Chapter 944 – Strangely Familiar
Hu Bugui was left speechless.
At those words, no one was able to hold back their laughter.
All the disciples of the Hundred Spirits Sect stared at the lazy and round silly dog with a mixture of curiosity and interest. They did not seem afraid of its earlier man-eating gigantic-beast form since it looked chubby and cute in its current form. Instead, these girls were all very attracted to it.
The atmosphere lightened up with the appearance of Little Nine.
"Oh yes, I forgot to ask earlier, Brother Ye Qingyu, shouldn't you be in the Heaven Wasteland Domain now overseeing their affairs? There are so many things to take care of over in the Heaven Wasteland Empire so this is when they will need you the most. Why did you suddenly make an appearance in the Clear River Domain?" Nan Tieyi asked with a smile.
According to the information they had gathered, the Heaven Wasteland Domain had officially passed the domain grading, which meant that they would have many affairs to tend to. This should be the busiest time for Ye Qingyu, so Nan Tieyi could not figure out why he would be in the Clear River Domain.
At this point in time, the news that Ye Qingyu had been promoted to become the third deputy spokesperson of the Human Race had yet to spread throughout the Vast Thousand Domains. This was particularly true for a small domain like the Clear River Domain. Furthermore, it had been so chaotic over in the Clear River Domain during this period and the Immortal God Emperor Sect was too busy fending for itself, thus the flow of information had stopped. Therefore, Nan Tieyi, Hu Bugui, and the rest were still unaware of his promotion and that the situation in the Heaven Wasteland Domain had stabilized.
Nan Tieyi felt more confident that they would be able to turn the tide now that Ye Qingyu had appeared and displayed such heaven-defying prowess when he effortlessly crushed the Heaven Desire Demon Sect with his own strength.
Ye Qingyu's expression turned grave when he heard Nan Tieyi's question. He then recounted in detail how he was seized by a sudden impulse while cultivating and caught a wisp of consciousness wave, which from within he saw visions of destructive scenes. "I assumed that this was a distress signal sent out by the Immortal God Emperor Sect. Wasn't it sent by you?"
Nan Tieyi was taken aback and said, "Was there really such an incident? From the way you described the situation, it does indeed match the description of the headquarters in the Wei River Mountain Range… But based on what I know, despite the fact that the Immortal God Emperor Sect has been besieged on all sides by the Greater One Sect, war has not actually broken out yet. The Greater One Sect seems to be slowly gathering their power. I also know that the sect has not sent out any distress signals. This is truly bizarre."
Ye Qingyu was slightly stunned.
If Nan Tieyi's words were true, then this was truly very peculiar, almost a little unbelievable.
He thought for a moment, then asked, "Could it be that the other disciples in the Immortal God Emperor Sect sent out this distress signal and the news has yet to reach you?"
"No, that can't be." Nan Tieyi shook his head decisively. "I've put the men that I trust the most in charge of contacting you. No one else is aware of this fact, and no one would be in the position nor have the means to contact you."
In that case…
Ye Qingyu was shocked and felt that there was something very odd and inexplicable about this.
Since the Immortal God Emperor Sect had not sent out a distress signal, then where did that consciousness ripple come from?
Who could have led him to the Clear River Domain?
What could that person's motive be?
"Who cares who did it? Fortunately, whoever it was led you to this place or we would have become vessels for those evil creatures!" Hu Bugui interrupted.
Little Nine switched to a more comfortable position and wagged its furry tail. It scoffed and said, "Woof. I heard that the vessels that these Heaven Desire Demon Sect disciples use for their cultivation are usually beautiful women. Who would be interested in a smelly, rugged man who doesn't bathe all year round like yourself…"
"Hahahaha…"
No one could contain their laughter.
This was how Little Nine took "revenge" for Hu Bugui's earlier dig at his gluttonous behavior.
After the man and dog exchanged a few more retorts, the master of the Hundred Spirits Sect stepped forward and curtsied. Then she said, "Everyone has sustained serious injuries from this battle at the Hundred Spirits Sect today. Shall we head back to the hall to sit down and chat as a gesture of our gratitude?"
Ye Qingyu agreed to her suggestion with a small nod of his head.
He had another motive for coming to the Hundred Spirits Sect—The previous time when he was at the Underground Moonlight Immortal Palace, he saw that mysterious woman who looked exactly like his mother from his memory. Unfortunately, that person had turned into ashes in an instant and all that was left of her was a silk handkerchief. He then came to know from Shen Mengyue that the pattern on the silk handkerchief was known as the symbol of the Hundred Spirits Sect—the Sorrow Departure Pattern. Ye Qingyu felt that there were secrets that he had yet to uncover, and because he found himself at the Hundred Spirits Sect at this time, he would take this opportunity to investigate in detail.
After all, this had something to do with his birth secret.
"Sure, we have indeed overexerted ourselves during the battle today." Nan Tieyi and Hu Bugui both nodded in assent.
The disciples of the Hundred Spirits Sect led them through Hundred Flowers Valley toward the main hall.
The Hundred Flowers Valley was located in the Liyun Mountain Range and it sprawled across a thousand kilometers. It was divided into four peaks and twelve ridges. There were countless exotic flowers and herbs in the valley. The trees were evergreen and the flowers never withered. It also had a unique temperate and humid climate, where dense fog swirled around the mountains and the rivers flowed gently, which made it seem even more ethereal and divine. It was thus known as a wonder of the Clear River Domain.
