Chapter 214

215. Chapter 215: Return and Conclusion

They had thought Li Yi's mother had left and everyone was safe, but they hadn't expected that just a single sentence would cause that terrifying anomaly to reappear—silent, unreasonable, and sudden. The hearts that had finally settled were raised once again.

Their spiritual sense warned them frantically, proving that the danger was still lurking nearby; Li Yi's mother could appear behind them at any moment and kill them easily.

At this moment, Yu Chuan was so scared he shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

Everyone remained silent, observing the situation around them.

Fortunately, it didn't rain blood from the sky, and the situation wasn't as bad as they had imagined. As time passed, the darkness that had emerged nearby gradually dissipated. It seemed the previous situation was just a warning, telling everyone that danger was right beside them, ready to appear at any time, and they must not talk nonsense.

After everyone remained quiet for several minutes, the spiritual sense warnings subsided.

At this point, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As for Li Yi's mother, they had decided in their hearts that this was a taboo topic; if they didn't want to die, they must never mention it again, otherwise, no one could save them.

"It seems to be fine now," Zhang Lei said after scanning his surroundings.

"It's truly terrifying. I've never encountered such a dangerous thing in my life. Compared to this, the woman from earlier was nothing."

Zhao Lingfu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He had also been severely frightened. Fortunately, they were safe in the end; he had truly doubted he would make it out alive.

"Don't talk about Li Yi anymore. I don't want to be targeted again."

Li Shaoqing said with a solemn face: "Also, I suggest we seal off the information about what just happened and not let it spread. The fewer people who know, the better. If it spreads recklessly and reaches the ears of some irrational people, it could easily lead to disaster."

"Well said. Everyone must keep this a secret and not let it spread," Zhang Lei nodded.

"How could I dare to spread this? I still want to live a few more years."

Gu Mengping also let out a long sigh of relief. He felt a chill just looking at Li Yi now, let alone his mother. What kind of courage had he possessed to dare to attack Li Yi earlier?

Was this what they meant by "ignorance is fearless"?

However, everyone's opinion was unanimous: they would never speak of Li Yi's special status and would maintain sufficient awe toward him, whether it was his strength or his background. After all, having a mother like that—it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid.

"Zhang Lei, how should we handle this place?"

Suddenly, Daoist Pete pointed to the building nearby that hadn't been destroyed.

Although Liu Yan was dead and the fierce ghost had perished, the building standing amidst the ruins still existed, and the lights inside were still on. It seemed that all the anomalies from earlier had nothing to do with Liu Yan; the building itself had problems that had been overlooked before.

Zhang Lei looked at the injured crowd and then at Li Yi, who hadn't woken up yet, and could only say: "Seal this place off and forbid anyone from entering. We are in no state to handle a third incident. Let's observe for now. If there's danger, we'll come back to resolve it later; if there isn't, we'll keep it sealed."

In the end, he chose a safer way to handle it.

"That's for the best."

Everyone was terrified and nodded in agreement.

If they provoked anything else, they would truly collapse.

"This demon-slaying operation is officially concluded. The Investigation Bureau will reward everyone based on their performance in this event. As for the injured cultivators, don't worry; I will immediately contact a helicopter to take you to the best hospital for treatment. Others, if you have no important matters, you can choose to return to the assembly point to rest."

"If there are no special instructions after dawn, you can go back to rest."

Zhang Lei then decisively announced the end of the operation, ending everything here.

The Tianchang City cultivation circle couldn't take any more turmoil. Regardless of the aftermath, everything had to end now.

"Since the mission is over, I'll leave first. I've suffered heavy losses this time and need to spend some time dealing with personal matters."

Li Shaoqing was the first to withdraw. Before leaving, he very solemnly took away the body of his fallen teammate.

As the vice president of the Cultivator Association, he had the duty and responsibility to collect the bodies of his teammates.

"I've wanted to leave for a long time. Zhang Lei, let me know if there are any future missions. I'm going back to play games for a few days to calm my nerves."

Gu Mengping didn't hesitate and turned to leave immediately. He hadn't suffered any major injuries and didn't need a helicopter rescue; he could move on his own.

Yu Chuan, who was nearby, was severely injured and was taken away by helicopter.

"Lin Yue, you're covered in blood. Do you need to be sent to the hospital?" Zhao Lingfu asked.

Lin Yue said: "It's nothing. My injuries are just flesh wounds and didn't hit any vital organs. Yuan Mingjin's shot earlier was crucial; otherwise, I might have died. Let's wait a bit longer. Once Li Yi wakes up, we'll leave."

"Alright." Zhao Lingfu nodded.

Li Yi was still completely unaware of what had just happened. He only knew his consciousness had been invaded, and then he had fallen into a coma. Although he was conscious now, his control over his body hadn't returned until just now, when his senses gradually appeared and he regained control.

