Since this secret realm can be entered regardless of cultivation level, wouldn't low- and mid-level cultivators who enter become easy prey? Li Chixue didn't expect him to point out the most crucial point so clearly. Upon hearing this, her brows furrowed, and she slowly said, "I guess that cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage have been assigned to other spaces."
This secret realm is so vast that it stretches to the horizon from beneath the sky. No one knows why it appeared, and many high-level cultivators have already entered. Li Chixue entered half a day after it appeared, and elders from the Qingheng Sect also entered. Apart from their soul lamps not being extinguished, they received no reply to their messages after entering, and the highest-ranking cultivator they encountered along the way was only at the Golden Core stage.
Based on all of this, he came to this conclusion.
It wasn't that they weren't waiting for news, hesitant to take any risks. But as the phenomenon of spiritual energy flowing back into the ground became more and more obvious, news of the numerous rare and precious treasures within also spread wider and wider.
The Heavenly Ladder has been severed, and no one has ascended to immortality on the Cangling Continent for a thousand years. However, the number of cultivators continues to increase, and the spiritual energy here is decreasing day by day. Almost all the opportunities to explore have been found. The secret realm that has appeared now is nothing short of a heaven-sent opportunity, and it may be another chance.
Crisis and opportunity coexist; this is a truth known to every cultivator.
Upon receiving the news, Fu Mingxu remained silent for a long time. He felt that Li Chixue's guess was probably correct; Han Tao should have entered the secret realm, but in another, higher-level space.
The battles between high-level cultivators are the most bloody and brutal.
Thinking of the demonic seed within the Cold Dragon Soul, he couldn't help but feel worried.
Noticing the worry in his eyes, Yan Yun asked curiously, "Are you worried about your fellow disciples?"
“I have no fellow disciples.” Fu Mingxu looked into the distance with a hint of something, then turned back with an unchanged expression. “I am a rogue cultivator.”
Yan Yun paused, keenly sensing that he was in a bad mood, and didn't say anything more. Instead, she started winking at Li Chixue.
Li Chixue ignored him, easily drew her sword, and without even glancing at the corpse on the ground, said, "Let's go."
Fu Mingxu followed behind the two in silence.
The atmosphere among the three was somewhat tense. Perhaps because of the use of chaotic energy earlier, the demon bone chains on their ankles had rekindled and were slowly tightening as they moved.
After walking for another hour, Fu Mingxu finally couldn't help but groan, and without caring whether the stone was dirty or not, he sat down directly.
"What's wrong with you?" Yan Yun was startled when she saw the fine beads of sweat on his forehead and his frighteningly pale face.
Li Chixue, who had spoken first, also turned around and looked down at him: "Are you injured?"
Fu Mingxu simply shook his head and forced a smile: "It's just a relapse of an old injury. I can continue my journey after resting for a while."
The injury, which even the healer himself couldn't heal, must be even more serious than Yan Yun's previous one.
Li Chixue remained silent, but had already made up his mind. He sheathed his longsword and nodded slightly: "Let's rest for a while too."
Yan Yun felt he could run all day without getting tired, and he imagined his senior brother would be even more so. He glanced at Fu Mingxu, who was sitting on a rock with his eyes downcast, and understood.
Half an hour later, Fu Mingxu didn't want to waste any more of their time. Despite Li Chixue's probing gaze, the three of them continued on their way.
Fortunately, the demon bone chain on his ankles didn't cause any trouble for the time being, and he was able to keep up with it.
The closer they got to the center of the secret realm, the more people they encountered. Fortunately, Li Chixue was strong enough that no one dared to provoke her after a few sword strikes.
A day later, Fu Mingxu was still halfway to the center of the secret realm that the Mirror Spirit wanted him to go to.
"Isn't my senior brother pretty good?" Yan Yun whispered in Fu Mingxu's ear.
Fu Mingxu wasn't used to being so close to others, so he unconsciously created some distance, his gaze falling on the sword light in front of him. He nodded and said, "Your swordsmanship is outstanding; you will surely achieve mastery of the sword in the future."
