Secret Realm

On this day, Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue concealed their true appearances and kept their auras hidden as they quietly walked through the mountains and forests. Unusually, they did not use swords or fly, but relied solely on foot to traverse high mountains, cross streams, climb rocks, and pass through the edges and corners of villages and towns, before heading towards a secret realm that was said to be visited only once every hundred years.

This secret realm is located outside the city of Xiaoyao in the Yuanshu Realm, not far from the city, at the foot of a high mountain. At the foot of the mountain lies a valley, and within the valley is a large lake. The mountain is called Gumu Mountain, and the lake is called Jingpo Lake. Gumu Mountain has only one main peak, towering high and deep in the valley, majestic in its grandeur. Near the foot of the mountain, forests are lush, waterfalls cascade, and streams murmur, but from the halfway point, it gradually transforms into glaciers, the thick ice and snow shimmering in the sunlight. At the summit of Gumu Mountain lies a beautiful icy lake.

Jingpo Lake, unlike the icy lake on the gentle slope of Gumu Mountain, is entirely blue-green, as clear and beautiful as a sapphire. It sits quietly in the valley, rarely visited by tourists.

On the summit of a low hill, Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue could see from afar that the area around Mirror Lake was filled with cultivators in various clan attire, along with a few who appeared to be independent cultivators. After observing carefully for a while, they discovered that most were low-level cultivators; Nascent Soul stage cultivators were practically nonexistent, and the highest level they could be found was Golden Core stage. These cultivators were gathered in twos and threes along the lakeshore, seemingly waiting for something. Some who knew each other would huddle together, occasionally whispering a few words to each other.

Seeing that there were no high-level cultivators, Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue relaxed a little and became less vigilant, but they still used their divine sense to scan their surroundings from time to time, worried that something unexpected might happen.

The two stood side by side, similar in height and cultivation level, each with their own unique beauty and graceful, unparalleled figures.

Lin Shi gazed at Jingpo Lake quietly for a while, then turned to Ye Ruxue beside him and said, "Ye Ruxue, let's go to Jingpo Lake later. If we don't find anything, how about we find a major sect in a large city to join us? Once our cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage, we can go out and train to accomplish what we want to achieve. What do you think?"

“Okay.” Ye Ruxue also turned to look at Lin Shi, and then immediately nodded in agreement. “After we come out of this secret realm, we’ll see which sect is more suitable and then go to join one.”

“Okay. Then we’ll try to choose two neighboring friendly sects from the same sect or the same city.”

"no problem."

After the two finished talking for a while, they saw ripples appear on the calm surface of Jingpo Lake, and then gradually, many small whirlpools appeared on the lake. At this moment, the cultivators by the lake rushed in one after another, like dumplings being thrown into a pot, and disappeared into the whirlpools.

Once only a few cultivators remained by the lake, Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue immediately flew over on their swords. Before the cultivators could even see their faces, clothes, or estimate their cultivation levels, they jumped into the whirlpool in the lake.

After Lin Shi jumped into the lake, she discovered a hidden world within. She and Ye Ruxue swam forward for a while, one on each side, until they saw a door in the water ahead. The two pushed it open and went inside. As soon as they entered the water, the main door closed behind them.

They instantly appeared in a quaint, gray-walled, black-tiled town.

It is indeed a real secret place.

Seeing this, Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue exchanged a glance, then split into two groups in front of the town, each taking one side, and flew into the town.

As Lin Shi flew deeper into the town, she saw only a few low-level cultivators and nothing particularly remarkable. When she reached the back of the town, near the back mountain, she saw two main mountain roads and countless winding paths leading towards the back mountain.

Lin Shi randomly chose a narrow, winding path and headed up the mountain. She walked for a while, then flew for a while. When she passed by the houses along the path, she went in for a stroll. They were ordinary large houses, each with a front and back yard, but there were no mortals or cultivators present. As Lin Shi entered the houses along the roadside, her brows furrowed. When she saw the backyards of the empty houses, which were overgrown with many precious spiritual herbs and plants, she dug up some of the older ones. She also found some spirit stones and spirit ores under the artificial hill, which she also quickly bought up.

After leaving the first roadside house, Lin Shi went to the second and third roadside houses, where she dug up some spiritual herbs and plants, and collected some spirit stones and ores. When Lin Shi emerged from the third roadside house, she saw a small bridge spanning a stream. Following the bridge, she came to a relatively flat valley. The valley was filled with densely packed houses, but there didn't seem to be any cultivators there.

Lin Shi stood on the small bridge in front of the valley. Her divine sense covered the entire valley, but after searching, she found nothing unusual. Streams flowed gently on both sides of the valley. The sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing filled the forest.

The excessive calm seemed rather unusual. Lin Shi couldn't help but mutter to herself. She stopped and cautiously searched the valley several more times, but her intuition told her not to easily step into the valley before her.

After standing quietly for a while, Lin Shi contacted Ye Ruxue telepathically and asked, "Ye Ruxue, is there anything unusual on your end?"

Ye Ruxue replied instantly: "No abnormalities were found."

