Chapter 81

"Ghost Sect and Blood Sect invaded the Azure Illusion Realm. Apart from us, everyone else... should be dead." Jiang Lingzhu sighed.

Upon hearing this, An Shiyi, Li Fan, Sang Bing, and Old Woman Weng, who had been waiting by the lake for a long time, suddenly changed their expressions.

"Ghost Sect! Blood Sect!" Sang Bing let out a thunderous roar.

Yuan Feng was a core disciple regarded as a "seed" by Huigǔ Valley. A large amount of elixirs and spirit artifacts had been invested in Yuan Feng, and they had been grooming him to be the future leader of Huigǔ Valley.

In their eyes, Yuan Feng was far more important than the nine people from Yun Song!

Huigǔ Valley absolutely could not accept Yuan Feng's death!

Nie Tian, standing in the crowd, looked at the roaring Sang Bing and felt secretly guilty.

At this moment, he glanced at Jiang Lingzhu, feeling deeply grateful.

He knew that if Jiang Lingzhu hadn't taken the banner from him, once he left the Azure Illusion Realm, Sang Bing would have immediately noticed.

The more furious and agitated Sang Bing became, the more Nie Tian realized that if his actions against Yuan Feng were exposed, he would surely face the wrath of Huigǔ Valley.

It didn't matter whether he was now a formal disciple of Lingyun Sect or not; he would still be in grave danger.

"An Ying, where are the people from Ghost Sect and Blood Sect?" An Shiyi asked urgently.

"I don't know," An Ying said with a bitter smile. "In the final moments, we chased after them, but they... mysteriously disappeared, leaving no trace."

"I will make them pay the price!"

Sang Bing, roaring in anger, plunged into the water vortex and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"An girl, leave this matter to you for now." Old Woman Weng of Xuanwu Palace, upon hearing that Ghost Sect and Blood Sect had appeared in the Azure Illusion Realm, was no longer calm. "I will go with Sang Bing to search the Azure Illusion Realm. I hope we can catch the remnants of Ghost Sect and Blood Sect in time."

"I will also go and check." Li Fan of Lingyun Sect said.

The two of them, with dark expressions, followed Sang Bing into the water vortex.

A moment later, the only leader remaining by the lake was An Shiyi of Lingbao Pavilion.

"Tell me the details!" An Shiyi said solemnly.

Jiang Lingzhu, An Ying, Pan Tao, and Zheng Bin of Xuanwu Palace began to recount in detail what had happened in the Azure Illusion Realm.

Nie Tian stood to the side, silent, waiting patiently.

He noticed that An He, the old servant of the An family, was also by An Shiyi's side.

He had been escorted by An He from Black Cloud City to this place. After the trial in the Azure Illusion Realm ended, An He had reappeared, likely to escort him back to Black Cloud City.

When Nie Tian looked at An He, An He also looked at him. Nie Tian smiled obediently and bowed to An He.

An He nodded lightly in response and then said to An Shiyi, "Miss, shall I send Nie Tian back to Black Cloud City first?"

"Fine, take him with you." An Shiyi waved her hand.

Originally, she had planned to thoroughly question Nie Tian about his performance in the Azure Illusion Realm and whether he had any special qualities.

However, the appearance of Ghost Sect and Blood Sect in the Azure Illusion Realm had caused too many deaths, leaving her with no interest in Nie Tian's affairs.

The trial in the Azure Illusion Realm had experienced a shocking turn of events. As the host of Lingbao Pavilion and the person in charge, she was under immense pressure and could no longer pay attention to Nie Tian's minor issues.

"Come with me." An He beckoned.

"Alright." Nie Tian's expression was calm as he prepared to follow An He back to the Nie family.

At this moment, Pan Tao of Lingbao Pavilion suddenly stepped forward, hugged him tightly, and whispered, "Brother, I'll visit you in Black Cloud City in a few days. I hope we can fight side by side in the future."

Nie Tian was surprised.

Pan Tao, letting go of him, blinked and said mysteriously, "When I come, I'll bring someone with me."

Nie Tian was puzzled and didn't understand what he meant.

"Heh, you'll know in a few days." Pan Tao chuckled, pushed him, and said, "Go on, return to Black Cloud City first. We'll meet again."

