Chapter 411: He really came back!

"You traitor, where do you get the nerve to question me here?!" Yue Yun shouted angrily.

Qiao Chu's chest heaved, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and a terrifying aura emanated from his whole body.

Yue Yun wanted to hide behind Qilin at once, but seeing Qilin looking weak, she forced herself to stay calm and stepped in front of her master.

Even though her martial arts were far inferior to Qilin's, she too was affected by the poisonous gas, feeling a bit dizzy; having rushed here without delay to lead her junior disciples, her condition was far from good.

"Little Yun, take the junior disciples to the rear first," Qilin ordered.

Yue Yun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

She knew this was a critical moment, not the time to act on impulse, and she had to obey her master's order.

"Follow me!"

Yue Yun waved her hand to signal.

Qiao Chu couldn't be bothered to argue with those outer disciples right now, and Yue Yun could set aside the matter of eavesdropping on their conversation—"Master..."

"Don't call me Master. From now on, Qiao Chu, you are no longer my disciple, nor a member of Juechen Valley," Qilin said solemnly.

"I had imagined this day before, but I didn't expect it to come so soon." Qiao Chu gave a self‑mocking laugh. "I never thought you, Master, would feel no affection at all—don't you have any feeling left?"

"It's you who first gave up on affection, Qiao Chu—you've let me down too much." Qilin buried the sorrow in his eyes.

For three years we've lived side by side; he had been grooming Qiao Chu to succeed him as sect head, pouring his heart and soul into it—how could he possibly feel nothing!?

The feeling of being betrayed was too painful, once leaving him lost and helpless.

But he is now the Valley Lord, the protector of Juechen Valley; he absolutely cannot be crippled by this, he must not be affected at all!

"Don't waste so much talk on him—do you have plenty of time?"

The monk's eyes narrowed; he drew his palm in, clutching the Buddhist Prayer Beads, as if the whole space were gripped by him, the air seeming to tremble.

Before Mu Yuanzhi could even react to what the monk had done, Qiao Chu clutched his chest and dropped to one knee.

"Monk, what exactly did you do?!"

Qiao Chu knelt there in agony, as if all his strength had vanished, his inner energy unable to circulate, as though an astonishing pressure suppressed him from head to toe, rendering him immobile!

What kind of crooked method is this? He had never heard of anything like it.

He forced his head up to look at the monk, but the monk's face swam before his eyes, leaving him dizzy and light‑headed.

Though he had taken a specially made pill that should have shielded him from the poisonous gas here, he now felt worse than if the gas had affected him, as if his very strength were being drained away.

In the blink of an eye, the monk vanished from before him!

Was he going to look for Andelo?

But Qiao Chu could do nothing now; he could barely take care of himself.

"Master..."

Qiao Chu strained to reach out his hand.

He seemed to see Qilin walking toward him, just like that day three years ago, when a blinding light pierced the snow‑filled sky and illuminated his world.

Mu Yuanzhi looked coldly as Qiao Chu collapsed, then said to Qilin: "Qilin, now isn't the time to worry about Qiao Chu—I know you're heartbroken, but this isn't the moment for grief!"

"I know, Senior Sister, I'm fine. Right now Juechen Valley faces a crisis—everything must be set aside." Qilin looked at Mu Yuanzhi: "Senior Sister, give me a few acupuncture needles; I can't keep going like this, I need to stay clear‑headed."

He knew her senior sister's acupuncture skill could clear his body in a short time, but the cost would be overstrain.

Afterwards he might very well end up lying in bed for a month and a half!

But now, forget about lying down—even if it costs his life, he must go on!

Mu Yuanzhi hesitated, looking at Qilin: "But..."

How could she bear to let her junior brother suffer like this!

In her eyes, Qilin was still just a child.

"Senior Sister, please!" Qilin grabbed Mu Yuanzhi's arm.

The ever‑background Cao Cixiu interjected: "Hey Senior Sister, quit smothering her with motherly love—at a time like this, should the sect leader just stand there as a mascot?"

Although Mu Yuanzhi didn't know whether Cao Cixiu's immunity came from being a "coffin child," it was undoubtedly a stimulant, and with Qilin also back to normal, their combat strength was hardly different.

Rongjin should have caught up by now.

Mu Yuanzhi weighed it over and over, then finally nodded.

She could temporarily suppress the poison gas's effect on the body, but the acupuncture process itself, and the aftermath when it wears off, would be extremely painful.

Qilin endured it the whole way, at most furrowing his brow slightly; seeing this, Mu Yuanzhi felt even more reluctant, but she gritted her teeth and carried on.

"All right, it can only last six hours; when the time comes you might faint on the spot," Mu Yuanzhi warned.

Qilin nodded: "I know."

After saying that, he turned to Cao Cixiu: "You protect my senior sister."

"You can rest easy; looking after the old, weak, sick, and disabled is something I'm good at," Cao Cixiu said.

With Cao Cixiu's assurance, Qilin felt relieved.

Juechen Valley is still waiting for him!

On the other side, Andelo and his forces have already launched an attack, splitting into two groups; A Zi led a troop charging toward the Huang Palace, surrounding it completely!

"I didn't expect storming Juechen Valley to be this easy."

A Zi laughed as she glanced at the corpses littering the ground.

At that moment she didn't realize these were just a blind; she thought Juechen Valley had already been crushed under the ravages of their Hanlu Stronghold.

Had she known this, why would they have spent so long plotting down in the valley? They could have just rushed in and been done with it!

That monk probably isn't all that formidable either; his mysterious formation might just be a trick to fool people.

As for Gu Rongjin, he's even more foolish—anyone could lure him down the mountain; the stronghold lord's divine calculations make these people utterly insignificant!

"Let me see who's still inside the Huang Palace," A Zi charged straight in, only to see Mu Yuanzhi alone, which struck her as odd.

She just stood there, locking eyes with the somewhat unreal woman in the sunlight, doubt flashing in her gaze: "Just you? Could there be a trap here?"

Her words let Mu Yuanzhi know that she could not see Cao Cixiu and the two children.

So this A Zi is also deeply trapped in the illusionary formation set up by Grand Master Yuan Yan?

"Not right, there must be something wrong……" A Zi did not believe that such a vast Juechen Valley would have no one watching over Mu Yuanzhi, although they were already too busy to attend to themselves.

Just as she was doubtful, Gu Rongjin suddenly appeared, blocking their way!

"I didn't expect the Young Master to notice the problem so quickly." A Zi smiled and looked at Gu Rongjin.

"Rongjin!" Mu Yuanzhi's heart instantly settled completely.

He really came back!