Qi Refining Tenth Layer Peak! Swordback Crocodile Dragon! Burn Everything!

"Alas, could it be that the Blood Fiend Demon Lord would emerge and slaughter living beings, while I could only stand by helplessly and watch?

No! I can't!

Wait a little longer!

If, when the Blood Fiend Demon Lord broke through the seal, no one had still come!"

All of a sudden, Profound Dragon Venerable's gaze turned incomparably sharp!

"Then I'll self-destruct this Secret Realm!"

If the Secret Realm self-destructed, only the living beings within it would die.

But if the Blood Fiend Demon Lord broke through the seal, far more than just the creatures within the Secret Realm would perish.

Meanwhile, inside the cave.

Spiritual energy surged.

The medicinal power of the Marrow-Cleansing Grass seeped deep into his bones and marrow.

The meridians throughout Zhang Xuanchen's limbs and body felt as though they were being crushed apart. The intense agony made the veins on his forehead bulge.

Yet he endured it through sheer willpower, not making a single sound.

Gradually, strands of black impurities seeped from his pores, giving off a foul stench.

Only after refining three Marrow-Cleansing Grass plants did Zhang Xuanchen feel that the pill toxins and impurities within his body had been completely purged.

His entire body felt lighter.

As though a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Perfect. I can take this chance to raise my cultivation to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer Peak!"

Zhang Xuanchen took several Mid-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring and entered meditation once more.

As his cultivation technique circulated, spiritual energy streamed endlessly into his body.

Crack!

A thunderous boom rang out in his mind, and the barrier shattered in response.

A powerful aura burst from his body.

Feeling the surging spiritual energy within him, Zhang Xuanchen was overjoyed!

Qi Refining Peak! Achieved!

"My foundation is incomparably solid. Once the Secret Realm ends, I only need to temper it a little before I can begin Foundation Establishment!

"With my talent, and with Spirit Fire to aid me, as long as I prepare properly, I won't need a Foundation Establishment Pill at all!"

Zhang Xuanchen clenched his fists, his eyes brimming with excitement.

If time permitted, he truly wanted to begin breaking through to Foundation Establishment right now.

But opportunities were still waiting for him.

He could not waste his time here!

After inspecting the surroundings and confirming that it was safe, Zhang Xuanchen pushed aside a massive boulder and walked out of the small cave.

Dawn had only just broken. Coupled with the fact that this place lay within a canyon, a chilly breeze carrying the heavy scent of stone rushed toward him.

The temperature was low, but it had little effect on cultivators.

He had barely gone a few kilometers when he sensed the sounds of spiritual energy colliding.

Then he saw a female Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator dressed in Tianlan Sect robes racing toward him at top speed.

Behind her followed a First-Order Peak Sabertooth Tiger.

"Fellow cultivator! Please stop! Please help me kill this beast! Afterwards, I will certainly... Hm?"

Before the female cultivator could finish, Zhang Xuanchen immediately used an escape technique and fled the scene at lightning speed!

Even Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators could not compare to his speed!

This woman was clearly harboring ill intent!

He had not even revealed his cultivation, so how did she know he could defeat that Sabertooth Tiger?

Without knowing his strength, she had still lured the Sabertooth Tiger over here.

What if he had been a weakling? Wouldn't he have died here?

What was more, she was a Tianlan Sect disciple.

Save her?

That was the biggest joke in the world!

He was not the sort of man who could not walk straight at the sight of a woman!

He simply ran!

Seeing Zhang Xuanchen turn into a streak of light and vanish, the Tianlan Sect female cultivator was utterly furious!

She had originally wanted to divert disaster onto another.

Now, all her plans had gone down the drain!

Yet in the instant she was distracted, the Sabertooth Tiger that had been relentlessly pursuing her suddenly leaped forward. Its enormous tiger paw slammed fiercely toward her back!

The female cultivator had no time to dodge and could only raise her sword to withstand the blow.

Bang!

The tremendous force sent both her and her sword flying dozens of meters. She crashed through three large trees in succession before finally steadying herself.

She spat out a mouthful of blood and coldly looked toward the Sabertooth Tiger, which had once again opened its bloodthirsty maw.

