The violent surges of energy gradually subsided alongside deafening roars, and the suffocating aura of destruction dissipated with them. As the drifting dust slowly settled, a shocking, massive crater was revealed at the center of the battlefield. The crater’s walls were smooth as glass, with faint arcs of electricity still flickering along the rim, giving off a burnt odor.
Looking at the massive crater, everyone gasped in unison.
The might of Su Yi’s Thunder Prison: Heavenly Smite far exceeded their imagination, having completely leveled that entire area!
Shang Shuyi, Ling Qingyu, and Shi Yan flew over to Su Yi’s side. Looking down at the empty crater, their expressions were complicated.
Shang Shuyi let out a soft sigh. With a tone laced with regret and a subtle hint of relief, she said to Su Yi, “Young Manor Lord Su, the battle is over.”
“It's just... a pity about Junior Sister Zhao Qian... She... met an unfortunate end.”
The three shared a tacit understanding, never uttering a single word about the possibility that Su Yi had struck her by mistake.
In such a chaotic battle—especially with his sight and hearing blocked by dark miasma—who could guarantee that accidents wouldn't happen?
What worried them even more was that if Su Yi realized his own hand had killed his junior sister, he might develop an inner demon because of it.
Framing the matter as her being murdered while taken hostage by the demon clan was best for everyone.
This would become a secret kept by everyone present—an unspoken lie told purely to protect Su Yi’s Dao heart.
Hearing this, an expression mingling shock and grief surfaced on Su Yi’s face right on cue. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, and his voice was deep with sorrow and icy chill: “There were still casualties?! The demon clan... Truly, they deserve to die!!”
This performance was so earnest that no one could spot the slightest flaw. He portrayed the image of a senior brother who had bitterly lost his junior sister and harbored bone-deep hatred toward the demon clan to utter perfection.
Immediately afterward, he forcefully suppressed his “grief” and regained his composure. With a sweep of his sleeve, he ordered the disciples below, who were still shaken yet filled with the joy of surviving the disaster:
“Count the casualties! All disciples who have yet to reach Foundation Establishment, ascend the spirit platform in order to establish your foundations! The rest of you, rest in place and remain on high alert!”
“Yes, Young Manor Lord!” The Divine Might Manor disciples answered in unison, their voices overflowing with awe and conviction toward Su Yi.
Not only was the Young Manor Lord exceptionally powerful, having led them to repel formidable foes, but even after “bitterly losing” his junior sister, he remained able to swiftly calm down, consider the big picture, and arrange their next steps. Such temperament truly commanded admiration.
Having issued his orders to the disciples, Su Yi turned around and solemnly cupped his hands toward Shang Shuyi, Ling Qingyu, and Shi Yan. “Thanks to the full support of the three of you in this fierce battle, Su Yi expresses his deepest gratitude.”
“However, though external threats have been temporarily quelled, I must trouble the three of you to stand guard while my Divine Might Manor disciples establish their foundations. Just in case of any mishaps, Su Yi will go and return shortly.”
The three were taken aback upon hearing this, their gazes involuntarily drifting toward that seven-colored spatial rift that was still stably rotating.
“Young Manor Lord Su, could it be you intend to...” Shang Shuyi began hesitantly.
Su Yi nodded silently, confirming their suspicion.
Ling Qingyu instinctively wanted to dissuade him: “Young Manor Lord Su, the situation inside is unclear, and there is still an elder from Soul Lost Ridge. Why don't we give...”
Mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered how Su Yi had stepped forward without hesitation earlier to rescue the rogue cultivators and themselves.
The words “give up on Junior Sister Tantai” simply could not pass her lips, and she could only swallow them back down.
Su Yi looked at them with a solemn expression, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears: “Everyone, I was the one who brought Tantai Yunzhi into the manor. She is a disciple of our Divine Might Manor, and I, Su Yi, will never abandon any fellow sect member!”
He paused, his tone carrying an unquestionable resolve that sounded almost like parting words: “If I do not return, or if no news comes after a day, immediately lead all disciples out of the secret realm and return to the sect. Do not hesitate, and by no means should you risk yourselves for my sake!”
Su Yi delivered these words with stirring righteousness, though inwardly he was mentally patting himself on the back for this PR project.