As he opened his eyes, an indescribable fatigue washed over him, as if he would fall asleep at any moment. Moreover, the blood and Qi in his body had dropped significantly; clearly, his blood and Qi had been consumed heavily to resist the evil thing during the invasion. If he weren't still in the middle of the Blood-Burning Art, he estimated he would barely be able to stand.

"Did I suffer soul damage again?" Li Yi felt dizzy and sharp pain in his head, and he soon understood what had happened.

He had been possessed by a fierce ghost. Although he didn't know how the danger had been resolved, the aftereffects remained.

"Li Yi, you're awake." Lin Yue walked over and hurriedly supported Li Yi, fearing he would fall to the ground if he couldn't stand steadily.

Li Yi rubbed his head and said: "Sister Lin, what happened just now? What about Liu Yan? Is she dead?"

"Liu Yan is dead, don't worry." Lin Yue's expression was a bit strange; she avoided the topic of Li Yi's mother, not wanting to touch that taboo.

"How did she die? I remember she suddenly possessed me, and I was almost killed by her," Li Yi asked.

Lin Yue looked at Zhang Lei and then said: "We all worked together to force the fierce ghost out of your body, and then the fierce ghost was polluted by our world's energy and completely dissipated. However, the anomalies in the Wang Sect residential area still exist, though they don't seem related to Liu Yan. Everyone is in bad shape and needs to go back to rest, so Captain Zhang Lei chose to seal off this building. The demon-slaying operation ends here."

"I see." Li Yi looked at the residential building standing amidst the ruins and nodded, understanding Zhang Lei's approach.

"Let's go, Li Yi. We should also head back to the assembly point to rest. If all goes well, we can leave at dawn," Zhao Lingfu walked over and said, hoping Lin Yue would end the topic quickly and not keep talking.

If Li Yi had doubts about what happened and asked again, how would they answer?

"Well said. We should go back and rest," Lin Yue immediately chimed in.

"Since the mission is over and the danger is handled, let's go. I was possessed by a fierce ghost earlier and my soul is injured. My state is very bad, so I do need to go back and recuperate for a while." Li Yi felt drowsy; the injuries he had suffered now were much more severe than those his master Zhao Ge had suffered back then.

He didn't know how many Soul-Returning Pills it would take to heal.

He didn't have many Soul-Returning Pills left, and every one he ate was one less. It seemed he would have to make a trip to the Four Seas and Eight Continents to restock when he had time.

Soon.

Everyone dispersed, and Li Yi, along with Lin Yue, Zhao Lingfu, Zheng Gong, Yuan Mingjin, and others, returned along the original path.

Because the walking corpses along the way had been cleared, they didn't encounter any danger.

The only anomaly they encountered was a group of small spider monsters gathered together, gnawing on a corpse.

Those small spider monsters didn't pose a threat; they were likely some hidden dangers left behind after Li Yi hunted the mother spider-human last time. But it was bad luck for those small spider monsters to run into them; Zheng Gong and Yuan Mingjin fired a few shots and cleared them out easily.

"I understand now why the walking corpses in the old district never spread out," Zhao Lingfu said upon seeing this: "It was probably because the spider monsters and the walking corpses were fighting each other. The spider monsters hunted the walking corpses for food, indirectly curbing their numbers, and the walking corpses must have killed many spider monsters, forming a delicate balance between them."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Lin Yue thought for a moment and then nodded: "It doesn't matter now. Whether it's spider monsters or walking corpses, they are things that must be dealt with. Not a single one can be left behind, otherwise, any one left behind will be a huge hidden danger in the future."

"Indeed," Zhao Lingfu said: "Fortunately, both incidents were resolved together. But I'm very curious now: will Li Yi be able to get a spot at the Golden Academy and become a cross-dimensional traveler? Judging by his performance earlier, I think this is a sure thing."

"It's hard to say." Lin Yue's expression flickered.

Li Yi's mother was a very unstable factor. Although she indirectly helped everyone resolve Liu Yan, she was also a very dangerous existence.

If this hidden danger couldn't be resolved, the high-level officials of the Investigation Bureau would definitely consider it carefully.

Zhao Lingfu also realized Lin Yue's apprehension and couldn't help but shake his head and smile: "Yes, it's hard to say. After all, this matter hasn't been finalized yet."

"Let's get some good rest. We can talk about the Golden Academy later," Li Yi said, not seeing the subtext in their conversation.

The group soon returned to the previous assembly point.

At this moment, the number of people at the assembly point had decreased significantly, and injured people were being sent out from the old district one after another.

Even though Li Yi and the others had killed Liu Yan, the source, there were still many residual dangers that needed people to handle. Zhang Lei and Daoist Pete realized this, which was why they stayed in the center of the old district and didn't return immediately.