Cultivation: I have an omnipotent land

Chapter 48 Secret Realm

Majestic mountain walls, desolate canyons, and cultivators from three sects gathered in Eagle Gorge.

Under Duanmu Yan's watchful gaze, these newly initiated disciples, whether they wanted to or not, dared not disobey the sect's Golden Core elder's wishes, and could only enter the canyon crevice shrouded in eerie mist with their own thoughts.

Xiao Ming mingled in the back of the crowd, his gaze sweeping around before settling on Yan Yuxue.

Judging from her reaction when she heard the name Eagle Gorge on the flying boat, she seems to know something. It would be beneficial to befriend her.

Thinking this, Xiao Ming moved a little closer to Yan Yuxue in the crowd.

The rift was initially quite narrow, but as the group ventured deeper, it became increasingly spacious, though the eerie mist grew thicker and thicker.

Soon, it was so dark you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face, let alone observe the people around you.

Xiao Ming felt as if everyone around him had disappeared in an instant, leaving him all alone as he walked forward, which made him feel a little uneasy.

This eerie mist feels somewhat similar to the Little Mirror Flower Array I encountered before; both have the power to interfere with the five senses, but this one is far more powerful.

If there's a hidden danger, he won't even know how he died.

With one hand on the storage bag, Xiao Ming secretly gathered magical power in his fingertips, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred. Xiao Ming's chest glowed, and a token suddenly flew out of his clothes and hovered in front of him.

The light blue glow spread out, easily dispelling the white mist within a three-meter radius.

Xiao Ming was startled and quickly took it in his hand. This was the token he had obtained from the demon corpse, and the three characters "Cangwu Mountain" on it were now flashing with light.

"Could that demonic corpse be related to this secret realm?"

Xiao Ming glanced around and saw no one. So he tried to infuse his magic power into the token. A small arrow immediately appeared on the token, pointing to his side.

Is this giving directions?

Xiao Ming hesitated for a moment, but still walked in the direction of the arrow and disappeared into the deeper part of the fog.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a change finally occurred in the mist: a pale blue portal appeared faintly and became clearer and clearer.

At the same time, the direction of the token on Cangwu Mountain stopped changing. Xiao Ming tried to touch the light gate with his hand, but there was no change when his finger went into it.

"Since there are no other exits around, let's give it a try."

Having made up his mind, Xiao Ming plunged headlong into it.

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With a flash of pale blue light, the figure of a girl in green appeared. After the daze of being teleported, Yan Yuxue immediately put one hand on her storage bag and looked around warily.

This place seemed to be a miasma-shrouded jungle, with ancient giant trees everywhere you looked, their gnarled branches growing amidst the bluish-purple mist. This mist also contained extremely rich spiritual energy, swirling into beads that rolled and fell among the spiderweb-like vines.

In the distance, the roars of monsters could be faintly heard. Several powerful claw marks were left on the tree trunk that was surrounded by ten people, clearly left by some dangerous, unknown monster.

"Just as Grandpa left us, behind the white mist that obscures the five senses lies a teleportation portal," Yan Yuxue murmured to herself.

She took out a piece of blood-stained brocade from her storage bag, on which was drawn a hand-drawn map.

The secret realm of Eagle Gorge was not a secret to Yan Yuxue. Before the arrival of the three sects, several groups of cultivators had entered this secret realm, and the Yan family was the first small force to discover it.

To create this map, the Yan family sacrificed most of their elite forces. Even her grandfather, a powerful cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, was seriously injured and almost perished inside.

It was precisely because of this that those three lackeys had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

When the patriarch of the Yan family helped her escape, he gave her this map and warned her not to enter this place rashly if she was not strong enough.

But it was all a matter of timing and fate. Unexpectedly, the entrance to this secret realm grew larger and larger, and was discovered by more cultivators, attracting cultivators from three sects.

And by a twist of fate, she became one of the first cannon fodder sent in by the Gu Ling Sect to explore, and so quickly she put this map to use.

Carefully putting away the precious map obtained with blood, Yan Yuxue clenched her fists, her gaze becoming increasingly resolute.

