Moon Shines on the Traveler, Unable to Return

Zhuhu Wangchao, Lone Moon Mountain main peak.

Outside the Sect's main hall, four Condensed Origin realm Elders knelt in prostration. Without exception, their faces were etched with grief, tears glistening at the corners of their eyes.

"Great Mountain Lord, I beg you to avenge my disciple!"

"Great Mountain Lord, my grandson cannot die in vain!"

The matter of the secret cache treasure grounds was nearing its end, and the disciples and descendants of these four had all perished within.

Now, kneeling together before the hall, they sought to petition the Great Mountain Lord to seek justice for them.

The four knelt for a long time, yet no response came from within the hall. Just as they began to feel disheartened, several pages of a document suddenly floated out from thin air, landing before them.

The four picked them up and looked, their eyes immediately widening in joy.

This was a detailed list of the Wangchao's "chess pieces." All forces, large and small, that participated in this treasure seizure and belonged to the Wangchao's camp-from their origins to their numbers, and even their specific cultivation realms and which secret cache treasure grounds they had entered-were clearly listed.

"This is the upper Sect making a move!"

"Thank you, Great Mountain Lord, for seeking justice for us!"

"Excellent! Since we have suffered losses this time, we must make Zhuhu bleed as well!"

"Indeed! Let those ants who don't know their own measure understand that even choosing a side comes at a cost!"

Having received this "settlement," the four's resentment diminished considerably, and they left the main peak one after another.

One day later, within the Qiulu jurisdiction, at the exit of the Black Snake Hidden Cache.

"Yin'er, a full day has passed. That young friend Zhang Chen is likely beyond hope," the Pan Family's Qi Gathering Perfection guardian cultivator shook his head.

After leaving the Black Snake Hidden Cache, Pan Yin had stubbornly waited another day at the exit.

Upon hearing her second uncle Pan Baocai's words, her expression darkened, and sorrow appeared in her eyes.

Though unwilling to admit it, since he hadn't emerged by now, she knew Fellow Daoist Zhang had already perished.

"Alas... Heaven Envies the Talented. This man indeed possessed extraordinary courage and insight, but ultimately, his luck was somewhat lacking."

Pan Baocai, having heard of Yang Linghu's deeds, also admired him greatly in his heart, and now couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"I understand, Second Uncle. Let us return home."

After the Pan Family left, only a few scattered individuals remained at the cache's exit, still healing their injuries and regulating their breathing.

By the second day, only one person was left here.

Facing the enormous Formation before him, Liu Qing slowly knelt.

"Thank you, Senior, for the life-saving grace! Liu Qing will never forget it for the rest of his life!"

Having said this, he heavily kowtowed three times toward the cache, then wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to leave.

With that, there were no more figures outside the Black Snake Hidden Cache.

Given the tragic events that had occurred there, no one wished to court bad luck.

"Senior Brother, I've searched carefully. I found a total of five Storage Bags!"

Within the Black Snake Hidden Cache, Zhao Qi handed the Storage Bags he had just gathered to Yang Linghu.

The entrances and exits of the secret cache treasure grounds were all one-way teleportations; once out, one could never re-enter.

So after Dou Hong's death, only the three members of the Yang Family remained in the entire cache.

Using two days' time, Yang Linghu led them in thoroughly cleaning up the two settlements and the battlefield at the entrance.

In the end, they found a total of eighteen Storage Bags left behind by cultivators.

From them, they obtained four hundred and twenty-eight Spirit Crystals.

Thirty-four early-stage Qi Gathering Pills, and nine mid-stage Qi Gathering Pills.

Twenty-seven early-stage Qi Gathering Talismans, six mid-stage Qi Gathering Talismans, and one late-stage Qi Gathering Ice-Rending Talisman, which was discovered in the Storage Bag of that Carefree Sect disciple.

With this Talisman in hand, on the day of the ambush, he would have had the power to counterattack. Even if he couldn't kill Dou Hong, he could have driven him back.

Unfortunately, he was too arrogant and careless, allowing Dou Hong to strike by surprise. He died without ever being able to use this trump card.

Additionally, there were two mid-stage Qi Gathering inferior Spiritual Treasures, and various Spiritual Materials.

On the final day, the three thoroughly ransacked the Safe Zone of the secret cache, taking as many Spiritual Materials as possible into their bags. They only left when the teleportation Formation was about to close. It could be said that they had maximized the value of this cache.

After leaving the cache, the three did not linger but headed straight toward Yanxia Town.

"This trip's bountiful harvest is all thanks to the eldest young master."

"Indeed. If not for Senior Brother's formidable combat strength, the two of us would likely have died here!"

From the cold pool up to the surface, Zhao Qi and Liang Yi saw the tragic state of the outside cultivators, feeling both fear and relief in their hearts.

Without Yang Linghu's arrangements and care, they most likely would not have walked out alive.

"We are all one family. No need for such formalities. Everyone is contributing to the family's efforts, each performing their own duty," Yang Linghu said slowly.

As he spoke, he looked toward the southeast, a smile rising at the corner of his mouth.

Though this journey was full of twists and turns, fortunately, they had made it through safely in the end.

"Now I only need to rendezvous with Lingrui, and then I can return home to be with Junior Sister."

