Time rewinds for a moment.

Inside the Immortal Gourd Cave.

“The spiritual energy here is truly abundant.”

Standing before the ruins of a dilapidated palace, Xu Taiping cautiously surveyed his surroundings while silently absorbing the spiritual energy of the Immortal Gourd Cave.

Just moments ago, he and a group of junior disciples from his sect had been sucked into this Immortal Gourd Cave.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the plaza of the palace ruins.

Jade Green Scholar had ordered them to wait here, instructing them to move only upon his command to venture deeper into the secret realm.

Xu Taiping glanced around and noticed that there were about twenty to thirty others who had been transported here as well.

“Initially, there were at least a hundred or so people sucked into the Immortal Gourd Cave, but only twenty-something are here. That means over a hundred others must have been transported to different locations.”

As he pondered this, his gaze fell upon the dilapidated palace behind him.

Though the palace was in ruins, most of the damage seemed to be man-made. The traces of time were not very severe, indicating that a protective formation had been in place.

In the center of the hall stood a decapitated statue. The statue had a human body but a snake tail extending from beneath its robes.

It was clearly a deity worshipped by the demon race.

At that moment, a beam of sunlight pierced through the broken dome, casting an eerie glow on the statue.

Xu Taiping felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively averted his gaze, focusing instead on the broken plaque above the hall.

Half of the plaque had been chipped away, but the remaining half still faintly displayed two strange characters.

If it weren’t for his prior conversation with Fairy Lingyue, he wouldn’t have recognized the characters as “Phoenix Perch.”

“This must be the Phoenix Perch Hall that Fairy Lingyue mentioned.”

Xu Taiping felt a surge of joy.

According to Fairy Lingyue’s knowledge of the secret realm, upon first entering, one would be randomly transported to one of the five outermost halls.

One of these was the Phoenix Perch Hall.

His joy stemmed from the fact that the Phoenix Perch Hall was the most convenient route among the five he had pre-planned.

It would allow him to collect the necessary spiritual herbs and stones, access the tunnel at the base of Yuhu Mountain, and reach the entrance to the lower levels of the secret realm without taking any detours.

“If everything goes smoothly, I can gather everything I need within three days and might even make it in time for the Jade Gourd Peak competition.”

With that thought, he turned his gaze eastward.

Through the canopy and distant mountains, he saw a towering snow-capped mountain shaped like a toppled gourd—Yuhu Mountain.

This was the Jade Gourd Peak, transformed from a divine artifact wielded by a great human cultivator during the ancient war between immortals and demons a million years ago.

Yuhu Mountain was also the center of the entire secret realm.

The five outermost halls were built with it as the focal point.

However, Xu Taiping’s main goal this time was not to compete for the peak but to gather the materials he needed within the secret realm. Of course, he would still visit Yuhu Mountain, as he had promised Elder Sansan to chop down a few plum trees and test his sword skills.

He wouldn’t be like the other junior disciples, scrambling to reach the summit as quickly as possible.

“Let them fight over it; it has nothing to do with me. I’ll treat this as a few days of relaxation after a long period of closed-door cultivation.”

Xu Taiping stretched lazily, thinking to himself.

For the past three years, his days had been filled with cultivation, leaving him no time to think about anything else.

“From the Phoenix Perch Hall, head north for 130 miles to reach Starfall Lake. A type of pearl called Blue Silver Pearl can be found at the lake’s bottom, but be wary of the catfish spirits.”

Having waited for Jade Green Scholar’s command for a long time without success, Xu Taiping began mentally rehearsing his next steps while aimlessly gazing ahead.

“Who’s this country bumpkin, staring so rudely?”

At that moment, a man’s angry shout snapped Xu Taiping out of his thoughts.

As he came to, his eyes fell on a petite, pretty girl.

Beside her stood a burly young man, glaring angrily at Xu Taiping.

Realizing the young man had misunderstood, Xu Taiping apologized with a hint of regret:

“Sorry, I was lost in thought and meant no offense.”

He then shifted his gaze aside.

“Obviously, you’re just a lecher. Do you know who we are…”

“Brother, stop it!”

The young man wanted to scold Xu Taiping further but was interrupted by the girl beside him.

“Sister, he’s being so rude. Why shouldn’t I say something?”

The young man was indignant.

“He wasn’t looking at me; you’re overthinking it.”

The girl blushed.

Ignoring their argument, Xu Taiping continued to mentally rehearse his plans.

“Hey, kid.”

Just as Xu Taiping reached a critical point in his thoughts, an arrogant young man approached him, greeting him while reaching out to pat his shoulder.

Xu Taiping instinctively sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the young man’s hand.

“What do you want?”

Xu Taiping frowned at the young man.

Had he not restrained his instinct to draw his blade, the young man’s hand might have been severed.

After three years of training with the Blade Demon, he had developed a heightened sense of alertness to anything approaching him.

Hearing this, the young man, whose hand had missed its mark, showed a hint of anger in his eyes.

“Kid, do you know who you’re talking to?”

“This is Murong Song, the young master of Dustless Island.”

“Which sect are you from?”

At this point, several young men behind Murong Song surrounded Xu Taiping, bombarding him with questions.

“What do you want?”

Xu Taiping asked again, somewhat helplessly.

He just wanted to gather what he needed from the secret realm. Even if they were the sons of the Heavenly Emperor, it had nothing to do with him.

“I am Murong Song. Since fate has brought us together, if you’re willing to join us and help me seize the peak of Jade Gourd, Dustless Island will surely reward you handsomely afterward.”

Murong Song said with a smile.