The restrictions at the entrance of the cave dwelling secret realm were extremely powerful. Once a cultivator with a cultivation level higher than the pinnacle of the Feather Transformation Realm approached, a formidable pressure would surge out of nowhere, repelling the intruder.
Should anyone rely on their superior cultivation to forcefully break through, they would immediately alert the unknown powerful beings within the secret realm, inviting their dominant suppression. In the past explorations by the Dao Court's upper echelons, there had been precedents of Golden Immortal-level experts being severely injured by the restrictions, their physical bodies collapsing.
Perhaps only those with the cultivation of a Quasi Holy Emperor could move freely within this secret realm without restriction. However, such mighty beings at this level might not even be interested in the opportunities inside.
The entrance portal was over thirty zhang wide, allowing a large number of cultivators to enter at once. However, once inside, where they would appear was somewhat unpredictable.
This was deliberately arranged by the Dao Court's upper echelons. Otherwise, given the hostile relationships between some Dao Lineage powers, bloodshed would be inevitable upon entry, which would clearly go against the Dao Court's original intention.
Therefore, although disciples from various sects gathered together upon entering, once inside, they would be scattered to the winds, and reuniting would be quite the ordeal.
Groups of cultivators disappeared into the portal one after another, and soon it was Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's turn.
***
At this moment, Qing Muling had Cheng Yulan on his left arm and Luo Wanqing wrapped around his right. Their cultivation was sealed and suppressed to the pinnacle of the Feather Transformation Realm, rendering many powerful divine abilities and magical treasures unusable. However, their rich combat experience, the strength of their physical bodies and Divine Souls, and the robustness of their internal mana remained unaffected.
Thus, those with sealed powers still held a clear advantage within the secret realm. Most cultivators below the Feather Transformation Realm, without special reasons, were unwilling to confront them head-on, lacking the assurance of victory.
"Junior Brother, it's best not to wander off after entering. Wait for us to come find you," Xuebing Xuan communicated with him through divine sense. Although the specifics of the secret realm were unclear, they all possessed the Dao Rhyme from Junior Brother. As long as the distance wasn't too great, sensing each other's location wasn't difficult. This special connection between Dao companions couldn't be severed by most formations or restrictions.
Qing Muling just needed to find a safe place to hide inside and wait for his senior sisters to regroup with him. Whatever came next—fighting or seeking fortunes—they would take care of it. He wouldn't have to lift a finger, comfortably reaping the benefits.
And the senior sisters found this to be only natural. Wasn't it a given for Junior Brother to be pampered?
"Alright." Qing Muling agreed.
As he was about to step through the portal, several inexplicable gazes suddenly fell on him. Before he could react, his vision changed.
Accompanied by a slight dizziness, Qing Muling appeared above a pile of chaotic rocks. The surrounding view was fairly open, but the senior sisters were nowhere to be seen.
Reacting swiftly, he manipulated a spell to stabilize his form, preparing to land, only to find several figures in black standing on a boulder below, looking up at him.
"…" Qing Muling was instantly speechless. Judging by their attire and the cold, chilling aura, who else could they be but disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall?
Moreover, their cultivation seemed not weaker than his own, including a sealer among them. It was unknown what level his cultivation had reached outside.
Such a coincidence?
For the first time, Qing Muling doubted his extraordinary luck. Since arriving in this time and space, this was the first time he had encountered such misfortune.
"Catch him!"
The elite assassins of the Shadow Assassination Hall apparently recognized the identity of the purple-robed youth above them. Their voices were filled with undisguised ecstasy. To encounter their target upon entry, and the most valuable one at that, seemed like the heavens were truly looking after them!
The leading sealer shouted, flinging out a handful of dark light that transformed into a vast, gloomy net in the wind, hurtling towards Qing Muling. The net, flickering with dim black smoke and terrifying suction, was clearly no trifling matter.
The remaining assassins coordinated their encirclement, with someone even launching a signal flare. A vast cloud of fire exploded high in the sky, and the strange sound waves spread out for hundreds of miles. Disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall nearby would rush over at top speed to regroup.
