Chapter 715

Chapter 715: A Jaw-Dropping Turnaround

However, Tuguan stopped them and said, "Junior Brother, the pure will cleanse themselves, and the impure will dirty themselves. We don’t need to say much."

Then, Daoist Tuguan sternly stated, "I think it’s best if we do this: from now on, none of us can leave alone until we see our elders after we get out. By then, everything will be revealed, don’t you agree?"

"Good!" The others nodded in agreement, then they began to wait quietly.

About a day later, suddenly a bright light appeared around the four of them, and in that glow, they vanished in an instant.

When the four regained consciousness, they found themselves looking at the blue sky and the sea, clearly outside.

Their spirits relaxed at once as they looked around, noticing figures occasionally emerging from the white light; soon, the white light stopped flickering, leaving behind hundreds of people.

Among them, there were just over a hundred from the Human Tribe, which matched the normal loss ratio, as exactly ninety percent of the powerful beings from the Human Tribe remained inside.

Fortunately, most of these powerful beings were old folks who had no chance of advancing and had exhausted their lifespan, with very few having real potential. Those young powerful beings had mostly survived.

In addition to Ao Jianzi and the other three, Qing Feng from the Xuan Sect, Mao Mao from the Mo Sect, and Mo Lanyun also returned safely. However, Fang Lie’s figure was still missing, which made the four feel relieved.

They believed that Fang Lie must be dead, so they excitedly flew towards the Flying Boat where the righteous sects gathered.

Once on the Flying Boat, they discovered that the four major sects had joined forces and dispatched dozens of powerful beings, but only they four and Daoist Lan Zhen from West Kunlun returned, totaling just six people. This dampened their spirits once again.

The Sword God and others were already accustomed to life and death and were not too affected; upon seeing them, they immediately smiled.

"Good job!" the Sword God said cheerfully, "The teleportation is over, and since there’s no sign of Fang Lie, it means he must be dead, right?"

"Reporting to Grandfather, that’s certain!" Ao Jianzi clasped his fists in greeting and said. "We saw him being killed by the puppet at the entrance of the Dragon Tomb, body and soul perished!"

"Then he is doomed! Whether it was his clone or his real body, he was bound to die!" Immortal Lan Shan sighed deeply and said with slight regret, "This Fang Lie, he ought to have been a talent of the righteous path, but he ended up like this; what a pity!"

To Immortal Lan Shan’s surprise, the Sword God nodded and sighed, "If he had not been so stubborn, it wouldn’t have come to this. Deep down, I feel guilty towards the Fang family. I even considered compensating them in other ways or apologizing. But since he had to provoke East Kunlun to that extent, I couldn’t accept it!"

"Haha, why bother with all that? He’s already dead!" Blue Ancestor from the Ximen family clan laughed heartily. "Good riddance! It’s also a way to avenge my thousands of clansmen!"

At this moment, Lan Zhen and his apprentice, who returned with Ao Jianzi and the others, were sweating profusely, their faces filled with shock.

Naturally, Immortal Lan Shan noticed their odd expressions and asked curiously, "Junior Brother, what’s wrong with you? You should be happy to have come back alive, right?"

"Senior Brother, did you send someone to ambush Fang Lie?" Lan Zhen trembled as he asked.

"Alas!" Immortal Lan Shan sighed and said, "At this point, I won’t hide it from you. We did secretly take action and killed Fang Lie at the entrance of the Dragon Tomb. You know how powerful the Immortal seal is there; even if he has an undying nature, he’s sure to be finished this time. By the way, why do you two look this way? Do you really hold him in such high regard?"

"Alas!" Lan Zhen stamped his foot in frustration and said, "Senior Brother, during our peril in the Dragon Palace, it was Fang Lie who saved us. He even forced a demon to provide us with directions, enabling us to survive. To put it bluntly, Fang Lie saved our lives! So I don’t understand why we can’t give him a break despite his fierce and straightforward nature, his lack of deep enmity with West Kunlun, and being part of the righteous path."

"Uh…" Immortal Lan Shan’s face flushed red, filled with shame and anger, rendering him speechless.

Hearing this, the Sword God and Master Tianlong also showed signs of awkwardness. In truth, West Kunlun’s involvement in this matter and their significant assistance were encouraged by these two. Yet it led Immortal Lan Shan into an ungrateful and awkward position.

Fang Lie had saved the West Kunlun disciples, had no grudges, yet was ambushed by West Kunlun. For Demonic Path cultivators, this might not be a huge deal, but for Righteous Cultivators, it was a significant heart demon. Immortal Lan Shan might struggle with his state of mind due to guilt.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside.

The ten Demon Kings of the demon tribe were seeking the Human Tribe’s Semi-Immortal for debt. Since Fang Lie did not come out, they assumed he was dead and considered the agreement fulfilled.

However, the Human Tribe’s cultivators were unwilling to concede defeat, insisting that Fang Lie had an undying nature and couldn’t possibly die. Even if he died inside, he would resurrect in the Mo Sect. Therefore, they insisted on waiting for definite news from the Mo Sect to confirm Fang Lie’s death before fulfilling the agreement.

