Capítulo 72: Chapter 72: Helping Others

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qing and Xu Juan looked confused and said, "It's hard to say. One year, more than a dozen of our senior brothers and sisters didn't make it out."

Lin Xiao was taken aback but didn't waste time. He took out the jade pendant engraved with the words 'Tian Xuan' and said, "Yesterday, we discovered a place where many of your sect members are trapped. They aren't from this year, and their condition is very poor. Do you want to help them?"

Yuan Qing examined the pendant for a moment, recognizing it as a sect token, and was about to agree when Xu Juan gently tugged at his sleeve. Yuan Qing remained silent, while Xu Juan stepped forward and said to Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao, "How do we know you aren't trying to deceive us? What if this is a trap to lure us in?"

Lin Xiao smiled at him and nodded approvingly, "You're quite cautious, not bad."

Feeling awkward being praised by someone who seemed much younger, Xu Juan was caught off guard when he suddenly found himself unable to move. In the next moment, he heard Lin Xiao say, "We were the ones who saved you when you were being chased. If we wanted to harm you, would you have any chance to resist?"

As soon as Lin Xiao finished speaking, Xu Juan regained control of his body. Both Yuan Qing and Xu Juan were surprised and exclaimed, "So it was you who helped us earlier?"

Lin Xiao waved his hand dismissively, "Let's get going. Time is of the essence. If you wait any longer, your fellow sect members might not make it."

With that, Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao turned and started walking back. Seeing how urgent the situation seemed, Yuan Qing and Xu Juan suppressed their surprise and gratitude and followed them.

Since they had to accommodate Yuan Qing and Xu Juan's pace, the return journey took a bit longer than when they had come.

Along the way, Yuan Qing and Xu Juan were astonished that they encountered no dangers at all. Previously, they had faced a beast attack almost immediately upon entering the secret realm!

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao kept using the Heart of the Secret Realm to monitor the surroundings, avoiding any other cultivators to prevent unnecessary trouble and delays.

After realizing that fighting these Qi Refining cultivators wouldn't be much of a challenge, Lin Xiao abandoned the idea of using them for practice and focused on getting back as quickly as possible.

When they finally returned to Spirit Heart Valley on the afternoon of the third day, Lin Xiao immediately noticed the nearly transparent and dying figure of Venerable Pantu lying weakly on the ground.

The ten or so severely weakened cultivators, who had previously looked like living corpses, now had a faint hint of color returning to their faces. They no longer resembled skeletons.

Using the Heart of the Secret Realm, Lin Xiao quickly learned what had transpired over the past two and a half days.

It turned out that Venerable Pantu, feeling guilty about the state of the trapped cultivators, had used his soul power and spiritual energy to stabilize and nourish their vital energy. However, his soul body was already weak, and while he couldn't fully heal any one person, he spread his power evenly to ensure that everyone had a bit more life force.

As a result, the cultivators were now able to breathe more steadily and even moan in pain, a marked improvement from their previous condition. But Venerable Pantu's soul body was now on the verge of dissipating completely.

The cultivator who had previously glared at Venerable Pantu with hatred now sat quietly, his eyes closed, deep in thought.

Yuan Qing, upon seeing this cultivator, cried out in shock, "Senior Brother He!"

The man opened his eyes weakly and looked at Yuan Qing with a faint smile. His voice, barely above a whisper, said, "Junior Brother Yuan..."

Yuan Qing hurriedly grabbed his arm and said, "It's so good to see you alive, Senior Brother! What happened to you? Were you ambushed?"

Senior Brother He glanced briefly at the dying Venerable Pantu and replied, "It's a long story... best left unspoken."

Standing nearby, Xu Juan noticed that many of the people lying on the ground were wearing their sect's robes. It was clear that these were the missing disciples from previous years. Among them were also some in dark yellow robes, indicating they were from the Di Xuan Sect.

Seeing everyone in such a weak state, Xu Juan quickly took out the last bottle of Vitality Pills from his storage pouch and began distributing them to the survivors. Yuan Qing did the same, feeding the pills to as many as he could.

After taking the pills, the survivors' conditions improved slightly, though only marginally.

Yuan Qing looked at the many people lying on the ground, unsure of what to do. To leave the secret realm, they would have to gather at the exit and wait for their sect elders to open the way out. But in their current state, these survivors couldn't even sit up, let alone walk to the exit. Yuan Qing and Xu Juan didn't have any flying artifacts, either...

Seeing Yuan Qing's concern, Lin Xiao spoke up, "Are you worried about getting them out of the secret realm?"

Yuan Qing nodded repeatedly.

Lin Xiao scratched his nose and lied, "Actually, there's an exit in this valley that leads directly outside. It'll return you to the same spot where you entered the secret realm."

Yuan Qing and Xu Juan were overjoyed. "Is that true?" they asked.

Lin Xiao nodded. "Of course. Look, we're not disciples of your sect, right? The truth is, we've been entering and exiting the secret realm through this very spot."

Sun Yigao silently looked up at the sky, listening to Lin Xiao's bold lies.

Yuan Qing clasped his hands in gratitude. "Thank you, Brother Lin. Please help us take everyone to the exit."

Lin Xiao smiled and replied, "It's no trouble at all. Helping others is the right thing to do."

With that, he walked over to a spot and pretended to search for something. In reality, he was using the Heart of the Secret Realm to open a portal that connected to the place where they had entered.

After a moment, he opened the portal and turned to Yuan Qing and the others, saying, "All done. The exit is open. You can start bringing them out now."