Chapter 623 - 630: A Clean Break

Thankfully, Song Wanning’s breathing was very steady. She was clearly just exhausted to the point of collapse.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

In the end, Qin Ming, who was the most severely injured, carried Song Wanning to a distant spot to rest. The others began to clean up the aftermath.

There were so many monsters, and they had to clear them out one by one.

Her original body’s stamina was depleted, but her clone was still full of energy. Although the clone had also used a lot of stamina, everything her main body learned was instantly transferred to it.

So, she proceeded to use the Time Runes to freeze time and then went on a slaughtering spree against the monsters.

Without Song Que to command them, the monsters were quickly routed and beaten to a pulp.

They tried to flee, but the cultivators gave them no chance, sweeping through them...

In the shade of a nearby tree, Qin Ming sat in a daze. Song Wanning leaned against a tree trunk, her breathing gradually recovering.

As he watched the corpse in the distance being slowly covered by monster carcasses, Qin Ming’s mind went blank.

’That’s my master!!’

He rushed over almost without thinking and pulled Song Que’s body out from under the pile of monster corpses.

He didn’t linger and returned to the shade of the tree.

His once-respected master was now a corpse, and even his features looked unfamiliar.

In that moment, Qin Ming felt completely bewildered.

He had originally snuck here because he was worried about Song Wanning’s safety, only to be confronted by this cruel reality.

His eyes reddened. His heart ached with pain and guilt.

...

As night fell, the last of the monsters were finally slain.

The scene before them could no longer be described as merely "bloody."

It was truly a river of blood, with no exaggeration.

Song Wanning slowly regained consciousness. Compared to the depletion of her Spiritual Power, her spiritual power had been even more thoroughly drained.

This was especially true since she had been fighting Song Que while also trying to comprehend the Time Attribute.

If not for her powerful Divine Soul, she would never have been able to hold on for so long.

She had only collapsed at the end because she trusted the people around her.

Only when she knew she was safe did she dare to let her guard down and give herself time to recover.

Now, opening her eyes, her Sea of Consciousness still ached. She took out a few Elixir Pills and put them in her mouth, then glanced at the others cleaning the battlefield, momentarily unsure of what to say.

She had originally wanted to pry the locations of the remaining monster lairs from Song Que’s lips, but with a man like him, it was impossible to kill him without a swift and decisive blow.

Song Wanning turned her head to look at Martial Uncle Qin Ming.

Although Qin Ming was staring into the distance, he was clearly lost in a daze, looking utterly stupefied.

Song Wanning could completely understand his feelings. She sighed and decided to meditate to begin recovering from her injuries.

Once the battlefield was cleaned, the group walked over.

Everyone was injured to some degree, looking dejected and disheveled.

But despite winning the battle, not a single person could bring themselves to smile.

The matter with Song Que had dealt a heavy blow to them all.

Song Wanning opened her eyes as well. Her clone naturally walked over and merged with her.

In that instant, her exhausted spiritual power recovered significantly, and the pain subsided.

Yun Yangzi walked over and asked with concern, "Are you all right, girl?"

"We have you to thank for this. Otherwise, I’m afraid we all would have died here!"

He sighed as he spoke. Who could have imagined that Song Que’s Cultivation had reached such a high level, yet he had hidden it all this time?

"Ancestor, this was the result of everyone’s combined effort."

Song Wanning shook her head, her face growing even paler.

Leng Qingzhu and Liu Lan Yi both went to her side and held her arms.

She smiled and repeatedly assured them she was fine, and only then did everyone finally relax.

After a round of concerned inquiries, silence fell over the scene.

Everyone looked at the corpse on the ground, their expressions growing complicated.

Just then, Qin Ming suddenly knelt. "Ancestor, please allow me to bury my master’s body!!!"

He kowtowed, his head hitting the ground with loud thuds.

"I know my master almost got everyone killed... but a teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. I just don’t want to see his body left exposed in the wilderness..."

’If Master had truly harmed everyone, I would have fought back even if it meant my death.’

’But now that Master is dead, I just want to repay his kindness one last time.’

’After this, we will have nothing more to do with each other!!’

"Alright!"

Yun Yangzi nodded without hesitation and walked away.

Qin Ming immediately kowtowed again in thanks, then stood up and, ignoring his injuries, began to dig a grave.

Liu Lan Yi and Leng Qingzhu also stepped forward to help.

Together, they dug a grave to give Song Que a final bit of dignity and buried him within it.

They knelt before the grave and kowtowed to Song Que in silence.

Song Wanning stood before the grave and also bowed, paying her last respects.

It was a gesture of thanks for all the years he had taken care of her master.

After a long silence, Qin Ming raised his head with a smile of release. "Let’s go!"

’Master is gone, but life must go on.’

"Okay!"

The group took one last look at the unmarked grave, then turned and left together.

This time, everyone had been greatly depleted and would need a long period of rest to recover.

As for the remaining monsters, they couldn’t rely on this group alone to handle them.

...

Song Que, the Supreme Elder of the Ancient Cold Sect, was dead. He had died at the hands of the mastermind who had been raising the monsters.

He died protecting the Spirit Realm.

This news quickly spread throughout the Human Clan. Feng Xue and her companion, who had remained at the Ancient Cold Sect, felt as if their world had collapsed. With reddened eyes, they charged out.

They had to avenge their master. Even if their Cultivation was insufficient, they absolutely could not stand by and do nothing.

This news had been intentionally spread by Luo Hantian. It was the only way to perfectly exonerate the Ancient Cold Sect.

Song Wanning didn’t feel there was anything wrong with this. People were pragmatically selfish and would naturally choose the course of action most beneficial to themselves.

Besides, she was a beneficiary of this as well. At the very least, she and her companions wouldn’t have to endure the scornful looks and verbal and written condemnation from others.

Once the group had more or less recovered from their injuries, they parted ways once more.

Liu Xingzhi chose to stay behind and search for the main monster nest with Song Wanning, while Yun Yangzi led the others back to the Sect.

Now, the Spirit Realm needed to unite, find all the remaining monsters, and eliminate them.

Only then would everyone truly be safe.

But things were far from that simple.

Sitting on her Flying Artifact, Song Wanning suddenly thought of a problem.

She immediately sent a Communication Talisman to her master.

"Master, has your Eldest Senior Sister returned?"

She had never met Leng Qingzhu’s eldest senior sister before. ’Now that Song Que is dead, she should at least come back for a visit, right?’

At these words, Leng Qingzhu paused on the other end. After a moment, she replied, "There has been no news from Eldest Senior Sister. We can’t contact her."

Normally, they would be worried that something had happened to their Senior Sister.

But at such a sensitive time, an unsettling thought surfaced in everyone’s mind.

"Let’s hope we’re just overthinking it. Senior Sister was probably just delayed by something!"