Chương 229: Chapter 228: Back Home

Senior Brother Fan Xiao spun around, and in the blink of an eye, he materialized in front of Senior Brother Song Weilong, grabbing his face in an uncomfortably tight grip as he peered down into his eyes. Senior Brother Weilong, to his credit, was being a good sport and kept perfectly still as Senior Brother Fan Xiao practically squeezed the life out of his face.

"Is Junior Brother alright?" Senior Brother Qing An asked as he stepped closer to stand behind Senior Brother Fan Xiao.

"I am unable to detect anything actively harming or controlling him right now, but that spell did reach and was absorbed by Weilong," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said, releasing Senior Brother Weilong's face, and shaking his head worriedly.

"That person was far stronger than me. If it's subtle enough, I won't necessarily be able to figure out what he did no matter how much I try." He turned to question the person of interest.

"Weilong, are you feeling anything different? Any unusual thoughts or feelings?"

"No." Senior Brother Weilong immediately gave a small shake of his head.

"I don't feel any different."

"Did the spell hurt when it hit?" Senior Brother Yuan Shen asked from beside Yang.

"It actually felt pleasantly warm," Senior Brother Weilong said in a perplexed voice.

"Well then, we can rest assured." Senior Brother Qing An added, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Yang couldn't help but voice a question that had been nagging at him.

"Why him, though?" Others turned to look at him.

"What?" Yang said self-consciously.

"It is something worth giving more thought to. The man only came for Senior Brother Weilong and didn't even bother to touch anyone else."

"Yang is right." Senior Brother Zhen Hao added.

"Why only go for Senior Brother Weilong?"

"Yes. Why Weilong? When there was a perfectly weak target right next to him?" Senior Brother Qing An placed a hand on Senior Brother Zhen Hao's shoulder, a wide grin on his face. Senior Brother Zhen Hao rolled his eyes but didn't dislodge the hand.

"I don't know why, but I know who he was," Senior Brother Weilong said as they all looked at him, shocked. All except Senior Brother Fan Xiao.

"You also recognize him?" Senior Brother Qing An asked Senior Brother Fan Xiao, noting his lack of surprise.

"I had a hunch," was the only answer he received.

"Who was the white-haired cultivator?" Senior Brother Qing An turned to ask Senior Brother Weilong.

"I wasn't certain, not until his spell struck me," Senior Brother Weilong said.

"But once I got hit with it, I was able to recognize his qi signature. It's the cultivator we rescued from the tunnels."

"The half-dead cultivator we rescued?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao asked, surprised.

"He was practically a dried-out husk," Senior Brother Yuan Shen said incredulously.

"Just how did he turn from that to that in so little time?" Senior Brother Qing An let out a snort.

"That dried-out husk was able to absorb a lot of dark energy from the statue, even then""Do you think he used some kind of sinister technique on Senior Brother Weilong?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao asked, looking worried.

"I would hate to have him suddenly start oozing gu worms out of his eye sockets."

"I really appreciate your concern, Junior Brother," Senior Brother Weilong replied dryly with a dark expression. And that was it. That was all his Senior Brothers needed before they all started throwing out wild and ridiculous theories about what the spell might do to him. A few minutes in, it was clear that instead of a proper discussion, the talk had diverged into a competition to see who could come up with the most absurd possibilities.

The competition was judged by who could draw out a more severe expression from Senior Brother Weilong's face.

"Possession?"

"Melting from inside out?"

"Puppet slave?"

"Puppet bed slave?" All of them turned to stare incredulously at Senior Brother Zhen Hao before Senior Brother Yuan Shen chimed in with a particularly delightful contribution.

"I have heard of a technique that can reverse the function of the two digestive orifices."

"Enough." Senior Brother Fan Xiao put a stop to the doom-and-gloom, vomit-inducing predictions about what the spell was intended for.

"Whatever the spell did, we will figure it out. We have the whole sec—" Senior Brother Fan Xiao's speech came to a halt as they all tensed up and simultaneously turned to look over at the two dozen flying swords that surrounded them. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They all relaxed once they recognized the new arrivals as fellow sect disciples.

The disciples descended in a wide arc, stepping off their swords as one of them came forward and bowed to all of them.

"Senior Sect Brothers, I am glad to see all alive and well," The disciple said with a relieved expression"Your tone implies you didn't expect us to be so?" Senior Brother Qing An said with a teasing smile. The disciple's expression grew solemn.

"Shortly after you entered the Vermillion Cloud Realm, the first rift collapsed. When none of you made your way out, even after so much time…" he grew uncertain before he completed the sentence.

"Rumors grew amongst the disciples in the secret realm."

"So much time?" Senior Brother Fan Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Senior Sect Brother, all of you have been inside for more than a year." Yang was shocked. Inside the remnant, it hadn't felt so. With the lack of day and night to keep track of time, it was impossible to know exactly how much time had passed, but he could still form a rough estimate based on how much they had slept or eaten. It was especially easy for Yang out of all his Senior Brothers since he was the closest to a mortal amongst them, with all his physical needs.

According to his count, it should have been just over a month. Maybe a bit more, but definitely under the two-month mark. Senior Brother Qing An let out a snort.

"And I have no doubt our Junior Sect Brothers and Sisters were more than happy to imagine all kinds of wild theories to pass the time." The disciple just flushed but didn't refute it.