"Hmph! Do you really think this lady is afraid of you?"

She slapped her Storage Bag, and three Spirit Talismans appeared before her.

Sensing the commotion behind him, Zhang Xuanchen sneered inwardly.

"Hmph! Do you take me for an idiot?"

After shaking off that fool, he found his path blocked by a swamp.

Before he could consider how to cross it, a sense of danger abruptly surged within him.

"Not good!"

Without even thinking, Zhang Xuanchen's body reacted before his mind did. He tapped off the ground with the tip of his foot, soared into the air, and landed atop a nearby branch.

The instant he leaped away—

Riiip!

With a deafening tearing sound, the spot where he had just stood was ripped apart by an enormous claw covered in dark brown-black scales!

The claw was a full two meters long. Before it, the ground was as fragile as paper.

Rock fragments and splinters of wood scattered in every direction.

Immediately afterward, a colossal beast more than thirty meters long emerged from the mud.

It resembled a lizard, with sword-like bony spines growing along its back, stretching all the way from its head to its tail.

Its head was triangular, and its eyes were incomparably cold.

Roar!

A deafening roar, carrying a nauseatingly foul gale, crashed toward him.

"Second-Order Mid-Stage! Swordback Crocodile Dragon!

"This is trouble!"

If it had only been a single Second-Order Mid-Stage Swordback Crocodile Dragon, Zhang Xuanchen would not have been this troubled.

But aside from that large one, more than forty First-Order Crocodile Dragons had emerged and surrounded him tightly.

No fewer than seven were at First-Order Peak.

Roar!

After the Crocodile Dragon Chief let out a furious roar, the surrounding First-Order Crocodile Dragons all pounced toward Zhang Xuanchen.

Their heavy limbs did nothing to slow their speed.

The two First-Order Peak Crocodile Dragons charging at the front swung their huge claws, aiming straight for Zhang Xuanchen's head.

Without hesitation, he used the Sword Control Technique, intending to flee through the air, only for the Second-Order Crocodile Dragon to swat at him with a claw.

Wind Shield!

As he watched the crocodile claw descend upon him, nine pale green shields condensed from raging winds appeared before Zhang Xuanchen.

Crack!

Crack!

The massive claw smashed through the nine Wind Shields like bamboo before a blade, shattering them one after another.

Though the Wind Shields were destroyed, they had consumed sixty percent of the claw's force.

"Get lost!"

Flames wrapped around Zhang Xuanchen's hands as he threw a punch.

It collided viciously with the massive claw.

Bang!

The spiritual energy turbulence produced by their clash pulverized all the grass and trees within a radius of five zhang.

Although this strike was Zhang Xuanchen's full strength—

It only barely blocked the remaining forty percent of the force. The Second-Order Mid-Stage Crocodile Dragon's body did not move in the slightest, while Zhang Xuanchen himself was sent several meters back by the impact.

Looking at Zhang Xuanchen, who was like an ant before it, the Crocodile Dragon Chief let out a strange laugh. A human-like mocking gleam appeared in its eyes.

The dozens of First-Order Crocodile Dragons below it also roared in agreement.

"Damn it! You're mocking me, huh?"

Zhang Xuanchen sneered.

A ball of Crimson Gold flame appeared in his palm.

"You really think I have no way to deal with you? I'll burn this entire Swamp Region to the ground!

"Let's see how many of you can survive!"

The moment his words fell, Zhang Xuanchen's gaze sharpened, and he hurled the ball of Crimson Gold flame in his hand directly at the Crocodile Dragon Chief.

A flicker of fear flashed through the Crocodile Dragon Chief's pupils. Its body flashed aside, successfully evading it.

The flames struck a pool of water, yet instead of being extinguished, they instantly ignited the moment they touched the wood chips.

Zhang Xuanchen did not stop. He fired several more fireballs into the surrounding area.

In an instant, raging flames erupted. Some of the lower-order Crocodile Dragons died the moment they touched them.

The pools of water could not halt the flames' spread in the slightest.

This was Spirit Fire. Though he could not unleash its full might with his current strength, no ordinary pool of water could extinguish it!

"Heh, enjoy the warmth this young master has brought you!

"Farewell forever!"