Chapter 404 - Nine Revelations Toxin (2/2)

Without the protection of his Origin Force, the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist was no stronger than someone at the Essence Condensation realm. Facing Longshao Wenqin's all out punch, he was killed in a single blow.

Even in death, his eyes remained wide open with indignation.

Seeing how their leader was killed, the others immediately tried to crawl their way out of here. But how could Longshao Wenqin allow that?

It did not take long for him to dispose of them all, quickly relieving them of their spatial rings before returning to Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue.

”Senior, here are their spatial rings,” Longshao Wenqin handed over the spatial rings to the weakened Ruan Ling.

Ruan Ling shook her head weakly before pushing the spatial rings into Nanlan Qianxue's hands. ”The only reason we survived is because of Sister Qianxue. I did nothing but to buy us some time.”

She understood that despite all that she and Longshao Wenqin had done, it was just delaying the inevitable. In the end, it was Nanlan Qianxue who bailed them out of this seemingly hopeless situation.

”This... okay then,” Nanlan Qianxue hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to accept it.

”Then that's settled,” Longshao Wenqin turned to look at the corpses on the ground. ”Let's get out of here as soon as possible. Who knows if there are any more of them?”

Nanlan Qianxue nodded and went to free Bo'er from the ice dome. Thankfully, the fight had not lasted too long, so Bo'er was still in a rather good condition, albeit feeling rather cold.

”Let's go. My clan house is not too far from here. We will be able to have a good rest there,” Ruan Ling said.

The territory of the Timeless Flame Sect was too far away. Given the current situation, it would be far too risky to make their way back there tonight.

They had no idea who these dark figures were, so who knew if there were anymore of them hiding in the shadows?

On the other hand, the Soft Stream Clan which Ruan Ling came from was much nearer to where they were.

Even though it was not as powerful as the Timeless Flame Sect, it could still be considered a rather prestigious influence within Eternal Flame City. As long as they made it into its grounds, it would be difficult for any pursuers to continue targeting them.

”About that, I'm afraid that I would have to decline,” Longshao Wenqin said with a smile. ”I have been gone for a while now, so my companions must be worried. I should probably get back to them.”

”But we have not even thanked you for your help yet,” Ruan Ling said. ”Without you, we might not even be alive right now.”

”There is no need for that,” Longshao Wenqin shook his head. ”What I did is purely of my own accord, and not because I am hoping for any form of rewards.”

”Regardless of your motive, it will not feel right if I don't thank you for this,” Ruan Ling replied. ”How about at least letting me treat you to a meal?”

”If you insist, then fine,” Longshao Wenqin nodded. ”There is still some time until the Inscription Meet, so we might as well do so. How about two days later then? That should give us enough time to recover.”

”Two days later it is then,” Ruan Ling replied. ”As for the details, we can finalise it through our communication rings.”

With that, Longshao Wenqin left the group to rejoin his companions, while Ruan Ling brought Nanlan Qianxue and Bo'er back to her Soft Stream Clan.

***

Back at the Timeless Flame Sect, Elder Cuixiong stood behind his desk as he calmly sifted through some strange powders.

The door slid open, and Xuan Junwei hurried in before anxiously closing the door behind him.

”What's wrong? You looks like you have seen a ghost,” Elder Cuixiong commented without even looking up at him.

”Grandfather! I'm afraid I bear bad news!” Xuan Junwei said with a pale expression.

”Calm down and elaborate,” Elder Cuixiong paused what he was doing and looked his grandson in the eye. He could not help but have a bad feeling about this.

”I just received a message from Gate Master Xileng of the Jade Shadow Gate,” Xuan Junwei said. ”He said... he said that...”

”Stop wasting time and be out with it. What did he say?” Elder Cuixiong snapped.

”He said that out of the teams he sent out tonight... all of them perished without exception!” Xuan Junwei finally plucked up the courage to say it.

”What did you say?!” Elder Cuixiong froze. ”He really said that?”

”Not just that, but he is also furious right now, saying that we must have provided him with false information to have resulted in something like this!” Xuan Junwei said with a trembling voice.

”Ridiculous!” Elder Cuixiong bellowed. ”How can our information be wrong? If the plan really failed, then his Jade Shadow Gate must have botched it up somehow!”

”What should we do? He said that he will be waiting for us to give him an answer...” Xuan Junwei said.

Even though the Jade Shadow Gate was subordinate to the Timeless Flame Sect, it was still an established influence in its own right. There might not be dire consequences if they fell out with the Jade Shadow Gate, but Xuan Qinshang would definitely pursue the matter to find out why.

Moreover, falling out with them would also mean losing a strong ally and supporter, which would negatively impact his eventual fight for the position of heir!

”Don't worry about that. I will deal with him directly!” Elder Cuixiong snapped. ”I don't know how those brats did it, but they are truly lucky to have survived this time. However, this luck will not last forever. Before long, be it Xuan Hao or his friends, I will show them just what the result is for someone who dares to stand in my way!”