Crisis

Li Yan did not look back, stepping into the light gate in one stride. His figure was instantly swallowed by the chaos.

Others saw this and stepped forward one after another.

The young girl in the azure dress moved with elegant grace, stepping into the light gate second. She was followed closely by the sinister-looking youth in black, Fang Hao, and the remaining inner sect disciples leaped in one by one.

Lin Ye walked slowly to the light gate. His fingertips could clearly feel the chaotic spatial fluctuations within, and a heart-palpitating aura rushed toward him, causing the True Qi throughout his body to subconsciously tense up. Taking a deep breath, he hesitated no longer. With a fierce stomp of his foot, he stepped directly into the light gate.

The world spun. He felt as if he had been swept into a violent vortex; the spatial turbulence tore at his body frantically, and his consciousness blurred. The Xuanhuang Token at his waist suddenly grew hot, and a pale yellow halo formed a protective barrier around him, deflecting the majority of the tearing force.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Finally, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Lin Ye stumbled to steady himself, immediately gripping the Azure Edge Sword at his waist and scanning his surroundings with vigilance.

What met his eyes was a desolate Gobi desert under a depressing, dark yellow sky. The ground beneath him was scorched earth, devoid of any vegetation, and dark red mountain ranges rolled into the distance, filled with desolation and decay. The air was thick with a mixture of dust and the scent of blood. The spiritual energy was far denser than in the outer sect's blessed lands, yet it was violent and impure; absorbing it rashly would easily lead to a deviation in cultivation.

"Is this the Xuanhuang Secret Realm?"

Lin Ye felt a chill in his heart; the harshness of the environment exceeded his expectations. Looking around, the area was barren and uninhabited. Not one of the nine people who had entered the secret realm with him was by his side.

It was a random teleportation. Lin Ye understood instantly that everyone had been scattered to different parts of the secret realm. While this avoided the need to fight for treasures the moment they arrived, being alone made it much easier to become prey for exotic beasts.

He dared not be the least bit negligent. He immediately activated the Breath Concealment Technique, suppressing his aura to the absolute limit, and then employed the Flowing Cloud Steps. His figure moved like a wisp of blue smoke, quickly avoiding the open Gobi flats and dashing toward the nearby rocky hills. In an unfamiliar and dangerous place, the first priority was to find a hidden foothold, scout the surroundings, and then make further plans.

An incense stick of time later, Lin Ye slipped into the depths of the hills and found a hidden rock crevice with an excellent line of sight, using it as a temporary hiding spot.

He took out the animal skin map given to him by Chen Feng and carefully identified his location by comparing it to the surrounding terrain. The map was crudely drawn, but it was enough to distinguish the general direction. He was currently on the edge of the Red Wasteland Gobi in the southwest of the secret realm, which belonged to the low-danger zone marked on the map. However, this "low danger" was only relative to the secret realm as a whole; for someone at the early stage of the True Qi Realm like him, danger still lurked everywhere.

The map was clearly marked: heading east through the Bone-Eroding Forest would lead to Meteor Lake, a spot marked as a "suspected legacy site." Further to the northeast was a blank, unknown area, unpredictable and perilous.

"Meteor Lake..."

Lin Ye tapped his fingertip on the map, calculating in his mind. At his speed, it would take a full day of travel at maximum effort, and he would have to pass through the Bone-Eroding Forest, which would surely be difficult. But the temptation of a legacy site was simply too great. The Xuanhuang Secret Realm opened only once every ten years and had a time limit of only seven days; he could not afford to hesitate or retreat.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, a warning sign suddenly flared in his heart!

Almost as a reflex, he exerted force through his feet, and his figure shot backward out of the rock crevice like a ghost!

"BOOM!!"

The moment he left, the boulder several people high behind him was viciously struck by a vine as thick as a water barrel. The boulder shattered instantly, sending stone fragments flying. The vine, shaped like a giant python, did not lose momentum; it coiled in mid-air and lashed out at Lin Ye again, moving so fast it produced a sharp whistling sound.

Lin Ye's pupils constricted. The Azure Edge Sword was unsheathed in an instant, pale blue True Qi infused into the blade, and he slashed out: "Wind-Thunder Slash!"

The sword light, carrying the roar of wind and thunder, struck the vine, which snapped on impact, spraying dark green sap. Yet, this demon creature had immense vitality; the severed vine continued to lash out wildly, and from behind the rocks, dense clusters of scarlet vines surged forth, sweeping over like a tidal wave.

"It's the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine!"

Lin Ye recognized the creature instantly. It was a first-level late-stage beast, but they hunted in packs, could regenerate severed limbs, and carried paralyzing toxins. Once entangled, there was no escaping.

"I cannot get bogged down in a fight!"

Lin Ye made a prompt decision. He raised his left hand and scattered a handful of white mixed poison powder. The moment it touched the vines, a "hissing" sound erupted, and the demon vines' assault faltered. Taking advantage of this gap, he pushed his Flowing Cloud Steps and Wind Chasing Steps to the limit. His figure turned into a blur, and he ran toward the east without looking back, completely shaking off the pursuit of the demon vines.

