Chapter 458 Within the Secret Realm 2

When the giant tree grew to about ten zhang tall, its branches stretched out in all directions and quickly bloomed with many strange flowers.

The flowers soon withered, and fruits that shimmered like stars grew in their place.

At the same time, these fruits are constantly absorbing the surrounding starlight, as if they are draining all the energy belonging to this patch of light.

And it is gradually maturing.

Zhong Cai stared intently, finding it unusual that she couldn't recognize him.

But just as Wu Shaogan had thought, he was very interested and wanted it.

Without Zhong Cai needing to speak, Wu Shaogan had already carried him and was gradually approaching the giant tree.

Zhong Cai placed her hands on Wu Shaogan's shoulders and asked in a low voice, "Old Wu, how about we go a little slower?"

Wu Shaogan said softly, "I don't sense any danger from this giant tree."

Yes, he had been focused on watching the tree grow, and had no sense of crisis whatsoever.

He reasoned that since this was a secret realm for disciples, and the disciples' maximum strength was suppressed to the seventh level, the danger posed here would certainly not exceed that level. Otherwise, wouldn't the other party just kill indiscriminately and waste the disciples' lives?

Therefore, Wu Shaogan felt that if the tree didn't give him a sense of crisis, then it probably really wasn't dangerous.

Even if this Starlight Secret Realm truly ceases to exist and allows higher-level dangers to emerge, it would at most only be one level above, and it's impossible for it to carry out the "dimensional reduction attack" that A Cai mentioned. Moreover, even an eighth-level crisis would be something Wu Shaogan could sense...

It was precisely because he had been carefully considering this matter that Wu Shaogan was able to make such a decisive move now that the tree had grown up.

Zhong Cai quickly realized what her husband was thinking, breathed a sigh of relief, and became even more eager to see the giant tree ahead.

·

As the two approached, they were already leaning against the edge of a tree branch, and neither of them felt any threat.

Zhong Cai hesitated for a moment, then reached out and stroked the tree trunk.

At that moment, a strong sense of purpose suddenly emanated from the tree trunk, introducing the giant tree.

Zhong Cai murmured, "The Starlight Tree is a unique natural treasure of the Starlight Secret Realm, the exact trigger for its appearance is uncertain. It grows Starlight Fruit, but the uses of the fruit vary, each tree is different, and there is even a possibility that new varieties will appear..."

As Wu Shaogan listened to Zhong Cai's introduction, he also reached out and touched the Starlight Tree.

Unsurprisingly, the Star Tree gave the same message.

—This star tree is a level eight resource.

Zhong Cai said with some delight, "It's a pity that this thing can only grow randomly in this secret realm, so for now we can only pick the fruit."

Wu Shaogan readily agreed.

So the two landed on the star tree and began picking quickly.

This Star Tree has another characteristic: it can only be touched by disciples themselves; puppets or similar objects cannot approach it.

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Cai released Qingyu and Qinghui from the ancient city.

They are also disciples and can move around in this secret realm.

Zhong Cai pondered for a moment and said, "You two are now at the right stage of cultivation. First, help me and Lao Wu pick this fruit. Then, you can either work together or go your separate ways to find your own opportunities."

Qingyu and Qinghui are now both high-level seventh-tier rare beasts. With the help of their two masters, their bloodlines have been enhanced. They often spar and fight with other rare beasts in the Land of All Beings. Their strength is among the top of other rare beasts of similar level. Furthermore, because Wu Shaogan often gives them guidance, they are mostly able to deal with cultivators who have undergone spiritual transformation.

Whether they are in groups or not, they should be fine in the secret realm.

Qingyu let out a few melodious cries, and Qinghui also let out a few low roars.

The couple could understand each other perfectly, and they both responded immediately.

So the two men and two beasts began their work.

They were picking fruit like crazy.

Then Qingyu transformed into a bird as long as an arm, flapping its wings and flying deep into the tree branches to pick the fruits that were not clearly visible from the outside, where only the starlight shining through the leaves could be seen.

Its sharp beak only needs to peck at the fruit stem, and the fruit will quickly fall, and Qingyu will flap its wings and gather it into the mustard seed ring hanging around its neck.

Qinghui also transformed into a small silver wolf, running swiftly among the tree branches. Whenever he encountered a Starlight Fruit, he would cut open the stem with his claws, then gently pat the fruit with his front paws, bringing it to his front and storing it directly in his mustard seed bag.

The two contracted rare beasts were incredibly quick and efficient when they got busy.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan remained together. Wu Shaogan felt that the Star Tree was not dangerous, but there were other dangers in the secret realm. If he and A Cai went their separate ways, and a seventh-tier star beast suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wouldn't A Cai be in great danger?

