Chapter 558: The Soul of the Yaoyue Sect

Chen Mu spoke clearly, his voice steady.

The noise vanished instantly.

After a moment, thick vines were carefully pried open from within, revealing a pair of wary eyes peering out through the gap.

When the owner of the eyes recognized the familiar face outside, they visibly relaxed and exclaimed in delight.

"Senior Brother Chen, it's really you! Quick, come in!"

The vines were fully pulled aside, revealing two young faces clad in coarse linen robes, still bearing traces of youthful innocence—surviving disciples of the Yaoyue Sect.

Chen Mu nodded to them, a gentle smile on his face, and stepped into the cave.

The two disciples quickly pulled the vines back into place, restoring their original appearance, then rushed ahead excitedly to lead the way.

"Senior Brother Chen is back! Senior Brother Chen is back!"

One disciple ran while unable to suppress his excitement, shouting toward the deeper recesses of the cave.

Inside the cave, the entrance was narrow at first, but after walking dozens of steps, it suddenly opened wide.

The cave walls were embedded with numerous glowing fluorites, emitting a soft white light that illuminated the winding path downward.

The deeper they went, the larger the space became, and the air grew fresher—clearly, there was a hidden ventilation shaft.

Eventually, they reached a natural cavern roughly dozens of zhang in diameter.

Along the cavern walls, over a dozen small caves of varying sizes had been carved out as living quarters for the disciples.

At the sound of the shouts outside, young male and female disciples began emerging from their small caves, either peering out or hurrying forward.

Seeing Chen Mu, their faces lit up with genuine joy and warmth, gathering around him, speaking all at once.

"Senior Brother Chen!"

"Big Brother Chen, you've finally returned."

"Senior Brother Chen, how's the situation outside?"

"Any news about the Sect Master?"

……

These young disciples mostly wore simple clothing.

They had escaped death thanks to Chen Mu's earlier aid; thus, they trusted and deeply appreciated him.

Just as the crowd surrounded Chen Mu, the atmosphere growing slightly noisy, a woman in a plain long skirt approached—her face delicate yet pale with illness.

She was Xu Qingyin, the sole surviving Tiangong Realm elder of the Yaoyue Sect.

Her injuries had not yet healed, her breath faint and unsteady, yet her eyes remained clear.

"Young Master Chen, you've returned."

Xu Qingyin bowed slightly to Chen Mu, her voice gentle.

No sooner had she spoken than her gaze froze, locking onto the long sword in Chen Mu's hand.

"This… this…"

Xu Qingyin's voice trembled with disbelief.

As if responding to her stare, the Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword in Chen Mu's hand suddenly rose into the air on its own.

Its dark blue blade, bathed in the faint glow of the cave's fluorites, streamed forth a soft, radiant lunar radiance, enveloping the entire cavern in a hazy, sacred halo.

In an instant, the cavern fell utterly silent.

Every Yaoyue Sect disciple, including Elder Xu Qingyin, stood frozen like statues, staring in awe at the suspended sect's divine weapon.

Tears silently slipped from Xu Qingyin's eyes.

The other disciples also grew teary-eyed; some covered their mouths to stifle sobs, others clenched their fists tightly, their bodies trembling slightly.

The sect's destruction, their flight and hiding, being rescued only to retreat into the Shenshan, surviving in secret…

All their suffering, despair, and resentment found an outlet in this moment.

The Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword was not merely a ground-grade weapon—it was the soul of the Yaoyue Sect, their root, the witness of their former glory, and the sole hope for future vengeance and revival!

And now, it had returned.

In this unexpected way, reappearing before them once more.

The Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword hung motionless in midair, its lunar radiance flowing gently, as if silently soothing these survivors of the sect's ruin.

Chen Mu stood to the side, quietly watching this scene.

He could sense the complex, profound emotional fluctuations of the sword's spirit, and he understood the overwhelming surge of excitement and sorrow within Xu Qingyin and the young disciples.

Within the cavern, lunar light flowed, illuminating every face—filled with emotion, sorrow, or disbelief.

Xu Qingyin was the first to recover from her shock and daze.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her qi and emotions, her gaze shifting from the Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword back to Chen Mu, her voice still faintly trembling.

"Young Master Chen… this… how is this possible? How… how did you recover the 'Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword'?"

The Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword still hovered in midair, its radiance flowing—the spirit seemed to listen in silence.

Chen Mu's expression remained calm as he spoke slowly, his voice clear in the silent cavern: "I learned by chance that the 'Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword' had fallen into the hands of the Jiuyou Sect, stored deep within their forbidden realm, the 'Mingyuan Secret Realm.' I seized an opportunity to infiltrate and seized it just as the Jiuyou Sect was about to complete their purification of the blade's corruption using the 'Yellow Spring Dark Current.'"

He glossed over the details, omitting any mention of the Duan Tianhe Sword Soul, as well as the secrets of the Xing Gong and the Star Token.

"The Jiuyou Sect?!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyin and the surrounding disciples froze, then displayed expressions of shock and confusion.

They had assumed that after the sect's destruction, a divine weapon like the Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword would surely be firmly held by the Mo Sect, the very perpetrators of their annihilation—how could it have ended up in the hands of the Jiuyou Sect, which was not fully aligned with the Mo Sect and had long-standing tensions with them?

"How did the Jiuyou Sect get it from the Mo Sect?" muttered a young disciple.

"Perhaps there was trouble within the Mo Sect, or some deal was made with the Jiuyou Sect?" speculated another.

"Regardless of how it happened."

Xu Qingyin shook her head, pushing aside these unanswerable questions, her gaze hardening once more with unwavering gratitude.

She stepped back, smoothed her plain long skirt, then, before the astonished gazes of the surrounding disciples, bowed deeply and solemnly toward Chen Mu.

"Young Master Chen has saved our Yaoyue Sect from death! Had you not risked your life to reclaim the 'Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword,' our sect's final hope and last remembrance would have sunk forever into Jiuyou Sect, never to see the light of day again! This grace, all of Yaoyue Sect shall never forget!"

"Elder!"

Seeing Xu Qingyin kneel, the young disciples around her—male and female alike—immediately understood and followed suit, kneeling to the ground in unison and crying out together.

"Thank you, Elder Brother Chen, for reclaiming the divine weapon! We shall forever remember this grace!"

Dozens knelt prostrate on the ground, their voices echoing through the cavern, filled with sincere gratitude and the trembling joy of survival.

Chen Mu's expression remained calm; he did not avoid it.

He had risked his life infiltrating Jiuyou Sect's forbidden grounds and snatched the Moon Shadow Flowing Light Sword from the tiger's mouth; while he had his own reasons, for these surviving Yaoyue Sect disciples, it was indeed an unrepayable grace.

To receive their bow was only right.

"Please rise, all of you."

Only after the others had finished their bow did Chen Mu raise his hand in a gentle, supportive gesture.

Xu Qingyin rose first; her eyes still reddened, but her gaze had regained its usual clarity and resolve.

Chen Mu turned to her at once and asked.

"Elder Xu, how is Shen Ge?"