"Okay." Nie Tian didn't think much of it.

"Pan Tao..."

An He of the An family, seeing Pan Tao hugging Nie Tian, looked surprised, unsure what had happened between them.

He could tell that Pan Tao seemed to regard Nie Tian as a brother who had shared life and death. The sincerity in Pan Tao's eyes was undeniable.

Pan Tao was the grandson of Pan Hongzhen, the grand elder of Lingbao Pavilion, whose status in the pavilion was second only to the pavilion master.

The An family of Black Cloud City, though highly favored by Lingbao Pavilion due to An Shiyi, was still just a vassal of the pavilion.

In Lingbao Pavilion, Pan Hongzhen's status far exceeded that of An Shiyi and the An family.

Seeing Pan Tao treat Nie Tian this way, An He was secretly alarmed, thinking that Nie Tian might be skilled at flattery and had somehow won Pan Tao's favor in the Azure Illusion Realm.

"Jiang Lingzhu, the palm pearl of Jiang Zhisu..." An He was taken aback again. He looked at Nie Tian with suspicion, then at Pan Tao and Jiang Lingzhu, becoming even more curious.

"This kid from the Nie family is really good at networking. Both Pan Tao and Jiang Lingzhu seem to value him highly."

On the way here, he hadn't paid much attention to Nie Tian and had no intention of interacting with him, focusing only on the journey.

At that time, he had some reservations.

The An family's slot for the trial in the Azure Illusion Realm had been given to Nie Tian by An Shiyi, and as a member of the An family, he had some reservations about it.

Because of this, he had ignored Nie Tian throughout the journey, thinking Nie Tian had just gotten lucky.

Now, with the trial in the Azure Illusion Realm ending in a disaster due to the appearance of Ghost Sect and Blood Sect, and Huigǔ Valley suffering a total loss, he began to secretly rejoice.

He was glad that the An family's child had not entered the Azure Illusion Realm too early, thus avoiding this calamity.

With this burden lifted, seeing Pan Tao and Jiang Lingzhu suddenly become so friendly with Nie Tian, An He began to think more highly of Nie Tian.

"Let's go. Your grandfather and the others have been waiting for you. Your Nie family has had a lot of trouble recently. You should return as soon as possible." He suddenly spoke to Nie Tian in a gentle tone.

"What kind of trouble?" Nie Tian frowned.

"We'll talk on the way." An He said kindly.

"Alright." Nie Tian replied.

He suddenly felt that An He's attitude towards him was completely different from when they came.

Soon, he followed An He onto the carriage they had arrived in and slowly left the swamp area.

When he left for Black Cloud City, An Shiyi and the others were still gathered by the lake, waiting for Sang Bing, Li Fan, and Old Woman Weng to return.

A whole day passed before Li Fan of Lingyun Sect emerged from the water vortex, carrying a pale and emaciated Ye Gumo, who was on the verge of death.

"Brother Ye is alive?" Jiang Lingzhu was overjoyed.

Li Fan threw the nearly unconscious Ye Gumo to her side and said, "This kid has a big destiny. He was hiding in the volcanic area, almost starving to death, when I found him."

Ye Gumo, hanging his head, glanced at Jiang Lingzhu, managed a weak smile, and said, "I'm glad you're all safe."

"Mr. Li, where are Sang Bing and Old Woman Weng?" An Shiyi asked hurriedly.

Li Fan sighed lightly and said, "They should be coming out soon. We searched the entire Azure Illusion Realm but found no trace of the disciples from Ghost Sect and Blood Sect. They might have already left."

Sure enough.

Not long after, Sang Bing, with a face as dark as water, and Old Woman Weng emerged together.

After coming out, Sang Bing said nothing and left directly.

Old Woman Weng of Xuanwu Palace shook her head at An Shiyi and said, "We found nothing. The trial in the Azure Illusion Realm is over. We'll discuss the aftermath when everyone returns."

"That's all we can do." An Shiyi smiled bitterly.

Thus, the gathered people, each leading their sect's young disciples, gradually left.

...

PS: Sorry, I watched the NBA Finals this morning, and the Cavaliers winning the championship was so exciting that I couldn't calm down for a long time, so the update was delayed. I apologize to everyone, (*^__^*) heh...