Fairy, return my flying sword to me

Chapter 232 Return
"Even Senior Brother Chen has reached his limit, and he still hasn't come out of the forest. It seems he really died inside."

"I knew it. I thought this kid might be hiding somewhere and not coming out. But it seems he's really gone."

"The Zhengyang Sect has really lost both its wife and its army this time. They finally managed to get a spot to explore a secret realm, but they never expected that even their most core disciple would perish in it."

"Can't an alchemist just focus on refining pills? Why does he have to wander into such dangerous secret realms? Who can he blame if he dies?"

Chuan Gong and Cang Jing were completely panicked. Chuan Gong grabbed the sleeve of the Chunyang Sword Sect's external affairs elder beside him and asked, "Elder Zhou! Elder Zhou! Can you ask your disciple if he saw our Jian'er in the secret realm?"

The Foreign Affairs Elder was someone who had previously passed through the Chunyang Sword Sect's mountain gate in the forest, and he knew in his heart that the forest might not be as vulnerable as those disciples thought.

But seeing that his own disciples had already come out, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Lin Jian already had a certain foundation in swordsmanship, and even possessed sword intent that many Golden Core stage sword cultivators had not yet mastered.

But in the end, he was still just a minor cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage.

This secret realm tests not only swordsmanship and swordsmanship, but also cultivation level, which is an indispensable part of the process.

If Lin Jiankong has the understanding but lacks the hard power to apply it, then he may not be able to go very far.

Perhaps it wasn't as simple as those disciples claiming that they would be expelled immediately after an hour, but at least they could exchange a few blows with those sword-wielding heroes without any problems.

It has been almost three hours now, which would be about two days or more, or almost the third day, inside the world.

Now that even their eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan has come out, with that kid only at the Foundation Establishment stage, surely he won't really be in trouble?

He was immediately alarmed and quickly went to Elder Jianyin, who was also present and paying attention to the exploration of the secret realm, to express his concerns.

Jian Yin remained noncommittal, but used the jade ruyi to contact the elder guarding the perimeter of the secret realm and asked, "Ask him how things are in the secret realm? Have you seen that brat from the Zheng Yang Sect?"

"Yes!"

The elder guarding outside the secret realm was also very curious, as he had personally witnessed his disciple isolating that young man from the Zhengyang Sect.

Unexpectedly, the first one to be forced to leave the secret realm was none other than their own disciple.

Upon receiving the message from Jian Yin, he lightly flew to the side of the eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan on his sword and asked in a clear voice, "Which level have you reached?"

The eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan floated in the air, clasped his hands and bowed, replying, "Reporting to the elder, we have reached the third level."

He wasn't the first to pass through the three sword-wielding heroes, but he was the first to charge forward after reaching the third level.

In that shattered domain filled with countless sword intents and techniques, he, feeling truly outmatched, chose to withdraw while he was ahead and turn back in time.

"...Besides me, only Junior Brother Ma and Senior Brother Fang are still fighting the third heroic spirit on the second level. It seems they are both quite confident. The rest of my fellow disciples had already launched their attacks on the third level before I left."

"Hmm..." The elder nodded with satisfaction. "Your performance this time was quite good."

It's not just good, it's quite excellent.

In previous years, almost every disciple failed to pass the three Sword Qi Heroic Souls stage, but this time only two disciples are currently stuck at the Sword Qi Heroic Soul stage.

But it sounds like they're not far from succeeding in their mission. While this achievement is far from being enough to retrieve the ancestral artifact, it's enough that they've lived up to their quota for this training.

But what he was concerned about right now was not the performance of these disciples themselves.

"What about that junior brother from the Zhengyang Sect? Did you encounter him after you went in?"

"Him?" The eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening after a brief moment of thought.

He immediately looked around in confusion, "Huh? He's not back?"

The elder nodded and said, "I have been here the whole time, so he has not returned yet."

More related thoughts flooded his mind, and the face of the eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan gradually turned ugly. "Then I'm afraid we're in trouble. This junior brother's condition... is probably not good."

"Huh? What do you say?"

"To be honest, Elder, we actually encountered him not long after we went in. However, he was caught in the sword energy and gale of the outermost Lifeng Valley. Although we rushed to his rescue, the storm was the largest and most terrifying we had ever seen. We couldn't catch up..."

