mountainside

She lowered her eyes and pondered. The Shi family had two Time Ambers, and their family members were quite knowledgeable about time, so many people entered the secret realm. Therefore, most people did not dare to go to the Shi family and instead came to her.

After all, there were only two of them on her side, which seemed much easier than things on the Shi family's side.

"Senior sister," Nan Yi leaned closer and rested her head on her shoulder, "Do you know how many pieces of Time Amber there are?"

Chu Li subconsciously shook her head. She didn't know if the Shi family had found out anything, but at least she hadn't sensed any relevant information from the Time Amber.

"In that case, most people probably don't know how many Time Ambers there are in total..."

Chu Li's heart skipped a beat: "You mean—"

"After all, the Shi family isn't the most skilled in the Way of Time, so it's not surprising that Time Amber appears on them. Besides, from what I've observed recently, the Shi family members aren't all gathered in one place."

The inheritance of this secret realm is extremely useful to oneself. If one has the ability, who wouldn't want to compete for it? Especially a family like the Shi family, there must be many people with their own ulterior motives.

On the other side, in a somewhat open area, a group of people were walking slowly.

Two people walked at the front, followed by four or five others. All of them were dressed in similar robes, and it was clear at a glance that they belonged to the same family.

"How long will this stage last?" Shi Bianruo asked casually, her tone relaxed.

"Based on past experience, it should be about five more days." Although he knew the woman was just asking casually, the person behind him still thought carefully for a while before cautiously replying.

"Tsk, why is it taking so long? Have they found any trace of my brother yet?"

This question was clearly not as easy as the previous one. The Shi family member froze, then replied in a low voice, "We haven't found it yet, but we've contacted everyone we can reach, and we believe we'll find it soon..."

Shi Bianruo raised her hand to stop the explanation coming from behind, "Then let's not mention him for now." She knew her brother's strength, and it was normal that his subordinates couldn't find him right away.

"Have you discovered other Time Amber?"

"According to recent news, there is one more..."

"Hmm? There's actually someone who can gain Amber's approval?" Shi Bianruo finally became serious and asked again to confirm, "Only one person?"

"Yes, we searched everywhere, and we should..." The man glanced up at the woman's expression carefully, then quickly changed his words, "There must only be one left, and she must have used some means to get it."

The woman looked at her coldly: "Are you saying that amber can be obtained through shady means?"

A powerful pressure came from above, and the person who answered the question felt bitter. He had heard about Miss Bian Ruo's unpredictable moods in the clan, but no one had said that they were so difficult to deal with.

He quickly shook his head as soon as the woman finished speaking.

The other party didn't seem to care too much about his answer and instead asked the next question—"What about the amber?"

It took him a moment to realize that she was referring to the amber outside the Shi family's residence.

"not yet……"

Shi Bianruo's eyebrows shot up immediately. "You couldn't find my brother, fine, but you couldn't even get your hands on this amber? What a bunch of useless trash!"

The ever-increasing power enveloped the surrounding area, and the Shi family members behind them could barely maintain their standing posture.

"Alright, Xiaoruo, don't worry, it's only been two days." The man next to Shi Bianruo gently patted her back.

She glanced at the man, then gave a soft snort, but ultimately didn't retaliate.

The people behind them immediately felt the surrounding pressure ease, and their bodies relaxed instantly. They glanced at the man gratefully, realizing that only Miss Bian Ruo's fiancé could keep her in check.

At this moment, a communicator on one of the people rang. He quickly took it out and glanced at it. His expression changed immediately. He didn't care that Miss Bian Ruo's emotions were still unstable at the moment and quickly stepped forward.

"Miss Bian Ruo, one of the teams has suddenly discovered several pieces of amber nearby—"

But before he could finish speaking, another communication sounded, this time not his, but someone else's.

“Miss, I’ve also found a few pieces of amber here.”

"Me too."

A cacophony of noise erupted, and they all realized with some alarm that things seemed to be spiraling out of control.

