The other Broad Creed Mountain martial pract.i.tioners ignored Lian Ying's body, lying on the ground.

Earlier, when he, Jun Luo, and Lian Cheng were trapped in the Black Dragon Dread, Yan Zhaoge had rescued them. No one had thought that this una.s.suming boy would repay this kindness with evil. In the critical situation that had just occurred, Lian Ying had almost been able to deliver a fatal strike.

If Yan Zhaoge hadn't been able to get them out of their predicament in such a short time, they would have been forced to simultaneously defend against the Black Dragon Dread aboveground, while also guarding against the White Dragon Dread at their feet.

Considering the death of Elder Li, the very fact that the Broad Creed Mountain martial pract.i.tioners hadn't vented their rage against Lian Ying was already quite good.

Looking at Lian Ying's corpse, Lian Cheng let out a sigh. After a moment, he went forward to gather up Lian Ying's remains.

Back in the clan, both he and Lian Cheng suffered from the same sickly body and had many of the same difficulties. Because of this, they were quite close.

Both of them were born to concubines and lost their parents at an early age. Moreover, their temperament was often seen as effeminate and weak, causing them often be bullied in their clan.

Stumbling along the b.u.mpy road of growing up together, they considered each other as one of the pitifully few friends and family they possessed.

It was only that Lian Ying had gradually become alienated from him since some unknown time, causing Lian Cheng to be puzzled.

After hearing what Lian Ying had said and observing his actions, only now did Lian Cheng realize that Lian Ying's behavior changed after meeting Jun Luo.

In fact, it was the same for Lian Cheng. Wasn't Jun Luo a rarely seen light in his life?

Even though Lian Ying had unkind intentions and had almost caused him to sink into the White Dragon Dread, Lian Cheng still had a soft spot for him in his heart. Even now, he could not bear to let Lian Ying's corpse be left in this empty expanse of the desert.

Even though he was already dead, his final resting place should at least be in his birthplace.

Looking at Lian Cheng, Jun Luo hesitated for a moment while biting her lip.

When her gaze landed on Lian Ying's corpse, her emotions were extremely complicated. When her gaze landed on Lian Cheng, her expression softened.

After a long pause, Jun Luo also sighed before stepping forward to help Lian Cheng. After resolving the matter with Lian Ying's corpse, they prepared to leave the Great Western Desert.

The Broad Creed Mountain martial pract.i.tioners looked at this scene, neither offering to help nor stopping to wait for them. Bearing the body of Elder Li, they stood silently as they waited for Yan Zhaoge's instructions.

Yan Zhaoge glanced at Jun Luo. “Luo Luo, this is the true, normal state of the outside world. Rather, this isn't something which would be considered special–just like there is a glamorous, bright side of world, there is also a side which is filled with underhanded, b.l.o.o.d.y affairs.

b.l.o.o.d.y and callous sudden a.s.sa.s.sination, prompted by exploiting the most vulnerable part of a person's psyche. The struggle between two great powers would always drag others into the conflict.

Black Nightmare Mountain had been destroyed a long time ago, but even now, its remnants wanted to retaliate. Their target was not someone from the upper echelons of Broad Creed Mountain, but rather the Yan Zhaoge of great repute. Despite his lofty status and impressive achievements, his cultivation was still rather low since he had not even stepped into the Martial Grandmaster realm.

Of course, the impact of their conflict could not compare to the likes of a battle between two Sacred Grounds.

Even so, the ripples from such a conflict were still far more than enough to destroy people like Lian Cheng, Lian Ying, or Jun Luo.

Even if they didn't wish to be involved, once they were drawn in their partic.i.p.ation would be completely involuntary. If they died, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.

Even at the moment of the death, Lian Ying still didn't really understand that all along, he was just a p.a.w.n of Yao Shan. Even Yao Shan himself could only be considered someone else's chess piece in the greater scheme of things.

Yao Shan wouldn't even be considered to be a key piece of the plan, just an auxiliary piece.

After gathering Lian Ying's remains, Lian Cheng stood up beside Jun Luo. Jun Luo bit her lower lip as she looked toward Yan Zhaoge.

Yan Zhaoge calmly said, “The enmity between my clan and Black Nightmare Mountain is something that you do not have the strength to partic.i.p.ate in. However, you also cannot prevent being involuntarily dragged into this conflict. This is not your fault. Rather, it can only be blamed on this war itself.”

For people like Jun Luo or Lian Cheng, their status made it almost impossible to avoid the ripples caused by these high-level conflicts.

Speaking of being dragged into a conflict, such a thing could happen with almost no warning at all.

“And your Howling Wind Sword Sect, amongst other power of its level, its influence is not small. If a war erupted between your sect and another, such methods would also come into play.”

Jun Luo was silent for a moment, before responding in a low voice. “Brother Yan, I understand what you mean now.”

Then, she stubbornly added, “But I still believe that there is more to the outside world than just this bloodshed.”

Seeing Jun Luo's eyes which were still bright with antic.i.p.ation, Yan Zhaoge laughed lightly. “I didn't mean to dictate anything for you. Rather, I just wanted to give you a reminder. Don't forget that if anything terrible happens for you, Uncle Jun and the others will be heartbroken.”

Jun Luo nodded her head. “Yes, Brother Yan.”

Yan Zhaoge spoke again. “Alright, let's set off. Let's wait until we are out of the Great Western Desert before we discuss other things.”

The others all nodded their agreement. Following Yan Zhaoge, the group began to retrace their steps as they headed back on the road to Suzhou City.

As they were walking, Feng Yunsheng sent a sound transmission to Yan Zhaoge. “The little girl isn't bad.”

Yan Zhaoge held the stone pillar with his right hand as he continued walking. Laughing slightly, he responded, “That year, did you also pa.s.s by this area like she did?”

Feng Yunsheng laughed, “More or less. I was almost captured by a human trafficker and sold as a slave.”

Yan Zhaoge turned around to look her in the eye.

Feng Yunsheng was quite calm as she recounted. “When I was in the Sacred Sun Clan, even though I often went outside the clan to train, it was mostly with regard to fighting and killing. Even then, I always had someone from the senior generation watching over me so even if I suffered a defeat, I never truly had to worry about my life.”

“Afterwards, when I fled from the clan and had no one to rely on, I had to escape from my pursuers while staying low-key. In this way, I had traveled through roughly half of the Fire Domain.”

“In the course of my escape, I experienced many things and met many people. I even made some friends, but…” Feng Yunsheng paused and lightly laughed before continuing. “The very first friend I made while escaping seemed to be just and warm. When he treated me as a friend, I was extremely touched.”

“At that time, I had just narrowly escaped from an attack by the Sacred Sun Clan. Even though I had managed to escape, I was also grievously injured. When that person met me, he kindly brought me to someplace safe where I could recover from my injuries.”

Feng Yunsheng smiled. “Who would have thought, he was actually a human trafficker who wanted to drug me and sell me off to other people. He even had a buyer already lined up. If it wasn't for the fact that I found out his plan, I would probably be caged up in some person's household.”

Yan Zhaoge's mouth twitched. “I won't need to ask about the outcome of that trafficker then.”

Feng Yunsheng let out a laugh, and didn't say any more.

After leaving the Great Western Desert, even though the scenery was still endless yellow sand, that constant fear of Black Nightmare Storms was left behind.

Before they had reached Suzhou City, Ah Hu's interrogation had yielded some results.