"Chunfeng! Dingji!"
Li Dejiang's urgent voice came from nearby, and he hurried over to them.
His voice rang strong, without a trace of weakness. Divine light even gleamed in his eyes. As soon as he called out, he strode swiftly past the Daoist Order disciples whose strength had ebbed, reaching the Divine Treasury Portal in a few breaths.
Compared with the cultivators who had grown old or young, he was in far better shape. Yet anxiety filled him as he fumbled to support the lame man.
The man grinned. "Sorry for the trouble, but don't worry. I may look wretched, but I had an encounter and gained a great deal." He beckoned, and a broken length of wood flew over from afar. He caught it, planted it on the ground, and made himself a crutch.
"Ah, you..." Li Dejiang looked at the relief on his friend's face and could not find the words.
"I seem to have lost a great deal, but in truth, I've broken free of my shackles. Now I can know true freedom!" As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the Red-Faced Man, Jin Zhongjian, and the Basket-Carrying Boy, Lan Caihe, not far away.
An uncanny connection arose between the three of them, unseen and unspoken.
Li Dejiang's gaze swept over several fellow disciples. Suddenly, his expression changed. "Where's Ling'er?" he asked quietly. "Wasn't she with you when you went to investigate the ruins of that Ancient Dynasty?"
Li Dingji's smile faded. He opened his mouth, then merely sighed. "Each person has their own encounters. Her opportunity does not lie here, at this time. When the Divine Thunder fell, she and Ruan Ji both dropped into the Strange-Light Jade Pool to escape it..."
"What do you mean? Did something happen to her?"
Li Dingji hesitated, as if