Both Zhu Mingyan and Guan Congnan were experienced inner-sect disciples. They had entered secret realms many times before, so they understood the situation almost instantly.
Guan Congnan spoke first.
“Senior Sister Zhu, do you think we should break our wooden tokens and call for help?”
Zhu Mingyan felt the flow of spiritual energy within her body and frowned.
“How is your spiritual power right now?”
Guan Congnan was stunned. He closed his eyes and checked for a moment before his expression darkened.
“It has been suppressed to the middle Foundation Establishment stage…”
Duan Qingyang said, “I’m at the ninth level of Qi Refining now.”
Zhu Mingyan replied dryly, “I’m only at the early Foundation Establishment stage.”
Guan Congnan exclaimed in surprise,
“Senior Sister Zhu, your original cultivation was actually lower than mine?!”
Zhu Mingyan: ?
Do you have any manners?
Realizing he had misspoken, Guan Congnan hurriedly explained,
“Senior Sister, that day you killed the Three-Tailed Fish Dragon and even blew up Beiqiong Cave. I thought…”
Zhu Mingyan waved her hand and changed the subject.
“The Heart-Burning Secret Realm is used for disciple trials. The cultivation levels of the demonic beasts inside are all suppressed. I estimate they won’t exceed the peak Golden Core stage.”
“Even so, Golden Core cultivators would still be very troublesome for us in our current state,” Guan Congnan added.
“You’re right.”
Zhu Mingyan nodded regretfully and removed the wooden token hanging from her waist.
“I can always find another way to ask Master for the Three-Colored Pearl later. It’s better not to take the risk.”
She squeezed the token in her hand. It snapped into two pieces and immediately lost its glow.
“The token failed?”
Guan Congnan stared in shock. Unable to believe it, he broke his own token as well, but nothing happened.
Could this illusion really be powerful enough to block the rescue signal from the wooden tokens?
“Aren’t we a little too unlucky?” Zhu Mingyan said with a twitch of her lips.
…
At the same time, in the discussion hall of Huai’an Peak, Qin Yue was the first to notice something was wrong.
Ever since she had seen the mysterious figure in the intense light, she had been paying extremely close attention to Zhu Mingyan. She constantly monitored her through the Ten-Direction Mirror.
Everything had gone smoothly for Zhu Mingyan. On the second day, she had even surpassed Guan You and reached second place.
Qin Yue had been impressed by her progress.
However, when she arrived at the hall today and activated the Ten-Direction Mirror, all she could see was a chaotic blur. A feeling of unease immediately rose in her heart.
“My Ten-Direction Mirror seems to be malfunctioning. Let me borrow yours.”
Before the elder beside her could answer, she grabbed his bronze mirror and activated it with a spell.
After waiting for a while, the result was exactly the same.
Growing anxious, she immediately reported her discovery to Yu Chunqiao.
“Vice Sect Master, the Ten-Direction Mirror has lost track of Zhu Mingyan. I suspect she is in danger. I request immediate intervention.”
The other elders became alarmed and quickly checked on their own disciples.
Yu Chunqiao also summoned her mirror.
“My disciple Guan Congnan has also disappeared from observation.”
She unconsciously tightened her grip on the armrest.
“Anyone else?”
The hall fell silent.
Only Guan Congnan and Zhu Mingyan had lost contact.
“Vice Sect Master, I suggest we intervene immediately,” Qin Yue urged. “If something can block the Ten-Direction Mirror, it is likely far beyond what those two can handle.”
Yu Chunqiao thought for a moment.
“Have either of them sent a signal through their wooden tokens?”
A managing disciple quickly stepped forward.
“No rescue signals have been received from either disciple.”
The hall immediately erupted in discussion.
“Since neither of them contacted us through the tokens, perhaps they are still…” someone cautiously suggested.
“Whatever is blocking the Ten-Direction Mirror can naturally block the wooden tokens as well!”
Qin Yue slammed her hand on the table in anger.
Yu Chunqiao nodded in agreement and was about to speak when someone else said,
“Perhaps the two of them have encountered a great opportunity. Such opportunities often cannot be displayed by the Ten-Direction Mirror.”
Yu Chunqiao’s expression changed.
The tension in her body seemed to ease.
After a moment of silence, she said,
“It is currently the Hour of Si. The secret realm will close at the Hour of You, and everyone will be automatically teleported out. Besides, neither of them has sent a distress signal. In my opinion…”
Qin Yue was stunned.
Was Yu Chunqiao even human?
It was one thing for her to dislike disciples from the Sect Master’s branch. Qin Yue knew their relationship had never been good.
But Guan Congnan was her own direct disciple!
How could she remain so unconcerned when her disciple was still trapped inside the secret realm?
Qin Yue had always been hot-tempered and never liked Guan Congnan. Yet even she was furious at Yu Chunqiao’s attitude.
She immediately stood up and stormed out.
The hall instantly exploded into whispers as everyone began discussing the relationship between Qin Yue and Yu Chunqiao.
…
Inside the secret realm, Zhu Mingyan and Guan Congnan quickly accepted their situation.
The group forced themselves to continue forward.
When they passed the strange rock for the sixth time, thick fog suddenly filled the sky.
A powerful feeling of weightlessness struck them.
The world seemed to flip upside down.
A tremendous force tossed them around several times before throwing them violently onto the ground.
Dizzy from the fall, Zhu Mingyan felt stars spinning before her eyes.
She groped around, trying to push herself up.
Suddenly, her body became lighter, and she landed on a patch of soft fur.
She instantly woke up.
“Fuchuan!”
Delighted, she threw her arms around Fuchuan’s neck and affectionately rubbed against him while showering him with praise.
Fuchuan was extremely excited.
Following Zhu Mingyan’s instructions, he picked up Guan Congnan and Duan Qingyang as well. He even generously tolerated Hongzhui sitting on top of his head.
Zhu Mingyan said,
“This place is strange, and visibility is limited. I suggest we stay together and avoid splitting up.”
Guan Congnan agreed.
Duan Qingyang’s cultivation was already low, and he usually listened to Guan Congnan anyway. He strongly supported moving together and tightly grabbed the fur on Fuchuan’s back, afraid of being left behind.
“We should establish a communication spell. If we get separated, it’ll be easier to contact each other,” Guan Congnan suggested.
Everyone agreed.
They quickly exchanged communication spell tokens.
Zhu Mingyan patted Fuchuan and whispered into his ear,
“Let’s go. Let’s see what’s hiding behind this fog.”
Fuchuan let out a sound of agreement and charged into the thick mist at great speed.
The fog around them gradually thinned.
At last, something appeared beyond the sea of mist.
Guan Congnan narrowed his eyes and looked ahead for a while.
“It’s a village. Let’s go down and take a look.”
The group climbed off Fuchuan’s back and examined their surroundings.
It was an ancient-looking village.
Beside the muddy dirt road stood a stone monument.
Three large characters were carved into it:
Sanhe Village.