At the foot of Netherworld Mountain, the people from the Dao Sect and Zhengyi Sect had already arrived.
The representatives of Zhengyi Sect were Zhao Ming and Luo Bin.
The Dao Sect’s representative was its rising star, Li Shu. It was rumored that he was the younger brother of Li Yi, the inner sect eldest senior brother of the Dao Sect. His strength was extremely formidable; like Luo Bin, he was a half-step foundation establishment expert.
“Why hasn’t Mo Bufan arrived yet?” Zhao Ming was growing impatient.
“Perhaps he was delayed by his junior sister,” Luo Bin said.
“Just wait a little longer. There’s no need to say more,” Li Shu said.
After fifteen minutes, the people of the Heavenly Demon Sect finally arrived at the foot of Netherworld Mountain.
“Sorry for being late, sorry for being late.” Mo Bufan stepped forward, clasped his hands, and bowed in apology.
Zhao Ming wore an ambiguous smile as he looked at Qin Mengya behind Mo Bufan, a hint of curiosity appearing in his eyes.
Could this woman be Mo Bufan’s junior sister? She truly was just as the rumors described: possessing an icy personality, wearing a veil year-round, and never revealing her true appearance.
“Brother Mo must have been delayed because of his junior sister, which is why he arrived so late,” Zhao Ming said.
“Heh heh.” Mo Bufan gave an awkward laugh.
“I’ve also heard that your junior sister is quite close to a disciple of your Heavenly Demon Sect named Zhang San. It seems Brother Mo is merely indulging in wishful thinking.” Zhao Ming was truly vicious with his words, striking directly at Mo Bufan’s sore spot.
Mo Bufan’s anger surged, but he forcibly held it back. His hatred for Qin Hao grew even stronger.
“I don’t think Brother Zhao is any better. How did you end up becoming a one-armed hero?”
Mo Bufan was no less skilled at mocking others. With just a few words, he made an embarrassed expression appear on Zhao Ming’s face.
Looking at his empty right sleeve, Zhao Ming felt a pain that words could not describe.
All of this was thanks to that member of the Corpse Clan. Not only had that Corpse Clan member killed his younger brother, but they had also severed one of his arms. Unless he avenged this grudge, Zhao Ming swore he would not consider himself a man!
“Everyone, stop arguing. Opening the secret realm is more important.”
Li Shu had not wanted to interrupt. After all, this was a conflict between Zhao Ming and Mo Bufan. However, if he let them continue arguing, who knew how long they would go on? He had come this time with a mission, and time was precious.
“Brother Li is right. Opening the secret realm is a serious matter, so I won’t chat with Brother Zhao any longer.” Mo Bufan wore a smile, a hint of smugness in his eyes.
“Hmph, Brother Li is right. Brother Mo and I simply hadn’t seen each other for many days, so we exchanged a few words and got a little carried away.” Zhao Ming composed himself and also revealed a smile before continuing:
“Let us discuss what we should do after the secret realm opens. However, this time, Brother Mo must concentrate. Don’t let a woman steal your soul and delay us.”
“You!” Mo Bufan was about to erupt, but Li Shu stopped him.
“If the two of you continue like this, then we might as well not open the secret realm. My Dao Sect will withdraw directly,” Li Shu said with a serious expression.
“Heh heh, Brother Li, you’re taking it too seriously. This was my fault, my fault.”
Zhao Ming naturally understood the importance of the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm, so he immediately admitted his mistake.
Only then did the expressions of Mo Bufan and Li Shu ease slightly.
“Without further ado, after the secret realm opens, the disciples of the three sects will rely on their own abilities to seize their own Fortuitous Opportunities. Does anyone object?”
Mo Bufan and Zhao Ming had no objections and nodded one after another.
“Good. Then, Brother Zhao and Brother Mo, prepare your magical treasures and follow me to open the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm.”
Li Shu did not want to say anything more. He directly took out his magical treasure, the Blade of Wind.
