Hai Ze's phantom left behind a smile before his entire figure dissolved into nothingness. Pushed by a powerful force, Mu Bai hurtled backward. Suddenly, the colors before his eyes changed, and he was back amid the red mist shrouding the Fallen Spirits Ruins.
Elders Xiong Youde and Chen Guang had already arrived and were each using their own methods to deal with the Yin Spirits. The disciples from all five teams had gathered there as well. Only half of the twenty remained; the other half had died in the Yin Spirits' ambushes.
"Master!"
"Your master is unharmed. With Elder Xiong and Elder Chen here, the remaining Yin Spirits are nothing to fear..."
An incense stick's worth of time later, the two elders at the peak of Xiu Zun had slain all seven or eight Yin Spirits. Only then did the six or seven disciples let out long breaths of relief and put their minds at ease.
"Do not assume these Yin Spirits are all ordinary. There are quite a few formidable beings among them. Will you return to the sect, or continue your trial here?"
Xiong Youde turned back and asked the remaining disciples before him.
"We wish to continue the trial!"
"Then you had better be careful-unless you possess concealment methods like Elder Mu's!"
Chen Guang spoke contemptuously, intending to mock Mu Bai for fleeing and hiding in the face of danger without regard for the sect disciples' safety.
Mu Bai was in no hurry to defend himself. Nor could he tell anyone about encountering Ancestor Hai Ze's remnant spirit here. With a hollow sense of loss in his heart, he simply turned and walked away. Zuo Lin immediately followed, vanishing into the red mist with his master.
"Return to the Flower Boat in ten days to conclude the