"Qi Zhen?" Lu Yuanchu also froze in surprise, as if turning over the familiar name in his mind. Then his eyes suddenly widened. "Qi Zhen! I remember someone at Taichu Peak with the name Qi Zhen. He was a Transcendent Realm cultivator who served as a patrol guard in the Ancient Realm, wasn't he?"
"That's right, it was him. The rumors said the Mechanical Empire captured him. How did he end up here?"
Hong Qing said gravely.
"Qi Zhen, is that really you?" Lu Yuanchu flashed over to him and asked urgently.
"That's right, it must be him. I remember his aura. Qi Zhen, how did you end up like this?" Hong Qing also swept forward, staring at Qi Zhen in shock and disbelief.
"Qi Zhen, what happened to your cultivation? How did you fall to the Heavenly Human Realm?"
Qiu Shan and Mu Hanshan also came forward, their faces full of shock as they looked at Qi Zhen.
"Qi Zhen pays his respects to the three Uncle-Masters!"
Qi Zhen's eyes brimmed with tears. He weakly bowed, and at the sudden sight of his fellow sect members, he could no longer hold back. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
The three hurried to support him.
Qi Zhen was a disciple of Taichu Peak, but one with little foundation. He was also getting on in years, and his cultivation had advanced slowly, so he had gone to the Ancient Realm as a patrol guard. By standing watch for a hundred years, he could obtain some resources to aid his cultivation.
The three weren't especially close to him, but they were still his senior sect uncles. Seeing him in such a state had left them shaken.
Lu Yuanchu might have been domineering, but he had his strengths—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to