"I think you should hear it from them.." said Su Jinjing as she pointed behind her towards the hallway that led to the reception area.

Yang Qing nodded as he started making his way. Yang Qing's steps felt heavier than usual as he was walking there and it felt like he was scaling up a mountain filled with thin air rather than a flat smooth surface with great ventilation.

Some part of him did not want to see what was at the other end of that hallway but alas he had no choice in the matter. In just a few seconds he had already made that dreaded turn and was already in the reception area where the guests were usually hosted.

In the area, he saw two figures holding each other so tightly that one could easily confuse them to be one figure. There were whimpering and muffled cries coming from the two figures and their bodies seemed to be shaking tremendously, their qi wave along with their breathing were erratic and their robes were filled with tear marks.

The two figures looked a little worse for wear.

"I knew it.." Yang Qing somberly thought when he saw them.

After a slight momentary pause in his steps, he slowly made his way to them. The two figures didn't notice his arrival up until he was just a few steps away from them.

"Brranch Chief, sorry for coming here, we just didn't know anywhere else to go.." said one of the figures with a trembling and cracking voice.

When the figure looked up, it revealed the face of a young man with scholarly handsome features which was hidden beneath a grime of dirt, blood, and overwhelming fear.

Yang Qing recognized that face. How could he not when he had seen that face almost eight hours ago?

"It's okay Elder Ling Qi..." Yang Qing said as he placed his hand over his shoulders in a bid to comfort him and also heal him.

Yang Qing stretched out his other hand which he placed on the person seated next to the elder of the Moon Essence Cauldron Sect.

The person flinched slightly when Yang Qing made contact with her, but she relaxed slightly when she felt the soothing gentleness of Yang Qing's qi.

Her injuries seemed worse off than Ling Qi's though with a few broken ribs and tearing marks on her shoulders, arms, and legs. Her spiritual qi was also expended and her blood essence seemed dangerously low.

Yang Qing guessed she must have burned her essence to get through whatever it was they had just come from.

It took but just an instant for Yang Qing to completely restore both their bodies and spiritual qi to full capacity.

Once he saw they were slightly calm, Yang Qing asked,

"What happened?"The two flinched slightly as the lady who was still crying whilst still burying her head in Ling Qi's shoulder finally looked up. It was Xin Zephyr but she lacked the demeanor of the seasoned sword expert she exhibited earlier when the case was starting. She now looked like a wounded bird, unnerved and terrified by anything around her.

Her eyes and face were a picture of a myriad of emotions constantly bombarding her. There was disbelief, shock, overwhelming fear, a sense of distraught, confusion, regret and finally despair.

Her whole body despite having been healed completely by Yang Qing was still trembling from head to toe.

Ling Qi gently placed his hand on her back which seemed to have triggered tears to start trickling down her face.

Ling Qi himself despite being relatively well off between the two, didn't seem to be doing that great either. His hands and legs couldn't stop shaking, and his pupils constantly darted around him as if he were expecting something to attack them.

"You are safe here.." Yang Qing softly said, imbuing his tone with the abilities of his soul which helped calm the duo.

"Thhanks..." Ling Qi said with slight stammering as he felt a sense of calmness wash over his body.

He closed his eyes for a second, seemingly to collect his thoughts together before he opened them again.

"After we left here, we all rushed to our respective organizations to inform them of the information you had just shared with us about the inheritance blood crystals, the graveyard torch, and the dangers it posed to us to decide what to do next..."

Ling Qi paused slightly to regulate his breathing in a bid to force down the nausea that was clawing up his throat.

"When we left here, the four of us had already decided we would immediately convince our respective organizations to leave this place with immediate effect.

We took what you told us to heart. As hard as it was, we knew we could not continue staying here if what you said was to come to pass.

So I went to my sect, Xin Zephyr to her clan..."

Ling Qi's mouth halted almost as if it was refusing to utter the next words.

"Hua Ying to hers, and Wu Shen.." said Ling Qi after much difficulty.

"On reaching the sect, I relayed the information to the vice sect master, who then called an emergency meeting among the elders to discuss our next steps. With the way the discussions were going, all signs were pointing to us evacuating and starting afresh somewhere.

With our professions, as long as we give concessions and sacrifice our autonomy, it would not be that difficult to find someone willing to take us in. We already had a good working relationship with some of the leading figures of the Summerfield Kingdom.Over the years, since we settled here, we have cooperated on a few recipes with them. The lunar wave shield I used to defend against the tricolored white-eyed tortoise was completed through a joint partnership between us and them.

It didn't take long for us all to unanimously agree on packing out bags and relocating to the Summerfield Kingdom, especially after we received approval from their end.

We were set to leave, but we could not do so without first contacting our sect master who was still at the Hua Clan at the time and was still helping their clan leader assimilate the inheritance blood crystals.

The vice sect master presented everything I had shared with him from you, along with our decision.

I expected him to agree. Even if he didn't outright believe the dangers of the blood crystals, I expected the information about us being tricked by someone impersonating the Imperial Secretary to at least sway his decision on the side of caution.

However, he told us to wait as the clan master of the Hua Clan was already at a critical junction and was not long from reaching the palace realm.

Per his admission, he told us, they had already received the information we were sharing from the Xin family's head whom Zephyr had already told..."

On reaching here, Ling Qi paused as his gaze fell on Xin Zephyr who was still crying softly.

"Having already fallen to the allure of the palace realm, they decided to make a dangerous gamble..." Ling Qi said with a sigh.

"They decided..." he said while clenching the fist of his free hand.

"The Hua Clan leader seemed to be a few steps away from reaching the palace realm and just needed a small push. That small push was the inheritance blood crystals.." Ling Qi said with an exhaustive sigh.

Yang Qing who had remained silent all this while couldn't help but frown at the statement.

"How reckless can they get?" he wondered in stupefaction.

"The Hua Clan leader needed just a few more blood crystals to complete the breakthrough but they had already exhausted the supply they had on hand, so they needed more.

They argued that even if the offer made by the Deer Mountain Kingdom was a fake one, it still did not take away the importance of having one of us reach the palace realm.

As long as we had a palace realm expert, it would make it easier for us to resettle outside of the Range, and with our four organizations sticking together, it would only be a matter of time before we were as powerful as the Deer Mountain Kingdom.

Even under such circumstances, that was all they could think about.." Ling Qi said with a bitter chuckle.

"The Xin clan bought into it as for the Flowing Fist Sect," Ling Qi paused as he shook his head for a bit.

"Their sect master had agreed to the plan at first, but immediately changed their mind after Wu Shen arrived.

Later, Wu Shen did call me to inform me that they were already leaving the Range. He ended up clashing with their sect master, which quickly turned from exchanging words to exchanging blows.

The fight was equal at first but something ended up happening to Wu Shen and he ended up making quick work of their sect master. With their sect master beaten up, he ordered the sect's evacuation.

He told me they only carried whatever could fit in their storage rings and left everything else behind.

He said he'd wait for us in Violet Hickory town in case we decided to escape without our organizations.."