Chapter 407: Separating Again
Traveling with members of the Dong Clan, Nie Tian and the others didn’t run into any trouble on their way back to the Dong Clan.
Since Dong Li constantly urged everyone to move faster, the team didn’t dare to waste any time, and marched straight back to the Dong Clan within the shortest time possible.
Six days later, they arrived at the Dong Clan’s front gate.
During the past six days, he had traveled side by side with Nie Donghai and Nie Qian, and savored the long-lost familial love.
However, the best days were always short. Now that they’d arrived at the Dong Clan, it meant that it was time for them to separate again.
Nie Tian didn’t know that since the Yin Sect and the Yang Sect had made requests, Dong Li wouldn’t dare to harm him even if he refused to follow Dong Li’s orders.
He didn’t tell his family or the other members of the Cloudsoaring Sect about his agreement with Dong Li. He just told them that Dong Li was a friend of his.
According to Dong Li’s arrangements, Nie Donghai, Nie Qian, and the other Cloudsoaring Sect members were rapidly taken to a teleportation portal in the Dong Clan. Nie Tian went along.
Standing in a location not far away, Dong Li and Qin Yan watched Nie Tian as they whispered something to each other.
“Grandfather, aunt, I need to stay here in the Realm of a Hundred Battles for a little longer,” Nie Tian said, reluctance in his eyes. “You go ahead and return to the Realm of Flame Heaven first.”
Nie Donghai nodded. “You’re a grown man now. I understand that you have your own business to attend to. Your grandfather won’t hold you back. No need to worry about us. We’ll take good care of ourselves. You, on the other hand, need to be careful, considering you travel the world by yourself now.”
“I will.”
“Nie Tian, visit the Cloudsoaring Sect when you have the time,” Luo Xin said. “Your master has been worried about you.”
Nie Tian smiled. “I surely will. Other than my grandfather and aunt, he’s the one I miss the most. If you see him when you get back, tell him that I’m in the wrong for not seeking him out in the Cloudsoaring Sect.”
“I’m sure he won’t mind, as long as you still remember his kindness,” Luo Xin said, smiling.
“Take care.” Nie Tian waved his hand as he watched everyone step into the teleportation portal. “I’ll return to the Cloudsoaring Sect after I’m finished with the business on my hand. See you!”
“You take care, Nie Tian!”
“Take good care of yourself, Nie Tian!”
The teleportation portal unleashed a misty, bright light that enveloped everyone inside. After a series of spiritual power fluctuations, they disappeared from Nie Tian’s sight.
Looking at the empty teleportation portal, Nie Tian seemed rather melancholy. Apparently, he was despondent about once again separating from his family.
Appearing beside him, Dong Li curled her lips and said, “Alright. You’re a big boy. Don’t grieve like a girl. I traveled across the nine realms in the Domain of the Falling Stars before I was even ten. It’s a good thing to travel around. People won’t accomplish anything if they just lock themselves up and practice cultivation in a corner of the world.”
Qin Yan laughed softly. “Do you think everyone is like you, naughty girl?”
“How are you any different from me?” Dong Li retorted.
Nie Tian took a deep breath to force himself out of his sentimental state. Then, he turned to face the two girls, who were now standing beside him.
Having resumed her actual appearance, Dong Li looked feminine and desirable. Every move she made gave off a charming vibe, making her look like a blossoming rose.
Qin Yan, on the other hand, was dressed in a succinct and graceful fashion. As pretty as a painting, she had a quiet and elegant appearance, and her bright eyes glittered with the light of wisdom.
These two girls were the two most famous beauties in the Realm of a Hundred Battles. Each of them was beautiful in their own way. Their cultivation talent was also very outstanding, which was acknowledged by people throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars.
However, Nie Tian’s heart was taken up by the fact that he was forced to stay and work for Dong Li. Therefore, not the least bit of enjoyment could be seen in his eyes when he looked at them.
Especially Dong Li; he didn’t have the slightest favorable opinion of her.
Back when she had been in the Realm of Split Void, Dong Li had played her vicious tricks and killed countless unwitting explorers in that dense forest in the Void Illusion Mountain Range.
That woman was extremely cunning and vile. When Nie Tian saw her, he saw a scorpion or a serpent. All he could think was that he should be extra vigilant.
“Where do you plan to take me? And what’s the mission?” Nie Tian asked with a frown.
“The Realm of Dark Underworld.” Dong Li didn’t intend to hide the truth from him. “One of my friends found a relic of the Phantasms in the Realm of Dark Underworld, and we’re going to explore it. As you probably know, the Realm of Dark Underworld used to be home to Phantasms. They lived there for a very long time before they were driven out by powerful Qi warriors from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace.”
“The Realm of Dark Underworld?” Nie Tian went blank for a moment before Tang Yang’s name popped up in his mind.
During the Heaven Gate trial, it was none other than Tang Yang from the Flame God Sect who had killed Liu Yan in front of him, which had left an eternal scar in his heart.
