Hum!
The elders of the six sects all stood on the plaza with anxious expressions.
After all, every expedition into a secret realm claimed a considerable toll in disciple casualties.
A hunched old man from the Qixian Sect gave a soft laugh. "Why look so glum, everyone?"
"Judging by the spatial fluctuations this time, they weren't particularly violent. Surely there won't be much danger."
"In my view... you're all worrying over nothing."
A one-eyed man in white robes from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect sneered, "Heh, who doesn't know that once they enter the secret realm, the danger isn't the realm itself?"
"Still... the six sects agreed long ago: life and death inside are on each individual."
"I just hope no one flies into a rage out of humiliation when the time comes. That would make a laughingstock out of them."
As he spoke, his gaze kept darting toward Shen Lan.
Shen Lan shot back with an icy expression, "Xu Zhe, are you hinting at my Great Xia Sword Sect?"
"I truly don't know where you get the nerve to speak to me with such snide remarks!"
"Would you dare talk like that if Li Nanting were here today?"
"If Li Nanting didn't gouge out your other eye, I'd credit you with a stubborn life."
Xu Zhe's cheek twitched. He pointed at Shen Lan, but no words came out.
An elder from Zhenyue Mountain frowned and snapped, "Enough! Stop bickering!"
"The exit of the Yunmeng Immortal Palace has been open for so long. Why hasn't a single disciple appeared?"
At his words, everyone's brows furrowed, their expressions shifting.
It truly had taken far longer than usual. A full stick of incense had burned away, so why had no one emerged?
A suffocating tension gradually settled over the plaza.
Suddenly!
Shen Lan called out, "Someone's coming out!"
Hum!
Amid shimmering light, the spatial rift warped slightly, and three disheveled figures staggered out.
Seeing Shen Qi carried on someone's back, the Zhenyue Mountain elder's face changed drastically!
After checking his severe injuries, the elder grabbed the three disciples and took to the sky, flying off immediately!
The others exchanged glances, a bad premonition rising in their chests.
"Zhenyue Mountain's disciples are so strong, yet only three returned?"
"And..."
Xu Zhe did not finish his thought, but everyone knew what he meant.
They were not blind; naturally, they saw the multiple sword wounds across Shen Qi's body!
In other words, the two Zhenyue Mountain disciples who hadn't returned were very likely dead!
For a moment, everyone fell tacitly silent.
After waiting for nearly half a stick of incense, Li Guanqi and his companions walked out, supporting one another.
Shen Lan flashed over to their side, her expression abruptly changing!
"Why are there only four of you? Where is Ke Qin?"
A pained look crossed Zhong Lin's face, and he said in a heavy voice, "Dead..."
As for how she had died, Zhong Lin did not say here.
This was what Li Guanqi had instructed them to do.
The group looked thoroughly exhausted and feeble. Forget about making a breakthrough—surviving at all was a blessing.
Li Guanqi discreetly gripped Shen Lan's arm, his fingers digging firmly into her sleeve.
Shen Lan did not even glance down at him. Turning her head, she glared furiously at the elders of the other sects and barked,
"Hmph! We're leaving!"
With that, she drew a flying sword, brought everyone aboard, and swiftly darted toward their cloud boat.
Once Shen Lan departed, Xu Zhe and the old man from the Qixian Sect gloated openly.
"Haha, that female disciple Shen Lan brought must have been her newly accepted disciple this year, right?"
"Tsk, good riddance! Hahaha, that feels damn good!"
The remaining elders harbored their own thoughts. As for why Great Xia Sword Sect's female cultivator had died, they all had their suspicions.
It was almost certainly the handiwork of their own disciples.
The man from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect smiled calmly. "Looks like our sects' disciples reaped the greatest harvest this time."
"I just wonder whose sect lost people."
A woman from Zixiao Pavilion scoffed, "It certainly won't be my Zixiao Pavilion's disciples."
"With the Great Xia Sword Sect's measly numbers, they probably only survived by hiding somewhere in the realm."
Yet after waiting for a long time, not a single disciple from any of the remaining sects stepped out.
Xu Zhe chuckled reassuringly, "Ha... haha, don't worry. Now that the nuisances are gone, they're probably combing the place for extra treasures."
"Doesn't that happen all the time? No need to panic."
The others nodded with smiles. Based on past experience, the victors often lingered inside to sweep up the spoils.
***
Meanwhile, having just ascended into the sky, Li Guanqi quietly urged, "Elder Shen, can we go faster? We must leave immediately!"
Shen Lan was still immersed in grief over Ke Qin's death. Hearing his words, she asked in a low voice, "Tell me, what on earth happened inside the realm?!"
Ye Feng was equally frantic. He chimed in, "Elder Shen, let's talk about what happened inside once we're back!"
"We need to hurry and leave right now!"
Seeing that Shen Lan was about to press further, Li Guanqi had no choice but to say, "I killed everyone from the other four sects!"
The words caused Shen Lan to sway, nearly losing her footing on the flying sword!
Her voice trembled slightly. "Everyone? You killed them all?"
Seeing Li Guanqi nod, Shen Lan instantly put away her flying sword and struck out with ice-blue true qi!
The disciples witnessed a sight that shook them to their souls.
The sky before them was torn open like cloth, revealing a pitch-black rift a full zhang wide!
Without a word, Shen Lan waved her hand to cast an ice-blue barrier around them and plunged straight inside with the group!
Li Guanqi's heart leaped as he looked at the middle-aged woman beside him.
*Elder Shen is actually a Nascent Soul cultivator!!*
In a single breath!
When everyone reappeared, they were already aboard the cloud boat at Zhenyue Mountain.
Taking control of the cloud boat to speed away from Zhenyue Mountain, Shen Lan pulled out a jade slip and said gravely, "Sect Master, come meet me on the road!"
"Li Guanqi killed all the disciples from the other four sects in the secret realm. I fear they will join forces to intercept us!!"
The cloud boat tore through the air at top speed, plunging headlong into the sea of clouds.
Before Shen Lan could catch her breath, her expression froze slightly, and she retrieved an earthen-yellow jade slip.
"Zhenyue Mountain owes the Great Xia Sword Sect a favor!"
"Shen Qi is the Sect Master's son!"
By then, Li Guanqi had used the simplest words to explain the entire sequence of events to Shen Lan.
After hearing everything, Shen Lan did not blame Li Guanqi in the slightest. Instead, she looked at him with profound gratification.
"With such resolve and character... how could you not achieve greatness?!"
Shen Lan said, "Rest easy. As long as we don't admit to it, that's that."
"Besides... even if we do admit it, so what?! Those four sects are still too green to wrestle with the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
"Well done! If one is softhearted, what point is there in stepping into the cultivation world?!"
"It's just Ke Qin... What a pity. I shouldn't have let her come... Sigh."
When the group reached the halfway mark, the Great Xia Sword Sect sent a staggering five elders aboard cloud boats to escort them!
When Li Guanqi rose and saw those five cloud boats, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over him.
Chapter 51