A Chance Encounter with Innate Ore in the Secret Realm-a Fine Material for Refining Artifacts

Outside the bushes, the footsteps of three Azure Scale Lions drew closer and closer. Their heavy paws sank into the soft earth, leaving deep prints behind. The Azure Scale Lion at their head was the largest. Its azure scales gleamed with a cold light in the dim glow of the secret realm, and the single horn on its forehead radiated a faint blue-green aura. It was clearly the leader of the three vicious beasts.

"Their scales are very hard. Ordinary attacks probably won't hurt them." Su Qingyan kept her voice low, flames dancing at her fingertips as she prepared to strike at any moment. "And Azure Scale Lions are fast and skilled with their claws. We'll have to be careful."

Lin Yue nodded and studied the three Azure Scale Lions. Then he noticed that the one on the right was limping, moving a little slower than the other two. A faint scar remained on its scales, clearly an old wound that hadn't healed. "The lion on the right has an old injury. Let's attack it first and break through their encirclement."

Su Qingyan followed his gaze and immediately understood his plan. "All right! I'll use a Flame Net to hold the other two back. Take the chance to attack the injured one."

As soon as she finished speaking, the leading Azure Scale Lion let out a roar and lunged at the bushes. It was incredibly fast, like a streak of blue-green lightning. Its claws swept up two sharp Wind Blades that shot straight toward Lin Yue's hiding place.

"Now!" Su Qingyan cried. The flames at her fingertips surged, forming a huge Flame Net that dropped from above and enveloped the leading Azure Scale Lion and the one on the left. The net burned fiercely. As soon as it touched their scales, it sizzled. It couldn't pierce them, but it kept the two lions from approaching for the moment.

Lin Yue seized the opportunity and sprang from the bushes like an arrow loosed from a bow. Chaos Energy surged through his dantian, and three Chaos Light Orbs formed in his palm before shooting straight toward the injured Azure Scale Lion on the right.

The lion hadn't expected Lin Yue to attack so suddenly. It tried to dodge, but its injured hind leg slowed it down by a fraction of a second. Bang! Bang! Bang! The three orbs struck its hind leg in succession. They couldn't pierce its scales, but the pain made it roar and stagger backward several steps.

"Perfect!" A gleam flashed in Lin Yue's eyes. Without hesitation, he blurred to the lion's flank and condensed a Chaos Light Orb even denser than the ones before. He slammed it into the old wound on its hind leg.

"Aaagh!" The Azure Scale Lion let out a bloodcurdling scream. The orb struck its old wound, and its scales shattered as blood poured out. It lost its balance and crashed heavily to the ground. It struggled to stand, but its injured leg wouldn't support it.

Seeing its companion wounded, the leading Azure Scale Lion roared and slammed itself against the Flame Net. The net was tough, but under the lion's full force, fine cracks began to appear.

Su Qingyan's expression changed. She quickly poured more flames into the net, trying to reinforce it. But she was running low on energy. Breaking the restriction at the secret realm's entrance had already taken a toll, and now she had to maintain the Flame Net. Fine beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

"Lin Yue, finish it off!" Su Qingyan shouted, her voice edged with urgency.

Without hesitation, Lin Yue condensed another Chaos Light Orb and hurled it at the fallen Azure Scale Lion. It struck the lion's head with a dull thud. The lion stopped struggling at once, its head drooping limply. It was clearly dead.

After taking down one lion, Lin Yue immediately turned back to help Su Qingyan. The cracks in the Flame Net were spreading, and the leading Azure Scale Lion had broken through a small opening. Half its body was out, its claws aimed straight at Su Qingyan.

"Watch out!" Lin Yue shouted. He condensed two Chaos Light Orbs and fired them at the lion's eyes.

The Azure Scale Lion was forced to squeeze its eyes shut, abandoning its attack on Su Qingyan for the moment. She took the opportunity to dispel the Flame Net and stepped back several paces to stand beside Lin Yue.

