Secret Realm

In the courtyard, sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, shimmering on the stone table, and entwined and played with the shadows of Yanzhu's hair on both sides of her cheeks.

Hearing footsteps, Yanzhu looked up and saw only Qingxuan.

"Auntie Ye is gone?"

The latter nodded, sat down face to face with her, and asked casually, "What did my mother say?"

Yan Zhu frowned as if thinking carefully, and after a while she said, "They said you were a good cook and I was pretty."

Qingxuan's eyes fell on the empty food box, then moved to Yanzhu's face: "You didn't leave any buns for me?"

Of course not.

Yan Zhu said embarrassedly, "You have a high level of cultivation, so you are not hungry even though you are fasting. I was so hungry after practicing this morning that I accidentally... ate all of it."

Qingxuan looked at Yanzhu meaningfully, put away the food box, turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Yan Zhu behind him raised his eyebrows, then focused his attention on the book.

Qingxuan in the kitchen usually put away the food boxes and said to Yanzhu, "Come with me to a place later."

Yan Zhu looked up: "Where?"

——

A quarter of an hour later.

Yan Zhu looked at the secret treasure in the man's hand, then shifted her gaze to the unfamiliar and dangerous surroundings, and asked in surprise, "Is this the secret realm stone of Lingbao Pavilion?"

Lingbao Pavilion collects treasures from all six realms, and the secret realm is no exception.

Qingxuan: "The Chaos Spirit and the Meridians complement each other, and you have already gained some understanding of the fine control of the Spirit. However, no matter how rich the theory is, it still requires practice.

This place was originally a city in the lower world, but it became a wasteland due to disasters. In order to prevent the things in it from flowing out, the gods split it into a boundary, making it a secret realm.

A hundred years later, what is growing here is not only foul air, but also something else.

Legend has it that there is a secret treasure in the city, a peerless ancient zither owned by a man named Xiwei. Even the gods flock to it, but treasures passed down from generation to generation require their own chance. Perhaps you could give it a try."

After saying this, the man put the secret stone into the space, and then a thin and brittle bead appeared in his palm.

"This is a secret realm bead. If your sea of ​​consciousness feels uncomfortable during training, crush it."

Yan Zhu took the Secret Realm Pearl and asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

Qingxuan raised an eyebrow: "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No need." Yan Zhu refused unhappily. She was still angry, but what made her even more angry was that the man didn't know whether he was pretending or really didn't see her emotions.

Qingxuan continued to instruct, "Don't worry, I'll be observing from outside the secret realm. Just focus on your training and apply the spiritual techniques and formations you've learned recently.

Of course, when we can't win, running away is the best option. We can try again."

Yan Zhu frowned: "Lingbao Pavilion stipulates that a person can only enter the same secret realm once."

The man chuckled, then turned his palm and saw three or four transparent beads lying there.

"There are many more, take your time."

Yan Zhu: “…”

After the man left, Yan Zhu clearly felt that the silence around her was gradually getting colder. She called out Wu Jiu, who floated beside her.

Wu Jiu: "Are you looking for Xiwei?"

Yan Zhu: "Just go with the flow. We are mainly here to gain experience."

She has always had bad luck and doesn't expect something as vague and metaphysical as chance to fall upon her.

——

In the lonely land, the purple light of the yarrow bead in Qingxuan's palm flowed, projecting a picture of a person and a mirror walking into the depths of the wilderness.

The man's slender fingers stroked the teacup again and again, his expression indifferent, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Ten days later.

Yanzhu has been training so far, but has not yet crushed the secret realm bead.

The woman in the picture seemed to be unaware of fatigue and hunger. She just kept making hand gestures, summoning spirits, and controlling the black silk, going through many life-and-death battles.

He still didn't crush the secret realm bead. On the contrary, he kept breaking through and honing his mind between life and death.

During this time, he encountered a ghost with a strong grudge. Yan Zhu was holding on to his breath. He entered the secret realm and wanted to take action, but unexpectedly, the woman's expression was indifferent.

"I can overcome this difficulty."

"Get out."

At that time, her green clothes were already stained and her hair was messy, but in stark contrast, her eyes were piercing and her aura was fierce and stunning.

This is Yanzhu's original form. It won't be long before she no longer relies on the second form to protect herself.

She was no longer the timid-looking girl she had been when we first met.

Seeing the man opposite him never letting go of the Yarrow Bead, Haotian found his cold expression a little hard to understand: "Isn't it just a secret realm training? If something happens, he will naturally crush the secret realm bead. What's so interesting about this? It's just playing chess."

Qingxuan came back to his senses, put the yarrow bead aside, and looked at the chessboard. After a while, he raised his hand and made a move: "The secret realm is dangerous."

Haotian interrupted, probing him, "You're so nervous, could it be that you have other thoughts about the Purifying God? In the past, you were extremely particular about your personal cleanliness, aloof and distant, keeping people at a distance. How could you be so concerned about this?"

Qingxuan said calmly: "Tianjun, it's your turn."

"You're keeping your mouth shut. It looks like I can't pry anything out of you."

