Xiao Jingting stood in the Qingyun Immortal Sect’s group. To enter the secret realm, he had officially joined the sect.
The items in the secret realm were precious. Everyone who entered had to join a major force. When they came out, they would be inspected, and the sect would buy what they brought out. Trying to hide anything usually had dire consequences.
Major sects in Yunzhou had sent their grand elders. Xiao Jingting knew that to enter the Tianxia Secret Realm, several grand elders would need to work together to open a passage.
Chen Xu walked over to Xiao Xiaodong, “Why are you here too?”
“I’m here to seek opportunities in the secret realm!” Xiao Xiaodong replied without hesitation.
Chen Xu hesitated, “You’re going too?”
Xiao Xiaodong nodded, “Yes. Your grandfather found some good people for you, right?”
Chen Xu nodded, “I think so.”
“Actually, I’m a bit surprised your grandfather is willing to let you take such a big risk,” Xiao Xiaodong said.
Chen Xu smiled bitterly, “My grandfather’s concubine is pregnant.”
Xiao Xiaodong was taken aback. Chen Lifeng had nearly a thousand years of lifespan. Although it was difficult for Nascent Soul cultivators to have offspring, it was still possible with effort. So Chen Xu wasn’t irreplaceable.
Xiao Xiaodong handed a communication bead to Chen Xu, “Let’s see if we can meet up inside.”
“Sure!” Chen Xu walked around with Xiao Xiaodong for a bit, then returned to the Chen family group.
Xiao Jingting stroked his chin. Blood oaths were usually reliable, but in the Tianxia Secret Realm, it was uncertain. There were many valuable items in the secret realm, and someone might prefer to risk the blood oath backlash to get them.
However, considering Chen Lifeng’s cautious nature, he probably had other measures in place. Maybe he had control over the families of those Foundation Establishment cultivators.
…
“Senior Brother Qiao, Chen Xu is also entering the secret realm. I’ve heard he hasn’t killed many beasts. How can Elder Chen be at ease?” Luo Yuting asked.
“There’s no choice. Chen Xu’s aptitude isn’t great. Without taking risks, he can’t form a Golden Core,” Qiao Xiang said, shaking his head. Qiao Xiang looked at Chen Xu’s direction, thinking gloomily that Chen Xu was looking for death. Why couldn’t he die sooner and stop dragging him down?
“Elder Chen found several late Foundation Establishment cultivators to help him. He might have a chance,” Luo Yuting said.
“Once inside the secret realm, everyone will be scattered. Who knows how long it will take for Chen Xu to meet those late Foundation Establishment cultivators,” Qiao Xiang said. The secret realm was vast, and it was possible Chen Xu could be killed before reuniting with them.
“Chen Xu and Xiao Xiaodong seem to have a good relationship,” Luo Yuting observed.
Qiao Xiang glanced at Xiao Xiaodong’s direction, thinking: Xiao Xiaodong, a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator, dared to enter the secret realm. He was courting death.
…
The leading cultivator of the Wushuang Sect listened to the chatter and said helplessly, “Why are you worrying so much? Take care of yourselves. Once inside, everyone should look out for themselves.”
“Elder, is it really that dangerous inside the secret realm?” Luo Yuting asked.
“It’s never wrong to be cautious. If you encounter cultivators from other continents, try to avoid them,” the leader of the Wushuang Sect sighed.
Hearing the words of the Golden Core cultivator, Luo Yuting felt her nerves tighten even more.
Several Nascent Soul cultivators held their magical artifacts, and each transmission array lit up with a bright glow.
“Go on,” they instructed.
The major sects had set up random transmission arrays, meaning participants could be sent to any location within the secret realm. Rumor had it that some unfortunate souls had been teleported directly into a beast’s lair and were devoured immediately.
Xiao Jingting, Xu Muan, and Xiao Xiaodong stepped onto the transmission platform and were teleported into the Tianxia Secret Realm.
Xiao Jingting’s luck was neither particularly good nor bad; he landed in a tree.
“Well, well, what luck! I’ve barely arrived, and a prey comes right to me,” a one-eyed man said, his eyes gleaming with malice as he spotted Xiao Jingting.
Xiao Jingting frowned and directed five spirit swords at the one-eyed man.
The one-eyed man sneered, producing a flying shears artifact that gleamed with a thick, bloody aura. Clearly, this man had a history of murder and robbery, given the bloody scent of his weapon.
Xiao Jingting’s spirit swords clashed with the flying shears and were knocked back. The flying shears then zoomed towards Xiao Jingting, who quickly summoned a shield to defend himself. The shears hit the shield and bounced off, causing the one-eyed man’s eyes to flicker with surprise.
“Quite the arsenal you have there! You must be a fat lamb indeed!”
