As the sun in the secret realm gradually softened into dusk, the outer perimeter of the first level of the Divine Sea Secret Realm was shrouded in the twilight.
Within the dense jungle, Chu Tian and his group of six moved forward cautiously. At regular intervals, they would scan their surroundings. Only Chu Tian appeared unconcerned. His divine sense, though compressed, extended about twenty meters, allowing him to detect anything within that range, even with his eyes closed. Of course, this did not apply to anomalies that could shield them from divine sense detection.
At this moment, apart from Chu Tian, the other five, including Hai Yue, who led the way, exhibited the nervousness of startled birds, their eyes showing clear signs of fatigue. However, Chu Tian didn't pretend to be unaffected; he feigned exhaustion as well. He had realized they were not following the safe route. Moreover, the further they advanced, the stronger the gravitational pressure became. Chu Tian didn't know their intentions, but since he had chosen to accompany them, he wouldn't voice too many questions.
Along their journey, Hai Yue and the others had begun to understand the dangers within the Divine Sea Secret Realm. Chu Tian also gained some insight; the seemingly beautiful landscapes were, in reality, riddled with fatal perils. There were creatures that lay motionless like stones, only to ambush them as they passed. Earlier, they had also traversed a stream so clear and transparent it was lethally poisonous. And then there were the celestial beasts, which, though not individually powerful, traveled in packs. Chu Tian mused that these "celestial beasts" were merely demonic beasts, as he hadn't seen any that had taken human form yet.
At present, everyone in the group secretly felt fortunate to have Hai Yue leading them. Otherwise, the dangers they had encountered could have resulted in casualties. Instead, they were merely tired, having avoided any life-or-death battles with monsters.
"It will be more dangerous ahead!" Hai Yue slowly halted her advance, gazing ahead with a calm expression.
Everyone stopped. Chu Tian, who had remained silent throughout their journey, finally spoke. "Where are we going? Aren't we heading to the third level?"
Hai Yue glanced at him and shook her head. "We are, but not now, because the passage to the third level isn't open yet!"
Chu Tian's eyes widened slightly before returning to normal. "So that's how it is. Do we need to clear some objectives to fully open the passage to the third level?"
"Yes... and no." After saying this, Hai Yue fell silent. Chu Tian waited for her explanation, but she had already moved aside to dig for herbs. The spiritual herbs had become more abundant here. While not growing everywhere, they could be found in one or two spots every hundred meters. Chu Tian had no interest in these spiritual herbs, but he still collected a few, one of each kind, not taking more. His thought was that these might be extinct on Blue Star and he could perhaps transplant them.
"It's getting late. We need to find a place to rest for the night. The Divine Sea Secret Realm at night is too dangerous for travel," Hai Yue's words were met with conviction. Moreover, their nerves had been on edge throughout the journey, and they were all exhausted, yearning for a break. The group then proceeded towards a large ancient tree not far ahead, intending to use it as a makeshift camp, thus reducing the need to guard one side.
However, after walking for a while, Chu Tian suddenly felt something was amiss. The ancient tree, which didn't seem that far, appeared to remain at the same distance no matter how long they walked. After some more time, the others also noticed the anomaly.
"Strange, why have we walked so long?" Ah Tai frowned.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Ah Biao scratched his head. Hai Yue, at the forefront of the group, also sensed something was wrong and abruptly stopped.
"Everyone, stay still!" Hai Yue whispered. Then, she scanned her surroundings and took out a jade slip, which looked different from the ones Chu Tian and the others possessed. With a flick of her fingers, she performed a few gestures on the jade slip.
*Buzz*. A ring of milky-white light swept outwards. At that moment, Chu Tian felt a powerful soul force.
*Buzz*! As the milky-white light from the jade slip emanated, a buzzing sound, as loud as thunder, suddenly filled their ears! Chu Tian was startled, and then he heard the rustling of leaves from the surrounding dense forest! In the next moment, he saw dense swarms of moths, no larger than fingernails, flying out from all directions! These moths had purple wings and two rows of sharp teeth in their mouths, swarming out in groups!