"Don't worry, my Lord. I still say the same thing. Before the prophecy is known and the calamity is resolved, I will not do anything irrelevant."

——

In the secret realm, Yan Zhu's face was dirty. He raised his hand to gather spirits and kill the evil creatures coming towards him. At the same time, he formed seals with his ten fingers, and a soul-soothing formation appeared, purifying countless turbid air.

However, the things in the secret realm keep coming one after another and can never be completely eliminated.

Wu Jiu floated in the air: "This is too much."

Yan Zhu's eyes remained unchanged as she looked towards the dark place where something was stirring. "This place is very good."

She could feel the surge of the spiritual spring, and she believed that it would not take long for the pill to form.

——

When Yan Zhu was in a certain underground place, she felt a tremendous pressure. When she saw the difference between the superior and inferior, she immediately crushed the secret realm bead.

Back in the lonely place, the woman squinted her eyes and touched the sunlight again, as if it was just yesterday.

She looked at Qingxuan under the big tree, and felt complicated for a moment.

Logically, she should have been angry, but after this incident, it seemed as if her previous anger had subsided a little.

Wujiu transmitted the message: Perhaps the master’s mood has changed.

"How long has it been?" Yan Zhu walked closer.

"It took half a month." Qingxuan took a sip of tea and a look of surprise flashed across his face as he looked at Yanzhu.

Although her clothes were dirty, the woman's every frown and smile was particularly eye-catching.

"So long."

"It seems you have gained a lot." Qingxuan chuckled, "Come here."

Yan Zhu raised an eyebrow and walked closer as the man took out a medicine bottle: "You have a wound on your face. I'll apply medicine for you."

After he finished speaking, the man approached her naturally as usual, but Yanzhu was still angry.

"No, I can do it myself."

Qingxuan paused and said, "Alright."

Yanzhu took the bottle of medicine expressionlessly and applied the medicine one by one under the Wujiu mirror. Occasionally, she gasped because of the pain.

"hiss--"

The darkness in Qingxuan's eyes was well hidden. He said, "Let's go to the Divine Law Temple and interrogate Jingyuan Ghost to see if there are any clues. Also, Guizang said they have lunch there. I'll bring you some at noon."

Yan Zhu was just about to study the formation book. After all, she had not turned a single page of the half-man-high formation book she had read half a month ago. Upon hearing this, she shouted "Okay" without even raising her head.

Near noon, Mimi jumped onto the stone table, meowed, stretched, and swept Yanzhu's wrist with her tail.

"Meow--"

Yan Zhu was so engrossed in the formation that his eyes did not move away for a moment, he just spared a moment to touch the cat's back.

"Be good and go play with Yanzhi."

On the eaves, Yanzhi, with a pair of black eyes, spread his wings and took off, landing on Mimi's head. The latter narrowed his cat eyes, gurgled in his throat to express his dissatisfaction, and slapped Yanzhi away with a palm.

"Why are you so fierce? I'm just standing there."

After the words fell to the ground, he turned into a human form, raised his chin, and then touched his stomach: "I'm so hungry, the young master should be back soon."

"The layout is based on the celestial veins and terrain? What celestial veins and terrain?"

While Yan Zhu was thinking, she took the time to reply lightly: "Your young master is in charge of the overall planning. He has time to come whenever he wants."

As she thought about it, relying on the innate intuition of the Black Crow Clan, she knew that the woman was in a bad mood at the moment.

Yan Zhu put the finished book aside and sighed, "It's been almost the entire morning, and I've only read less than one-fifth of it. Can I finish it in two days?"

Yan Zhi shook his head. "The young master once said that we should strive for quality over quantity. We should not just complete a task and then swallow it whole without understanding it thoroughly."

Hearing this, Yan Zhu nodded: "You are right."

Just as she picked up the new book, the pendant around her neck suddenly moved. Then she hooked it out with one hand, and saw the light of Xuanming True Water flowing, casting a human figure.

Yan Zhu was slightly surprised. Unless it was an urgent matter, Rong Shang would not use the space magic of Xuanming Zhenshui to contact her.

"Rong Shang?"

From the screen, Rong Shang was in a pavilion, incense curling up from the table. His clear and elegant voice rang out: "I'm sorry, Ah Yan, the underworld has produced a lot of foul air, and it has dragged Ah Ru into the underworld. I need your help to control the foul air in the prison and help me search for her."

A'ru, Zhu'ru, Rong Shang's sister, the only princess of the underworld.

"I'll be right there."

Yan Zhu immediately jumped up, and after taking two steps, she suddenly stopped. She looked at Yan Zhi and said, "When Qingxuan comes back later, tell him that I went to the underworld."

Rong Shang: "The Xuanming True Water can take you to the underworld."

Yan Zhu nodded, and then saw with her own eyes her body being slowly wrapped by the Xuanming True Water that continuously gushed out from the pendant...

Yanzhi hummed, then opened his eyes wide, and in an instant Yanzhu disappeared along with the Xuanming True Water.

——

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yanzhu stepped into the underworld.