"What do we do now? There are still two of them, and the leader looks even stronger." Su Qingyan panted. She had already used up most of her flame energy, and her face had turned pale.

Lin Yue studied the two Azure Scale Lions and quickly considered their options. The leader was the strongest and fastest. A direct fight was out of the question. He scanned the surroundings and spotted a huge ancient tree nearby. Its trunk was thick, and vines tangled among its branches. Perhaps they could use the terrain against the lions.

"Let's head for that tree and use the vines to slow them down," Lin Yue said, pointing toward it.

Su Qingyan nodded, and the two of them immediately ran for the tree. The leading Azure Scale Lion roared and chased after them with the other lion.

When they reached the tree, Su Qingyan attacked first. Flames at her fingertips became several fiery strands that wrapped around the vines. The fire spread along them, making the vines tougher and coating them with a searing heat.

Lin Yue used the trunk for cover, constantly shifting position as he formed Chaos Light Orbs and attacked the lions' weak spots. He noticed that the scales on their bellies were relatively thin, so he focused his attacks there.

The leading Azure Scale Lion tried several times to pounce on them, but the vines wreathed in flames held it back. They restricted its movements and left a series of scorch marks on its scales. The burns weren't deep, but they still caused it considerable pain.

Seeing its leader held back, the other Azure Scale Lion tried to ambush Lin Yue from the side. He was ready for it. He dodged its claws and condensed an orb, slamming it into the lion's belly. Bang! The orb struck home, shattering its scales and drawing blood. The lion screamed and turned to flee.

"Don't let it get away!" Su Qingyan shouted. The flames at her fingertips shot out in a fiery strand and wrapped around the lion's leg. The fire blazed up at once. The lion writhed on the ground in agony and soon fell still.

With the second lion dead, only the leader remained. It looked at its companions' corpses, fear flashing in its eyes. No longer as frenzied as before, it watched the two of them warily and slowly backed away, as if searching for a chance to escape.

"We can't let it get away. It might draw more vicious beasts here," Lin Yue said. He could sense that the Azure Scale Lion's aura had weakened considerably. It had clearly lost the will to fight.

Su Qingyan nodded. The two of them slowly advanced on the lion, closing in from both sides. Seeing it couldn't escape, the Azure Scale Lion's eyes flashed with ferocity. It suddenly sprang at Lin Yue, making one last desperate effort.

Lin Yue was ready. He dodged to the side and condensed a Chaos Light Orb infused with vital energy, then hurled it at the lion's head. The orb was not only powerful but also contained a trace of vital energy. It couldn't heal wounds, but it could temporarily numb the lion's nerves.

The orb struck the Azure Scale Lion's head, and its movements froze for an instant. Su Qingyan seized the opportunity. Flames at her fingertips formed a Flame Spear, which blazed with enough force to burn everything to ash. She drove it straight into the lion's eye.

"Roaaar!"

The Azure Scale Lion let out a piercing scream and crashed heavily to the ground, its limbs twitching. It struggled to rise, but with its eye injured, it had lost its sense of direction and could only thrash around blindly.

Lin Yue seized the chance to condense one last Chaos Light Orb and slammed it into the lion's head. Thud! A bloody hole opened in its skull, and it finally stopped breathing.

After taking down all three Azure Scale Lions, Lin Yue and Su Qingyan breathed sighs of relief and sank to the ground, gasping for breath. The fight hadn't been especially difficult, but it had still drained a great deal of their energy. Su Qingyan had been particularly taxed by using the Flame Law. Her face was pale, and she barely had the strength to lift a hand.

"Finally... it's over." Su Qingyan wiped the sweat from her forehead, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "Azure Scale Lions aren't high-tier vicious beasts, but they're fast and well-defended. If we hadn't worked so well together, it would've taken a lot more effort."

