Chapter 216 Cultivation Path A (Part 10) Path A's combat power is maxed out...

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Song Ce stood far behind the main force, following a group of independent cultivators into the Moon Gazing Cliff Secret Realm.

In just three days, Song Ce explored the entire Wangyue Cliff Secret Realm, acquiring all the treasures that were worth his time, including the Chaos Golden Lotus that Xuan Mengzi desired.

After confirming that nothing was missed, he followed the original owner's memories and went directly to the second secret realm where he met A Yao. Unexpectedly, he witnessed a wonderful treasure-hunting battle there.

Song Ce concealed his presence and sat among the branches of the ancient tree, watching the whole thing with great interest.

Both of them practiced insidious and vicious techniques, so they were probably not good people. They fought fiercely over a hundred-year-old purple hand vine flower, and the fluctuations generated by their collision of spiritual energy disappeared into the secret realm's barrier without causing the slightest ripple.

In the heat of battle, the black-clad cultivator suddenly froze for a moment, then gradually lost ground. Seeing this, the gray-clad cultivator fought with even greater ferocity. After discovering an opening in the black-clad cultivator's defenses, he unleashed a deadly attack with all his might, instantly slaying his opponent.

After confirming that the black-clad cultivator was dead, the gray-clad cultivator quickly swallowed a Rejuvenation Pill. He then looted all the magical artifacts and equipment from the black-clad cultivator's body. He sneered and was about to escape when he was suddenly frozen in place, unable to move.

The gray-robed cultivator was horrified. He tried his best to activate his spiritual power, but found that all his meridians seemed to be sealed. Such a method of subduing someone silently was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could do.

He's survived this long in this secret realm by killing and plundering, all thanks to his extreme caution. But he clearly couldn't sense any extra presence just now. When exactly did the other party appear here?

Or is there some reclusive old monster lurking nearby?

Just then, a clear male voice came from the tree: "Your methods have saved me a lot of trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man dressed in blue lightly descended from the shadowy woods. He looked to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, yet his eyes held a calmness beyond his years.

The gray-robed cultivator's expression froze. The young man's spiritual energy fluctuations were not strong; he was at most at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. How could he possibly have such powerful control methods?

Who are you?

The newcomer did not answer, but merely raised a hand and lightly flicked his sleeve. In an instant, the gray-robed cultivator felt a sharp pain in his sea of ​​consciousness, and his spiritual energy scattered in all directions. It was as if his spiritual meridians would rupture inch by inch if the other party made a single thought.

"Spare me... Senior, spare me!" The gray-robed cultivator finally couldn't hold back any longer, cold sweat sliding down his forehead: "This junior was confused for a moment, please, senior, spare my life for the sake of our shared path, this junior... this junior is willing to offer up all the treasures in my storage bag!"

He was filled with regret. If he had known there were experts lurking here, he would never have lingered here any longer!

Song Ce walked slowly to the Purple Hand Vine, leisurely picked up the flower and put it into the jade box, then turned around to look at the gray-robed cultivator not far away.

"Inner Yin energy, bone-corroding demonic claws—judging by your appearance, this isn't the first time you've done something like this, is it?"

The gray-robed cultivator's pupils constricted sharply, never expecting that his opponent had seen through his internal energy cultivation method at a glance! He forced himself to remain calm and gritted his teeth, explaining, "Senior, you are wise! He was the one who stole my opportunity first; I had no choice..."

"Have no other choice?" Song Ce chuckled. "When did the demonic cultivators of the Northern Vast Continent become so eloquent?"

The gray-robed cultivator was startled, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

He went to great lengths to conceal his identity and infiltrate this secret realm, hoping to seize some treasures to cultivate properly. However, he never expected that his origins would be exposed at a glance.

"Since you know where I came from, why make things so difficult for me? If you kill me, the Demon Lord will surely tear you to pieces!"

Upon hearing this, Song Ce raised an eyebrow, flicked his finger, and shot a wisp of green light into the gray-robed cultivator's brow: "Then I'd like to see how you, the Demon Lord, will seek revenge on me."

The gray-robed cultivator felt a sharp pain in his head, and the surging spiritual energy within his body instantly dissipated. He was horrified to discover that he could no longer mobilize any spiritual energy, and his dantian was completely empty.

His life's cultivation was casually destroyed by the person in front of him in the blink of an eye!

"You...how dare you! How dare you cripple my cultivation!" The gray-robed cultivator slumped to the ground, his face ashen. "If I die, I will become a vengeful ghost, making you wish you were never born!!"

"Become a ghost? You probably won't have that chance." Song Ce turned slightly to the side, left these words behind, and then floated away.

Behind him, a gray-robed cultivator screamed in terror, but his voice was quickly swallowed up by some strange sound.

After erasing the traces of the battle, Song Ce concealed his presence once more and waited patiently for A Yao to arrive. Just as he was about to find a comfortable position to take a nap, he saw five white-robed cultivators—two men and three women—walk straight to the foot of the ancient tree.

Song Ce rested his chin on one hand and looked closely. One of the female cultivators was A Yao.

At this moment, A Yao had not been separated from her fellow disciples of the Xuan Tian Sect, and her spiritual energy flowed smoothly without any stagnation, indicating that she had not yet been injured by the strange beast.

"Senior Sister Wen, I think you're just too kind. You take this sickly kid with you wherever you go!"

The female cultivator addressed as Senior Sister Wen turned around, her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly furrowed, and said with considerable disapproval, "Junior Brother Mu Jian, please be careful with your words. Junior Sister is weak, and as fellow disciples, we should take care of each other."

