Chapter 333 - Returning to the Immortals' League

Chapter 333 Returning to the Immortals’ LeagueIt was just beginning to darken when Xiao Chen and his groupmates returned to the Burg of the Feral Phoenix but there wasn’t even a hint of artificial light. Most citizens had their windows closed, ready to rest for the night. Complete stillness and silence shrouded the city.

When the Three Friends of Winter saw them return to the City Master’s Manor, they impatiently went up to ask about the fruits of their trip. Xiao Chen replied, “Rest assured, Elders. We have a clear answer about the origin of the Devil Qi. Tomorrow at dawn, we will return to the Immortals’ League and inform the Elders to come and deal with the matters here.”

Noticing their dispirited expressions and two missing members, Elder Plum asked, “Where are two more of your friends?”

The group shook their heads, sighed, or kept silent. Those two must have perished in the Abyss of Devil’s Aura, the three Elders thought. So they asked no further and immediately ordered the servants to prepare tea and a feast.

But no one was in the mood to eat and took just a quick bath. When dawn arrived the next day, they immediately set out on their journey back to Tianyuan City. Before they left, however, Xiao Chen bade the three Elders, Ye Lingfeng, Ye Mulian, and the rest farewell. “Three Elders, City Master Ye, Miss Ye, let us meet again someday!” He was fairly sure that he wouldn’t return to this tiny land after leaving today.

The rest of his group was rather solemn as well. Xiaoyue was the only one who looked unperturbed. She ought to be the happiest person to learn that the Abyss of Devil’s Aura had nothing to do with the Valley of God and Devil. The death of her two groupmates was of no consequence; she wasn’t the leader, after all.

After bidding farewell, the group flew on the Flying-cloud Stone in the direction that they had come in. The sea of clouds stretched for miles and miles and the view of mountains and creeks remained unchanged, but this time, there was no more banter and laughter.

Finally, after a long silence, Qin Shaoyang asked the question that they must confront. “What do we say when we get back?”

No one had an answer. It took two hours for them to come up with a conclusion. They decided to report truthfully to the Immortals’ League what had happened in the Abyss of Devil’s Aura. They would request the league to invite some experts that had secluded themselves to seal the place off completely.

The group had also discussed the death of Qi Feng and Zhong Buhui. Just like Xiao Chen and his group’s journey to Wuwang Wind Cloud City, they would say that the duo had unfortunately died trying to get them out. They would try their best to turn the duo into heroes. That was, after all, how heroes were made, was it not?

They finally made it back to Tianyuan City two days later. Even though their trip took less than ten days, all of them felt as if they had suffered out in the wild for half a year. Now that they were back, they felt every blade of grass and every stalk of flower in the city all that lovelier to them. They felt like they were reborn and would no longer dare to venture to such dangerous and wicked places.

While they were away, even more cultivators had arrived in the city. When they were near the Jade Terrace Mountain, a group of Immortal’s Swords or magic treasures fashioned into flying mounts stopped their Flying-cloud Stone.

There were probably almost two hundred of them, with their cultivation ranging from the Core Forming Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm. Even more flew up from the ground, all of them with their own questions. “You’re finally back! What’s going on in the Abyss of Devil’s Aura? What did you see there? Is it the Valley of God and Devil? The Devil Clan has been coveting the Human World for thousands of years; are they staging a comeback?”

The countless people and unceasing torrent of questions crowding the Flying-cloud Stone made it impossible for the stone to fly away. This time, the leader Xiao Chen must step forward to answer. “Everyone, please remain calm. Please allow us to return and inform the Elders at the Immortals’ League. The league will have its arrangements. You can all rest assured…”

“Bullsh*t!”

Before Xiao Chen could finish his sentence, a hot-tempered burly man yelled at him. The man had a beard covering almost his entire face and holding two double-sided axes in both hands. His feet rested on two wheels of fire. With reddened cheeks and eyes wide open in fury, he yelled, “Don’t take Grandpa Cheng for a fool! Stop spouting bullsh*t here! Hurry up and explain what’s going on over there!”

“That’s right! Don’t try to trick us! Did you think the League would tell us the truth?” Several people in the crowd echoed the man’s thoughts.

Ling Fei sneered when he saw how fired-up the crowd was. He walked up to them and yelled, “Remain calm, everyone! We did find traces of the devils there, and…” He cast a glance at Xiao Chen. “We even discovered the existence of spies from Devil’s sects hidden in our orthodox sects!”

“What?! Spies from Devil’s sects?!”

His words instantly riled up the crowd of hundreds. Some even immediately relayed this piece of information via Faraway-voice Transfer, spreading the news to every corner of the city.

The situation went out of control. Qingluan glared at Ling Fei. The desire to murder flitted across her expression as she said coldly, “Don’t babble nonsense here to stir up the crowd!”

Ling Fei sneered. “I didn’t say who it is. Why are you so agitated?”

“Who is it? Who is it?!” Many among the crowd began chanting in unison. Ziyun’er said, “There are indeed a lot of devilish objects there, but everyone here shouldn’t show blind trust in another person’s words!”

