Chapter 43: Secret Sect Order

Amidst the silent mountains, Li Qing's weak voice stood out sharply.

Meng Kan and the others exchanged glances.

"Is that Fellow Daoist Li Qing?"

"It is indeed I."

Hearing the frailty in Li Qing's voice, Meng Kan's expression shifted to one of alarm.

Previously, the group had gone into the spirit mine caves together to investigate the Jade-Devouring Insects, only to find no signs of their reproduction in the other mines.

This discovery had allowed them all to breathe a sigh of relief.

One had to know that once Jade-Devouring Insects began to breed, they almost always appeared in swarms.

This undoubtedly proved that the presence of the insects was merely an accident.

All that remained was for them to scatter suppressive substances throughout the spirit mine to resolve the issue.

However, after the four of them appeared, they realized Jiao Yujian was nowhere to be found.

At first, they thought Jiao Yujian had gone to assist Li Qing at his investigation site, so they waited in place for a while.

After a period of waiting, they still failed to see either Jiao Yujian or Li Qing, and only then did the four of them realize something was wrong.

Logically speaking, the spirit mine cave Li Qing had gone to was far less complex than the ones they had explored; he should have returned long ago.

After deliberating, the group did not dare to be careless and rushed toward the back mountains together.

The waters near White Jade Island belonged to a rare belt of spirit mines, where fighting and slaughter frequently occurred, making the area extremely chaotic.

Aside from Yellow Jade Island, where the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect was stationed and thus relatively stable, cultivators frequently went missing at the other outposts.

"Quick, quick! Fellow Daoist Li seems to be in bad shape!"

Meng Kan spoke hurriedly.

Immediately, the four of them accelerated their charge toward Li Qing's position.

A moment later.

The four saw Li Qing, his entire body covered in wounds.

"This is bad," Meng Kan thought, his heart sinking.

He hadn't expected his worst fears to come true.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what happened?"

Meng Kan rushed forward, supporting Li Qing's staggering body.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, something terrible has happened," Li Qing said with a face full of agony.

He no longer needed to feign strength; his physical condition had reached its limit, and his internal spiritual apertures were all severely damaged.

Furthermore, the previous self-detonation of his dharma treasure had damaged his divine sense; his ability to endure until now was purely a matter of sheer willpower.

"I was ambushed by mysterious cultivators in black. At the critical moment, Senior Brother Jiao arrived and saved me," Li Qing said, his body trembling as he spoke. The severity of his injuries needed no further description.

"Where is Senior Brother Jiao?" Meng Kan asked urgently.

"I don't know," Li Qing shook his head weakly. "Senior Brother Jiao told me to seek help from the sect, so I rushed here immediately."

Thinking that his task was complete, his mind finally relaxed, and he fell into a complete unconsciousness.

"Fellow Daoist Li!"

"Fellow Daoist Li!"

"..."

Despite their repeated calls, Li Qing remained unresponsive.

"Quick, help him up!"

Meng Kan immediately ordered the other three to support Li Qing while he used his spiritual power to probe Li Qing's internal state.

*Hiss.*

The results of the probe made Meng Kan gasp.

Most of the meridians in this man's body had already withered, leaving only a faint trace of spiritual power to protect his heart vessel.

As for his physical body, it was even more wretched.

His entire body was covered in wounds; there wasn't a single intact spot.

Though there were no fatal injuries, surviving this was nothing short of a miracle.

"What should we do, Brother Meng?"

The three surrounding men all stared at Meng Kan.

As the eldest among the guards, Meng Kan was naturally the backbone of the group.

Meng Kan remained silent, not answering immediately.

Logically, they should have rushed to provide support right now.

However, even Jiao Yujian, a cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refinement, had been forced to let Li Qing come out to seek help.

The four of them were merely at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.

If the enemy was truly still there, going there would be no different from delivering themselves to their deaths.

"The situation is quite clear," Meng Kan said. "Senior Brother Jiao was clearly ambushed by the enemy, but we are only at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. Going there would be suicide."

After Meng Kan finished speaking, the three around him nodded hurriedly.

When it came to matters of life and death, they dared not be careless.

"In my opinion, we should first send Fellow Daoist Li back and then send a message to the sect, stating that enemies are ambushing White Jade Island."

"As for Senior Brother Jiao's location, we will go to investigate later. We'll leave the rest to the sect to arrange," Meng Kan said with a sigh.

Even if they were punished by the sect, it was better than throwing their lives away right now.

"Brother Meng is right," the three naturally had no objections and nodded quickly.

As for whether Senior Brother Jiao could survive, it would depend on his own capabilities.

The four of them then helped the unconscious Li Qing back to the spirit mine.

Upon returning, they didn't even go to their own quarters, instead guarding the spirit mine cave with all their might.

They were the designated guards of the cave; as long as nothing happened to the mine itself, everything else was secondary.

Furthermore, only the spirit mine cave contained a large formation that could help them resist external enemies.

The outer sect residences were not as safe as this place.

Using a transmission jade talisman found within the cave, the group quickly relayed the situation of White Jade Island.

***

Yellow Jade Island.

Inside an extremely luxurious palace.

"Senior Sister Zi Ling, news has arrived from White Jade Island. They are under attack by unknown cultivators," Ling Jie reported slowly to Zi Ling, his face clouded with worry.

"Mhm, I know."

Zi Ling stood with her back to Ling Jie, wearing a long white robe.

"Senior Sister, this is already the seventh spirit island to seek help from Yellow Jade Island!"

"Are we really not going to intervene?" Ling Jie asked, looking at Zi Ling's back.

"The sect has orders: defend the Yellow Jade Island spirit mine at all costs; do not leave," Zi Ling's tone shifted slightly, her brows furrowing beneath her veil.

"Sigh."

Ling Jie let out a soft sigh.

The sect's interests would certainly prioritize the big picture.

As for the cultivators stationed at the attacked spirit mine, they might have already suffered heavy casualties.

"But I still haven't found Junior Brother. According to the guards, he hasn't returned since he left," Ling Jie mentioned his search results.

"Stop looking."

"There is word from the sect; Junior Brother Jue's soul lamp has gone out."

Hearing this, Ling Jie looked at Zi Ling's back in shock, frozen in place.

The once proud and arrogant Jue Hen, an absolute genius within the sect, had actually perished during a routine mission.

He knew exactly what Zi Ling meant by the soul lamp going out.

The soul lamp was a special dharma treasure refined using the essence blood of inner sect disciples; only when the owner of the essence blood died would the lamp extinguish.

All inner sect disciples were required to leave a soul lamp within the sect.

"When did this happen?" Ling Jie asked in disbelief.

"Not long ago."

After Zi Ling spoke, she ceased all conversation.

As the current controller of this place, the pressure she endured far exceeded anyone's imagination.

At this moment, Ling Jie finally realized that the crisis of their journey might far exceed what he had imagined.

(End of Chapter)