Chapter 219: Jade Yao Zhenren Must Be Heartbroken, Right?

“What terrifying energy ripples! Could it be that a secret treasure has appeared?”

“Let’s go, let’s go! We have to check it out!”

The battle among the three great Holy Land cultivators had been so intense that every cultivator exploring the Grand Secret Realm had been alerted.

Curiosity was an inherent human trait, and even these experienced cultivators were no exception—if anything, their curiosity was even stronger.

“Pavilion Master, what do you say? Should we go take a look?”

The elders of the Sword Pavilion all turned their eager gazes toward Su Qinian.

“What’s there to see? What if it’s dangerous?” Su Qinian narrowed his eyes, pressing his right hand lightly against the hilt of his sword. His tone was serious. “It’s better to let those other cultivators go ahead first. If there’s something valuable…”

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a black hood, giving the elders a look that needed no explanation.

“Ohhh, I see now! As expected of the Pavilion Master!”

“The Pavilion Master is truly farsighted!”

The elders all took out their own black hoods, grinning in understanding.

The black hoods they had now were different from before.

Back when the Sword Pavilion was poorer and lacked resources, Su Qinian and the elders hadn’t been able to add any formations to their disguises.

But ever since the Grandmaster had distributed a wave of resources to the disciples…

They had enhanced the black hoods with numerous formations, mostly to conceal their presence, block spiritual perception, and alter their facial features. Now, as long as they wore the hoods, no one could recognize them unless they were vastly stronger.

When traveling the martial world, such black hoods weren’t always necessary—

But they were a must-have.

The cultivators soared toward the source of the battle’s aftermath.

The closer they got to the core area, the more unsettled they felt.

The entire battlefield was enveloped in a terrifying sword intent.

The mountains, sliced cleanly by sword qi, were as smooth as mirrors, their cuts gleaming like polished glass.

The sky itself was split into two halves—one Yin, one Yang, with swirling clouds surging within.

Beneath this bizarre sky, flowers, trees, birds, and beasts were all frozen in place, eerily motionless.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that everything—living or dead—had been pierced through by sword intent.

A light touch would reduce them to dust, scattering into the wind.

“What… what happened here? Why is there such terrifying sword intent?!”

“I can feel the Dao of Reincarnation in this sword intent… Just who could have comprehended such profound laws?”

“Look! It’s Master Fenye and Jade Yao Zhenren!”

As the cultivators reached the center of the battlefield, one of them pointed toward a bottomless abyss, spanning a thousand feet wide.

At the edge of the abyss, Jade Yao Zhenren and Monk Fenye sat cross-legged, meditating to recover.

Inside the abyss, the White Bone Demon Saint lay on the verge of death, its pale blue ghostly fire flickering weakly in its hollow eyes. Yet, its body still radiated an overwhelming demonic aura.

Two broken swords were embedded in its body.

A cultivator recognized them instantly—

“That’s… that’s the Yin-Yang Void Swords—the personal swords of Zhang Yibai, the Lord of True Martial Holy Land!”

But at this moment, the legendary swords had lost their radiance.

Their sword spirits… seemed to have vanished?

“No wonder there was such a commotion!” An elderly cultivator stared into the abyss, dumbfounded. “The three Masters have subdued a Demon Saint!”

A Demon Saint.

That was the pinnacle of demon cultivation, just one step away from becoming a Demon Immortal—requiring only a final tribulation.

And demons had a much harder time cultivating than humans, making them even stronger at the same level.

The fact that it had taken three Grand Ascension realm cultivators to suppress it spoke volumes about its power.

“Amazing… but Master Fenye and Jade Yao Zhenren both look injured… Wait, where is Zhang Zhenren?”

Among the crowd, two elders from True Martial Holy Land were present.

Their eyes swept over the devastated battlefield, and when they saw the Yin-Yang Void Swords but no sign of Zhang Yibai, their faces paled.

They frantically searched near the abyss, calling his name and scanning with their spiritual senses.

They wanted to ask Fenye and Jade Yao, but they didn’t dare interrupt them while they were healing.

After a while, Monk Fenye was the first to open his eyes.

He glanced at the two True Martial elders—then let out a deep sigh.

“Amitabha…”

His bloodstained monk’s robe fluttered in the wind.

He gazed down at the swirling demonic energy in the abyss, his voice suddenly choked with emotion.

“Zhang Zhenren… used three thousand years of cultivation to forcibly comprehend the Dao of Reincarnation in order to suppress the berserk White Bone Demon Saint.”

“Just to protect the millions of lives in Cangyun Realm, he fought until his Daoist robe was completely destroyed—yet even then, he still held tightly onto his broken swords…”

“We searched the entire secret realm, and yet… not even a single bloodstained scrap of his robe remains…”

His withered fingers dug deep into the scorched earth.

The mountain wind lifted tattered talismans into the air.

Monk Fenye suddenly trembled violently, murky tears splashing onto his corroded monk staff.

“He’s gone… Even if we scoured the eighteen layers of the underworld… we’d still never find him again…”

The two True Martial Holy Land elders turned deathly pale.

They stared at Monk Fenye in a daze.

Then, they heard another stifled sob.

Turning their heads, they saw Jade Yao Zhenren—her head lowered, shoulders trembling slightly.

“No… impossible! The Holy Lord was the greatest sword cultivator in Cangyun Realm! He’s slain countless great demons—how could he be killed by a Demon Saint?!”

“You… did you do something?! Did you force the Holy Lord to face the Demon Saint alone?!”

Faced with their accusations, Monk Fenye and Jade Yao Zhenren said nothing.

They only silently revealed their severe injuries.

Jade Yao Zhenren’s once jet-black hair had turned completely white, and half of Monk Fenye’s body was nearly entirely decayed.

Seeing their dire conditions, the two elders, no matter how much they doubted them, remained silent.

“Elders, please don’t say such painful things.”

“Yes, Zhang Zhenren’s disappearance is a tragedy, but Jade Yao Zhenren and Master Fenye have also suffered greatly.”

The surrounding cultivators murmured among themselves.

“I’ve never seen Jade Yao Zhenren cry for another cultivator before… She must be truly heartbroken…”

“Exactly! I heard Zhang Zhenren and Jade Yao Zhenren were incredibly close. If not for their pursuit of the Dao, they might have even become Dao companions!”

“Damn the demon race! They actually left two of the Three Holy Land Masters seriously injured and one missing… Fellow cultivators, we must make an enemy of the demon race!”

Jade Yao Zhenren and Monk Fenye listened to the growing outrage but remained silent.

They actually had plenty of heavenly treasures to restore their injuries.

Even with damaged foundations, they could have quickly recovered until their wounds were no longer visible.

But they chose not to.

Nor did they leave the battlefield.

Instead, they waited—waited for the cultivators to gather, to witness the scene—so that they could convince the world that Zhang Yibai had died at the hands of the White Bone Demon Saint.

What could True Martial Holy Land do, even if they doubted them?

They had no choice but to accept this reality.

With Zhang Yibai dead, True Martial Holy Land was leaderless and no longer a threat.

Their only fear… was the Abyssal Ruins.

Within the Abyssal Ruins, nine Supreme cultivators pursued immortality in seclusion.

And among them… was one who was Zhang Yibai’s closest friend.

But as long as they entered the Abyssal Ruins themselves—

Zhang Yibai’s death would remain an eternal secret.