Upon entering the secret realm, Miss Bian Ruo gave them two orders: first, to find her brother; and second, to search for any additional amber, and if so, to seize it as soon as possible.

Although the number of people from their Shi family who entered was already quite large, it was still too few to search such a vast secret realm. Therefore, they incited other cultivators to join forces and share information.

Even if someone else snatches the amber first, they're not afraid. They have more people on their side, so they can easily take it back.

But what's going on now? We clearly confirmed there was only one piece of amber—

A loud "thump" rang out, and they instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

Then Shi Bianruo looked at them with great dissatisfaction, "Who can explain the specific process to me? Also, you are all cultivators of the Shi family. Why are you so flustered over such a small matter? You are really disgracing the Shi family."

The others exchanged glances, and finally someone stepped forward to describe the situation as simply as possible: "Several teams have found traces of amber, totaling about dozens. Also, some people have inexplicably discovered that they also have the glow of amber on their bodies, even though they clearly don't have any amber."

"However, the other cultivators in this secret realm do not believe their story, and the two sides have already clashed several times..."

"What are we going to do? So many ambers suddenly appeared, what will happen to the third level..."

They had always believed that only the two members of the Shi family were qualified to obtain the amber, and that the final winner, no matter who it was, would only be a member of the Shi family. The other amber they found in the last two days was already an exception, but now that so many more have suddenly appeared, wouldn't their chances of obtaining the inheritance be greatly reduced?

"Idiots!" Shi Bianruo said through gritted teeth. She simply didn't know what was going on in these people's heads. "You've all been fooled! If the Time Amber were so easy to obtain, it's impossible that only he and I had obtained it all these years!"

Some people were still hesitant: "What if the amber that's appearing now was originally intended to be distributed by the secret realm this time?"

"You think the secret realm is a wholesale market, releasing huge groups at once?" Shi Bianruo recalled how she obtained the amber, still feeling that this was a blatant scam.

"Immediately have everyone check what they think is amber. Also, keep a close eye on the person who had the amber before; I suspect she's the one who did it."

Soon, news came from each team, but the expressions on the faces of those present were not very good. After hesitating for a long time, someone stepped forward and said, "Miss, we've lost track of the person."

"Go find them right now! What's the point of having you all if you can't even track them down like this!"

Not long after she finished speaking, she suddenly felt the sky gradually darken. She looked up and squinted, only to see that the area a few meters away from them had been shrouded in thick fog.

Moreover, the fog was not stationary; it was gradually approaching.

She looked around and saw the mountain peak in the distance standing out prominently. "Let's go there."

The others were already used to her commands, so they didn't ask any questions and followed her to the mountaintop.

"Senior sister, no one is chasing us around here for the time being. Should we stay where we are for a while?"

Two days ago, they disguised some ordinary amber and scattered it in various places—giving the Shi family the most, since he held a grudge. The previous cultivators were all brought by the Shi family, so he naturally had to repay them with a generous gift.

After the light shone from the amber, chaos erupted among the group. Every so often, they could see several cultivators vying for the glowing amber in different places.

Their pressure was relieved in the past two days, but unfortunately, many cultivators quickly realized what was happening—however, they had already hidden the two's whereabouts before that.

Therefore, the past two days have been relatively easy, with only occasional encounters with people.

And the mountain they had wanted to reach was now right in front of them.

But Nan Yi felt a strange sense of repulsion towards the mountain peak in front of him, which is why he asked such a question.

Chu Li gazed intently at the towering mountain before her and slowly spoke, "Because time is chaotic in this mountain, you feel a strong aversion to it."

This is not quite the same as the previous time chaos. The mountain in front of us is an enhanced version. Those who are not talented in the way of time are easily lost in it. Cultivators can sense this in advance and therefore avoid entering it.

It wasn't until they actually arrived near the mountain that Chu Li could finally confirm that the final battle must be taking place here, because while there was no trace of the Dao of Time in other parts of the secret realm, it was extremely concentrated here.

