Ling Yao was momentarily stunned. She turned her head to seriously look at Chang Songzhu, memorizing the child’s face carefully. Then she turned back with a smile and replied, “What are you saying? This child has practiced swordsmanship quite well, acts decisively and cleverly, definitely not an ordinary person.”
Meanwhile, in the secret realm, Chang Songzhu had already teamed up with an inner sect disciple named Sang Xiuchen and continued moving forward.
Although the journey ahead wasn’t as smooth as the first layer, at least they didn’t encounter a major crisis like the demonic wolf earlier. Sang Xiuchen was a bit inexperienced, but his cultivation was solidly at the peak of Qi Condensation. Under Chang Songzhu’s leadership, he didn’t hold them back and even helped quite a bit. Their cooperation eased many of her worries.
By this time, the more outstanding disciples had gradually entered the second layer, leaving those who failed at the first hurdle to regret their missteps.
Not only were the challenges in the secret realm becoming more exciting, but as Yan Hang had mentioned before, once there was interaction between people, things became even more interesting.
Not everyone got along as harmoniously as Chang Songzhu and Sang Xiuchen. Most disciples knew the importance of this trial and understood it wasn’t the time to showcase camaraderie. Many fought over tokens as soon as they met, with the winners moving forward and the losers being eliminated, resulting in a higher elimination rate than the secret realm itself.
Fortunately, Ling Yao and Yan Hang, one at Spirit Light and the other at Jade Immortal, were high-level cultivators. They could easily multitask, or else the remaining thousand or so people would have been overwhelming to watch.
After a while, Ling Yao tugged on Yan Hang’s sleeve and reminded him, “Senior Brother, look over there.”
It turned out that a few people they had been focusing on had coincidentally bumped into each other.
Among the four from the lower realm Wanyi Sect, only Feng Yunqing and Kuang Yuming managed to enter this trial.
The two weren’t together initially but met twice in the second layer. However, they both knew their relationship wasn’t what it used to be. Although they were still senior and junior brothers from the same place in public, they had been cultivating separately in private and hadn’t spoken for a long time. At least Kuang Yuming felt that meeting without fighting was already good, and traveling together was impossible.
Feng Yunqing watched as his once harmonious junior brother treated him as if he were invisible and turned away. He didn’t stop him, just stood there for a moment before setting off again.
No one could know what he was thinking at that moment.
Ling Yao exclaimed, “What’s that hanging around that kid’s neck?”
It turned out that the jade pendant on Feng Yunqing’s neck suddenly emitted a faint purple aura, which Ling Yao’s sharp eyes caught.
Yan Hang squinted and examined it for a few moments, saying, “It looks like a remnant soul, but… tsk, this demonic aura, the original owner of this remnant soul is probably a demonic cultivator.”
Only in the Great Thousand World is the opposition between immortals and demons particularly pronounced. In the Divine Realm, this divide is much less significant.
—It’s not because the immortals in the Divine Realm are particularly open-minded and willing to seek common ground. It’s purely because while practicing the demonic path progresses quickly and has a low entry barrier, advancing further becomes extremely difficult at a certain height—especially the heavenly tribulation. Demonic cultivators’ tribulations are often more fierce and deadly than those of immortal cultivators, meaning their chances of safely passing the ninety-nine tribulations to become Earth Immortals are very slim.
Therefore, in the Divine Realm, the number of demonic cultivators compared to dao cultivators is like a drop in the ocean, not even comparable. The conflict isn’t as severe.
As for the naturally born demon race, that’s another matter entirely.
Previously, when Yan Hang saw Feng Yunqing, Wu Yihan’s soul was shattered so thoroughly that there was almost no fluctuation. But now, as Kuang Yuming feared, nourished by the spiritual energy of the Divine Realm, it had revived a bit too quickly, allowing the two elders to notice it at a glance.
Ling Yao chuckled, “Could it be another love-struck fool?”
“He came to the Divine Realm, and his cultivation soared. He doesn’t seem to be troubled by love,” he said to Yuan Lian. “I don’t know if you remember, but I once brought this child to see you. His will is firm and unwavering, a good seedling for cultivation.”
Yuan Lian looked at Feng Yunqing’s always calm and composed face, compared it to the person in her memory, and found not much had changed. She softly said, “Though his aptitude doesn’t seem extraordinary, what you said is true…”
To have his lover’s soul shattered, his junior brother turn against him, yet still carry that girl’s soul with him, unaffected in cultivation, in some ways, he indeed remains unmoved by external influences, with a firm will.
Kuang Yuming, on the other hand, got angry seeing Feng Yunqing’s indifferent, unbothered demeanor and stormed off, only to coincidentally run into Chang Songzhu and another group in a battle.
He initially thought to mind his own business, but seeing Chang Songzhu among them, he hesitated and changed his mind.
As a result, it became three people traveling together.
Sang Xiuchen sighed, “I was short-sighted before. The outer sect senior brothers and sisters not only have high dao skills but also have chivalrous hearts.”
