“They’re surely still alive…”

‘What did you say? Sun Xiandong and Hei’er was attacked and they disappeared. ?” Master Li stumbled and almost fell from the shock, his primary disciple Li Heng had to help him into seat.

The whole room exploded in chatter , looks of shock and denial were apparent in the faces of all present.

“ Did you check their spirit lamps?” a meek voice rang out among the chatter. Yang Changtan lifted his head up to see the head of the western Branch of the Bihou sect , master Bai Anmei.

“Yes , but…” Yang Changtian hesitated for a moment. “ They were extinguished” , Huang Baicneg finished his sentence for him.

The room erupted in chatter again: “ What does that mean?” “ This has never happened before! " " How could they be extinguished like that ?”

Bai Anmei turned to look at Wen Zhou , the head of the Southern Branch. While master Sun was initially in charge of forging and maintaining the spirit lamps, he slowly delegated that task to his junior brother Wen Zhou, when he became the head of the sect, who took over the task. Therefore at the moment he’s the one who is the most knowledgeable about the spirit lamps.”What does this mean Brother Wen ? “ .

Master Wen closed his eyes and took a deep breath ,“The older brother didn't tell me much but, in most cases, spirit lamps are spiritual devices that indicate the status of the person physically and mentally. So even if the owner dies long ago , since his corpse or spirit core is still in the world in some form, the flame will remain, the color will change. But if the flame is weaker , it usually means that both the physical body and spiritual visage of the owner is at great threat. But if it's completely extinguished , it suggests that the owners are no longer in this world in any form.”

“Master Wen , what’s the other explanation? You said ‘in most cases’ meaning there is another explanation.” questioned Yang Changtian feeling a heavy weight at the pit of his stomach.It just couldn't be true.

Master Wen lifted his head and looked at Yang Changtian , “ In some records , its mentioned that in rare cases, when the owner of the spirit lamp , descends or if their spiritual cores undergo a change , or even if their cores shatter, the lamp will extinguish as the individual will either be no longer on this plane , or their core exist no longer, but as i said before it extremely rare ”.

“ So , master Wen , you’re saying that there is a chance that they’re still alive?”

“ Well yes, but….”

“ As long as there’s even a miniscule chance that they’re alive , that's all that matters”, Huang Baicheng cut in ,Huang Baicheng coldly.

Vices of unanimous agreement rose throughout the room .

“ Baicheng , till your master and sister returns , someone needs to act as the sect’s head. And according to our rules , the next disciple in the ranks of seniority should be the one taking the duty over . But Li Cheng isnt here yet, but we need someone to take over urgently.”

“ Till brother Li returns , I’ll take over as the sect’s head”, replied Huang Baicheng calmly. “ Now Brother Yang and brother Zhang , I would like to ask you something. How could you allow something like this to happen ?”

Li Heng , turned to Yang Changtian and asked him. “Yes , Brother Yang , your Guanghui sect was incharge of making sure nothing goes wrong. How could you allow this to happen right under your eyes” his voice grew with rage with each word.

“How were we supposed to know …...” Zhang Anying began but Huang Baicheng coldly intejected him.

“ Zhang Anying , Yang Changtian. Our Bihou secthas always tried our best to help you , even to the point where it caused sister and master major inconveniences.”

“ Yeah !”

“ That’s right “

“ I remember the last time that my older sister left to help them when they got trapped in a Ghost lair cave , when she was supposed to be resting after getting injured. She collapsed right after coming back and didn't wake up for days.”

“ Sister and Grandmaster did their best to help them but they allowed such a thing to happen…”

Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd and multiple dirty looks were shot at Zhang Anying and Yang Changtian.

“Yang Changtian , Zhang Anying , tell us clearly , where were you when this happened ?” questioned Li Heng icily.

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“We were……”

All of a sudden , the room went cold and Li Heng’s forehead had veins popping out , his eyes emitting a strange blue light. He had activated his clan’s special skill. This user of this skill had the ability to coerce a person to tell the truth.

“Fang Chenmei , sent a message that she wants to say something to Brother Yang. So he decided to go see her.” Zhang Anying replied as if in a trance.

“ I went to see Fang Chenmei, she told me that she had some urgent news to tell me .”

Voices of rag broke out. “ What was he doing with her after everything that happened?”

“ Shameless , how dare he go to meet that woman again after everything that happened.”

“ You know what they say , appearances easily fool men, i just can’t believe that even Yang Changtian fell for her deceit “

“No , Brother Yang isn't like that “ Huang Baihua’s voice rang out.

“Hua’er , are you feeling okay now ?” Huang Baicheng rushed to her side.

“ Yes brother . But I believe that Brother Yang isn't like that, otherwise Sister and Master wouldn't have trusted him and helped him so much.”

Huang Baicheng sighed. “ Li Heng , ask him what happened after “.

Li Heng nodded, “ What did you do after meeting her at the water prison ?”

Yang Changtian didnt answer , he started to tremble looking tense.

“ He’s trying to break the skill,” Li Heng replied.

“ Hold on Li Heng.” Li Heng nodded in return.

“ Answer us Yang Changtian , what happened after you met her ?”

“ She looked at me and laughed like a maniac. Then she stood up slowly and came closer before whispering that I’ll lose everything soon. I just thought that she was doing her usual routine of threatening me. Then she bit her tongue, committing suicide. ”

“ That’s enough Li Heng. Save your power , it is useless to ask more. Release them” said Huang Baicheng in an authoritative tone.

Li Heng nodded and released them.

“ Yang Changtian , Zhang Anying , when were you going to inform us that Feng Chenmei died, if you forgot , let me remind you that what Feng Chenmei , almost destroyed both of our sects , and you didn't even think to inform us about this ?”

Yang Changtian was staring straight ahead at the 2 empty seats that once belonged to 2 of the most important people in his life and now he didn't even know if he'll see them again. He should've been more careful after that vile woman's words. If only had he heeded those venomous words.

Zhang Anying saw his senior brother’s conflicted and tense appearance . “ Their were slash marks in the surrounding trees and rocks. And Zhou Zilong determined that they were from sister Hei’s whip sword, and no blood was found anywhere , so it’s safe to say that sister Hei and Master Sun , might’ve fought their way out. So why don't we stop fighting and joining forces to find them ? Brother Yang hasn't slept for days , he's been running everywhere looking for them.”

“ Zhang Anying , while I understand what you're saying. You have to remember that Hei’er only brings her whip swords out when she’s in a dangerous and overwhelming situation. Also Sun Xiandong is almost completely normal during the year of the neverending sun , brother Sun loses all his power and since he was never good at combat, he’s naturally weaker than most. “

“ I…. “ Zhang Anying wanted to say something but there was nothing left to say.

“ Yang Changtian , Zhang Anying,” Bai Huancgeng started coldly, Firstly you allowed our senior sister and master to get attacked by some unknown assailants , when you were supposed to ensure their protection when they're at their weakest , then when asked about where you were on the day of the incident , you visited Feng Chenmei , not a single member of our sect was allowed to see that woman after she was imprisoned in the internal water prison. And in case you forgot that woman managed to get into the sect through you .”

A look of horror and disbelief flashed through Yang Changtan’s face .

Murmurs erupted amongst the gathered.

“ What do you mean brother ? “ questioned Huang Baihua.

“ Master and sister hid this from us for their sake , but I once overheard mother and sister talking about it. Yang Changtian , don't think that no one , except the people who were there , knows the truth. You and your group were stuck in the Ghost lair back then ,because you were under an enchantment spell cast by Feng Chenmei , a woman who comes from the Butterfly sect. You rescued her from a brothel and felt pity for her and decided to take her into the sect , and you allowed her to join your expeditions. Don't try to tell me that , you just did it for her safety. You clearly were holding some very inappropriate feelings towards that woman.If sister did not interfere in time , you would have given the manual of yin and yang to the woman.”

The murmurs now turn into full chatter .

“He did what ? ‘ , “ That’s when my sister was injured , she had to neglect her injury and go save them.”, “ I never expected this from Yang Changtian .”

“ And now you’re telling me you decided to abandon your duty to protect your master and sister , just to go meet that woman ? You also decided it would be appropriate not to inform us about her death.” Huang Baicheng's words were venomous.

“ No , that’s not true , Brother Yang wasn't under that woman’s spell he just…..”

“ Stop it Anying” Yang Changtian spoke up .

He then raised his head to look directly towards Huang Baicheng. “ Baicheng , I realize that I've never done anything for your sister or master , even though they’ve always been there for me. Hei Jingyou had to drag her injured arm to come save me . And I will spend the remainder of my life just regretting not seriously listening to that woman’s threat. But I can assure you , I’ll never do something to hurt your sister or master.”

“ Stop , we don't need your excuses Yang Changtian. It’s too late. Until sister Hei and master come back safe , our relationship is severed.”

Huang Baicheng , then turned to the sect members.

“ Martial Uncles , fellow brothers and sisters. As the temporary head of the sect , I propose that we sever all our ties with the Guanghui sect for the grave mistake they committed towards our Master and Senior sister. Does everyone agree with me ?”

Voices rang out , all unionised into a single word “ Yes”.

Huang Baicheng turned to look at Yang Changtian and Zhang Anying.

“ Yang Changtian , Zhang Anying , from this day onwards we will sever all ties with you and your sect. We will maintain a decent relationship with MAster Long , for the sake of his friendship with master. You are not permitted to step a foot inside the sect till the day the sister and master returns. The relationship between our sects ends here..”