Lin Yue nodded, took two Chaos Energy Blocks from his storage pouch, and handed one to Su Qingyan. "Restore some energy first. This place isn't safe. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Su Qingyan took the energy block, broke off a small piece, and put it in her mouth. As she felt the energy flow through her body, her exhaustion eased a little. She looked at the three Azure Scale Lion corpses on the ground, regret flickering in her eyes. "What a shame. Their scales and horns make fine materials for refining artifacts, but we don't have the energy to process them right now. We'll have to leave them behind."

Lin Yue felt a little regretful too, but he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on it. The secret realm was full of danger, and they had no idea what they might face next. Finding the Innate Spirit Treasure and Law Fragments was what mattered. "Once we find the treasures, we can come back for them if we still have time."

After resting for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, they had recovered seven or eight tenths of their energy. They got up and continued toward the heart of the secret realm. Having learned from the fight, they were even more vigilant. Every so often, they stopped to observe their surroundings, taking care not to run into more vicious beasts.

They walked for about half an hour. The trees ahead gradually thinned, and the energy in the air grew denser. They could even see wisps of golden energy drifting through the air. Lin Yue's heart stirred. They couldn't be far from the secret realm's core.

"Do you feel it? There's much more energy here than before." Su Qingyan stopped, delight shining in her eyes. "The Boundary Marker Stone is reacting more and more strongly too. The treasure should be just ahead."

Lin Yue nodded and looked in the direction indicated by the Boundary Marker Stone. A small mountain stood not far ahead, its summit shrouded in a faint golden glow. Something seemed to glimmer within it. "That should be it. Let's be careful. The closer we get to the treasure, the greater the danger may be."

They slowed down and cautiously approached the mountain. As soon as they reached its foot, they felt a powerful surge of energy coming from the summit. It contained both metal and fire attributes, and was strikingly similar to the aura they had sensed from the Innate Geng Metal Sword.

"It's the aura of an Innate Spirit Treasure!" Excitement flickered in Su Qingyan's eyes, and she quickened her pace. "And it's even stronger than I imagined. It must be a top-tier Innate Spirit Treasure!"

Lin Yue was excited too, but he didn't let it cloud his judgment. He could sense that the energy coming from the summit held not only the treasure's aura but also a faint pressure. Clearly, some kind of power was guarding it. "Don't get ahead of yourself. It could be a trap."

They slowly made their way up the mountain path. Strange flowers and herbs grew on either side, each filled with pure energy. Under other circumstances, they would have stopped to gather them, but right now they were focused on the treasure at the summit and didn't pause.

The higher they climbed, the stronger the pressure became. By the time they reached halfway up the mountain, they had to circulate their energy just to withstand it. Lin Yue could tell that the pressure didn't come from a vicious beast, but from some kind of formation. Clearly, it was meant to keep outsiders away from the treasure.

"Looks like we'll have to break the formation before we can take the treasure," Lin Yue said with a frown. He knew a little about formations, but he wasn't an expert. A formation protecting an Innate Spirit Treasure was bound to be extremely complex.

Su Qingyan was stumped too. She specialized in the Flame Law and knew nothing about formations. "What do we do, then? We can't just give up."

Lin Yue didn't answer. Instead, he carefully studied the surroundings. He noticed strange symbols carved into the rocks on either side of the mountain path. The symbols were arranged according to some pattern and resonated with the energy fluctuations at the summit. They were clearly the formation's nodes.

"These symbols should be the formation's nodes. If we destroy the crucial ones, the formation should collapse on its own." Lin Yue pointed to the symbols carved into the rock. "But they're all connected. One wrong move could affect the whole formation and trigger a backlash."

Su Qingyan leaned in to look. She didn't recognize a single symbol, so she could only turn to Lin Yue helplessly. "Then I'll leave it to you. I'll stand guard."

Lin Yue nodded and took a deep breath. He circulated the Chaos Energy in his dantian and sharpened his senses to their utmost. The energy flowed slowly along the symbols as he probed their connections. He could sense two attributes among them, metal and fire, corresponding to those of the Innate Spirit Treasure. If he could find where the two types of symbols converged, he would find the formation's key.