Afterwards, when Nie Tian and the chosen ones had ended up in the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, Tang Yang had been Ning Yang’s last opponent in the Greater Heaven section. Even though he eventually lost, he managed to escape from Ning Yang’s hands. He must have returned to the Realm of Dark Underworld.
The only problem was that Tang Yang had been at the late Greater Heaven stage back then. Years had passed, so his cultivation base might have become even stronger.
He had sworn that, once he became strong enough, he would kill Tang Yang to avenge Liu Yan.
However, he didn’t think he had what it took right now.
Considering that everyone now knew that the Flame Dragon Armor was in his possession, once his true identity was exposed when he was in the Realm of Dark Underworld, the Flame God Sect would definitely do everything within their power to get him, especially now that he had already turned the Heaven Palace Sect down.
“What? Do you have a problem with that?” Dong Li asked.
“No.” Nie Tian shook his head and kept his history with Tang Yang to himself.
“You don’t need to worry. You can continue to disguise yourself as Wu Tian. As long as you’re more careful, no one will be suspicious.” Dong Li assumed that he was worried that the Heaven Palace Sect would seek trouble with him. “If you didn’t set foot in my clan and my subordinate didn’t recognize the mask you’re wearing, I wouldn’t know who you were either.”
“A relic of the Phantasms...” Nie Tian’s expresion flickered as he blurted, “You were in the Realm of Split Void too. Did you know that Phantasms appeared in the Realm of Split Void? The Phantasms that descended upon the Realm of Split Void possessed terrifying strength. Could it be that they went from the Realm of Split Void to the Realm of Dark Underworld? After all, the Realm of Dark Underworld used to be their paradise.”
Upon hearing his words, Dong Li and Qin Yan both fell silent.
Before this moment, it had never occurred to them that the two incidents were connected, and the Phantasms that had appeared in the Realm of Split Void could have traveled to the Realm of Dark Underworld.
Only after being reminded by Nie Tian did they remember that Phantasms had indeed been spotted in the Realm of Split Void.
According to the information they had received, those Phantasms had disappeared soon after landing in the Realm of Split Void.
The Blood Skull, Dark Moon, and Wild Fire had searched for a long time, but eventually failed to find them.
“Li, do you think it’s possible that those Phantasms have traveled from the Realm of Split Void to the Realm of Dark Underworld?” Qin Yan asked with a slightly grim expression. “You spent quite some time in the Realm of Split Void. You must have a better idea than I do.”
Dong Li’s expression also grew serious as she said, “I’d say that’s a possibility. As you know, there are a large number of mysterious spatial rifts in the Void Illusion Mountain Range in the Realm of Split Void. It’s possible that one or two of them lead to the Realm of Dark Underworld. If those Phantasms had acquired such information, they might have indeed traveled from the Realm of Split Void to the Realm of Dark Underworld through one of them.”
Qin Yan smiled bitterly. “Do you think we will run into those Phantasms in the Realm of Dark Underworld?”
“There’s another thing I need to remind you of,” Nie Tian said with a grim expression. “I was there when the first Phantasm landed, and it was that Phantasm that killed Ning Yang. From what I can tell, that Phantasm’s strength is probably equal to that of a Worldly realm human Qi warrior! I’ve no idea how powerful the other Phantasms are.”
“But even if you run into that Phantasm alone during your exploration trip, there’s no chance that you’ll be able to make it out of there alive, considering your strength.”
“Is it really so powerful?!” Dong Li asked, surprised.
Qin Yan’s expression also flickered slightly.
“I saw it myself. I swear that’s the truth. You’d better think it through and see if you really want to explore that relic in the Realm of Dark Underworld. Even if you are determined to go, you’d better make full preparations and invite powerful experts to go together, lest you all die there.” Nie Tian painted a rather dangerous picture for the two of them.
“Thank you for the reminders,” Qin Yan said, nodding gently. Then, she turned around and said to Dong Li, “It seems that you’ve made the right decision to take Nie Tian with us. Without his reminders, we might have gone there without proper preparations, and it would be hard to say if we would have returned alive.”
“But that makes me want to go even more.” Dong Li seemed to be itching to start the journey as soon as possible. “I can’t wait to see if this relic discovered by Cao Qiushui is connected with those Phantasms in the Realm of Split Void, and why those Phantasms would travel through the starry river and return to the Domain of the Falling Stars.”
Upon hearing her words, Qin Yan’s eyes also lit up. She asked, “Are we still going?”
“Of course! But we need to make proper preparations.” After a moment of pondering, she added, “I’ll ask one of my Worldly realm martial uncles to go with us. You’d better get one of your members who’s at the Worldly realm to join us as well. Also, inform those two from the Pill Pavilion Sect and the Gu Clan of the situation, and urge them to invite Worldly realm experts as well.
“If we have a few Worldly realm experts to go with us, even if we are to encounter Phantasms, we’ll probably be able to get out unharmed.”
Qin Yan nodded. “Okay, I’m on it.”