Chapter 71: Returning Laden With Treasure

Everyone from Tianwu Academy stared at Gu Qingyi, who still lay motionless on the ground, struggling desperately to break free from the ropes binding them.

Ever since Zhi Yin died,

they’d noticed their spiritual power slowly returning. With angry shouts one after another, the ropes binding them snapped apart.

Nangong Lin and Gu Qingxiao hurried over to help Gu Qingyi up, quickly channeling their spiritual energy to heal his wounds.

After a long while of joint effort,

“Where… am I?” Gu Qingyi’s eyelids fluttered as he slowly opened his dazed eyes to look at the pair.

“Thank goodness, you’re finally awake! We’re still inside the secret realm.” Seeing Gu Qingyi wake up, the two of them instantly broke into relieved, tearful smiles.

“Big Brother Gu, do you feel any discomfort?” Nangong Lin gazed at the wounds covering Gu Qingyi, worry etched across her face.

“I’m fine now. Let’s finish gathering what treasures are left in the secret realm.” After listening, Gu Qingyi closed his eyes, mobilizing his energy to check his injuries. A moment later, he opened his eyes with a bright smile and shook his head at them.

Gu Qingyi tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he sank right back down.

Seeing this, the two hurried to support him, anxiety clear in their eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m alright, I just haven’t stood up in too long. Give me a moment and I’ll be fine.” Gu Qingyi shook his head and smiled at them.

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The forty-some people left from Tianwu Academy all followed behind Gu Qingyi and his companions.

As they passed the scene where Gu Qingyi and Zhi Yin had battled, a chill ran down their spines. The ground was a mess, not a patch intact after that fight.

Zhi Yin lay dead, already cold for some time; his corpse was gruesome, arm neatly severed, body battered beyond recognition. Gu Qingyi’s sword was still lodged in his chest.

Gu Qingyi walked over, pulled his sword from Zhi Yin’s body, then waved to rally everyone to keep searching for treasure.

It didn’t take long for the group to sweep up all the treasures dotted around the outskirts of the secret realm. Everyone walked away with their arms full. Gu Qingyi’s gaze shifted to the realm’s inner regions, and he led the group onward.

There were still many untouched places and, seeing the ground strewn with dazzling treasures, everyone nearly drooled at the sight. Rare and radiant spirit herbs sparkled everywhere—the group collected them eagerly, completely losing themselves in the hunt.

Soon, they reached the Purification Tree. The ground beneath it was littered with gruesome corpses, making everyone’s skin crawl. Blood had stained the earth red, with at least several hundred bodies piled up.

All these people died at Zhi Yin’s hands, though in a way, it was convenient for them—the realm’s valuable treasures had been untouched. Gu Qingyi took in the grim scene, sighed helplessly, and stepped past it.

Ignoring his trembling companions, Gu Qingyi strode right over the corpses as if none of it had anything to do with him.

Suddenly, a certain tree caught Gu Qingyi’s eye—its branches were heavy with golden, glowing fruit.

He quickly picked two of them, turning them over in his hands with curiosity. He honestly had no clue what they were, so he held them up for the others to see.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Noticing that everyone was still stunned senseless by the sight of the corpses, Gu Qingyi gently waved his hand, murmuring softly. In an instant, the corpses vanished, leaving nothing but the lingering bloodstains as proof of what had happened.

“Why are you all still in a daze?” Gu Qingyi said helplessly when he noticed they hadn’t snapped out of it, so he went and tapped each person awake.

A while later—

“Where am I? Why does my head hurt? Weren’t there loads of corpses here a second ago?” The still-dazed group snapped out of it, glancing around at the now-empty ground, feeling like none of it had anything to do with them.

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Once Gu Qingyi saw everyone had regained their senses, he held up the fruit and asked, “By the way, do any of you know what this is?”

“Sorry, we’ve never seen it before—but it’s definitely precious!” Everyone shook their heads, still looking puzzled.

Nangong Lin gazed at the fruit, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. After a moment, she spoke, “Could this be a Marrow-Cleansing Fruit?”

“Is it important?” Gu Qingyi honestly had no idea and shook his head.

“The Marrow-Cleansing Fruit does exactly what its name implies—it can cleanse the body’s marrow and let an ordinary person be reborn as a cultivator.” Nangong Lin patiently explained to the confused crowd, “It’s outrageously valuable, truly priceless. Just think, being able to step into cultivation from an ordinary life, with no side effects at all—how precious is that?”

“I can’t believe this secret realm has a tree full of such fruit!” Excited, Nangong Lin hurried over to the tree and picked one. “They’re incredibly hard to come by; usually, the tree only bears fruit once every two hundred years and they’re almost never seen!”

“From what I know, there are barely five Purification Trees on the entire continent. You have to be extremely careful harvesting them—one wrong move and they lose their medicinal power.” Nangong Lin stared at the tree, shocked. “Looks like this one’s grown at least ten thousand Marrow-Cleansing Fruits!”

“We’ve struck the mother lode! Let me show you how to harvest them.”

Everyone followed Nangong Lin’s instructions, carefully picking the Marrow-Cleansing Fruits from the tree.

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In the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, the forty-some people had stripped the entire tree bare, even digging up the tree itself and storing it away in a brocade pouch.

“These fruits smell amazing.” One disciple gave his fruit a sniff.

Finally, the group swept through the Longyang Secret Realm three times, each of them grinning with joy, arms and bags brimming as they stepped out of the secret realm.

Looking at the glowing treasures dotting Jade Pool Mountain, everyone felt a pang of longing but their bags were bursting—there was just no room left to take more.

Gu Qingyi picked up on their frustration and, with a small smile, produced a brocade pouch. Chanting softly toward Jade Pool Mountain, a stunning sight unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

Every rare treasure and herb on the mountainside flew straight into Gu Qingyi’s brocade pouch. In no time, Jade Pool Mountain was stripped bare, not a single treasure left.

“With this many treasures, others will turn green with envy, haha!” Joy and laughter bubbled up as the group marched out, loaded with spoils.

A swirling vortex slowly appeared—Gu Qingyi stepped in first, with the rest right behind him.

On this trip, all the other factions in the secret realm had been wiped out by Zhi Yin. Only Tianwu Academy’s people returned triumphant.