128: Xie Ning returns

The earth cracking beast inner cores harvested so far were all Bronze Rank, but they made up for it in quantity, filling half a basket.

Yan Chengze's face was completely dark now.

He was the one who least wanted Yan Ruyu to succeed. When he was poaching her team earlier, he had even mocked her. Now, the sight of half a basket of inner cores threw those mocking words right back at him.

Compared to him, the other factions fell into silence. Not even a whisper could be heard, and the atmosphere was very subtle.

They all realized that this trip to the Secret Realm had completely deviated from everyone's expectations and was heading in the exact opposite direction.

At this moment, more people emerged from the Secret Realm. This time it was a group of over ten people, led by Mu Tian and Ye Feiyu, with Lu Bingyun, Xiaoya, and Fei Shanqiu among them.

The most conspicuous among them were Mu Tian and Ye Feiyu. After their battle with Zhao Long, they were in a wretched state—disheveled hair, tattered clothes, and black blood scabs over their wounds, with blood staining their entire outfits red.

Mu Changfeng, the Mu Family's reception leader, and the Duobao Sect's leader were all pale with shock as they rushed forward to support them.

"Don't worry, we're fine. Me? Just a few broken bones, no big deal," Mu Tian said with a laugh. He no longer looked elegant, instead resembling a beggar. It was a pity storage stones couldn't be used inside the Secret Realm, so they had no change of clothes.

Ye Feiyu also gave a heroic laugh. "I'm about the same, just got stabbed in the abdomen. Everything else is a sm... forget it, I don't have the energy to act cool anymore. Hurry up and treat me."

Having said that, she collapsed directly onto the Duobao Sect's leader, leaning against her soft chest and falling fast asleep.

This gave everyone behind her a fright. Fortunately, several physicians had been arranged on-site, and they immediately began treatment to stabilize her injuries.

Afterward, the members of the Duobao Sect and the Mu Family were taken back to their respective areas. Lu Bingyun, Xiaoya, and Fei Shanqiu came over to Yan Ruyu's side.

"Where's Xie Ning? How is he?" Yan Ruyu asked urgently, her eyes filled with worry.

Lu Bingyun said, "Don't worry, Teacher Yan. He's fine for now. He's still at the Fire Source Land and will be out shortly."

"Yeah, yeah! You have no idea, Old Xie was absolutely incredible this time. He actually fought Zhao Long again. He's so awesome!" Xiaoya excitedly added in a babble.

Unfortunately, she had only arrived near the end of the second half and had no idea what had happened before that.

Yan Ruyu turned her gaze to Fei Shanqiu. "You should have been following Xie Ning the whole time. How is he?"

"This... he should be... okay, I guess." Fei Shanqiu spoke cautiously, but meeting Yan Ruyu's sharp gaze, he quickly added in a fright, "He hadn't kicked the bucket when we came out, really. I couldn't tell the extent of his injuries, but basically, every part of him that wasn't covered in mud was covered in blood. The only thing I could tell for sure was that one of his legs was broken."

"Who broke it?"

"Uh... Zhao Long. But they were both wounded during the fight." Feeling Yan Ruyu's chilling gaze, Fei Shanqiu felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His voice trembled; he had a feeling the Zhao Family was in for some bad luck.

Yan Ruyu said nothing more, watching the portal and waiting for Xie Ning's figure to appear.

Mo Yu looked around and couldn't help but ask, "Why don't I see Lan Yu?"

"According to the plan, she split up from us. Plus, with her lack of sense of direction, we don't know where she is," Lu Bingyun said, her brow furrowing in worry. "We can only wait for the time to run out so she'll be automatically teleported out."

"That idiot is the fastest among us, plus she can fly. She'll definitely be fine, don't worry," Xiaoya said nonchalantly.

Mo Yu gave an "oh" and looked at the portal. Seeing a figure approaching within it, she shouted, "He's out! Someone's coming out! Uh... I thought it was Master."

Everyone looked toward the portal. This time, three figures returned.

"It's them!" Lu Bingyun's expression turned grim, and Xiaoya's face was also filled with gritted teeth.

These three were none other than Zhao Long, the Sick Young Master, and Iron Fist Lu Si.

Zhao Long was covered in wounds and looked very disheveled, yet he remained indifferent, as if the injuries weren't his own. The Sick Young Master held a round box in his hand, looking arrogant and triumphant, as if afraid people wouldn't know he was the winner. Meanwhile, Iron Fist Lu Si looked relaxed, as if he had just completed a task.

Yan Ruyu looked at the three of them, focusing mostly on Zhao Long. Seeing his injuries, she felt slightly more balanced. Then she turned her gaze to the round box.

The other factions present also focused their gazes on the round box, their eyes burning with unshielded heat.

It was the main course of the Houtu Secret Realm.

After the three of them emerged, they first glanced at Yan Ruyu's side. Not seeing Xie Ning, they looked at the Mu Family and Duobao Sect before leaving the Altar under the escort of their respective leaders and the watchful eyes of various factions.

"Oh, everyone's out already."

A voice suddenly rang out, pulling everyone's attention back to the Secret Realm exit.

"Master!"

"Old Xie!"

"Xie Ning!"

Mo Yu and the others were overjoyed and shouted one after another.

"Aha~ You're still alive!" Fei Shanqiu also jumped up happily.

The newcomer was indeed Xie Ning. At this time, he had already put away White Fang. He hopped over on one leg, bypassing the crowd to stand before Yan Ruyu, and grinned. "I'm back."

It should have been a cool moment, but unfortunately, with his face covered in bruises and his body a mix of blood and mud—a chaotic blend of blue, black, red, and yellow—he didn't look cool at all.

A nearby physician had already summoned a healing-type Demon Tamers Beast and walked over to cast a healing skill on Xie Ning. Su Qin also summoned his Light Cat to perform light-based healing.

Seeing Xie Ning in this state, Yan Ruyu's heart was filled with mixed emotions. She didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth, clenched her hands, and finally managed a single sentence: "Next time, bring a healing Demon Tamers Beast. Don't get hurt."

Finally, she took out a Medicinal Pill and had Xie Ning swallow it, then turned her head away and stopped looking at him.

After taking the pill, Xie Ning immediately felt a surge of heat within his body, traveling rapidly along his Meridians. It felt refreshing, and his internal injuries were healing.

"Master, sit down quickly. Don't keep standing."

Mo Yu brought a chair from somewhere and gave Xie Ning a bottle of mineral water.

Xie Ning wasn't polite and sat down heavily, letting everyone treat him while he reached into his backpack and pulled things out handful by handful. Each handful contained several inner cores. He pulled out over a dozen handfuls, totaling about seventy inner cores, leaving the various factions staring at each other in silence.

After setting down the earth cracking beast inner cores, Xie Ning looked around, suddenly frowned, and looked at Lu Bingyun.

"Where's Lan Yu?"

The latter shook her head and said, "I couldn't find her after we split up. We might have to wait until the Secret Realm ends; she'll be teleported out then."

Hearing this, Xie Ning immediately stood up and walked toward the portal without looking back, saying:

"I'm going to find her."