After about half an hour, Lin Yue finally found it. On a huge boulder at the end of the mountain path was a symbol containing both metal and fire attributes. It was the formation's central node.

"Found it!" Delight flashed in Lin Yue's eyes. "If we destroy this central node, the formation will break."

Su Qingyan immediately prepared to guard him. Flames gathered at her fingertips once more as she warily watched the surroundings. Lin Yue walked up to the huge boulder and condensed an orb containing Chaos Energy, carefully aiming it at the central symbol.

Bang!

The orb struck the central symbol, and it dimmed at once. The energy fluctuations around them weakened as well. A moment later, the entire mountain path began to shake violently. The other symbols on the rocks shattered one after another, and the pressure at the summit vanished without a trace.

"We did it!" Su Qingyan cried excitedly and ran toward the summit.

Lin Yue followed close behind. The moment he reached the top, the sight before him left him speechless. A small pool lay in the center of the summit, its crystal-clear water shimmering with a faint golden light. On a stone platform in the middle of the pool rested a sword.

The sword was golden all over, its blade rippling with patterns like flowing water. A pigeon-egg-sized red crystal was set into its hilt, and flames seemed to flicker within it. Most unusual of all, a thin haze of light surrounded the blade. Countless tiny symbols could be seen drifting through the haze, and they were the source of its dazzling golden radiance.

"This is... the Innate Geng Metal Sword!" Su Qingyan cried, stunned. "The legendary treasure forged from Chaotic Metal Essence and tempered with Innate Li Fire! It's not only peerlessly sharp, but can also call upon the Flame Law!"

Lin Yue recognized the sword too. He had heard Pangu mention a treasure like it among the Chaos Supreme Treasures. He could sense extraordinarily pure laws of metal and fire within the sword. If he obtained it, it would greatly improve both his cultivation and his combat strength.

Just as they were about to step forward and take the sword, ripples suddenly spread across the pool. The Innate Geng Metal Sword trembled slightly, and the red crystal in its hilt blazed with light. A thread of fire shot out from the crystal and formed a blurry apparition in midair.

The apparition was vaguely humanoid, with faint flames burning all around it. Its face was impossible to make out, but an ancient will could be felt flowing through it.

"Those who trespass into the secret realm must first pass my test before they can take the sword." The apparition spoke in an ancient, imposing voice, as if it had come from time immemorial.

Lin Yue and Su Qingyan exchanged a glance, wariness in both their eyes. The apparition was clearly the spirit guarding the treasure. The fact that it could take shape meant it was highly intelligent, and its strength was likely formidable.

"What must we do to pass?" Lin Yue stepped forward and asked in a grave voice.

The apparition's gaze swept over them before settling on the Innate Geng Metal Sword. "This sword contains laws of both metal and fire. You must work together to channel the laws within it and cut through that 'Chaos Ironwood' beside the pool. Only then will you pass."

Following its gaze, they saw a piece of black wood standing beside the pool, about as tall as a person. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, yet it radiated an aura of incredible hardness. Lin Yue reached out to touch it and felt a sting in his fingertip, as if he'd touched ten-thousand-year-old black iron.

"This Chaos Ironwood is as hard as a high-tier defensive treasure. Ordinary attacks won't leave a mark," Su Qingyan said with a frown. "It looks like we'll have to channel the power of the laws in the Innate Geng Metal Sword."

The apparition said nothing more. It turned back into a thread of fire and merged with the crystal in the sword's hilt, as if it had never appeared.

Lin Yue looked at Su Qingyan. "You specialize in the Flame Law, so you may be able to channel the sword's Li Fire Power. I'll try to commune with its Geng Metal Law. Shall we work together?"

Su Qingyan nodded. "All right. I'll try first."

