The dimly lit underground passage was filled with people tending to their wounds.
Xia Qianqian, a secondary healing cultivator, played no small part in such an environnt, having a healing cultivator was simply blissful, who cared if they were first-rate or second-rate.
It took a full three days before the group had mostly recovered.
It was ti to leave.
As usual, Lu Ye led the way, ascending along the pathway they had co by, back to the collapsed dry well they had encountered earlier. After so busy work moving the fallen rocks, they cleared a path.
A mont later, Lu Ye was the first to fly up, the dazzling sunlight filling his vision, giving him a surreal feeling of being alive.
The others followed suit, all with pleased expressions.
There wasn't much vigilance because, while healing earlier, everyone had already gathered so information through their own channels, knowing that the issue in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain had been resolved. The demon beasts of the entire domain were no longer rampant, so naturally, there was no need to be cautious about anything.
"Young Sect Master, Great Elder!" A familiar voice entered their ears, and Lu Ye turned to see a few old mbers of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect approaching.
Three days earlier, when they had decided to delve deeper into the insect hive, the old woman had led these Ten Thousand Beasts Sect cultivators to lure away the surface demon beasts, and then they had disappeared without trace.
It seed they had been waiting outside all this ti.
Honestly speaking, Lu Ye still did not understand the old woman's precise rank within the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, he only guessed from her Cloud River Level 9 cultivation that her status must not be low.
When they ca near, they regrouped.
The Great Elder said, "Young Sect Master, now that the matter with the demon beasts has been resolved, please return to the sect to rebuild the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
The old woman and others also said, "Please return to the sect, Young Sect Master, rebuild the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect!"
Had they not ntioned it, Lu Ye would have almost forgotten he still held the identity of the Young Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. But as a Nine Provinces cultivator, how could he possibly undertake such a task at the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
Turning his head to look at Pang Dahai, the chubby man averted his gaze, his expression one of helplessness.
He had never encountered such a situation either; mainly because even though he had entered various secret realms and been endowed with various identities by Heaven's Augury, his positions were never high, and he had never been granted a status like a Young Sect Master of a sect, let alone now when Lu Ye, as the Young Sect Master, was entangled in revitalizing a sect...
With several pairs of eyes fixed on him, Lu Ye could only say, "You all go back to the sect first, I have so business to attend to with my friends, I'll co back once it's settled."
The Great Elder imdiately volunteered, "This old man will accompany the Young Sect Master."
Lu Ye quickly raised his hand, "No need, Great Elder should go back too."
The Great Elder wanted to say more, but the old woman gave him a look, and the Great Elder then said, "If that's the case, Young Sect Master, please be careful." After finishing his words, he looked at Xia Qianqian and Shen Xiaomao, his expression stern, "You two, must protect the Young Sect Master well. If he loses even a hair, I will hold you accountable!"
The two won reluctantly agreed, "Yes!"
The Great Elder carefully instructed Lu Ye for a while, then joined the old woman and others, ascending to the skies, and soon disappeared from sight.
Watching them leave, Lu Ye was sowhat puzzled, "If I don't return to the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, will they keep waiting?"
Pang Dahai chuckled, "Heaven's Augury has its arrangents!"
All of a sudden, Lu Ye felt a pain in his scalp, turning his head, he saw Xia Qianqian holding a hair in her hand, clearly pulled from his head.
"What are you doing?"
Xia Qianqian snorted, "Young Sect Master, you've lost a hair, hurry and grow it back, otherwise, who knows how the Great Elder will punish us later."
She was clearly upset with the Great Elder's reprimand earlier, and now she was taking out her frustration on Lu Ye's hair!
Lu Ye couldn't bother with her childish behavior.
"Let's go." Zhou Hai called out, summoning his flying sword, leaping up, and transforming into a streak of sword light, heading towards Two Worlds City.
The rest quickly followed suit.
Along the way, all was calm, beneath their feet was a landscape full of ruin, for the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain that had suffered great calamity, this was undoubtedly a new beginning.
Lu Ye did not know if this world had indeed been destroyed, nor did he know if it was as Xia Qianqian had said earlier, that everything they had experienced was sothing this world had once gone through.
The only thing he could be certain of was that what he was seeing now was all very real.
The beast tide had receded, the demon beasts had returned to normal, Two Worlds City had been saved, the human race in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain had not been annihilated, and sowhere within the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, there were still people waiting for him to return and revitalize the sect.
"If soone does not wish to leave, couldn't they just stay here forever?" halfway there, Lu Ye suddenly spoke up, after all, leaving this secret realm required actively using the Heaven's Augury Pillar for teleportation, if one did not seek out the Heaven's Augury Pillar, then undoubtedly they could stay behind.
"It's possible, but have you ever seen anyone who stays in the Spirit Stream battlefield forever?" Xia Qianqian retorted beside him.
The path of cultivation is one where everyone is continuously moving forward, striving to reach the top, the many sceneries and experiences along the way are rely embellishnts on the road to growth, who would linger and forget to return in such a secret realm.
Take Lu Ye for example, he could go to the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, lead the Great Elder and others in reviving the sect, and then what? There was a high chance of encountering bounty hunters and assassins from Two Worlds City...
