In the desert.
As time passed, Green Vine and Yellow Mountain, who were waiting with the Sand Eagle squad, became increasingly grim.
There were only a few hours left until the ten-day mark.
Under normal circumstances, they could conclude that Dawn and the others had failed in their mission and perished.
Yet, none of them were willing to leave, all believing that Dawn and the others would emerge alive. But in their hearts, they knew this possibility was slim...
"Look, the Taiji Disc has descended again."
It was unclear who among the Sand Eagle squad first noticed the Taiji Disc's movement, and they immediately shouted.
Immediately, everyone's gaze shifted towards the Taiji Disc, and indeed, it disappeared.
In an instant, their eyes lit up with joy.
They had been stationed here for nearly ten days and had never seen a person or beast approach the Taiji Disc.
Therefore, there was only one possibility: there was a secret realm beneath the Taiji Disc, and someone from within the secret realm had activated some mechanism.
As expected, after anxious waiting.
Not long after, four familiar figures appeared, the four Earth-level stewards of the Dark Association.
"Young Master! You've returned!"
"Dawn, Purple Dragon, Blue Moon, are you alright?"
Upon seeing the four, the Sand Eagle squad, along with Yellow Mountain and Green Vine, immediately rushed forward.
"We have fulfilled our mission and returned alive."
Ye Cangtian smiled as he spoke to Green Vine and Yellow Mountain. He understood their anxious and excited feelings, but this was not the time for pleasantries.
"I am fine."
On the other side, Hong Mo looked at the Sand Eagle squad and, after responding, said, "I already know my father's whereabouts.
He was buried here! From now on, the Sand Eagle squad's desert mission is over, and you can return to the various cities in the ruins..."
After all, they had spent years searching for Batian in the desert, and he should give the Sand Eagle squad an explanation.
Hearing Hong Mo's words, the Sand Eagle squad did not doubt him.
They were the first to kneel in the direction of the Taiji Disc, then bowed.
After paying respects to Batian, the Sand Eagle squad looked at Hong Mo and said, "Young Master, since the Master is no longer here, we will follow your lead from now on..."
Upon hearing this, Hong Mo nodded and said, "Very well, everyone's wishes have been fulfilled, and it's time to achieve great things."
"Alright, it's not safe here yet, we should leave as soon as possible!"
Ye Cangtian reminded them.
Hong Mo glanced at him, his gaze somewhat complicated, but he eventually nodded.
...
More than ten days later.
Carriages, lined up in a long queue, slowly entered Ghost City.
This scene immediately attracted the attention of everyone in Ghost City.
In the headquarters hall.
Xing Yuan sat in the main seat, meditating with his eyes closed, when suddenly urgent footsteps were heard. In a flash, a guard entered the hall.
"Lord Xing Yuan, Dawn and the other six Earth-level stewards have returned!"
"Returning with them is the Sand Eagle squad..."
Upon hearing this, Xing Yuan immediately opened his eyes.
Regardless of whether the mission was completed, at least all six Earth-level stewards had returned safely.
As for the Sand Eagle squad, Xing Yuan was somewhat unfamiliar with them.
However, he thought that Hong Mo had been searching for Batian's whereabouts in the desert in recent years, so these must be forces cultivated by Hong Mo, or remnants of Batian's old guard.
Thinking of this, Xing Yuan spoke, "Let the Sand Eagle squad rest for now, and summon Dawn and the others."
"Yes!"
The guard immediately responded and then turned to leave the hall.
Not long after, six figures appeared in the hall.
Seeing them all unharmed and with faint smiles on their faces.
Xing Yuan's tense heart relaxed a bit. Judging by these circumstances, they must have achieved a great victory.
Even if they couldn't eliminate all the red-robed bishops of the Light Hall, they had at least eradicated most of them, and the remaining ones were insignificant.
Thinking this, Xing Yuan's gaze fell on Ye Cangtian, and he said indifferently, "Dawn, I only received news of you entering the desert, and all subsequent information is blank. Would you be willing to explain it to me?"
"Communication is extremely inconvenient in the desert, please forgive me, my lord." Ye Cangtian took a step forward and bowed respectfully to Xing Yuan.
This bow was necessary. If it weren't for the other party teaching him the Spirit Control Technique, he probably wouldn't have returned this time.