Therefore, Wu Shaogan only felt safe when he carried Zhong Cai on his back.

Zhong Cai knew what her husband, Wu, was thinking, so she happily patted Wu Shaogan on the shoulder from time to time.

"Old Wu, go over there! There's one hiding in a clump of branches!"

"And there too! Under lots of leaves!"

"Over there, over there, they're almost at a tree hollow! The starlight is so faint it's barely visible, I almost missed it!"

Following Zhong Cai's instructions, Wu Shaogan quickly picked and stored all the fruit.

And so, they were busy for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The main problem wasn't that the fruit was hard to pick, but rather that a lot of time was spent searching for some of the most hidden Starlight Fruits to ensure that none were missed.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan counted all the fruit.

"We have fifty-seven here."

The blue feathers chirped melodiously.

Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow: "Qingyu picked thirteen."

Qinghui also quickly roared a few times, but seemed a little more dejected than Qingyu's cheerfulness.

Zhong Cai immediately understood and said with a smile, "Qinghui is also very powerful, with eleven of them. But Qingyu is older and therefore more experienced."

Qinghui seemed to understand its master's comforting words, and when it roared again, it became cheerful.

Qingyu fluttered to Qinghui's side, stood on the back of its neck, picked it up, and flew around twice.

This is an activity they both really enjoy, and they often communicate their feelings this way on weekdays.

Sure enough, after Qingyu coaxed Qinghui like that, Qinghui thrashed about, feeling even happier.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan watched from the side, both with smiles on their faces.

At this point, the two should separate.

Zhong Cai gently patted the heads of the two little ones, then picked them up, tossed them away, and said with a bright smile, "Go on! Take good care of yourselves! See you again in the Land of All Living Beings!"

Qingyu and Qinghui both called out softly, and then Qingyu's body suddenly grew larger, and Qinghui ran beside Qingyu.

Although in the past, when they were outside, Qingyu would stand on Qinghui's back after landing, now that Qingyu is airborne, Qinghui will be on Qingyu's back.

But now, it is a rare occasion that Yi Peng and Yi Lang finally have the opportunity to "walk side by side".

Qingyu was indeed still flying, and Qinghui was indeed running.

But now, they can all stay together.

It's like there's no difference in space.

Before long, Qingyu and Qinghui disappeared from Zhong Wufu's sight at an extremely terrifying speed.

Zhong Cai smacked Wu Shaogan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go, Lao Wu, it's time for us to continue our adventure."

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly: "Let's go!"

Before they left, the two witnessed that after they had picked all the starlight fruits, the entire tree was covered in starlight—no, not exactly covered, but rather the starlight burst forth from the trunk and enveloped the tree!

In the short time that Zhong and Wu instructed the two rare beasts, the Starlight Tree seemed to merge into the starlight, and its outline gradually became indistinct.

Just as the couple was about to leave, the Star Tree completely transformed into a ball of light, then suddenly collapsed and scattered in all directions, merging with the other starlight until it was indistinguishable from the rest of the sky.

Wu Shaogan swayed and began to carry the load forward.

"Ah Cai, which direction do you think we should go?"

"Anyway, we're facing the West now, so let's head over there."

Wu Shaogan quickly dodged and headed straight west.

Zhong Cai wrapped her arms around Wu Shaogan's neck, carefully observing the surroundings as they walked, wary of any other dangers that might yet appear.

Not long after, the two saw a "halo".

In other words, it is formed purely from starlight and some bulging halos.

Both of them understood.

It's clearly a place of opportunity.

At least that's how it is for the two of them.

The subsequent operations continued smoothly, with Wu Shaogan effortlessly slaying the star beasts as if cutting melons and vegetables.

Zhong Cai acquired several more star stones, which she carefully collected together with the ones she had acquired before.

This time, after breaking through several bulges, the two discovered that a new bulge had exploded, and a precious medicinal herb had grown inside.

However, Starlight Trees are very rare. Although the precious medicinal herbs that appeared here were also at the eighth level, there was only one small plant with seven leaves—which happened to be the one that Zhong Cai recognized.

Even though it is surrounded by starlight, its true form can still be identified as an eighth-level Snow Sword Grass.

It's useless to Zhong Wufu, but it can be sold to sword cultivators.

There were many such people among the disciples.

Several predecessors were like that, but their attributes might not match.

However, such resources are never enough to meet demand in the land of sentient beings.

Zhong Cai happily picked them.

Then, they had another adventure.

·

On the other side.

The moment Wu Dongxiao was carried away by the starlight rain, he gripped his senior brother's hand tightly.

But the moment they entered the secret realm, Wu Dongxiao immediately released his grip and even exerted some force in the process—

Oh no!

A huge, bull-like beast galloped towards Wu Dongxiao, about to bite him!

