The moment Han Tao sensed Fu Mingxu's aura disappear, he rushed into the Spirit Spring Cave. Fang Yan reached out to stop him, but unfortunately, he couldn't even touch a corner of Fu Mingxu's clothes.
He was about to speak when he was stunned by what he caught in the corner of his eye.
In the vast and boundless night sky, the moonlight was completely obscured, revealing a continuous mountain range with the sun shining brightly among it, as if a palace was hidden behind the mountains, only revealing a corner of its light.
Countless rays of light wandered among the mountains, and rich spiritual energy poured down from the sky, making the world seem to turn upside down in an instant.
What are these?
Inside the cave, the spring water flowed gently, and there was no one in the misty air.
Han Tao examined the cramped space at least ten times, even scanning the surrounding walls and the jade stones paved on the ground with his divine sense.
But the surroundings were empty; not even a single hair of Fu Mingxu could be found.
Han Tao immediately forced out a drop of dragon blood, which instantly dissipated into a blood mist, revealing its connection with Fu Mingxu.
He followed the connection between the two and hurried forward, only to be startled by a scene in the sky above the cave entrance.
At the same time, the dragon blood connection told him that Fu Mingxu was in the midst of those mountain ranges.
"Lord Han." Fang Yan only had time to call out to him when he saw him come out.
A golden light shot through the sky and disappeared, leaving no one to answer him.
When Si Yang Xianjun and Qi Muyuan arrived, they couldn't see a single person. They exchanged a glance, and an ominous feeling arose in their hearts at the same time.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall of the Medicine Sect, Shi Guiyuan, upon learning that Han Tao had entered the secret realm, glared angrily at Shen Changting: "Who told you to lift the restrictions now?"
Shen Changting's face turned cold, and he immediately retorted, "I didn't!"
Shi Guiyuan pointed at the strange phenomenon in the sky, unable to contain his anger: "Do you know that the things inside haven't been taken out yet, and the formation hasn't been set up. If he discovers it, we may very well fail at the last minute!"
"I told you, it wasn't me." Shen Changting's brows furrowed tightly as he said coldly, "The theft of the Demon Seed hasn't been resolved yet, how could I have the mind to do these things?"
Unfortunately, Shi Guiyuan didn't believe him: "Didn't you take the Demon Seed? Sect Leader Shen, are you trying to play the victim?"
Shen Changting's eyes remained cold: "I said, it wasn't us."
“That’s the Sword Sect’s Rainbow-Breaking Sword Technique.” Shi Guiyuan didn’t trust him at all and gave him a cold look. “As far as I know, this is the Sword Sect’s inner sect technique. Who else but your inner sect disciples would know how to learn this sword technique?”
Shen Changting didn't want to argue with him any further, and said, "Someone must have framed us! If it really was the Sword Sect, why would they have left such a big flaw?"
Shi Guiyuan glanced at him and sneered, "Perhaps someone is deliberately playing dirty tricks."
"You! You're utterly unreasonable!" Shen Changting was furious, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Why don't you think about how to handle the matter of the heavens?"
"With the secret realm appearing so openly, other sects must already know about it. When the place becomes a mixed bag, how will you obtain the demonic seed within Han Tao's body?"
The secret realm that originally belonged only to the two sects has been exposed to everyone, how can this not be infuriating?
After calming down, the two discussed it again and concluded that the early appearance of the secret realm must be due to the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror in Fu Mingxu's possession.
When Fang Yan brought news that Han Tao's partner had accidentally entered the secret realm and that the other party had followed, the two became even more certain of their guess.
The Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror was a magical artifact belonging to the True Immortal Yuan Tong, yet it recognized a mortal as its master. At first, they secretly lamented that the Heavenly Profound Sect had truly suffered a crushing defeat and lost face. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the secret realm they had been suppressing was prematurely exposed because of this mortal.
They knew how many good things were inside.
Not only that, they also hid their most important secret inside.
If other sects were to discover this, Shi Guiyuan would have a headache just thinking about it.
As Shen Changting drew his longsword, a cold smile appeared on his lips: "Since things have come to this, we might as well settle this once and for all."
Shi Guiyuan frowned: "What if someone else finds out?"
