Chapter 1110: Returning to the Sect

Spreading open her empty hands, Qinghe felt a profound sense of loss.

Did that master, who had forcibly kept her by her side for three hundred thousand years, truly leave at last?

No longer required to remain by Huidoudou's side and having finally obtained her freedom, Qinghe felt no joy of liberation; instead, her heart felt utterly hollow, filled with an indescribable sensation.

"Cough, cough, cough—" the Immortal Fairy coughed violently, for this battle had been by no means easy, as her own power of immortality countered the power of nirvana, yet the power of nirvana countered her immortality just the same.

From their clash, the Immortal Fairy had sustained no light injuries either.

"Fairy, are you alright?" Lu Yang rushed forward in a single stride, catching the swaying Immortal Fairy just as she was about to fall.

Beholding the Immortal Fairy covered in wounds, Lu Yang's heart twisted with pain.

Previously, the Immortal Fairy had existed only as an immortal soul, intangible to the touch, making this the very first time Lu Yang had ever felt her physical body, though he never imagined it would be under such circumstances.

When the Fairy had parted from him moments ago, it felt so much like a final farewell that it had frightened Lu Yang out of his wits.

She had long delayed the restoration of her immortal body, yet she had forced its recovery during the heat of battle, a feat that undoubtedly demanded an irreversible price.

Lying in Lu Yang's embrace, the Immortal Fairy looked dim and weary, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet she managed a smile: "Well, this Fairy keeps her word. No need for Little Yun; this Fairy alone could handle her. When I said I would protect you, I meant it."

"I thought we would both perish together, which was why I said goodbye to you. Fortunately, this Fairy's skills proved superior..."

"Milady!"

"Chief!"

"Immortal Sister!"

Qinghe, Yun Mengmeng, and Jin Caiwei gathered around the Immortal Fairy, their faces filled with deep anxiety.

"Though she truly was difficult to deal with." The Immortal Fairy tried to stand several times, but she could muster no strength and ultimately failed.

"Fairy, speak no more. I will call Eldest Senior Sister to save you right away!" Lu Yang said anxiously, for the Fairy looked anything but fine.

"No need. In my current state, it would be useless even if Little Yun came."

Her body gradually dissolved, returning once more to a spiritual state, and she drifted back into Lu Yang's mental space, familiarly lying down upon the bed, from which her threadlike voice drifted out.

"Originally, I would have needed another century to restore my immortal body, but having forced it now, it will likely take another two centuries to fully recover. Little Yangzi, I must continue to trouble you..."

"It is no trouble at all, as long as you are safe, you can stay as long as you like!" Lu Yang said hurriedly, caring for nothing else so long as the Immortal Fairy was unharmed.

Qinghe, Yun Mengmeng, and Jin Caiwei all let out a long sigh of relief, glad that no grave disaster had occurred.

A question flashed through Qinghe's mind: why did her ladyship reside within Lu Yang's mental space? Seeing that Yun Mengmeng and Jin Caiwei showed little reaction, could it be that her ladyship had been living here all along?

"Is, is the fight over?"

Zhu Tian asked himself in a trembling, quiet whisper, utterly terrified by this battle, to the point of contemplating sleeping back into his slumber.

He had originally chosen to sleep during the ancient era precisely because he saw the four ancient immortals confronting the mastermind behind the scenes, finding the ancient era far too perilous, thinking that if he slept for a few hundred thousand years before waking, the world would have quieted down.

Yet, lo and behold, upon waking up, battles of this scale continued to unfold, and right above his own head, which nearly scared the life out of him.

"No, no, I am the chosen one destined to initiate the grand contention of this era. If I fall asleep now, wouldn't I miss the great conflict?"

Zhu Tian actually quite enjoyed his current life; he was, after all, the nominal lord of the Demon Realm, a highly revered Demon Emperor, a status he could never have enjoyed during the ancient era.

At most, his luck was a bit poor, encountering Jiang Lianyi's awakening when he founded the demon kingdom, and now catching the clash of the two immortals.

