He Lansong, the Grand Elder of the Xuanxiao Sect, stood before the secret realm alongside several elders.
Hands clasped behind his back, he appeared calm, yet his eyes never strayed from the continually fracturing entrance of the secret realm.
A total of twenty direct disciples from the Xuanxiao Sect had entered the secret realm this time.
Every single one was a young genius cultivated at the cost of vast sect resources.
Among them was Su Mingyuan, the disciple newly taken in by Sect Master Lu Xuanwei.
He Lansong felt a heavy weight on his heart.
He could only hope none of the disciples who entered would meet with harm.
As time passed, more and more cracks spread across the entrance.
The spatial barrier, which had originally glowed a light cyan, gradually dimmed as the tremors emanating from within grew ever more violent.
“The secret realm is starting to collapse!”
Someone in the crowd cried out in shock.
The expressions of everyone present changed instantly.
The Qingming Secret Realm contained its own independent space; once it collapsed entirely, the cultivators within would be swept into spatial turbulence.
Even Soul Transformation cultivators would find it nearly impossible to emerge alive from a collapsing secret realm.
Wei Quechen took a step forward, his hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.
Zhu Shuang likewise circulated her spiritual power, ready to act at a moment's notice.
Elders of other sects and patriarchs of noble clans summoned their magic treasures one after another, staring gravely at the entrance of the secret realm.
Just as everyone's anxiety reached its peak, a blinding burst of light suddenly erupted from the entrance.
Those present subconsciously raised their hands to shield their eyes.
Immediately after, the light snapped shut.
The entrance hanging in midair rapidly shriveled up before vanishing completely.
At the same time, nearly two hundred figures appeared on the open ground before where the entrance had been.
All the cultivators who had been forcibly ejected from the secret realm landed on the ground simultaneously.
Having been teleported out so suddenly, no one reacted right away.
Silence fell over the clearing for a brief moment.
Soon after, members of the sects and noble clans snapped back to reality, rushing into the crowd to search for their own disciples and juniors.
“Young Lord!”
“Senior Brother, are you hurt?”
“Quick, check if everyone is accounted for!”
The scene devolved into utter chaos.
With a single glance, Zhu Shuang spotted Yan Yi in the crowd.
Yan Yi had just been teleported out and was holding her head with one hand.
“A-Yi.”
Zhu Shuang walked briskly over to her, grabbing her wrist to swiftly check her condition.
“How are you?”
Yan Yi finally snapped out of her daze.
“Master, I'm fine.”
Though her clothes were smudged with dirt and one sleeve was torn, she hadn't suffered any serious injuries.
Seeing that her disciple was safe and sound, Zhu Shuang's tense expression relaxed slightly.
“What on earth happened inside the secret realm?”
“Why did it collapse so suddenly?”
Hearing this question, Yan Yi was equally bewildered.
“I don't know either.”
“I was picking spirit fruit from a tree when the world suddenly started shaking. Trees collapsed one after another around me, and cracks began spreading across the ground.”
“Then a message flared on the Qingming Command, saying the secret realm was unstable and about to collapse, and that everyone would be teleported out in half an incense stick's time.”
Zhu Shuang frowned.
“Before the collapse, did you notice anything else out of the ordinary?”
“No.”
Yan Yi shook her head.
“There were no signs at all—it just suddenly began to collapse.”
Zhu Shuang's expression grew even darker.
A secret realm that had existed for thousands of years couldn't collapse without cause.
Someone inside must have triggered something.
Or perhaps someone had taken something vital to the secret realm.
However, the nearly two hundred cultivators who entered belonged to various factions; uncovering the truth would be no easy task.
While Zhu Shuang was lost in thought, Wei Quechen's voice suddenly echoed from nearby.
“Wujiu!”
Wei Quechen had originally been searching for his disciple among the crowd.
When he finally found Xie Wujiu, the young man was lying motionless on the ground.
