The next day, early in the morning, Jiang Liu flew out of the Exotic Beast Valley with Elder Bai.
Today, Jiang Liu did not ride the Frostwing Dragon, but instead rode Elder Bai's beast, a Bloodhowl Sky Tiger.
It seems that ever since Valley Master Ye Xingchen's tamed beast Bloodhowl Sky Tiger, died in front of his grave, many people in the Exotic Beast Valley have liked to use the Bloodhowl Sky Tiger as their main tamed beast.
Elder Bai led Jiang Liu over Qi City, and after exiting through the north gate of Qi City, they flew straight ahead. As the scenery on both sides changed, it became increasingly desolate.
After flying for about several dozen miles, they finally saw a forest. The Bloodhowl Sky Tiger flew directly into the forest and flew for another seven or eight miles before they saw a huge plaza that had been leveled by humans.
The square sits in front of a stone wall that looks as if it were carved out with a knife.
The square was bustling with noise, filled with whispers of greetings and discussions about the upcoming trip to the secret realm.
Elder Bai and Jiang Liu flew to the edge of the square, dismounted from the Bloodhowl Sky Tiger, and hadn't taken more than a few steps.
At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe, with flowing long hair and a dignified demeanor, saw Elder Bai and came over with a young woman behind him to greet him, "Elder Bai, what brings you here today to watch the younger generation enter the secret realm?"
"Haha! I'm here to escort my True Inheritor Disciple from the Exotic Beast Valley to participate in the secret realm!" Elder Bai laughed heartily.
"Oh? Your Exotic Beast Valley has acquired another True Inheritor Disciple? How come I've never heard of it! You've kept it well hidden!" the visitor said in surprise.
"Haha! Jiang Liu, come here, let me introduce you. This is Li Moran, the leader of the Vast Righteous Sect." Elder Bai introduced him to Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu quickly stepped forward and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, senior. I am Jiang Liu, a disciple of the Exotic Beast Valley!"
"Jiang Liu?" Li Moran thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You're the Jiang Liu who represented the Murong Family in the Martial Arts Tournament?"
Jiang Liu nodded and said, "Yes, senior, it is I."
Li Moran nodded, then turned to Elder Bai and said, "Elder Bai, your disciple is truly remarkable! At such a young age, he is already preparing to advance to the Grandmaster realm."
Elder Bai laughed heartily at Li Moran, his wrinkles seeming to lessen. Today was the happiest day of his life in decades.
"Elder Bai, this is my granddaughter, Li Qiaoyun, who is also participating in this trip to the secret realm," Li Moran said, pointing to the woman behind him.
Elder Bai looked at Li Qiaoyun and nodded, saying, "Good! Good! I didn't expect your granddaughter to be so grown up!" Elder Bai exclaimed.
"Then let the young people interact more, so they can look out for each other in the secret realm!" Li Moran said.
Elder Bai nodded and then turned to Jiang Liu and said something.
Jiang Liu nodded to Li Qiaoyun, and Li Qiaoyun returned the greeting. Neither of them said anything.
Hearing the commotion, the others nearby quickly found out what was going on and became very interested when they looked at Jiang Liu. They hadn't thought much about it when they first saw the list.
Looking at Jiang Liu's youthful face now, I feel old myself. I think about how they all only advanced to the Grandmaster level in their thirties, and those are considered geniuses. The slower ones are in their forties or fifties.
Immediately, all the forces that were on good terms with the Exotic Beast Valley came forward to greet him, and even those forces that were not on good terms with the Exotic Beast Valley came over to say hello. After all, among all the Grandmaster, Elder Bai was a senior figure.
Elder Bai was busy entertaining a large group of people with Jiang Liu, and Jiang Liu felt that the expression on his face was about to freeze from smiling.
At this moment, Jiang Liu saw a familiar face walking over with an elder from his family, but the elder's face was full of disdain.
Jiang Liu knew this was Ye Qiuzhen from the Ye family. Sure enough, the elder of the Ye family walked up to Elder Bai greeted him, "Elder Bai, how have you been lately?"
"Haha! Good! Good! Old Ye, let me introduce you. This is Jiang Liu, True Inheritor Disciple of our Exotic Beast Valley!" Elder Bai pulled Jiang Liu forward and introduced him.
"Jiang Liu, this is the Grand Elder Hai of the Ye family, Ye Guhe. You can just call him Elder Ye!" Elder Bai said.
Jiang Liu stepped forward and greeted him, saying, "Hello, Elder Ye!"
Ye Guhe nodded, turned around and pulled Ye Qiuzhen, saying, "This is my grandson, Ye Qiuzhen. You young people can chat with him when you have time."
Ye Qiuzhen stepped forward and said to Jiang Liu, "I'll have a good chat with you when I have time!"
Jiang Liu smiled, nodded, and said nothing.
Elder Bai and Ye Guhe didn't care that the two young men didn't seem to want to communicate, assuming that they were both young geniuses and must be arrogant.
Before long, a large group of people flew in from the horizon, at least twenty or more.
Upon seeing this, the people who were chatting idly in the square immediately fell silent, because it was the people from the three sects who had arrived.
Jiang Liu spotted a Grandmaster he recognized in the crowd, Tianming. He hadn't expected that the Haotian Sect would be led by him this time.
After the people from the three sects arrived, the leader, Tianming, stepped forward and said, "Alright, it's almost time. Everyone who participated in this secret realm trip, come out!"
Subsequently, the disciples of the three sects stepped forward one after another, and the top disciples from each of the thirteen states also stepped forward, making a total of thirty people standing in front of the stone wall.
Tianming glanced at the thirty people standing there, confirmed their presence, and said, "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's begin!"
Then Tianming took out a special jade pendant from his pocket, and the elders of the other two sects who were with him also took out a jade pendant from their pockets.
Then the three of them poured their vital energy into the jade pendants, and after a short while, they threw the jade pendants in their hands toward specific locations.
Suddenly, a sound came from the stone wall blocking their way. The three of them immediately struck the stone wall with their palms, and three different energy palms blasted towards the stone wall.
The three palms of vital energy stopped in front of the stone wall and then gently pressed down on their respective positions.
This time, the sound from the stone wall was even louder, and then the stone wall split in the middle and receded to both sides.
The exposed rock face revealed a cave entrance. The entrance seemed to be obscured by a veil of light, making it impossible to see the details inside.
It turns out that this stone wall was added by the three sects, mainly to block the entrance to the cave. No wonder the stone wall looks like it was carved with a knife, because it really was.
"Alright, the entrance is now open. You may enter at your own risk. As for the risks inside, no one knows for sure. I'll warn you again: martial artists above the ninth rank should not enter, or you will bear the consequences." Tianming warned once more.
Upon hearing Tianming's renewed warning, Jiang Liu realized that martial artists with strength exceeding the ninth rank must have entered earlier and likely died inside the light barrier.
The disciples of the three sects took the lead and passed through the light screen one by one. Jiang Liu was in a relatively late position. When it was Jiang Liu's turn, there were only five people left in front of the stone wall.
Jiang Liu walked into the passage and stepped into the light curtain. He felt nothing as he passed through the light curtain, as if it were air. As soon as he entered, he saw several corpses on the ground. Judging from their clothes, they should have died not long ago. It seems that this inconspicuous light curtain has a hidden secret.
Jiang Liu looked ahead and saw only a fog, unable to see the way forward. The people who had come in earlier had all disappeared. Jiang Liu carefully walked forward.