"Qiao Yi, the gate is about to open, we can't hold on much longer. Let's escape first!"
Zhang Wu couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle whenever he remembered Li San's gruesome death.
He was considered an experienced and knowledgeable elder, yet the scene that had unfolded not long ago had caught him completely off guard.
He, Li San, and Qiao Yi had quietly slipped away as Bai Shengyi's tribulation was nearing its end. Little did they know that as soon as they reached the eastern territory, Li San suddenly declared something felt wrong.
"Li San, are you injured? Your face is too pale!" Qiao Yi also inquired.
Li San was not of a pale-skinned race, but at first glance, he looked as if he had been coated with a layer of white flour, so deathly pale that it seemed to reflect light.
Li San's reaction was a beat slower than usual. "No, my injuries have almost healed after taking the medicinal pills. However, I feel a bit uncomfortable, but I can't quite describe the feeling."
Li San felt a sense of disorientation, yet he was also perfectly lucid. He shook his head, attributing this sensation to overthinking.
"The spiritual energy is much denser around here; there must be high-grade spiritual plants. We can walk slower and search carefully…"
Li San's words trailed off, and Zhang Wu, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong?"
Li San didn't respond. Zhang Wu looked up and couldn't help but scream, "Ah!"
"Qiao Yi! Look quickly!" Zhang Wu pointed at Li San.
They watched as Li San, who had been speaking moments ago, withered at a visible rate, as if his blood had been sucked dry by something. Yet, it didn't stop there. Once he had withered to a certain extent, his flesh and skin began to bulge, then disappear…
While it seemed to happen slowly, it was actually very fast. In less than a minute, Li San was reduced to a skeletal frame.
Before Qiao Yi and Zhang Wu could even react, they saw a skeletal frame still mechanically moving forward, eventually crashing into the piled-up Void Beast cores ahead, before scattering into a pile of bone ash that fell to the ground.
Qiao Yi, ignoring the surrounding Void Beast cores and the peculiar grand formation, was the first to rush to the bone ash. He activated his bloodline power.
Then, using his innate skill, he saw thick, scarlet karma lines connecting Li San to the vast secret realm!
"The secret realm did this! We need to find a way out quickly!"
This was Qiao Yi's initial thought, but before he and Zhang Wu could find an exit, a gate appeared in mid-air. It was the familiar stone gate, already entwined with countless karma lines, black and red, thick and thin.
At that moment, Qiao Yi finally understood. "Don't let this gate open!"
This unknown gate was already connected to the entire secret realm!
"Qiao Yi, let's escape!" Zhang Wu said dejectedly, "We can't fight it…"
The power of the secret realm was too immense. So immense that the moment Zhang Wu realized it, he had already lost confidence in himself.
Qiao Yi's lips drooped. The man who was usually full of well-calculated plans was rarely seen so downcast. He sighed helplessly, "Escape? Where can we escape to?"
As if to confirm Qiao Yi's words, countless thick black vines grew from the ground, entwining Qiao Yi and Zhang Wu's feet and dragging them forcefully towards the depths.
Qiao Yi and Zhang Wu were not the only cultivators in the east. There were also some unfamiliar cultivators, but these cultivators had not taken Qiao Yi and Zhang Wu's words seriously, thinking the gate was their opportunity. They were lurking nearby, hoping for secret treasures. However, as soon as the vines emerged, screams echoed all around.
"Ah! Help me!"
"What kind of monstrous thing is this! Why can't even Heavenly-grade magical artifacts cut through it!"
"Someone save me!"
"Yu Pingxiao, what are you hesitating for? Quickly take out Fengyuan Sect's most treasured heirloom!" Amidst the chaos, someone grumbled unhappily.
Yu Pingxiao gritted his teeth unwillingly. This person spoke so lightly, as if he wouldn't know heartache if it wasn't their sect's heirloom being used, right?
But Yu Pingxiao was indeed hesitating. Two-thirds of Fengyuan Sect's disciples had been lost when they entered the secret realm. After a few more days, only about six or seven people remained here. If these six or seven people were also gone, it was likely that even if they survived and left the secret realm, Fengyuan Sect would be completely swallowed by sects like Qishan Pavilion and Jinxia Sect.
Just as Yu Pingxiao gritted his teeth and prepared to take out the sect's heirloom, a sharp and overbearing sword intent suddenly flew over, cleaving through a large portion of the black vines in front of him!
Yu Pingxiao hastily broke free and looked up, "Immortal Lord Rongku?"
Yu Pingxiao's face flushed red. The scene not long ago, where Fengyuan Sect, in conjunction with Qishan Pavilion and other sects, had ignored warnings and insisted on letting him enter the secret realm, was still vivid in his mind. Now that he had been saved from death again, he felt somewhat embarrassed.
However, Bai Shengyi was completely oblivious to Yu Pingxiao's embarrassment. Hearing his address, she knew this person was from Shenqi.
Bai Shengyi said, "You all should leave this place quickly—"
She paused. She had originally intended for these people to leave the secret realm, but realizing that the secret realm was undoubtedly sealed shut at the moment, she changed her advice. "First, find a safe place to stay. When the secret realm opens, leave immediately!"
"Dao Lord Rongku, if we leave, won't we miss out on opportunities?" the cultivator who had previously urged Yu Pingxiao to take out the heirloom grumbled.
Qin Si let out a cold laugh, his sword slashing through the air.
"Pfft!"
The sword light severed the black vines in front of the cultivator.
Qin Si said coldly, "You can choose not to leave, as long as you're not afraid of death."
Jing Yu forced a smile, secretly harboring resentment. However, being alone in this place, his priority was survival, so he didn't dare to say more and prepared to leave with Yu Pingxiao and the others.
But as soon as he took a step, a cold, dark blue long sword appeared before him.
"What… what are you doing?" Jing Yu feigned extreme fright and shouted loudly, "Just because you've become immortals doesn't mean you can do whatever you want?"
"Why are you so agitated?" Qin Si, while protecting Bai Shengyi, said to Jing Yu, "I quite like the skin on your face. Let's peel it off and take a look."
As he spoke, he attacked instantly. Jing Yu tried to resist, but after only two moves, Qin Si tore the skin off his face.
"Jing Yu?"
Yu Pingxiao looked at Jing Yu in astonishment.
Bai Shengyi frowned tightly, "Jing Yu, the one Dong Lan Yu said killed Sect Leader Dong?"
"You killed Sect Leader Dong?" Yu Pingxiao was even more astonished. "So that's why you suddenly disappeared from Mount Qunyu back then!"
Faced with his identity being suddenly exposed, Jing Yu was only flustered for a moment before calming down immediately.
He said, "Sect Leader Dong didn't run away to defect to the Red Lotus Demon Lord; he ran away himself. He probably never imagined that the Red Lotus Demon Lord wouldn't even care for such a lackey."
Jing Yu said coldly, "None of you will escape today either."
"Heh, you worry about yourself first!" Qin Si tied him up and threw him into the air. Jing Yu immediately disappeared from his spot.
"This…" Yu Pingxiao said sheepishly, "Immortal Lord Qin, did you deal with Jing Yu directly?"
"He's locked up," Qin Si said coldly. "You may leave now."
On the other side, as soon as Bai Shengyi made her move, Qiao Yi felt a significant easing of pressure.
Qiao Yi looked at Bai Shengyi, his feelings incredibly complex. Who would have thought that not long ago, the two of them were fighting to the death, and now they were helping each other?
"Bai Shengyi, how much do you know about this gate?" Qiao Yi took a deep breath, his words both a probe and a sincere invitation. "Let's cooperate. If all these gates open, none of us will be able to escape. Do you understand?"