Variable Harvest

The secret realm will be open for one month.

For Lan Chang'an, time flew by.

For the True Person of each faction, however, each day felt like an eternity.

Lan Chang'an only glanced at them occasionally, but he noticed that the Core Formation True Person from the major sects were becoming increasingly solemn.

Especially the "True Person Yuxiao" of the Blazing Fire Palace, that white-browed old Daoist with an otherworldly air.

True Person Yellow Dragon looked unwell, and the wrinkles on his forehead became even more pronounced.

"Oh no... Xia Fan!"

Moon Empress, True Person Yuxiao's expression suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but cry out in disbelief.

His internal energy surged, causing his Daoist robe to flutter.

The terrifying pressure from the Golden Core Realm Foundation Establishment cultivators several miles away felt their hearts pound with fear.

"Xia Fan? Foundation Establishment cultivator who is a True Disciple of the Blazing Fire Palace, possessing High-Grade Spiritual Root, and the grandson of the Enforcement Elder."

The True Person from the various powerful factions in the vicinity exchanged bewildered glances.

The enforcement elder of the Blazing Fire Palace holds a high position and wields great power, Late Core Formation cultivation level.

In the Cultivation World of the Liang Kingdom, he is one of the strongest True Person below the Nascent Soul Realm.

Judging from True Person Yuxiao Xia Fan's Soul Tablet must have shattered.

"Xia Fan is at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage stage. As the grandson of the Enforcement Elder of the Blazing Fire Palace, he most likely has protective Talisman Treasure. Within the secret realm, probably no one can reliably kill him."

"Decades ago, there was a rumor that the female disciples of the Profound Sound Pavilion were not raped and murdered by Liang Shaotian, but were framed by Xia Fan."

"These are just baseless rumors; the Blazing Fire Palace has already executed the Evil Cultivator spread them."

The Blazing Fire Palace has run into bad luck, Core Formation True Person of the four major sects are happy to see it all fall apart, offering a few words of True Person Yuxiao on the surface.

"The death rate in the Azure Underworld Secret Realm this time is probably higher than before."

Lan Chang'an sat cross-legged in the distance, unaware of what had happened, but he had a general idea of what was going on.

Of course, the mortality rate was only slightly high, not particularly extreme, to the point of near total annihilation.

If that were the case, the major sects at the Golden Core Realm stage would join forces to prematurely halt the opening of this secret realm.

The dangers of the secret realm are uncertain.

Several major sects are willing to sell some of their spots.

Besides recouping the costs of opening the secret realm and appeasing the discontent of other factions, it also aims to transfer some of the risks.

Historically, the survival rate of Foundation Establishment cultivators from sects has been significantly higher than that of cultivators from other forces or independent cultivators.

Those who don't join a sect's Foundation Establishment are often cannon fodder who step on landmines, or are harvested by others.

"Chen Fuhai is a variable. However, the direct strength boost provided by the Hundred-Host Soul Gu is limited; it's not enough to allow him to indiscriminately slaughter everyone present."

Lan Chang'an pondered.

Even top cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Late Stage stage of a sect can somewhat protect themselves against ordinary False Core.

A month has passed in the blink of an eye.

"Open!"

The five major sects' Core Formation True Person once again summoned their secret realm tokens, infusing their True Core-level Law Power.

Above the hundred-foot-high, dark blue-green stone wall.

Within the enormous, dark vortex, another mysterious passage, several meters wide and high, was opened up.

The passage had only been open for a few moments.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...

One after another, figures flew out.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators who emerged from the secret realm were either severely injured, or their spirits were low and their auras were disordered.

Thump!

Some pale-faced cultivators collapsed and fainted as soon as they flew out of the secret realm.

"How did Xia Fan die? Does anyone know?"

True Person Yuxiao's eyes shone like the sun as he locked his Divine Sense onto the entrance to the passage and questioned the two cultivators from the Blazing Fire Palace who had just emerged.

"Reporting to the Elder! When Senior Brother Xia was seeking the fortuitous opportunity to the Golden Core Realm, he fought against Quasi-Third-Order beast. He was first attacked and injured, and later died at the hands of the Demonic Path cultivator ' Li Hai '."

"Li Hai? Liang Shaotian's eldest disciple, a genius with Earth Spiritual Root, he actually managed to infiltrate the secret realm?"

The Core Formation True Person present looked surprised.

Before entering the secret realm, Foundation Establishment cultivators Core Formation True Person cultivators had their Divine Sense probed by the cultivators.

