month on the Ice Plain, they could have emerged safely. Now they were not only injured and scolded, but also ordered to recuperate for nearly half a year.
After dealing with Su Hao and the others, Peak Master Qingyuan finally turned his attention to the not-so-self-aware White Tiger, carefully asking: "Jianbing, how is Junior Nephew Qingyue's condition? Can you release her?"
The White Tiger had already returned to her smaller size. After advancing to the Void Crossing realm, her physical form hadn't changed much, and with the bell specially forged for her by Divine Lord Zhiming, people couldn't immediately perceive her true state. Hearing Peak Master Qingyuan's words, she didn't hesitate, immediately bringing Yun Qingyue out from her Innate Space, intending to have him check her Senior Sister's injuries as well.
Yun Qingyue had been in the Little White Tiger's Innate Space for some time—firstly because the situation was dangerous, and they feared she might be affected during battle; secondly because she had finally awakened, but the accumulated ice spiritual energy in her body still needed to be refined, so she wasn't concerned about the lack of spiritual energy in the Innate Space.
She wasn't very clear about what had happened outside during these days, but she had observed the changes within the Innate Space—the Little White Tiger's Innate Space truly wasn't large, and as this wasn't Yun Qingyue's first time entering, she could see its boundaries at a glance. But just recently, with the Little White Tiger's realm advancement, her Innate Space had also expanded as if a restriction had been lifted, suddenly growing over a hundredfold.
Being naturally intelligent, Yun Qingyue immediately guessed that the Little White Tiger's cultivation had improved. When brought out of the space, she intended to ask the Little White Tiger how she had suddenly advanced, but unexpectedly came face to face with Peak Master Qingyuan.
Calculating the days, it shouldn't yet have been time for the secret realm to close. Yun Qingyue paused slightly before calling out: "Uncle Master Qingyuan?"
Peak Master Qingyuan nodded, seemingly guessing the reason for her hesitation, and casually explained: "It hasn't been a year; the secret realm closed early." Then, his gaze swept over her pale complexion: "Junior Nephew, you seem injured. Let me examine you."
Yun Qingyue complied readily, allowing Peak Master Qingyuan to check her injuries while her gaze scanned the spirit boat: "Uncle Master Qingyuan, where is my Master?"
Peak Master Qingyuan continued examining her injuries while answering: "Your Junior Brother encountered an opportunity in the secret realm, but it's difficult to digest. Your Master is helping him..." His cultivation far exceeded Yun Qingyue's, and as he spoke, he had already "seen" her meridians, severely damaged by the Strange Fire, and realized her injury was far more serious than Su Hao and the others'.
Anything could happen in a secret realm, so Peak Master Qingyuan didn't inquire deeply. After some thought, he took out a jade bottle and poured out a light green medicinal pill: "Take this pill first and see."
Yun Qingyue naturally didn't hesitate. After expressing her thanks, she took the pill.
The medicinal pill dissolved upon entering her mouth, instantly transforming into a gentle stream of spiritual energy that swept through Yun Qingyue's severely damaged meridians like a spring breeze... Ice Spiritual Root was a mutation of Water Spiritual Root, and Water Spiritual Root inherently possessed healing abilities, so Yun Qingyue's injuries had been slowly recovering. But such treatment was ultimately a drop in the bucket—her meridians were like cracked earth, not something a little water could restore. The spiritual energy brought by this pill was like spring rain falling on parched land, giving the dry, cracked earth long-awaited nourishment.
Seeing her Senior Sister's complexion improve slightly after taking the pill, the Little White Tiger's eyes brightened threefold. Not daring to disturb her Senior Sister as she refined the medicinal effects, she secretly reached out a paw to tug at Peak Master Qingyuan's robe, and when he looked down, she gazed longingly at the jade bottle in his hand.
Peak Master Qingyuan naturally understood her meaning. Amused and not stingy, he directly gave her the jade bottle.
The Little White Tiger was extremely happy holding the jade bottle. After some thought, she took out a mineral stone and handed it back, lowering her voice: "I won't take advantage of you. Let's trade—is this acceptable?"
Peak Master Qingyuan took it and examined it—a palm-sized, black, unassuming mineral. But as an artifact refiner with extensive knowledge, he immediately recognized it as an extremely rare Star Essence Stone, worth tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones even at this palm-sized chunk—they say Divine Lord Zhiming was wealthy beyond measure, and now seeing this little Jianbing, he truly witnessed a divine beast's treasure-finding ability.
Regardless of whether the medicinal pill and Star Essence Stone were of equal value, Peak Master Qingyuan didn't refuse Jianbing's goodwill and smiled as he accepted: "Very well. The pills are yours."
The Little White Tiger felt justified in her happiness and hugged the medicine bottle, waiting for her Senior Sister to refine the medicinal effects.
However, before Yun Qingyue could fully refine the medicine, news arrived: with Peak Master Qingyu's help, Zhong Heng had suppressed the rampaging fire seed within him, but already at the peak of Golden Core, he could no longer suppress his cultivation and had gone to undergo his tribulation. The two Peak Masters had gone to protect him during this process and wouldn't return for some time.
The Little White Tiger wasn't particularly concerned by this news. With her paws crossed under her chin, she tilted her head to look at her Senior Sister—the system said that the energy within her Senior Sister was growing stronger, and her level was gradually increasing. Perhaps after refining the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl, she might also advance.
By then, both she and her Senior Sister would be at the Void Crossing realm, able to travel to most places in this cultivation world—a rather beautiful thought.