Wei Quechen's expression changed drastically as he rushed to his disciple's side.
Dropping to one knee, he placed a palm on Xie Wujiu's shoulder, quickly sending a strand of spiritual power into his body.
The further he inspected, the deeper Wei Quechen's brows furrowed.
Xie Wujiu's dantian and sea of consciousness had both been voluntarily sealed.
The spiritual power in his body was nearly depleted, and his meridians had sustained considerable damage.
Worse still, his natural sword bone had also been severely affected.
The power within the sword bone had noticeably drained, and the remaining sword intent was exceedingly weak.
Wei Quechen was thoroughly shaken.
What exactly had Wujiu experienced inside the secret realm?
To think he had been forced to seal his own dantian and sea of consciousness.
If it were merely depleted spiritual power, he could recover with a period of rest.
However, the natural sword bone was the foundation of Xie Wujiu's cultivation.
If handled improperly, further aggravating the damage, it could impair his future cultivation at best—or destroy his foundation and sever his path in the Sword Dao at worst.
Wei Quechen's face darkened instantly.
Xie Wujiu was not only his proudest Eldest Disciple, but also the most brilliant genius of this generation in the Taihua Sword Sect.
Among the younger generation of the Eastern Region, whether in terms of cultivation or talent in the Sword Dao, no one had ever truly surpassed Xie Wujiu.
Now, a peak Nascent Soul sword cultivator with a natural sword bone was lying unconscious, severely injured after entering the Qingming Secret Realm.
What in the world had happened?
Just then, Su Mingyuan walked over.
Her Xuanxiao Sect direct disciple robes were slightly torn, and fatigue showed on her face.
“Sect Master Wei.”
Wei Quechen looked up.
Su Mingyuan glanced at the unconscious Xie Wujiu and spoke softly:
“I met Senior Brother Xie inside the secret realm.”
Wei Quechen immediately asked:
“What exactly did Wujiu encounter?”
Su Mingyuan seemed somewhat put on the spot.
She hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking:
“When I arrived, Senior Brother Xie was already unconscious. I don't know the exact details of what happened.”
“However...”
Su Mingyuan paused.
“There was someone else present at the time.”
Wei Quechen's expression darkened.
“Who was it?”
On the other side, Yun Heng stood alone on the outer edge of the crowd.
Looking around at the growing crowd, she found the noise quite annoying.
Almost everyone was searching for disciples from their own sect or family.
The scene was a chaotic mess.
No one was waiting for Yun Heng, nor was there any need for her to remain.
She decided to return to Tianque City first, then find an opportunity to enter the shattered realm to settle the spirit vein and spirit tree she had just acquired.
Just as Yun Heng turned around, a voice suddenly came from behind her.
“Fellow Daoist Yun.”
Many people nearby heard it, and gazes shifted toward Yun Heng one after another.
Yun Heng paused and looked back.
The person calling out to her was none other than Su Mingyuan.
“Fellow Daoist Yun, please wait.”
Su Mingyuan walked toward her.
Wei Quechen and several Taihua Sword Sect disciples followed close behind.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, the surrounding people gradually quieted down.
Su Mingyuan stepped up to Yun Heng and spoke softly:
“Earlier in the secret realm, Senior Brother Xie met with an accident.”
“Fellow Daoist Yun was right there at the time, was she not?”
“I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yun happened to see anything?”
On the surface, this sounded like an inquiry into whether Yun Heng had witnessed how Xie Wujiu got injured.
Yet, whether due to her overly certain tone, it carried an unmistakable edge of interrogation.
As if Xie Wujiu's injuries were inextricably linked to Yun Heng.
Yun Heng looked at Su Mingyuan, sneering internally.
Su Mingyuan was still the exact same as before.
“I saw nothing.”
Yun Heng returned Su Mingyuan's gaze with cold indifference.
Su Mingyuan glared at her, emphasizing every single word:
“Did you truly see nothing, or do you have a guilty conscience?”
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