"Were any more rifts found in the time we were inside?" Senior Brother Fan Xiao asked.

"I can see that you found this one while we were inside."

"No, this was it, and even this took us a lot of effort to locate." The disciple shook his head.

"Once the rift was destroyed behind you, the sect doubled the resources needed to search for another one. There have been discussions going on about whether we should send in search teams for you."

"I hope none have been sent yet?" Senior Brother Qing An said sharply.

"No, it is still being discussed."

"Good." Senior Brother Fan Xiao said.

"I am not familiar with this part of the secret realm, so please show us the way out, and I also want you to ensure that no one enters any rift they discover." The disciple gave a slight bow of his head.

"It would be my honor to lead you out. As for anyone entering any other rift we may find, my team and I were just stationed to keep watch over this rift. The sect hoped it would lead to the same place and would be a way out for you. You will have to discuss with the Elders in charge if you want to put a ban on rift crossing." Senior Brother Fan Xiao gave an understanding nod.

"Lead the way then." The disciple turned towards his team and instructed one of them to take command and keep watch on the area and the destroyed rift, then climbed on his flying sword. Senior Brothers Yuan Shen and Zhen Hao did the same, while Yang got on his flying carpet. Senior Brothers Fan Xiao, Qing An, and Weilong chose to fly independently using their qi, an option unfortunately not available to those under the Nascent Soul Realm.

There wasn't much of interest Yang could see as they flew over the rolling hills and grassy fields, with the occasional large tree to break up the monotony. Soon, the disciple began descending when they reached a grassy field with only a large ancient tree standing tall against the sky.

"This tree is the gateway to the palace from this wing of the secret realm," the disciple explained.

"Anything interesting found here?" Senior Brother Qing An asked curiously as he landed and circled the tree. The disciple shook his head.

"Just some rare herbs. They are precious but also found in the wider world if one has the funds."

"This whole secret realm has been a great waste of time." Senior Brother Zhen Hao said disdainfully.

"Not entirely. One of the doors had led us to an area with a spirit vein. We have barely scratched the surface of it, but the cost spent on exploring the Vermillion Cloud Realm has already been recouped." The disciple disagreed. Before adding in a lowered voice.

"There has also been news of high-grade spirit stones being unearthed."

"At least that is some good news." Senior Brother Weilong said.

"Not if we want to urge the Elders to close the realm," muttered Senior Brother Yuan Shen. The disciple turned to look at Senior Brother Yuan Shen, who just gave him a grin. The disciple gestured towards a thick branch low hanging branch.

"Senior Sect Brothers. You will have to walk beneath this branch to travel back to the palace. I am sure you know the way from there." Senior Brother Fan Xiao inclined his head and tossed a small white porcelain bottle to the disciple.

"There is no need fo—" The disciple shook his head even as he caught the bottle.

"Junior Sect Brother, it's not polite to refuse a gift from your seniors." Senior Brother Weilong said kindly.

"Take it and use it well." The disciple bowed and thanked Senior Brother Fan Xiao, who just waved off the thanks, before ducking down to step under the branch. He immediately disappeared from view. Senior Brothers Weilong and Zhen Hao went through next, and then it was Yang's turn. He ducked as he stepped underneath the branch, and by the time he had lifted his foot to take the second one, he was already standing in the dusty palace in front of one of the doorways.

He quickly stepped to the side just in time for Senior Brother Yuan Shen to take his place. Yang walked closer to Senior Brother Fan Xiao and Zhen Hao as they waited for Senior Brother Qing An to cross over, which he did a few seconds later. Once they were all present. Senior Brother Fan Xiao led them towards the main doors, which swung open as soon as they reached them. Finally stepping outside.

The doors automatically swung shut once they were standing at the top of the stairs, right outside the main palace doors. Yang took a step towards the stairs when he was called back.

"Wait, Junior Brother." He turned and saw Senior Brother Qing An gesturing for him to come back. Yang backtracked a few steps as Senior Brother Qing An pointed to the sheet stuck next to the doors they had just exited through.

"Junior Brother, you must always log your entry and exit," he said as he took out a writing brush and wrote his name, which glowed a brief gold before disappearing. They all passed on the brush and wrote their names until the brush was passed on to him.

"Remember, only you can add your own name." Yang took the brush and signed his name. He asked curiously, "What about if someone returns unconscious or injured?"

"Then they sign after they are healed or regain consciousness." Senior Brother Fan Xiao answered as he looked at Yang intently.

"Junior Brother, this is not merely some attendance sheet. This will go into sect records for as long as the sect will endure. The only names that will remain on this sheet are those that have lost their lives inside." Yang looked at the sheet in a new light as he realised how thorough the sect was in its arrangements. They walked down the stairs until Yang felt the cool, wet sensation of the final barrier pass over him and found himself standing in the grove of ancient trees.

Yang turned to see the rest of his Senior Brothers appear one by one in the grove.

"Finally back home," Senior Brother Zhen Hao said as he stepped out last.

"Home?" Senior Brother Qing An quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought the White Cloud Sect was home."

"The whole wo—""Junior Brother?" A deep voice came from the trees. Yang turned toward the sound as a familiar figure stepped out from the shadows.