Since the incident, Qi Yuantian, Ji Chang and Zhong Wuming seemed to have disappeared totally from Zi Tong Sect. If it weren't for Zi Tong Fairy who proclaimed that the three had gone off to other sects, it would have sparked a major panic.
Zi Tong Sect's strength was weak and except for Zi Tong Fairy, who was at the Late-stage of Almighty Immortal, there was no one else above the Fairy Immortal stage. The rest of the disciples with the highest cultivation numbered six only at the Nascent Soul stage. In the next Gold Core stage, there were only a dozen. Now, their three main personnel had disappeared suddenly and if there had been no reasonable explanation, it would have been impossible to face the rest of the disciples.
Following this news, it was decided that Yang Ying would be the next chief of Zi Tong Sect. Her inauguration ceremony would be held half a year later. No one objected to this news. After all, everyone has long known that Yang Ying was close with the chief and everyone knew her characteristics and was assured by it. Everyone expected her to take over as the chief of Zi Tong Sect.
Yang Ying was very indifferent to the news that she was to be the next chief. She did not change her lifestyle even though her status had changed. She still did her own stuff daily, be it cultivation or alchemy. Whatever she had been doing previously, she continued to do it. Now, everyone felt her fame followed the merit of being a chief.
The only thing that puzzled everyone was that Dumb Kid who used to be with Yang Ying, had not appeared recently. Now, as soon as Yang Ying finished her own affairs, she would immediately return to the mountain back.
According to a well-informed disciple, Dumb Kid had been injured while trying to protect Yang Ying, so now the future chief spent all her free time taking care of Dumb Kid. This statement suddenly brought a lot of sighs and many disciples wished they could take Dumb Kid's place.
...
A month later, among the caves in the Black Wind Valley in the Northern Heaven District, the four Ghostly-Fire Twelve Lords were together again.
"The boss has summoned you all today. Though we had been on a low-key search for the Five-element Secret Treasures, we faced some problems that were made known to the old guys of Central Heaven District! Now, the boss has a crucial matter to discuss with everyone, so let's go into the Starlit Space together." the old man in black robes embroidered with the word "Eleven" said this slowly.
Later, the four went into the depths of the cave, where a crystal ball was emitting a faint blue light. The old man took out a token and gently touched the crystal ball. Immediately, the blue light flashed brightly and the four of them disappeared.
The next moment, the four appeared in a vast star-studded space. There were three long column-shaped high platforms in the center. There were six short round tables on each side of the columns. Together, they formed a fan-shape and floated silently in the air.
At this time, on those round tables, blurry light clusters subsequently appeared. The three men led by the old man also turned into four light clusters and went to the round table where they gathered together.
When all the light clusters had settled on the eleven round tables, an old voice rang out, "The Boss is here!"
Then, on the three high platforms, in the centre, a large light cluster appeared and a deep voice could be heard. "Unfortunately, Sixth Wu can no longer attend; it is my fault!"
"Boss, please don't feel guilty. The death of Sixth Wu was due to my inability to help him. At that time, I knew that the 'Four Experts of Southern Heaven ' were attacking him, but I could not rescue him in time. Boss, please punish me!"
"Tenth Xu, you don't have to blame yourself; after all, you were trying to bring back the Xuan Xing Meteorite Wood and Sixth Wu knew what mattered most. Thus, though he knew he was no match for the opponent, he still did his best and fought with them. Eventually, he even killed one opponent and injured the other two, so it is an honour for my Ghostly Fire Palace!"
"Boss, now we have obtained three treasures of the Five-element Secret Treasures, in addition to the Dirty-Evil Soil found in the Devil Realm. The whereabouts of the Purple Gold Lightning is not known yet, but certainly it is not in the Mortal Realm, the direction of our search"
"This is also the purpose of my calling for this meeting. Our goal should be changed. However, before this, Eleventh Huan, your group can't leave yet. This time, the amount of Heaven-Hell Water is not enough to condense the water essence. Therefore, your group must find a way to get the same amount again and only then can you consider the task complete!"
"I understand! First Huo from our group was exposed before, but the Fifth Feng hid well. Since the mission is completed, we can leave this interface and let her do it! Even if she is exposed, it does not matter!"
"Ai, why so troublesome! What I wanted to say is that, we need to leave anyway, so why not have a big battle. In this interface, our cultivations were all oppressed to such a low level and that is killing me! Shall we go to Zi Tong Sect together and get Fifth Feng be the spy inside. It would be great to solve everything all at once!"
"No! Till today, I have not thought of a method to break the Formation Key of the Sect-Protection Formation of Zi Tong Sect. If we go about so rashly, it is very likely that the mission will fail! If that happens, we will not even have any room for regret!"
"Fifth Feng is right! Seventh Lei, when will you learn to control your impulsive temper and realise that not everything can be solved by force! Even if you go and demolish Zi Tong Sect, what next? Is it for us to appear in high-profile in front of the old guys of Pangu Origin world?"
