"What did you say? Lin Yun severely injured Xiao Pingtian? And he also killed nearly a hundred disciples from several other sects?"
Hong Xiu was utterly shocked when she heard the news. If Shangguan Wan hadn't told her personally, she would have thought the person speaking had gone mad.
What kind of joke was this?
Previously, everyone had assumed Lin Yun had died in the Ancient Forbidden Land. The fact that he had emerged alive was already unbelievable. But now, for Hong Xiu to believe that Lin Yun had, with his own power alone, eliminated so many disciples from other sects and nearly killed Xiao Pingtian?
That was simply impossible.
"Are you certain you're not joking with me?" Hong Xiu asked again, seeking confirmation.
This time, Shangguan Wan just sneered. "I told you long ago, Lin Yun is no ordinary character. Keeping him in the Flowing Cloud Sect would have been the best possible outcome! It's a pity you refused to listen back then. And now look, we've let such a genius slip through our fingers for nothing! Xiao Pingtian's talent and ability are certainly good, but compared to Lin Yun, the gap between them is enormous!"
There was a clear tone of blame in Shangguan Wan's voice as she spoke.
Hearing this, Hong Xiu merely let out a cold laugh. "Alright, I will naturally investigate whether this matter is true or false. But even if it is true, so what? It's not as if our Flowing Cloud Sect has no geniuses of its own."
Listening to Hong Xiu's incredibly arrogant reply, Shangguan Wan fell silent. Ancestor, you truly have fallen behind the times. The Flowing Cloud Sect had geniuses, yes. But a genius like Lin Yun? Forget the Flowing Cloud Sect, you couldn't find a second one in the entire Daye Dynasty!
Each of the major sects reported the events of the Spirit Realm to their leaders, who all treated the matter with the utmost gravity. A decision was made: they would open the entrance to the Spirit Realm and dispatch an investigation team to see what had happened inside. Of course, this team would be composed of members from several sects and would be strictly forbidden from interfering with the disciples' competition.
The idea was sound, but as they were preparing to enter the Spirit Realm, the unexpected happened.
The entrance portal suddenly fell into a dead stillness. No matter how they tried to activate it, there was no effect. Their connection to the Spirit Realm had been severed. This was something that had never happened in all these years.
Recalling the recent strange occurrences, they all realized one thing.
Something had gone terribly wrong in the Spirit Realm.
Zhao Teng frowned as he looked at the pillar of light rising in the distance. "Since when did the Grand Tournament of the Spirit Realm have a disciple this powerful?"
Beside him stood a woman with cyan facial tattoos, dressed in a navy-blue robe. Hearing Zhao Teng's words, she just grunted. "The strongest should be the Flowing Cloud Sect's Xiao Pingtian. I sensed a fluctuation from that direction. It seems that person isn't dead yet. We can go over and see what happened here."
Zhao Teng nodded. Towards this woman, he felt more fear than trust.
Jiang Qingshuang. The White Corpse Ghost-King, one of the Four Great Ghost Kings of the Crimson Ghost Sect. Her strength was unfathomable.
After the energy from the blast dissipated, the two of them didn't hesitate, quickly heading in the direction of the explosion.
Elsewhere, Lin Yun, after regulating his energy for a while, finally felt the fluctuations of his Yuan Qi return and breathed a sigh of relief. The power of the God-Slaying Bow was undeniable. He was only at the peak of the Origin Sea Realm, but if he used its full power, he could injure an expert two entire realms above him in the Spirit Cauldron Realm.
The only problem was that the consumption was simply too immense.
"Using it just once leaves me unable to recover my Yuan Qi for some time! This thing is practically squeezing out my own latent potential!" Lin Yun exclaimed with a sigh.
The Chongqing Bird snorted. "You should be content. For now, the pros of the God-Slaying Bow far outweigh the cons for you. And in the future, this treasure's use will only be greater!"
If anyone else heard this, they would cry with envy.
After confirming that he had recovered some of his strength, Lin Yun immediately set out. He knew when Xiao Pingtian fled that the man was finished. He could forget about having the qualifications to become a Great Emperor. Lin Yun's shot from the God-Slaying Bow had left him half-dead, with no chance of ever making a comeback.
But at this most critical moment, another problem had arisen.
Something had happened to the Spirit Realm.
According to his panel, the Crimson Ghost Sect had found their way in again. But this time, it wasn't just them. A number of other sects who claimed to be "liberating their natural instincts" had also snuck in. Lin Yun didn't know how they had entered, but their presence was certainly a problem for the other cultivators in the Spirit Realm.
He soon arrived at the spot where Xiao Pingtian had fallen. Looking at the shocking scene, even Lin Yun couldn't help but click his tongue. The God-Slaying Bow was truly vicious.
"With a strike like that, this guy is long dead," the Chongqing Bird said flatly. It didn't believe Xiao Pingtian could have survived such a blow.
But Lin Yun didn't rush forward. He just watched quietly from a distance.
After a short while, Zhao Teng and Jiang Qingshuang arrived. The two of them quickly found Xiao Pingtian at the center of the devastation. Looking at his half-dead state, they exchanged a glance.
"Didn't you just say that the only one with such terrifying power could be Xiao Pingtian? This guy is supposed to be the strongest person to have entered the Spirit Realm!" Zhao Teng exclaimed.
Jiang Qingshuang frowned, clearly having no good explanation for what she was seeing. But this incident told them one thing: they had stumbled into big trouble. It seemed some other powerful figures had managed to sneak into the Spirit Realm.
"Could it be that those old coots figured out our goal and sent in some high-level experts this time?" Jiang Qingshuang quietly speculated. "Forget it. We haven't lost anything. What happens next is no longer important. Let's take this guy and go. He'll have his uses later!"
After saying this, Jiang Qingshuang turned and left without a backward glance. Zhao Teng nodded.
However, as he was leaving, his gaze swept into the distance, and he frowned. He had a feeling that someone was watching them from over there.
Far away, the fine hairs on Lin Yun's body stood on end. These people were terrifying. They could detect him from such a great distance?
I can't handle this situation alone. It seems I need to go back and inform Senior Brother Zhou first.
Lin Yun wasn't worried about losing them, however. After all, he had left a special ward on Xiao Pingtian. As long as they had Xiao Pingtian with them, Lin Yun would definitely be able to find them.