"As expected of the Yin Demon Sect's prodigy, he's really tough..."

Lin Xiuyuan's chest rose and fell slightly as he exhaled a heavy breath and sighed.

He was just a hair's breadth away from completely depleting his magical power...

Keep in mind, this is a direct, head-on collision with the power of eight hammer blows from the Falling Mountain Hammer... It's not something that can be resisted by magic or magical artifacts. Although it carries a fist-shaped magical artifact, it's basically resisting with the strength of its own body, which shows how exaggerated it is!

"I'm sorry, I wanted to make you look presentable, but you wouldn't!"

Lin Xiuyuan shook his head, put away the Wind-Fixing Token and the Falling Mountain Hammer, looked at the pool of blood on the ground, shook his head again, and then used his divine sense to retrieve the Qiankun Bag.

"Their family background is not bad..."

After taking a look, Lin Xiuyuan nodded in satisfaction. There were spirit stones and spiritual items worth tens of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones, as well as a lot of cultivation pills for the Purple Mansion stage.

After searching for a while, Lin Xiuyuan finally found two jade boxes from the spirit boat.

"Only two? It seems I'm the only one who chose three spiritual items?"

Lin Xiuyuan was taken aback and guessed.

Upon opening it, Lin Xiuyuan looked slightly disappointed; it contained spirit jade marrow and dragon fire liquid.

It is a spiritual object needed for cultivation, used in the path of body refinement.

I thought that once someone reached such a level, they would choose some spiritual objects suitable for breaking through to the next level.

However, Lin Xiuyuan was only disappointed by this; he was still quite satisfied with these spiritual objects.

These are all relatively rare and high-level spiritual objects.

In the future, I will also cultivate the Dao of Xuanxiu, which I will find useful. Furthermore, I can exchange or sell it for a very high price.

Lin Xiuyuan waved his hand casually, and his spiritual power stirred up a cloud of dust, which gradually covered the pool of blood. He then turned around and sat cross-legged on Huo Yun's head.

A fierce wind gradually rose, and Huoyun moved forward at high speed. Its huge serpentine body slithered through the mountains and forests. Every twist and turn was like a mountain collapsing or a river changing its course, leaving behind traces like ravines and crushing countless towering ancient trees.

The ferocious aura of the demonic beast spread and frightened away countless birds and beasts, who were terrified as if they were facing the aura of a demon king.

Lin Xiuyuan took out pills and spirit stones to slowly recover his magic power. He suddenly sighed and said with some regret, "My magic power was a little insufficient before, and it was not the right time to use the profound magic talisman. Otherwise, it would have been better to keep the Seven Blood Sect's protector. I wonder what kind of spiritual object they chose."

"These two factions were the first to enter the fray from the demonic path. Recently, it seems the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Joyous Union Sect have also gradually joined in. I wonder when Wu Chengfeng will come knocking? I'm sure that kid knows I'm guarding this place, and he won't give up on coming to cause trouble..."

"Fortunately, we didn't completely offend the Water Cloud Palace on this trip, otherwise the pressure would have been much greater. Now that the Jade Cauldron Pill Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect have joined forces, they might be able to form an alliance with the Five Elements Sect. Wu Chengfeng, Wu Chengfeng, I'm looking forward to our third meeting."

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Xiuyuan's eyes, then he slowly closed his eyes and focused on restoring his magical power.

...

…………

Several days later.

From within Shuoyang City, streaks of neat, orderly streaks of light flew out.

They followed the blue and white streaks of light at the front.

Lin Xiuyuan led the team forward, and Zhong Jiajia came up to him, asking about their previous experiences and why they had retreated.

Lin Xiuyuan then gave a brief, casual remark.

"Yes, I knew it. Everyone in the sect was saying that Senior Brother Lin lost his advantage and became mediocre after breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage. Sure enough, Senior Brother Lin was just biding his time. This time when he goes out into the secret realm, he will definitely make a name for himself."

Zhong Jiajia said with a smile.

Lin Xiuyuan shook his head and smiled, then casually asked, "By the way, where's Junior Sister Pi? You two are always together, why didn't you come this time? Are you in seclusion?"

Zhong Jiajia's expression visibly darkened. Lin Xiuyuan was slightly taken aback and turned to look at her. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Junior Sister Pi?"

Zhong Jiajia shook her head, sighed, and said, "Nothing really happened, it's just that Junior Sister Pi failed to break through to the Purple Mansion stage last time, and she is currently recuperating in preparation for her second closed-door breakthrough."

"in this way."

Lin Xiuyuan nodded silently. As far as he knew, Pi Shujun was quite talented; otherwise, she wouldn't have been qualified to easily obtain a spot in the Hengyang Secret Realm.

However, cultivation is not something that can be accomplished simply by having talent.

Many exceptionally talented individuals ultimately amount to nothing more than a handful of dust, their souls fading away in death.

Breaking through a certain level depends entirely on one's own destiny.

Not long after.

The group had already entered the forest of Fengxia Mountain.

The remaining disciples stayed behind and waited.

Only three or four Purple Mansion cultivators, including Lin Xiuyuan and Zhong Jiajia, who were skilled in concealment, continued onward and arrived at a place not far from the Black Tide Secret Realm.

Halfway through, some cultivators from the Purple Mansion or Foundation Establishment stages, dressed in ordinary clothes, gradually joined in.

He was standing next to Lin Xiuyuan, looking in the direction of the Black Tide Secret Realm, and giving a report.

"Steward Lin, according to recent intelligence reports, the Loose Cultivator Alliance is currently engaged in battles with several other forces, but these are mostly disputes over peripheral resource areas, with both sides trading blows. However, it seems that the Nine Kingdoms Alliance is about to launch a major offensive, with several sects and families from the Western Plains Kingdom attempting to seize more resources..."

As Lin Xiuyuan listened, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

These disciples were the team that Xu Zeda had previously organized; they were all elite disciples who were extremely skilled in concealment and energy-gathering techniques.

Retreating to the secret realm is not a sign of defeat, nor is it a matter of holding out indefinitely. Since the plan is to launch an attack the next day, arrangements have been made, including sending this small team outside to gather intelligence, so that they won't be completely clueless about the current situation when they launch an attack.

Now, listening to the reports from his disciples, Lin Xiuyuan felt that the timing was perfect!

The various forces in the Western Plains Kingdom diverted most of the attention of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

Therefore, they would face the least pressure if they fought their way out of the secret realm at this time.

Although secret realms are easy to defend and difficult to attack, by the same token, if others guard the approximate location of the passage, it has the effect of trapping and beating the enemy.

Such a good opportunity greatly reduced the pressure!