But whether Lian'er would succeed in reactivating this structure and follow in Mikael's footsteps was still to be seen…
An unknown span of time later, outside of the Realm of Broken Skies.
Hooowwwll
The howling of the wind resounded through the rather quiet 'valley', where the powerhouses of the various Sects of the Suncrest Region and the Eidolon Path Sect were waiting for the Secret Realm to end and for their disciples to finally come out.
The majority of these powerhouses—whether they were Sect Masters, Grand Elders, or even 'simple' Elders—were cultivating in silence as they waited for the Secret Realm to finish.
Usually it wouldn't be like that; instead of cultivating to pass the time, these powerhouses would normally talk, but—
With the Eidolon Path Sect being present, the ambiance around the Secret Realm opening wasn't as 'casual' as usual and was a notch tenser compared to the previous times when the Realm of Broken Skies had opened, and this was why not much talking was happening, everything being rather… quiet.
Of course, this 'quietness' wasn't absolute…
"Let's hope that little Yan will have a great harvest," murmured an Elder of a second-rate Sect.
The expression of the Sect Master of this same second-rate Sect was rather unconfident as he shook his head, "While for our Sect little Yan is a great genius, the kind not seen in decades, that's only for us. For larger Sects like the Three Overlords Sects, it's nothing particularly impressive…"
"I don't fancy his chances in obtaining powerful and precious inheritances, especially if he has to compete against the geniuses of those strongest Sects…" The Sect Master's words ended on that depressing note.
This caused the Elder beside him to let out a sigh, "We can only hope that the heavens favor him and that his luck is good."
Conversations similar to the one between the Sect Master and the Elder of the second rate Sect were happening, the various powerhouses were talking but it wasn't as often as during the earlier openings and even when these powerhouses conversed, it was more often than not with cultivators of their own Sect.
On that note, and with the ambiance being low-key tense, time quickly passed with the end of the Secret Realm growing nearer and nearer, until—
Rumbles.
The sound of space rumbling resounded, which instantly attracted all the powerhouses' attention as they knew that the Secret Realm's end was approaching and—
They were proven right when, a moment later, space further trembled, slight ripples materializing in mid-air, but that was only the prelude as the next instant—
Flash, flash, flash.
Hundreds of disciples suddenly appeared, having been forcefully teleported out of the Secret Realm the moment the latter ended, causing a scene where one instant space was empty and the next it grew 'lively' as hundreds of handsome and beautiful cultivators were teleported out.
The disciples appeared not far from the tear in reality that served as the entrance to the Realm of Broken Skies.
This caused the previously empty and quiet space to be filled with movement and voices as dozens upon dozens of cultivators reacted in entirely different ways.
Some disciples let out relieved sighs, smiles blooming on their faces as they glanced at the items or storage rings they had acquired, their eyes shining with barely concealed joy. Others wore more neutral expressions, simply happy to finally breathe fresh air again and finally see something else than a desolate landscape as they stretched their limbs, fatigue evident in their stance.
A handful stood there with dark, dejected looks, clearly displeased with their results inside, a few even grumbling under their breath or clicking their tongues in frustration.
There were also those who were injured, lightly or otherwise, wincing as they stabilized their Qi circulation, but even then some of them showed quiet pride as they inspected the gains they had fought tooth and nail for. A few laughed together, exchanging quick words about encounters or treasures, while others simply stayed silent, eyes distant as they sorted through their memories and experiences.
In an instant the dull, empty area transformed into a lively tapestry of voices, emotions, and movements, each disciple reacting to the end of their journey in their own way as the powerhouses observed from afar.
Of course… not everything was this 'joyful', after all even though the Secret Realm: Realm of Broken Skies wasn't considered particularly dangerous, thanks to it not being a 'true' Secret Realm and being particularly desolate, danger and death were… inevitable!
"—Where is Senior Brother Sheng?"
"Junior Sister Jiao isn't here!"
After a couple of seconds since their apparition, the voice of some disciples not finding their fellow disciples began to resound, for some of them they would be lucky and after a while will find their fellow disciples—their presence having been 'hidden' in the crowd of hundreds of cultivators, but for others—
For others, no matter how much they searched, they would never find them, these young cultivators having been permanently retained by the Realm of Broken Skies!
This situation was obviously seen by the powerhouses of the various Sects present for the Secret Realm opening, causing their expressions to darken as they understood that promising talent had died, but beyond that, nobody reacted much, as it was expected that when the disciples of their Sects entered the Secret Realm, some of them simply wouldn't come back.
This was obvious as exploring any Secret Realm always had danger, but ultimately this sacrifice would be worthwhile, as the ones who returned would do so stronger, having been tempered by the life-and-death trials—if they faced any—while others would obtain treasures and/or inheritances.
Treasures and others that they would then 'give' to the Sect, adding to the Sect's foundation in exchange for some Contribution Points that the disciple would then use to enhance themself and go further on the path of Cultivation.
Up to that point everything was going normally, as it should, but then an anxious scream cut through the chatter—
"Amelia!"
This anxious scream came from what was previously a beautiful woman but at that moment… not so much.
The woman had long hazel hair, but it wasn't combed into a beautiful hairstyle or anything of the sort; in truth, it was the complete opposite.
