The Gate Deep Within Secret Realm Number Thirteen

Numb.

Cai Kun was completely numb.

He wanted to find Zhu Ping'an to explain the situation and clear his name.

But when he looked around, he only then remembered that Zhu Ping'an had just been blasted away by that Demon's roar.

It was over. There was really no witness left to prove his innocence now. How had things turned out like this?

Feeling the murderous glares from everyone around him, a chill ran down Cai Kun's spine.

Even though the Cai Family had considerable influence, offending so many factions meant he'd be lucky to escape with just a layer of skin peeled off.

Cai Kun's mind was a mess of confusion. He had absolutely no idea what had happened.

Yao Xu nearby almost laughed out loud. He had finally figured it out—Zhu Ping'an had planned from the very beginning to make Cai Kun take the fall.

He hadn't understood before why Zhu Ping'an had been so deferential to Cai Kun, even after Cai Kun had broken through to late First-Rank. It shouldn't have warranted that.

An idol truly was an idol, even his schemes were refreshingly original!

Thinking this, Yao Xu quickly came up with a brilliant suggestion for Cai Kun.

"Cai Kun, if you want everyone to believe you meant no harm and just misjudged this Demon's strength, then what you should do now is stay behind and hold it off, buying us time to retreat."

"Hold it off?"

Cai Kun glanced back at the enraged Demon and immediately dismissed the idea.

"Yao Xu! Stop spouting nonsense! I've been framed! Once we find Zhu Ping'an, everything will be clear!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Kun didn't bother with anything else. He grabbed the Cai Family members and ran, because the Demon was already closing in.

The Demon slapped down with its palm, and a massive handprint appeared on the ground, shaking the earth. One unlucky soul who was too slow to flee was flattened into a pool of blood like a mosquito.

At that moment, no one cared about anything else. They only regretted not having more legs as they scrambled desperately to escape.

The furious Demon chased them for several kilometers before snorting and turning back. Carefully, it picked up the human it had crushed, placed it in its palm, and swallowed it whole like a shelled peanut.

Only after watching the Demon disappear into the distance did the scattered survivors dare to show themselves.

They looked around, their faces grim. Only about seventy people had made it out, meaning at least a quarter of their group had died under that Demon's palm.

"Cai Kun, even if you're the young master of the Cai Family, you owe us an explanation!"

"That's right! We trusted you and followed you, but you basically led us to our deaths!"

"If you can't give us a satisfactory answer, we'll take this all the way to the mayor!"

The crowd glared angrily at Cai Kun. They had all suffered heavy losses. If Cai Kun weren't the Cai Family's young master, they would have swarmed him and killed him on the spot instead of wasting time arguing.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there were over a hundred First-Rank Warriors here while the Demon was only at peak Second Rank. First Rank tempered blood and qi; Second Rank refined True Essence.

Once someone stepped into Second Rank, they had True Essence in their body, which was a massive boost to combat power.

A peak Second-Rank Demon could easily slaughter every single one of them.

"I told you! I was framed! Once we find Zhu Ping'an, everything will be clear!"

Cai Kun was so aggrieved he felt like vomiting blood. He really had been framed, so why wouldn't anyone believe him?

"Zhu Ping'an! Zhu Ping'an, get your ass out here!"

Cai Kun roared, his gaze cutting through the crowd like a blade as he searched for that familiar figure.

But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find Zhu Ping'an anywhere.

"Did he not make it out?"

A sharp glint flashed in Cai Kun's eyes. That Demon was so vicious—if Zhu Ping'an really hadn't escaped, he was definitely dead.

"No!" Cai Kun's breath caught as realization struck him belatedly. He swept his gaze around and noticed that not only was Zhu Ping'an gone, but the Leng Family's warriors and Leng Tianjiao had also vanished.

"That bastard Zhu Ping'an! He used us as cannon fodder to lure that Demon away!"

"We need to move fast. Those people won't hold out much longer. If that Demon corners us here, it won't be fun."

Zhu Ping'an and his group had already ventured deep into the building's interior, winding through a maze of twists and turns.

But with Ye Qingxian acting as a human treasure-seeking mouse, Zhu Ping'an wasn't worried about taking a wrong turn.

The passage grew narrower and narrower until they reached the end of the building, where a massive metal door stood before them, looking extremely sturdy.

The door had already been breached, torn open into a gaping hole four or five meters wide.

If Zhu Ping'an's guess was right, that Demon had made this opening. For it to tear through such thick metal, that Demon was truly terrifying.

"I can sense it. The thing calling to me is behind this door!" Ye Qingxian grew excited.

"Then you go first. I'll cover the rear." Zhu Ping'an pushed Ye Qingxian forward, shoving him straight through the metal door.

With the situation inside unknown, he had no intention of being the first to scout ahead.

After Ye Qingxian entered, Zhu Ping'an and the others followed. The moment they crossed the threshold, an overwhelming sense of oppression crashed down on them.

It felt to Zhu Ping'an as if an extra set of shackles had been clamped onto his body, extremely uncomfortable.

"What exactly is this place? This feeling... it's just like the Martial Pressure of a powerful expert." Zhu Ping'an furrowed his brow.

Back when he had faced Mr. Cheng, that was exactly how it felt when Mr. Cheng suppressed him with sheer presence.

Zhu Ping'an lifted his gaze and looked ahead. Beyond the Metal Door lay an immensely vast hall, within which eight deep passages stretched out, their destinations unknown.

Zhu Ping'an turned his eyes to Ye Qingxian. At a time like this, letting him make the choice was the most fitting.

Ye Qingxian stepped forward on his own. He examined each passage in turn, then pointed directly at the Fourth Passage.

"This passage gives me the strongest feeling. I bet there's something good at the end!"

Zhu Ping'an and the others said nothing more. They followed behind Ye Qingxian and charged straight in.

There was clearly no light inside the passage, yet it wasn't dark at all—like a cloudless night where moonlight bathes a country path, allowing them to see the person ahead with perfect clarity.

As they walked, Ye Qingxian, who was at the very front, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"Ye Qingxian?" Zhu Ping'an frowned. Seeing that Ye Qingxian still wasn't responding, he reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him back. Ye Qingxian's entire body turned around.

"Holy shit!"

Zhu Ping'an was so startled he nearly swung his sword.

Before him, Ye Qingxian's face and body were covered in dense, tiny holes—as if he had been stabbed by a bundle of steel needles. From within those holes, warm red blood streamed down without stopping!