The Hidden Group Headquarters in Dragon City.
Lan Yue was in her office, a faint smile on her face, in excellent spirits.
The news had already arrived: Ye Cangtian and the Death God Squad had returned safely, and by the count of days, they should be arriving in Dragon City within these two days.
Thinking she would be able to see Ye Cangtian again after several months, Lan Yue felt a flicker of excitement.
"Lan Yue-daren, Lan Yue-daren!"
Just then, anxious voices sounded, and in a flash, Feifei pushed the door open and entered.
Perhaps due to her haste, Feifei's face was slightly flushed, and she was breathing heavily.
Lan Yue glanced at Feifei and said with mock annoyance, "Even if Mount Tai were to collapse before you, you wouldn't lose your composure. Look at how agitated you are!"
Feifei calmed herself upon hearing this and then spoke, "Lan Yue-jie, they're back. Lord Ye is back. He's already at the gates of Dragon City..."
Uh...
As soon as the words fell, Lan Yue flickered and left her office, leaving Feifei stunned on the spot.
Didn't she just say not to lose composure even if Mount Tai collapsed?
Why was she acting so impulsively?
Muttering to herself, Feifei followed.
At the gates of Dragon City, carriages slowly approached. Ye Cangtian looked at the familiar scenery outside the window, his heart filled with emotion.
Although it had only been a few months, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
The streets of Dragon City were much livelier, with various industries flourishing, and no signs of monopolies or bullying.
Furthermore, the average combat power of the Dragon City guards had increased compared to when he had left.
This phenomenon was not limited to Dragon City; the cities he had passed through on his journey were largely the same.
Without a doubt, this was a testament to Lan Yue's management.
While contemplating this, he noticed the carriage stop. Pushing open the door, Ye Cangtian's face showed a faint smile.
Standing before the carriage, blocking their path, were none other than Lan Yue and Feifei.
"Lan Yue-jie, are you out shopping? What a coincidence..."
Ye Cangtian's voice carried, and Lan Yue's face was full of smiles.
However, upon seeing Ye Cangtian's temples streaked with white hair and his unsteady aura, the smile on her face instantly vanished.
Severely injured, with his life force depleted, she didn't know what had happened, but she felt an inexplicable heartache and couldn't utter a word.
Seeing this, Feifei quickly stepped forward.
"Lord Ye, Lan Yue-daren rushed over immediately after hearing about your return..."
Feifei's voice reached him, and Ye Cangtian was slightly taken aback.
Looking at Lan Yue's falling tears, he smiled faintly and walked forward, giving her a simple hug.
"It's okay, Shijie. It's all in the past now. Everything will get better."
After offering a simple comfort, Ye Cangtian walked back with Lan Yue.
Qingfeng Hall.
Upon returning to Qingfeng Hall, Lan Yue could no longer contain herself and began to inquire about the details of the Peak Summit.
She couldn't understand how, with Ye Cangtian's Heavenly-level cultivation and the assistance of the Three Great Seals, anything in the entire ruin could have harmed him.
Ye Cangtian had no intention of answering Lan Yue's questions, but the members of the Death God Squad on the side began to narrate their experiences in a flurry of words.
As Lan Yue listened to the Death God Squad's account, her heart grew heavier.
When she heard that Ye Cangtian had burned his life force for the sake of righteousness, tears once again flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.
"Bao'er, I can feel that my junior brother's life force is extremely depleted. What exactly is his condition now? Tell me!"
After a short while, Lan Yue calmed herself and her gaze fell upon Yao Bao'er.
She didn't directly ask Ye Cangtian because she understood that he was the type to report good news and hide bad news.
Therefore, even if she asked Ye Cangtian, he would not reveal the truth.
On the other side, Yao Bao'er glanced at Ye Cangtian. Seeing Ye Cangtian sigh, she then told the truth.
Ye Cangtian's current condition was very dire. Although his injuries were not a major issue, his soul was still heavily wounded and had not recovered, and his life force was only a sliver.
If things continued this way, Ye Cangtian would have at most about a year left to live.
A year?
Upon hearing this timeframe, Lan Yue's vision went black, and she felt as if the sky and earth were collapsing.
After all, Ye Cangtian alone supported both the Hidden Group and the Imperial Dragon Manor!
If he fell, what would become of the Hidden Group and the Imperial Dragon Manor?
How would she account for it to Tang Xinwan? How would she account for it to Dongfang Mingyue? And how would she account for it to the Huaxia forces?
Cough, cough!
Seeing Lan Yue's face turn visibly pale, Ye Cangtian coughed lightly and shot Yao Bao'er a stern glare.
He then spoke, "Shijie, don't worry too much. This time we brought back a lot of heavenly materials and earthly treasures..."