"It's Blood Soul Moths!" Upon seeing these moths, Bu Shi Yi exclaimed from within the group! Chu Tian's expression changed drastically. These Blood Soul Moths were too numerous; there were likely hundreds of thousands of them!
"How can there be so many Blood Soul Moths?" Even the usually carefree Ah Biao's face contorted, and bronze-colored light flashed across his body. Chu Tian had seen this move before; it was a protective skill. The Blood Soul Moths, disturbed by Hai Yue, were flying erratically but were already surging towards Chu Tian and his group.
Hai Yue's face turned grim. "Stay close! There are too many Blood Soul Moths to fight off. We'll charge out together!"
Despite his surprise, Chu Tian didn't panic. He had read about Blood Soul Moths in the jade slip. They were gregarious creatures, and their habitats were known to cause illusions. Their individual attack power was ordinary; their only threat was their sheer numbers. However, for Chu Tian, overwhelming numbers posed little problem if their defense was low. After all, he possessed the indiscriminate area-of-effect skill, Starfall.
Just as Hai Yue was preparing to move, suddenly...
"Ah... it's a swamp!" Jin Ling cried out. Hearing her, everyone looked. The ground beneath Jin Ling's feet had suddenly turned into a swamp, and it had already reached her calves. Then, everyone gasped. Swamps had appeared beneath all of them. Chu Tian's feet were also sinking. Hai Yue, who was about to lead them out, found her feet trapped in the ground. Despite their struggles, they sank deeper and deeper.
Chu Tian, at the rear of the group, looked at the swamp slowly appearing beneath his feet. His expression turned solemn, but he showed no panic. Glancing up at the swarm of Blood Soul Moths, Chu Tian's mind raced.
"Divine Soul Secret Technique, Soul Annihilation!" A milky-white light flashed from his brow, and an invisible wave spread outwards. In the next moment, countless Blood Soul Moths continued to flutter in the sky, baring their fangs at the group. They seemed completely unaffected by the wave. Seeing this, a flicker of understanding dawned in Chu Tian's eyes!
"So that's how it is!" To Chu Tian's divine sense, the visible Blood Soul Moths didn't truly exist. However, he noticed a faint, elusive soul force in the positions of the visible Blood Soul Moths. It was intermittent, and if his soul had not been strong, he would never have detected it. These Blood Soul Moths were like puppets, linked by threads of soul force. All the threads pointed towards a position to their left and rear.
"Hmph... Divine Soul Secret Technique, Soul Pierce!" Chu Tian's spirit stirred as his soul force circulated. A tiny divine platform door opened in his brow. *Swish*... An invisible sharp spike emerged.
"Go..." Chu Tian whispered mentally. The Soul Pierce shot towards that direction with immense force. That location was beyond Chu Tian's divine sense coverage, but he paid it no mind. This time, the Soul Pierce was not like when he dealt with the dantian clone, where he condensed thousands of soul needles to torment him. Instead, it was extremely solid, imbued with an unstoppable momentum as it shot forward!
"Ah..." As Chu Tian's Soul Pierce struck, the group, trapped in the swamp and struggling desperately, heard a scream. In the next second, the scene before their eyes distorted. In an instant, they found that the ground beneath them was no longer a swamp but a grassy field. The grass was abundant, reaching their waists. The surrounding area was not a dense forest but a landscape of strange rocks. The Blood Soul Moths had vanished, and the stars twinkled in the sky.
"What's going on? Where are the Blood Soul Moths, the swamp? Damn it, what's ahead..." Ah Biao exclaimed in panic, his gaze finally falling on what was ahead. Everyone followed his gaze. Half a step in front of Hai Yue was a cliff. Looking down, they couldn't see the bottom. Ten thousand feet of abyss wouldn't suffice to describe it. Hai Yue's pupils instantly contracted to pinpricks. She quickly took a few steps back, exhaling a breath of relief.
The others were not faring any better; their bodies were stiff, and their faces showed terror. Had they taken a few more steps, they would have all plunged into the abyss. Falling in meant their bones would likely be unrecoverable. Hai Yue had been in grave danger just moments ago, a mere half-step away!
"What just happened?"
