Chapter 586: We Owe Each Other Nothing

Fang Huatian gritted his teeth and charged toward the Mourning Bell.

If his back were hit by the Stone Giant, he would at least be injured; it would still be worthwhile to oppose Ye Liuyun's Mourning Bell.

So he not only didn't heed Liao Bingyu's call to retreat backward, but instead continued to accelerate, throwing a full-force punch at the Mourning Bell, hoping to knock it away.

He had already flown into the Mourning Bell, and his punch slammed into its inner wall.

With a "dong" sound, the bell's toll shook him so hard his soul left his body and he lost consciousness. This was only because his soul was relatively strong; otherwise, a weaker soul would have been shattered instantly.

But tragically, the stone person's punch also landed at this moment, solidly striking the Mourning Bell.

Another "dong" sounded, and the Mourning Bell boomed.

This blow, Fang Huatian's soul could no longer endure and was directly shattered; his physical body, too, was sent flying along with the Mourning Bell by the stone person.

The two booms of the Mourning Bell also dazed the others, making their heads spin.

Especially Liao Bingyu, who was fighting against the Magic Net; in a moment of distraction, she was directly enveloped by the Magic Net and became Ye Liuyun's captive.

The Stone Giant had no soul, so it was unaffected at all. Seizing the opportunity, it threw several punches, blasting the dozen or so nearby martial cultivators into flying flesh and blood.

"Retreat!"

Xiao Mingyue's soul was slightly stronger, so she was little affected; she immediately led everyone in retreat.

At that moment, Qing Lin leapt from her shoulder, rushing toward the two martial cultivators who were staggered by the Mourning Bell's influence and unable to walk steadily. It then exhaled a mouthful of azure flame, burning the two to ashes.

Ye Liuyun then retracted the Magic Net, packing Liao Bingyu inside along with it.

Qing Lin also happened to hop onto his shoulder, while Ye Liuyun at this moment was actually standing with his back to the Stone Giant.

All these changes left Xiao Mingyue and the others staring dumbfounded.

However, the scene they had expected—the Stone Giant attacking them—did not occur.

That Stone Giant not only did not attack them, but seemed to be their guardian deity, standing behind them.

"What's going on?"

"Is Fang Huatian dead? Is Liao Bingyu also dead?"

"Isn't that pet Senior Sister Mingyue's? Why would it attack its own side?"

"Why doesn't that Stone Giant attack him?"

A group of people looked at each other, whispering among themselves.

Ye Liuyun, with Qing Lin in tow, ran to the cave entrance before stopping and gazing into the distance at Xiao Mingyue.

"Can you tell me why this is?" Xiao Mingyue seemed to have somewhat understood.

Ye Liuyun and Qing Lin were fundamentally without conflict; they had been deceiving her all along, using her as a protective shield, and had eliminated the two strongest beings, the Star Sword Devil Emperor and Fang Huatian.

Ye Liuyun pointed at Qing Lin: "It is the guardian beast of this Secret Realm."

"You two have been deceiving and using me all along?" Although Xiao Mingyue had already guessed the outcome, hearing Ye Liuyun say it herself still stirred her emotions, making her voice tremble slightly.

Although Ye Liuyun felt a bit guilty, she still said: "It's just mutual use. You weren't also trying to seize my pet, bring me back to the Sect, and ask how I entered the Secret Realm? If you weren't greedy, you wouldn't have been deceived!"

Xiao Mingyue then realized as well. Qing Lin and Ye Liuyun have a Divine Soul Contract; their secret conversations were surely transmitted to Ye Liuyun by Qing Lin.

She nodded somewhat dejectedly: "I see! But I never intended to harm you! If it were possible, I would truly let you become my junior disciple!"

"You also said it was only possible. It's also possible I couldn't even save my own life! Moreover, I didn't lay a hand on you, which counts as repaying your kindness! Otherwise, perhaps the one who just died would have been you!"

Xiao Mingyue's motives were not pure to begin with, so Ye Liuyun didn't feel much pity for her. As for Xiao Mingyue not wanting to kill him, he hadn't even thought of attacking Xiao Mingyue either, which could be considered repaying her kindness.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyue also fell silent for a long time.

She also knew that, given Ye Liuyun's abilities, scheming against her when she was unprepared would be quite easy.

"Well then, we owe each other nothing. Next time we meet, we'll be enemies!"

Xiao Mingyue sighed and could only helplessly accept this outcome.

"Withdraw from the Secret Realm; your strength is no longer enough to assault this place, and there's no need to come here just to throw away your lives!"

Ye Liuyun offered kind advice. Unless absolutely necessary, he also didn't want to come to blows with Xiao Mingyue.

Xiao Mingyue nodded, but still said: "Even if we retreat this time, the Sect will still send people again."

"Let's talk about future matters later!" Ye Liuyun also knew those Sects would certainly not let this Secret Realm go, for it holds too many cultivation resources.

He only hoped that Liang Xue could fully receive this place's inheritance before they broke in; otherwise, with his strength, he would surely be unable to withstand the experts of those three great Sects.

Xiao Mingyue glanced far off at Ye Liuyun, said nothing more, and led the remaining disciples away, turning and walking off directly.

Staying here now serves no purpose except to court death; they can't do anything else. Withdrawing from the Secret Realm and reporting to the Sect is the correct choice.

Qu Ling'er, who had once been captured by Ye Liuyun, also came to her senses from the shock. She never imagined that this golden-pupiled youth would not only have deceived everyone, but also eliminated the two top experts, the Star Sword Devil Emperor and Fang Huatian.

She had once thought this youth would be hard to deal with, but she never imagined that even these top experts would fall into his hands.

"I don't know if I'll ever see him again—or maybe it's better not to; this guy is too ruthless!"

She muttered to herself, silently glanced at Ye Liuyun, and followed Xiao Mingyue away from here.

After they withdrew, the Stone Giant also automatically disintegrated, turning back into a pile of scattered rocks strewn across the ground.

However, the entrance leading to the core of the Secret Realm was revealed.

"Can we go in now?" Ye Liuyun asked Qing Lin.

"Of course! Let's go—just go straight in and you'll see the person you want to see!" Qing Lin, having resolved the Secret Realm's crisis, was obviously in a very good mood, gesturing repeatedly for Ye Liuyun to enter the cave.

Ye Liuyun entered the cave as instructed. However, he did not let down his guard.

He also worried that Qing Lin might turn around and trap him. Thus, despite Qing Lin repeatedly assuring him to relax along the way, he remained cautious, examining his surroundings carefully until he saw Liang Xue deeply focused on her cultivation.

Liang Xue's location was a spacious cave. Here, the wild and primordial qi was even richer, faintly taking on a misty form.

Above Liang Xue's head, a beam of white light was transmitting something into her body.

"Is what's inside that white light the inheritance information?" Ye Liuyun, too, was seeing this transmission method for the first time; normally it's sent directly into the Sea of Consciousness.

"It's not inheritance information. It's merely an energy that can purify her bloodline, helping her improve her bloodline and reshape her body." Qing Lin, while sending him a mental transmission via Divine Sense, also gestured in sync with the voice transmission.