"Quite lively today. There's still over a month before the secret realm closes, yet people have been coming out early, one after another."
The speaker was Dao Immortal Jing Xun, whose hair and beard were entirely white.
He stood high in the air, looking down at Song Wen as he flew out of the deep pit. His expression was unruffled, with not the slightest emotion visible even in his eyes.
Yet under his gaze, Song Wen felt as though a venomous snake had fixed its eyes on him.
Six or seven other immortals stood beside Jing Xun, including Su Dian and Gai Lu. Most showed little interest in Song Wen, merely glancing at him once or twice before looking away.
Gai Lu, in particular, acted as though Song Wen did not exist. His eyes remained fixed without blinking on Shi Qi and the others nearby.
Only three members of the Shi Family remained: Shi Qi, Shi Sanniang, and Shi Min.
Shi Qi, however, was gravely injured. Some potent poison had eaten away half his body, leaving his flesh pitted and bloody.
Behind Gai Lu stood Guang Xing.
Clearly, Guang Xing had left the secret realm days ago, and his injuries had mostly healed.
In the air a short distance away hovered an ink-black flood serpent-the female viper.
But the female viper had long since lost the imposing presence and arrogance she had displayed inside the secret realm. An invisible force bound her, leaving her unable to move an inch. The ferocity and rage in her slit pupils were gone, replaced by profound terror.
Song Wen took all of this in at a glance.
Yet he betrayed nothing on his face, which was merely a little pale.
"This junior, Xing Chang, pays his respects to the Immortal Venerable."
"Junior Xing Chang,