"I don't know. I heard a scream from our rear, and then the Blood Soul Moths disappeared!"
"It's... an illusion formation, a natural illusion formation, but it wasn't activated on its own; someone manipulated it to trap us!"
"Someone wants to harm us?" Ah Tai roared. He fixed his gaze in the direction from which the voice had come. Since the scream had come from that direction, leading to their liberation, it clearly indicated that the person controlling the illusion formation had been attacked or encountered something. Therefore, the one who intended to harm them must be over there. Ah Tai's body erupted with powerful vital energy, like a savage dragon. Chu Tian was secretly amazed by the aura emanating from his surging vital energy; he no longer looked human. Instead, he resembled a furious King Kong ape.
*Bang*... Ah Tai stomped his foot and charged towards the rear left. With every step he took on the ground, it rumbled.
"Ah Tai... don't be impulsive," Hai Yue called out, quickly following him. The others also soared after him, fearing something might happen to Ah Tai. Soon, about a hundred meters ahead, Ah Tai suddenly stopped. Hai Yue, the closest to him, also stopped immediately.
As everyone wondered why Ah Tai, who had been furious moments ago, had stopped and not attacked, Hai Yue's expression shifted. She sidestepped Ah Tai, moving in front of him, and crouched down. By this time, everyone else had also arrived, including Chu Tian.
"A'li..." The group exclaimed in unison. Chu Tian, however, showed no particular expression, as he had already known someone was here. Furthermore, it was bound to be someone they knew. There was no need to even consider it; anyone appearing here must be from their tribe. However, this person was, in fact, a young girl, not much older than fourteen or fifteen. She was lying face down on the ground, pressing down a patch of weeds.
"No wonder... it's A'li. It seems Zu Tian arranged for her to obstruct us here," Bu Shi Yi frowned slightly, but his gaze flickered towards Chu Tian.
"Hmm... looking at this, Zu Tian and the others must be significantly ahead of us now," Jin Ling came to Hai Yue's side and crouched down to examine her.
"A'li... actually tried to kill us? This..." Ah Biao looked incredulous. Ah Biao's words seemed to snap the stunned Ah Tai back to his senses. He took a few deep breaths, his eyes turning redder.
"Harm us? Damn it..." At that moment, he suddenly raised his foot and, disregarding Hai Yue and Jin Ling's presence, stepped directly towards the unsuspecting A'li. Seeing this kick, Chu Tian was startled. He wondered what cultivation technique this fellow practiced. His furious kick carried the force to shatter rocks and crack the earth.
"Ah Tai, no!" Hai Yue cried out, attempting to stop him. At that moment, she seemed to have forgotten to conceal her true voice, which sounded clear and exceptionally beautiful. However, Ah Tai's eyes were bloodshot, as if he had entered some trance, and he couldn't hear such a pleasant voice. The others were also shocked. If this kick landed, even if A'li survived, she would surely have her brains splattered.
Seeing that she couldn't stop Ah Tai, Hai Yue's hands began to glow. She raised her palm, seemingly intending to block his kick with her hand. Jin Ling beside her, however, had a flash in her eyes and forcefully shoved Hai Yue away. The two of them rolled like gourds for over ten meters.
*Boom*... A muffled thud echoed. Grass clippings flew, and dust billowed. A tremor of dust erupted from A'li's location.
"A'jin, you..." Hai Yue got up, looking at Jin Ling beside her. "You couldn't stop it. Ah Tai's furious kick is something no one here can block... This... impossible!" Jin Ling's words trailed off as her gaze landed on A'li's location. The dust there dissipated. Gradually, the figures within became visible. A hunched figure was crouched on the ground, his body bowed, his hands supporting the ground. Beneath him was A'li's head. And stepping on his back was a large foot. That foot belonged to none other than Chu Tian, the Blue Star trial participant they had almost forgotten!
Everyone stared at the scene in bewilderment. He had been the farthest from A'li just moments ago. How had he gotten there?
"Holy crap... a living Blue Star person. Won't he be kicked to death?" Ah Biao's eyes widened. However, Chu Tian responded by tilting his head and grinning at him.