Yun Province Changes Hands

Tianyue Sect, Lower Realm outpost.

Not far from the passage exit, Li Yuan saw Xuanpu and Zhou Heng.

The two stood beneath the stone pavilion in the outpost's front courtyard and had clearly been waiting for some time.

Xuanpu's complexion was rosy, and he looked exceptionally spirited. Li Yuan's gaze swept over his left arm. Its skin was no different from his right, without the slightest visible distinction.

"Fellow Daoist Li." Xuanpu cupped his hands, an obvious smile on his face.

"You're back."

"Fellow Daoist Xuanpu." Li Yuan returned the gesture with a nod, his gaze lingering briefly on Xuanpu's left arm. "Your arm recovered well."

Xuanpu raised his left arm and moved it twice.

"Mingyuan Sect gave me more Healing Pills. They worked remarkably well. It had fully grown back three months ago, and now it's no different from before."

Zhou Heng nodded beside him. "Fellow Daoist, you stayed in the Upper Realm for quite a while. A great deal has changed here in the Lower Realm."

"Tell me."

The three sat down in the stone pavilion.

Zhou Heng said, "Yuan Sect is gone."

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What happened?"

"The Yuan Sect Master used the entire sect's disciples as a blood sacrifice."

Xuanpu took over in an even tone. "His cultivation had been stuck at Nascent Soul Peak for many years. The essence blood he'd gathered through slaughter before was probably insufficient, so he once again used the essence blood and souls of the entire sect's disciples as an offering."

Li Yuan recalled the wisp of demonic qi that Dark Fiend Insight had caught at the Mingyuan Immortal City Auction.

Xuanpu continued, "He didn't slaughter the sect cultivators for nothing, either. He used it as a bargaining chip to reach an agreement with Mingyuan Sect and traded