On the Upper Purity Mountain in the Primordial Upper Realm, the scene remained peaceful, as if nothing had happened.
A large number of disciples from the Upper Purity Palace guarded the mountain gate, awaiting the return of new disciples through teleportation to join their ranks.
Meanwhile, cultivators who failed the trials were sent down the mountain and returned home.
As for those trial-goers who did not emerge, according to the Upper Purity Palace, they had merely met with an accident within the Upper Purity Mountain. After all, the path of cultivation was fraught with danger, and a few deaths during a trial would hardly cause a ripple. Cultivators who perished in selection trials were, in the eyes of most, merely flawed individuals with poor talent, not worth paying attention to.
From the perspective of various external forces, this trial was just a routine selection process.
At this moment, the teleportation formation began to glow.
"They're here! Everyone, be alert!"
Upon seeing the teleportation formation light up, all the disciples of the Upper Purity Palace became serious.
However, the formation merely flashed with light, and no one appeared.
"No one?"
The disciples of the Upper Purity Palace stared in bewilderment at the empty formation, their faces filled with surprise, unable to comprehend what had happened.
The moment Ye Ling brought the trial-goers back to the Upper Purity Mountain, he had already teleported all of them back to Qingyun Town. Since he had already discovered the collusion between the Upper Purity Palace, Tianyun Island, and those mysterious eyes, Ye Ling saw no need to continue his investigation. After consolidating intelligence with Tian Xing, they could act directly.
As for the trial-goers who had not yet joined the Upper Purity Palace, since they were innocent, Ye Ling saw no reason to send them to their deaths at the Upper Purity Palace. Of course, if they insisted on going up the mountain after being sent down, they had no one to blame but themselves if they died.
Ye Ling stood high in the sky, gazing at the Upper Purity Mountain shrouded in mist below. He transmitted a message to Tian Xing, "Tian Xing, where are you now? My investigation here is complete, and I've uncovered many secrets of the Upper Purity Palace."
"Ye Ling, I was just about to contact you. Hurry to the back mountain, I've found an interesting place!" Tian Xing immediately transmitted back to Ye Ling.
"An interesting place? I'm on my way!"
Upon hearing Tian Xing's transmission, Ye Ling's interest was piqued, and he immediately sped towards Tian Xing's location.
Upper Purity Mountain, back mountain, sect forbidden area.
The Nameless Sword Tomb.
Tian Xing stood at the entrance of the sword tomb. Around her lay the corpses of fierce beasts and disciples of the Upper Purity Palace.
"Tian Xing!"
Ye Ling landed in front of Tian Xing. Seeing the corpses scattered around, he chuckled at Tian Xing, "It seems you've been through quite a bit as well!"
"As well?" A hint of confusion flickered in Tian Xing's eyes. "Did you encounter something too?"
"Yes... I'll tell you the details later. For now, tell me about this place," Ye Ling said.
"While investigating the Upper Purity Mountain, I noticed the spiritual energy in the back mountain was rather unusual, which led me here. I found many disciples of the Upper Purity Palace guarding this place," Tian Xing explained quickly.
Listening to Tian Xing, Ye Ling glanced into the depths of the sword tomb and asked, "Is there anything special inside?"
"Yes! There is!" Tian Xing nodded, pointing to the giant stone sword deep within the tomb. "There seems to be an independent space inside that stone sword, but I was afraid of triggering any mechanisms, so I didn't examine it too closely."
Ye Ling said, "Yes... your caution is wise. The Upper Purity Palace is connected to Tianyun Island, and their strength is not as simple as it appears on the surface. We must be careful in all matters!"
"Tianyun Island?" Hearing Ye Ling's words, Tian Xing was taken aback. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Ye Ling nodded to Tian Xing and then recounted everything that had happened between him and the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire during the trial.
"If that's the case... then the white-clothed youth I killed just now, was he a cultivator from Tianyun Island?"
"You killed a cultivator from Tianyun Island?" Ye Ling asked in surprise upon hearing Tian Xing's words.
Tian Xing nodded. "Yes... I intended to investigate the sword tomb secretly, but a white-clothed youth suddenly appeared from within the stone sword and detected my presence. To prevent the entire Upper Purity Palace from being alerted, I took action and eliminated all the cultivators here."
Ye Ling then asked, "Where is the body of that white-clothed youth?"
Tian Xing replied, "After I killed him, a sinister black energy surged from within him and directly consumed his body."
"Sinister black energy..." Hearing Tian Xing's words, Ye Ling fell into thought, recalling the black energy that enveloped A Yun's soul.
"It seems the white-clothed youth you dealt with was indeed a cultivator from Tianyun Island. The giant sword is a stronghold for those eyes within the Upper Purity Palace."
"I suspect Bai Qing sent us to clear out the Upper Purity Palace primarily to have us eliminate this stronghold."
Tian Xing inquired, "Should we go in? The people inside probably don't know I killed that white-clothed youth yet. If we go in now, we can catch them off guard!"
"No... we don't know the exact strength inside yet. Let's retreat for now," Ye Ling shook his head, rejecting Tian Xing's suggestion.
"I captured an elder from Tianyun Island. We can try to extract some information from her first."
At present, they did not know if the black eyes were inside the stone sword. If they rashly entered and encountered those eyes, it would likely lead to their demise. Moreover, he had also killed a伪造的帝祖 (fake Emperor Ancestor) at the Sacred Spring, which had already caused a stir. The other party was certainly on alert. Whether Tian Xing killed the white-clothed youth or not had little impact.
Tian Xing did not insist on her idea and nodded, "Alright... I'll listen to you."
"Yes, let's leave the Upper Purity Mountain first."
Ye Ling nodded slightly, and together with Tian Xing, they left the Upper Purity Mountain. In Qingyun Town, they spent a fortune to purchase a luxurious mansion to serve as a temporary base.
In the backyard of the mansion, Ye Ling set up a barrier around the area, completely isolating the inside and outside. Only then did he release A Yun from his small world.
At this moment, A Yun was wearing a thin white shirt, revealing glimpses of her smooth, fair skin beneath. Coupled with her ethereal aura and delicate features, she possessed a unique charm as she lay in the courtyard.
Tian Xing observed the sleeping A Yun for a moment and asked Ye Ling, "This A Yun, is she the one you... slept with on Tianyun Island before?"
Ye Ling was taken aback by Tian Xing's directness and hesitated before replying awkwardly, "Yes... yes..."
"Hmm... this girl looks quite cute. You didn't lose out," Tian Xing nodded with a serious expression.
"What kind of logic is that..." Hearing Tian Xing's assessment, Ye Ling's mouth twitched. He truly didn't know how to describe his current feelings.
Fortunately, Tian Xing did not dwell on the matter and returned to the main topic. "Ye Ling, wake her up. Let's see how many secrets we can extract from her."
"Mm."
Ye Ling nodded earnestly, removed the rune seal on A Yun's soul, and began the process of waking her.
Gradually... the unconscious A Yun began to stir.