Swords Drawn and Bows Bent

"What, why wouldn't I be alive?"

Ling Qiong's remnant soul swayed gently. He had been quite happy to see Xiao Ruobai come in.

Now, having finally waited for Xiao Ruobai to return, the first thing he was asked was why he wasn't dead yet.

"What? I gave you the most precious thing in the Heaven Reaching Tower. In your eyes, do I deserve to die so much?"

His voice carried a trace of imperceptible grievance, like an abandoned old man.

Xiao Ruobai quickly waved his hands, the palms formed by his consciousness also waving.

"No, no, no! Senior, you misunderstand! I absolutely do not mean that!"

He leaned closer, looking at Ling Qiong's wisp of a remnant soul that was so weak it could disperse at any moment, and a bit more genuine gratitude appeared in his eyes.

"This junior was able to obtain the Heaven Reaching Tower entirely thanks to Senior's help. How could I wish for anything to happen to you?"

As he spoke, Xiao Ruobai's consciousness looked around the interior of the Heaven Reaching Tower.

The spiritual energy inside the tower was so rich it almost formed a physical substance. The layers of tower chambers also hid unexplored secrets. It was indeed an excellent place to nourish a remnant soul.

He immediately said, "Senior, although the Heaven Reaching Tower is now refined by me, the space inside the tower is vast and the spiritual energy is abundant. If you don't mind, please rest here with peace of mind."

"If this junior has the chance to find heavenly materials and earthly treasures that nourish the soul body in the future, I will definitely find them for you and help you stabilize your soul body."

If Ling Qiong had not let go, he would never have obtained the Heaven Reaching Tower. Now that his remnant soul had not dispersed, giving him a place to stay was both a repayment of gratitude and reasonable.

As for whether Ling Qiong would have other thoughts in the future, Xiao Ruobai wasn't too worried.

Even if Ling Qiong really had any ideas, anyway, with his master around, with his master's unfathomable strength, would he be afraid of this wisp of a remnant soul that even struggled to maintain its soul body causing any trouble?

Hearing these words, Ling Qiong's remnant soul obviously brightened a bit in its golden halo, and a trace of warmth appeared between his originally tired brows.

He was silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, his voice lacking the previous grievance and gaining a bit more relief.

"I am relieved that you can think this way. There are still a few hidden treasure troves in the tower. When your cultivation level is higher, you can open them. It is already a fortune that this old man can stay here, and I dare not ask for more."

He floated to the side of Xiao Ruobai's consciousness and gently swayed, "Hurry up and put the tower away. The spiritual energy in the secret realm is dissipating even faster. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid we'll be affected by the spatial rifts."

Xiao Ruobai replied, "Okay! Senior, rest assured in the tower. This junior will take you out now."

After saying that, he didn't delay any longer. The moment his consciousness exited the Heaven Reaching Tower, he raised his hand and grasped at the void. The mark in his sea of consciousness suddenly burst out with golden light, and the Heaven Reaching Tower standing in the distance turned into a stream of light, whooshing into his palm.

"Done, let's go!"

Xiao Ruobai opened his eyes, waved to Fang Hanyu who had been waiting for a long time, and ran briskly towards the exit of the secret realm.

"After leaving the secret realm, we still have one thing to do. The debt owed by the Great Yan Dynasty should also be collected."

The hand Fang Hanyu used to hold the sword hilt tightened, and his tone was firm, "Senior Brother, don't worry, I will go with you!"

At the same time, the heaven and earth outside the exit of the secret realm had been enveloped by rich demonic energy and bloody smell. The atmosphere was so heavy that water could be wrung out of it.

Five auras that blotted out the sky swept over from the distance.

In the valley outside the exit of the secret realm, demonic energy and bloody smell intertwined into a suffocating haze.

The three ancestors of the Demon Heaven Sect stood in the air, the hems of their black robes bordered with gold flapping in the demonic energy.

The Demon Extermination Cauldron held in the palm of the ancestor in the middle was as black as ink, and the body of the cauldron was carved with twisted demonic patterns. With every breath, rich demonic energy overflowed from the cauldron, dyeing the surrounding spiritual mist dark purple.

