"Friend, please wait!"
Lu Xuan called out happily to three cultivators about ten yards away. After dealing with a troublesome creature, he had been making his way toward the edge of the secret realm, moving away from its core area.
Along the way, he had some good luck, picking a few spiritual herbs and even taking down a careless first-grade monster. However, he had no idea how to leave the secret realm and had been hoping to find a familiar cultivator to guide him. After nearly half an hour, he finally spotted the three cultivators.
Upon hearing Lu Xuan's call, the three turned around, their magical tools glowing with energy, their expressions wary. Lu Xuan walked closer, stopping about six or seven yards away. The three were two men and one woman; two of them were at the sixth level of Qi Training, while the third was at the fifth level. They looked worn out, indicating they had been in the secret realm for quite some time.
"Please don't worry, I mean no harm. In fact, I have a request," Lu Xuan said, raising his hands in a friendly manner.
"Go ahead," the leader, holding a dark flying sword, replied.
"I am just an ordinary Spiritual Plant Cultivator from Linyang Market Town. I was invited here to gather some tricky spiritual plants," Lu Xuan explained. "Unexpectedly, I encountered some evil spirits along the way, and my fellow cultivators were killed one after another. I managed to escape with my life."
"This is my first time in this newly opened secret realm, and I know nothing about it. After escaping, I don't know how to leave. Would you three be kind enough to help me out and take me with you? I can offer some spirit stones as thanks."
The three looked at Lu Xuan, using their spiritual senses to gauge his cultivation level at the fourth stage of Qi Training. They exchanged subtle glances, a silent understanding passing among them.
"You must have some good fortune to have survived such a disaster. We were just about to leave the secret realm, so you can come with us," the middle-aged cultivator said with a warm smile.
Lu Xuan gratefully clasped his fists and followed behind them.
"Are you injured, friend? Is it serious?" the middle-aged cultivator asked after they had walked a bit and got to know each other.
Lu Xuan looked pale and unsteady, appearing quite drained. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern. I had to use a technique that burns my essence blood to shake off the evil spirits, which is why I look like this. But I will recover soon."
"I see. I have a bottle of healing pills that can quickly restore your energy. Would you like to try?" the middle-aged cultivator offered, pulling out a jade bottle from his storage bag.
Lu Xuan quickly declined. "There's no need for that. I appreciate your kindness, but I noticed that you three have kept a distance from me. Are you worried I might turn on you?"
"That's not it. I just think it's better to keep a safe distance for both our peace of mind," Lu Xuan explained.
"Your hesitation makes us feel a bit cold. Since you are joining us, you should trust us instead of being suspicious," the middle-aged cultivator replied patiently, with the other two nodding in agreement. "Besides, there are monsters and evil spirits lurking in the secret realm. If you stay too far away, you might not have time to react if something happens."
"Then... should I come closer?" Lu Xuan asked tentatively, moving a bit nearer to them.
...
"I told you to keep a safe distance, but you insisted otherwise. The distance is for your protection, not mine!"
On the ground, three small piles of black ash remained as Lu Xuan tossed a talisman to dispel evil spirits. The pure spiritual light spread out without causing any disturbances.
Feeling completely at ease, Lu Xuan looked at the three storage bags in front of him. Not long ago, after luring him closer, the three suddenly attacked, but Lu Xuan, prepared, easily dealt with them and turned them to ash.
Naturally, he accepted the storage bags they left behind.
"Surviving a disaster truly brings good fortune. And here it is!" Lu Xuan smiled as he probed into the storage bags.
"Ugh, three broke cultivators!"
The contents of the three bags were not much—just over a hundred spirit stones, some pills and talismans, and mostly low-grade materials from various monsters and spiritual herbs. In total, they were worth far less than the bag left behind by Li Jianfeng.
...
In the core area of the secret realm, a massive palace stood. Over ten cultivators were frantically attacking the barrier outside the palace, which seemed on the verge of collapsing.
Among them, the weakest was at the high level of Qi Training, with more than half at the peak of Qi Training, including the head of the Wang family, who was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
The red-clad girl Lu Xuan had seen earlier was in a corner, her four-eyed red monkey on her shoulder, its two pairs of eyes fixed on the distance, with blood-red tear streaks on its strange face.
A black-robed cultivator had several small ghosts crawling all over him. Nearby, a pair of young men and women in white, with golden swords embroidered on their sleeves, were controlling flying swords to attack the barrier.
After breaking through several layers of formations, led by the Wang family and joined by other forces, they finally reached the last barrier.
Everyone speculated that this secret realm was left behind by a late Foundation Establishment cultivator or even a Core Formation cultivator, making them even more eager for the treasures inside the palace.
With a storm of attacks, the barrier shattered, and several beams of light shot out from within.
Everyone used their skills to fight for the treasures within the light.
On the edge of the secret realm, Lu Xuan suddenly felt the Xun Thunder Sword Pill in his dantian losing control, trembling more and more violently, as if it would burst out at any moment.
"What’s going on?" Lu Xuan wondered, confused. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation since obtaining the sword pill.
Just then, a beam of light shot toward Lu Xuan from the horizon. Before he could react, it quickly reached him and stuck to his chest.
A primitive sword sheath pressed tightly against his chest and began to slide down.
"Wait... don’t..."
As Lu Xuan reached out to grab the sliding sheath, it suddenly stopped at his dantian.
"What is this?"
As he held the sheath and was about to examine it closely, something seemed to strike him, and his face changed. The transparent threads from his Hidden Spirit Cloak began to move wildly.
In an instant, Lu Xuan vanished from his spot.
A sharp wail echoed from a distance, and before the sound faded, a cloud of blood floated over.
The blood cloud was filled with a sinister aura, almost tangible, as a violent spiritual sense swept over the spot where the sheath had disappeared.
"Huh?"
From within the blood cloud came a light sound of surprise, and a blood-colored skeleton emerged, looking down at the ground.
The hollow eye sockets of the skeleton flickered with pale flames, swaying unsteadily.
"I clearly sensed the aura of the sheath here, but there are no traces left. Where did it go?"
The blood-colored skeleton returned to the blood cloud and floated northward.
(End of Chapter)