There is no sunlight in the underworld, no stars or moon, and it is shrouded in darkness all year round.

The people in the underworld only saw a streak of silver light passing above the dark and lightless head, heading towards the Underworld Palace. They all knelt down and shouted continuously -

"Welcome to the Lord of the Underworld!"

As we all know, the silver light of Xuanming True Water is the symbol of the Lord of the Underworld.

At the same time, the guards of the Hades Palace let people in layer by layer.

The banquet beads are unobstructed and the pavilion is on the ground.

She looked around. A year ago, it was in the Underworld that she learned how to use her mutated spiritual power.

Rong Shang couldn't hide his worry and said apologetically, "Sorry to bother you."

Yan Zhu waved her hand and walked to the Hell's barrier, frowning slightly: "There is no time to lose, let's go in and find someone."

She caught a glimpse of the man's cold, white palm as it stretched out to her, her gaze following his forearm into his eyes, puzzled.

Rong Shang explained, "The Underworld is complex and intricate. The strong winds have become very strange due to the turbid air. Your current cultivation level is not high. If the two of us act alone, it may be disadvantageous."

Yan Zhu's eyes moved slightly, her hands clasped together and then opened again, a layer of black light covering her eyes.

Rong Shang's hand was still in mid-air, and he looked surprised: "You can control two states at will?"

Yan Zhu raised her eyes, and her green gauze dress turned black, with a faint glow faintly visible. She spoke concisely, "The results of my recent training."

He reached out and grabbed Rong Shang's sleeve with three knuckles. "Don't worry, I was in the underworld a year ago, so I know the way around."

The two men passed through the barrier, and a strong wind mixed with foul air hit them in the face. Rong Shang immediately urged his dark power to form a protective shield. The two men then reluctantly opened their eyes, looked at each other, and jumped straight off the thousand-foot cliff, letting their robes rustle.

Yanzhu looked up and saw a huge and boundless desert depression. The high cliffs on all sides were covered with evil-repelling talismans. This was the second barrier besides the barrier, the Talisman Cliff.

Unless one is a cultivator at the level of a Divine Lord or above, it is difficult to climb up Fuya.

As he descended rapidly, the dark purple light patterns of the talismans on the cliff beside him formed thousands of purple threads in Yanzhu's eyes, merging into a purple wall curtain, which was extremely shocking.

Yan Zhu summoned Black Silk, which she placed around the two of them, blocking the slightest attack of the turbid energy. At the same time, she formed a seal with one hand, sensing the source of the turbid energy fluctuations. She casually asked, "How did Your Highness enter the barrier?"

Rong Shang was using Zhu Ru's jade pendant to find the direction. Hearing this, he frowned and thought, "Someone secretly did something bad and hid a trace of foul energy in A Ru. Then they knocked her unconscious and threw her into the barrier. A pair of invisible hands dragged her away."

Yan Zhu: "The endless evil energy of the wronged souls in the Netherworld, even if mixed with a trace of turbid air, will be infinitely derived into a majestic and raging energy. Could it be that the person behind this is just trying to create turbid air?"

For some reason, she thought of the illusion in the mirror where Jingyuan Gui broke through.

If there really was a foul air that she couldn't bear, what would she do...

Rong Shang put away the jade pendant, his calm expression hiding a hint of worry: "I'm sorry for getting you involved this time."

Yan Zhu's thoughts were clear, and he said firmly, "Although I am a priest of the divine realm, it is my duty to purify the turbid air of the six realms."

Rong Shang's face turned pale. "I suspect the person behind this not only wants to create foul air, but also wants to break open the numerous barriers of the underworld and release countless demons and evil spirits."

Yan Zhu: “?”

Rong Shang: "Only the blood of the twins from the underworld can open the multiple barriers of the underworld."

Kill two birds with one stone?

Yan Zhu thought carefully and was terrified: "We have to hurry. Can we determine His Highness's location?"

As they were about to land, Rong Shang said, "Aru and I are twins from the underworld. We are born with telepathy. With the guidance of the old objects, we can tell that she is in the depths of the underworld."

Deep in the underworld?

Yan Zhu had been there in the past. The sky and earth were filled with blood, demons were dancing wildly, gusts of wind carried a nauseating stench, and the devilish sounds were soul-stirring.

With Hei Ling purifying the foul air for each other along the way, and with the pressure from Lord Rong Shang, the little demons outside the underworld did not dare to approach, and the two of them headed straight for the depths of the underworld.

Yan Zhu asked, "Are those imprisoned in the depths of the Netherworld? Are they extremely vicious and evil spirits, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation? Why aren't they sent to the Nine Netherworld Purgatory in the ghost world?"

Rong Shang quickened his pace, looking ahead unsteadily. Hearing this, he said, "The Nine Netherworld Purgatory was filled half a year ago, so the Underworld will take three-tenths of the burden."

After saying this, Yan Zhu was surprised: "A year ago, when I went to the Nine Nether Purgatory, there was only 30% of the space left. I didn't expect that in just one year, what happened to the world? Hell is full."