Chapter 771: Night Exploration of the Immortal War Ruins

"Did we really escape alive?" Xiao Xinghai said, a lingering dread clutching his heart. He still couldn't bring himself to believe it. This was, after all, the shifting calamity of the Eastern Sea; rumor had it that the chances of surviving a mirage were less than ten percent, and emerging unscathed was less than one in a hundred.

What sort of secret treasure had Lu Yang wielded for its guidance to be so impeccably effective?

Tao Yaoye's cultivation realm had plummeted back to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, her aura severely depleted; even the Qi-replenishing pills proved utterly useless.

Seeing her so weak that she was on the verge of collapsing, Lu Yang rushed forward to steady her, asking with deep concern, "How are you holding up?"

With those words, Lu Yang moved to retrieve some medicinal pills to tend to her injuries.

Tao Yaoye shook her head gently, her voice faint and fragile. "This is the backlash from invoking the Feathered Immortal Physique. Medicine won't help; I just need a few days of quiet rest to recover on my own."

"Where on earth have we ended up?" Meng Jingzhou scanned the horizon for landmarks, but the sea was completely barren, save for the drifting banks of thick fog.

"Give me a moment."

Xiao Xinghai plunged his head into the water, then pulled it back up, wiping his face. "Below us lies the territory of the Luo Fish Clan. They are vassals to our Kunpeng Clan, so I am reasonably well-acquainted with them."

Just as Xiao Xinghai prepared to lead everyone beneath the waves, several Kunpengs—each spanning hundreds of feet across—came soaring from the distance, shouting and crying out with unmistakable excitement and joy.

"Young Master, you have returned safely!"

"Uncle Kun, Uncle Yue, what brings you here?" Xiao Xinghai recognized the newcomers as his father's trusted confidants, and his wariness melted away.

"The Clan Leader caught word that you and our esteemed guests were swallowed by the mirage, so he commanded the two of us to shadow it, ensuring we could track your movements at all times."

These two elders of the Kunpeng Clan had not dared to approach the mirage too closely, keeping a vigilant watch from a safe distance.

"Come, let us head back. The Clan Leader was so frantic he went to blockade the gates of the Mirage Clan. There is no telling how overjoyed he will be when he learns you have all returned unharmed."

Uncle Kun and Uncle Yue had originally intended to offer their own healing medicines to Lu Yang and the others, but the moment they saw the youth pouring out a variety of pills shimmering with medicinal veins and exuding rich fragrances from their flasks, they quietly abandoned the notion.

With everyone returning safe and sound, Clan Leader Xiao was ecstatic; he had never expected them to escape the mirage, let alone with their sanity entirely intact.

"It is good that you are back, truly good." Clan Leader Xiao quickly arranged quarters for them, urging them to take their well-deserved rest.

...

Deep in the night, Lu Yang emerged from his meditative trance—or more precisely, he was roused from his deep cultivation by the Immortal Fairy swatting him with her tail.

"Go, go, go! The ruins haven't drifted too far yet," the Immortal Fairy urged excitedly.

Though the Kunpeng Clan had no need for sleep, they were accustomed to cultivating through the night; consequently, the grounds outside were largely deserted, presenting the perfect opportunity for a stealthy excursion.

Lu Yang steered the Sword-Washing Pool and following the direction indicated by the Immortal Fairy, flew out of the Kunpeng domain, quickly locating the thick fog that was drifting aimlessly.

Suddenly, breaking free from the Immortal Fairy's spellbinding influence, Lu Yang realized a glaring problem.

"Wait a minute. There are quite a few Fusion Stage entities in there. Isn't going in just courting death?"

"What nonsense! Would this Celestial allow anything to happen to you? There were too many eyes earlier, making certain methods indiscreet, but now, this Celestial need only release a shred of immortal pressure, and those zombies will surely not dare approach."

"That's reassuring then." Lu Yang fell once more under the Immortal Fairy's sway.

Lu Yang felt a soothing energy envelop his body, yet when he tried to perceive it clearly, he could sense nothing at all.

Stepping into the ruins of the immortal battlefield, shielded by the immortal pressure, he truly did not encounter a single zombie controlled by the Dao Fruits along the way.

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Had Lu Yang been able to pierce the surrounding shroud, he would have realized it wasn't that there were no zombies, but rather that the moment they drew near him, they fled in absolute terror.

