Pill Forging Sect and Proud Sword Sect

"Xiang Nitian really had guts. He actually dared to lose his temper with Feng Quchu. Good thing the kid was quick on his feet and ran!"

"Exactly! Feng Quchu was at the Foundation Establishment Realm Eighth Layer, and the Moon-Reflecting Sect ranked ninth in strength. They sent two hundred Foundation Establishment Realm disciples this time. They looked determined to seize the supreme treasure!"

"Don't provoke them in the secret realm. That lot is no bunch of saints!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. If they hear you, they'll kill you right here!"

The nearby cultivators could not help discussing the scene in hushed voices.

Whoosh!

As they spoke, streaks of light tore across the sky.

The newcomers wore azure Long Robes embroidered with twin yin-yang fish and rode gourds of every color. They were Hua Shijie and the Foundation Establishment Realm disciples sent by the Pill Forging Sect.

"Whoa! Look, it's the Pill Forging Sect!"

"No wonder they're Heaven-Opening's third-strongest power. They sent eight hundred Foundation Establishment Realm disciples! Looks like the Pill Forging Sect wants the secret realm's supreme treasure even more!"

"Of course. Didn't you see that Hua Shijie, Sect Master Liao's personal disciple, is among them?"

"Why does Hua Shijie look so confident, as if the supreme treasure is already his for the taking?"

"Who knows? Maybe he has some secret weapon he can't tell anyone about."

"The Pill Forging Sect is famous for alchemy, and its poison-pill techniques are almost impossible to guard against. Everyone had better watch out for them!"

"I agree with you, sir!"

The cultivators erupted into chatter at the Pill Forging Sect's arrival.

"A secret weapon they can't tell anyone about? Bah, what a show! They'd better hope they don't run into me in the secret realm, or I'll wipe them out!"

Feng Quchu watched Hua Shijie and the others, thoroughly unconvinced.

"Look over there! The three great lineages are flying in together. But why does everyone from the Dongfang Family look so miserable?"

"Of course they're miserable. The Dongfang Family makes its living mainly by crafting talismans, but the Wang Family controls the best Talisman Paper in Heaven-Opening. I heard the Wang Family recently cut off their supply of Talisman Paper to the Dongfang Family. How could they be happy?"

"So that's what happened. Doesn't that leave the Dongfang Family in a terrible spot?"

"Ah, they're only the tenth-strongest power. They can't compare with the Wang Family."

"Right. The Wang Family ranks seventh!"

The cultivators launched into another round of discussion as the three great lineages flew over.

Somewhere outside the Qigu Secret Realm.

"There are many cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm Eighth Layer inside. When you enter, be sure to stay on guard."

Mo Lingyuan looked at Zhang Xingfeng, Dongfang Muxue, and Chen Guyu as he gave them this solemn warning.

"Yes, Elder Mo."

Zhang Xingfeng and Chen Guyu answered gravely.

Dongfang Muxue, however, gazed at the Dongfang Family members hovering in the distance. Her mind was elsewhere, her brows faintly furrowed.

She longed to tell her clansmen she was safe, but feared she might never return if she went to them. After all, the Wang Family's treatment of her...

"Muxue." "Second Junior Sister." "Second Senior Sister."

Seeing her like this, Mo Lingyuan and the other two called to her softly.

Dongfang Muxue turned back. "All right, Elder Mo."

"Muxue, are you all right?"

Mo Lingyuan asked with concern.

"Thank you for asking, Elder Mo. I'm fine."

Dongfang Muxue forced a smile.

"All right, take these, then. They contain Source Qi Pills and Healing Pills. You may need them."

Mo Lingyuan did not believe her, but his expression remained as still as an ancient well as he took out three bottles of pills and handed them to Zhang Xingfeng and the other two.

"Thank you, Elder Mo!"

The three hurriedly accepted them.

"They're here! They're finally here!"

Just then, someone in the crowd cried out excitedly.

Finding the shout odd, everyone looked into the distance. They saw the Azure Feather Sect's disciples flying in on assorted weapons, led by Jin Pingqi.

"Tch! It's only the Azure Feather Sect. I thought it was someone important."

"Exactly. They're just Eastern Search's strongest power—an ordinary major sect. What's there to get excited about?"

"Right. I thought Heaven-Opening's strongest power, the Proud Sword Sect, had arrived!"

The cultivators from the Southern Region clicked their tongues in disdain when they saw it was the Azure Feather Sect.

But the people of the Eastern Region bristled. So you Southern Heaven-Opening folks can shout with excitement, but we in Search Province can't say a couple of words? They're still our strongest power!

Jin Pingqi and the others hovered in the air. They were used to such prejudice and took it in stride.

Then they looked toward a certain spot, and their pupils contracted.

"Isn't that the patriarch? Didn't he leave to travel the world and train? Why is he here?"

"Have you noticed how much stronger his aura feels? He couldn't have reached the seventh level of the Nascent Soul Realm already, could he?"

"How is that possible? Wasn't he only at the sixth level three days ago?"

"Strange. Who are those three beside the ancestor? They look about eighteen, yet they're all in the Foundation Establishment Realm. That woman in white is even at the Foundation Establishment Realm Sixth Layer. What monsters!"

"Could they be personal disciples the patriarch took in during his travels?"

The Azure Feather Sect disciples exchanged glances and sent one another voice transmissions, astonished by one thing after another.

"Sect Master, should we go over and ask?"

They turned to Jin Pingqi to ask him.

"Very well..."

Jin Pingqi was curious too. He was about to nod in agreement when he felt Mo Lingyuan's gaze on him.

Their eyes met, and Jin Pingqi understood what Mo Lingyuan meant.

"Forget it. The patriarch will explain it to us in time."

He looked away and stopped the disciples who were itching to go over.

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Elsewhere.

"Xingfeng, Muxue, Guyu, look over there."

Mo Lingyuan pointed out the Azure Feather Sect disciples to the three of them.

They followed his finger, but none understood why he was pointing.

"They're disciples of my Azure Feather Sect. Remember their faces, and don't hurt them in the secret realm."

"If they run into trouble, help them if you can."

Mo Lingyuan gave the instructions gravely.

He knew that although the three had not reached the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, few people in the secret realm could match them!

After all, each of them wielded a Spirit Weapon, cultivated a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade Cultivation Art, and possessed a Source Mansion far larger than an ordinary cultivator's!

"Understood, Elder Mo!"

Boom!

Without warning, boundless Sword Qi erupted around the Qigu Secret Realm.

Whoosh!

At the same time, countless swords whistled and wheeled above the secret realm in a dazzling blur.

"What's this?"

Everyone stared at the swords, jaws dropping. Speculation rippled through the crowd. "Could the Proud Sword Sect have arrived?"

"Indeed we have!"

A confident, coldly arrogant voice rang out.

In an instant, a white-clad figure appeared above their heads.

His white robes billowed and his white hair streamed behind him. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stood proudly like an immortal descending to earth.

The sword on his back glimmered with a soft light. One glance was enough to tell it was no ordinary weapon!

Whoosh!

Behind him, streaks of sword light flashed past. The Proud Sword Sect disciples flew in on their swords, every one of them dressed in white and bearing an air of carefree ease!