Noticing the change in Xu Taiping's gaze, Venerable Mysterious Thunder immediately asked curiously:
"Young fellow Daoist, did you also have friends who had already set off for the Jade Pool Secret Realm before this?"
Xu Taiping nodded, then asked curiously:
"Senior, have you encountered anyone from the Jade Balance Mountain Xiahou Clan?"
Venerable Mysterious Thunder said in some surprise:
"The Xiahou Clan of Jade Balance Mountain came too?"
After his brief surprise, Venerable Mysterious Thunder shook his head at Xu Taiping with deep regret and said:
"Young fellow Daoist, I haven't encountered anyone from the Xiahou Clan in Kaiyang Heaven."
He added:
"But you needn't worry too much. I said earlier that Kaiyang Heaven had been occupied by Blightbones long before the Yaochi Sacred Land opened, but according to my investigations..."
"These Blightbones, which occupied Kaiyang Heaven hundreds of years ago, had actually been asleep for many years.
"It wasn't until some cultivators came here for the Yaochi Sacred Land a short while ago that they stumbled into awakening them."
"Moreover, these Blightbones actually awakened in batches, in areas spread throughout Kaiyang Heaven."
"Thus, the first batch of cultivators who came to Kaiyang Heaven to search for the secret realm's entrance were actually relatively safe."
Hearing this, Xu Taiping inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
But he immediately realized another problem and promptly asked:
"Senior, do you know whether any Blightbones have slipped into the Jade Pool Secret Realm?"
At this question, Venerable Mysterious Thunder's expression grew grave.
"Though I haven't had time to enter it myself, after being attacked by Blightbones, I encountered several cultivators in Kaiyang Heaven who had come out of the Yaochi Sacred Land."
"According to those cultivators..."
"Although they weren't sure whether they were Blightbones, monsters resembling immortal remains had indeed appeared within the Yaochi