Chapter 158 Song Aotian: Back from my wanderings, blindingly bright golden light of merit...

Shen Yuzhu kept blinking. He seemed to be hallucinating. Otherwise, how could he see his junior sister and Shi Heming?

"Greetings, Elder Song!"

Elder Song!

"Elder Song, you're finally back!"

The ordinary disciples of Wujian Peak greeted her all at once, some of them seeing Song Yin for the first time, their faces flushed with excitement.

Upon hearing his disciples' words, Shen Yuzhu slammed his eyes shut. He had truly gone mad; not only was he hallucinating, seeing his junior sister and the others suddenly return, but he was also imagining that these disciples had seen them return just as he had.

"Senior brother?" Song Yin called out again nervously.

Shi Heming also called out, "Elder Shen?"

Song Yin appeared calm, but in reality, she had been gone for a while.

Oh no, my senior brother is really angry! He won't even look at me! How can I appease him? I need help urgently!!

Shen Yuzhu could still hear the voice even with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and saw that the person was still in front of him. Finally, he tentatively called out, "Junior Sister? Shi Heming?"

"It's us, senior brother, we're back."

Shen Yuzhu glanced at the group of ordinary disciples, and they immediately fell silent.

Shen Yuzhu: "Keep practicing your sword. Don't stop until you achieve today's goal."

"Yes!" The group of ordinary disciples began practicing with their swords again.

Shen Yuzhu led his junior sister and Shi Heming back to the mountaintop, where the three sat around the table.

For a moment, the three of them fell silent.

Shen Yuzhu looked at his junior sister, who was silent with her head down, and thought to himself that she must have suffered a lot of grievances outside. She was so lively before she left home, but she looked so listless after she came back. It was heartbreaking to see her like that.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuzhu frowned, his face turning grim. He shouldn't have let his junior sister go out in the first place; that way, she wouldn't have had to suffer outside.

When Song Yin saw Shen Yuzhu's unpleasant expression, her heart clenched.

Senior brother was indeed angry. He was definitely angry that she hadn't been home for so many years, and even angrier that she had neglected the affairs of Danque Peak, making him work for Danque Peak for free for over a hundred years. That's right, if someone asked her to look after their home for a few days, and that person didn't return for over a hundred years, she would definitely be furious, wishing she could beat them up to vent her anger.

Thinking of this, Song Yin felt even more guilty and lowered her head even further.

In Shen Yuzhu's eyes, his junior sister lowered her head because she didn't want him to see her disheveled and out-of-control appearance. So, the considerate Shen Yuzhu got up and turned his back.

Song Yin: Help! My senior brother won't even look at me!

Song Yin nudged Shi Heming under the table with her foot, then raised her head slightly and gave Shi Heming a meaningful look.

Please say a few good words for me. The atmosphere here is not right, and we need you to bravely stand up and break the silence.

Shi Heming took a deep breath. "Elder Chen, I'm sorry we're late. Yinyin and I should have come back sooner."

Shen Yuzhu turned around: "Junior sister, you've suffered so much these past years, haven't you? It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

The two voices rang out simultaneously.

Shi Heming: ...

Shen Yuzhu: ...

Song Yin blinked, her mind racing. She immediately tried to squeeze out two tears, "Waaah, Senior Brother, I thought I was back! You have no idea what we've been through. We've been threatened by the Heavenly Dao of a world!" At the same time, she kicked Shi Heming.

The Heavenly Dao of the Nine Spirit Realms: Who is threatening whom?

Shi Heming understood immediately, "Indeed, as Yinyin said, we searched through ancient books in unfamiliar places, and it was only because Yinyin dared to try that we were able to return safely. Thanks to Yinyin, she never gave up even when faced with numerous difficulties!"

Well done! Not only did she describe the difficulties of returning, but she also demonstrated her determination, intelligence, and courage to come back, and finally expressed her longing for home!

Shen Yuzhu was about to believe their lies, but then he suddenly realized a big problem.

Wait, how come both of them have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?

Could it be that they were too engrossed in their cultivation in other worlds, which is why they haven't returned?

Shen Yuzhu's guess was pretty accurate; the two were indeed engrossed in everything they saw in the secret chamber, clearly for over a hundred years, and their cultivation levels were steadily increasing. If given another chance to either improve their cultivation or return home, they would undoubtedly choose to improve their cultivation.

