"Not your fault? Not your fault? Then how did all these people die?" Evan Yang demanded. "They were killed by them," the Great Immortal pointed at the leaders of Black Hand Gate and Ninefold Palace. "Them? If you weren't backing them, do you really think they'd have the power to wipe out Hundred-Bloom Palace and the Genius Pavilion?" Evan Yang retorted.
"Th-this..." The Great Immortal trembled.
"Speak, how did you get here?" Evan Yang knew the man's strength wasn't enough to cross spatial fissures. "I—I was sent down by the Palace Lord," the Great Immortal replied.
"The Ethereal Sanctuary Palace Lord? Why did he send you down here?" Evan Yang asked.
"He knew you were from the North Sect, and that you came from the Blue World, so he figured out a way to send me down. His goal was to find your family and friends in this realm and capture them. Who would've thought, before I could catch anyone, you showed up." The man said awkwardly.
Evan Yang was furious that the Ethereal Sanctuary Palace Lord knew he was supposedly dead, yet still sent someone to capture his friends. He snorted coldly, "The Palace Lord, huh? I'll make sure to take him down someday. Hmph."
"So it's not my fault—just let me go, please." The Great Immortal begged for mercy, cursing his luck. Wasn't Evan Yang supposed to be dead? Yet now he was standing right in front of him, alive and well.
"You're from the Ethereal Sanctuary Palace—do you really think I'd let you go?" Evan Yang said.
"Th-this..." The Great Immortal's face changed dramatically.
"You must have some special way to contact the Ethereal Sanctuary Palace Lord. Tell me—did he tell you what to do after you caught someone?" Evan Yang asked.
"He told me that once I caught someone, I should contact him, and he'd figure out a way to bring me back." The Great Immortal said, frustrated.
"Oh? Is that so? So if you can't contact him, he won't contact you either?" Evan Yang asked.
"That's right. Since you're supposed to be dead, I was just wandering around down here." The Great Immortal said. "Good, then you can rest in peace." Evan Yang's anger erupted, burning the man to ashes on the spot. The leaders of Black Hand Gate and Ninefold Palace were shocked—they hadn't expected Evan Yang, after just a few years away, to become even more terrifying than someone from the Immortal Realm. "Evan Yang, I never thought you'd return from the Immortal Realm," the Black Hand Gate leader said. "If I hadn't, my friends would have died," Evan Yang replied. "Hmph, kill me or torture me, whatever. We've already lost to you, there's nothing left to say," the Black Hand Gate leader said. The Ninefold Palace Lord chimed in, "That's right, just make it quick." "You want to die so badly? Then I won't let you. I'll make sure you suffer until the end," Evan Yang snorted. With that, he sealed their power, making them no different from ordinary mortals—unable to heal or use energy.
Seeing themselves like this, the two glared at Evan Yang.
Evan Yang grabbed both of them with one hand and flung them away like stones, sending them flying toward a distant planet.
Evan Yang watched through the void as the two landed in a watery region—not drowned, but surrounded by dangerous beasts, enough to torment them endlessly.
After dealing with those people, Evan Yang turned and saw the wounds on Winter, Tara Chu, and the others. "Let me treat you first," he said.
"Mm." Winter and the others nodded. At this moment, Evan Yang appeared to them as an incomparably powerful figure.
Arriving at one of Hundred-Bloom Palace's planets, Evan Yang looked at the dozens of people present. He simultaneously split off countless threads of Heavenly Cold Qi, treating all of them at once. A quarter hour later, they had already recovered. It wasn't that Evan Yang was too strong—it was that they were too weak, so he healed them easily.
Dozens of people recovered to peak condition, staring at Evan Yang in disbelief.
"Are you from Hundred-Bloom Palace?" Evan Yang asked, recognizing the maid's familiar face.
"Yeah, but now there's basically no Hundred-Bloom Palace left." The maid said helplessly, seeing only a few dozen people remaining around her.
Evan Yang sighed. "Sorry, but I'll create a stronger formation for you all—so you can gradually recover."
"Thank you." The maid said gratefully.
Evan Yang nodded, then said to Winter, "Hand me that glass."
Winter took out the glass containing Xin Jiang's soul. Evan Yang looked at the glass and asked, "Is that Patriarch Fenn?"
"Yes, that's him," Xin Jiang replied.
"Got it. I'll help you recover your body first. You all rest here—if you need anything, find me in the main hall." Evan Yang said, then took the glass soul and went to Hundred-Bloom Palace's main hall.
Inside the main hall, Evan Yang used many formations and rare materials to gradually reconstitute Xin Jiang's body. With the addition of his Heavenly Cold Qi, Xin Jiang's body quickly took shape.
When Xin Jiang's body appeared before Evan Yang, he sighed, "Sorry for what you've been through."
"But I'm fine now, aren't I?" Xin Jiang smiled. "Yeah, you're really fine now, and thankfully everyone is safe. Otherwise, I'd feel like a sinner." Evan Yang laughed. "We're all safe, but there's someone you should check on," Xin Jiang said. "Who?" Evan Yang asked. "Ye Chen. According to Winter, she went to the Fiend Palace to seek help, but it's been a long time and there's still no news. I'm worried something happened to her." Since Evan Yang left, the girls had relied on each other, so they cared deeply about everyone's safety—now that Xin Jiang had recovered, she hadn't forgotten Ye Chen.
Thinking of Ye Chen, Evan Yang said, "Got it. Once I finish setting up the formations here, I'll take you all to the Fiend Realm."
"Alright, let's go. The others are still waiting outside." Xin Jiang said.
Evan Yang nodded. When he and Xin Jiang appeared outside, everyone greeted them with happy smiles.
Evan Yang looked at the crowd and said, "Wait here for a bit. I'll add formations to the surrounding planets, then teach you how to enter and leave them. After that, you'll be able to rely on these arrays to resist invading armies."
Everyone nodded. So Evan Yang flew out into the void. Lydia and the Wine Beggar were waiting outside; when they saw Evan Yang return, they asked, "How'd it go? Is everything handled?"
"No, there's still a bit left," Evan Yang replied.
"Oh? What's left?" the Wine Beggar asked curiously.
"My friends are still in this realm. I have to make sure they're safe before I can leave," Evan Yang said. "That's true, but earlier I sensed a powerful soul aura—what was that?" the Wine Beggar asked curiously. "It was a soul hiding inside a body, and its power had reached the Emperor Realm. It's strange—why would it hide inside a body for so many years?" Evan Yang wondered. If that soul had shown itself and used Emperor-level power back then, it could have easily wiped out Evan Yang.
"Do you know who he was?" the Wine Beggar asked curiously.