The two ancestors of the Blood Soul Sect followed closely behind. The soul patterns on their dark red robes glowed with a strange red light in the bloody smell. The ancestor holding the Blood Soul Banner gently shook the banner surface, and countless tiny phantoms of wronged souls roared in the banner, making the scalps of the cultivators watching from afar tingle.

Several ancestors had already stayed at the peak of the King Realm for too long. If they didn't have other opportunities in this life, they would stop at the King Realm.

When they heard that there was a treasure like the Heaven Reaching Tower, it was as if they saw an opportunity to break through to the Saint Realm. They could no longer hold back and rushed over one after another.

The pressure of the five peak King Realm experts enveloped the valley like a physical substance. The rocks under their feet cracked, and even the air seemed to be frozen.

More than two hundred elite disciples of the two sects spread out in a fan shape. The long knives in the hands of the black-armored disciples of the Demon Heaven Sect gleamed with demonic energy, and blood beads condensed on the fingertips of the red-robed disciples of the Blood Soul Sect. The glaring hostility was directed straight towards the entrance of the secret realm. Obviously, they were going to block and kill Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu here.

"Is, is this the foundation of the two great demon sects?"

At the front of the Myriad Law Pavilion's team, Yun Canghai's hands suddenly tightened.

He looked at the demon cultivator team spread out in a fan shape in the valley, his brows twisted into a knot. The foundation of the demon cult was indeed not to be underestimated.

"The two great demon sects actually sent out so many elites this time..."

The Great Elder beside Yun Canghai sighed in a low voice, his tone full of solemnity.

"More than two hundred people, the lowest being the Core Condensation Realm, and there are five peak King Realm ancestors holding the line. With this lineup, I'm afraid it will draw the attention of the entire Profound State here."

The troops of the various sects retreated one after another, clearing the open space on the outskirts of the valley, only daring to watch from a distance on the hillside a few miles away.

Some people took out water mirrors to record, and some discussed in low voices, their tones full of regret.

"It's a pity for those two geniuses. To be able to control the Heaven Reaching Tower at such a young age, if they could grow up, they might be able to change the pattern of the Eastern Region. But now they are going to fall into the hands of the two great demon sects..."

Some people also secretly rejoiced, "Fortunately, we didn't get too close to those two, otherwise we would be affected by the demonic energy at this moment. These two great demon sects really can't be provoked."

The atmosphere in the Azure Profound Sect's team became increasingly tense as the demonic energy surged in the valley.

The knuckles of Li Xuanfeng's hand holding the sword hilt turned white, and his fingertips were slightly numb from excessive force. The spiritual power of the late stage of the Core Condensation Realm quietly circulated in his meridians, and a faint green light appeared around his body. Even the hem of his robe trembled slightly from the spiritual power.

His eyes were fixed on the direction of the entrance of the secret realm, and his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously. Junior Brother Ruobai and Junior Brother Hanyu were still inside. If they were really blocked and killed by the demon cultivators, he would rush up to support them even if he had to risk his life!

"What's wrong with Senior Brother Xuanfeng?"

A disciple of the Azure Profound Sect who didn't know the truth muttered in a low voice, his eyes full of surprise.

In their view, the target of the demon cultivators was the "mysterious person in the secret realm", which had no direct conflict with the Azure Profound Sect. Li Xuanfeng's nervousness was really unusual.

Shen Jinghong, however, suddenly tightened her grip on her long sword, a trace of understanding flashing in her cold eyes.

She quietly glanced at Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen, and saw that the two were also looking solemnly at the entrance of the secret realm. The moment the three's eyes met, a thought popped up in their minds at the same time: could the "new master of the Heaven Reaching Tower" in the secret realm be Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu?

As soon as this thought popped up, Shen Jinghong circulated her spiritual power to the extreme, and the runes on the scabbard glowed faintly.

She had accidentally seen the little bird on Xiao Ruobai's shoulder before, and had even thought that this little bird was similar to the Little Black raised by Martial Uncle Gu.

Thinking of Li Xuanfeng's unusual behavior at this moment, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was highly possible.

Shi Jingxian also quietly leveled his black iron sword in front of him, an earth-yellow spiritual energy flowing across its blade. Shooting a pointed glance at Lin Mochen, the two men silently took half a step back. They distanced themselves from the rest of the disciples, shifting into a subtle defensive formation.

Should a fight actually break out, they would need to act immediately to protect their oblivious fellow disciples while simultaneously providing backup for Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu.