Companion, Wu Feiyang, Secret Realm Entrance

Xu Yang's arrival immediately caught their attention, and they looked at him one after another. Seeing this, Xu Yang quickly stepped forward and said, "Xu Yang greets you fellow Daoists. I assume you are also members participating in the secret realm exploration. May I ask for your names?"

The five cultivators opposite him consisted of four men and one woman. Upon hearing Xu Yang's inquiry, they first exchanged glances before the female cultivator spoke up: "So it is fellow Daoist Xu Yang. We five are sworn siblings, and we will also be entering the secret realm this time. Since we will be forming a team later, we ask for your kind cooperation."

After speaking, the female cultivator turned her head to introduce the situation of the five of them to Xu Yang. These five were named Zhao Yue'er, Wang Jie, Wei Dong, Song Ye, and Ye Xinhui. Among them, Ye Xinhui was the eldest brother, and Zhao Yue'er was the youngest sister. They always advanced and retreated together, supporting one another.

The sect had chosen these five specifically because of their close relationship; as sworn siblings, their coordination was naturally very tacit. After listening, Xu Yang quickly exchanged greetings with the five. Because the secret realm was extremely dangerous, both sides were inclined to build rapport, and for a time, the six of them got along very harmoniously.

Just as they were chatting and laughing, Xu Xianzhong led four other Qi Refining Realm cultivators into the side hall. The six of them immediately stopped talking and looked toward Xu Xianzhong and the others.

Xu Xianzhong scanned them and said with a smile, "Very good, it seems you have all arrived. Then let us not delay any further; follow me!" After saying this, Xu Xianzhong turned and walked out of the side hall, and Xu Yang and the others exchanged glances before quickly stepping forward to follow.

A moment later, the group arrived at a massive platform. This platform was vast in area and had been specially cleared by the sect to serve as a venue for holding assemblies. Ordinary minor matters were usually held here, such as the decennial sect martial arts tournament. When Xu Yang first arrived at the sect, the tournament had just concluded, and now, the next one was not far off.

If a major event occurred, it would be held in the grand hall at the peak of the sect's central main peak. That peak-top hall was the one Xu Yang had seen when he first arrived at the sect; it was the sect's landmark building. The Sect Master, Bai Zizai, handled sect affairs within that hall, and Xu Yang had never been up there to this day because only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were qualified to go.

At this moment, a female Foundation Establishment cultivator was standing on the platform. She was tall and graceful, with fair and delicate skin, a waterfall of dark hair, and a face filled with heroic spirit and vitality. After Xu Yang checked her with his Detection Technique, he was greatly shocked; this female cultivator was actually at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, far surpassing Xu Xianzhong.

Upon seeing this female cultivator, Xu Xianzhong revealed a smile. He stepped forward twice and said, "It has been a long time, Senior Sister Wu. Your cultivation has become increasingly unfathomable. With you leading the team this time, Junior Brother truly feels relieved!"

This woman was named Wu Feiyang, the closing disciple of the sect's Supreme Elder, Bai Tianxing. Her aptitude was extremely outstanding, and she had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage at only thirty or forty years old. If she continued like this, she had a good chance of reaching the Golden Core Realm, which explained why Xu Xianzhong was so carefully currying favor.

Wu Feiyang chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Junior Brother Xu is exaggerating. We are merely team leaders; we don't need to engage in life-and-death combat, so there is no need to be so nervous. As for the harvest of this operation, it will still depend on them." Having said this, she glanced at Xu Yang and the others.

Xu Yang and the others quickly bowed and said, "Disciples will certainly not fail the mission and will do our utmost to collect spiritual herbs for the sect."

Wu Feiyang nodded and said, "This trip to the secret realm is very dangerous. I have already received news that the Baicao Hall and the Loose Cultivator Alliance have formed an alliance. After you enter the secret realm, you must look after each other and work together, while also being extra cautious of disciples from other sects."

Hearing this, Xu Yang felt a chill in his heart. He exchanged a grave look with Ye Xinhui and the others. They bowed to Wu Feiyang and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Martial Aunt Wu. We disciples will keep it in mind."

Wu Feiyang nodded, ignored them further, and turned to tap her Qiankun Bag, releasing a flying boat. Xu Yang looked up and was shocked to find that the flying boat was enormous, enough to hold over a hundred people. Its decorations were also extremely luxurious, far surpassing Qin Shuang's flying boat; it was clearly a top-tier flying Dharma Artifact.

Subsequently, at Wu Feiyang's signal, Xu Yang and the others leaped onto the flying boat, which soared into the sky at high speed, heading toward the border of Chunchu.

Inside the flying boat, Xu Yang and the others sat in one area, looking around in amazement. The interior was truly too luxurious, and it even contained a medium-sized Spirit Gathering Array, allowing it to be used as a miniature cave dwelling, which made Xu Yang and the others quite envious.

Taking advantage of the time while Xu Xianzhong went to talk with Wu Feiyang, Xu Yang spoke to the four who had joined later: "I don't know the surnames of you four fellow Daoists. We should introduce ourselves quickly! We need to coordinate with each other, and it would be too dangerous to know nothing about one another."

The other four cultivators nodded upon hearing this and quickly introduced themselves. These four were all men, named Zhao Xun, Wei Li, Li Yang, and Sun Nan. They were also at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, though they still had a gap compared to Ye Xinhui's group of five.

