Even though Ling Ling's cultivation could increase faster if she dual cultivated with Ling Yun, she couldn't just focus on that, and she had to increase her Ice Qi.
After they finished breakfast, Lian Bing brought Ling Ling back to Lotus Sect, for the cold there was very beneficial for her. Ye Jing and Shui Lan also returned with them, especially since they were also disciples of the sect.
However, Ling Ling had already saved Yunlong Zuzhai's location in her device, so they could return to their residence whenever they wanted.
After they left, Ling Yun asked his other women to start their training routine, for he really couldn't waste any more time, or else Xiao Xiao would ascend to a higher realm first.
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Meanwhile, Chen Wentian and Liu Ruyue sat side by side, and their expressions were horrid. They had searched for Chen Hong's corpse for two weeks, even with the help of the Liu and Huo Clans, their efforts were all in vain.
"Do you think that person throws our son's corpse into space, Husband? Otherwise, why can't we find him, even though we've almost searched all over this place?" Liu Ruyue glumly asked.
Chen Wentian could only sigh at his wife's question. "I can't give you a definite answer, but your guess may be correct. Anyway, what about Lin'er? Doesn't she want to come back here again?"
Liu Ruyue shook her head at him. "I've tried to persuade Lin'er many times, but she prefers to stay in the Fang Clan now. However, I feel strange about her behavior, and I think she is hiding something from us."
"Do you think Lin'er knows where our son is?" Chen Wentian asked with a raised brow. He himself had repeatedly asked Fang Lin, Fang Zhuo, and Murong Wu. However, they always replied that they didn't know anything about Chen Hong's disappearance due to the effects of something that Ling Xi had infused into their souls.
Suddenly, two old men appeared before them, and Chen Xiang said. "I think we should just give up on searching for Cheng Hong's corpse."
"I agree with Old Chen." Another old man joined in, and he was the Ancestor of the Liu Clan, Liu Zhen. "Although I am also saddened by Chen Hong's death, we can't do anything now, and his corpse has probably been eaten by beasts by now."
The couple's expressions grew even worse upon hearing their words, and Chen Wentian said to them. "I'm sorry. Even if you two choose to give up searching for my son's body, Ruyue and I will never stop looking for him."
"It's up to you then." Chen Xian replied as he turned around to leave. "Anyway, I have an important business, so I'll be going right now, and you don't need to contact me."
After he disappeared, Liu Zhen said to his daughter. "Ruyue, I think it's about time you called your other two children back home, for they have been in the Desert Plain Sect for a long time, and they didn't return after hearing of their big brother's death."
Liu Ruyue nodded to him. "Zong'er and Rong'er will return a few days before the competition between the sects starts, and they will participate in it."
"I see." Liu Zhen nodded in understanding, but he then sighed. "Even if they want to participate in the competition, I'm not sure they won't be able to win, especially since the younger generations of the three ancient clans will also be participating."
"I know." Liu Ruyue also realized that. "Whether they win or lose doesn't really matter; what matters is that they tried their best."
After they talked for a while, Liu Zhen immediately left the Chen Clan, and Chen Wentian also went to search for his son's corpse again.
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On the other hand, the bad mood continued to overshadow the Situ, Nie, Jie, and Miao Clans, especially since they had been looking for Situ Liang and Situ Luan for more than a month. However, their search was still fruitless, and even the people from the Feng and Long Clans could not find them.
Even though Feng Ruxue was sure that Ling Yun knew the location of the Hundred Flower Sect, she did not ask him to save the Situ Siblings, for she also knew that her husband had other plans for the people from that sect.
"What do you think about our children, Husband? Do you think they are alive or dead?" Nie Shuang weakly asked, her face was haggard, and her body had also become very emaciated, for she was very depressed at the thought of her two children.
"I can't imagine the fate of our children." Situ Han replied with a disappointed sigh. "However, they should still be alive now, especially since their life stones are still intact, but Lu Wan'er must have done something to them."