“D*mn it, are you guys answering or not?! If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll let you taste Grandpa Cheng’s two heaven-shattering axes!” The eyes of the bearded burly man from earlier widened in fury. He knocked his axes together with tremendous force, producing a collision sound so loud that it nearly cracked everyone’s eardrums.

Xiao Chen took a heavy step forward with a strict and frosty expression. “I told you the Immortals’ League will handle this matter! Stop pestering us nonstop! Get out of our way!”

He emanated his Nascent Soul Realm aura when his last line left his mouth. Several Core Forming Realm cultivators nearly fell in shock, but two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators weren’t willing to play along. One of them shouted, “The Immortals’ League won’t let us go and you’re unwilling to talk! Who knows if you guys are secretly up to something?!”

Qingluan finally lost her temper. She said frostily, “Go if you want to! No one will stop you from digging your own grave!”

Immediately, another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator widened his eyes and started berating her. “Oy, what’s wrong with you, little girl? Watch how you speak to your elders!”

The crowd became fearless now that they had the support of two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. Even more cultivators were flying from the ground. Some were even trying to damage the Protective Barrier of the Flying-cloud Stone.

The Flying-cloud Stone began shaking violently under the crowd’s incessant attacks, showing signs of falling at any time. Zhilian yelped in fear. Just then, everyone heard the sighing of an old man coming from the Jade Terrace Mountain. “Use your words if you have questions. There’s no need to attack anyone under our Jade Terrace Mountain, is there?”

Even though the voice sounded wizened, it was enough to strike fear in everyone who heard it. Then, an elderly man in a cyan robe flew over to them. It was the First Elder of the Immortals’ League, Perfected Immortal Guyang. Under the pressure of his Nirvana Realm aura, the crowd immediately stopped attacking the Flying-cloud Stone.

However, some people banked on the fact that the League wouldn’t dare to harm them and became rude. It was right then that an ear-splitting roar of a beast pierced their ears. The crowd watched as two rows of Fire Qilins treading through the air from the southwest toward their direction. There were about twenty of them, with each carrying two passengers. It was the arrival of the League’s Elite Qilin Squadron.

“Those who dare to stir up trouble here are to be imprisoned for three months!” the captain of the squadron yelled, flicking his golden whip. Instantly, the crowd of hundreds fell silent.

The Immortals’ League wasn’t as courteous as the Daoist League of the Five Continents. No one dared to voice their discontent anymore. The captain yelled in a solemn voice, “What are you waiting for? Leave now!” The crowd immediately left for the city underneath, not daring to say another word.

When the crowd was finally gone, the captain of the Qilin Squadron retrieved his golden whip and respectfully saluted Perfected Immortal Guyang. “Elder Guyang, we’re terribly sorry. We have no idea that the team heading for the Abyss of Devil’s Aura will return today and failed to make adequate arrangements to receive them. Please forgive us.”

Perfected Immortal Guyang shook his head and sighed. “Forget it.” He then looked at Xiao Chen and the rest. “Let’s go.”

With the arrival of support from the Immortals’ League, the cultivators in the city dared not come up and stop them. Their journey back to the Jade Terrace Mountain was without obstacle. Meanwhile, after hearing about their return, many on the mountain welcomed them back. However, their main concern was still the situation over at the Abyss of Devil’s Aura.

Under Perfected Immortal Guyang’s orders, a dozen or so disciples of the Immortals’ League blocked these people from entering. Qingluan and Ziyun’er flanked Xiao Chen, each gripping their Purple-green Blood-cutting Blades, as they stopped anyone from coming ten steps away from him.

The group headed for the Pure Harmony Hall. By the time they reached the rear of the public square, those following them had tapered off. The snow covering many parts of the Jade Terrace Mountain had also melted, replaced by lush and long grasses that exemplified the charms of spring.

But no one had the mood to enjoy the scenery. They made a beeline for the Pure Harmony Hall and saw the Elders of the Immortal’s League sitting upright and still inside the hall with solemn expressions. The mood inside was heavy and funereal. Xiao Chen, as the leader of the group this time, immediately went up to salute the Elders.

There were eighteen of them when they left, but only sixteen when they returned. This didn’t escape the Elders’ attention and naturally, they could surmise the reason as well. One of them sighed and said, “Forget it. Tell us what you saw there.”

Xiao Chen immediately reproduced what happened there from beginning to end. The only difference was, in describing the death of Qi Feng from the White Mist Academy and Zhong Buhui from the Yin-Yang Sect, he added, “Perhaps there is another reason for the death of the Senior Brothers. We cannot fully ascertain that it was the doing of Yi Tong and None-flower Dust.”

The Elders couldn’t help sighing after hearing this. It was such a pity that such elite youngsters had passed on. It was right then that two disciples of the League ran in with sweat-drenched faces and flustered expressions. One of them rushed up to the feet of the hall’s platform and said in a panic, “Bad news, Elders! Senior Xingxiu of White Mist Academy and Senior Zhong Li of the Yin-Yang Sect are forcing their way in…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud and resounding voice came from outside the hall. “Xiao Chen, give me back my disciple’s life!”