His understanding of sword cultivators was still based on Qi Muyuan. Qi Muyuan's swordsmanship was extraordinary, but he lacked the heart of the sword path. This may be related to his experience. For him, the sword was more like a weapon to prove his strength.
But in Li Chixue, he saw a heart that was pure in the way of the sword.
It seems this person was born to wield a sword.
Fu Mingxu stood there for a while and saw that Li Chixue had sheathed her sword. The sword was thin and slender, and even from a distance, one could feel its sharpness and coldness, so it must not be an ordinary sword.
"Are you ready?" After practicing swordsmanship for half an hour in the morning, Li Chixue showed no signs of fatigue. "We might encounter another group of people later."
He glanced at Fu Mingxu, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You need to cover your face."
In secret realms where no sect governs, stealing treasures and killing are not considered major offenses. Natural treasures are fought over, and alluring beauties are coveted; otherwise, why would those fox-spirit-transformed half-demons constantly circulate in the dark markets?
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingxu was taken aback.
Yan Yun realized what was happening and smiled at him, saying, "Fellow Daoist Fu, you should listen to Senior Brother Li."
Fu Mingxu naturally didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he took out a veil from his storage bag that could block spiritual consciousness and put it on.
Judging from his skillful technique, Yan Yun guessed that this wasn't the first time he had worn it.
Her green robe trailed to the ground, her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, a green ribbon peeking through it. When the wind blew, half of her fair, jade-like chin was faintly revealed through the veil beneath her hat.
For a moment, Han Chixue couldn't figure out whether it was a good thing or a bad thing to ask him to cover his face.
"Let's go." Fu Mingxu raised his chin, gesturing to the two of them.
The further the three went, the more frequent the sounds of fighting became. After witnessing two groups fighting tooth and nail over a rare Thunderclap Grass, Fu Mingxu silently clutched his storage bag.
He remembered that he had put several plants in his storage bag before.
Fu Mingxu decided that after finding the treasure the Mirror Spirit mentioned, he would follow the route given by the Mirror Spirit and gather all the spiritual herbs.
The Mirror Spirit, sensing its master's thoughts, embraced the chaotic energy within its dantian. Long Yan, however, remained to the side, showing little interest in the other two within its dantian.
Having avoided several fights, Fu Mingxu finally felt like he had met someone he knew when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
The battle in front of them must have just ended, and Shen Ange was whispering to the female cultivator beside him.
"An Ge!" Fu Mingxu thought for a moment and then sent her a telepathic message.
Shen Ange was startled. After recognizing his voice, she immediately turned around and found her friend's location at a glance.
Li Chixue saw a female cultivator jogging towards the three of them, gripped her sword hilt tightly, and looked wary.
“He’s my friend,” Fu Mingxu quickly explained after noticing the expression on his face.
Shen Ange looked him up and down, her concern evident in her eyes: "Are you alright?"
Fu Mingxu chuckled, lifted his veil, shook his head, and said, "Very good."
The two female cultivators over there also looked this way. Shen Ange seemed to remember something and said, "Wait for me."
She ran back, said something to the two female cultivators, retrieved a storage bag, and then ran back to give it to him.
"These are spiritual herbs I specially collected for you. Take them."
Before Fu Mingxu could cultivate and could only stay in the Fu family, Shen Ange would bring back various spiritual herbs for him every time she went out of the city. Without her, his alchemy and medicine-making skills could not have been developed so quickly.
Therefore, he would give her half of every pill he refined.
Over time, they all got used to this pattern.
Fu Mingxu put away the spiritual herbs, and the two of them chatted back and forth, leaving no room for others to get a word in edgewise.
Li Chixue glanced at the relaxed smile on his face and unconsciously pursed her lips. Yan Yun, on the other hand, was very familiar with him, "Fellow Daoist, did you know Fellow Daoist Fu before?"
Shen Ange's smile faded slightly, and her tone became distant: "I've been friends with him for many years, so we're naturally familiar with each other."
She glanced behind Fu Mingxu and asked, "Where is Lord Han? Didn't he come with you?"
"I don't know, I appeared in the secret realm first." Fu Mingxu glanced at the blazing sun overhead, his eyes narrowing. "How did you get here?"