“The Tianxuan Sect has already closed its doors, Xie Buwen and Feng You are dead, and Chi Jingchun must be too busy to attend to anything else. As for the other sects and rogue cultivators, they are not worth worrying about at all!” Shen Changting stood still, his expression arrogant.
Shi Guiyuan felt that what he said made some sense, and sighed, "It's all Feng You's fault for secretly taking the path of the furnace cauldron behind our backs. If it weren't for him, how could the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror have inexplicably recognized a mortal as its master!"
He found it rather difficult to talk about Fengyou.
This time, Shen Changting agreed with him, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.
Even though they were both Mahayana practitioners, the thought of plotting with Feng You together made them feel like they had swallowed flies.
...
Within a day, news of a secret realm appearing in the sky spread.
Even more miraculously, the secret realm was unclaimed and unrestricted, allowing any cultivator to enter. It was filled with rare flowers and herbs, countless natural treasures, and abundant spiritual energy that poured down upon the Cangling Continent.
In an instant, many cultivators broke through to new heights, and the entire continent was filled with joy. Everyone exclaimed that this was a gift from heaven to Cangling.
The Tianxuan Sect's market was unusually sparsely populated. Shen Ange leaned against the door railing, gazing intently at the secret realm in the sky.
"An Ge, aren't you going?" A demon named A Shu brushed aside her wind-blown hair and asked with a smile.
Shen Ange neither nodded nor shook her head, only saying, "On this day, I only saw people going in, not coming out."
Ah Shu leaned against her as if boneless, playing with the ends of her hair: "Maybe she was blinded by the rare and precious herbs inside."
"Stand properly." Shen Ange helped her up, and when she met the other's smiling face, she was almost dazzled by her charming demeanor. She just said with a straight face, "What kind of behavior is this?"
A-Shu was stunned, and tears streamed down her face: "Does An-Ge think I'm useless? Yes, my magic source is damaged, and I'm already a cripple. I am indeed useless."
Hey, why are you crying so suddenly? What happened to your dashing figure who descended from the sky during the battle between good and evil?
Shen Ange was taken aback and asked incredulously, "You haven't been possessed, have you?"
The beautiful woman froze, her tears welling up. Ah Shu glared at her: "You have no sense of romance!"
After saying that, he left angrily.
Shen Ange was puzzled, scratched the back of her head, and muttered, "We're both women, what do I know about romance?"
Ah Shu, who hadn't gone far, overheard this, her alluring figure froze, and she walked away with a stiff face.
Shen Ange felt there was no need to go to the secret realm, especially after receiving a message from a friend in the Sword Sect saying that in just one day, the soul lamps of Sword Sect disciples who had entered had already been extinguished, and that things were probably not as simple as they seemed on the surface, so she should not take any risks lightly.
Her heart skipped a beat, and for some reason she thought of Fu Mingxu, who was still at the Medicine Sect. After thinking for a moment, she turned around and called out to the inner hall, "A-Shu, I'm going to the Medicine Sect. You stay at home and don't go out."
...
Inside the Medicine Sect, Immortal Lord Siyang and Qi Muyuan looked up at the sky.
Qi Muyuan turned his head and asked, "Master, how is it?"
Starlight shone continuously from his fingertips. Immortal Lord Siyang shook his head: "It's strange, I can't deduce the secrets of heaven that belong to Fu Mingxu."
"Perhaps it's because of the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror." Qi Muyuan wasn't surprised and pondered, "After all, it was once a magic weapon of True Immortal Yuan Tong, and its mysteries are extraordinary, which we cannot easily explore."
As the two stood there, they had already seen no fewer than ten groups of people enter the aerial secret realm.
Si Yang squinted, staring at the eaves of the house that peeked out from behind the mountains, his mind filled with doubt, but he did not refute Qi Muyuan's guess.
The higher he cultivated his Heavenly Secrets Deduction, the more convinced he became that many things in this world were not as fixed and unchanging as fate. The so-called Great Dao of fifty, Heavenly Evolution of forty-nine, and Man's escape of one, is nothing more than this.
Neither of them had any intention of going to the secret realm. However, when Shen Changting saw them, he decided to sound them out and asked, "This secret realm is rich in spiritual energy. Why don't you two take a look? Perhaps you'll find some good fortune."
