No, impossible!
This is a secret realm!
Although there are many good spirit beasts in the secret realm, the teleportation mechanism of this secret realm would not teleport me into the belly of a creature, right?
As Yun Ze pondered, those liquids poured down from above like a waterfall!
"Xing Wudao."
Yun Ze leaped into the air, sensing the change in the concentration of spiritual energy in the air.
These liquids were filled with faint spiritual energy!
Although the concentration was extremely low, the presence of spiritual energy was undeniable. Just as his senior sister had recorded on the parchment, these liquids should indeed be spirit liquid.
The parchment scroll recorded that some lakes in the secret realm were filled with spirit liquid, known as spirit lakes.
Within the vast secret realm, there were a total of nine spirit lakes, which nurtured many spirit beasts. Among them, the most terrifying was the spirit whale in the spirit lake!
Legend had it that each spirit lake contained a spirit whale, so large that its body could cover more than half of the lake. Each spirit whale's cultivation was around the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.
They soaked in the spirit lakes year-round, nourished by the spirit liquid.
Although their level was only Foundation Establishment, their flesh, blood, and bones far surpassed those of ordinary Core Formation cultivators. Even a second-grade spirit artifact might not be able to pierce their hides.
Fortunately, they lived in the depths of the spirit lakes and rarely appeared. In a thousand years, with ten openings of the secret realm, one might not even see one.
If he were truly inside a creature, it was highly likely he was in the belly of this spirit whale!
Yun Ze's mouth twitched.
He couldn't be this unlucky, could he!
Spirit whales were rarely encountered, and teleportation errors in the secret realm were also infrequent. It couldn't be that he was really teleported into the belly of a spirit whale, could it?
The liquid surface continued to rise.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the air was increasing, but Yun Ze's living space was also being constantly compressed.
He frowned and could only take out the Mountain Ghoul.
No matter what, he had to give it a try!
If this was indeed a spirit whale, he could only hope its stomach was not as tough as its skin was rumored to be!
Yun Ze flicked his wrist and unleashed a sword strike. Nine sword shadows instantly spread out, overlapping and striking as one!
Boom!
The entire space instantly trembled!
Yun Ze stabilized himself and leaned closer to the spot where he had struck, only to find no trace of damage. His brow furrowed tightly.
Nine Shadows Unite, this was already his strongest sword strike.
In previous tests, he had used the Mountain Ghoul to unleash this strike, and it had even managed to force back a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
If it had hit, it could have even severely injured him!
Yet now, it landed on this barrier, and not even a scratch was left.
It seemed that brute force was not an option, and he had to think of another way.
Just as Yun Ze was frowning in thought, he sensed a vibration from his spatial ring.
He took it out and found that it was from the Qiankun Bag that Dan Chenyu had given him earlier.
This item was probably given by Brother Yu. He wondered what was inside.
Yun Ze opened it and found a set of Foundation Establishment materials for the earthly path, a letter, and a jade token that was continuously vibrating, in addition to the Earth Soul Liquid.
He placed the jade token in his palm and infused it with spiritual energy. Instantly, he sensed the presence of another jade token in the distance, and then Dan Chenyu's voice echoed in his ear.
"Comrade Yun Ze, is that you?"
A sound transmission jade slip! And one with a positioning function!
As expected of a young lady from the Immortal Mansion. He had heard of such items at the Immortal Gathering. The value of such a set was probably no less than a third-tier spirit artifact.
"It's me."
Yun Ze spoke two words, then immediately asked, "Fellow Daoist Dan, you..."
"Hey! Don't call me Fellow Daoist! You have to call me Comrade! Or you can just call me Xiao Yu."
Dan Chenyu corrected him, then asked, "Is your location safe? Shall I come find you now? Or should we meet up on the way?
I feel... this secret realm seems a bit off, as if something has gone wrong."
"Something has gone wrong."
Yun Ze explained his predicament with a wry smile, "If I'm not mistaken, I should be in a spirit lake right now."
"A spirit lake! Comrade Yun Ze, your luck is too good! Wait for me! I'll be right there!"
"Don't rush."
Yun Ze could hear a hint of joy in her voice.
Encountering a spirit lake right after entering the secret realm was indeed a great fortune.
Everyone came to this secret realm to search for Yuan Qi. However, Yuan Qi was scarce and scattered throughout the secret realm, and could exist anywhere.
But if one had to name a place where Yuan Qi was definitely present, it would only be the spirit lakes!
Yun Ze continued to explain, "I am indeed in a spirit lake, but I've encountered some trouble. I am currently... in the belly of a spirit whale."
"In its belly?"
"Yes!"
"How is that possible?"
Dan Chenyu's voice was also full of confusion, "You were teleported into its belly, and I was teleported underground. Logically, the teleportation array shouldn't have such an error, unless...
No! Impossible!"
She must have thought of something!
Yun Ze immediately asked, "Unless what? Tell me!"
"Comrade Yun Ze, don't rush. I'm coming to find you now! I'll be there soon!"
Dan Chenyu said quickly, "You're in the spirit whale's stomach, right? A senior from the Immortal Mansion once captured a spirit whale and discovered upon dissection that it had five stomachs.
Four of them were for storing food, and one was responsible for refining spiritual energy. The five stomachs were connected. You should try to find the stomach responsible for refining spiritual energy.
