Bai Xiaodie then spoke in a light voice, "There's another who encountered danger in the ancestral lands and has died within."
"Died within the ancestral lands?"
The three Loose Cultivators glanced at where the secret realm's entrance had been in the ancestral lands, nodded, and said, "What a pity indeed."
"There isn't much of value left to take from these small clans."
"Back to the stronghold!"
"Some treasures, we will need to further ascertain their utility!"
In the end, having pocketed all the treasures, the three Loose Cultivators no longer spared a glance at the ashen-faced clanspeople; they transformed into three beams of escape light, flying toward Wan Ya Mountain.
Having obtained what they had hoped for, they were satisfied and departed.
The welfare of the clan members was of no concern to them at all anymore.
As the leaders of Black Cliff Stronghold, they had committed numerous acts of plunder, and the strongest of the three clans were only in the True Qi Realm; in the eyes of the Loose Cultivators, they were utterly inconsequential.
"Chen'er is dead in the ancestral lands?!"
When they heard Bai Xiaodie relay that someone had not made it out and had died in the ancestral lands, the parents of Ye Chen utterly collapsed.
They had noticed that Ye Chen was not among those who had emerged as soon as the youths had come out.
At that time, the ruthless actions of the three Loose Cultivators had left them no opportunity to inquire about Ye Chen's safety, but they could never have imagined such an outcome!
"No, the young master is fine! He must be fine!"
"The young master is so powerful, he definitely won't have any troubles!"
The little maid Tao'er was crying in disbelief, with tears streaming down like pearls.
Although she refused to believe it, the ancestral land's portal had closed, and she had not seen her young master; fear gripped her, fearing the outcome was as Bai Xiaodie had stated.
"Ye Chen, is it Ye Chen who met with trouble?!"
Not only Ye Chen's parents and Tao'er disbelieved.
All clanspeople who knew of Ye Chen could not believe it either.
Ye Chen had become their hope, the most promising youth of their clan.
If something had happened to Ye Chen, did that mean their greatest hope was gone?
On hearing the news of Ye Chen's misfortune, Patriarch Ye could no longer restrain himself and burst out in anguished cries.
The loss of Qian Ming had already been an unbearable blow for the three clans, and losing Ye Chen would completely shatter their greatest hope!
Seeing the clanspeople engulfed in grief, Bai Xiaodie stopped the other youths from revealing the truth.
She approached Ye Xiaotian and Lin Rin, "Uncle, Aunt, Ye Chen had something he wanted me to tell you!"
"Sir Ye, Qian, you all listen too later on!"
Bai Xiaodie called the two despondent Patriarchs and the other youths together, whispering a few words to them.
Then, everyone hoisted the unconscious Patriarch Bai and the other clanspeople, leaving the ancestral lands.
"What, you said Ye Chen is fine?!"
Inside the secret chamber of the three clans, upon hearing Bai Xiaodie and the other youths assert that Ye Chen was unharmed, Ye Xiaotian, Lin Rin, Tao'er, and both the Patriarchs went from deep sorrow to immense surprise and joy in an instant.
"Ye Chen is truly unharmed!"
"Not only is he unharmed, but he's now within a great opportunity, which is why he didn't come out!"
"I didn't mention it earlier because I was worried that if the three Loose Cultivators heard about it, they might come back to kill him."
Bai Xiaodie narrated the experiences of Ye Chen within the ancestral lands to the elders of the chamber, the family, Ye Chen's parents, and Tao'er. The other youths supplemented the story continuously as well.
When they learned that Ye Chen had created an unprecedented miracle during the test to collect the Golden Light Beads, exchanging them for countless treasures that were still with him, both Patriarchs were so overjoyed that they nearly fainted.
"This information must not be leaked!"
"Now that the three Loose Cultivators have got their treasures, they probably won't pay us any more attention, but we can't let down our guard."
"We absolutely cannot draw their attention again before we have the means to deal with them!" the Patriarchs emphasized forcefully.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
And when Bai Xiaodie told them that Ye Chen became the first person from the three clans to enter the core area of the ancestral lands in over a thousand years, both Patriarchs were greatly comforted.
By the end, when Bai Xiaodie revealed that Ye Chen even entered the ultimate challenge of the ancestral land's secret realm, acquiring the ultimate reward and opportunity, tears of joy streamed down the faces of the Patriarchs.
This time, their tears were tears of happiness.
"Ye Chen, our clans' greatest hope!"
"With this great opportunity, I hope he can grasp it firmly, and once he grows powerful, our three clans will never be humiliated again!"
Tao'er, who hadn't stopped crying since hearing of Ye Chen's trouble, finally wiped her tears clean, hearing he was not only safe but had also created miracle after miracle.
"I knew it, the young master is the strongest!"
"He's really fine! He's really fine!"
While the three clans went from deep sorrow to renewed hope,
in the core area of the ancestral realm's secret realm, at the bottom of a mysterious golden lake, inside the Ancient God Tower,
Ye Chen was still quietly cultivating on the seventh floor.
In ten more days, he would begin his new assault on the eighth floor of the Ancient God Tower!