“Take care of her?” Another tall female cultivator scoffed and sneered, “With such a burden in our secret realm, trouble is bound to happen sooner or later.”

"What can we do? After all, her mother is the famous Heavenly Heart Fairy!"

A hint of smugness flashed in Wen Wendan's eyes. She reached out and pulled Ayao behind her, gently patting her back with her slender hand, and said softly, "This secret realm is dangerous, so we should work together even more. Master asked us to travel together so that we can help each other. You must not complain."

“Senior Sister Wen is right.” The tall female cultivator rolled her eyes, glanced at A Yao who had been silent the whole way, and scoffed, “I just discovered that there is a hundred-year-old Purple Hand Vine here! Senior Sister Wen, let’s take it quickly, lest something unexpected happens.”

"Um."

Wen Wendan smiled and responded, her delicate hands forming a hand seal as she released her spiritual sense to carefully search for the traces of the purple hand vine. A short while later, everyone heard her exclaim joyfully, "Found it!"

Following her gaze, the group saw a spiritual herb growing faintly on the back of a leaning branch on the west side. Wen Wendan's eyes lit up, and she immediately darted over, gently parting the vines hanging from the ancient tree with her spiritual power. However, the purple hand vine flower that should have grown where the roots intertwined had somehow been taken by someone else.

Wen Wendan's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on her face instantly vanished.

"It was taken?" The tall female cultivator's eyebrows shot up in anger. "There are clearly no high-level cultivators on the second level of this secret realm. Could it have been some ignorant rogue cultivator who did it?"

Yan Mujian also scanned the surroundings with an unfriendly expression. "Senior Sister Wen, the spiritual energy here is chaotic. I'm afraid the flower thief just left not long ago. Should we give chase?"

It was clearly something from a secret realm, something that should belong to the capable, yet Yan Mujian used the word "steal."

Wen Wendan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the irritation in her heart. She had been stuck in the late Foundation Establishment stage for a long time, and right now she was just missing a piece of Purple Hand Vine flower to break through the bottleneck and enter the Great Perfection stage. Who on earth stole her things?

"Let's wait a bit." She shook her head and said calmly, "The other party's method of taking the flowers was swift and skillful, clearly indicating that they were prepared in advance. We may not be able to catch up. Besides, this secret realm is fraught with danger, and it's not wise to risk losing more than we gain."

"Are we just going to let it go like this?" Yan Mujian gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the silent A Yao beside him. His tone suddenly turned angry. "I think it was because of this burden that Senior Sister Wen's matter was delayed! If she hadn't been so slow, how could the Purple Hand Vine Flower have been stolen?"

Ayao lowered her head and whispered, "Senior Sister Wen, it's my fault..."

"One bad word and that's it?" Yan Mujian sneered and glared at her. "Wait until we get out of here, and see how your master punishes you!"

"Alright." Wen Wendan interrupted Yan Mujian, who was looking furious, with a wry smile, then looked helplessly at A Yao, "Junior Sister, don't take it to heart. Senior Sister knows this isn't your fault. Let's go look elsewhere! Maybe there will be a better opportunity."

Although she said that, her expression was extremely aggrieved.

Song Ce saw this scene clearly from the tree. In the original owner's memories, he did not know how A Yao got separated from her fellow disciples, or how she was injured by the strange beast and lost her spiritual power.

Now it seems that Wen Wendan, though outwardly kind, harbors a subtle malice in his eyes. It is likely that A Yao's encounter in the secret realm is inextricably linked to this person.

As he was pondering this, he suddenly sensed a violent surge of spiritual energy coming from the southeast of the second floor, and the ground began to tremble.

Song Ce's eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that the powerful and ferocious army of alien beasts was about to attack.

"Watch out, everyone! Something looks like it's coming!"

Just as Yan Mujian drew his spirit sword from his waist, a cloud of dust suddenly billowed up from the dense forest to the southeast. Countless sharp claws emerged from the bushes, accompanied by ear-piercing roars, and a dark horde of strange beasts surged forth like a tidal wave—

"Oh no! The first to attack are the Spirit-Devouring Wolves! How... how can there be so many!" The tall female cultivator exclaimed in shock, her hands rapidly forming hand seals. Instantly, a light blue defensive water mirror unfolded in front of them.

Yan Mujian's expression turned grave, and he quickly shielded Wen Wendan behind him: "These spirit-devouring demon wolves have lost their minds, everyone be careful!"

Before he could finish speaking, a massive, spirit-devouring wolf charged at them, its dark green eyes fixed on the Xuan Tian Sect members.

"Junior Sister, be careful!" Wen Wendan seemed anxious as she pushed A Yao, but the force carried a subtle, almost imperceptible trick, which pushed A Yao right in the direction of the Spirit-Devouring Wolf's attack.

"Senior Sister Wen! You—" A Yao steadied herself, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Just then, a blurry figure suddenly appeared in front of A Yao. With a casual wave of his hand, a gentle spiritual force protected A Yao. In less than a second, the Spirit-Devouring Wolf was frozen in place by a slender, jade-like hand, to the astonishment of the Xuan Tian Sect members.

"Who...who are you?"

Song Ce smiled faintly and did not answer. Instead, he lightly clenched his right fist and decisively crushed the Yuan Dan in the heart of the Spirit-Devouring Demon Wolf.

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Author's Note: [Cat emoji][Cat emoji][Starry eyes]