Suppressing the urge to curse, Qing Muling had no intention of fleeing. His figure flickered, leaving an afterimage as he appeared a hundred zhang away. The edge of the rapidly expanding net grazed the hem of his robe, narrowly missing him.
The net turned agilely in mid-air, locking onto Qing Muling's figure and accelerating towards him again. At the same time, two more nets rose from below, subtly sealing off his space to maneuver.
In truth, it was because of Qing Muling's high value that the people of the Shadow Assassination Hall intended to capture him alive. Otherwise, they would have greeted him with all manner of vicious and ruthless attacks.
In the distant horizon, dozens of dark figures were flying over rapidly, clearly disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall coming to regroup.
"Do you really think I'm an easy target?"
Qing Muling snorted coldly, his form shifting lightly as he dodged the encirclement of the three nets. As his innate divine ability activated, his cultivation level climbed rapidly, surpassing the Heart Demon Realm and stepping into the Destiny Realm, then the Feather Transformation Realm, until stabilizing at the pinnacle of the Feather Transformation Realm.
The sudden surge in cultivation made Qing Muling much more agile and responsive. As he dodged, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged wildly, and his own mana poured out like flowing water. In an instant, he hurled out dozens of powerful talismans.
The sky changed dramatically as over a hundred meteorites, burning fiercely and several zhang in diameter, descended from the heavens. Then came several icebergs tens of miles in circumference, numerous hundred-zhang-long cyan wind blades, and vast clouds of fire emitting terrifying heat… all targeting the disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall below.
In the thunderous explosions, billowing smoke spread out under the impact, successfully halting the assassins' siege.
When the aftermath cleared, aside from the sealer who was unharmed, the rest were more or less injured. After all, Qing Muling was not stingy in throwing out so many high-grade talismans, truly a disproportionate saturation bombardment.
"Boy, you won't escape today!"
The leading sealer brandished a dark, lightless curved blade, his voice sinister: "Surrender quietly, and you can suffer less. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Okay!" Qing Muling responded, waving his hand to summon thirty high-grade Dao soldier puppets, each standing six zhang tall and fully armed, all with the strength of the pinnacle of the Feather Transformation Realm.
Under his command, the Dao soldier puppets turned into streaks of light and charged, each finding their target and launching into a frenzied assault.
These hefty figures were tough and resilient, equipped with treasure-grade weapons, perfectly suited to deal with the disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall. Although their attacks were sharp and fierce, their own defenses were generally not impressive, making them quite troubled when entangled by such Dao soldier puppets.
The sealer cursed angrily, his figure splitting into countless afterimages to evade the four Dao soldier puppets targeting him, and with lightning speed, he lunged towards Qing Muling.
"It's useless."
A layer of golden bell phantom emerged around Qing Muling, quickly solidifying. The sealer's full-force strike hit it squarely, emitting a dull echo, but leaving it unscathed.
Then Qing Muling threw another batch of high-grade talismans, transforming into a golden rope that bound immortals, a mountain-sized seal, and an expanding map of mountains and rivers, sweeping towards the sealer deceptively slowly.
"Damned brat!"The sealer snorted coldly, wielding his blade like the wind, unleashing his killing moves. Waves of blade shadows, sparing no expense, finally broke free from the encirclement.
"Not bad at all, let's go again!"
The purple-robed youth smiled slightly, hurling out another pile of high-grade talismans. Amidst the curses, a burst of colorful radiance engulfed the sealer's figure.
…How does this kid have so many life-saving treasures on him?
This was the last thought in the sealer's mind before he was knocked unconscious by the barrage, with no one to clarify his doubts. As for the disciples on the ground, they had long been decimated by the Dao soldier puppets.
"Is that it? I still have so many tricks I haven't had the chance to use!"
Qing Muling smiled slightly, instructing a Dao soldier puppet to end the life of the opponent with a sword.
His Space Bracelet was filled with high-grade talismans, Dao soldier puppets, and disposable magical instruments, enough to lavish in various ways. Even if ten times the enemies attacked, he could still pile them to death.
For Junior Brother's safety, the elders and senior sisters of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace spared no effort, piling on all sorts of treasures on him, making him more than capable of handling such a situation.
After all, even the most formidable enemies could only exert the strength of the pinnacle of the Feather Transformation Realm here, not beyond resistance.