"Grandpa, Father, may your spirits in heaven bless me to gain something. When I have achieved mastery in my cultivation, I will definitely take the heads off those lackeys one by one, grind that old dog Yan to dust, and avenge the entire Yan family."

Meanwhile, cultivators from other areas also emerged from the blue light gates.

It's just a matter of individual luck. Some people are pleasantly surprised to find spiritual fruits and medicines of considerable value right before their eyes. Others, however, plunge headlong into the lair of demonic beasts, and before they can even recover from the daze of being teleported, they tragically become the beasts' prey.

Suddenly, intense fluctuations of spiritual energy appeared in a rotten swamp.

A burly, bald man was seen wielding an iron rod, fighting a demonic python.

This serpent was ten zhang long and its strength had reached the third level, but the bald man was not afraid at all. He swung his iron rod with great force, making the serpent writhe incessantly.

It was already filled with fear, but it was reluctant to abandon what was behind it. However, its hesitation gave the bald man an opportunity. He swung the iron rod with the force of a thousand pounds, hitting the python right where it was most vulnerable.

The beast immediately collapsed to the ground in agony, and the bald man pressed his advantage, smashing its head with another blow until it was lifeless.

Having dealt with the monster, the bald man breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze fell upon a blue lotus flower behind the serpent. It grew in the rotten swamp, yet remained untainted by the mud, radiating a holy light.

The rich aroma diffused in the air and entered the bald man's nostrils, instantly making him feel refreshed and relieving much of his fatigue.

This place truly lives up to its reputation as a secret realm. This precious lotus is at least a thousand-year-old spiritual herb. Even a Foundation Establishment expert would be captivated by it. Yet, it grows openly and conspicuously in this place, easily obtained by him.

However, just as he was picking the lotus, the reeds not far away suddenly moved.

"Who is it?" The bald man decisively removed Baolian and quickly retreated to a safe distance.

"Fellow Daoist Qu Zheng is truly formidable. This third-tier Black Scale Python was strong enough to fight two or three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, yet it was killed by you alone with a single blow." A man dressed in black, exuding a murderous aura, stepped forward.

"So it was you, Shen Tu Ren."

Although they were fellow cultivators, Qu Zheng's body was tense, and he secretly circulated his magical power. After all, Shen Tu Ren had a notorious reputation, and it was not surprising at all that he would take advantage of Qu Zheng's depletion of spiritual power to commit murder and robbery.

"What, you want to take this Azure Lotus from me?"

"Fellow Daoist Qu, please don't misunderstand. I, Shen Tu Ren, am indeed the kind of person you think I am, but fighting with you right now would be a losing proposition. No one would do a losing deal like that."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Fellow Daoist, the dangers of this secret realm are unknown. Under such circumstances, as fellow disciples, we should join forces and stick together for mutual support."

"Join forces with you?" Qu Zheng laughed mockingly at the invitation of this ruthless star.

"Not bad." Shen Tu Ren seemed oblivious to the refusal in Qu Zheng's tone, and continued speaking on his own.

"Fellow Daoist, there are only Qi Refining cultivators in this secret realm right now, and you and I are both Qi Refining Ninth Level Peak cultivators. If we join forces, we can seize opportunities from others or protect ourselves."

"What a clever way to take advantage of others' opportunities! This is the first time I've heard someone make murder and robbery sound so noble. Shen Tu Ren, you can't shake your bandit nature after all."

"Fellow Daoist, it's better to be a bandit than cannon fodder. There are countless dangers in this secret realm. Even the sect's deacons and elders dare not venture in lightly. Otherwise, why would they give this opportunity to us Qi Refining cultivators? It's clearly to use us as cannon fodder for exploration. Therefore, compared to those unknown opportunities and dangers, aren't we Qi Refining cultivators much safer?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Zheng fell silent. Shen Tu Ren's words did indeed make sense. Rather than risking his life to seek opportunities, it was safer to seize opportunities from others.

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

"Fellow Daoist is indeed a wise person."

Shen Tu Ren and Qu Zheng exchanged a glance and then both laughed.

Meanwhile, similar scenes were constantly unfolding throughout the secret realm, with powerful cultivators joining forces in twos and threes, gradually stirring up a bloody storm.