Chapter 261

In the distant void, a huge firework exploded; it should have been Liu Youzhen and the others who found an opportunity to send a rescue signal, or perhaps it was the people from the Blood Lotus Sect who had already killed the people in the valley and were using such means to attract those of them who had escaped to go back.

After another hour or so, another huge firework exploded in the air.

Xu Yang still didn't move, and it wasn't until evening, when the sun was about to set, that he crept toward the valley.

From afar, he saw that the people from the Blood Lotus Sect had disappeared, the valley was full of pits and bumps, and several figures were walking back and forth; he recognized a few as disciples who had escaped death like him, and he also saw Gao Lin.

He knew that this was the arrival of experts from the Profound Heaven Sect, so he immediately appeared and stepped into the valley.

Seeing that it was Xu Yang, Gao Lin walked over quickly: "Junior Brother Xu, are you okay?"

Xu Yang shook his head and bowed: "Greetings, Senior Brother Gao."

His gaze swept over the valley, and he saw more than a dozen corpses laid together, blood staining the ground red.

Gao Lin said in a deep voice: "Don't look; currently, there are only four people alive including you, and Yun Feng and Shen Liang haven't returned; even if the two of them are still alive, we have already lost thirteen people."

Yun Feng wouldn't be coming back.

Shen Liang probably had some hope.

Xu Yang's heart sank; he had already seen the corpses of Song Yushao and Liu Youzhen, both of these inner sect disciples were dead, and Luo Jiang, who had been blasted by the black-clothed Blood Lotus Sect man, had also become a cold corpse.

He continued to look, and those five outer sect disciples with Minor Success in Gang Qi, as well as Wen Hao and Fang Yu on the Ten Elites List, were also dead.

As geniuses on the Ten Elites List, the two received special care, and he could also be considered somewhat famous, and in fact, they were also key targets for killing, but he used Luo Jiang's life to trade for a chance to sneak attack, only then breaking out of the encirclement.

If he hadn't been hiding his cultivation all along, he would probably have been in danger today too.

He also discovered that the corpse of the Blood Lotus Sect disciple he had beaten to death was not here, and he didn't know if it had been taken away by the people from the Blood Lotus Sect or by the experts who came from the Profound Heaven Sect.

"Do you know any useful information?" Gao Lin said in a deep voice: "All the refined weapon-forging materials have been taken away; if you can provide useful information, the sect will have a heavy reward."

This time, the Profound Heaven Sect could be said to have suffered heavy losses, with two inner sect disciples dead, two geniuses on the Ten Elites List, five disciples with Minor Success in Gang Qi, and four ordinary disciples.

Even more serious was that batch of special weapon-forging materials, things that needed to be purified with the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire, which were rare items that couldn't be bought outside even with money.

Xu Yang said: "Before I escaped, I saw Zhu Yong; he should be an inside agent for the Blood Lotus Sect."

Gao Lin shook his head: "He has already escaped."

Xu Yang knew that others should have seen Zhu Yong too, and said: "I have no other information; I was chased and killed by an expert, and it took a lot of effort in the mountains to shake him off."

He was somewhat worried that the matter of using Luo Jiang to kill the Blood Lotus Sect disciple had been seen, but the people who saw it were all dead, and after he escaped, no one else escaped from behind.

He didn't intend to talk about beating a Blood Lotus Sect disciple to death to show off, preferring not to have the reward.

Gao Lin couldn't ask for anything useful, so he let Xu Yang go to rest.

He wasn't very familiar with the three survivors, and they sat in the valley with lingering fears.

Chen Chao, whom he was most familiar with, was also dead, and none of the people he first met when forging iron at the Fire Peak had survived.

After another while, Shen Liang returned alive.

As usual, he was questioned by Gao Lin, and he also didn't say anything of value; he ran faster than Xu Yang, so it was even more impossible for him to know useful information.

"Brother Xu is actually also fine, that's really great."

Seeing Xu Yang again, Shen Liang felt quite close; he remembered that when he escaped, he saw Xu Yang being entangled by a black-clothed Blood Lotus Sect man.

Immediately after, he greeted the other three who survived; not just him, everyone looked at each other very kindly.

After all, out of nineteen people, only the five of them survived, which could be considered living and dying together.

Shen Liang had a good relationship with these three people, and with him joining, Xu Yang also started chatting with the other three.

"The things were all snatched away; I'm afraid our half month was in vain," said a man named An Ping.

He was still thinking about the contribution points.

"In vain is in vain; it's better than those who lay down," said Tang Xiao.

Looking at the corpses that had already stiffened in the distance, everyone was silent.

Shen Liang said: "We can be considered to have lived and died together; according to the rules of the Jianghu, we can all swear brotherhood."

Once these words were spoken, An Ping and Tang Xiao's eyes lit up; they were both predetermined candidates for this mission, each with their own background, and if they swore brotherhood, they could support each other in the future.

Guo Huai shook his head: "Swearing brotherhood is unnecessary, but we can be closer in the future."

He was a local from Qingshan City, and his ancestors were also disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect, so he didn't think much of these people who came from small counties.

Xu Yang also didn't want to swear brotherhood with these unfamiliar people, and with Guo Huai's opposition, Shen Liang couldn't continue to speak, but he took Guo Huai's words to heart.

By nightfall, Yun Feng still hadn't returned and was judged by Gao Lin to be dead.

The inner sect disciples from the Fire Peak who came here to search also returned one after another, but they didn't find any traces of that group of people from the Blood Lotus Sect; those people took a large batch of weapon-forging materials and seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

However, the group of people didn't return to the Profound Heaven Sect, waiting for the tower furnace to cool down, and would bring the things back to the Profound Heaven Sect early tomorrow morning.