"Is it daytime here?" Upon entering the battlefield ruins, Lu Yang was struck by a sudden whiteness before his eyes—a pale, milky fog so dense that even the darkness seemed unable to encroach upon it.

"Perfected-ly normal. Do not be deceived by how this fog appears from the outside; in truth, this is a pocket world isolated from the mortal realm, vast beyond anything the external mist would suggest."

"Tsk, they fought fiercely enough to leave absolutely nothing behind." The Immortal Fairy voiced her mild displeasure. The battle between the Qilin Immortal and his adversary had been so violent that everything in the vicinity had been reduced to fine powder and nothingness, making it impossible to discern their original location or the catalyst for their clash.

"No, wait, there is something over there. Go deeper." Following the Immortal Fairy's direction, Lu Yang obediently ventured further inward.

The innermost depths marked the epicenter of the conflict, a place heavily scarred by the remnants of Dao Fruits, where even Tribulation Transcendence cultivators would not dare approach or gaze upon directly.

"To the right. Yes, right there."

Following her instructions, Lu Yang crouched down and retrieved a jade bracelet from the ground.

The bracelet possessed a texture as exquisite and fine as congealed fat, resembling a bright, pristine moon. It was translucent and clear, engraved with a dragon that seemed virtually alive.

"This is the Dragon-Patterned Bracelet, it belongs to Xiao Ling," the Immortal Fairy exclaimed in surprise.

"In the past, the Qilin Immortal requested the Ying Tian Immortal to forge two immortal artifacts. One was the jade flute that Lianyi frequently played, and the other was this Dragon-Patterned Bracelet that Xiao Ling wore upon her wrist."

Precisely because it was an immortal artifact, it had managed to survive the devastation of the battle.

"Why would Xiao Ling's possession be left here? This was her favorite treasure, something she would only remove when she slept... Judging by the remnants, the Qilin Immortal's techniques were predominantly defensive. Could it be that an immortal from the Xinhuo Dynasty sought to eradicate Xiao Ling, prompting the Qilin Immortal to wage this massive war against him?"

The Immortal Fairy murmured to herself; if that were the case, then everything fell perfectly into place.

Though Ao Ling was the strongest among the half-immortals, she was still no match for a true immortal. When the immortal of the Xinhuo Dynasty sought to annihilate her, she would have found it difficult to withstand the assault.

The Qilin Immortal must have arrived just in time, engaging the enemy in a cataclysmic battle that obliterated everything around them.

During the course of the clash, Xiao Ling's Dragon-Patterned Bracelet was left behind.

"Fairy, since Senior Ao Ling is also a half-immortal, she must have utilized the Death-Feigning Art to endure the vast passage of time just to see you, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then do you think it possible that this place was originally where Senior Ao Ling lay in slumber?"

A jolt went through the Immortal Fairy. "That's it! It wasn't that Xiao Ling was no match for the enemy, but rather that the adversary struck to slay her while she was trapped in her slumber!"

Lu Yang suddenly recalled something Daoist Master Wanfa had once mentioned. The Daoist Master had a close friend who, because of their awareness of the Xinhuo Dynasty's existence, had been assassinated by an immortal while in a deep slumber!

How chillingly identical the methods were!

Lu Yang asked tentatively, "Fairy, do you think Senior Ao Ling might have..."

The Immortal Fairy shook her head, stating with absolute certainty, "Impossible. The Dragon-Patterned Bracelet possesses the power to ward off an immortal's assault. Even if Xiao Ling had taken it off, the bracelet would still automatically protect its master if she came under an immortal's attack."

"Though the bracelet's energy is now entirely depleted, it remains unbroken. This indicates that while Xiao Ling faced grave danger, the bracelet shielded her from it all. It must have been the Qilin Immortal who relocated her to another haven."

"Ordinarily, I could have tracked Xiao Ling's whereabouts through the bracelet, but the Qilin Immortal severed the connection between the artifact and her. The severing was done cleanly, not through brute force; such a feat could only be accomplished by either the Qilin Immortal himself or the Ying Tian Immortal who forged it. Since there are no traces of the Ying Tian Immortal fighting here, it proves that only the Qilin Immortal fought in this place."

"This implies that the Qilin Immortal wished to ensure no one could ever use the bracelet to find Xiao Ling."

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