"What use are heavenly materials and earthly treasures!"
"No matter how many heavenly materials and earthly treasures there are, can they recover the life force you've lost!"
Before Ye Cangtian could finish, Lan Yue became agitated and shouted at him furiously.
Seeing Lan Yue's angry state, Ye Cangtian was stunned. This was the first time he had ever seen Lan Yue lose her temper with him!
So, for a moment, he was unable to react. Fortunately, Yao Bao'er picked up the conversation.
"Shijie, don't worry. I can now refine Heaven-defying level pills. Restoring Big Brother's life force is not a problem..."
Hearing Yao Bao'er's words, Lan Yue quickly grasped her hand, "Really? That's wonderful! Tell me what you need, and I'll arrange it for you..."
"Yes, I just need a secret chamber!"
Yao Bao'er nodded heavily. She knew that refining Heaven-defying level pills would attract a pill tribulation.
She also knew that with her current strength, she couldn't withstand the pill tribulation, but for Ye Cangtian, she was willing to risk her life.
"Cough, cough, the matter of refining pills can wait."
"Let's first talk about the gains from the Mustard Seed Space."
Ye Cangtian coughed lightly and changed the subject, then took out several treasures from his Qiankun bag.
As everyone had anticipated, Ye Cangtian set aside the treasures suitable for everyone, and now that they had returned to Dragon City, it was time to distribute them.
Seeing the treasures on the table, everyone's gaze was drawn to them.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian smiled and continued, "The pill ancient texts are for Bao'er, the shield is for Dun Shan, the black dagger is for Ci Dao, and the silver longsword is for Wu Ying Jian..."
Ye Cangtian stated that both the dagger and the silver longsword possessed legacies. The dagger was the Dragon Shadow Flying Dagger, and the longsword was the Peerless Sword.
As for the shield, it appeared somewhat ordinary, not as good as the Xuanwu Shield that Taishan had obtained, but it was still a decent spirit artifact.
In fact, Ye Cangtian had obtained the legacy of Emperor Cang Lan, the Emperor Sword.
However, this martial skill's legacy could only be replicated once, and Ye Cangtian's soul was damaged, making it impossible to replicate it again for the time being, so he did not mention it.
It was also because he had inherited the Emperor Sword that Ye Cangtian had kept Emperor Cang Lan's Purple Lightning Emperor Sword.
After all, one needed a good longsword to wield the sword technique.
As he spoke, Ye Cangtian looked at Lan Yue and, after a moment's hesitation, took out a jade pendant and handed it directly to Lan Yue.
"Shijie, this jade pendant is the Emperor's Pendant. It was also obtained from the Cang Lan Immortal Palace."
"It can automatically block attacks below the Heavenly level and also has a certain spiritual attack capability. Keep it!"
"Also, there are some other legacies here, all of which I've noted. If Shijie is interested, you can pick and choose..."
Having received many legacies from Emperor Cang Lan, Ye Cangtian brought out all these legacy items.
His own strength was not enough; only when the Hidden Group became strong would the Huaxia forces be strong.
Listening to Ye Cangtian's words, Lan Yue did not stand on ceremony and began to choose.
On the other side, Ye Cangtian hesitated for a moment, then took out two bottles of pills from his Qiankun bag.
These were the bait thrown by Emperor Cang Lan previously, the Qiankun Emperor Pills.
Since there were only two pills, he found it difficult to make a decision.
After much deliberation, Ye Cangtian finally spoke, "As you can all see, there are only two pills, so I've decided that one will be taken by Bao'er, and the other will be distributed as you see fit."
Ye Cangtian's reasoning was simple: Yao Bao'er's cultivation was very slow, and her current cultivation level had been achieved through the accumulation of pills.
This way, her chances of breaking through to the Heavenly level were slim, so Ye Cangtian planned to leave one pill for her to try her luck.
After all, the Qiankun Emperor Pill had a seventy percent chance of allowing one to break through to the Heavenly level.
"I agree. Bao'er's cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, and she has enough ability to protect herself. I also give up my share of the other pill. With my talent, I am confident in breaking through to the Heavenly level."
Lan Yue was the first to declare her stance.
Following closely behind, Qiangwei also spoke, "Lan Yue-jie is right. I have no problem with this either, and I also give up the other pill."
"Agreed. If Bao'er becomes stronger, will she be short of our pills? As for the other pill, the three of us also give it up!"
As the words fell, Taishan chuckled and spoke on behalf of Wu Ying Jian and Ci Dao.
Seeing the situation, Ye Cangtian showed a faint smile, then said, "Then it's simple. Both pills will go to Bao'er. If she can't break through with one, then she'll take both!"
Everyone agreed to this without objection, nodding with smiles.