Li Hai was able to infiltrate the area in disguise, so he probably had the help of some extraordinary treasure.

There is no fertile ground for Demonic Path cultivators in the Cultivation World of the Liang Kingdom. Liang Shaotian's Demonic Cult sect stronghold was wiped out, and he fled to another country a few years ago.

Who would have thought that Liang Shaotian's genius disciple would dare to risk his life to sneak into the secret realm?

"Are you sure it's Li Hai?"

True Person Yuxiao said in a deep voice.

"A fellow cultivator witnessed it firsthand. Although this person was only in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, his Devil Cultivation Method were powerful, and he had even cultivated the ' Black Astral Demonic Flame' (Black罡魔焰)."

"Li Hai in the secret realm?"

"He hid in the secret realm before the passage reopened."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Blazing Fire Palace replied.

"Good! Keep a close watch on the exit, don't let that Demonic Path scoundrel escape."

True Person Yuxiao issued the order, his Divine Sense completely covering the exit of the secret realm.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with disheveled hair and a face covered in blood emerged from the secret realm in a panic.

He was holding a severed head in his hand.

It was the head of a man with an effeminate face.

"Xia Fan!"

True Person Yuxiao glared angrily.

Under the oppressive aura of Core Formation True Person cultivator, the Foundation Establishment cultivator carrying the severed head collapsed to the ground in terror, blood seeping from his mouth and nose.

"True Person! I was coerced into placing Restriction on me..."

Before he could finish speaking...

A cold male voice came:

"Xia Fan, who insulted the female cultivators of the Profound Sound Pavilion and framed my master, shall be executed!"

Behind the Foundation Establishment cultivator who was carrying the severed head.

A cold, handsome man with a chiseled physique appeared, holding an ancient jade talisman in his hand.

"Court death!"

True Person Yuxiao flicked his finger, and thunder roared in the sky, condensing into a cloud-shaped mass of dark purple lightning.

Swish!

After crushing the ancient jade talisman, the cold-faced man vanished from within a radius of twenty or thirty miles.

"Lesser Teleportation Talisman!"

The True Person present all spoke in unison.

The Lesser Teleportation Talisman must be at least Tier 3. Due to the scarcity of materials and the demanding crafting process, it is extremely rare throughout the entire Great Qing.

"Elder! Li Hai not only killed Senior Brother Xia Fan, but also seized a key ingredient for the Golden Core Realm."

The cultivators from the Blazing Fire Palace who came out later reported to their guide.

"You all await orders here. This elder is going to hunt down that Demonic Path brat."

True Person Yuxiao left behind a sentence, then stepped on a streak of fiery Escape Light and flew rapidly in a certain direction.

Beside the distant Gobi hills.

How do I pursue her?

Lan Chang'an sat cross-legged, his lips slightly pursed, secretly sneering.

True Person Yuxiao was just putting on an act.

Using Lesser Teleportation Talisman, he instantly escaped the Divine Sense range of Core Formation True Person.

Chasing after something in any direction is just a gamble.

Unless Core Formation True Person present join forces to pursue from all directions.

This is unrealistic.

The various factions were busy receiving the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been brought out.

More than half of the gains made by Foundation Establishment cultivators from each sect in the secret realm must be handed over to the government.

Fifteen minutes later.

When Lan Chang'an saw Zhao Siyao and Zhang Tieshan, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhao Siyao was seriously injured; her shoulder was stained with blood, her face was slightly pale, and she appeared to be struggling to fly.

Zhang Tieshan was slightly better off, though his Law Power were in disarray, his steps were a bit stiff, and he had suffered some minor injuries.

The return passage to the secret realm only lasts for one day.

Those cultivators who didn't emerge in the latter half of the day are most likely out of luck.

The reason for giving one day is to leave a glimmer of hope for cultivators in certain special circumstances.

As expected.

Two hours later, the entrance to the secret realm was almost deserted.

Lan Chang'an noticed that of the five Foundation Establishment cultivators brought by True Person Yellow Dragon, only two had come out.

Of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Beast Taming Zhou Family, one stepped forward—it was Zhou Qingxuan.

The woman had no obvious injuries, but she was weak and pale, as if she had used some kind of secret technique that greatly depleted her vital energy.

Lan Chang'an guessed that the woman's ability to emerge must be due to some trump card from the Zhou Family, rather than simply luck.

For the Beast Taming Zhou Family Foundation Establishment, if they don't take a gamble, the Golden Core Realm are slim, and False Core cannot be guaranteed.