Wait, come to think of it, why was Big Brother Lu Yang present every single time something went wrong?

"Zhu Tian, what happened here? Who was fighting just now, and where is the Demon City?"

"Hello, Sister Jiang. Hello, Sister Ao."

Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi happened to be in the Demon Realm; having sensed a terrifying battle erupting within the Demon City, they hurried over to investigate, only to find the battle already concluded when they arrived, the vast Demon City nowhere to be seen, leaving only a muttering Zhu Tian.

"It is Senior Brother Lu Yang!" The two women, sharp-eyed, spotted Lu Yang within the great crater of the former Demon City site at a single glance, and without bothering to question Zhu Tian further, they flew straight toward him.

"Sister Qinghe is here as well!" Seeing Qinghe after a separation of over three hundred thousand years, the two women were exceptionally delighted.

"Sister Ling, Sister Lianyi."

The arrival of the two women dissipated the gloomy atmosphere of the scene. Qinghe had long heard of Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi's awakening, but she had been unable to extricate herself to see them.

"What happened just now?"

After listening to Lu Yang's narration, the two women could not help but sigh with emotion. Ao Ling felt it even more deeply than Jiang Lianyi, for Jiang Lianyi had fallen into slumber very early on, knowing nothing of the Xinhuo Dynasty and Huidoudou, whereas Ao Ling had only slept after the Xinhuo Dynasty was established.

"Is Immortal Sister alright?"

Lu Yang cast a glance into his mental space at the Immortal Fairy, who was fast asleep on the bed, and replied, "She is fine, just asleep."

One could only wonder what kind of dream the Immortal Fairy was having, as a smile graced the corners of her mouth.

The Immortal Fairy stealthily opened one eye, and after confirming that Little Yangzi had gone, she went back to sleep.

"This method of the Immortal Sect of Time truly is effective."

"What do you plan to do now?" Jiang Lianyi asked.

"Return to the sect."

"Then we shall return with you."

Jiang Lianyi and Ao Ling said. With such a monumental event having occurred, they certainly could not simply leave after gaining a mere understanding. Furthermore, Qinghe would surely follow them to the Daoist Sect, making it the perfect opportunity to catch up on the way.

"How should we handle Daoist Mingyuan?" Yun Mengmeng inquired, for Daoist Mingyuan had been flattened into a two-dimensional sheet by Jin Caiwei at the very beginning of the battle and left behind in the Demon City.

Lu Yang thought for a moment; whether the Prison Peak had one more or one less Tribulation Transcendence cultivator mattered little. This battle was an unexpected calamity for the Demon City, and it had truly been hard on Little Zhu. He might as well leave Daoist Mingyuan to Little Zhu; an eight-star spiritual chef for a Demon Emperor would be quite a prestigious addition.

"Leave Daoist Mingyuan to Zhu Tian. Let us go home," Lu Yang called out.

Before their departure, Jin Caiwei restored the Demon City to its original form.

On the journey home, Lu Yang was surrounded by the group, with Yun Mengmeng on his left, and Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, Qinghe, and Jin Caiwei on his right, all talking and laughing.

It seemed as though he was the only one who was not a half-immortal?

Escorted by five half-immortals back to the Daoist Sect, Lu Yang enjoyed a privilege that not even the four ancient immortals had ever known, an incomparable splendor, well deserving of the Eldest Senior Sister herself greeting him at the gates.

"Eldest Senior Sister..." Seeing her, Lu Yang felt as though he had found his pillar of support, deeply moved.

"Little Zhi, we are back!" Yun Mengmeng greeted with a beaming smile, having truly broadened her horizons during this excursion.

"Little Yun, cough, cough, to think I would live to see you again..." The Immortal Fairy woke up and drifted out from the mental space.

Beholding the Immortal Fairy's utterly weak and haggard state, Yun Zhi's expression turned peculiar; she opened her mouth, but in the end, she swallowed back the words she wished to say.