"Shifu!" Cheng Sheng rose from his seat after he heard what Fan Wen told them about Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo and Sun Yi leaving for Youxiwang Sect to save Wu Yuan, and Luo Shi as well.

Jing Xian, Su Yuan and Pai Lie left after they clarified Fei Yin's whereabouts since they saw he didn't come out of the Cleansing Stone unlike the other contestants.

"Shifu… shifu means to say… my brother, Li-shixiong, Feng-shixiong and Sun-shixiong are now heading to Youxiwang Sect?!" he exclaimed as he stared at Fan Wen with widened eyes. He had already heard about what happened during the ten days the absence of the contestants from Lei Ling, You Rou and Lei Qing.

"Calm down." Fei Yin said and patted Cheng Sheng's back to appease his lover.

"But… but… my brother… Li-shixiong… Feng-shixiong and Sun-shixiong – " Cheng Sheng said as he turned to Fei Yin with reddened eyes.

Fei Yin saw Cheng Sheng's quivering lips and he felt his heart ached. He knew Cheng Sheng's character. Before, when he met Cheng Sheng, Cheng Sheng is a very cold and distant youth. He never cared about other people, much less their opinion. He is even disobedient towards Fan Wen and Xie Lan, which always earns him a hit or two. He is also sarcastic towards the other disciples. He always clashes against Feng Mo as both of them are hot-tempered. Only Li Tian, who he had entered the sect with and is good-natured, Cheng Sheng is casual with him. Even Fei Yin, Cheng Sheng is hostile. Maybe Cheng Sheng felt that Fei Yin and he are alike, for some reason, and so he always had his guard raised against him.

Yet, over the years, they all gradually became close.

Sheng… Fei Yin softly smiled as he held Cheng Sheng's hand tight, indicating he is always there for him, that he can rely on him. "That's why we're going after them to help them, right?" he said.

"En." Cheng Sheng nodded as he finally calmed down.

Ever since he had permitted these people in his life, the barriers he erected around himself slowly crumbled until they disappeared. And so, his heart was touched by them, most especially by Fei Yin. He never knew Fei Yin is the one who had gone through all those worlds with him – his lover. That's why he had always guarded his feelings from other people, afraid he would forget Yin and have someone replace him in his heart. He never knew his heart would actually be captured for the second time by the same person, who always chased after him.

Fan Wen saw Cheng Sheng has already controlled his emotions. "Of course, I didn't let them use the array leading to the Youxiwang Sect, since that's sending them to the mouth of the tiger. What they used is the array leading to the Dongfang Sect." he said. "It depends on their speed where they might have reached now. This journey of theirs is very, very dangerous, since they need to pass the Central Plains where Qi Ling's forces are. Then, they would need to face again the demonic cultivators, which is Ming-shixiong's forces." He sighed. "They would certainly need to exhaust themselves to fight in the Central Plains. But, what would that make them when they reached the West? Can they even reach the West after that?" he worriedly asked himself. He had always looked calm these ten days to not dampen the morale of the people. However, he finally showed his worries.

"Shifu…" Cheng Sheng felt distressed. "Why is elder Ming doing this?" he asked. Ming Ye is the root of this all.

Fan Wen shook his head. "I don't know. Until now, we have yet to find that out." He answered. He is also bewildered about Ming Ye's matter. Ming Ye has been very gentle. How can he suddenly become a demonic cultivator? Worse, the leader of the demonic cultivators?! He betrayed his sect. He even betrayed Luo Shi, his best friend. "Luo-shixiong…" his eyes watered when he remembered the friendship of the two. His heart ached for Luo Shi. "Just why, Ming-shixiong…?" he closed his eyes.

Cheng Sheng sighed before he turned to Fei Yin who shook his head. They can't do anything about other people's matters, unless they permit them to interfere with it, which, as they can obviously see, Ming Ye definitely wouldn't let them, and thus everything had reached this point.

"Shifu. I'm going after my brother and his group now to aid them. I'm bringing da shixiong and Yu Sheng!" Cheng Sheng said.