The knocked-back spirit swords regrouped and combined into one, attacking the one-eyed man once more. The man produced a pair of gauntlets and punched at the incoming sword, but the sword easily pierced through his hand and then his throat.
“You… impossible,” the one-eyed man gasped, staring at Xiao Jingting in shock.
As the one-eyed man died, his flying shears fell to the ground. Xiao Jingting took his space ring and burned the corpse to ashes before moving on.
Xiao Jingting’s set of spirit swords was made from millennia-old Qingyun wood. Qingyun wood over three hundred years old was already a treasure; over a thousand years, it would tempt even Golden Core cultivators. Xiao Jingting had spent a significant amount of spirit stones to cultivate this millennium-old Qingyun wood. Weapons made from it were extremely powerful, capable of breaking through the defenses of even Golden Core cultivators, yet their brilliance was concealed, appearing as ordinary spirit swords. The earlier clash where his sword was knocked back was a deliberate act to mislead the one-eyed man. Given the man’s peak Foundation Establishment stage, defeating him would have required more effort without this ruse.
…
Three days into the secret realm, Xiao Jingting encountered a group of seven cultivators. Three of them wore the same clothing as the man he had previously killed, while the other four maintained a wary distance, as if on guard.
“That one-eyed guy, where did he run off to? Our Lingxi Beads sensed him earlier, but now he’s gone,” a pretty female cultivator said discontentedly.
“He must have spotted some fat prey and chased them out of range,” a sinister-looking man said lazily, fanning himself.
“Could he have been killed?” the pretty female cultivator wondered.
“Impossible. The one-eyed man’s strength is no joke.”
“True, but he’s been gone so long. If he were alive, he would have rejoined us by now.”
“That one-eyed guy always acts recklessly.”
“Enough. Let’s not wait for him any longer,” the female cultivator said.
A gray-haired man, who had been silent, spoke up in a sinister tone, “We can leave, but we need to invite a friend out first.”
Suddenly, the man attacked the spot where Xiao Jingting was hiding, and the other two joined in.
Xiao Jingting threw out an array disk, which exploded and heavily injured the weakest of the three, sending her flying.
“What was that?” the sinister-looking man asked.
“A Thunderflame Walnut. But something’s off; its power is too great,” the gray-haired man replied.
Of course, it’s off, Xiao Jingting thought. Thunderflame Walnuts come from Thunderflame Trees, which can be used like talismans with minimal mental effort. Normal Thunderflame Trees live seventy to eighty years before dying off naturally. Xiao Jingting had cultivated a three-hundred-year-old Thunderflame Tree in his space and harvested over a hundred walnuts. He had Xiao Xiaofan combine four walnuts into one, making their explosion several times more powerful.
Xiao Jingting directed his spirit swords at the gray-haired man. The man’s artifact was an umbrella adorned with skulls. Xiao Jingting’s combined swords pierced the umbrella, creating a hole.
With his umbrella damaged, the gray-haired man’s power significantly diminished. This must be his natal artifact, Xiao Jingting thought, noting the man’s weakened state.
“Damn you for ruining my artifact!” the gray-haired man roared, his face twisted with rage.
The man’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Xiao Jingting. He had spent over a decade refining this umbrella, using the skulls of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Now it was ruined.
The skulls flew from the umbrella towards Xiao Jingting, who responded by throwing a pile of talismans. With the umbrella broken, the skulls’ power was limited, and the talismans easily shattered them into dust.
The man spat blood, thinking he had encountered a tough opponent. This person must have a powerful backer, maybe a Golden Core or even Nascent Soul master, to possess so many treasures.
“Lin Junior Brother, why aren’t you helping?” the man snarled.
The sinister-looking man hesitated, then attacked Xiao Jingting. Xiao Jingting threw out a talisman treasure.
Some cultivators near their end of life made talisman treasures, which could unleash a portion of their power. Xiao Jingting’s talisman treasure could be used three times.
Seeing the talisman treasure, the sinister-looking man fled in panic.
Xiao Jingting commanded the talisman treasure to attack the gray-haired man. With his natal artifact destroyed, the gray-haired man was quickly killed. The heavily injured female cultivator tried to escape but was also killed by Xiao Jingting.
Xiao Jingting found several space rings on the gray-haired man and the pretty female cultivator and took them without hesitation.
R : eh this national coward is finally displaying his power ?
Thank you so much for support ♡(´・ω・)(・ω・`)♡ :Ko-fi
Man, I dont really like it when the reader is left in the dark about things like this. Sure, it gives a surprise, but I would have preferred to at least get a hint. Now those special weapons are just popping up out of nowhere.
I have read similar one in Xianxia novel so Ive become numb to it