It's as if all the traces of time in the secret realm have converged here.

"Senior sister," Nan Yi stood up and looked into the distance, murmuring, "it's foggy."

Chu Li also saw the approaching mist. She took a deep breath, then looked at the mountain again, her tone calm: "It seems it wants to force us into the mountains."

As for what exactly is hidden in the thick fog, it's unlikely anyone would want to know.

The mountain peaks were steep, but they were relatively easy for the cultivators. What was unsettling was the flow of time within the mountains. Chu Li had to constantly be careful to prevent that chaotic flow of time from getting close to them, otherwise, the two of them would easily be drawn into different points in time.

Chu Li paused abruptly as she looked away. Not far from them, a man appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed in a black robe and stood on the mountainside, making him quite conspicuous.

Nan Yi also saw it, and his steps faltered.

But that wasn't all that made them stop—the man's waist emitted a light the size of a spirit stone.

Chu Li was extremely familiar with this light and recognized it at a glance as the light emitted by the Time Amber. Moreover, this amber was not the fake amber that she and Nan Yi had made before.

That was indeed a genuine... Time Amber.

Chu Li stared at the pattern on the man's chest and silently thought, "Shi family."

At this moment, she finally saw one of the two geniuses of the Shi family.

Undoubtedly, the other party also saw them, and even more so, saw the glittering amber on her chest.

To be honest, someone like her who has actually owned Time Amber can tell the difference between real and fake luster at a glance.

A ghostly figure appeared behind the man: "Should I send someone to kill her?"

The man raised his hand. "Our real opponent is Shi Bianruo. Save your strength."

He looked at the person in front of him and found him somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place who it was. He figured it was probably some unknown cultivator he had met by chance.

When two Nascent Soul stage cultivators appeared behind the man, Nan Yi immediately became alert. There were two Nascent Soul stage cultivators on the other side, and if they really tried to forcibly take it, there might be a fierce battle.

But soon a hand ruffled his hair, and another hand grabbed him, held him tightly, and pulled him past the man calmly.

Chu Li pulled Nan Yi along and walked very fast. They reached the mountain peak in no time. Along the way, apart from the man they had just met, they did not see a single other cultivator.

The time chaos on the mountaintop was more severe than elsewhere, which displeased Nan Yi, as their fox clan truly had little talent for the study of time.

A moment later, a fluffy red figure snuggled into Chu Li's arms.

Chu Li was sensing the flow of time around her, but that didn't stop her from scooping up the fox and carefully placing it in her arms.

Nan Yi didn't know what Chu Li was doing, but he didn't want to ask.

Nestled in Chu Li's arms, he was completely shielded from the surrounding atmospheres that made him sensitive, creating a safe space that made him feel drowsy.

He muttered to himself, "If anyone... remembers..."

Chu Li understood what Nan Yi wanted to say, but she didn't speak. She just gently rubbed his very elastic fox ears as a way of comforting him—she wanted to do her best to create a safe zone before the others came up.

At this moment, the mountain peak seemed to be shrouded in a light mist, making it hazy and obscuring the distant scenery. Chu Li closed her eyes again. Before long, all the remaining cultivators in the secret realm would arrive in the mountain, and she needed to hurry.

Shi Bianruo arrived in the mountain a step ahead of most cultivators. Just by looking up from the bottom of the mountain, she immediately spotted that familiar figure.

She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she pronounced the man's name: "Shi Feng".

Why did he arrive here so quickly?

And judging from his appearance, it seemed he had been waiting for her here for quite some time.

No one dared to answer her question, but she didn't care. Ever since Shi Feng appeared, her gaze and thoughts had been entirely focused on him.

She climbed up alone, skillfully dodging one chaotic scene after another, and arrived opposite Shi Feng in the blink of an eye.

The two stared at each other, their eyes filled with ruthlessness. If someone were nearby, they would surely notice that their faces bore a striking resemblance.

They share half the same bloodline and almost equal talent, and now they stand here vying for the same inheritance.

A fight is about to break out.