Fan Wen recollected himself and nodded. "Be careful." He told them.

"Yes!" they answered.

…

"Cheng-shixiong!" it was Xiao Le who called when he finally saw the shadow of Cheng Sheng.

"Xiao Le!" Cheng Sheng was delighted that the kid is safe.

"Cheng-shixiong, Fei-shixiong, I'm glad you're both safe and returned!" Xiao Le bowed.

"En." Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin nodded.

"Cheng-shixiong…" Xiao Le called. It was obvious he was hesitating.

"What is it?" Cheng Sheng sensibly asked.

"I… I don't want to add more trouble to Cheng-shixiong, but…" Xiao Le sighed. "It's Mu-ge." He said.

"Shu Mu? Didn't he go to look for you? You didn't meet him?" Cheng Sheng asked.

Xiao Le shook his head. "I still haven't seen Mu-ge." He answered. "I only heard the news of him coming back to his sect. Their sect… no. Precisely, Mu-ge's father, had colluded with the demonic cultivators. Thus, he immediately returned. After that, I had no other news." He explained.

Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin were stunned as they looked at each other. They only head this news, as what Fan Wen told them are immediate and the most important news. "Shu Mu…" Cheng Sheng muttered. "I'll definitely tell you when we see him!" he told Xiao Le.

Xiao Le sighed in relief as he felt reassured. "Thank you, Cheng-shixiong!" he said and bowed.

"You're welcome." Cheng Sheng said as he and Fei Yin immediately went to the Array Area where Pai Lie, Su Yuan and Jing Xian are currently at to observe. Su Yuan had already recovered after he meditated.

"My L…" Jing Xian bit his tongue when he saw Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin are together. His face soured. "Where are the two of you going?" he asked.

"After my brother and our fellow disciples, as well as Sun-shixiong." Cheng Sheng answered as he walked towards the array leading to the Dongfang City while Fei Yin followed behind him.

Jing Xian was about to speak, wanting to go with them when he met Fei Yin's gaze. He immediately shut up. Of course, with the Lord Keeper is there, how will they meet an accident?

"Watch over the sect. Pai Lie will guard the Cleansing Stone while Su Yuan will help our shifu protect the Xinfaxian." He heard Fei Yin's voice in his mind.

"Yes, My Lord!" he immediately answered.

Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin bowed to the three elders. Su Yuan and Pai Lie also knew how grave the situation is, and they also needed to protect the Xinfaxian – the last stronghold in the cultivation world.

Ji County, Central Region.

If they travelled the usual, they would still be within the East territory. However, since time is pressing in on them, they travelled faster. Fortunately, although Li Tian is a mage, but his cultivation is high, added to the fact that the water from the Spring of Life increased their strength and their cultivation. Even if he is the weakest of their group, but he isn't truthfully weak. From the Dongfang City, they continued to travelled until the Ji Country for one week without eating and sleeping.

"Li-shidi, thank you for your hard work!" Sun Yi said after they finished their dinner cooked by Li Tian. "It's very delicious." He told him. It felt like it's been a year since he hadn't eaten food. Once they reached the Central Region, they finally could take a rest. They didn't dare to overexert themselves since they can meet a group of demonic cultivators at any time.

Li Tian shyly smiled and secretly glanced at Chen Han while Chen Han looked proud, grinning widely.

Meanwhile, Feng Mo was eating some snacks. "Li-shixiong has always learned how to cook, and he is smart so he can cook like this!" he praised. He is very proud of Li Tian.

Li Tian blushed, feeling shy. Before, he doesn't know how to cook a proper food, so he always ate plain foods. But, after he met Chen Han, he really did his best so he can cook Chen Han a decent meal. He continued to practice in secret, until he can finally cook regular dishes.

"This must be the Zhongji Village." Chen Han said as they walked around the nearest village.

The village now looked desolate after the demonic cultivators ransacked the houses and killed the villagers. They didn't even spare a life, even just a single chicken. The village is now, literally and figuratively, lifeless.