Golden Spirit Grass

"Run!"

Someone shouted, and the remaining ten cultivators, abandoning all pretense of royal dignity, turned and fled.

They pushed their Spiritual Energy to the limit, wishing they'd been born with extra legs.

But Bai Ye had no intention of letting them go this time.

His figure flickered, weaving through the crowd like a ghost.

He pushed Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping to its peak—each step conjured several afterimages, his speed several times that of the fleeing cultivators!

"Stay."

The icy voice rang out behind them, followed by a relentless barrage of explosions!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crimson fist seals, like soul-hunting talismans, detonated one after another in midair.

Those fleeing Primordial Core Realm cultivators didn't even have a chance to turn and fight back before they fell, one by one.

In no time, all twelve Primordial Core Realm cultivators of the Skywind Dynasty lay dead.

Blood stained the ground before the entrance, mingling with the morning glow, carrying a thick, brutal stench of gore.

The other cultivators nearby were too terrified to even breathe.

A few of the more timid ones went weak in the knees, dropping to the ground without daring to lift their heads.

Those who had just been angling to curry favor with the Skywind Dynasty now wished they could crawl into a crack in the earth.

Thank heavens they hadn't spoken up—otherwise, they might have been among the bodies lying there now.

Bai Ye walked forward expressionlessly, bent down, and collected the Storage Bags at the waists and the storage rings on the fingers of the twelve fallen cultivators, one by one.

These men were from the Skywind Dynasty; their Storage Bags might hold no small amount of good things.

Done with that, he didn't spare a glance at the surrounding cultivators. He turned and strode toward the secret realm's entrance.

Only after his figure vanished into the light barrier did the cultivators outside seem to surface from drowning, gasping for air in great heaves.

"Holy crap... was that even a man?"

A rogue cultivator collapsed onto the ground, wiping cold sweat from his face, his voice trembling. "Twelve Primordial Core Realm cultivators! Just like that... all killed?"

"But those were men of the Skywind Dynasty! Isn't he afraid of being hunted down by the dynasty?"

"Afraid? Didn't you see how he killed them? With that kind of ruthlessness, does he look like someone who fears trouble?"

Another cultivator swallowed hard. "I sensed it carefully just now—his cultivation fluctuation was at most Core Formation Sixth Level. But his combat power... I'd say even a Profound Comprehension Realm expert would be hard-pressed to match him!"

"Forget all that!"

Someone snapped to attention, pointing urgently at the entrance. "The Skywind Dynasty men are all dead—let's get in!"

"Any later, and other factions might show up!"

"Right! Hurry in!"

Jolted awake, the cultivators cast aside their shock and scrambled toward the light barrier, desperate not to miss this hard-won opportunity.

On the other side.

The moment Bai Ye stepped into the light barrier, a powerful spatial force enveloped him.

The world spun, as if he'd been plunged into an endless vortex.

Soon, the howl of fierce winds filled his ears, and the blurry scenery before his eyes shifted and changed.

After what felt like an age, solid ground finally met his feet.

He steadied himself, opened his eyes, and was instantly stunned by the sight before him.

It was an ancient forest.

Towering old trees blotted out the sky, their trunks so thick it would take over a dozen men to encircle them. The bark was covered in rugged, weathered lines, as if recording ten thousand years of history.

The air was thick with Spiritual Energy so dense it was almost syrupy!

One deep breath, and every limb and bone felt utterly comfortable, as if the Spiritual Energy in his meridians was leaping joyfully in response.

"Such rich Spiritual Energy!"

Bai Ye took a deep breath, a flicker of amazement in his eyes. "At least three times that of the Azure Cloud Sect's spirit vein!"

Three times the concentration meant that one day of cultivation here equaled three days on the Azure Cloud Sect's spirit vein!

And this was just the outer perimeter of the Azure Spirit Secret Realm's entrance!

It was practically a cultivation paradise!

But he knew full well that no one would waste precious secret realm time sitting around meditating.

This place was littered with spirit herbs hundreds or even thousands of years old, and deeper in, there were ancient cave dwellings and artifacts left by cultivators of old—those were the true opportunities.

Bai Ye attempted to release his Spiritual Sense, only to find that as soon as it extended a short distance, it felt like it had struck an invisible barrier, forcibly rebounding back.

His Spiritual Sense, which could originally cover several kilometers, could now only perceive a radius of three hundred meters at most.

"As expected, there's suppression."

Bai Ye wasn't surprised. Secret realms often restricted Spiritual Sense to prevent people from easily detecting treasures.

He pulled a yellowed sheepskin map from his Storage Bag and spread it open in his palm.

The map was densely marked with lines and symbols in cinnabar—it was a partial map of the Azure Spirit Secret Realm passed down by the Bai Family.

As a millennium-old clan in Azure State, the Bai Family had naturally accumulated considerable information about the secret realm through multiple openings.

Though incomplete, the map marked several locations with great opportunities, including "Sword Intent Valley."

"According to the map, I should be at the edge of the Black Wind Forest now, less than fifty li from Sword Intent Valley."

Bai Ye compared the surrounding terrain and quickly confirmed his position. "Sword Intent Valley is said to hold the remnant soul of an Ancient Sword Cultivator. If I can gain even a sliver of insight, it would greatly benefit my strength."

He put away the map without hesitation, unfurled the Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping technique, and dashed toward Sword Intent Valley.

His figure wove between the massive ancient trees at incredible speed.

Yet it was utterly silent, only occasionally stirring a few falling leaves.

Along the way, he remained constantly vigilant, his three-hundred-meter Spiritual Sense operating at full capacity, perceiving every rustle and movement around him.

After all, in a secret realm, aside from demonic beasts, the greatest danger was other cultivators.

Just as he passed through a thicket of bushes, his Spiritual Sense suddenly caught a faint yet pure fluctuation of spiritual energy.

"Oh?" Bai Ye paused mid-step, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "This spiritual energy fluctuation... it's very unique. Doesn't feel like a demonic beast, more like... a spirit grass?"

He focused and sensed it carefully. The fluctuation was gentle yet carried a hint of sharpness—its grade was definitely not low.

"At least a Fourth Grade Spirit Grass, possibly even Fifth Grade!" Bai Ye's heart stirred.

A Fourth Grade Spirit Grass could already assist Primordial Core Realm cultivation and was extremely rare.

A Fifth Grade was worth a fortune!

"Let's take a look."

He changed direction and dashed toward the source of the spiritual energy fluctuation.

A distance of three hundred meters, with the speed of Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping, took no more than a single breath to cover.

It was a stone wall covered in thick moss.

Beneath the wall, a spirit grass with an emerald-green body and golden patterns along the edges of its leaves was bathed in the patches of light filtering through the canopy, emitting a faint glow.

It was the Fourth Grade Spirit Grass, "Golden Spirit Grass"!

But just as Bai Ye prepared to step forward and pluck it, two figures appeared before the stone wall almost simultaneously with him!

One wore a blood-red robe—a Middle-aged Man with a hideous scar across his face and eyes as fierce as a wolf's.

The other was a slender young man in a gray robe, gripping a dagger that glinted with green light.

The moment they appeared, both stared greedily at the Golden Spirit Grass.

Three pairs of eyes met abruptly before the Golden Spirit Grass!