Two piercing gazes, sharp as physical things, pierced the thick ice layer, enveloping Nie Kong within their focus. In that moment, Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but feel momentarily lost in thought.

"City Lord, this is Nie Kong." Gu Changgong's laughter rang out. "Greetings, City Lord." Nie Kong snapped back to his senses, bowing slightly, only to see Meng Feiyang tilt his head slightly, seemingly nodding at him.

Within those eyes, bright as stars, there was a faint trace of a smile, and a flicker of gratitude that even the ice trees could not conceal. "Nie Kong, I have heard of you many times from Chang Gong; he speaks nothing but high praise." A gentle smile touched Meng Feiyang's face, and his voice, full of admiration, emerged from within the ice tree, "For you to venture into the Yin Xu realm without regard for danger to ascertain the situation, that is truly rare.

And then, to successfully return to Ling Yu City and even persuade Elder Yin Xu to come—only then was the three-thousand-year foundation of Ling Yu City saved from ruin under my watch, Meng Feiyang. You are the great hero of our Ling Yu City." Because of the obstruction of the ice tree, Meng Feiyang's tone sounded rather deep, seemingly imbued with endless vicissitudes of time, yet the gratitude in his words was unmistakable.

Upon hearing this, Gu Changgong could not help but nod in agreement. While it was true that even without Nie Kong entering the Yin Xu realm to bring back Mu Lengxing, Ling Yu City could have chosen to relocate from the Tianlang Mountain Range before they lost control of the spiritual (Lingspirit Vein).

In that scenario, Ling Yu City would not have been annihilated by the spiritual's eruption. However, if the spiritual erupted and the sect relocated, the Ling Xiu Illusory Realm and the Senluo Ancient Cave would certainly be lost.

These two were the supreme treasures for advancing the cultivation of the inner city disciples of Ling Yu City. Without them, the decline of Ling Yu City would have been a foregone conclusion.

Perhaps, after a thousand years, Ling Yu City, with its three-thousand-year heritage, would still be a powerful sect, but it could never again be a holy ground for Spirit Masters on the Tianling Continent, like the Moluo Sacred Mountain or the Tiandi Sect. For Ling Yu City, this would be a massive step backward.

"City Lord overpraises me." Nie Kong smiled faintly. Back then, when Patriarch Xuba mentioned having Nie Kong enter the Yin Xu realm, his response had been passionate and grand, but in truth, only he knew that his primary objective was to awaken his bloodline and save his own life; helping Ling Yu City gather information was secondary.

If he hadn't needed to enter the Yin Xu realm to awaken his bloodline, when Patriarch Xuba first brought up that matter, Nie Kong, even if he eventually agreed, would not have done so so readily. At the very least, he would have weighed the pros and cons, as no one knew what kind of place the Yin Xu realm truly was.

Now, hearing Meng Feiyang's sincere thanks, Nie Kong felt a flush of shame. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for the Meng Feiyang before him.

From what Gu Changgong had revealed, it seemed that after Lin Sixian moved to Luoyan City, Meng Feiyang had not seen his daughter, Meng Tianjun, again. Now, upon learning that his daughter had recovered, when facing the Spirit Alchemist who healed her, he did not rush to ask about his daughter's condition but first spoke of the matters concerning Ling Yu City.

For a City Lord, in such a situation, to prioritize public duty over personal affection demonstrated the quality of his character. Meng Feiyang let out a long sigh, "Nie Kong, you need not be so modest.

If Ling Yu City had truly been forced to abandon the Tianlang Mountain Range because we could no longer suppress the Yin Xu spiritual, although it would have freed us Heavenly Spirit Masters from that spiritual, we would simultaneously have become sinners to Ling Yu City. At that point, what face would we have to meet the ancestors of Ling Yu City?

It is a pity that I cannot leave this place to thank you properly; it is a deep regret." "..." Seeing how gravely he spoke, Nie Kong found himself at a loss for words. In reality, although he had used the "Essence of Spiritual Treasure" of the Wood Ancestor in the Yin Xu realm to expel the spiritual thought of the 'Great Evolution Spirit Venerable,' freeing Mu Qingyi and the five City Lords from its control, he truly did not feel he had accomplished anything earth-shattering.

Even if his own mother was sealed within the Wood Spirit Palace, he would have done those things regardless of Ling Yu City's fate. Of course, Meng Feiyang and Gu Changgong were unaware of these details.

Upon his return, Nie Kong had not revealed his identity as a member of the Ban-Spirit Race of the Yin Xu realm to them, mainly because it was his private matter and did not need to become common knowledge. Just as the Longmei Xian sisters and others would never reveal their true identities in public under normal circumstances.

"City Lord, let's set aside the Yin Xu matters for now. You should hurry and ask Nie Kong about Tianjun's situation," Gu Changgong interjected with a smile.

"That's right. I received a spiritual message from Sixian this morning, only then learning that Tianjun is safe.

Nie Kong, you were the one who awakened her. Could you tell me the details?" Mentioning his daughter, Meng Tianjun, Meng Feiyang's expression finally showed a trace of agitation.

Having not seen her for fifty years, such emotion was only natural. "..." Facing the eager gazes of Meng Feiyang and Gu Changgong, Nie Kong recounted the events as quickly as possible, though he intentionally omitted the details concerning the soul of the 'Phantom Eagle King,' as absorbing the soul power of others was best kept confidential.

Nie Kong's voice was not loud, echoing softly in the ice cave, yet it seemed remarkably clear. When he finished, Nie Kong saw Meng Feiyang weeping tears of joy, but as soon as the tears left his eyes, they instantly froze into ice.

After a long while, Meng Feiyang finally calmed his emotions: "Nie Kong, you have been a great benefactor to me twice now. I truly do not know how to express my gratitude." "City Lord need not dwell on it; the gifts from Madam in Luoyan City were more than enough." Nie Kong, worried that Meng Feiyang would continue his thanks, quickly shifted the topic.

"City Lord, Grandpa Gu mentioned that you contracted a strange illness while searching for medicinal herbs over twenty years ago?" "Nie Kong, do you see this blue flower on my chest?" Meng Feiyang did not answer, instead posing an abrupt, irrelevant question. He then pulled his robe open slightly further, revealing the deep sapphire bloom beneath, and sighed softly, "This blue flower is the manifestation of my ailment, and the culprit that has tethered me to this ice cave for more than two decades." "It is..." Nie Kong was stunned.

The moment he saw the blue flower, he had initially assumed it was a birthmark on Meng Feiyang's chest, never imagining it was the root of his persistent illness. "Soul-Devouring Flower!" After a long silence, Meng Feiyang finally uttered three words slowly.

"Soul-Devouring Flower?" Nie Kong was greatly alarmed and asked urgently, "City Lord, is this the 'Soul-Devouring Flower' mentioned in the verse, 'Fire Tree Silver Flower, Never-Ending Night, Terrifying Dragon Soul-Devouring Rises in a Dance'?" The five miraculous medicinal herbs—Fire Tree Silver Flower, Never-Ending Night, Dragon-Taming Herb, Soul-Devouring Flower, and Dancing Jade Butterfly Spring—Nie Kong possessed one of them, the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower.' Although Nie Kong had never used this herb, he had heard of its effects. As for the current 'Soul-Devouring Flower,' Nie Kong knew very little...

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