Escort, Discovery

The incessant howls from the valley made Huang Ying's expression change sharply.

She wanted to go in and help, but her injuries had yet to heal.

Going in would only add to the burden, so she could only stare worriedly at the valley entrance.

She hoped the person inside would come out soon, though she also summoned her Flying Sword.

The moment she noticed anything amiss, she would charge straight in.

"Hahaha!! This is exhilarating!!" Lu Nan swept his gaze over the Wolf Pack glaring at him covetously from all around.

There was not the slightest trace of fear in Lu Nan's eyes. Instead, his burning gaze swept across the surrounding Wolf Pack.

The battle just now had given him a rough understanding of his own strength.

The massive Wolf Pack had paid for it with the lives of half their kind.

"Since my goal has already been achieved, I won't play with you any longer!" Looking at the remaining Wolf Beasts at Qi Condensation Perfection,

Lu Nan put away the Longsword riddled with chips and held it horizontally before him.

"Azure Lotus Blooms!" Pale green spiritual power flowed, and an azure lotus formed from Sword Qi bloomed beneath his feet.

In an instant, it transformed into countless streams of Sword Qi and shot in every direction.

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding Wolf Pack was riddled through like sieves.

Dense pale-blue glimmers floated in midair.

"What a pity! This Longsword probably can't be used anymore!!"

Lu Nan sighed as he looked at the Longsword in his hand, which was covered in cracks.

He casually tossed it into his Storage Ring, then looked up at the Earth Vein Qi around him.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face once more as he removed the yellow gourd from his waist.

The moment he pulled out the stopper, the surrounding Earth Vein Qi flowed into the gourd of its own accord.

"Huh? Only one-tenth??" Lu Nan was utterly stunned as he looked at the liquid Earth Vein Qi inside the gourd.

More than two hundred Erosion Beasts, yet it was only one-tenth?

Looks like I still need to find more Erosion Beasts!!

He hung the gourd back at his waist and looked around, but found nothing of value.

So he did not linger and headed toward the valley entrance.

The moment he emerged, a figure rushed forward. "Young Master, are you all right???"

Seeing Huang Ying's worried face, Lu Nan smiled. "I'm fine! Do you still remember how to get to the meeting place??"

Huang Ying sighed in relief. "Of course I remember!!! Young Master, shall we set off now??"

"Then let's go!! I'll escort you back!"

"Thank you, Young Master!!!" Huang Ying was immensely grateful.

As he watched Huang Ying lead the way ahead, Lu Nan suddenly asked, "You seem very familiar with the Secret Realm. Is this not your first time entering?"

"Young Master doesn't know the terrain of the Secret Realm?" Huang Ying froze.

"I don't!!"

Hearing that, Huang Ying took out a piece of beast hide and handed it to Lu Nan. "This is the Secret Realm Map issued by the sect!"

Lu Nan was startled as he accepted it and examined it. "Issued by the sect?"

"Yes! Every disciple entering the Secret Realm gets one.

It is meant to prevent us from getting lost in the Secret Realm. The meeting place is here!" As she spoke, Huang Ying pointed to the center of the map.

Then she looked at Lu Nan curiously. "Young Master should also be a Disciple of Azure Lotus Sword Sect, right?? May I ask which Senior Brother you are??"

Lu Nan paused at that, looking at his own clothes.

Then he looked at the black robe draped over Huang Ying's body, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Careless!

Instead of answering, he changed the subject. "How much longer do you think it will take before you meet up with the other Sword Sect disciples?"

"At our current speed, about one hour!!"

Seeing that Lu Nan did not wish to answer, Huang Yin did not press the matter further.

"Pick up the pace!!" Lu Nan nodded and strode ahead.

Huang Ying quickly followed. For the rest of the journey,

the two traveled in silence until a lush, verdant mountain appeared before them.

Only then did Huang Ying say with delight, "Young Master, we're here!!!"

Lu Nan paused and raised his head to look at the mountain ahead.

He released his Divine Sense and, sure enough, detected several familiar auras at the foot of the mountain.

"I'll escort you this far, then. If fate allows, we'll meet again!!"

After saying that, Lu Nan flashed away and vanished without a trace.

Huang Ying stared blankly at the place where he had disappeared. Only after a long while did she take a deep breath. "I'll definitely find out who you are!!!"

Then she turned and ran toward the foot of the mountain.

"What should I do now???"

As Lu Nan wandered through a dense forest, he found himself at a loss for what to do.

He had wandered around for a long time without seeing a single Erosion Beast.

He had not encountered any people either. It was as though the entire Secret Realm contained only him.

He took out the map and looked it over. His current location was in the Central Jungle.

By all rights, there should have been plenty of Erosion Beasts here!

Could it be that the others had killed them all???

Still puzzled, Lu Nan leaped onto the branch of a towering tree beside him.

He gazed into the distance, and this glance truly let him discover something.

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen any Erosion Beasts. So they've all been lured over there!"

Delight filled Lu Nan's heart, and he hurried toward that direction.

Before long, he arrived nearby and perched on the branch of a dense, towering tree.

He did not draw the attention of the people below. Looking at the countless strands of Earth Vein Qi beneath him,

Lu Nan's eyes lit up. If he collected all of this,

the Earth Vein Qi he had would probably be enough to fill the Little Gourd, right??

But he did not act rashly. Instead, he watched the red-haired man slaughtering wildly in the clearing.

"Who is this guy?? He looks pretty strong. I wonder how he managed to lure so many Erosion Beasts here??"

As he pondered, a terrified voice suddenly rang out below. "Sir, two Foundation Establishment Erosion Beasts have also been drawn here by the Beast Luring Pill!"

Lu Nan lowered his head and saw Skinny suddenly rush out from the forest to the southeast.

Hm?? His clothing looks similar to those guys'. Soul Refining Sect???

The red-haired man, who was in the midst of a slaughter, frowned upon hearing this. "Foundation Establishment?? What levels???"

Even as he asked, his hands did not stop. With broad, sweeping strikes, he harvested one Erosion Beast after another.

Turning them into clusters of pale-blue Earth Vein Qi.

"Roughly speaking, one is at Foundation Establishment Level Two, and the other is at Foundation Establishment Level One."

"No matter! Where are our people??"

"They're drawing the Erosion Beasts over here!" Skinny hurriedly replied.

As the two spoke, the Erosion Beasts in the clearing had already been completely slaughtered by the red-haired man.

"Tell everyone to hurry here as fast as possible."

As he gave the order, the red-haired man removed the Skull Pouch from his waist and absorbed the floating Earth Vein Qi around him.

"Five-tenths? I need to speed things up!!"

The red-haired man frowned as he examined the Earth Vein Qi inside the Skull Pouch.

Five-tenths?? Lu Nan, hidden on the branch, raised a brow upon hearing that.

In less than a day, this guy had already gathered five-tenths of Earth Vein Qi??

He seemed to be a genius. His status within the Soul Refining Sect was likely not low either.

"Rumble, rumble..." Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from far away and drew closer.

Looking into the distance, two enormous creatures abruptly burst from the forest.

Their eyes were blood-red as they stared at Skinny beside the red-haired man.

Examining the two Erosion Beasts below, which resembled Armored Dragons, Lu Nan could clearly sense the formidable power within them.

"Even I would find these two big fellows somewhat troublesome to deal with."

He turned to look at the red-haired man below, who was standing ready in battle formation. "I wonder how this guy will handle them??"

Facing the enormous Erosion Beasts before him, the red-haired man did not dare be careless.

His body tensed as he was just about to move.

When many more Erosion Beasts of all different shapes and forms sprang out from the forest behind the two beasts.