The world had changed drastically, the sects of the beast-taming faction were mostly destroyed, Two Worlds City, after becoming the last stronghold of the human race, had withstood the attack of the demon beasts.
By now, Two Worlds City had beco a central pillar in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain, and it was unlikely that the Two Worlds City Lord would allow the Beast Taming Sect to grow further and potentially overshadow him.
Despite only one direct encounter, Lu Ye could feel that the old fellow nad Liew Wuzhai was not soone who tolerated others well.
This ti, during the disaster of the insect hive and demon beast tide, Liew Wuzhai undoubtedly beca the biggest winner, crowned the master of this world from the mont the demon beasts retreated.
Thus, for the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect to rise again was undoubtedly very difficult.
Ten miles from Two Worlds City, the group descended and did not continue their journey, because they were still uncertain about how they would be treated upon reaching the city.
Regardless, they had all abandoned their posts while on duty defending the city, which from another's perspective, amounted to desertion in the face of battle.
Even though they had fought desperately in the insect hive and resolved the problem at its root, who would believe such a tale if told?
If they were to rush in recklessly, being attacked by the cultivators of Two Worlds City was almost certain, and the outco would surely be dire.
The group all looked to Lu Ye, clearly expecting him to scout out the situation in Two Worlds City...
Originally, there were two ghost cultivators in the team, but one got lost on the way and the other died in the insect hive, leaving only Lu Ye capable of using ghost cultivator's techniques for espionage.
"I will go and check," Lu Ye said without shirking his responsibility.
Shortly after, at the gates of Two Worlds City, Lu Ye concealed his form and calmly observed several striking portraits on a nearby notice board.
As expected, they had been declared wanted by Two Worlds City.
Notably, the portraits of Lu Ye, the Great Elder, and the old won were hung in the most conspicuous places.
Lu Ye guessed that if there had been no mbers from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect among those who had previously left, perhaps Two Worlds City might not have pursued an arrest with such earnest; but it was because those from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect were involved that gave Liew Wuzhai the opportunity to exploit the situation.
That old fellow certainly did not want the people of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect to return; he would rather they all perished outside.
With such a warrant out for them, entering directly by flying in was clearly unrealistic, as it would definitely provoke a mass attack from the cultivators of Two Worlds City.
They had no choice but to enter through the city gates.
Hopefully, they all had concealnt talismans.
Now, three days after the demon tide had receded, Two Worlds City was still in ruins, and many formations had yet to be re-established and maintained, so sneaking into the city with the aid of a concealnt talisman was still hopeful. If they waited until Two Worlds City had all its formations perfectly set up, sneaking in would beco much more difficult.
Lu Ye ssaged Xia Qianqian to inform her of the situation.
Xia Qianqian quickly replied, asking him to find the location of Heaven's Augury Pillar first.
Even if she hadn't ntioned it, Lu Ye was already planning to sneak into the city to locate the Heaven's Augury Pillar as, with it, they could return to the Cloud River battlefield at any ti. Xia Qianqian didn't bring up the concealnt talisman, which likely ant that such life-saving spirit talismans were sothing every cultivator carried a few of, since it's always good to be prepared when you never know when you might need them.
Having successfully snuck in through the city gates, Lu Ye carefully navigated through the city, occasionally avoiding the pedestrians coming face-to-face.
With the city being so vast, where to search for the Heaven's Augury Pillar was indeed a problem.
While at a loss, he suddenly heard soone nearby speak, "Is Fellow Daoist Sun preparing to return?"
Another person said, "Yes, having survived this major disaster, I even earned so battle rits and exchanged them for spirit fortune sticks. My cultivation should be able to advance further."
"Then congratulations are in order for Fellow Daoist Sun."
"Aren't you going back, Fellow Daoist Yooi?"
Cultivator Yooi replied, "I plan to stay here a while longer."
Cultivator Sun asked, puzzled, "Now that the crisis in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain is resolved and no more battle rits can be earned by killing demon beasts, what benefit is there to staying?"
Cultivator Yooi chuckled, "I didn't want to say, but I have also practiced in the Beast Taming faction."
Cultivator Sun then understood, "I see, Fellow Daoist is looking to find that Beast Taming secret technique."
"It's tough. Now that many of the Beast Taming faction's sects in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain have been destroyed, finding them isn't easy."
"Effort makes the difference. I wish Fellow Daoist success in what you seek."
The two n exchanged a few more words before saying goodbye to each other.
Lu Ye stood still, contemplating. When Cultivator Yooi passed by him, he suddenly spoke out.
"Fellow Daoist could try visiting the ruins of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. You might succeed."
"Who is it!" Cultivator Yooi looked around startled toward the source of the voice but saw nothing.
After Lu Ye spoke, he quickly followed Cultivator Sun's steps.
The Great Elder and the old won would have to wait, as they wouldn't be around to see him help in rebuilding the sect, but the Beast Taming faction shouldn't fade from this world. As long as the Great Elder and the others survived, the teachings of the Beast Taming faction could continue to be passed down. If cultivators from the Nine Provinces could learn the essence of Beast Taming from them and carry it forward, that would be good.
Following closely behind Cultivator Sun, they continued until they reached the military depot, entered the grand hall, and there before his eyes was the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
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