Then, Ye Cangtian slowly recounted the entire process.
Whether it was luring the opponents into a trap, temporarily joining forces with the Light Hall after entering the secret realm, or the subsequent events of seeing Batian, Ye Cangtian did not hide anything.
What he concealed was only the Dark Seal and the greatest benefits he obtained from the Lord of Darkness.
"Good! Good! Good!"
"You truly did not disappoint me. You eliminated all the red-robed bishops of the Light Hall at the minimal cost. Even I could not have done that!"
"Of course, a large part of your merit must also be attributed to Batian. I hereby pay my highest respects to Batian!"
Xing Yuan did not hide his excitement and praised him loudly.
Then, when he mentioned Batian, his gaze became solemn. He stood up from his seat and bowed deeply towards the southern desert.
Batian was dead and had transformed into a ghost. In this situation, it was almost a life-or-death struggle with humans.
However, Batian chose to sacrifice himself to carve out a path of survival for everyone.
Xing Yuan deeply admired this!
...
After Ye Cangtian finished reporting the operation, he handed over the spoils of war collected by Purple Dragon and others.
These included ten Nine Revolutions Golden Pills and two Enlightenment Pills.
Although these items were under his custody, he had no ill intentions.
After all, Hong Mo and Purple Dragon were present, and if even one item was missing, they might report him.
Especially Purple Dragon. Although he had joined forces with Batian to eliminate the Lord of Darkness, thus saving Purple Dragon's life, Purple Dragon did not seem to appreciate it.
Therefore, Ye Cangtian handed over all the items intact, effectively silencing them.
Damn it! So altruistic!
Seeing Ye Cangtian's actions, Purple Dragon muttered to himself.
Typically, when handing over spoils of war, the squad leader would secretly keep some benefits.
First, the headquarters would not know, and then they would give some benefits to others to keep them quiet, and that would be that.
Second, even if the headquarters found out later, it wouldn't matter much.
After all, they had returned with a great victory. Given their complete mission accomplishment, as long as it wasn't too excessive, the headquarters would turn a blind eye.
Purple Dragon wasn't trying to make a fuss about this matter; he was just coveting those Nine Revolutions Golden Pills and Enlightenment Pills.
But the problem was that Dawn handed everything over, and there was no need for any hush money, so he naturally wouldn't get any benefits, which made him complain.
On the other hand, Xing Yuan's smile grew wider as he saw Ye Cangtian displaying the spoils of war one by one from his Qiankun bag.
"It seems the Dark Association has made a substantial profit this time!"
"As the commander, Dawn, what rewards do you want? Just ask!"
Xing Yuan's voice came, and Ye Cangtian shook his head, saying, "Everything is what your subordinate should do. Your subordinate does not want any rewards; please give the rewards to others instead!"
Hearing this, Xing Yuan did not insist and responded, "Good, I will not force you. I will record this reward for you, and you can ask for it anytime in the future."
As he spoke, Xing Yuan's gaze turned to Hong Mo, and he said indifferently, "Hong Mo, your willingness to put aside your past grievances and join forces with Dawn was also a reason for the mission's success. What do you want?"
"Reporting to Lord Xing Yuan, the Sand Eagle squad were my father's guards. I wish for them to remain by my side." Hong Mo quickly said.
Although he also wanted some rewards, compared to these guards, he chose the latter.
"They were always Batian's guards, and now that Batian has sacrificed himself, they should follow you. I will not interfere with this."
"Furthermore, Batian made outstanding contributions to the Dark Association. I will also build a statue of Batian in Nanhuang City for people to worship!"
Upon hearing Xing Yuan's decision, Hong Mo was stunned for a moment, and then bowed respectfully to Xing Yuan.
Building a statue for Batian was an affirmation of Batian and his glory.
Hong Mo was so grateful that he kowtowed, not knowing what to do.
Seeing this, Xing Yuan waved his hand, and a dense spiritual energy directly lifted Hong Mo.
Ye Cangtian witnessed everything that happened and inwardly gave Xing Yuan a thumbs-up. Xing Yuan was truly masterful at winning people's hearts!
He believed that after this incident, Hong Mo would undoubtedly be completely loyal to Xing Yuan!