The moment Qin Chuan stepped into the Secret Realm, a blinding white light forced him to shut his eyes. After a dizzying sensation, the teleportation array activated and sent him away.
The instant he felt himself land on his backside, he opened his eyes—only to see a massive bloody maw and sharp fangs lunging straight at him.
“Shit, what kind of rotten luck is this?” He cursed as he rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the snapping jaws.
Only then did he get a clear view—not just one wolf, but an entire pack. Though they were only at the Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Refining Realm, with dozens—maybe even a hundred—of them, even a Core Formation Realm cultivator would have trouble dealing with them. One careless mistake, and injuries were inevitable.
Qin Chuan quickly darted out from the center of the pack, drew his Heavenly Dominion Sword, and struck down the two wolf demons nearest to him. After taking their heads, he immediately began retreating.
He wasn’t stupid—his goal wasn’t to slaughter this wolf pack. There was no point in wasting his strength here. Escape came first.
The pack wasn’t about to let their meal run off so easily. They charged after him at full force, but Foundation Establishment Realm beasts had no hope of catching a Core Formation Realm cultivator. Before long, they lost his scent entirely.
Once he escaped the wolves, Qin Chuan followed his locator toward Jin Pang.
Jin Pang was also making his way toward Qin Chuan. His luck was better—he landed in a relatively safe area and immediately followed the locator to find Qin Chuan.
As the distance between the two shrank, and they were about to meet, Qin Chuan suddenly spotted Gu Xiran—alone.
At that moment, a murderous intent surged within him. He put on a face-altering mask, changed direction, and began silently tailing Gu Xiran.
He wanted to see if he could kill her. And if he couldn’t, he at least wanted to find out just how far the Heavenly Dao would go to protect the female lead.
Jin Pang noticed that Qin Chuan’s direction on the locator had suddenly changed and that he was moving farther and farther away. He frowned and muttered, “Why did Junior Brother Qin change direction? Did he run into danger?”
He paused in his steps. Qin Chuan was a Core Formation Realm cultivator just like him. If Qin Chuan had run into danger…
As a pill cultivator without strong combat ability, rushing over might just get him killed. But they had just formed an alliance. Turning his back on that didn’t sit well either.
After hesitating, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll go take a look. If I can help, I will. If not, well, it’s not my fault.”
And so, Jin Pang followed after Qin Chuan.
Gu Xiran, who was now being tailed by two men, was only at the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. There was no way she could sense Qin Chuan behind her, much less Jin Pang in the distance.
She also had a locator, but instead of actively searching for Xie An, she waited for him to come to her.
She wanted to rely on her own strength to qualify for the top hundred competition. That’s why she was currently focused on hunting demon beasts to meet the quota. Find the original chapter at g.com.
At this moment, she was engaged in combat with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm tiger demon. With her cultivation level and superior gear, she was close to winning.
Qin Chuan didn’t hesitate any longer. He struck—not at the tiger demon, but directly at Gu Xiran—launching a full-force attack meant to kill with a single blow.
Caught completely off guard, Gu Xiran had no chance of defending herself. But as the group favorite female lead, she was naturally well-equipped by her Master and Senior Brothers. A defensive barrier instantly enveloped her, blocking the strike, though a crack formed on the surface.
Qin Chuan had anticipated this. He never thought it would be easy to kill her. Without delay, he launched another attack.
“Thunder rages across the heavens. Sword sweeps in all directions. Lightning-Fury Sword Technique—Strike!”
Cold flashes burst forth, sword energy infused with lightning surging at high speed. Gu Xiran had no time to react.
Boom! The sword energy struck. Her defensive barrier shattered, and the lightning-charged sword qi continued its assault.
As expected of the group favorite female lead—when the barrier broke, her Inner Armor took over, shielding her from harm.
Qin Chuan had expected this too.
The moment he released the Lightning-Fury Sword Technique, he immediately directed his Heavenly Dominion Sword toward Gu Xiran’s neck, hoping to end her with a single thrust.
Clang!
Her magic treasure activated automatically to protect its master, blocking the fatal strike from Heavenly Dominion Sword.
By now, Gu Xiran had finally come to her senses and hastily retreated. “Who are you? Did that woman Gu Xiwan send you to kill me? My Master is the Sect Master of our Sect—if you touch me, he won’t let you live!”
Qin Chuan had no interest in pointless talk. He infused more spiritual power into the Heavenly Dominion Sword and launched another strike.
At the same time, he released his full Core Formation Realm pressure. Even though Gu Xiran had recovered, under the oppressive force, she couldn’t move. She was completely helpless.
The outcome was the same.
A burst of sword qi emerged from within Gu Xiran, blocking Qin Chuan’s attack. The sword qi nearly killed him—he barely dodged in time. Had he been slower, he would’ve died on the spot.
He didn’t care whether he was injured or not.
After dodging, he charged at her again.
Not only did the protective sword qi block him, but it also shattered his pressure. Gu Xiran regained mobility and immediately pulled out a defensive talisman from her storage ring. The shield it activated surrounded her completely.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Qin Chuan gripped the Heavenly Dominion Sword himself and slashed three times with full force, but he couldn’t break the shield. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Who the hell are you? I’ve never even met you! Why are you trying to kill me?” Gu Xiran questioned again. She was sure she had never encountered him, and in her previous life, she hadn’t met him in the Secret Realm either.
“I don’t believe a Core Formation cultivator like me can’t break a damn talisman shield!” Qin Chuan ignored her. He rose into the air, raised the sword with one hand, and poured all his spiritual power into the Heavenly Dominion Sword.
Behind him, formation diagrams appeared one after another. As they formed, they merged into the Heavenly Dominion Sword. Countless starlights fell from the sky, all drawn into the blade.
“Heavenly Steel Demon-Breaking Sword!” Qin Chuan roared.
With a mighty slash, the powerful sword energy tore through the land where Gu Xiran stood.
After landing, he consumed a pill to recover his spiritual power and turned to look at Gu Xiran.
The Heavenly Steel Demon-Breaking Sword was his own creation. It channeled all his spiritual power into one blade, integrating formations and the power of the stars. This sword could tear the heavens apart.
He had once used this move as a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to kill an early-stage Core Formation cultivator, proving how terrifying it was.
Now that he was in the Core Formation Realm, using it against a Foundation Establishment cultivator should’ve been more than enough.
When the smoke cleared, a deep, bottomless sword gash split the ground before him—and Gu Xiran stood unscathed at the edge of it. One of her defensive treasures lay shattered on the ground.
It was a life-saving item from her Master Yun Yao, capable of withstanding the full-force attack of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator.
A moment earlier, Gu Xiran had felt a sudden jolt of fear and sensed danger approaching. She had instinctively pulled out the treasure Yun Yao had given her.
“Thank goodness I used Master’s treasure… otherwise I’d be dead from that sword strike.” Gu Xiran stared at the abyss before her, her heart still pounding, then turned her gaze to the man trying to kill her—Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan had already recovered some spiritual power and once again lunged at her.
Gu Xiran activated another talisman to shield herself and shouted, “We don’t even know each other! Why are you trying to kill me? Was it that bitch Gu Xiwan who sent you? Whatever she offered, I’ll give you double!”
Qin Chuan said nothing and slashed at her shield. This time, the barrier wasn’t as strong as before—he broke through it in a single blow.
Just as he was about to finish her off, Gu Xiran used a teleportation talisman and instantly vanished.
“Fucking hell, just how many damn life-saving treasures does this female lead have?” Qin Chuan cursed as he popped another pill and gave chase.