Golden Spirit Grass

"Run!"

No one knew who had shouted it, but the remaining ten cultivators no longer cared about the Skywind Dynasty's dignity. They turned and fled.

They pushed their Spiritual Energy to the limit, wishing their parents had given them two extra legs.

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

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

He drove Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping to its limit. Every step he took dragged several afterimages behind him, and he was several times faster than the fleeing cultivators!

"Stay."

His icy voice rang out from behind them, followed by a continuous series of thunderous explosions!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crimson fist imprints exploded in midair one after another, like talismans that chased souls and claimed lives.

Those fleeing Primordial Core Realm cultivators had no chance to turn around and resist before they fell one after another.

In no time, all twelve Primordial Core Realm cultivators of the Skywind Dynasty had been put to death!

Blood stained the ground before the entrance red, reflecting the morning glow and giving off a savage, bloody stench.

The other cultivators present were already so terrified that they did not dare breathe too loudly.

A few cowards' legs gave out, and they dropped to their knees, not even daring to raise their heads.

The cultivators who had been trying to curry favor with the Skywind Dynasty earlier now wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Fortunately, they had not spoken up just now. Otherwise, they might well have been among those lying dead.

Bai Ye walked forward expressionlessly, bent down, and collected the twelve cultivators' storage bags from their waists and storage rings from their fingers one by one.

These people came from the Skywind Dynasty. Their storage bags likely contained no shortage of good things.

After finishing, he did not even glance at the surrounding cultivators. He turned and walked toward the Secret Realm entrance.

Only after his figure vanished into the light curtain did the cultivators outside the entrance finally seem to have been fished out of water, gasping for breath.

"Holy crap... was that even human?"

A Rogue Cultivator collapsed onto the ground, wiped the cold sweat from his face, and spoke with a trembling voice. "Twelve Primordial Core Realm cultivators! He just... killed them all?"

"They were people from the Skywind Dynasty! Isn't he afraid of being hunted down by the Dynasty?"

"Afraid? Didn't you see the way he killed people? With that viciousness, does he look like someone afraid of trouble?"

Another cultivator swallowed. "I sensed him carefully just now. The cultivation fluctuation he unleashed was at most Core Formation Sixth Level, but this combat strength... even if someone from the Profound Comprehension Realm came, they probably wouldn't be any better than him, right?!"

"Forget about all that!"

Someone came to his senses and pointed anxiously at the Secret Realm entrance. "Everyone from the Skywind Dynasty is dead. Hurry inside!"

"If we wait any longer, people from the other forces might arrive!"

"Right! Let's go!"

The cultivators, as if awakening from a dream, could no longer worry about their shock. They surged toward the light curtain one after another, afraid of missing this hard-won opportunity.

Elsewhere.

The instant Bai Ye stepped into the light curtain, he felt a powerful spatial force envelop him.

The world spun, as though he had fallen into an endless vortex.

Soon, the howling of fierce astral winds rang beside his ears, while the hazy scenery before his eyes shifted constantly.

After who knew how long, he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet.

He steadied himself and opened his eyes. The sight before him instantly shook him.

It was an ancient forest.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun. Their trunks were so thick that more than ten people would have needed to join arms around them, and their bark was covered in vigorous patterns, as though recording the passage of countless ages.

The air was filled with Spiritual Energy so dense it was almost viscous!

With one breath, his limbs and bones felt incomparably comfortable, as though the Spiritual Energy in his meridians were leaping joyfully along with it.

"What dense Spiritual Energy!"

Bai Ye inhaled deeply, amazement flashing through his eyes. "At least three times that of the Azure Cloud Sect's spirit vein!"

Three times the concentration of Spiritual Energy meant that cultivating here for one day was equivalent to cultivating in the Azure Cloud Sect's spirit vein for three days!

And this was only the outer perimeter of the Azure Spirit Secret Realm entrance!

It was practically a sacred land for cultivation!

But he knew perfectly well that no one would waste their precious time in the Secret Realm sitting in meditation.

Hundreds- and even thousands-of-years-old spirit grasses grew everywhere here. Deeper inside were Cave Mansions and magical treasures left behind by Ancient Sword Cultivators. Those were the true opportunities!

Bai Ye tried releasing his Spiritual Sense, only to find that after probing a short distance, it struck an invisible barrier and was forcibly bounced back.

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

"As expected, there's suppression."

Bai Ye was not surprised. Secret Realms often restricted Spiritual Sense to prevent people from easily scouting out treasures.

He took a yellowed sheepskin map from his storage bag and spread it across his palm.

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

As a thousand-year-old family of the Azure State, the Bai Family had experienced the opening of the Secret Realm several times and had naturally accumulated considerable information about it.

Although this map was incomplete, it marked several places containing great opportunities, including "Sword Intent Valley."

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

Bai Ye compared the surrounding terrain and identified his location. He soon confirmed the direction. "They say Sword Intent Valley contains the remnant souls of Ancient Sword Cultivators. If I can comprehend even a little, it will greatly benefit my strength."

He put away the map, no longer hesitated, and activated Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping, darting toward Sword Intent Valley.

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

Yet he made no sound, occasionally stirring only a few fallen leaves.

Along the way, he remained vigilant at all times, operating his Spiritual Sense at full strength within a three-hundred-meter radius and sensing every stir in the surrounding wind and grass.

After all, in a Secret Realm, aside from demon beasts, the greatest danger was other cultivators.

Just as he passed through a patch of bushes, his Spiritual Sense suddenly caught a faint yet pure fluctuation of Spiritual Energy.

"Hm?" Bai Ye halted, curiosity flashing through his eyes. "This Spiritual Energy fluctuation... is very unusual. It doesn't seem to come from a demon beast. Could it be... spirit grass?"

He sensed it carefully. The fluctuation was gentle yet carried a hint of sharpness. Its grade was definitely not low.

"At least Fourth Grade Spirit Grass. It might even be fifth grade!" Bai Ye's heart stirred.

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

Fifth Grade Spirit Grass was worth a fortune!

"Let's take a look."

He changed direction and darted toward the source of the Spiritual Energy fluctuation.

The three-hundred-meter distance took no more than a breath to cross with Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping.

It was a moss-covered stone wall.

Beneath the wall, a spirit grass that was emerald green from root to leaf, with golden patterns along the edges of its leaves, bathed in spots of light filtering through the canopy and gave off a faint glow.

It was none other than the Fourth Grade Spirit Grass, "Golden Spirit Grass"!

But just as Bai Ye was about to step forward and reach out to pick it, two figures appeared before the stone wall almost simultaneously with him!

One wore a blood-red robe. He was a middle-aged man with a savage knife scar across his face and eyes as fierce as a wolf's.

The other was a short, thin young man wearing a drab gray robe. He held a dagger that shimmered with green light.

After appearing, both men stared greedily at the Golden Spirit Grass.

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