The elder remained calm and immediately grasped the suspicious point in the other party's words, "Perhaps?"

“Hmm…” The eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan nodded and said, “We were far away at the time and could not confirm that it was Junior Brother Lin. We only vaguely saw a human figure being swept up in it. We thought that besides us, Junior Brother Lin was the only living person in that secret realm, so we made this guess.”

He paused, glancing around unconsciously, before adding, "We've been guessing whether that shadow was Junior Brother Lin, and it seems... Junior Brother Lin really didn't escape the storm."

The news reached the training ground.

All the elders, including those in charge of the scriptures and the transmission of skills, knew about the news this disciple had brought back.

He died in the woods...it's very likely he died there.

"If you get caught in the sword energy and gale and don't escape in time, you're as good as dead..."

"So much time has passed, there's absolutely no way they could have survived."

Seeing the sorrowful expressions on the faces of Chuan Gong and Cang Jing, the elder in charge of foreign affairs couldn't help but comfort them, saying, "Don't be so pessimistic. Maybe they're mistaken. Didn't he say that the shadow might just be one of your disciples?"

"Yes! Maybe!" Chuan Gong exclaimed as if grasping at a straw, "It's just a possibility! Perhaps they misread it... They must have misread it!"

But... what are the chances that nine Golden Core cultivators could be mistaken by the same person, given their keen eyesight?

The scene fell silent once again.

The exhausted eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan was also taken aside by the elder to recuperate and consolidate the experience he had finally gained from the secret realm.

The rest of the people all stared intently at the entrance to the secret realm.

If the eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan has already emerged, how far behind can the rest be?
Based on the best performance of the Chunyang Sword Sect disciples in the past, they could only last for a maximum of three hours.

The next two to three hours were the time when those participants returned in large numbers.

In the moments to come, one might see disciples returning.

The transmission of skills and the storage of scriptures were fixed on a quiet entrance and exit. The breeze in the valley rustled through the treetops, as if brewing some whispered conspiracy.

Their hearts pounded faster and faster, as if they were awaiting the final judgment of fate.

This Sword Ruins is a unique secret realm belonging to their sect. Over the years, who else has been more familiar with this secret realm than the people of their sect?

Although they were very optimistic about Lin Jian's potential, they had all been told that their disciples could only hold out for about three hours at most, and that their disciples had already returned.

Could it be that on his first visit to someone else's territory in the forest, he was more familiar with their secret realm than their disciples and could endure for longer than others?
Is it possible?
Can it?

One figure after another appeared.

From time to time, a streak of light appeared in the hazy light curtain, carrying a figure, appearing in front of the entrance to the secret realm.

With each figure that appeared, the hearts of those transmitting power and those storing scriptures trembled. No…

no……

no……

Or not...

None of it is in the woods!

One after another, disciples from the Chunyang Sword Sect appeared to participate in the secret realm, but Lin Jian was nowhere to be seen.

During the transmission of power, he felt his true energy fluctuating, and his blood and qi began to surge uncontrollably.

If Lin Jian really dies in this exploration of the secret realm, I don't know how I'll explain it when I get back.

More importantly, as he spent more and more time with this young man, he not only saw the various outstanding potentials in this disciple, but also saw a sincere and pure heart in his daily behavior.

Cultivating such a disciple will always benefit the sect in the future.

Unexpectedly...

"What's the situation inside?" The elder who had been stationed at the entrance to the secret realm asked.

The returning disciples, like the eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan, were all weak and disheveled, but their eyes were bright, clearly indicating that they had all gained a lot from this exploration of the secret realm.

The eldest disciple of the Longevity Sword Clan smiled and stretched out his palm, in which floated an irregularly changing dreamlike crystal. "I have found a sword intent essence!"

This is a treasure that can be used to forge magical artifacts, and it can only be found in the Sword Ruins on the third level of the Sword Ruins Secret Realm.

She explored the farthest in the Sword Ruins Secret Realm and also reaped the greatest rewards.

In the past, the elders would have offered their warmest congratulations and had the sect disciples celebrate this resounding success with great enthusiasm.

