The Secret Realm Opens

"Senior Sister, why don't we go introduce ourselves to that handsome guy?"

Lin Yuran said with some temptation in her voice. Lu Jiuyuan was handsome, powerful, and had a strong background—he practically ticked every box in her heart.

"Uh... all right."

Cheng Xue hesitated for a moment, then agreed with a bitter smile.

But just then, someone shouted.

"The secret realm is open! Everyone, charge!"

Hearing this, Lu Jiuyuan and Li Qingping looked toward the entrance of the secret realm. The light curtain before the entrance had vanished, which meant that the secret realm had opened.

"Young Master Lu, let's go. The secret realm will only remain open for seven days. Hold my hand when we enter, or the secret realm will separate us."

Li Qingping hurriedly said. As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Lu Jiuyuan's hand and rushed toward the secret realm. Lu Jiuyuan had not even reacted when she took his hand, and after coming back to himself, he gave a wry smile.

This seemed to be the first time he had held hands with a girl in another world.

For some reason, Lin Yuran felt as though her heart had shattered when she saw this. Cheng Xue merely smiled and said,

"Let's go. The secret realm is open. If we're too slow, we won't get any opportunities."

Only then did Lin Yuran give an absent-minded "Oh" and follow Cheng Xue into the secret realm. Outside, tens of thousands of Qi Refining Stage cultivators were also rushing inside.

Although the Qingfeng Secret Realm had already declined, it was still an excellent place for the vast majority of Qi Refining Stage cultivators to train.

"I'm so dizzy."

Once his feet touched solid ground, Lu Jiuyuan said with an unpleasant expression. Clearly, he disliked the dizziness brought by teleportation. Li Qingping, on the other hand, was doing much better.

"Jiuyuan, are you all right?"

Li Qingping asked worriedly, while Lu Jiuyuan smiled and shook his head.

"I'm fine."

After saying that, he looked around. Following his gaze, Li Qingping saw dense woods all around them, while rustling sounds came from within the forest.

"The situation doesn't seem too good."

Lu Jiuyuan frowned. As his words fell, a black shadow darted out from the grass nearby.

Before Li Qingping could even react, Lu Jiuyuan had already slain the black shadow with a single sword strike.

With a snap, Li Qingping finally saw what the black shadow was.

"It's a Blood Spirit Rat."

"Mm. Judging from its condition, it's already at the Qi Refining Peak."

Lu Jiuyuan spoke calmly, then looked to the other side. More black shadows were rushing toward them.

"The most terrifying thing is that Blood Spirit Rats are demonic beasts that live in groups. If you find one, there are at least a hundred more nearby."

As Lu Jiuyuan's words fell, dozens of Blood Spirit Rats opened their blood-filled maws and pounced at the two of them.

Li Qingping was about to make her move, but Lu Jiuyuan stopped her.

"Leave these little things to me."

Li Qingping thought about it and realized he was right. Lu Jiuyuan could slaughter Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators with ease—could he possibly be unable to deal with a pack of Blood Spirit Rats?

As she pondered this, Lu Jiuyuan had already gripped the Qingfeng Sword and charged into the Blood Spirit Rat pack. This Qingfeng Sword was a peak Mystic-grade longsword that Lu Jiuyuan had asked Ancestor Changsheng to forge, naming it after Qingfeng Town.

After all, Lu Changsheng was already a Peak Mahayana Stage cultivator. It was perfectly reasonable for him to have picked up some forging skills over his long journey, wasn't it?

The Blood Spirit Rat pack, which had always swept through everything in its path, did not even have the strength to resist beneath Lu Jiuyuan's hand. Every swing of his sword was accompanied by the death of a Blood Spirit Rat.

This scene truly shocked Li Qingping, and she said in astonishment,

"Rumor has it that the overall strength of Blood Spirit Rats does not differ much. That means these Blood Spirit Rats are basically all at the Qi Refining Peak. I never imagined Jiuyuan's strength had reached such a level."

Amid Li Qingping's astonishment, more than a hundred Blood Spirit Rats were soon completely slaughtered by Lu Jiuyuan. At this moment, a faint killing aura also seeped from his body.

If he slaughtered enough living beings, the killing aura around him might be enough to make his opponents lose even the ability to fight.

After killing all the Blood Spirit Rats, Lu Jiuyuan did not hesitate in the slightest. He stored their corpses in his storage ring and said with a solemn expression,

"Blood Spirit Rats aren't cheap. One is worth as much as a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. Calculating it out, this is ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones."

Li Qingping had already grown used to Lu Jiuyuan's thriftiness. After he put away all the Blood Spirit Rat corpses, she stepped before him, intending to say something, only for Lu Jiuyuan to speak the words she had wanted to say first.

"I know what you want to say. Wherever a Blood Spirit Rat pack lives, there will definitely be rare treasures."

During this period, Lu Jiuyuan had also obtained the Emperor Xuan Bestiary and the Treasures Compendium from Lu Changsheng, so he naturally knew the habits of Blood Spirit Rats. There was a certain chance that Blood Spirit Fruit would grow where Blood Spirit Rats lived. Consuming it could greatly enhance the physical strength of cultivators below the Golden Core Stage.

"Then let's look for it. After all, you should be able to use it."

Thinking of Lu Jiuyuan's thrifty habits, Li Qingping said this. Lu Jiuyuan nodded, then walked in one direction, and Li Qingping curiously followed him.

"You're so certain the Blood Spirit Fruit is in this direction?"

Li Qingping asked curiously, only for Lu Jiuyuan to look at her as though she were an idiot.

"Are you stupid? The Blood Spirit Rat pack came from this direction. Could the Blood Spirit Fruit possibly be in the opposite direction?"

After thinking about it, Li Qingping found that it did seem to make sense. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she continued onward behind Lu Jiuyuan.

Before long, they arrived before a cave. As expected, they found Blood Spirit Fruit inside.

"This Blood Spirit Fruit is actually five hundred years old!"

Li Qingping said in disbelief. The Blood Spirit Fruit was a peak Yellow-grade rare treasure, and its age normally reached no more than a hundred years. Once it surpassed a hundred years, it would basically wither away.

Meanwhile, Lu Jiuyuan stared at the Blood Spirit Fruit in thought. A moment later, he said in surprise,

"This isn't Blood Spirit Fruit. It's Saint Spirit Fruit!"

"Saint Spirit Fruit?"

Li Qingping said in shock, then looked at the Blood Spirit Fruit and examined it again. After observing it for a long time, she finally noticed five faint lines upon it. If one did not look carefully, they would not be visible at all.

"That's right. Once Blood Spirit Fruit has grown for more than a hundred years, there is indeed a great chance that it will wither and decay. But there is also an extremely small chance that it will transform into Saint Spirit Fruit!"

Lu Jiuyuan said excitedly. If Blood Spirit Fruit could only offer him a little help, then Saint Spirit Fruit could provide him with tremendous assistance.

After all, Saint Spirit Fruit was a genuine peak Mystic-grade rare treasure. Rumor had it that it could even remold one's body and bones. Though that was somewhat exaggerated, it was enough to show just how terrifying Saint Spirit Fruit was.

"It's just a pity that Saint Spirit Fruit has to be consumed within an hour after being picked, or it will lose its effect. So we can only consume it here."

Lu Jiuyuan thought of something and shook his head. Li Qingping was the same.