The giant maw was aimed directly at Wu Dongxiao's head, and because Xuan Bing was very close to Wu Dongxiao at the time, it swallowed Xuan Bing as well!

This is why Wu Dongxiao suddenly pushed Xuan Bing away.

Wu Dongxiao quickly took out the Black Dragon Halberd and, using the sharpness of the weapon, swiftly pierced the bull-beast's tongue from bottom to top!

Blood splattered all over Wu Dongxiao, but he didn't care at all. He directly drew the Black Dragon Halberd and took out the Mustard Seed Ring to put the bull's head corpse into it.

Xuan Bing quickly came to Wu Dongxiao's side and whispered, "That was a disciple just now."

The two were newcomers and did not know the environment and situation within the Starlight Secret Realm, but they had seen this bull beast before. At that time, the bull beast had inexplicably shown a drooling look towards Wu Dongxiao—as if it wanted to eat him.

It's not surprising that they were ambushed by the bull-like beast.

But this thing just happened to teleport to the same place as them, and it even happened to be one step ahead of them. Wu Dongxiao happened to run into it and was immediately targeted by it...

This is such a coincidence.

However, Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing were quite frank about it.

Based on their years of experience venturing together, their intuition told them that they absolutely could not relax the moment they entered the secret realm.

They didn't relax at all.

However, the crisis was closer to Wu Dongxiao, and Wu Dongxiao reacted even faster.

·

In fact, Wu Dongxiao had always had a problem: when facing those intelligent rare beasts, some of them would develop a liking for him and be willing to communicate with him more, while others would also have a liking for him... a strong liking, the kind that makes you want to eat him.

Moreover, the number of rare beasts that like him is often roughly the same as the number that want to eat him.

It wasn't until he entered the land of sentient beings that many became willing to live in harmony with him, while those who wanted to devour him were extremely rare.

He had actually thought that perhaps... it was because he was the protagonist.

The kind of protagonist whose fate is not so good.

·

After dealing with the bull-like beast, the two brothers continued their journey.

This should be the teleportation range for disciples at level six.

Wu Dongxiao is a Fusion cultivator, Xuan Bing is a Palace Builder, and the Ox Beast is a Sixth-Order cultivator.

Because the bull beast underestimated its opponent, and Wu Dongxiao possessed formidable combat instincts, he was able to use the cold light of the Black Dragon Halberd to pierce through the bull beast's defenses and defeat it.

Otherwise, it would definitely take much more effort.

·

Wu Dongxiao casually stretched his arm, grabbed Xuan Bing's forearm, and they ran together into the secret realm.

It's like running effortlessly high in the air.

Xuan Bing stayed close to Wu Dongxiao, remaining on guard at all times.

Before long, Wu Dongxiao saw a ring of starlight.

Xuan Bing pressed him down, telling him not to act rashly.

After observing for a while, the two suddenly discovered that there were actually seven or eight bulges in the part of the halo that was obscured by starlight!

Those bulges seemed to be breathing, and the frequency of their movement increased rapidly in the blink of an eye.

Wu Dongxiao was curious, and his adventurous spirit was also stirring, making him want to go and find out at any time.

Xuan Bing remained very cautious.

As Xuan Bing observed the starlight, a very bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

Wu Dongxiao seemed to sense that something was wrong, and he grabbed Xuan Bing, ready to run away at any moment.

At that very moment, all the bulges shattered together!

In an instant, seven or eight ugly-looking star beasts rushed over and headed straight for Wu Dongxiao!

Wu Dongxiao's lips twitched slightly.

These are all level six!

Even if I am invincible among my peers, I still feel a lot of pressure facing so many sixth-tier rare beasts.

At that moment, Xuan Bing suddenly stood in front of Wu Dongxiao, blocking the attacks of those star beasts.

Knowing that he was not strong enough, Wu Dongxiao had no choice but to stand back to back with his senior brother and fight the enemy together.

As expected, the star beasts surrounded them, and the two were immediately trapped in an encirclement.

Then it's a matter of who can endure the longest.

·

After about an hour, Wu Dongxiao struggled to hold on and tried his best to hold off the star beasts, allowing his senior brother Xuan Bing to deal with the sixth-tier star beasts one by one.

However, none of the star beasts left behind any resources after they died; the only thing left was a stone—and not every star beast left a stone. Many simply vanished, leaving only starlight.

Wu Dongxiao's eyelids twitched; he wasn't in a good mood.

He muttered, "After all that effort, all we get is a little light and some stones... That's so stingy!"

Xuan Bing floated over and said calmly, "I'm afraid there's more to it than meets the eye. I think these stones have quite a presence. Perhaps after some time, you and I will be able to figure them out. At the very least, we can inquire at the Starlight Arena after we get out."