At that moment, all he could think about was the hard-won friendly relationship between the two sects. "Have you ever met that disciple of the Zhengyang Sect?"

"Junior Brother Lin?" Feng Lingling, the eldest disciple of the Longevity Sword Clan, lost her smile, furrowed her brows slightly, and turned to look around. "He hasn't returned yet?"

"No." The eldest disciple of the Burning Heaven Sword Clan, who had returned first, had temporarily stabilized his breathing and came to the side to answer, "He hasn't come back yet. Did you see him later?"

Although they didn't want to bring this useless, easy-to-win dog along into the secret realm, if he really died there, considering the diplomatic relations between the two sects, they, the disciples who entered the secret realm with him, would be subject to some criticism.

“We haven’t seen him…” Liu Mufeng flew over from the side on his sword, turning back to look at the light screen of the secret realm, his eyes dim. “It seems he really died inside…”

The combined verification by so many people almost confirms the fact that the forest is indeed a secret realm where the fallen have indeed perished.

Upon receiving the message, Chuan Gong and Zang Jing felt their vision blur and were on the verge of fainting.

Looking at the scene in the Water Mist Mirror, I noticed that besides the elder who had been stationed there, there were only seven figures at the entrance of the light curtain.

In other words, besides Lin Jian, there are two other disciples of the Chunyang Sword Sect who have not yet returned.

"There are two more... two more? Have they found the room?" Chuan Gong asked, clinging to his last glimmer of hope.

Not only did he discover that some people were missing, but the returning disciples of the Chunyang Sword Sect were also searching for their companions.

"Huh?" Another cultivator who had emerged looked around and suddenly asked, "Where are Junior Brother Ma and Senior Brother Fang? Haven't they come out yet? I hope something's happened to them?"

"They should be alright, right? When we left Cangfeng Plain, they were still sparring with the third sword qi spirit. If they succeed, they'll definitely be a bit slower to get out than we are."

Seeing the hesitant expression on the garrison elder's face, Feng Lingling stepped forward and gently comforted him, "Let's ask Junior Brother Ma and Senior Brother Fang when they come out... They're at the back, so maybe they can run into Junior Brother Lin from the Zheng Yang Sect."

The elder sighed softly, "That's all we can hope for..."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was movement again on the hazy light screen.

Almost simultaneously, two streaks of light grew larger behind the light screen, then suddenly burst out of the screen, transforming into two human figures before everyone's eyes.

Upon seeing the two, the surrounding disciples rushed forward to inquire with concern.

"Junior Brother Ma!"

"Senior Brother Fang!"

The people ahead had already checked their spoils, leaving only the last two, who didn't know how far they had walked on the third level.

One of the disciples immediately asked out of curiosity, "How far did you two walk on the third level?"

"How was the final result?"

The two looked blank, as if they hadn't heard their companions at all, and seemed somewhat lost and disoriented.

Seeing this, the other seven people couldn't help but feel concerned.

"Junior Brother Ma? Junior Brother Ma, what's wrong?"

"Senior Brother Fang, say something! What did you encounter inside at the end?"

"Or perhaps we failed to defeat the third sword-wielding spirit? It's alright if we didn't... we can fight again next time. We must not lose our fighting spirit!"

However, no matter how much these people tried to comfort and persuade them, the two seemed to be frightened by something and remained silent for a long time.

Even his eyes were dull and lifeless.

The elder pushed through the crowd and squeezed in front of the two.

A cold snort, brimming with true energy, resounded in their hearts.

So much so that both of them shuddered at the same time, subconsciously looking up at what was in front of them, and their eyes regained some of their wit.

"I ask you, as you were walking at the back, did you see that disciple from the Zheng Yang Sect named Lin Jian?"

Based on what others had said before, it seemed that the Zheng Yang Sect disciple named Lin Jian was likely in grave danger.

However, as long as the body has not been seen, no conclusions can be drawn.

Now that these two are at the back, they have a higher chance of running into that kid in the forest than the others.

Whether Lin Jian is alive or dead, they need definite information so that the Chunyang Sword Sect can give an explanation to the two envoy elders of the Zhengyang Sect.

Seemingly because they heard a certain name, the two of them fell into that state of confusion and fear once again.

"I...I saw him."

(End of this chapter)