"Qingxuan, you didn't damage your foundation, did you?"

The Zhou Family patriarch asked with concern.

"Fortunately, the main problem was the depletion of vital energy. However, the pair of Male and Female Blood Demon Butterflies that used secret techniques to accelerate their advancement after entering the secret realm both died in battle," Zhou Qingxuan replied.

"It's alright. Those two peak-level first-tier Male and Female Blood Demon Butterflies used a secret technique to accelerate their advancement to the second tier, so their lifespans were already limited."

The Zhou Family patriarch smiled and handed her a secret pill.

Before closing her eyes to recuperate after taking the medicine, Zhou Qingxuan glanced at the gray-robed young man in the distance.

"Huh! It's been two hours, and Chen Fuhai still hasn't come out?"

Lan Chang'an observed secretly for a long time and was quite surprised.

Among the dozen or so remaining cultivators of the Green Bamboo Sect, the familiar overweight middle-aged man was not found.

A while later.

Zhao Siyao and Zhang Tieshan flew over.

The two have already paid 60% of their spoils to Golden Cloud Valley. Zhao Siyao's injuries have begun to stabilize.

"Fellow Daoists, what's the situation inside the secret realm?"

Lan Chang'an asked directly.

After setting up a soundproof barrier, the three began to talk.

Two unexpected events have occurred in this Azure Underworld Secret Realm.

"Chen Fuhai disguised himself and repeatedly attacked and killed Foundation Establishment cultivators from several major sects within the secret realm, even harming his own fellow disciples. Later, he accidentally revealed his true identity, was exposed, and was besieged and hunted down to his death by a group of cultivators."

The first variable is Chen Fuhai.

The manner of death struck Lan Chang'an as suspicious.

In order to the Golden Core Realm, Xia Fan of the Blazing Fire Palace was suspected of having launched a sneak attack.

The second variable is Liang Shaotian's disciple, Li Hai.

During the first half of his journey into the secret realm, this person only targeted lone Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Later, he killed the injured Xia Fan, using his trump cards such as the "Black Astral Demonic Flame," thus revealing his identity.

Lan Chang'an guessed that Li Hai's infiltration of the secret realm was likely aimed at seizing fortuitous opportunity and taking the opportunity to kill a few sect members who had reached the Foundation Establishment to vent his anger.

Later, they discovered that the enemy who framed their master was injured, which presented a rare opportunity.

"Daoist Lu, I owe my life to the Talisman and Puppet you provided; otherwise, I might have perished in the secret realm."

Zhao Siyao's face regained some color, and she said with lingering fear.

She informed him telepathically that one of the two Puppet she bought from Lan Chang'an had become unusable.

The remaining Turtle Puppet was also severely damaged.

Of the resources in the Jade Cylinder, Siyao only managed to collect two.

Zhao Siyao handed over a brocade box.

Lan Chang'an didn't open it, but quickly scanned it with his Divine Sense, and a thought struck him.

"Third-tier Profound Iron Crystal, a highly versatile material for crafting Law Treasure and Puppet."

"Black Ink Rock, a rare and precious material, can be used to forge Inkstone for preparing Spirit Ink Spirit Ink and enhance its quality."

These two items are relatively small in quantity, but worth three to four thousand Spirit Stone.

After communication, Zhao Siyao insisted on a half-price discount.

Lan Chang'an paid half with Spirit Stone and the other half with second-tier Talisman.

In addition, Zhao Siyao gave Lan Chang'an a Jade Cylinder containing a list of the recipients of some of the required resources.

Then it was Zhang Tieshan's turn.

During their previous transaction, he had his back to the other party and did not use his Divine Sense to investigate.

"Daoist Lu, please take a look at this item."

Zhang Tieshan smiled and took out a piece of purple-veined spirit wood about ten feet long, with beautiful flowing light emanating from it.

"Third-tier spirit wood, Purple Glare Spirit Wood."

Lan Chang'an was overjoyed; this wood was full of spiritual energy and had reached the middle grade of the third rank.

With just this piece of third-tier spirit wood, Lan Chang'an's investment in the secret realm has already met his expectations.

"This wood was obtained by me after I killed the Foundation Establishment cultivator who attacked me; the situation was quite dangerous at the time. I originally got two pieces, but the larger piece was bought by ' Uncle-Master Deng '."

Fellow Daoists, if you don't have monthly tickets, please give some recommendation tickets and a little heart to the protagonist.

(End of this chapter)