Chapter 68: Accountability to the End

For Song Qiuyue, even the fact that the Xuanqing Palace Disciples in the Secret Realm were nearly wiped out was not as big a blow to her as losing the bet.

Those were, after all, among the most precious treasures she had accumulated since she began her cultivation.

Now, they were all going to change owners!

It could be said that she had returned to the state she was in before she started...

However, Song Qiuyue was not the only one feeling sorrowful at this moment.

Jia Wenchang and Qingfeng were also feeling terrible inside, perhaps even more sorrowful than Song Qiuyue.

They were now so regretful they could die.

They should have just honestly watched the bet between Song Qiuyue and Yan Qingxuan and left it at that.

Why did they have to be greedy?

Why did they have to join in the fun?

Now look at this; they hadn't gained any benefits and had instead gotten themselves dragged into it.

Wang Jianqiang did not know about the bet between the few of them.

His gaze swept over Song Qiuyue, Jia Wenchang, and Qingfeng.

Seeing that all three of them had expressions like their mothers had died, he couldn't help but feel a bit confused.

It was understandable that Song Qiuyue and Jia Wenchang looked terrible; after all, so many Disciples had died, so they had to at least put on a convincing act.

The losses of the Wan Jian Sect were not significant, so why was Qingfeng joining in the fun?

Could it be because Liu Qing'er and the others left the Secret Realm early and missed the final opportunity to gather wealth?

That shouldn't be it.

If Liu Qing'er and the others hadn't left, the Zhengyang Sect and Xuanqing Palace would inevitably have been on guard.

It would have been impossible to fight to that extent.

It was impossible for Qingfeng not to understand this logic.

Wang Jianqiang shook his head, landed beside Yan Qingxuan, and cautiously transmitted his voice to her, "Elder, what is going on?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qingxuan rarely revealed a smile, "A good thing."

"What good thing?"

Wang Jianqiang was startled.

"You'll know in a moment; first, take out everything you harvested in the Secret Realm."

"Ah~ hand it over? Isn't it said that we only need to give thirty percent of the Secret Realm harvest to the sect?" Wang Jianqiang tightened his grip on the pack behind his back upon hearing this.

Yan Qingxuan rolled her eyes at Wang Jianqiang, "Take it out first, I'll return it to you in a while; not a single bit of what is yours will be missing."

"With so many people watching, do you think I would embezzle your things?"

"Even if you don't care about your reputation, I still care about mine."

Hearing this, Wang Jianqiang breathed a sigh of relief and placed the backpack behind his back at Yan Qingxuan's feet, "Here, it's all in here."

As he spoke, he opened the pack.

Over a hundred Storage Bags immediately scattered all over the ground.

Everyone present looked at these Storage Bags and swallowed their saliva one after another.

Every single Storage Bag here represented the entire savings of an Outer Sect elite.

More importantly, they all contained the harvest from the Secret Realm, which was the main bulk.

One or two might not count for much.

But accumulated together, the value was high enough to make even ordinary Golden Core Cultivators take notice.

After Wang Jianqiang took out these Storage Bags, Yan Qingxuan did not put them away; she just pointed at them and said to Song Qiuyue, Jia Wenchang, and Qingfeng, "Do you need me to take out the items from these Storage Bags and compare them with yours?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them turned pale.

"No need, it is just a technique; this Qing can afford to lose."

Qingfeng pulled a long face and threw the Jade Slip of the Sword Cultivation Technique to Yan Qingxuan, "Since the Secret Realm has closed, this one will not continue to keep you company."

After speaking, he looked at the Disciples behind him, waved his palm, and a giant sword flashed into existence.

"Let's go."

As he spoke, he was the first to jump onto the giant sword.

Liu Qing'er looked at Wang Jianqiang with curiosity and followed closely behind, jumping up.

Before long, all the Disciples of the Wan Jian Sect had boarded the giant sword.

"Farewell."

Qingfeng looked down, then steered the giant sword and flew off into the distance.

Yan Qingxuan withdrew her gaze and swept a faint glance at Song Qiuyue and Jia Wenchang, "And you two?"

