Chapter 261: Chapter 261: Sea Kingdom, Icefield Dynasty, Returning to the Cyan Yuan Sect

Celestial White Jade City was famous for more than just its Twelfth Floor. It also boasted the Temple of Saints and Sages, the Martial Saint Hall, the Champion Scholar Pavilion, and many other world-renowned locations. Many people came to White Jade City just to admire these places, pay their respects to the great figures of the past, and broaden their horizons.

Cai Kun and the others had invited Yang Chan to go with them, but he had refused. After that, trouble broke out in White Jade City, and no one was in the mood to leave the Cyan Yuan Pavilion. In fact, they all had to be on high alert.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel it was a pity, but for the sake of safety, not going was the best choice.

He still had a long life ahead of him; there would be time to visit again. Besides, the world was larger than just the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. There were many other nations, from empires on the grasslands and kingdoms on the sea to dynasties atop frozen plains and other unique countries.

The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was just one part of it all. As long as his cultivation was high enough, he could travel far and wide to see even more famous places.

The Temple of Saints and Sages, the Martial Saint Hall, and the Champion Scholar Pavilion were just a small fraction of what was out there—hardly worth mentioning, really. His future was far more expansive.

On the road, the Cyan Yuan Sect traveled with the Celestial One Water Palace and the Taiyi Sword Sect. The Three Major Sects were still worried about their safety during the journey.

The chaos in White Jade City had been caused by the Imperial Family, and it was possible they would strike again. Traveling together was naturally much safer.

Of course, there was another reason: none of the Advanced Pharmacists and other Inner Master experts who had left earlier had sent back any news. This made the major sects feel the roads might not be safe, so they naturally decided to leave together.

However, for such a joint departure, they had to choose trustworthy sects. Otherwise, those very allies could turn out to be the ones who would attack them.

The Three Major Sects left White Jade City together and encountered no major dangers along the way. After traveling together for five days, they parted ways at a fork in the main road.

The territories of the Cyan Yuan Sect, the Taiyi Sword Sect, and the Celestial One Water Palace were far apart, so once they felt the road ahead was relatively safe, they separated.

Throughout the rest of the journey, as they passed through various regions, the Cyan Yuan Sect disciples remained extremely vigilant. The ordeal in White Jade City had clearly made them far more cautious.

Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen, however, had a much easier time. The severely injured disciples had mostly recovered, requiring little more than a change of medicine. The two of them were not needed for guard duty and spent most of their time in the carriage. All in all, it was a relatively peaceful journey.

The Cyan Yuan Sect group had also received a reply. According to Elder Ji Feng, the sect was sending reinforcements to meet them. Clearly, they were still worried.

As for news about Elder Yan and Hall Master Qi Yuansheng, nothing was said. Yang Chan had his own suspicions about this. ’Their situation is probably not good.’

Yang Chan, Xu Gaocen, and the others didn’t press for details. Until they were back inside the Cyan Yuan Sect, there was still a chance of danger on the road.

On the seventh day of their journey, Yang Chan and his companions finally saw familiar attire and familiar faces, and they couldn’t help but smile.

Medicine Hall Master Gu An was personally leading the group. They had rushed from the Cyan Yuan Sect’s territory in Qing State, riding at a full gallop. Beside him were other Cyan Yuan Sect disciples.

"Hall Master Gu."

Elder Ji Feng was the first to approach, greeting Gu An and letting out a long sigh of relief.

He had never imagined White Jade City would be so dangerous. In the past, those who entered the city had always been safe and had never encountered such perilous events.

Later, the fate of all the Cyan Yuan Sect disciples in White Jade City rested on his shoulders. He knew that if he died there, things would not go well for them, and their losses would be even more severe.

The major sects only formed alliances with those of comparable strength. If there was a large power disparity, the situation would be entirely different.

After two consecutive days of peace in White Jade City, the major sects had a falling out. This was caused by pre-existing conflicts between them, disparities in their strength, and some underhanded moves discovered while dealing with the unknown forces. Naturally, this led to even more friction.

The reason the Cyan Yuan Sect, Taiyi Sword Sect, and Celestial One Water Palace were not greatly affected was that the three sects remained united. Anyone wanting to target one of them would have to face all three. That was why they had been able to meet Gu An and his group safely.

Seeing Gu An and the others, Yang Chan was also thrilled. ’This dangerous life is finally, truly over.’

Once he returned to the Cyan Yuan Sect, he planned to use his promotion to Intermediate Pharmacist as an excuse to stay within the sect for several more years—or even a century, if possible.

He was confident that with a hundred years, his cultivation could definitely break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm, perhaps even sooner.

This trip to White Jade City taught Yang Chan that while an Inner Master’s cultivation wasn’t bad, it was far from safe. Luckily, no Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster had appeared during the fight at the Cyan Yuan Pavilion. Otherwise, he would have likely been done for.

’I have to keep raising my Martial Arts Cultivation, keep accumulating Potential Points, and comprehensively improve my combat power. This is crucial.’

’I also need to keep upgrading my hidden weapons and poisons. Only when they can handle experts of the Cleansing Marrow Grandmaster Realm will I have some real security.’

Now that Medicine Hall Master Gu An and his people had found them, the rest of the journey back for Yang Chan and the group was even smoother.

Four days later, Yang Chan once again saw the familiar sight of the Cyan Yuan Sect. According to the original plan, they were supposed to have brought back a batch of rare medicinal ingredients. However, all the major sects had been in a hurry to leave, and coupled with their dissatisfaction with the Pharmacist Alliance, none of them had gone to collect their rewards.

The major sects’ stance was clear: they wanted an explanation from the Pharmacist Alliance. Otherwise, they would surely take action against it.

Even with two Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters, the Pharmacist Alliance was no match for the combined power of the major sects. After all, even the Imperial Family was extremely wary of the major sects. They didn’t dare to target them too overtly, fearing the sects would unite to oppose them.

The Great Zhou Imperial Family had more than just the Old Emperor, a master at the Peak of Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster. It had many other Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters as well. Even so, they were still extremely wary of the major sects, which showed just how powerful the sects were.

Yang Chan, Xu Gaocen, and the others rode in the carriage all the way back to the Cyan Yuan Sect. During the journey, Yang Chan overheard Elder Ji Feng asking about Elder Yan and Qi Yuansheng. According to Hall Master Gu An’s reply, neither of the two had returned to the Cyan Yuan Sect, nor had any other news of them been received. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

This outcome was contrary to Yang Chan’s expectations. He had originally guessed that the two had encountered danger and were unable to send a message to White Jade City, so they could only return to the Cyan Yuan Sect first to report the situation.

He never expected the situation to be even worse than he had imagined. For there to be no news by now... it most likely meant they had met a grim fate.

Although Yang Chan was shocked to hear this, his expression did not change, as though he were merely an uninterested bystander.