She walked up to the stone platform and took a deep breath. She gathered her purest flame energy at her fingertips and slowly reached for the sword's hilt. The moment her flames touched the red crystal, it burst into a blinding light, and a wave of searing energy surged through her fingertip and into her body.

"Urgh..." Su Qingyan groaned. Her face turned red in an instant, as though a blazing fire were burning inside her.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yue hurried over.

"I'm fine." Su Qingyan gritted her teeth, cold sweat beading on her forehead. "The sword's Li Fire Power is too overbearing. It's rejecting my Flame Law... I need time to harmonize with it."

Lin Yue didn't disturb her. Instead, he turned to the blade and tried pouring his Chaos Energy into it, hoping to commune with the Geng Metal Law within. The moment the energy touched the blade, the rippling patterns repelled it, as if an invisible barrier stood in the way.

"It won't work if I just pour energy into it," Lin Yue thought. He remembered Pangu teaching him to "go with the flow," so he stopped trying to force his energy in. Instead, he let the Chaos Energy flow slowly along the blade's patterns, like water winding around a stone.

This time, the energy wasn't repelled. The patterns gradually absorbed it. Lin Yue could sense the Geng Metal Law within the blade stirring. A razor-sharp aura spread from the sword, making the surrounding air seem to split into pieces.

"It's working!" Lin Yue was delighted. He quickly guided the Chaos Energy onward, carefully sensing the course of the Geng Metal Law.

Just then, Su Qingyan let out a soft cry. Flames suddenly blazed around her, their light shining in tandem with the glow of the crystal in the hilt. "I've channeled the Li Fire Power!"

At her words, the Innate Geng Metal Sword trembled violently. Golden light from the blade and fiery light from the hilt intertwined, forming a golden-red beam that shot straight into the sky. Within it, the sharpness of metal coiled with the searing heat of fire, radiating an aura that could destroy the heavens and the earth.

"Now!" Lin Yue and Su Qingyan shouted at the same time.

Lin Yue guided the Geng Metal Law, gathering the blade's sharpness at its tip. Su Qingyan urged the Li Fire Power onward, sending flames along the blade until they enveloped the entire sword. The Innate Geng Metal Sword seemed to come alive. It flew off the stone platform by itself and hovered before them.

"Cut!"

They unleashed their power together. The Innate Geng Metal Sword turned into a golden-red streak of light and slashed toward the Chaos Ironwood with overwhelming force.

Crack!

A sharp snap rang out. The extraordinarily hard Chaos Ironwood broke cleanly in two, its cut surface smooth as a mirror. They could even see scorch marks left by the flames.

The ripples on the pool gradually settled, and the Innate Geng Metal Sword drifted back to the stone platform. Its light dimmed considerably. The apparition of fire appeared again, its voice now tinged with approval. "Well done. You have passed the test. This sword—"

Before it could finish, the summit shook violently. A thunderous roar sounded in the distance, and a vicious aura several times stronger than the Azure Scale Lions swept toward them.

"Not good!" Lin Yue's expression changed. "It's a high-tier vicious beast!"

Su Qingyan's delight faded as she warily looked down the mountain. "This aura... it's even stronger than the Chaos Giant Bear we encountered before!"

The apparition flickered, its voice turning urgent. "It's the Chaos Thunder Leopard, guardian of the secret realm. The treasure's energy has stirred it! You cannot take this sword yet. I'll seal it beneath the pool. Get out of here!"

Before it finished speaking, the Innate Geng Metal Sword sank beneath the water. Its golden light vanished completely, and the pool returned to its former stillness, as if nothing had happened.

"Go!" Lin Yue grabbed Su Qingyan and raced down the mountain. They could hear the roars behind them growing closer, accompanied by the sizzling crackle of lightning striking. The Chaos Thunder Leopard had clearly charged onto the summit.

They didn't dare look back, sprinting toward the valley with all their might. The Innate Spirit Treasure had been within reach, only for a vicious beast to interrupt them at the last moment. Frustration welled in their hearts, but survival came first.