Her hair was utterly disheveled, bangs sticking to her forehead and the rest spilling around in a messy, uneven cascade, giving her a wildly disheveled appearance—an impression only amplified when one noticed the streaks of soil and dirt staining her hair!
Complementing her appearance were her eyes, red and puffy from too many tears spilled, but that was nothing compared to how… crazed her gaze looked as it wildly scanned the crowd, until it locked onto the beautiful Amelia not far from her, causing her to let out the previous anxious cry.
That cry earned a few glances from nearby cultivators, but ultimately not much more, since screams caused by a 'death' disciple were, unfortunately, relatively common.
Of course, while this was the reaction of the 'peanut gallerie', it wasn't the same for the interested beauty that was Amelia, who instinctively looked toward the source of the sound, and the instant she saw the crazed woman's appearance, her usually calm composure morphed into one of shock.
While Amelia was still stunned, the crazed woman crossed the distance separating them in an instant, stopping so close that their faces were nearly pressed together, which instinctively made Amelia recoil as words spilled from her mouth without her control,
"Lian'er, wha–what happened to you—"
"We don't have the time! Contact Mikael!" the crazed woman—who it was now clear was Lian'er—cut the stupefied Amelia mid-sentence, speaking in an extremely fast tone of voice, to the point that Amelia would have had difficulty understanding her if it weren't for her enhanced hearing.
Ba-dum.
The beautiful archer's heart skipped a beat when she heard Lian'er's words, and when this was combined with her crazed, disheveled state, it was hard for her not to immediately think of the worst…
"O-Ok!" stammered Amelia, a knot forming in her stomach as an extremely bad feeling washed over her.
It was on that note and with slightly trembling hands that she didn't even notice that she took out her Core Disciples Token before injecting Qi into it, trying to use the communication feature to reach Mikael, but just before she could try to activate it—
"NO not that! Use the Akashic Records!" Lian'er's voice, carrying clearly noticeable anger, resounded as, seeing Amelia's 'stupidity', the currently extremely unstable Lian'er was instantly angered and spoke these words while throwing a dark look toward her 'friend'...
BA-DUM.
Seeing Lian'er's unreasonable actions and aggressivity, Amelia wasn't even angered or annoyed as it would have been normal, no, the anxiety gripping her heart was far too heavy to leave her the time to concern herself with things like that,
"Hum… okay… you want me to use the Records?" Amelia's mind was still partially confused, but understanding that it was probably related to Mikael's safety, her thoughts quickly grew active, allowing her to understand what she needed to do!
"Let's leave the Akashic Records Universe and then use the Records to reach and communicate with Mikael!"
"..." Lian'er kept silent for a second too long for somebody who seemed this… rushed before finally speaking, "Yes… let's do this…" declared Lian'er while a hint of confusion passed through her eyes.
'What's with her?' couldn't help but think Amelia even through the rising anxiety and panic, because Lian'er's state was truly too… weird, one moment she acted like every second was precious and the next… the next she seemed… confused.
She was truly acting like a totally crazy woman and normally this would worry Amelia, and it did, but currently her focus was on Mikael's safety, something that she now had a really bad feeling about…
Just then, just as the two beauties were moments away from rushing to the nearest Exit Monolith and then communicating with Mikael—
"THARVONIS! WHERE IS THARVONIS?" A loud booming voice, carrying with it an almost tangible power and pressure, spread out and reached everyone.
If Lian'er's previous actions only attracted the attention of the nearby cultivators, this booming voice attracted the attention of every disciple and powerhouse present, their focus instantly snapping toward the one who had spoken and… how could they not?
After all, the person who had spoken was the strongest powerhouse present, Varathen, the Sect Master of the Eidolon Path Sect and a powerhouse at the 3rd layer of the Core Perfection Realm!
At that moment the burly and warrior-like Varnari had none of the composure expected of a powerhouse of his level, his warrior-like expression being morphed into a dark one while hints of worry creased his visage.
"How could this be possible!?" Varathen muttered in disbelief, instants after his earlier worried outburst, as his senses couldn't help but scan the crowd again and again in search of the handsome Varnari that was Tharvonis, but—
No matter how many times he did it, he simply couldn't find his Sect genius, and with the Realm of Broken Skies having closed, this could only mean one thing—
He was dead!
The greatest genius the Eidolon Path Sect ever had was now gone, having fallen inside the Realm of Broken Skies; otherwise he would have already teleported out, yet with no trace of the handsome Varnari… his fate was clear!
"How could Tharvonis have died!? How could this happen…" muttered Varathen, a deep heartache spreading through his chest as his visage grew darker and darker, especially when he realized that if it wasn't for the fact they had 'introduced' themselves during this Secret Realm opening, the greatest genius the Eidolon Path Sect ever had—and probably ever would have—wouldn't have died!
And with his death, this Secret Realm opening, which was originally supposed to allow the Eidolon Path Sect to gain some benefits from the Suncrest Region, now turned into a colossal loss, as no matter what the other Varnari took out of the Realm of Broken Skies, it couldn't even come close to comparing to Tharvonis's life.
Author Note:
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Unfortunately—or maybe not, who knows—it seems that Lian'er didn't succeed in following in Mikael footsteps and now… now she is growing more and more unstable, Yandere Lian'er is evolving in Super Yandere Lian'er!
At the same time Varathen discovers Tharvonis dead, I'm sure that nothing bad will come of it…yeah…
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