The method of opening the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm was somewhat unusual. It required magical treasures with three different attributes—fire, earth, and wind—to exert their power together before the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm could be opened.
The magical treasure Zhao Ming carried was an earth-attributed shield called the Rock shield.
Mo Bufan, meanwhile, held a wisp of flame. This was the Flame Splinter of the heavenly demon Devilfire, one of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s treasures for suppressing the sect.
The three men each held their magical treasures and walked step by step up Netherworld Mountain. The powers of the three magical treasures, each with a different attribute, became intertwined and protected the three of them.
As the three men continued forward, the restrictions around the outer area of the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm gradually dissipated, ultimately transforming into void.
With a deafening boom, a huge point of light appeared in the outer area of the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm. The point of light was three zhang long and three zhang wide.
“This is the entrance to the secret realm,” Li Shu said indifferently.
The three men did not enter directly. Instead, they returned to the foot of the mountain once more and began discussing who should enter first.
“I think the three of our sects can each select ten disciples to serve as the vanguard and enter the secret realm first to investigate,” Zhao Ming stated his idea.
Mo Bufan and Li Shu pondered for a moment before agreeing.
Indeed, no one knew what dangers lay inside the secret realm.
At a time like this, to avoid unnecessary losses, they needed to send in a vanguard first to investigate the situation.
“Then go select the disciples,” Mo Bufan said.
The other two nodded and returned to their respective camps.
Mo Bufan maintained a serious expression on the surface, but he had already made his calculations.
He absolutely had to use this opportunity to eliminate Zhang San, this unstable factor. Qin Mengya could only be his; no one else should even think about it.
“Zhu Zhuang, come here.” Mo Bufan waved his hand, signaling for Zhu Zhuang to approach.
Zhu Zhuang was somewhat puzzled, but he still came to Mo Bufan’s side.
At this moment, Qin Hao was mixed in among the heavenly demon sect disciples. Seeing this scene, his eyes rolled once as he thought:
“Mo Bufan is probably planning to use the secret realm to deal with me.”
Just as Qin Hao expected, Mo Bufan said a few words to Zhu Zhuang and handed him an item. After that, Mo Bufan began selecting people.
The first person he selected was Qin Hao!
Qin Hao did not care. If he was going to serve as the vanguard, then so be it. After all, the mission given to him by the System was to enter the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm and obtain the secret realm inheritance of the Netherworld Mountain Secret Realm. Entering early might even be better.
However, Qin Hao’s selection made Qin Mengya somewhat unhappy.
She naturally knew what Qin Hao was going to the secret realm to do.
He was not going there to seek Fortuitous Opportunities, but to eliminate the dangers.
In other words, the so-called vanguard was practically no different from cannon fodder.
The ten disciples were soon selected.
Among the Heavenly Demon Sect, aside from Qin Hao, whose expression remained normal, only Zhu Zhuang among the selected disciples was not wearing a mournful expression.
“Stay alert. Once you enter the secret realm, act carefully. Do not do anything pointless, especially run away. Understood?” Mo Bufan said sternly.
“Understood!” Zhu Zhuang answered.
Seeing that only Zhu Zhuang had responded, Mo Bufan said nothing. With an order, he led the group to the front of the point of light.
Zhao Ming and Li Shu had also selected their disciples and arrived at the front of the point of light.
“Then let us begin entering the secret realm,” Zhao Ming said.
When Qin Hao heard Zhao Ming speak, he glanced at him. He almost rushed forward and killed Zhao Ming with a single blade strike.
“Zhao Ming is here too…” Qin Hao suppressed the fury surging wildly in his heart.
The corpse king instinct told him that powerful experts were hidden nearby. If Qin Hao suddenly attacked and killed someone now, not only would he fail to kill Zhao Ming, but he might also expose his identity and place himself in a Perilous Area.
Thus, Qin Hao did not even turn his head as he plunged directly into the point of light.
Zhao Ming sensed a trace of killing intent and felt a chill run down his back.