Shen Ange said something to the two female cultivators, and they exchanged a glance before leaving.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you when I have time." She nodded to Han Chixue and the other woman, very politely, "Thank you both for taking care of Mingxu before."
In her heart, Fu Mingxu had long been her family, and the idea that she needed to be taken care of was deeply ingrained, even though he had now attained cultivation.
Just as Yan Yun was about to speak, she was silenced by a casual glance from Li Chixue.
“He saved my junior brother, so I protected him for a while. It’s an equal exchange.” He gripped the hilt of his sword, the sharp light in his eyes masking the emotions beneath. “In that case, let’s part ways.”
Shen Ange didn't think anything was wrong, but Fu Mingxu frowned slightly, realizing that he was probably slowing down the other's pace.
He took out two jade bottles and said with a light smile, "Thank you both for your help. These are the pills I refined. I hope you will accept them."
Yan Yun was about to postpone it, but Li Chixue accepted it directly, nodded slightly to the two of them, and then turned and left.
"Hey, Senior Brother, wait for me!" Yan Yun called after him, not forgetting to turn back and shout, "Fellow Daoist Fu, we will meet again!"
Fu Mingxu could only nod.
When Yan Yun finally caught up with Li Chixue, she grumbled, "Senior brother, what are you doing? Are we just going to leave Fellow Daoist Fu there? Also, why did you keep all the pills he gave us? These are for both of us."
Li Chixue paused, her tone indifferent: "His friend is also at the Golden Core stage, what do you have to worry about?"
"The pills? I'll keep them here for safekeeping."
Yan Yun wanted to say that he also had a storage bag, but when he caught a glimpse of the coldness on his senior brother's face, his legs couldn't help but tremble.
Not wanting to appear weak, he stubbornly shouted, "Although we are both at the Golden Core stage, we are at different stages. You are a sword cultivator, and your combat power is extraordinary."
"Fellow Daoist Fu is handsome and kind-hearted, and his medical skills are superb. If some blind person finds out about this, whether they are attracted to his good looks or his medical skills, then things will be very bad."
"His friend is probably outnumbered."
"Besides, he saved me. Wouldn't it be too hasty for us to repay him?"
After Yan Yun finished speaking, he noticed that his senior brother was staring straight at him.
"Is there anything wrong with what I said?" He swallowed hard, startled.
Li Chixue remained silent for a long time, as if she had been persuaded by him, and nodded: "You're right, your life isn't that cheap."
Yan Yun was speechless for a moment. Just as she was about to argue, Li Chixue turned around and walked back.
"Hey, senior brother, wait for me!"
Yan Yun had no choice but to hurry up and catch up.
Fu Mingxu was unaware of the conversation between the two, but after they left, she and Shen Ange did encounter some trouble.
What a small world! Perhaps the path to the palace became shorter as he went further, for he unexpectedly encountered Fu Shanqing and Bai Lengxia.
Following behind the two was none other than Fu Haoren.
“Mingxu?” Even though the other party was wearing a veil, Fu Shanqing recognized him easily, not to mention that Shen Ange, who had also come from Yunhan City, was standing next to him.
As soon as Fu Haoren went to Tianxuan Sect, his engagement with Shen Ange was automatically dissolved. The Immortal Sect was not as good as he had imagined. Fu Shanqing had excellent immortal qualities and became an inner disciple as soon as he entered the sect. Although he had not yet formally become a disciple, some elders had a good impression of him and were waiting for him to form his Golden Core before taking him as their personal disciple.
As for himself, not only was he of mortal talent, but also because of his physical disability, he could only become an ordinary outer disciple. The glory he had imagined did not come to pass, and he had to earn even a single spirit stone on his own.
Having come and gone, the ambition he had when he first arrived was gone, and he missed his days in the Fu family very much.
However, what he didn't expect was that not only was Fu Shanqing doing well, but even Fu Mingxu had now been recognized as the master of the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror under the care of the city lord, and no one dared to look down on him.
Why? Why can they all stand on high places while I can only look up from below?
He was unwilling to accept it.
Fu Mingxu sensed the strange looks from the three men, so he simply removed his veil, revealing his more radiant face to the sunlight, making the mountain scenery pale in comparison.