After running for over ten miles, Lin Ye hid behind a sand dune to catch his breath, his heart still racing. If his alertness hadn't been far beyond that of an ordinary person, he would have been severely injured by that strike. He looked down at the Azure Edge Sword; the dark green sap on the blade was corroding the metal, emitting a faint sizzling sound. A common weapon was already struggling to cope with the crises of the secret realm.

"I must find a better weapon as soon as possible."

Lin Ye consumed a Qi Recovery Pill to restore his True Qi, identified his direction, and set off toward the Bone-Eroding Forest once more. Along the way, he became increasingly cautious, concealing his aura and tracks. He would rather take a detour than risk danger, yet he still encountered attacks one after another.

After a journey of constant fighting and narrow escapes, as the dark yellow horizon grew increasingly dim, a silent forest shrouded in gray mist finally appeared before his eyes.

The Bone-Eroding Forest.

The tree trunks were twisted like coiling dragons, the bark was dry and peeling, and the branches were as pale as bone. There was not a single green leaf to be seen. Gray mist drifted slowly, obscuring the forest in a hazy veil, exuding an indescribable sense of eeriness.

Upon entering the forest, the light dimmed instantly. Only the "crunch" of him stepping on withered leaves sounded, appearing exceptionally harsh in the silence.

He traveled for half an hour without encountering any attacks, but this abnormality only made him more vigilant.

Suddenly, his footsteps came to a sharp halt.

In a pile of fallen leaves ahead, a corpse lay sprawled.

The corpse was dressed in the inner sect attire of the Qingyun Sect. Its chest had been pierced by sharp claws, the bloodstains were black and dried, and the skin had a strange grayish-white hue, even showing signs of melting and corrosion. Scattered nearby were broken weapons and an empty storage bag.

It was actually a fellow disciple who had entered the secret realm with him!

Lin Ye's heart sank, and he stopped at a distance. Beside the corpse remained dried traces of slime and fine crawling marks; this was not the work of an ordinary exotic beast.

A strange, fierce creature capable of killing a third-stage True Qi Realm cultivator in an instant was lurking in this silent forest, watching every intruder.

Lin Ye's gaze turned cold. He slowly took half a step back, not daring to make any rash moves.

Anything that could kill an inner sect disciple at the third stage of the True Qi Realm without a sound was far more dangerous than the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine.

He held his breath, carefully sensing the movement of the wind and grass around him.

The gray mist drifted slowly, and the twisted, bone-like branches swayed gently. Everything appeared so calm.

The calmer it was, the more intense the sense of crisis in Lin Ye's heart became.

Suddenly—

"Rustle... rustle..."

A faint, subtle sound, like countless tiny insects crawling beneath withered leaves, drifted in from all directions.

The sound was dense, like a rising tide, slowly closing in on him from the depths of the forest.

Lin Ye's expression shifted slightly.

They were here.

He jerked his head up, staring at the pale, bone-like branches overhead.

Within the gray mist, countless bizarre insects the size of fingernails, pitch-black with two pairs of transparent wings, were swarming out from the gaps in the branches. They blotted out the sky like a black cloud, sweeping toward him!

Wherever the swarm passed, even the air emitted a faint, corrosive hiss.

The corpse of his fellow disciple on the ground melted at a visible rate the moment the swarm passed over it; in the blink of an eye, nothing remained but pale, shattered bones.

"Bone-Eroding Flying Insects!"

Lin Ye's heart tightened.

These insects moved in swarms and were the true terrors of the Bone-Eroding Forest; once entangled, one would be devoured down to the marrow in an instant.

The swarm was already upon him; there was no avoiding it!

Lin Ye's eyes turned sharp, his internal energy erupted, and he slashed his Azure Edge Sword horizontally!

"Wind-Thunder Slash!"

A cyan sword light tore through the mist, hacking fiercely into the swarm.

A large swath of insects was shredded by the sword energy and fell, but more surged forward, fearless and relentless, threatening to drown him completely.

Just as he stood on the brink of life and death, the Xuanhuang Token at Lin Ye's waist grew searing hot!

An aura capable of suppressing all things quietly emanated from the token.

The Bone-Eroding Flying Insects that were about to pounce on him let out a sharp, piercing shriek as if they had encountered a natural predator, retreating frantically and daring not to approach another step!

Lin Ye was stunned.

This Xuanhuang Token could actually deter the vicious insects of this secret realm?

But before he could think it through, a faint, mysterious yellow light shot out from the token, piercing straight into the depths of the dense forest ahead!

The next moment, a deafening beast roar erupted from the depths of the forest, filled with agony and rage!

Lin Ye snapped his head up to look.

Where the mist churned, a massive black shadow slowly opened a pair of giant, scarlet eyes, locking onto him with lethal intent.

The true terror was never these flying insects.

It was the entity lurking in the depths of the Bone-Eroding Forest, the one that controlled everything...

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