Traveling far from home, what Yang Linghu missed most in his heart was, of course, his wife and their unborn child.

"By the way, Senior Brother, have you thought of a name for the child?"

"I did discuss it with Junior Sister, but we haven't settled on one yet."

Saying this, Yang Linghu took a piece of paper from his pocket, on which were written the three names he and Wu Tong had discussed.

"Hong, An, Xi."

"Eldest Young Master, these three names all look excellent!"

"Of course. Junior Sister and I picked them out over a long time. We were just waiting to return from this trip to finalize it," Yang Linghu smiled.

Zhao Qi spread the paper in his hand. Under the bright moonlight, the three names seemed to shimmer.

"The moonlight is really bright tonight," Zhao Qi remarked casually.

"Yes, tonight's moon..."

Yang Linghu's words suddenly stopped mid-sentence. A strange feeling arose in his heart.

Suddenly, that strand of consciousness from Chen Yang within his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently.

Without a second thought, Yang Linghu activated the fine-grade Vajra Talisman in his hand. Golden light instantly enveloped the three of them.

Whoosh-

A gentle ray of moonlight descended, like a ribbon hanging down from the moon, landing on the three's heads.

The golden light touched it, and within a single breath, it was pierced through.

Under the moonlight's illumination, Yang Linghu felt his body become as heavy as iron, as if a mountain were pressing down on him.

Bang!

At the moment of life and death, Yang Linghu exerted all his strength to kick Zhao Qi and Liang Yi aside. The moonlight then fell upon him alone.

In the final moments of his life, Yang Linghu did not regret the end of his Dao path.

Each generation has its own mission. This was the responsibility he had to bear.

The path to the Yang Family's prosperity would inevitably involve sacrifices. Yang Linghu had long been prepared for this.

He only felt sorry for Junior Sister, that he would have to leave her alone in this world.

And for the unborn child, he was destined to be an unworthy father.

Before his consciousness sank into chaos, he thought of Lingrui and Lingqing.

"Lingrui must survive this calamity..."

"Lingqing, you see, I told you I should be the one to come on this trip..."

Boom!

The soft, powerless moonlight struck the ground, but it directly blasted a deep crater here.

The mere shockwave from the explosion sent Zhao Qi and Liang Yi flying dozens of zhang.

"Senior Brother!"

Zhao Qi roared, ignoring the residual waves of the moonlight, and charged toward the deep pit.

Liang Yi, his face panicked, froze for a few seconds before hurriedly following.

Zhao Qi jumped into the deep pit, bent down, and groped through the dust until he found Yang Linghu's arm.

"Senior Brother!"

He grasped Yang Linghu's hand, momentarily breathing a sigh of relief.

But when he dispersed the dust before his eyes, the sight that met him froze him in place.

What Zhao Qi was holding was Yang Linghu's right arm.

And in the deep pit at this moment, aside from this right arm, there was nothing else.

Ten thousand li away, at the Songshan Yang Family.

Yang Lingqing was in the Yang Family's meeting hall, listening to her father report on the family's recent affairs, when suddenly a suffocating sensation struck her chest.

"Lingqing?"

Yang Feiyun keenly sensed something was wrong and dismissed the Yang Family members.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Father."

Yang Lingqing clutched her chest. After regulating her breathing for a moment, the suffocation eased somewhat, but she still felt a restless unease.

This feeling was abnormal for her, especially after refining the Spirit Pearl bestowed by the Venerable Immortal.

Her figure suddenly paused. She turned her head to look north. A terrible premonition grew stronger in her heart.

"Father, the Formation at the Restricted Grounds is fluctuating a bit. I'll go check on it."

"Alright, go ahead."

Yang Lingqing maintained a calm expression on her face and returned to the cliffside Restricted Grounds.

She looked toward the small courtyard where Wu Tong lived, suppressed her aura, and circled around it, then hurried toward the ancestral hall.

Before entering the ancestral hall, she could still suppress the turbulent emotions within her, not letting them show on her face.

But the moment she stepped into the ancestral hall, that terrible feeling in her heart began to spread uncontrollably and wildly.

"Venerable Immortal!"

Yang Lingqing, disregarding propriety, directly picked up Chen Yang.

"Venerable Immortal, my... my two brothers... are they...?"

"Alas..."

Looking at Yang Lingqing's panicked eyes and trembling body, Chen Yang could only respond with a helpless sigh.

Just now, Yang Linghu's Soul Flame had extinguished, and Yang Lingrui's Soul Flame was beginning to flicker unsteadily.

The incident was sudden, and they were too far apart. He was powerless to do anything about it.

Similar situations were emerging all over Zhuhu Wangchao.

Many cultivators who were chess pieces for the Wangchao's side were subjected to the Sect's cruel revenge to varying degrees.

Besides Yang Linghu, who was directly killed by a descending spell, there were also deaths by curse, poison, soul-seizing, and other methods.

This furious counterattack by the Sect was also within the Wangchao's expectations and calculations.

After the large-scale revenge, Zhuhu used this matter as a pretext to launch an attack, breaking through three mountain strongholds in the northern region of the Wangchao.

They killed three Condensed Origin cultivators and severely wounded one Spirit Communion cultivator.

All major forces were greatly shaken.

Under such earth-shattering news, the deaths of Yang Linghu and others seemed insignificant.

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