Liu Yingjie staggered as he pushed open the vermilion gate of the Xuantian Sect, two lines of tears streaming down his face. The disciples behind him were even more ashen-faced, their steps unsteady as if they might collapse at any moment.

"Senior Brother Liu!" The gatekeeper greeted him with delight. "You're back so soon? Is it because..." His voice trailed off as he saw the tear tracks on Liu Yingjie's face.

The other gatekeepers also gathered around, asking questions all at once:

"Where is Fairy Bai? Why didn't Elder Wei and the others return together?"

"Have you already obtained the Dao Source Fruit?"

Liu Yingjie suddenly knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times.

When he raised his head, blood was already seeping from his forehead, and his voice was so choked that it was almost inaudible: "I...I've let the sect down..."

Several of his disciples behind him also knelt down, some of them already sobbing uncontrollably.

Wang Hao's heart sank, and the spear in his hand clattered to the ground: "Senior Brother Liu... what... happened?"

"That Bai Ying is truly despicable; she actually chose to walk through the narrow passage..."

Liu Yingjie's voice trembled.

"You all know how dangerous the narrow passage is..."

As he said this, he suddenly covered his face and burst into tears, his shoulders shaking violently.

Wang Hao felt as if struck by lightning and staggered back two steps.

He shook his head in disbelief: "Impossible... How could this be... A place like the Narrow Gorge is teeming with ferocious beasts; going there is practically certain death. Elder Wei, and so many senior brothers and sisters, how could they agree to this?"

Liu Yingjie raised her tear-filled eyes, her voice filled with pain.

"Bai Ying insisted on doing it this way, and she kept assuring everyone that she could protect them, and Elder Wei actually believed her..."

He pounded his chest violently.

"It's all my fault! If I hadn't been so weak... we wouldn't have failed to save everyone... We barely escaped with our lives on the line... Waaah... It's all my fault..."

"Senior brother, how can this be your fault? It's already a blessing from heaven that you were able to come back."

This news exploded like a thunderbolt within the Xuantian Sect.

On the training ground, the weapons in the hands of the disciples who were sparring fell to the ground one after another; in the alchemy room, a batch of spiritual medicine that was about to be made into pills exploded with a "bang"; in the library, the bamboo slips in the hands of the disciples who were studying the classics scattered all over the floor with a "clatter".

"impossible!"

A young female disciple slumped to the ground, the protective sachet she had sewn for Elder Wei falling from her hand. "Master and the others are dead just like that... How could this be? I don't believe it!"

"How could this happen..." Several inner disciples burst into tears, burying their faces in their hands. "Senior Sister Lin promised to teach me swordsmanship..."

Inside the council hall, the teacup in the hands of the sect leader, Master Tinglan, shattered with a "crack".

He froze on the spot, his once vigorous face instantly aging ten years.

He originally thought that with Bai Ying's help and his own talisman, he could at least ensure everyone's safe retreat, but unexpectedly, the entire army was wiped out.

how so......

"Sect Leader, Martial Uncle!"

Liu Yingjie stumbled into the main hall and knelt heavily on the ground.

"This disciple is incompetent... I failed to rescue Elder Wei and the others... The demonic beasts of Yixiantian were too terrifying, and there were also many cultivators from other sects. We didn't know how many Nascent Soul stage cultivators we saw along the way. It was too terrifying... We were no match for them at all..."

His voice choked with emotion, and his forehead slammed heavily against the bluestone ground, making a dull thud.

Master Tinglan, trembling, helped Liu Yingjie to his feet, tears streaming down his face: "It's not your fault...it's not your fault..."

Liu Yingjie lowered his head, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly. He deliberately spoke vaguely, making everyone believe that they had fought their way out and escaped.

The thought that those elite disciples who used to be superior to him had all perished, and that the sect's resources would inevitably be tilted towards him in the future, made his heart beat faster involuntarily.

"Pass down the order," Master Tinglan said, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, forcing back his grief, "The entire clan...the entire clan shall wear mourning for three days..."

Amidst this somber atmosphere, a commotion suddenly arose outside the mountain gate. A disciple rushed into the main hall in a panic, his voice trembling: "Report! A large force aboard Elder Wei's flying boat is heading towards the mountain gate!"

Liu Yingjie's body stiffened abruptly, and the grief on his face froze instantly. He subconsciously took a half step back, his fingers digging into his palms without him even noticing his nails sinking deep into his flesh.

"Good! Very good!" Master Tinglan suddenly stood up, unleashing an astonishing pressure. The candlelight in the hall flickered violently, and several glass lamps shattered with a "crack." "They killed our people and still dare to come here to provoke us on Junior Brother Wei's flying boat!"

As Liu Yingjie listened to Master Tinglan's words, his tense nerves relaxed slightly. He secretly laughed at his own panic just now.

How could it be Wei Ji and the others coming back? That's simply impossible.

It now seems that cultivators from other sects must have seized the flying boat and come here to show off their power.

"Disciples, listen to my command!" Master Tinglan's eyes were bloodshot, his sleeves moved without wind, and the jade pendant at his waist jingled.

"Follow me to meet the enemy! Today, these traitors will pay for their crimes in blood!"

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