A large portion of the outer fringes of Hundred Flowers Valley was destroyed after just one day of fighting, and the mountains within a hundred-kilometer radius had almost all collapsed as though someone had plowed through them. Only the mountains and the main palace in the Hundred Spirits Sect, the Hundred Flowers Palace, remained relatively untouched, protected by the final layer of the defensive mountain formation.
Ye Qingyu trailed behind Shen Menghua and Liu Ruxin and arrived at the palace.
The Hundred Flowers Palace did not have the typical majestic aura of a main sect palace. From afar, it looked like a circular floral stamen and its columns and roof were made from a unique glaze that would reflect various colors as the sun rose and set. It was both colorful and dazzling. There were gorgeous, life-like carvings of fresh flowers on the railings, and if one carefully took in the surroundings, it was as though there would be a faint floral scent wafting through the walls that made it seem exceptionally exquisite and beautiful. It was a very unique building.
It was a pity that under the repeated attacks of the black mist from the Heaven Desire Demon Sect, almost all of the defensive formations in the Hundred Flowers Palace had been destroyed, which resulted in slight damages near the main hall. It was no longer as beautiful as it used to be.
Ye Qingyu careful observed his surroundings as he walked toward the palace.
For some reason, this place felt strangely familiar to him, as though he had been here before, but at the same time, he could have seen a similar building elsewhere.
As they spoke amongst themselves, they entered the main hall of the palace.
"I have some medicinal pills that will be able to treat your injuries quickly." Once everyone was seated, Ye Qingyu took out some pills that gave off an exotic scent and were as shiny as jade. He then handed these pills to Nan Tieyi, Hu Bugui, Shen Menghua, and the others.
These were the spiritual pills he personally refined from the divine herbs he picked from the 18th zone of the Black Demon Abyss while he was cultivating the one hundred eight ancient characters. These pills were very effective in suppressing the injuries caused by the demonic arts cultivated by the Heaven Desire Demon Sect.
The moment they took the pills, they immediately felt their internal injuries disappear and a cool and refreshing sensation spread across their bodies, as though a clear stream was cleansing their bodies of all impurities. These pills seemed to have many magical effects and no one could help exclaiming in joy.
Master Cheng was astonished.
As an accomplished medicinal-pill refiner, she was very knowledgeable about all kinds of herbs and flowers. So while she basked in that exotic fragrance and the comfortable sensation that was spreading through her body, she knew that this was an extraordinary medicinal pill.
Then, Master Cheng arranged for Nan Tieyi and the others, as well as the injured disciples, to return to their lodgings at the side hall to recuperate. Ye Qingyu leisurely strolled around the Hundred Flowers Palace with Shen Menghua and Liu Ruxin by his side.
The multitude of flowers had mostly withered after being attacked by the Heaven Desire Demon Sect's black mist, but there were a few flowers near the main hall that remained unscathed and were blooming beautifully.
Their fragrant floral scent wafted through the air, pleasant and delightful.
Ye Qingyu walked behind those two beautiful women and carefully observed the geographical landscape of the entire valley as he idly chatted with them.
In fact, when he first entered Hundred Flowers Valley, he already sensed that there was an ancient spiritual leyline at the bottom of this valley. This was the reason why the climate was temperate and humid with a multitude of flowers blooming throughout the year.
Most importantly, Ye Qingyu's sense of familiarity grew the more he observed this place. He truly felt as though he knew this place and vaguely sensed that he saw these scenes before. However, this was definitely his first time here at Hundred Flowers Valley.
He decided to keep his suspicions to himself for the time being.
Approximately six hours later—
The sun set in the west.
Ye Qingyu returned to the main hall.
Master Cheng's complexion looked better. She changed into her vermillion, satin, formal long skirts and that was accessorized with a golden hairpin in her hair, which added a layer of elegance and charm befitting of a middle-aged woman.
Shen Menghua and Liu Ruxin led several fellow disciples, who were dressed in light-green formal robes, to serve tea to Ye Qingyu and the others. Then, they took their places beside Master Cheng.
Hu Bugui had also changed into a brown outfit, which still had many mended patches all over it, but he looked clean, tidy, and in much better spirits.
Nan Tieyi had also freshened up. He took a small sip of the floral green tea, then said, "I just established contact with the elders of the Immortal God Emperor Sect and they said that the Greater One Sect has yet to make a move, so everything has been going smoothly over at their end. They are currently not in danger."
Ye Qingyu felt slightly more reassured by those words.
This meant that the scenes he saw from the consciousness ripple were only visions and were not actual events. He could rest assured for the time being.
Nan Tieyi put his teacup down, then turned toward Ye Qingyu and Hu Bugui as he said, "I also have received unexpected good news that Liu Shaji is with our sect."
"Brother Liu Shaji has gone to the Immortal God Emperor Sect?" Hu Bugui asked in surprise.
Nan Tieyi and Hu Bugui had worried about his safety over the past few months and made attempts to contact him. However, since they had bid each other farewell at Flowing Light City, with the exception of a few rare appearances, Liu Shaji seemed to have vanished without a trace. There was no word from him and even the Immortal God Emperor Sect's vast information channels were not able to track him down.
No one expected this guy to show up on his own accord.