The more Shen Yuzhu thought about it, the more convinced he was of himself. He squinted and examined the person closely, only to find that their tears were fake. They were sitting there trying to squeeze out tears, but not a single one came out.

"..." Shen Yuzhu smiled and said gently, "Junior sister, you two still know to come back? Why don't you explain your cultivation levels first?"

Song Yin shrank back, "Well... Senior Brother, I can explain. We didn't know a hundred years would pass in the blink of an eye, really! Compared to us, have Master and the others returned?"

Shen Yuzhu sat down again and flicked his sleeves. "Elder Qi and the others haven't returned yet. Tell me, what made you all fool around outside for a hundred years without returning to the sect?"

Master and the others haven't returned? She got back to the sect before Master? Thank goodness!

"It's a long story. It all started when we entered the Nine Spirits Realm and were unexpectedly drawn into a crisis concerning the life and death of the Xuan Tian Realm..." Song Yin deliberately exaggerated the matter.

"How could you know about the crisis in the Xuan Tian Realm from another small world?" Shen Yuzhu listened quietly to her fabrication, but as he listened, his expression gradually changed from relaxed to serious.

Song Yin recounted the story vividly, with Shi Heming assisting her, and the two of them explained the whole story.

After finishing speaking, Song Yin slammed her hand on the table and said boldly, "If Senior Brother doesn't believe me, we can even bring in the Heavenly Dao as a witness!" Song Yin suddenly turned to Shi Heming and said, "That's right, the Heavenly Dao! It hasn't given us the benefits it promised us yet."

The promised merits haven't materialized since their return. Whether the benefits regarding the tribulation have been implemented can only be known once they undergo the tribulation of the Integration Stage.

Shen Yuzhu's lips twitched. "Heaven is giving you benefits?" He began to doubt the truth of his junior sister's words.

Not long after Song Yin finished speaking, a massive golden light of merit fell directly onto Wujian Peak and entered the bodies of Song Yin and Shi Heming.

The incident happened suddenly. Everyone else in the Immortal Cloud Sect saw the golden light of merit fall on Wujian Peak and wondered what had happened there.

The ordinary disciples practicing their swordsmanship on Wujian Peak saw the golden light of merit falling on the mountaintop and stopped practicing. They discussed who had summoned this golden light of merit and what they had done to warrant such a generous reward from Heaven.

The golden light of merit descended for a long time, enough for many people to know. Cultivators near Wujian Peak were especially curious, surrounding Wujian Peak to watch closely to see when the descending golden light of merit would end.

This matter alarmed the other elders of the six inner peaks, and several of them flew to the high sky around Wujian Peak.

At the summit of Wujian Peak, Shen Yuzhu was almost blinded by the dazzling golden light. The two people in front of him turned into little golden figures, radiating a golden glow from head to toe.

The actions of Heaven seem to be saying, "He bears witness that these two children did not lie."

The process of the golden light of merit descending lasted for a full five minutes before it ended. Shen Yuzhu had already noticed that there were quite a few people outside Wujian Peak.

We can ignore the others, but we must invite the elders in.

Three elders came in total: Elder Su from Xuanji Peak, Elder Yuan from Wendao Peak, and Elder Ji from Lingpo Peak.

The three elders were let in; their voices preceded their arrival.

"Elder Shen, the golden light of merit is truly dazzling today. Who did what good deed to earn such generosity from Heaven? Tell us quickly." Elder Yuan's voice came in.

After the three elders entered, Elder Yuan, who was in the lead, stopped in his tracks. "Heming? And Song Yin, Elder? You're back?"

Shi Heming stepped forward and bowed, "Master, your disciple has returned. Please forgive your disciple for not returning to Dao Asking Peak first."

Elder Yuan rubbed his old eyes. He was almost blinded by the light from the two little golden figures. Without asking, it was obvious that the golden light of merit was summoned by his little disciple and Song Yin.

"You two..." Elder Yuan opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say for a long time. Finally, he sighed, "Alas."

These two little ones have been lucky since they were young, so it's not surprising that anything happens to them.

Elder Su of Xuanji Peak secretly made a calculation with her fingertips. She had calculated for Song Yin not long after she entered the sect, but couldn't get a result then. Today, she tried to calculate again, and unsurprisingly, she couldn't get a result either.