"Oh, oh, that, that, I am wrong, okay? I shall not talk anymore. Anyway, if you need a helping hand, count me in"
"Ai, you have been here only for a short time and have yet to know the strangeness of this big world! Indeed, from the perspective of interface strength, maybe my Nether Big World is stronger, but I tell you, if you really think that you should just wait for death! More than 100,000 years ago, the ten powerful figures went to a small world that was even worse than here. But the result? Though they were holding the 'Mind Condensing Wand' of the 'Seven Treasures of the Netherworld', all ten of them died!"
"If we want to talk about something that happened recently, more than 10,000 years ago, a Human Clan came from that small world too! He was alone and his cultivation was only at the Peak of Heavenly Master! But the result! He killed seven Supreme Masters! Third Palace Lord died, and the Second Palace Lord is still nursing his wounds! If it were not for Ji Luo Tao Lord from the Dark Dynasty, who moved against the reflection power of the law, maybe our Ghostly Fire Palace would have disappeared in the Nether Big World! Even so, that human clan did not die, but he sealed himself off. Thus the old guys from the Dark Dynasty did not retreat! So, I tell you, keep a low-profile, so there will be no harm! "Though this big world was not as good as ours, it also has the accumulations of hundreds of thousands of years. Surely, there must be things that were not used yet! If those old guys from the Sacred Ally Palace of Central Heaven District were to emerge, it would be enough to create tons of troubles for us!"
"That Human Clan was quite dumb too. If he had not held on so tightly to the Mind Condensing Wand while using his terrifying space teleporting move, not even Ji Luo Tao Lord could out chase him! Now, he acts like a fool and goes around, muttering 'Feiwu, Feiwu' every day. I have no idea what he is talking about!"
"Okay, stop! Now, do as I say! Tenth Xu, you go to the Devil Realm and make friends with those from the Sun-Moon Palace in order to find the Dirty-Evil Soil. Twelfth kong, your group is the strongest, so make an effort to go to the Ghost Realm first. If you can't detect the aura of the Purple Gold Lightning, then go to the Demon Realm to check. If you can't find it still, we will meet in the southern Demon Realm after five hundred years and explore that small world!"
"Eleventh Huan, your group will stay here for the time being. Fifth Feng, you are the strongest of the twelve in terms of strength. No matter what method you are using, you have to get the same amount of Heaven-Hell Water from that Dumb Kid! You have to complete the task within one year, no question about it!"
...
Time was like water, the sun and the moon were like a shuttle and in a blink of an eye, another five months had passed.
During this period, Yang Ying took care of Lyu Liang in a meticulous way and this made him worried. Since the incident, he clearly felt that the way Yang Ying looked at him and treated him had changed drastically from the previous time!
In the past, it was mostly due to sympathy and care of Dumb Kid. Now, no matter how he looked at it, it felt like a wife taking care of her sick husband.
During the day, Dumb Kid did not seem to be that stupid anymore. He often played tricks that made Yang Ying laugh.
When they were outside, Dumb Kid could use the Heart Swordsmanship skilfully and the power was as strong as Lyu Liang when he could only use Primordial Qi! If it were not his own body that he was clear about, Lyu Liang suspected that Dumb Kid had already produced his own consciousness of the Divine Soul.
People were not plants. Lyu Liang found one disadvantage in his character that he was not sure if it was bad or not. His heart was moved too easily! Shangguan Ying was his first true love and the most important person in his heart! Then the experience with Dongfang Xiaoyu could also be said to be unforgettable, but if he were asked to choose, he would not hesitate to choose Shangguan Ying!
But for Yang Ying, he was utterly helpless. In any case, Dumb Kid was himself, from the first time he saw her Dumb Kid stuck to her like plaster and was very clingy. However, under a strange combination of circumstances, it now made the beauty treat him differently.
What gave Lyu Liang a headache was not how to leave after recovery, but how to confess to Yang Ying! He couldn't possibly just tell her that he was made to be a fool at the time and she should not to take his actions too seriously!
According to Lyu Liang's character, he was one who would repay every small help with great gratitude, it was impossible for him to say this! Because he owed them his life; if not for them, he might already have been killed by the evil ones. Thus, he would not have a chance to obtain the fortune in the colorful barrier. He had to repay them at any cost! Even if they wanted half of his life, he would not hesitate!
One night in the middle of the fifth month, in the colorful barrier, in the pool of the Heaven-Hell Water, Lyu Liang has been immersed in it for more than two hours. Suddenly, the tranquil surface of the water suddenly boiling and bubbles appeared!
"Whizzz", a small black figure rushed out of the water like an arrow; it shook its head and licked the waterdrops on its body, then stared at the boiling pool, with a grin.
"Woo!" with a loud bang, a thick blue water column rose to the sky, creating a beautiful arc and then landing heavily on the ground. Gradually, from that part of the ground, two feet appeared, followed by the legs and waist and slowly the upper body and head appeared too. When the water column transformed completely into a human form, who else could it be other than Lyu Liang?
At this time, Lyu Liang's eyes were sharp and the corners of his mouth were turned upwards. Suddenly he howled and smiled at Black in front of him, "Sure enough, when the essence of the water is condensed, it's the time for me to break through to the Peak of Gold Core stage. Black, come, I have a hunch, today is the day when the Crystal Pearl will be broken!"