Chapter 318 - More Than Unlikely

Yu Jin, or, well Leng Jin Yu watched Jing Yi stand up and look around. He himself had long since observed their surroundings. This part of the secret realm didn't look much different from outside. There was a meadow surrounded by a forest with mountains towering in the distance. The spiritual energy inside was much purer though. This place was actually very suitable for cultivating.

If Leng Jin Yu didn't do something to impede Jing Yi's progress, then he would probably improve by leaps and bounds while staying here. Then, after his return, there definitely wouldn't be any reason for the Yun Zou Sect to refuse to take him into the inner sect and the wedding with the dragon king was only a question of time. As for his ascension … Well, that would still depend on his aptitude to a large degree.

"Senior Martial Brother Yu, what happened? Where are the others?"

Leng Jin Yu sighed. "The question should be where we are. You remember the explosion?"

"Explosion?" Jing Yi knitted his eyebrows.

Actually, he couldn't remember anything like that or maybe it was more accurate to say that he had never seen the explosion in the first place. Being thrown to the ground by an ascended deity in a hurried manner while said deity still threw an attack at someone close by had actually knocked him out for good. He hadn't been conscious anymore when the Jade Gathering Beast exploded and the gap to the secret realm opened. The last thing he remembered was Yu Jin slamming into him. After that everything was engulfed by darkness.

Leng Jin Yu nodded. "I don't know if you noticed but a creature called a Jade Gathering Beast had latched onto you."

"Jade Gathering Beast?" Jing Yi thought of the stone-like thing Qiguan Cheng Da had given him. It had seemed like it was made out of jade. So that was probably what was called a Jade Gathering Beast? "Oh, yes. Senior martial brother Qiguan gave it to me."

Leng Jin Yu paused. Qiguan Cheng Da? How had he gotten his hands on a Jade Gathering Beast? Not to talk about the fact that not even one had been seen for several hundreds of years already, even before that they had been quite rare. And Qiguan Cheng Da hadn't left the Yun Zou Sect often. How should he have found one? It seemed someone had used him to try and hurt the Son of Heaven. This was … dangerous.

"Did he say anything about it?"

"Just that it was something used for cultivation and that his cultivation level was already too high to use it."

"I see." Leng Jin Yu didn't say anything else to that.

Jing Yi also kept quiet for a while. He didn't understand though and finally couldn't take the wait any longer. "Senior Martial Brother, what does this have to do with the others vanishing?"

"A Jade Gathering Beast might be used for cultivation. It can't be used in the vicinity of large quantities of spiritual energy though. Especially a place where a secret realm emerges isn't suitable. It will cause the Jade Gathering Beast to explode and might even harm the owner in the process. In fact, the one that had latched onto you was about to explode. Luckily, I noticed in time and managed to separate it from you and destroy it. Otherwise …"

"Then senior martial brother Qiguan …" Jing Yi couldn't help but worry. Qiguan Cheng Da had stood right next to him. If Yu Jin had helped him, then what about him? Was he alright?

"I don't know. The two of us were lucky. We were thrown into the secret realm when the explosion occurred. As for the others …" Leng Jin Yu shook his head. "I don't know what happened to them. But considering the scale of the explosion, I reckon that not everyone lived."

Jing Yi's heart throbbed. "Not everyone …" He frantically tried to recall where Qiu Ling had been when he lost consciousness. It seemed he had stood a little farther away with Grandmaster Zhangsun? He wasn't sure though. "Qiu Ling should be alright, shouldn't he?"

Leng Jin Yu wanted to nod but finally just kept silent. He had said that he didn't know. He should probably let him worry.

Jing Yi lifted a hand to his chest, trying to calm down his furiously beating heart. Could it really be that something had happened to Qiu Ling? That shouldn't be, right? He hadn't stood that close and even if he did, he wasn't even mortal! It would be strange if he was really …

Leng Jin Yu kept quiet and turned away, unable to watch how Jing Yi bit his lower lip in fear. Those two … they really loved each other very much. He certainly didn't understand why the dragon king kept acting so recklessly but it was obvious that their feelings for each other were deep. Even the mortal reincarnation of the crown prince loved him very much even though he had no memories of his past life.

Leng Jin Yu cleared his throat and nodded at the forest. "We should go and take a look around." He didn't wait for an answer and just started to march forward.

Jing Yi hastened after him. "Senior Martial Brother Yu, is this really alright? If we got into the secret realm here, then wouldn't it be better to stay here to get out?"

Leng Jin Yu looked up at the sky. Right. How could he have forgotten that this boy knew next to nothing about cultivation? "It won't be of any use. The secret realm won't open on its own for a long time."

"Then maybe we can open it?"

"We can't."

"And … Grandmaster Zhangsun? He is right outside. He'll probably take care of the other disciples and then get us out of here, won't he?"

Leng Jin Yu stopped and turned to Jing Yi. "He won't. He's just the same as us. Nobody is able to open this secret realm for the time being. The only opportunity would be if one of us managed to replace the master of this realm and that … is more than unlikely."