Blood Soul Secret Realm, Standing By

Cui Ziming's eyes were practically spitting fire from jealousy as he stared at Su Hao's arm.

Cui Hao secretly clicked his tongue, utterly shocked. This seemingly dull junior disciple Su was truly incredible!

Wei Ying and Zhang Yanyan kept sizing up Su Hao. This man looked utterly ordinary, and his cultivation was pitifully low. Could he have some special physique?

"Junior Disciple Su..."

Liu Mei released Su Hao's arm, smoothing the sheer fabric on her chest. Her smile held a hint of darkness. "I truly didn't realize you were quite so bold."

"Uh, I couldn't help myself, I'm truly sorry.

It was mainly because Senior Disciple Liu was so proactive and enthusiastic, actively holding my arm.

If it were Senior Disciples Cui Hao or Cui Ziming, ask them, could they resist?"

Su Hao "honestly" scratched his head.

"Su Hao..." Cui Ziming started to speak but stopped, unable to find a reason to reprimand him. Liu Mei had indeed approached him first.

"It's fine, Junior Disciple Su. Once we're in the secret realm, we can have some more 'quality time'!"

Liu Mei placed a hand on Su Hao's shoulder. "However, I heard your Master is away on a long journey. Why are you running out alone to find death in the secret realm?"

"Uh, it was a sudden impulse. I heard the secret realm is full of opportunities, so I thought I'd join the fun." Su Hao maintained his innocent demeanor.

"Are you seeking opportunities, or are you planning to take a detour and escape the Golden Light Sect?"

Liu Mei leaned towards the latter, yet she felt something was off about Su Hao.

Gentle, water-like spiritual energy flowed into Su Hao's body, circulating several times.

She detected that Su Hao's Blood Essence was abundant, and his Yang energy was subtly stronger than that of an ordinary person.

His Qi Refining Level 5 spiritual energy was of good quality, not the kind that could be condensed by trash cultivation methods.

She frowned slightly, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "Junior Disciple Su, why does Lin Zhi Shan favor you so much? What kind of spirit pills or elixirs did he give you? He shouldn't have had time to manage you recently, yet your strength has improved so rapidly."

"If it weren't for my continuous Essence Absorption from Medicine Slaves these past few days, your strength would almost be on par with mine. Your spiritual energy is stable and solid, your meridians are thick. You don't look like someone who cultivated a quick-success cultivation method at all."

Liu Mei was filled with questions. She hadn't taken Su Hao seriously before.

Su Hao couldn't answer for a moment.

Relying on the Breath Concealment Technique and his Hidden Kill talent, he had disguised his strength as Qi Refining Level 5, not too high, not too low, making it less likely for him to be targeted.

He never expected Liu Mei to follow him.

If he exposed his Qi Refining Level 8 strength, wouldn't it blow Liu Mei's mind?

"Junior Disciple Su is Alchemist Lin's disciple!" Cui Hao exclaimed.

Cui Ziming, Wei Ying, and Zhang Yanyan's eyes showed a hint of lingering fear. If they had known this earlier, they would never have let Su Hao join their team. Of course, it wasn't too late to know now!

Su Hao shrugged helplessly and said to Liu Mei, "Alas, Senior Disciple Liu, I don't know either. The pills my Master gave me, I don't recognize them, but they are potent. Thanks to his care, I have achieved my current cultivation."

Liu Mei let out a cold laugh, not in a hurry for an answer. Once they were in the secret realm and undisturbed, she would have plenty of ways to make Su Hao confess.

This brat was too cunning; not a single word he said was true! She was already certain that she hadn't managed to bewitch Su Hao last time!

She then leaped to a nearby long bench and sat cross-legged to meditate.

Cui Ziming and the others didn't dare to disturb her and gathered nearby, communicating via secret sound transmission.

Su Hao leaned against the railing, pretending to meditate, and secretly pondered his countermeasures.

"Alas, young Mei has absorbed many promising disciples. The Outer Sect disciples are in a transitional period, and some of that is her fault."

In the small building's room, Fang Yunrong shook his head helplessly, sighing with regret. "It's a pity that the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimp. She absorbed others, but she probably never expected that one day she would be absorbed by that old ancestor."

Half a day later, the Flying Ship arrived at the Blood Soul Secret Realm.