Wu Dongxiao had only been complaining casually, but hearing his senior brother comfort him like this made him feel much better.

He said with his head held high, "Let's look for other opportunities!"

Xuan Bing naturally went with him.

·

Wu Dongxiao's luck really wasn't good.

The first time I encountered those bulges that popped up on their own, I soon encountered another bunch of bulges—this time even more! And it took even longer to process them!

Despite the arduous task of eliminating all the star beasts, all that was ultimately gained were three or four stones and a fleeting glimpse of starlight, as brilliant as fireworks.

Wu Dongxiao's eyelids twitched, and the corners of his mouth also twitched repeatedly.

That's all?

He and his senior worked so hard, and this is the result?

Wu Dongxiao took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress all the emotions in his heart.

Xuan Bing looked at his junior brother and stroked his hair.

Wu Dongxiao is quick to regulate his emotions; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained so composed all these years despite constantly encountering setbacks and misfortunes.

This situation is just another unfortunate event.

·

Wu Dongxiao underestimated his own bad luck.

Such incidents as self-destructing bulges, attacks by star beasts, and the explosion of rocks are happening one after another.

As long as Wu Dongxiao moves... no, it's no matter whether Wu Dongxiao moves or not, the bulges will react.

In the end, the number of star beasts attacked in each attack ranged from three to five to more than ten.

It's just really scary.

Under such terror, Wu Dongxiao endured each ordeal with great difficulty.

Wu Dongxiao exhaled again.

Let's continue!

Anyway, he always seems to have some good luck after his bad luck runs out.

In that case, he'll just have to wait for his good luck to come...

Xuan Bing stood silently to one side.

The junior apprentice's bad luck had become a habit, and he was so used to it that he couldn't do anything else when such things happened.

At most, I can only help resolve the danger... and then offer a few words of comfort to my junior brother.

Whether you offer comfort or not, it's really not very useful.

But something is better than nothing.

·

Perhaps it was truly time for their luck to change. After dealing with more than ten instances of bulges spontaneously exploding, the two brothers finally saw a halo once again.

Inside the halo, there are still many bulges—more than twenty in total!

Each bulge was constantly spitting out air, seemingly ready to burst at any moment.

Wu Dongxiao was stunned.

"Senior brother, bulges are one thing, but how come there are so many all of them at once! More than twenty beasts attacking the two of us, this won't do!"

Xuan Bing exhaled slowly, calming himself down.

That's true.

More than twenty... that's still too many.

I've encountered this many times before, but never this many.

However, if the two were to escape, the beasts that jump out of the bulges would be very fast and would chase after them from behind, which would actually bring them greater danger.

Therefore, we cannot escape.

Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing both felt that they had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Try to kill as many as possible, then try to escape.

However……

The two brothers made their decision, even exchanging a glance before making their choice, but the bulge over there still hadn't exploded?

This has never happened before.

They should be surrounded by beasts right now!

What exactly is the reason?

Then, the two suddenly heard a very faint "poof" sound.

They instinctively looked in that direction.

The bad news is that one of the bulges has broken open.

Good news, only one has been broken.

This time, the bulge didn't burst open on its own; instead, a mantis-like star beast emerged from it.

The mantis beast charged forward at lightning speed, its two mantis blades wielding terrifying power. Its own strength had already reached the peak of the sixth rank!

However, it is still only at level six.

That's not too difficult to deal with.

Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing worked together and soon defeated the mantis beast.

Stones also broke out.

Pick up stones.

Then, after giving the two of them a few breaths to pick it up, another bulge was broken open.

There is still only one, and it is still at the peak of the sixth rank.

It was still the two brothers who solved it together.

After they solved twelve drum bumps, the thirteenth drum bump burst open naturally.

Unlike the first few that exploded together, which was quite strange, this time the explosion was very natural.

Not a single star beast emerged from inside.

What emerged was a new bud.

The new shoots devour the surrounding bulges and grow into towering trees.

Then it blooms and bears fruit...

This is the Star Tree.

The same starlight tree that Zhong and Wu had encountered before.

The only difference is that the starlight tree there was already encountered when the couple first went to see the light spots, and the number of star beasts they dealt with was far less than that of the Wu Xuan brothers.

Moreover, the couple also easily encountered the Star Tree.

Unlike Wu Dongxiao, who actually spent so much time and encountered so many dangers...

Luck really makes a big difference.

However, neither the uncle nor the nephew knew that this Star Tree was indeed extremely rare, and that it would only appear a few times throughout the entire secret realm.

Now, the only ones who have encountered the Star Tree are this uncle and nephew.

·

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan saw a new starlight "pattern" and flew around it once.

"One, two, three, five..."

"Old Wu, we've encountered thirty-six bulges this time!"