Zhangsun Xun Yi waited until Yuchi Bing Xia had calmed down a bit. He knew this news was hard to take. After all, they had put much hope in this mission and now instead of improving their situation it had instead become worse. Who wouldn’t be crestfallen in such a case?
Furthermore, after losing so many excellent disciples it really was questionable whether they would manage to hold on to their position among the sects of the good faction. The Yun Zou Sect had already been on the decline for a long time. Presumably, this was the last blow it could take.
"That’s not all."
"There’s more?" Yuchi Bing Xia already felt a bit numb. Wasn’t this bad enough? Why was there still more?
"The larger part of the surviving disciples is hurt, quite a few of them gravely. And … two of them have vanished."
Yuchi Bing Xia didn’t answer. He knew he should but … What was he to say in this situation? No words could change the situation.
"The ones who disappeared …" Zhangsun Xun Yi furrowed his brow. "One of them is Zhong Jing Yi."
"Your disciples’ …" Yuchi Bing Xia rubbed his brow. One message was worse than the one before. "How did he react?"
"Well, according to expectations. He isn’t happy. He asked if there was a possibility to open the secret realm again. He didn’t believe me when I said no. I guess he is still searching for one now."
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded. "He’ll understand sooner or later."
Zhangsun Xun Yi frowned slightly. "I hope so." Considering what that person had said about Qiu Ling and the relationship to his lover it would certainly be a heavy blow to him.
"Ah, you said there were two disciples that disappeared? Who is the other one?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi sighed. "The other one is your little disciple. It’s Yu Jin."
Yuchi Bing Xia’s hands trembled. Yu Jin … had been lost?
Zhangsun Xun Yi had known that this would be hard to accept for the sect Master. It was obvious that he liked this little disciple of his very much. He hurriedly spoke up again. "Yu Jin saved that boy. He reacted very fast and his cultivation isn’t low. I doubt you have to worry about his life. It’s just that … the secret realm seemed to have opened for a moment and those two were probably sucked right in. They’ll be trapped in there until it opens again."
Yuchi Bing Xia shook his head. "I know that Yu Jin is strong enough to survive. It’s just … I had hoped he would one day inherit my position. Now that this happened … Well, he wasn’t eager to fulfill that wish of mine anyway."
"That says a lot about his character. He’s a good man. You’ve chosen wisely."
Yuchi Bing Xia smiled wryly. "I know. But now … Who knows when that secret realm will open again?"
"There is still the possibility of him finding the core of the realm and gaining its ownership. It might not be impossible for Yu Jin."
Yuchi Bing Xia’s eyes lit up. Indeed! His disciple was obviously a prodigy. Even though he had gotten into such an unfavorable situation that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to find a way out. He nodded. "Thank you, Grandmaster. Hearing you say that, I feel like not all hope is lost. We should think about the other disciples first. Have you brought them to the Lu Xuan Peak already?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi shook his head. "They were injured too heavily. I left them in the Leyuan region for now and had Qiu Ling keep watch. The reason I came back was to one, inform you of what happened in the Leyuan region, and two, look for that person from the back of the mountain."
Yuchi Bing Xia tensed. "Then, by all means, do so, Grandmaster. I wouldn’t want to hold you back."
"You misunderstood. I actually wanted to ask whether you’ve seen him."
Yuchi Bing Xia’s eyebrows shot up. "Why would you … Did something happen?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi nodded. "You can say that. Do you remember the person that I brought here before I left for the Leyuan region with the disciples? The man that was looking for Qiguan Cheng Da?"
"Of course." Not even talking about the copper-colored hair, that man had displayed a kind of aura that was hard to overlook and even harder to forget. He reckoned that he still would have remembered him even if the Grandmaster had only asked in a year.
"I don’t know who exactly he is but his identity probably isn’t simple. I found him in the dimension at the back of the mountain."
"Then that person …?"
"I don’t know where he is. He was already gone when I found that Jin Ling there. He probably didn’t want to be found and left. The problem is that I don’t know where he went. He isn’t at my peak so I had hoped that he had come here."
Yuchi Bing Xia shook his head. "No, he hasn’t. Should we have the disciples look? He isn’t that hard to recognize, after all."
That person wasn’t any different from that Jin Ling. In fact, he was even more noteworthy. He still remembered the day his Master and the Grandmaster had taken him to the back of the mountain after it was decided that he would inherit the position of sect Master in the future. Just a short glance at that man had petrified him.
He didn’t know his name and he didn’t dare ask but his appearance seemed to be burned into his memory. The golden hair that sparkled in the sun, the golden eyes that seemed to be made of molten gold …
He really … really was too beautiful. He hadn’t seemed human. Well, he probably wasn’t. At least Yuchi Bing Xia had never thought of him as a mere mortal. In his imagination, this person was rather a true immortal, a god that had descended to the human world.
And now, this beautiful god had vanished. It really made one worried.