Chang Songzhu glanced at the slightly guilty Kuang Yuming, knowing that this person probably wasn’t acting out of chivalry but had something to ask for.
Sure enough, Kuang Yuming was extremely proactive along the way, tirelessly helping, which moved the young junior brother greatly. But when the three of them successfully entered the third layer, he awkwardly avoided Sang Xiuchen and privately asked, “Senior Sister Chang… do you have…”
Before he could finish, a thunderous boom suddenly erupted, and they all felt as if the surrounding space had been forcefully struck.
Most people in the secret realm hadn’t reacted, thinking it was a new round of challenges, still looking around in confusion.
Yuan Lian suddenly looked up.
Yan Hang squinted his eyes, “This is…”
The secret realm of Yu Qi Xianzun was sealed inside and out, and even with Ling Yao and him, they couldn’t immediately detect where the problem was.
But Yuan Lian looked towards the northwest.
Ling Yao couldn’t help but feel anxious. She knew that something capable of shaking the secret realm wasn’t an ordinary matter, especially since there were many fellow disciples guarding the formation outside, yet they still couldn’t stop it. It might really be an unsolvable issue.
Once the secret realm’s entrance was closed, unless someone with profound cultivation forcibly tore the space barrier, those inside couldn’t get out, and those outside couldn’t get in until the first person cleared the trial.
Yan Hang knew that with Yuan Lian’s temperament, unless it was a matter of life and death, she wouldn’t bother to intervene. He wisely didn’t make any requests but instead considered whether to take the initiative to tear the secret realm apart to confront the enemy or trust that the elders outside could successfully stop them, allowing the trial to proceed smoothly.
…After all, this was a relic left by the founding ancestor, used for a thousand years. If it were damaged now, the face of Wanyi Sect…
In the brief moment of hesitation, a massive force shook the secret realm, causing it to tilt. Disciples with lower cultivation were even knocked to the ground, and they all sensed something was wrong.
Yan Hang didn’t dare to rely on his nominal master, but Ling Yao noticed Yuan Lian’s slightly furrowed brows and pursed lips. Seeing Chang Songzhu, who had just reached the third layer and was knocked to the ground, her anxiety calmed, and she even had the leisure to observe the disciples’ various reactions.
Those Earth Immortals, being high-level cultivators, first stabilized themselves with spells and then used magic to transmit messages to all nearby fellow disciples: “Everyone, be careful. There’s a change outside the secret realm. Find a place to hide!”
The Xiao Canglou also had places protected by formations for trial participants to rest, which would be safer at this time.
In critical moments, it became clear that although they were all disciples from the same sect, each had their own personality. Some reacted quickly, finding a hiding place at the fastest speed; others’ first reaction was to find their close companions, unwilling to leave first. Some were too clever for their own good, taking advantage of the chaos to suddenly attack and snatch tokens—actually succeeding in several cases…
Yuan Lian didn’t even need to look to know that Chang Songzhu was the type to meddle in everything under the sun, no matter how much trouble it caused her.
The group barely managed to stand when they heard the warnings from the Earth Immortal seniors. Kuang Yuming didn’t bother asking Chang Songzhu any questions, grabbing both of them and running.
But the three had just reached the third layer, unfamiliar with everything, and with the existing challenges in the secret realm, it was difficult to move. They finally found a defensive formation, but it could only accommodate two people.
Chang Songzhu couldn’t help but think that among the three present, in terms of age and cultivation, she was the senior sister. No matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to compete with the two junior brothers. Kuang Yuming felt he was decades older than Sang Xiuchen, and Chang Songzhu was a woman…
The two thought alike and simultaneously tried to push the person beside them into the formation. As a result, only the young Sang Xiuchen, unaccustomed to making decisions on his own and ready to follow orders, was pushed in, leaving the other two unmoved.
The two looked at each other, tacitly agreeing not to push and pull, and ran together.
As luck would have it, at that moment, the final and most powerful strike hit the Xiao Canglou, causing a blinding light to appear in the space above the secret realm. The collapsing fragments of the secret realm tilted downwards, carrying an unstoppable force straight down.
Seeing the secret realm broken, Yan Hang no longer hesitated, immediately flying forward to block the aftermath of the breach.
As soon as he engaged, he frowned tightly—this force, the cultivation level might be slightly higher than his.
The Jade Immortals of this era were all well-known, and with such a distinct style… Yan Hang thought for a moment, and his expression couldn’t help but turn a bit grim.
Sure enough, a maniacal laugh came from the source, a tall, thin man at least a zhang high, completely ignoring the nearly fatal attacks behind him, focusing all his attention on the assault.
The tall, thin man wore a bizarre and eye-catching dark purple robe, inflated by the unrestrained astral wind around him. His high nose and deep-set eyes, with a hooked nose tip, appeared particularly sinister.
“—Hahahahahahaha!” He attacked Yan Hang without any scruples, laughing loudly, “Yan Hang! You’re no match for me, bring out your master!!”
Yuan Lian: Just wait, I’m coming.
*
After discussing with the editor, we’ll enter V tomorrow, and there will be three chapters updated then~