Chapter 210: Walking Out of the Return (Please Subscribe)

"In the end, their sacrifice was not in vain."

Walking out of the inner court passage, the candles behind them extinguished in order from inside to out. Meng Changqing's attitude seemed much more relaxed; this time, he had achieved his wish.

Du En was still walking at the back. At this moment, he looked back at the pitch-black passage that was rapidly filling with darkness. Seeing that Meng Changqing seemed to intend to leave directly, he spoke up: "Aren't you going to close the door?"

"Why close it?"

Meng Changqing asked back subconsciously, but his hands were very obedient, directly pinching a spell seal.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The door sealing the tomb slammed shut before the candlelight was fully extinguished, completely cutting off the inside from the outside.

All of a sudden, a certain sense of tension that had been lingering in Du En's heart—very faint, like an illusion—vanished completely.

Squeak, squeak, squeak~

Suddenly, faintly, he seemed to hear a rustling, fragmented sound ringing out inside the pitch-black door, as if countless corpses were scratching at the door with their fingernails. He couldn't help but feel a sense of horror rising spontaneously.

Thus, Du En frowned slightly and said: "The scene here right now gives me a strong sense of déjà vu."

"..."

Meng Changqing could not help but fall into silence.

Looking back at the pitch-black tomb, it was now deathly silent. In the dim, lightless ruins, it was as deep as a shadow-demon. Isn't this very similar to the situation at the Corpse-Burial Wasteland at night?

He naturally trusted Du En, so he made the association and realized something. His joy faded, he frowned, and while clutching the ancient jade slip in his hand, he applied a sealing secret technique, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Finally, he let out a breath and said: "Times have changed. The ten thousand years of hegemony have undeniably brought about rapid iterations in techniques. In any case, I will carefully examine this next. Hmm, it would be best to replicate it—no, send the original version directly—to the other few fellows, so they can appreciate this Venerable's Daoist arts. Heh!"

Speaking to the end, he could not help but sneer.

Indeed, even if the others were to study and investigate it, they likely wouldn't use it in practice or delve too deeply. But their insight was still there, after all; he wasn't afraid they wouldn't see the problems within. At most, they would just use a concession to trade for it during some future game of bargaining.

This was also a part of their daily routine.

If everyone gets caught in the trap unknowingly, then so be it. Anyway, except for me, they are all scourges. Dragging them all to hell together can also be considered cleansing the evil atmosphere!

If this ancient Venerable truly had heaven-defying means and could take it a step further, then perhaps he could take the opportunity to...

In a short amount of time, Meng Changqing had quickly brewed up a pile of mutually destructive countermeasures.

Seeing that he had taken his warning to heart, Du En didn't say anything more.

The group walked out of the darkness and left the Nancang Ruins.

When they saw the sunlight again, they were in a beach of scattered stones.

This place was located in the deepest part of the Southern Frontier mountain forests. Looking north, it was a primeval old forest covered in miasma, becoming more colorful the further and deeper one looked.

And if one looked south, there was no more miasma or poison, only a clear, blue sky stretching as far as the eye could see. There were no more dense, primitive trees to obstruct the view, allowing the somewhat moist, cool, and salty air to gently slap against their faces.

Although his divine sense could not cover this final distance, a comprehensive, overall perception that was even broader than his divine sense made Du En's heart stir.

Faintly, it was as if he heard the sound of waves crashing against reefs.

Further south of the Southern Frontier mountain forests was the sea.

"The South Sea, also known as the Nancang Sea. The Daoist title of the Nancang Venerable is said to have come from this, but some say the sea was named because of him. In any case, this point is now difficult to discern clearly for various reasons."

Now that he saw the sun and the blue sky again, Meng Changqing's mood also improved, quickly returning to normal as he thoughtfully provided answers for Du En.

Listening to these words that seemed to have some hidden meaning, Du En originally wanted to say something in response, but was interrupted by a disturbance coming from the north.

Someone was approaching.

A radiance of magical power streaked through the air, causing the guards, whose mental states had just calmed down, to become alert once again.

"No need to be nervous, it's Chief Steward Gao Feng."

The person who arrived was indeed Gao Feng.

After Zhu Ding's side withdrew, he was finally no longer obstructed. He also realized that the outcome had been decided here, so he hurried to set off, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to arrive nearby and climb high to look into the distance.

Because he actually didn't know the location of the ruins' entrance, he could only choose to wait like a rabbit waiting for a tree stump on the highest peak at the edge of the mountain forest.

Just now, when Du En was looking north, he had seen his figure from afar, so he didn't feel surprised by his arrival at this moment. His calm gaze merely shifted over, colliding with his line of sight.

Complex, sour, nervous...

For a moment, Gao Feng's stern, unsmiling face stiffened. His cold and serious eyes changed in many ways, and he couldn't help but freeze in mid-air, feeling his mood churning uncontrollably, difficult to sort out.

To have actually achieved Golden Core, to be able to be this fast...

Upon reaching close range, Du En's unmasked cultivation seemed to be intentionally intimidating this Chief Steward of the inner city, making his mood suddenly become very complex.

Perhaps he was regretting why he had been so full of misgivings back then and hadn't just simply slaughtered him.

The person involved, Du En, thought this at the moment, his mood as still as an ancient well. He had no intention of saying anything, just watching silently, which made the other person even more uneasy and fearful.

It was Meng Changqing who stepped forward, taking over the pleasantries to ease the atmosphere.

"Sorry to trouble Chief Steward Gao to come and welcome us."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."

"Hmm, this is not a good place to talk. Let's head back first."

"Yes, I will clear the way for you."

After a few polite exchanges, Du En and his group, under the escort of Gao Feng, a first-rate Golden Core stage cultivator clearing the way, flew back toward the Southern Border City at a leisurely pace.

On the way, Meng Changqing did not take the initiative to talk to him, his attitude appearing cold, until Gao Feng offered his own explanation and plea for mercy, at which point it eased slightly and they communicated again.

This made Gao Feng secretly heave a sigh of relief.

Unlike Tang Yiping, who had disappeared without a trace and was clearly dead, he actually didn't dare and didn't want to get deeply involved in the struggles of the upper echelons, so he had only provided the most basic help to Zhu Ding previously.

Appearing very obedient and humble, he was actually keeping to his own bottom line.

If Zhu Ding had won in the end, he would have had no fault, as he had appeared obedient on the surface.

If Meng Changqing won in the end, looking at his broad-minded and peaceful performance, perhaps as long as he sincerely begged for mercy, he wouldn't make things difficult or punish him for his previous inability to resist.

In short, it was a gamble—a gamble to escape unscathed.

And now, although Meng Changqing's attitude toward him had changed slightly, it had not deteriorated sharply, so in his view, this time he had bet correctly.

(End of chapter)