If you are there, you should be able to hold on until I arrive!"
"Okay!"
"Stay in touch, I'm on my way."
"Be careful."
Yun Ze put the remaining items into his spatial ring and held the jade token tightly in his hand.
It's true that being well-read is beneficial. He even knew how many stomachs this spirit beast had.
Speaking of which, this person seemed to be a disciple of that 'Master Yun'. Someone who could learn from him must have a very sharp mind!
Yun Ze instantly recalled the scene before entering, and his mouth twitched.
He hoped his guess was correct.
Yun Ze wielded his fire sword, using its light to scan below, but found no reduction in the liquid.
It seemed the passage was not below, but somewhere above.
He stepped on Xing Wudao and searched upwards, indeed finding four passages!
These passages were large enough for one person to pass through!
Yun Ze closed his eyes and sensed, decisively choosing the passage with the densest spiritual energy.
He didn't walk far before he saw a swirling, luminous mist emerging from ahead, and the surrounding stench had also weakened considerably.
Found it!
This was good news, but it also brought bad news.
Since such an existence was indeed here, it proved that he was truly in the stomach of a spirit whale!
I... was actually eaten!?
No wonder the Mountain Ghoul couldn't break through its internal organs.
Yun Ze hurried into the fifth stomach and was instantly stunned!
This fifth stomach... was clearly the spiritual sea of a human!
There was no mucus or debris in this stomach, only extremely pure spiritual energy... no, to be precise, it was liquefied spiritual energy!
Unlike the liquid before, which contained at most less than three percent spiritual energy, the spirit liquid before him had no moisture at all; it was entirely condensed from spiritual energy!
If one were to follow human cultivation methods, once this spirit whale's fifth stomach was filled with spirit liquid, it would be time for it to break through to the Core Formation realm!
Judging by the current fill level, it was about eighty percent full!
This spirit whale was at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, not far from Core Formation!
Unfortunately, Sister Mu's parchment only mentioned the existence of spirit whales. She had not seen one at the time and had no further information to offer Yun Ze for reference.
However, if he could absorb that spirit liquid with low purity, he should be able to absorb this spirit liquid as well.
Yun Ze reached out and touched the spirit liquid, attempting to absorb a little.
Buzz!
A buzzing sound exploded in his ears, and Yun Ze felt a surge of pleasure rush straight to his mind!
A pure stream of spiritual energy flowed directly into his body. As soon as it entered Yun Ze's spiritual sea, it merged with his spiritual vortex and transformed into his cultivation!
Yun Ze's eyes lit up. He looked at the entire expanse of spirit liquid, which was enough to fill him hundreds of times over!
"Hoo!"
He exhaled a breath of turbid air, his heart filled with excitement!
This was what they meant by misfortune can be a blessing in disguise! The ancients were indeed not deceiving!
However...
Absorbing a little was fine, but if he absorbed a large quantity, the spirit whale would surely notice, and he might end up losing more than he gained!
Yun Ze's brow furrowed as he surveyed the spirit liquid before him, his mind constantly devising various possibilities.
He couldn't just leave empty-handed from a treasure trove, could he?
Spirit liquid... water...
Got it!
A plan suddenly dawned on Yun Ze, and he stepped on Xing Wudao, rushing back towards the previous stomach!
...
In the Zhutian Secret Realm, on the peak of a mountain range.
Dan Chenyu's clothes were covered in dust, and next to her was a human-shaped pit.
She had clearly just emerged from it. The moment she got out, she contacted her Comrade Yun Ze.
But she never expected to receive such terrible news!
Teleportation array chaos!
Her master had told her about this special situation. If such a situation occurred, there was only one possibility!
Someone, someone other than those hundred people, had also entered the secret realm!
"Great!"
A flicker of excitement flashed in Dan Chenyu's eyes!
If I can survive, then I will know how the tragedy of thousands of years ago truly happened!
But the most crucial thing now was to find Comrade Yun Ze!
Regardless of whether they were both members of the Purity Society or because he was her junior uncle, this person had to be saved!
Just as Dan Chenyu was about to set off, a sharp cry suddenly sounded in her ear!
"Roar!"
She turned to look behind her and saw a black shadow rushing towards her fiercely...
...
At this moment, in the Zhutian Secret Realm.
A man and a woman were suspended in mid-air. The girl was very young, at most six or seven years old, while the man was dressed as a teenager, shrinking behind the girl, looking at the scene with great fear.
"Bu Bu, where is this place? A secret realm? Why is it a little different from what Father said!"
This man and woman were clearly the last to enter, Bu Bu and Xiu Long.
After entering, they immediately came to the sky above the secret realm and looked down upon the entire Zhutian Secret Realm.
They didn't know until they looked, and when they did, they were shocked.
The entire Zhutian Secret Realm was like a gladiatorial arena, filled with roars and battles!
However, most of these roars and battles did not belong to humans, but to the spirit beasts that originally lived in the Zhutian Secret Realm!
Regardless of their realm, size, or even species, they were fighting madly!
Bu Bu frowned as she looked at everything, and a memory flashed in her mind.
She had seen this scene before!
She had originally thought that the so-called Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was just a rumor, something that later generations had accidentally stumbled upon and created.
But now it seemed...
This person was indeed a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!
If that was the case, he might not have truly perished yet!