Blood Demon Secret Realm!

The next day, you arrived in Qin Capital and quickly found Tianqi Academy.

After entering Tianqi Academy, you found it was a little different from what you had imagined.

The academy before you was tiny. It was less a school than a slightly larger traditional courtyard.

Just as you and Gu Xinyue stepped into the courtyard, Fang Jingchun came out to greet you with a smile.

"You're here?"

Just as you were about to speak, Gu Xinyue stepped forward and beat you to it.

"Sixth Junior Brother! You don't look the least bit worried that we might die in the secret realm!"

"With Senior Sister's ability, how could the mere Immortal Falling Secret Realm trap her?"

Fang Jingchun said it as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

You turned to Fang Jingchun and asked where Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi were.

"You mean them, Junior Brother? They're cultivating in the back courtyard!"

After learning that Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi were at the academy, you exchanged a few pleasantries with Fang Jingchun, then headed for the back courtyard.

When you arrived, you immediately spotted the two of them sitting at a stone table, drinking tea.

Ye Chuxue heard someone approaching and turned to look in your direction.

"Su Ming? You're finally back!"

With a grave expression, you walked up to Ye Chuxue. You didn't bother with any pleasantries, but got straight to the point.

"After I left last time and before the Immortal Falling Secret Realm incident three years ago, did either of you enter it?"

Ye Chuxue rarely saw you this serious. Her smile faded as she searched her memories.

"Hmm... We went once, six months before the Immortal Falling Secret Realm incident three years ago."

Hearing her answer, your heart sank. This was the outcome you had dreaded most.

Before coming here, you had kept hoping they hadn't entered the Immortal Falling Secret Realm, so the problem wouldn't be connected to anyone close to you.

Now, you had no choice but to reconsider Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi's identities.

You knew Ye Chuxue best. Across all your simulations, you had spent the most time with her.

That made Lin Qi your primary suspect, though, in your eyes, Ye Chuxue couldn't be completely cleared of suspicion either.

Seeing your expression grow darker by the moment, Ye Chuxue couldn't understand what their visit to the Immortal Falling Secret Realm had to do with anything.

"What happened, Su Ming?"

The two of them stared at you in confusion. For a moment, you were dazed, and couldn't help wondering if you had gotten it wrong.

After steadying yourself, you told them it was nothing. You had just found the secret realm polluted after returning, and were worried about them.

Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi clearly didn't believe your explanation, but neither pressed you further.

After leaving the back courtyard, you went straight to Fang Jingchun and Gu Xinyue.

"Senior Brother Fang, Senior Sister Gu! I wanted to ask if there are any other ruins like the Immortal Falling Secret Realm in You Prefecture."

Fang Jingchun and Gu Xinyue exchanged a glance.

"Why do you ask, Junior Brother?"

"That's right, Junior Brother! You're still a long way from breaking through to Spirit Transmutation."

Seeing that neither of them had given a definite no, your spirits immediately lifted.

"So there really is another secret realm in You Prefecture?"

Seeing that you still wouldn't give up, Gu Xinyue finally relented and told you.

"There really is another secret realm in You Prefecture, but we only go there to cultivate when we have no other choice."

You asked why you couldn't cultivate there, and whether its spiritual energy had been severely depleted.

Gu Xinyue nodded, then shook her head.

"That secret realm is about as depleted as the Immortal Falling Secret Realm, but the situation there is rather... unusual."

"Unusual? Senior Sister Gu, what exactly is going on with that secret realm?"

Seeing you press on, Fang Jingchun explained.

"Junior Brother! There's a Blood Tablet in that secret realm, and an ancient, powerful Sinister Worm is sealed beneath it!"

"Five thousand years ago, the previous Sword Pavilion Master discovered it by chance. With overwhelming strength, he drove all the people away and sent someone to guard the place, keeping outsiders from entering."

At that, Gu Xinyue suddenly chimed in with a grin.

"Junior Brother! Our Third Senior Sister is the one guarding it now!"

After hearing all this, you hadn't expected the truth to be so complicated. You were just as puzzled about why the Sinister Worm had been sealed away on its own.

You voiced your question to Fang Jingchun.

"Senior Brother Fang, don't Sinister Worms die when their hosts die? So why would they still..."

"Sinister Worms below Spirit Transmutation Stage die as soon as their host is killed. At that point, their true consciousness hasn't fully awakened, so they're easy to kill."

"What about those above Spirit Transmutation Stage?" you asked Fang Jingchun impatiently, curiosity getting the better of you.

"Those above Spirit Transmutation can escape their hosts and seek new ones, even if their hosts are killed."

Gu Xinyue chimed in with a warning.

"That's right, Junior Brother! Sinister Worms are incredibly tenacious, so we have to strike at their dantian—that's their weak point."

"Exactly. A Sinister Worm's strongest weapon is its Soul Power. If you don't destroy its dantian, one of the same stage as you can escape, and then you'll almost certainly be possessed."

Su Ming couldn't help feeling a headache coming on as he read this.

"Where do these Sinister Worms even come from? How are they so monstrous!"

It was a good thing he had learned about this from the simulation. Otherwise, after reaching a higher cultivation level, he might have gone to kill some Spirit Transmutation experts only to get blindsided by this trick.

Su Ming now saw that Fang Jingchun was explaining the secret realm to him in the simulation.

"The Blood Tablet constantly absorbs the secret realm's spiritual energy to suppress the Sinister Worm's true form, and sooner or later, the realm's spiritual energy will be exhausted."

"All we can do now is limit our use of spiritual energy as much as possible, buying humanity as much time as we can."

After hearing the full explanation, you fell into thought.

For a while, you couldn't decide whether to take Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi there.

If there really was something wrong with the two of them, going there now might release the Sinister Worm sealed beneath the Blood Tablet ahead of time.

But if you didn't go, they might keep polluting the secret realm, with terrible consequences.

You now faced two choices: kill them both outright, or take them to the secret realm.

In the end, you decided to take them to the secret realm first. When something went wrong in the Immortal Falling Secret Realm last time, you hadn't been with them, so you couldn't confirm whether anyone else had entered.

After wearing Fang Jingchun down for a long time, you finally learned that the secret realm was called the Blood Demon Secret Realm, named after the Blood Tablet.