"Forget it, I'm afraid if your Sword Sect loses a disciple, you'll blame me," Qi Muyuan said rudely.
Si Yang Immortal Lord glanced at him sideways, his voice cold: "Sect Master Shen is joking. Since our cultivation has reached this level, and the Heavenly Ladder of the Cangling Continent is broken, we might as well manage our sects well, comprehend the Dao, and wait for the day we pass on our knowledge to future generations. That would be a worthwhile journey in this world."
"Master!" Qi Muyuan was displeased upon hearing this. "What do you mean by 'passing away in meditation'?"
Si Yang, however, remained unperturbed, his expression indifferent: "The cycle of cause and effect continues. We are countless years older than mortals, so what is there to fear?"
Shen Changting paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "The Immortal Lord is indeed insightful; we are no match for him."
Although it was upsetting to hear, at least he knew the two wouldn't go to the secret realm, and he got the answer he wanted.
After he left, Qi Muyuan immediately became displeased: "Master, you won't die in meditation."
Si Yang looked at him and smiled, "We will not ascend. No matter how long a cultivator's life is, it will eventually come to an end. Our passing away is just a matter of time. There is no need to be so concerned about it."
Seeing his calm expression, Qi Muyuan knew that he truly thought so, and simply pursed his lips without saying a word.
"Alright, stop overthinking." Si Yang patted his head and comforted him, "You're already at the Mahayana stage, don't you know about cause and effect and reincarnation? There's really no need to be so attached to this."
A gentle breeze swept by, and the moon-white wide sleeves fluttered, as if they were about to ride away on the overflowing spiritual energy.
Qi Muyuan grabbed his sleeve and said solemnly, "Since we will all pass away sooner or later, why don't you grant my request, Master..."
Si Yang was shocked and quickly took two steps back: "I told you to calm your mind, not to bully your master!"
He had a terrible headache and had no choice but to flee.
Qi Muyuan glanced at the streaks of light that kept appearing in the sky and quickly chased after them.
Fu Mingxu was unaware of the enormous waves the secret realm was causing outside. He followed the route given by the mirror spirit while picking rare spiritual herbs he encountered.
This secret realm has existed for countless years. Not only is the spiritual energy exceptionally rich, but there are also many instances of spiritual herbs growing together in close proximity.
He straightened up, gently placed the spiritual herbs in his hand, and his gaze, which had been filled with surprise and joy, turned into blankness as he looked at the large patch of spiritual herbs that had appeared.
There were far too many spiritual herbs; he only had two storage bags, and they were both full.
"How much longer until we get there?" Fu Mingxu found a dry rock and sat down casually, rubbing his aching calves. "I can't walk anymore."
Perhaps due to the abundance of spiritual energy here, the demon bone chain seemed to be stirring restlessly. Upon feeling the pain in his ankle for the second time, he decisively abandoned circulating his chaotic energy and began to move forward along the path.
At this moment, he sat on a rock, rubbing his calves while eating the spiritual fruit he had just picked, and suddenly remembered the good things Han Tao had done for him.
Fu Mingxu took a bite of the spiritual fruit and sighed softly.
According to the time, it should be daytime outside the secret realm, and Han Tao should have discovered that he was missing.
Does he know I'm here? Will he come looking for me?
After walking for a long time, he didn't see a single person, except for the flowers, grasses and spiritual plants covering the mountain.
Fu Mingxu rested for a quarter of an hour, but was urged to hurry on his way by the Mirror Spirit bouncing on his shoulder.
Helpless, he slowly stood up, kicked at the withered branches at his feet, and said earnestly, "Can I not have that treasure?"
He had walked for most of the day and hadn't even covered half the distance to his destination. At this rate, the treasure might have already been taken by someone else.
Besides, he was more interested in the spiritual herbs that covered the mountains and fields than in unknown treasures.
The Mirror Spirit had probably never seen such an unambitious cultivator before, and immediately became even more energetic, even leaving his shoulder and floating directly in front of him, expressing its rejection in its mind.
You cannot leave the secret realm until you find the treasure.
Fu Mingxu understood what he meant, sighed, and picked up a stick from the ground to use for leverage.
He glanced at the spiritual herbs at his feet, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind: "How about this, I'll put the spiritual herbs I pick into the space of the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror as I walk, so that I can do both at the same time."