He knew full well there was practically no danger inside. With Tantai Yunzhi's protagonist halo combined with the guidance of a Nascent Soul remnant soul, dealing with an old crone suppressed by the secret realm wouldn't be much of a problem.
His going in was mostly going through the motions to secure the Stalactite Body Tempering Fluid. Giving this speech out here was merely to maximize his favorability. After all, he had been young and brash in the past, offending plenty of people; now was the perfect opportunity to turn public opinion around.
Just as he anticipated, his actions of “charging into the tiger’s den despite knowing the danger” and “braving perils without hesitation to save a fellow disciple” struck a completely different chord in the eyes of the uninformed crowd.
Shang Shuyi, Ling Qingyu, and Shi Yan looked at him, deeply moved, admiration welling up from the depths of their hearts.
Below, the Divine Might Manor disciples were even more stirred up, with many tearing up.
“Young Manor Lord Su... is truly a role model for our generation!” a disciple muttered with a choked voice.
“A paragon of the righteous path! Young Manor Lord Su embodies it all!” another chimed in loudly, prompting nods of agreement all around.
“In the past, I always heard people say Young Manor Lord Su acted overbearingly and looked down on disciples of other sects... Seeing him today, those were all baseless rumors! Could there be anyone who cares more about the lives of ordinary disciples like us than Young Manor Lord Su?!”
“Exactly! If anyone ever brings up past grievances to slander Young Manor Lord Su again, I'll be the first to object!”
“We will follow Young Manor Lord Su to the death!”
For a time, passion ran high, and Su Yi’s image instantly became towering and illustrious in everyone’s eyes. His previous rash and overbearing acts were all reinterpreted at this moment as demonstrations of protectiveness and deep loyalty.
This was precisely the result Su Yi wanted.
He nodded slightly to everyone without another word. Turning into a streak of light, he plunged into the seven-colored vortex passage without hesitation, his figure vanishing in an instant.
...
Inside a cave within the secret realm.
There was a pool of spiritual spring water measuring barely a zhang across. Its water was crystal clear, swirling with thick white spiritual mist.
From the cave ceiling hung countless stalactites that looked as though carved from jade. At the tip of the thickest one, a drop of milky-white liquid radiating boundless vitality and a gentle halo was slowly gathering.
Drip...
The milky-white liquid took shape and dripped down into the spring below. Yet it produced not the slightest ripple; instead, it made the spiritual vitality contained in the spring water richer by a fraction.
Sitting quietly within the spiritual spring was a slender, graceful figure.
Tantai Yunzhi kept her eyes closed, fine droplets of water clinging to her long eyelashes. Her normally cool, aloof cheeks were tinged with a flush of crimson from the steaming spiritual energy.
“Senior, how much longer will this take? I must stabilize my cultivation as soon as possible to go out and assist Senior Brother. The demon clan's powerful enemies surround him on all sides, and I worry he cannot hold out alone.”
This time, the response she received was no longer merely a voice in her mind.
A slightly illusory woman’s figure—yet one that clearly retained peerless elegance and grace—slowly coalesced by the edge of the spiritual spring before her.
“Having absorbed that old crone’s soul power, I've finally recovered a bit.” A smile surfaced on the woman’s face.
“No need to worry about your senior brother. He isn't weak. If he can't win, he'll run on his own.”
“He wouldn't. I know Senior Brother; he won't abandon the disciples of Divine Might Manor,” Tantai Yunzhi said with a frown.
“Heh, why wouldn't he? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten grains of rice,” the woman said dismissively, turning her head aside.
She truly didn't believe it. Cultivating immortality was for oneself; who would bother thinking of saving others after barely escaping danger?
Only a silly girl like the one before her would.
Yet right at that moment, her expression abruptly changed, and she whipped her head around.
“Someone has broken in.”
She made a sweeping gesture through the empty air.
Instantly, the mist on the surface of the spring surged and condensed into a clear water mirror.
Ripples stirred across the mirror, swiftly displaying the scene at the entrance tunnel—
A man in green robes could be seen cautiously exploring inward.
A faint trace of fatigue showed on his face, and the hem of his robe even bore a few inconspicuous scorch marks and scratches.
Yet his movements were utterly discordant with his slightly disheveled appearance. His figure moved as nimbly as smoke, and every step he took landed precisely upon the Life Gate or weak points of the formation restrictions.
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