Looking back at the rapidly approaching reinforcements from the Shadow Assassination Hall, Qing Muling nonchalantly directed the Dao soldier puppets to intercept, while he himself roamed around, waiting for opportunities to strike.
These people from the Shadow Assassination Hall were not kind, with each disciple's hands stained with blood. Now that they had targeted Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, it was only right to eliminate them one by one.
***
In a short while, with the last few assassins dismembered by the Dao soldier puppets, the scene finally fell silent.
Hesitating for a moment, Qing Muling decided against taking action himself. Instead, he controlled the Dao soldier puppets to clean up the various corpses strewn about, while he stood at a distance.
These assassins' tricks were unpredictable and mysterious, and even in death, one had to be cautious, lest an unexpected mishap occur.
Sure enough, during the Dao soldier puppets' looting, several corpses exploded without warning, turning into a cloud of poison that enveloped an area of a hundred zhang. Even the exceptionally hard rocks were corroded, hissing as they turned into loose powder and scattered in the wind.
Fortunately, the remaining corpses posed no problems. In no time, the Dao soldier puppets collected hundreds of Space Bracelets, Space Rings, and a pile of treasure-grade weapons and armor, delivering them all to Qing Muling. The restrictions on those spatial instruments had been broken, and their contents thoroughly inspected for safety before being handed over to him.
"Not bad for assassins, quite wealthy."Qing Muling estimated briefly, quite satisfied with his haul. The spatial instruments contained a wealth of items, including plenty of precious stones, crystals, pills, and other treasures, as well as some of the Shadow Assassination Hall's secret deadly poisons, talismans, and magical instruments. Some items, even if he couldn't use them, could be sold for a considerable fortune.
After securing his loot, Qing Muling casually chose a direction and sped away with his flying light.
***
Many miles away, at the base of a towering cliff.
Xuebing Xuan, her dress white as snow and sleeves fluttering, held a long sword and looked solemnly at the corpse of a demonic beast on the ground. The tangible aura of ferocity had not yet dissipated, indicating it had died not long ago.
It was a terrifying centipede over a hundred zhang long and as thick as a water barrel, or rather, a centipede-like Flood Dragon. Its head was shaped like a dragon's, but its body still resembled a centipede. The pitch-black carapace was as hard as a mid-grade treasure-grade defensive armor, and its fierce limbs were extremely sharp, like giant blades. Once retrieved and refined, they would be equivalent to mid-grade treasures.
Xuebing Xuan's gaze swept over the chaotic terrain. Dozens of broken, thick stone pillars and peaks lay scattered, clearly indicating a fierce battle had taken place here. It was unknown who had disturbed this giant creature from its underground lair, only to be defeated by an unknown powerful enemy.
However, the eldest senior sister did not sense the presence of other cultivators, which was somewhat strange. Could it be that the creatures within this secret realm also fought amongst themselves?
"Let's not worry about that for now. We'll find Junior Brother first."
Xuebing Xuan quickly made up her mind. Aside from Qing Muling, other problems were not significant. As long as they successfully reunited with him, the rest would be easy to handle.
With a wave of her hand, she collected the valuable centipede corpse into her Space Bracelet. After sensing briefly, the tall and graceful figure took to the wind and soon vanished into the sky.
***
"I seem to have sensed Junior Brother's location. Yes, in that direction. He seems to be flying at high speed."
By the edge of a frozen lake, surrounded by a circle of array flags, Cheng Yulan opened her bright eyes and spoke with a hint of joy. With Junior Brother's Dao Rhyme within her, and the amplification of the array, she was the first to make a discovery through focused sensing.
"Shall we go to him now?"
Yu Binghua asked excitedly beside her, having been fortunate enough to reunite with Second Senior Sister Cheng Yulan first.
Cheng Yulan pondered: "It's possible, but since he's constantly on the move, we might not catch up. There's a greater chance of losing him halfway."
"Then is there a way to contact him? Ask him to stay put and not leave, and we'll go to him!"
"We can try, but it might not work, especially at this distance."
Cheng Yulan said, closing her eyes again to activate the array, silently channeling the mysteries.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan