Chapter 128: Reappearance

When the group arrived, they caught sight of Meng Jiao struggling against the earth beasts, while Nie Xingyuan was busy breaking the formation.

They attempted to enter the formation, but discovered a barrier blocking their path, impenetrable from all sides. Just then, someone noticed a massive congregation of spirit beasts not far away—beasts of every rank gathered together.

"Heavens! So many spirit beasts; I suspect nearly all of them in the Ancient Forest are here!" The sheer number was staggering. Even more bizarrely, these beasts were trapped within a crimson blood formation, shivering in terror as if something horrific lurked nearby.

"Where is the Junior Sister?" Yao Zhaoxi looked around frantically, only to realize there was no trace of her presence. This filled her with immense anxiety, and Min Chengjun, standing beside her, wore an equally grave expression.

Min Chengjun struck from the outside with his long sword, unleashing supreme spiritual power. He scattered countless talismans, which surrounded the blood formation and forcibly suppressed it. This significantly eased the pressure on Nie Xingyuan and Ji Jiuxuan inside.

Yao Zhaoxi did not hesitate. She manifested her "Listening Strings" zither, and as her spiritual power surged, the music resonated, causing the surrounding space to ripple. The earth beasts attacking Meng Jiao instantly fell silent, and those that had been pounding the earth ceased their movements. Seeing this, Meng Jiao felt a wave of relief and hurried to assist her master in breaking the formation.

Many of the others who had followed were unfamiliar with array techniques, and those who were did not possess their level of expertise. Consequently, they stood back, waiting to see if they could be of help, marveling at these members of the Xuantian Sect—they were truly the pride of the younger generation.

Time slipped away rapidly. Ji Jiuxuan’s spiritual power was drained several times, forcing her to swallow several bottles of high-grade spiritual replenishment pills. With a thunderous "boom," the entire formation collapsed, sending dust billowing into the air. As the soil from above began to cave in, a phantom projection of spiritual power struck upward, dispersing the debris in all directions. The sheer force of this phantom power exposed the entire underground formation. The sight of piles of bleached bones chilled everyone to the bone.

Upon seeing the unconscious young earth beasts huddled together, the older beasts above abandoned all caution and rushed toward their young.

Nie Xingyuan, exhausted from breaking the formation, could not reach Ji Jiuxuan immediately. Instead, Min Chengjun and Yao Zhaoxi arrived at her side at the same time.

"A-Jiu, are you alright?" Both asked with concern, shocked to find the little girl at the bottom of the pit.

"I’m fine, just a bit overexerted." Ji Jiuxuan smiled weakly and said with a pout to Min Chengjun, "Uncle-Master, the puppet you gave me is completely broken."

Min Chengjun confirmed she was uninjured and laughed, saying, "It’s no matter; I will give you another one another day."

Although the puppet was precious, it was nothing compared to the little girl. Seeing her safe and sound, his heart finally settled.

The cultivators who had arrived with them looked at the mass of spirit beasts, worried they might attack. To their surprise, the moment the formation was broken, the beasts seemed liberated and fled in a panic, as if fleeing from some terrifying presence.

Once the dust settled, the true face of the area was revealed. The ground was littered with corpses, and the stench of blood was overwhelming. A crater hundreds of meters long lay exposed, the lingering aura of the formation still chilling to the soul. How many spirit beasts had to die to create such a scene? Further away, they discovered countless human bones, a sight that immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Min Chengjun brought Ji Jiuxuan up. On the other side, Nie Xingyuan had recovered after consuming pills and resting. With the earth beast clan present, combined with the ancient formation, the toll on his spiritual energy had been immense. Fortunately, his strength was formidable, and he had escaped without injury.

Meng Jiao ran over, and seeing the little girl in the Second Uncle-Master’s arms, her heart finally calmed. "A-Jiu, you scared me to death." Seeing her unharmed, Meng Jiao’s eyes grew moist.

"Senior Sister, it’s all right now! A-Jiu is just fine." Ji Jiuxuan turned, wrapped in Meng Jiao’s embrace, and patted her back with the air of a little adult, offering comfort.

The usually cold and detached Yao Zhaoxi couldn't help but think how sensible their Junior Sister was. Even in such a state, she still remembered to comfort others. She truly wanted to give her a hug as well.

"Elder, we have scouted the area; there are no other abnormalities." A Xuantian Sect disciple who had followed them reported to Min Chengjun after inspecting the surroundings.

On the way back, Meng Jiao remained apprehensive, holding Ji Jiuxuan and refusing to let her walk. Ji Jiuxuan was left between laughter and tears. With her ability to absorb spiritual energy, she had almost fully recovered. She had cleaned off the dust and looked perfectly intact, full of energy, with no trace of her previous disheveled state. Fortunately, she had used a concealment technique; otherwise, if her speed of spiritual absorption were exposed, it would have been troublesome.

The group returned directly to Liangzhou City, leaving the investigation of the Qiu Ying Ancient Forest to others.

Once the door was closed, Ji Jiuxuan tugged on Yao Zhaoxi’s sleeve and whispered, "Senior Sister, can you do me a favor?"

Seeing the little girl look at her like that, Yao Zhaoxi’s heart melted. "What is it? Tell me."

At this moment, Min Chengjun and Nie Xingyuan entered, and Ji Jiuxuan activated a protective formation disk. It was the strongest one in her storage. Seeing her use such a high-level disk, the others grew instantly serious. Although Min Chengjun didn't know what she needed help with, he immediately retrieved several identical disks from his own storage, reinforcing the protective barrier until its strength was increased several times over.

Retrieving the five spirit cores from her space, Ji Jiuxuan looked at Yao Zhaoxi. "Senior Sister, could you use the Spirit Inquiry technique to take a look?"

Seeing everyone looking at her, Ji Jiuxuan explained, "I sensed the aura of my parents within these. They must be related to them."

"Very well, I will help you." Yao Zhaoxi did not hesitate. She produced her zither, placed it on the table, and as her fingers plucked the strings, spiritual power gathered rapidly around the spirit cores. As more energy accumulated, the five cores automatically arranged themselves into a formation.

Ji Jiuxuan suddenly recalled something and produced a recording stone to document everything that followed.

At that moment, within the formation fueled by spiritual power, Ji Jiuxuan saw the figures of her parents. They looked exactly as they had in that single glimpse from years ago. Everyone was stirred with excitement at the sight. Though they were usually solemn people in the eyes of others, at this moment, they watched the figures within the formation with bated breath.

In a dark forest, the couple sat huddled together. The man added wood to the fire while the woman gazed at the starry sky, her voice tinged with longing. "I wonder how A-Jiu is doing? Is she being naughty? Is she listening obediently to A-Ying?"

"Our daughter is surely the most well-behaved. Do not worry, A-Wei; we still have Father and the Junior Brothers," Ji Minghuai looked at his wife, his eyes filled with tenderness and a deep sense of self-reproach.

Their destination for this mission lay just ahead, and he was filled with concern. "A-Wei, why don't you head back first? I will come find you once this mission is complete."