46: Return to Xuanming Sect and recruit them

Inside the hall, thousands of Soul Lamps were densely arranged.

But now, only a few hundred Soul Lamps remained lit.

Yun Qingluan's steps were heavy; she both hoped Su Ling's Soul Lamp was bright and feared seeing the scene of a person's death and lamp's extinction.

Mo Jinghun stood at the entrance of the hall, a smile playing on his lips, "Good lad, he really is still alive."

Yun Qingluan took a deep breath, her Divine Sense slowly reaching out, scanning the densely packed Soul Lamps.

After a moment, her trembling eyes suddenly snapped open, intense joy overflowing. With a flash of her figure, she instantly arrived at a corner.

[Outer Sect Disciple, Su Ling]

Beneath that flickering Soul Lamp, Su Ling's name was clearly displayed.

"You really are still alive!"

Yun Qingluan's slender hand trembled slightly as she took the Soul Lamp into her hand.

Amidst her joy, she also showed a look of urgency and quickly turned back to look at Mo Jinghun, "Master, Su Ling, he..."

"Sigh, straying into a spatial rift has always been a narrow escape from death..."

Mo Jinghun stepped forward and said helplessly, "Three days have passed; it's already a stroke of immense luck that he's still alive. The dimness of the Soul Lamp indicates he is currently severely injured, his life or death unknown."

"I will return to the Cuiye Plane immediately; I must find him!"

Yun Qingluan's brow furrowed. She carefully put the Soul Lamp into her bracelet and turned to leave.

Head-on, however, she bumped into a young Nascent Soul.

"Qingluan!"

Reunited after a long time, Mu Lang stepped forward quickly and called out with a joyful face.

But seeing the anxiety in her eyes, Mu Lang couldn't help but pause his steps.

"Are you... Cousin Xiao Lang?"

Yun Qingluan looked up, stunned at first, then asked with some uncertainty.

"It's me, Mu Lang."

Mu Lang sighed softly and walked forward.

Yun Qingluan had grown up among the common folk of the Imperial Dynasty and had not gone to a Sect to Cultivate like he had.

Before the age of twelve, he had only met Yun Qingluan twice.

"It's been hard on you, Qingluan."

Mu Lang came before Yun Qingluan, his eyes filled with deep concern and heartache, "If I had been the one abducted back then, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much."

The matter of the Xuanming Sect kidnapping Spirit Seeds was something all the major Sects detested.

But the other party did things extremely cleanly, so for a hundred years, no clues had been caught.

Out of helplessness, all the major Sects thought of arranging for their Disciples to pose as Spirit Seeds to infiltrate.

Unfortunately, whether it was the Hundred Refining Gate Disciples forty years ago or the Cangyun Sect Disciples fifteen years ago, their Soul Lamps went out shortly after entering the Underground World.

They couldn't even manage to send a message.

The Mingye Sect had also carried out a similar plan.

The difference was that the Mingye Sect was more extreme.

They directly selected many Spirit Seeds with excellent talent from among the common folk and cultivated their Artifact Refining abilities from a young age.

Carrying no cultivation at all, and no spiritual items or Magical Artifacts, they waited for the Xuanming Sect to kidnap them to the Underground World.

Thirty years ago, Mu Lang was one of those Spirit Seeds.

Unfortunately, the prefecture where he was located was not targeted by the Xuanming Sect.

It wasn't until nine years ago, when Yun Qingluan was abducted, that this plan was successfully implemented.

The Yun Family and the Mu Family both belonged to the Yeyin Imperial Dynasty, and both were immortal cultivation Families subordinate to the Mingye Sect.

The reason Yun Qingluan called Mu Lang "cousin"...

...was because her mother was Mu Lang's biological aunt.

"Cousin Xiao Lang, let's catch up later. I need to return to the Cuiye Plane."

Yun Qingluan composed herself and said urgently.

Through Mo Jinghun, she had already learned what happened at the Xuanming Sect.

In the past, with the mission successfully completed, Yun Qingluan would definitely have felt a sense of relief.

But now, she only wanted to quickly go and find Su Ling.

"This..."

Mu Lang glanced at Mo Jinghun, and seeing him nod slightly, he quickly replied, "Wait a moment. Once I've arranged for those Xuanming Sect Disciples, I'll accompany you inside."

"Okay."

Yun Qingluan knew that they were still teleporting those Xuanming Sect Disciples, so they couldn't perform a reverse teleportation for the time being.

She could only suppress her urgency and continue waiting... In the entire Xuanming Sect, besides the three Soul Transformation experts who were sealed, and Mo Jinghun...

...all members at the Core Formation level and above were slaughtered.

Especially those Nascent Soul Elders who attempted Possession in their time of peril; they were killed even more swiftly.

The teleportation array was restarted, and the remaining Disciples in the Secret Realm were all brought back by beams of guiding light.

Ultimately, only three hundred and twenty people survived.

Led by the Sect Head's Personal Disciple, Li Xinghe, they stood at the foot of the main peak, extremely anxious, looking at the unfamiliar faces around them.

"The Xuanyin Sect, also known as the Xuanming Sect, was destroyed by our Six Sects three days ago."

"The Xuanyin rebel leader has been captured. You need not worry; later, you will be incorporated into various Sects for cultivation based on your Spiritual Root talent."