Lin Shi had just received Ye Ruxue's reply when he saw her appear on the small bridge to the left of the valley. The two stood on small bridges above the stream, separated by the wide mountain path. They glanced at each other and then tacitly turned their gaze back to the valley in front of them.

The two stood quietly, looking at the valley in front of them and the densely packed houses inside, their gazes shifting from time to time.

Suddenly, Lin Shi's gaze inadvertently settled on a spot. It was a gray stone, mixed in with a pile of other stones. Upon seeing the stone, Lin Shi used her spiritual power to retrieve it from a distance, then immediately moved like a sharp sword, heading back the direction she had come from. As she flew, she transmitted a message to Ye Ruxue, who followed closely behind, soaring through the air like smoke, instantly reaching the town's exit.

"Stop them! Stop them!"

"Quick, stop them! Don't let them get away!"

"Capture handsome male and female cultivators alive, and kill those who are not so handsome, and take their treasures!"

As Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue moved, sounds immediately came from behind them. Some astute low-level cultivators immediately followed behind them, flying frantically outwards. For a moment, the flying swords and cultivators above the town almost collided, but even in the chaos, the cultivators continued to fly frantically outwards, occasionally throwing magical artifacts, talismans, and formations behind them to hinder the pursuing group of cultivators.

Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue also took the opportunity to throw some magical artifacts, talismans, and formations at the group of cultivators chasing them, blasting them into a frenzy. However, there were simply too many of them; even after one group was blown up, another group was still in pursuit. When they were halfway through their flight, fierce attacks came from both sides and in front of them.

Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue, along with the fleeing cultivators, instantly united and launched a furious counterattack against the attacking cultivators. In an instant, a dazzling array of attacks erupted on the scene, collapsing many houses near the town.

Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue fought and fled, but when they reached the water gate, they found it impossible to open. They then activated a formation together, blasting the gate open. As soon as the gate was breached, they instantly swam out like fish, soaring upwards and breaking through the water, shooting rapidly into the nearby forest. Concealing their forms and auras, they flew wildly through the forest. Closely following Lin Shi and Ye Ruxue, numerous low-level cultivators also instantly broke through the water, scattering in all directions to escape.

Jingpo Lake at the foot of Gumu Mountain was suddenly shattered from its usual tranquility. The lake surface was in an uproar, with cultivators constantly escaping.

"Damn it!" The last group to emerge from the water were cultivators in reddish-brown robes, their cultivation levels ranging from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul. The leading Nascent Soul cultivator stood in the air, looking furious. The other cultivators flew behind him on their swords, all with gloomy expressions.

"How much did we gain?" The leading Nascent Soul stage male cultivator cursed loudly for a while before flying down to the lakeside and turning to ask his subordinates.

"...No, we also lost a large number of spiritual herbs, plants, stones, and ores." The Foundation Establishment stage male cultivator being questioned looked at his Nascent Soul stage leader, carefully observing the other's gloomy face, before replying in a low voice.

With a "bang!" the Foundation Establishment stage male cultivator was slapped into Mirror Lake by the Nascent Soul stage male cultivator. However, the Foundation Establishment stage male cultivator did not dare to get angry or resist, and just lay in Mirror Lake with a resigned look, neither sinking nor floating.

The male cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage then looked at his other subordinates. Those who were seen by him immediately lowered their heads.

"Useless trash, what use are you?..." The Nascent Soul stage male cultivator continued to curse his subordinates. His expression was gloomy. Despite being a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he was so angry that he was almost jumping up and down. He was like a street ruffian in the mortal world, full of foul language and rudeness, with no manners or manners to speak of.

After the Nascent Soul stage male cultivator vented his anger and his complexion improved considerably, a Foundation Establishment stage female cultivator cautiously approached him and said, "Senior Luo Cheng, the two female cultivators who led the escape just now appear to be Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Their faces were obscured by spiritual energy, and their attack methods were unfamiliar, so they are unlikely to be native cultivators of our Yuan Shu Realm. Their cultivation seems solid and steady, not the result of elixirs; they are probably lowly cultivators who ascended from the lower realms. They endured countless hardships to ascend to the Yuan Shu Realm, which explains their heightened vigilance and ruthless methods. Why don't we find a Nascent Soul stage senior in our sect and see if we can locate them, kill them, and then refine them into puppets as punishment for ruining our plans today?"

The Nascent Soul stage male cultivator, Luo Cheng, then looked directly at the Foundation Establishment stage female cultivator beside him and asked, "Did you mark them?"

The Foundation Establishment stage female cultivator's eyes immediately filled with a subtle smile. Eager to claim credit, she confidently said, "My brother marked them both. Those are soul tracking marks refined by Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Unless they advance to the Nascent Soul stage, they won't be able to escape our tracking."

After the Foundation Establishment female cultivator finished speaking, she stepped aside, allowing Luo Cheng to see another Foundation Establishment male cultivator standing behind her who resembled her. The Foundation Establishment male cultivator immediately and respectfully presented Luo Cheng with a storage bag.

Luo Cheng took the storage bag, examined it with his divine sense, and then burst into laughter. "Alright, let's go back to the sect immediately to ask my parents and uncles for help!"