Among the ten people including Xu Yang, only Xu Yang, Ye Xinhui, and Wei Li were at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, while the others were between the early and late stages of the ninth level. Xu Yang had always been low-key and a loner, so the team was implicitly led by Ye Xinhui and Wei Li.

After some understanding, Xu Yang and the others finally had a preliminary grasp of each other's situations. In the end, the group decided that Ye Xinhui would temporarily serve as the team leader, with Wei Li as the deputy leader, so that everyone could work together to deal with disciples from other sects.

After the discussion concluded, everyone stopped talking and silently circulated their cultivation techniques to adjust their states.

Time passed quickly, and three days later, Xu Yang and the others arrived at a valley on the border of Chunchu. At this time, three other parties were already in the valley. Xu Yang and his group leaped off the flying boat and, led by the two Foundation Establishment cultivators Wu Feiyang and Xu Xianzhong, converged with the three parties.

Seeing Wu Feiyang arrive, the leaders of the three parties changed their expressions. They had not expected that the opening of this secret realm would actually alarm this heaven-favored daughter. Wu Feiyang was famous throughout the Yue Province cultivation world, and her strength was incredibly formidable, comparable to a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. All three leaders were deeply wary of her.

The leaders of the Baicao Hall were two middle-aged women. Both were very delicate and pretty, wearing green robes that made them look ethereal, and they carried a scent of medicinal herbs. Upon seeing Wu Feiyang, they said with surprise, "We didn't expect fellow Daoist Wu to lead the team here. It truly surprises us. It seems the Bailian Pavilion attaches great importance to the opening of this secret realm!"

The leading cultivators of the Hundred Beasts Sect were two old men. One of them heard this and snorted coldly, "That is still not as important as your Baicao Hall, considering you even formed an alliance with the Loose Cultivator Alliance for this."

The two middle-aged female cultivators of the Baicao Hall changed expressions slightly upon hearing this. Just as they were about to retort, the leader of the Loose Cultivator Alliance spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Ruan, that is not the case. My Loose Cultivator Alliance has weak strength, so naturally, we must unite with others. The Baicao Hall has always been on good terms with my alliance, so we naturally formed an alliance with them." This man was in his thirties, wearing a yellow Confucian robe, and looked like a scholar. As he said, the Loose Cultivator Alliance was the weakest, and he was the only leader present.

Hearing their words, Wu Feiyang said impatiently, "Enough. The secret realm is about to open, so stop bickering. Let us quickly head to the entrance of the secret realm!" After saying this, she beckoned to Xu Yang and the others to follow, turned, and flew toward the depths of the valley. Seeing this, Xu Yang and the others quickly followed on their swords.

Seeing this, the three parties including the Baicao Hall did not say more and quickly followed behind Xu Yang's group. In a short while, the group arrived at a flat open space. Xu Yang was surprised to find that the space in the center of the clearing was fluctuating violently, with waves of air spreading in all directions.

Seeing this, Wu Feiyang glanced at the leaders of the other forces and said, "Fellow Daoists, looking at the situation, the secret realm is about to open. Let us step back a bit!"

As she spoke, Wu Feiyang led Xu Yang and the others to retreat a certain distance, and the other forces did the same. Xu Yang was puzzled and asked Xu Xianzhong beside him, "Senior Xu, why are we retreating? Is there any danger when the secret realm opens?"

Xu Xianzhong stroked his beard and replied with a smile, "Of course there is danger. When the secret realm opens, the space at the entrance is very chaotic, and space fragments fly around the entrance. If one is swept by a space fragment, they will be cut in two instantly; even Golden Core Realm cultivators are no exception."

Xu Yang gasped upon hearing this, never expecting that space fragments were so terrifying that even Golden Core experts could not withstand them. Xu Yang immediately became vigilant, nervously watching the secret realm entrance ahead, fearing that a space fragment might fly out and cut him in two.

Seeing Xu Yang's expression, Xu Xianzhong laughed and said to him, "No need to be so nervous. Space fragments won't fly out; they only appear near the entrance of the secret realm. As long as you don't get close to the entrance, you will be fine."

Hearing this, Xu Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled embarrassedly at Xu Xianzhong and said, "Thank you for the information, Senior. This junior was too ignorant." Xu Xianzhong waved his hand at him, signaling him to look ahead.

Xu Yang immediately looked at the secret realm entrance and saw that the violent spatial fluctuations had greatly diminished and were gradually calming down. After another moment, the spatial fluctuations disappeared completely, and a silver vortex appeared in the center of the clearing, rotating continuously.

Seeing the vortex appear, Wu Feiyang immediately led Xu Yang and the others to the vicinity of the vortex. The other three forces were not to be outdone, standing in three directions and surrounding the vortex. Subsequently, the several leaders discussed among themselves and decided that the Bailian Pavilion would enter first, the Hundred Beasts Sect second, and the Baicao Hall and the Loose Cultivator Alliance would enter last.

After the discussion, Wu Feiyang turned to Xu Yang and the others and said, "We are going in first. You must be extra careful and stay united. I won't say more to waste time; enter quickly!"

Xu Yang and the others looked at each other, bowed to the two leaders, and quickly stepped into the silver vortex. After Xu Yang and his group entered, the disciples of the other three forces entered the secret realm one after another. Only the Foundation Establishment cultivators like Wu Feiyang remained in the field. They greeted each other and then each found a place to meditate and cultivate, waiting for the disciples to return in ten days.