Li Yan and Hong Yin stood in the air, where they unexpectedly saw two familiar figures: the First Elder and the Fifth Elder.
Both looked severely depleted of blood and vitality, and the Fifth Elder's aura was even more listless.
A mere few years had not been enough for their injuries to fully heal. Especially since, in order to kill their enemies and escape Qionglin Sect, they had repeatedly used secret arts, damaging their very foundations.
Unlike Gong Shanhe and Li Yan, who had suffered severed limbs and injured organs, the two of them recovered quickly with their own cultivation and the aid of medicinal pills.
The two saw Li Yan holding the clan token as he stood in the void, watching the cultivators patrolling the surroundings.
The First Elder was the first to smile at Li Yan. After exchanging a few brief words with him, he flew toward Gong Shanhe.
The Fifth Elder had initially stood silently to one side. Only after the First Elder gave him a meaningful glance did he suddenly step forward.
With many clansmen watching nearby, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply. His eyes had already reddened slightly.
"Thank you. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li!"
Though he had spent these past years in secluded healing, whenever he recalled how the Second Elder had immediately self-detonated upon seeing that things had turned dire, his heart could not settle. Amid boundless regret lay deep hatred and self-reproach.
The hatred was naturally his towering fury toward Qionglin Sect, while his self-reproach stemmed from regretting his own moment of rashness.
Under such circumstances, even while in seclusion, he would periodically investigate news from the outside world to see how the clan intended to deal with this matter in the future. As a result, his injuries healed very slowly.