Jia Wenchang, with a dark face, threw a Jade Slip to Yan Qingxuan without a word.

His mood had reached the absolute bottom.

It was already distressing enough that the Zhengyang Sect Disciples had been wiped out; he had wanted to win a Magic Treasure to change his mood.

Now, not only did he fail to win the Magic Treasure, but he had also lost the sect's Secret Technique, the Explosive Force Technique.

His chest felt as if it were stifling a ball of raging fire, ready to erupt at any moment.

After handing over the Explosive Force Technique, he did not linger and flew away from Luoxue Mountain.

After Jia Wenchang left, Song Qiuyue, with a face full of unwillingness, took out a small palace that looked like it was carved from purple jade and three Jade Slips.

After hesitating repeatedly, she finally threw them to Yan Qingxuan.

Yan Qingxuan inspected them and looked at Song Qiuyue, "Zixiao Jade Palace, Dragon Chant Ancient Bell Blueprint, Ancient Pill Formula, and Soul Forging Technique; I suppose you are still keeping your word."

After speaking, she waved her palm and put away the Zixiao Jade Palace and the five Jade Slips.

Song Qiuyue let out a cold snort and glared fiercely at Wang Jianqiang.

If not for this old fellow, how could she have lost to that bitch Yan Qingxuan?

"Let's go."

A moment later, she withdrew her gaze, said this coldly, and took the lead in flying into the air on her sword.

Lin Xian'er and Ye Qingxue followed closely behind.

With the departure of Song Qiuyue and the other two, only the Hehuan Sect remained on Luoxue Mountain.

Yan Qingxuan looked at the Storage Bags on the ground, waved her palm, and collected a portion of them.

Immediately after, a voice that seemed to be smiling but wasn't entered Wang Jianqiang's mind, "I am taking thirty percent of these items to hand over to the sect."

"As for those you hid privately, they will not be counted in the total."

Hearing the voice in his mind, Wang Jianqiang's expression stiffened, and he gave an awkward smile.

He had indeed hidden some things.

Before leaving the Secret Realm, he had specifically hidden the most precious few Storage Bags on his person and did not take them out.

Those Storage Bags were left behind by people who had entered the Medicine Garden, and they all contained Medicinal Herbs from the Medicine Garden.

The value of just those few Storage Bags was almost equal to the sum of these hundreds of Storage Bags.

If his own Storage Bag were added, the value would be even higher.

Yan Qingxuan rolled her eyes at Wang Jianqiang, feeling somewhat speechless.

This old fellow was too bold; he actually dared to hide things privately—did he really think the Elder leading the team was just for show?

If she hadn't used her Spirit Sense to help him cover it up the moment Wang Jianqiang exited the Secret Realm.

The Storage Bags he had hidden on his person would likely have been discovered by Yun Zhongque long ago.

When the sect's punishment came down, it would definitely be enough to make him suffer.

She shook her head, then turned to collect the sect's share from the other Disciples, and finally looked at Ye Lingyun, her expression instantly turning cold.

She pointed her finger.

A red rune condensed and formed, turning into a stream of light that instantly sank into the center of Ye Lingyun's brow.

Ye Lingyun only felt an irresistible force rush into his body with a crushing posture.

His Spiritual Power was instantly Suppressed, and he could no longer mobilize even a fraction of it.

His complexion instantly turned pale, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

Yan Qingxuan waved her palm.

Ye Lingyun's Storage Bag was seized by an invisible force and flew into her palm.

"Ye Lingyun, although my Hehuan Sect cannot be considered a righteous sect, we are not a Demonic Sect either."

"If you had charged through the blockade of the three sects' Disciples alone from beginning to end, I would not blame you, and the sect would not blame you either."

"But you feigned cooperation with your fellow Disciples, yet betrayed them at a critical moment and nearly caused everyone's death; this act has broken the sect's rules."

"All your gains from within the Secret Realm are now confiscated."

"After returning to the sect, I will hand you over to the Punishment Hall to be held accountable to the end."