"Huff... huff... huff..."
Dao Lord Great Horn closed his eyes and let out three breaths of stale air in succession before he barely managed to calm himself.
He stared at Elmwood and asked in a low voice, "You really could come back?"
Elmwood nodded without saying more.
He Pingsheng had instructed him back then not to say too much or reveal any news about him.
So Elmwood merely nodded to indicate that he had returned.
Yet that gesture of confirmation once again shattered both Great Horn and Xiling Wanli.
How was that possible?
How could anyone return after entering the Heavenly Ruins?
Hadn't it been said that since ancient times, not a single living being who entered had ever returned, without exception?
Even Sages dared not enter.
"I understand!" Looking at Elmwood, Great Horn immediately dreamed up a possibility. "You aren't Elmwood. You perished in the Heavenly Ruins, then entered the Immortal Realm again through reincarnation!"
"Am I right?"
Hearing this, Xiling Wanli beside him relaxed somewhat.
Both men looked at Elmwood with longing on their faces, hoping he would give them the answer they wanted.
But Elmwood shook his head and said with ringing conviction, "No... this disciple did return from the Heavenly Ruins!"
Those words once again demolished their mental defenses.
"No!" Great Horn grew frantic. "You could have returned earlier or later. Why did you have to return now?"
"If you could come back, doesn't that mean others could too?"
"Wait... let me think!"
Great Horn's gaze sharpened. "You... you didn't come back with He Pingsheng, did you?"
"With your abilities, there's no way you could have returned. You must have come back with him, right?"
Great Horn's voice began trembling again.
With his master pressing him this far, Elmwood could not lie. He could only say,