"Luan'er… Liang'er…" Nie Shuang muttered as she started to cry again.
Situ Han was at a loss as to how to console his wife; he then got up and said. "I'm going to see our parents now, and you better get some rest to recover. If we manage to find our children, they will be sad to see your condition now."
"En." Nie Shuang nodded at her husband, and Situ Han immediately left their clan.
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Meanwhile, Huo Ye sat with her parents, brother, and sister-in-law. She had actually known from Wen Qing that Ling Yun had killed Chen Hong, and he had also burned his corpse to ashes.
However, Huo Ye was in a dilemma to tell her parents and grandparents the truth because she more or less knew Ling Yun's character. If she told them the truth, they would head to the Central Forest to seek revenge against him, and she didn't want their clan's fate to end as tragic as the Shui Clan.
'Sigh, what should I do now? Even though I don't like Chen Hong, he is still my uncle, and I can't bear to see my grandparents continue to be sad.' Huo Ye muttered in her heart as she sighed softly.
Hearing that, Chen Qing asked her. "Why are you sighing like that, Ye'er?"
"Nothing." Huo Ye replied as she stood up. "Anyway, I'm going to the Central Forest to see Lei and Long Qiu, and I probably won't be back anytime soon."
"Why are they in that forest?" Huo Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Since the inter-sect competition is only a month away, they brought their direct disciples to the forest to train, for they will participate later." After she answered her father, Huo Ye immediately walked out and quickly flew away from the Huo Clan.
"Since when did Young Miss Long have two disciples?" Huo Yun asked in confusion.
Huo Jun directly explained to his son. "A few months ago, when we were looking for the rainbow flower, we met Young Miss Long in the forest, and she told her father that she was picking up two cultivators as her direct disciples."
"I see." Huo Yun nodded in understanding. "It looks like the inter-sect competition this time will be much more lively than last competition, especially since there are lots of young talents constantly emerging. Anyway, what about Ziqi and Rui? Will they be returning to our clan before the competition starts?"
"Yes." Chen Qing replied with a nod. "Last night, Rui and Ziqi told me that they would finish their seclusion soon and return home in a few days."
"That's good." Yan Zilan joined in. "I haven't seen them in a long time, so I really miss them. Will they stay in the clan long enough, Mother?"
Chen Qing shook her head and explained to her. "They told me that they were planning to train in the forest as their final preparation before the competition, so they probably won't be staying in our clan for long."
"I see." Yan Zilan nodded in understanding. "I hope they can achieve the best results in the competition this time, especially after their defeat from Yu Mei and Situ Luan in the last competition."
"Speaking of Situ Luan, I heard that she's still missing now, so I'm unsure if she'll be participating in the competition this time." The three people had also heard about the news, and they also knew that it was Lu Wan'er who had kidnapped them. "However, many new female cultivators will appear in the competition this time, and some are very strong, especially Sect Master Lian's direct disciple."
"Yes." Yan Zilan agreed with her mother-in-law. "Ling Ling is indeed strong, and she could even become the Lotus Sect core disciple so quickly."
Chen Qing nodded to her. "Besides, Long Yuyi, Feng Xing, and the other women are still there. So Ziqi and Rui must work hard to achieve the best results."
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As the younger generations of all the clans and sects prepared themselves for the competition, Ling Yun and the others also trained very hard. However, their goal is not the competition, but their goal is much higher than that.
Ling Yun himself constantly fought beasts in the Lower King Realm, and he also dual cultivated with his women daily.
However, Ling Yun purposely did not directly absorb the Yang and Yin Qi into his body, and he stored all of them in the Yin-Yang World Ring.
Thanks to his Yang Qi, the cultivation of his women increased quite rapidly, including Hua Yue and Hua Ning. Even though they had not yet dual cultivated with Ling Yun, he continuously supplied them with his Yang Qi.
- To Be Continued -
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