The Demon Kings had no time to wait, naturally demanding payment, while the Human Tribe’s Semi-Immortals firmly refused.

After all, it was five treasures from five sects, and if they gave them to the Demon Kings, what would happen if Fang Lie came back to life? They couldn’t get them back. Clearly, that was impossible. Demons were not kind souls; once it was in their pockets, it would belong to them and would certainly not be returned.

The two sides could not agree, so they naturally began to argue. However, the demons had the upper hand as they were more numerous, and their voices overwhelmed the Humans. A group of demons shouted in unison, "Hand it over, hand it over, hand it over!"

The Humans were unable to match their volume, forcing the Semi-Immortals into a disgraceful state. Seeing this, Immortal Lan Shan and the others felt even more awkward, as this incident involved a conflict between the Human Tribe and the demons. Thus, ambushing Fang Lie not only meant they betrayed the righteous sects, but they also betrayed the Human Tribe, amounting to a double betrayal. This left even the Sword God, who always regarded himself as a champion of justice, feeling ashamed alongside Immortal Lan Shan and Master Tianlong!

However, at this unbelievably awkward moment, a loud voice suddenly rang out, "Who the hell said I died? Can’t you speak properly?" As the voice echoed, a figure with golden wings appeared in the sky, accompanied by stunning beauties – it was none other than Daoist Tuguan Fang Lie!

"Ah! He’s still alive?"

"This is impossible! When I teleported, I scanned with divine sense and definitely didn’t find this guy!"

"Could it be that he never entered at all?"

"Don’t be ridiculous! When he went in, all the Demon Kings and Semi-Immortals were watching. With his strength, how could he cause trouble right under our noses?"

"His strength has greatly increased; his aura is so powerful, his Qi Sea must have expanded to eighty thousand miles. This is definitely not something that can be achieved through practicing with pills. He must have had a fortuitous encounter, and surely, it happened within the Dragon Palace!"

"Damn it! How did this kid not die?" a group of Demon Kings shouted in anger.

In stark contrast to their shock and anger, the Humans cheered, and the Semi-Immortals began to laugh heartily.

"Haha, I knew this kid was ambushed by Zhu Xian and Shi Shen and still didn’t die. How could a mere Dragon Palace bring him down?"

"Great job, this is wonderful!"

"He’s right here! What are you scoundrels waiting for? Quickly hand over your lost bets!"

"Hand it over, hand it over!" This time it was the Human Tribe cultivators shouting in unison!

Meanwhile, on the treasure ship of the righteous sect, everyone was dumbfounded. The Sword God stood frozen, and it took him a long time to come to his senses before sternly shouting at Ao Jianzi, "Is this what you call foolproof?"

Master Tianlong was also furious as he turned to Jie Kong, "You disobedient disciple, how dare you deceive me?"

Though the Founder of the Ximen family and Immortal Lan Shan did not speak, their stern gazes were directed at their descendants. Ao Jianzi, Master Jie Kong, Ximen Changkong, and Daoist Tuguan couldn’t stand any longer; they all knelt on the ground, cold sweat streaming down their faces!

"Grandfather, I swear by my Dao heart, we really saw him die at the entrance of the Dragon Tomb!" Ao Jianzi cried out in despair.

"Master!" Daoist Tuguan said, feeling aggrieved, "What Senior Brother Ao Jianzi said is all true. If there is a hint of deceit, I am willing to face the sect’s torture!"

"Founder!" Ximen Changkong also said with a pained expression, "If I lied to you, let me be struck by lightning!"

"Amitābha!" Jie Kong replied calmly, "Master, I have never told a lie in my life! If you still don’t believe me, let me show my sincerity through self-sacrifice!"

The four Semi-Immortals exchanged glances and finally nodded in agreement.

"Alright, get up!" the Sword God sighed with a bitter smile. "It’s probably not your fault; we underestimated Fang Lie’s undying nature!"

"This kid is too troublesome!" the Founder of the Ximen family lamented. "How can we kill him if he doesn’t die from this?"

"Amitābha, is this fate’s will?" Master Tianlong said, his brows furrowed in worry.

"Sigh, if this doesn’t work, then perhaps it means his fate has not yet run out!" Immortal Lan Shan said with a bitter smile, "But thankfully, I have not lost my Dao heart. Haha, I don’t know whether to be happy or disappointed!"

Upon hearing this, the Sword God immediately said, "Junior Brother, you should be happy. Fang Lie is nothing; he isn’t worth you sacrificing your Dao heart!"

Hearing this, Immortal Lan Shan felt warmth in his heart, but soon, a frown returned to his face, and he said gloomily, "Senior Brother, this time we spent quite a bit. We didn’t accomplish our task and instead angered Fang Lie. Doesn’t that mean we ended up losing the hen while trying to catch the thief?"

"It’s probably even worse than that. Look, Fang Lie is coming; he doesn’t come with good intentions!" the Sword God said gravely.