After Elder Su finished her divination, she really wanted to ask Song Yin how to improve her cultivation, as advancing as a divination cultivator was extremely difficult.

At this moment, Elder Ji of Lingpo Peak spoke up, "I observe that your cultivation has both reached the Nascent Soul stage. You are truly young and promising. Congratulations."

Others: "..."

Elder Song, the acting peak master of Danque Peak, who has not appeared in the public eye for a century, has returned!

The bombshell news attracted everyone's attention, and everyone started asking about Elder Song.

Meanwhile, Elder Song herself was on the main peak, while her good sister was waiting outside.

Song Yin and Shi Heming sat below Sect Master Yan, chatting about their trip to their little world.

Compared to their experiences, Sect Leader Yan was actually more concerned about the golden light of merit today. This matter could not be kept secret and had already spread throughout the sect. The golden light of merit was like a golden signboard, proclaiming this person's contributions to the world.

Many people do good deeds, but not everyone receives the golden light of merit.

"It's good that you're back. Over the years, I've thought more than once whether it was a mistake to persuade you to return to your former world. People have selfish desires, and I can't avoid that. The Immortal Cloud Sect is losing a huge loss to the two of you." Sect Master Yan narrowed his eyes. There was no way around it; these two were a bit too much to bear.

Having received so much merit and golden light at once, the two will continue to shine for a while, and it is estimated that the golden light will not fade until tomorrow.

Song Yin: "We made everyone worry. Actually, I didn't go back to the past world. Instead, I went to Gu Tongguang's world, where I experienced some adventures. When I came to my senses, a hundred years had passed."

Shi Heming: "I wonder if any other major events have occurred in the past hundred years?"

Sect Leader Yan squinted and said, "There are major events, the most important of which is the death of Nie Zhengchu at the beginning of the year."

Sect Leader Yan's casual remark was like a thunderclap out of nowhere, startling the two little golden figures into standing up in perfect unison.

"Nie Zhengchu died this year?"

"That's right." But behind this matter was another thing that affected Song Yin. When Sect Leader Yan thought of this, he hesitated and dared not tell Song Yin directly.

This matter was not only related to Song Yin, but also to Shen Yuzhu, and she found it difficult to say it.

Song Yin: "Which brave warrior killed him? Amazing!"

Sect Master Yan: "A long time ago, we received news that Nie Zhengchu had appeared in the ancient battlefield. It was filled with a murderous aura and countless ghosts; it was a veritable death zone. After the news spread, many sects sent high-level cultivators into the ancient battlefield."

Song Yin was taken aback, "Ancient battlefield, isn't that where Master and the others went...?"

Sect Master Yan said, "One of our Immortal Firmament Sect's patriarchs personally went out from the forbidden area. Patriarch Lian is a sword cultivator in the late stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm. We thought that with him there, everything would be foolproof, but... none of the people who entered the Ancient Battlefield came out, including people from other sects." As he finished speaking, Sect Master Yan couldn't bear it and looked away in another direction.

Song Yin rushed out: "I'm sorry, Sect Master, I have to go back to Danque Peak to check on the Soul Lamp!"

Shi Heming looked at the departing figure, then turned back to bow to Sect Leader Yan before following suit.

Xia Xining saw two figures flying away and chased after them.

Three figures landed one after another on the summit of Danque Peak.

Song Yin rushed into the hall where the soul lamp was placed. Because she rushed too fast, she leaned forward and had to use the edge of the table to steady herself.

Upon confirming that Qi Zibo's soul lamp was still burning, Song Yin's legs went weak and she sat on the ground, her back covered in cold sweat, a wave of fear washing over her.

A lot can happen in a hundred years. From now on, when I go out, I must never stay away from home for an extended period of time.

But... why did none of those who entered the ancient battlefield ever come out? And how did Nie Zhengchu confirm their deaths?

Many questions lingered in Song Yin's mind, but she had returned and had ample time to clarify everything.

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Author's Note: Today's Song Aotian is the golden statuette Song Aotian! [starry-eyed]

Master from the ancient battlefield: Disciple, come quickly and rescue your master!

Song Aotian: Don't worry, I'll get it back [glasses]

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[Empty bowl]