Qiu Hongyun stood in the Void Realm, looking down at the Xuanming Sect Disciples, who were either at Foundation Establishment or Core Formation. "Before that... Li Xinghe, step forward!"

All the Xuanming Sect Disciples looked toward the man at the front, their eyes filled with fear, confusion, or schadenfreude—all very complex.

"Disciple Li Xinghe pays respects to the Seniors of the Great Sects."

Li Xinghe straightened his robes, stepped forward a few paces, and bowed.

"You are the current Sect Head's Personal Disciple of the Xuanyin Sect and carry his soul imprint."

Qiu Hongyun looked him up and down and nodded slightly. "Your talent is good; you may enter my Mingye Sect. Today, I shall help you remove your shackles. In the future, you must Cultivate well to repay the Sect."

Li Xinghe straightened up, somewhat surprised and confused.

He saw Qiu Hongyun raise his hand, and one of the amber pieces in front of the hall flew up, coming directly to his side.

Then, he reached out toward Li Xinghe, and a Divine Soul phantom struggled as it flew out from within Li Xinghe's body.

It was precisely the Divine Soul of the Xuanming Sect's Sect Head, Sect Master.

Qiu Hongyun ignored Sect Master's struggling and roaring, and with a palm strike, he slammed the captured Divine Soul into the amber.

Li Xinghe's mouth twitched, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

"The shackles are gone. If you have questions, you can seek out other Personal Disciples to learn more."

Qiu Hongyun didn't bother to explain much to him.

In any case, as long as this kid asked around, he would understand just how sinister that soul imprint was.

"Yes, Senior."

Li Xinghe did not dare to disobey and bowed in response.

"Dismissed!"

Qiu Hongyun waved his hand and gave Mu Lang a look.

Then, he flew away directly with the three pieces of amber.

For him, the Xuanyin Sect was destroyed, and Yun Qingluan, who had achieved great merit, had been retrieved.

The mission here was already over.

As for the three Spirit Transformation Cultivators, what awaited them was only the erasure of their Divine Souls to be refined into War Slaves and sent to the plane battlefields.

"Wu Tiehun, supreme grade Fire Spiritual Root, enters the Fenlu Pavilion."

"Feng Xingyun, High Grade Wind and Lightning Dual Spiritual Roots, enters the Cangyun Sect."

"Li Lingzhi, supreme grade Wood Spiritual Root, enters the Fenlu Pavilion."

"Liu Ruoyi, supreme grade Water Spiritual Root, enters the Feihua Valley."

"Yu Rong, supreme grade Ice Spiritual Root, enters the Mingye Sect."

"Lu Chouming, supreme grade Metal Spiritual Root, enters the Lieyang Sword Sect."

"Han Yu, Metal and Fire Dual Spiritual Roots, enters the Fenlu Pavilion."

...As Mu Lang read the list, one by one, the Xuanming Sect Disciples were assigned to various major Sects.

Han Yu, who had previously given Su Ling the 'Tracer Talisman', stood alone in a corner, his eyes searching through the crowd.

Until everyone was assigned, he still hadn't heard Su Ling's name.

"What a pity, that kid probably perished long ago."

Han Yu touched the five or six Storage Pouches under his robes, a smug curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

On the other side, Li Xinghe had also been silently following the list, but he never heard Yun Qingluan's name, which couldn't help but raise questions in his mind.

After thinking for a long time, he gathered his courage, stepped forward, and bowed, asking, "Disciple takes the liberty to ask, Senior, I wonder if Junior Sister Yun Qingluan... has already perished?"

"Qingluan?"

Mu Lang was slightly taken aback and looked at Li Xinghe with some amusement. "Just call me Senior Brother. In the Mingye Sect, everyone below Body Integration is a fellow brother. As for Qingluan, she is well now, and you will naturally have a chance to see her in the future."

supreme grade Yin Spiritual Root, excellent talent, and decent strength.

Clearly, Mu Lang took Li Xinghe for one of Yun Qingluan's suitors.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother."

Li Xinghe was startled at first, then calmly cupped his hands.

Below Body Integration, all are fellow brothers!

Doesn't that mean even that Nascent Soul Stage Expert from earlier could be called Senior Brother?

Within the Xuanming Sect, the hierarchy was strict; such a situation was simply unimaginable!

Perhaps entering that so-called Mingye Sect wasn't a disaster, but rather a great Opportunity.

Li Xinghe wasn't the only one with such thoughts.

Almost all the Disciples were starting to feel some anticipation now.

Especially after learning from Feng Xingyun and Li Lingzhi that the various Nascent Soul Elders of the Sect had actually attempted Possession on their Personal Disciples.

Li Xinghe broke into a cold sweat.

How could he know that it wasn't that Sect Master didn't want to perform the Possession technique?

Rather, he had encountered a True Immortal's move and was sealed by an earth-type immortal technique before he could flee far, leaving him no time to perform it.

Therefore, Li Xinghe's current state was still quite full.

Unlike Wu Tiehun, Feng Xingyun, and Li Lingzhi, whose Divine Souls were severely damaged; without the aid of Medicinal Pills specifically for the Divine Soul, it would take at least two or three years to recover.