Before them, a dense blood mist stretched as far as the eye could see, like a city. Within the mist, blood-red ancient trees loomed in and out of sight, and beast roars could occasionally be heard.

The Flying Ship stopped at the entrance of the valley.

Some people began to jump off the Flying Ship, venturing deep into the blood mist.

"Junior Disciple Su, shall we go?" Liu Mei stepped closer, raising her delicate hand as if to hold Su Hao's arm, but then she let it drop.

"Please, Junior Disciple Su." Cui Hao said with a fawning expression.

After learning that Su Hao was Alchemist Lin's disciple, their attitudes had clearly changed.

Su Hao strode forward and leaped off. The moment he landed, he dashed into the forest.

Liu Mei followed like a shadow, maintaining a distance of half a meter. She chuckled charmingly, "Junior Disciple Su has good footwork, but you won't be able to shake me off like this."

"Not at all. With Senior Disciple Liu accompanying me, those senior disciples would wish they could replace me. This is a rare opportunity; I won't be shaking you off."

Su Hao abruptly stopped.

"Hahaha, you think too much. Any smart person would disperse first and try to avoid me as quickly as possible. They know very well that I could find them at any moment."

Liu Mei glanced at figures rapidly disappearing in the distance.

As the two spoke, a ten-foot-tall, rotten-skinned, blood-red giant wolf lunged out from the bushes, attacking Su Hao, who had the weakest aura.

"It's a Rotten Blood Wolf."

"Attack its waist! Be careful, its blood is highly poisonous, don't let it splash on you!"

Cui Ziming gave the orders. He, Cui Hao, Zhang Yanyan, and Wei Ying worked together seamlessly, quickly surrounding the Rotten Blood Wolf.

It took the combined efforts of the four to finally kill the Qi Refining Level 5 Rotten Blood Wolf after dozens of rounds.

"A Qi Refining Level 5 Rotten Blood Wolf. Its heart is worth 5 low-grade spirit stones. We've made a profit as soon as we entered, haha."

Cui Ziming skillfully extracted the Wolf Heart, then glanced at Su Hao. "Junior Disciple Su, this is also why we invited you to join our team. Fierce beasts are tough and often possess special abilities. We cultivators have weak spiritual energy and lack the proper magic artifacts to counter them, putting us at a disadvantage."

"With my Qi Refining Level 7 strength, my chances of killing it alone would only be seventy to eighty percent. Besides, the Blood Soul Secret Realm is crawling with fierce beasts, and any fight could attract others at any moment."

"Cultivators who come to the secret realm basically always travel in groups."

For Lin Zhi Shan's sake, Cui Ziming restrained his urge to mock.

Liu Mei chuckled and nodded. "Su Hao, as you can see, with your current strength, coming to the Blood Soul Secret Realm would be suicide. Why don't you thank Junior Disciple Ziming and the others quickly?"

"Thank you all," Su Hao said, cupping his fists in gratitude.

"It's nothing. Thanks to you, Senior Disciple Liu is traveling with us. With her backing, we won't be in any danger on this trip."

Cui Ziming gazed at Liu Mei affectionately.

For the next two hours, Su Hao acted the part of the bystander. Since these people thought he lacked the strength, he simply watched as the four of them killed numerous fierce beasts.

Liu Mei also treated it like a leisurely outing, showing no intention of helping.

Only when all four had sustained minor injuries did they discreetly conceal their presence and begin avoiding fierce beasts.

Night fell.

The group rested in a cave.

Liu Mei sat on a rock, and a pink, fragrant mist gradually emerged, drifting towards everyone.

Su Hao reacted quickly and retreated a short distance.

Cui Ziming and the others, however, were completely unaware. They were instantly enveloped by the mist, standing dazed and sluggish.

Zhang Yanyan's face contorted in pain as her body visibly shriveled. Invisible energy flowed out of her pores and into Liu Mei's body. The process lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

A skeletal corpse, dry as firewood, collapsed on the ground, its limbs broken.

Liu Mei wiped her lips and shook her head in disgust. "This slut's primordial yin is completely gone, and her Blood Essence is depleted. She must have indulged in debauchery often. Plus, she practiced an inferior cultivation method, so her vital essence is too weak."

Su Hao stood at the cave entrance, watching the scene unfold. He neither intervened nor fled.

He silently absorbed a cluster of power that materialized from the corpse. "Absorbing Talent Power [Frost Condensation]."