Entering the Secret Realm, Fire Spring Sect

Silence...

Desolation...

Wistfulness...

That was Shen Zhou's first impression upon entering the secret realm.

Passing through the mine tunnel and stepping into a curtain of light that rippled like water, Shen Zhou and his group entered the secret realm.

Looking around, the secret realm was slightly different from what Shen Zhou had imagined.

First, he wasn't sure if the secret realm truly belonged to a pocket space. Gazing upward, he could still see a gray, overcast sky. The light inside resembled the dimness just before dawn—not yet bright, but enough for everyone to see their surroundings clearly.

"So this is a secret realm!"

Meng Gang and Tang Shan flanked Shen Zhou, their faces showing an expression of newfound wonder as they couldn't help but exclaim.

Shen Zhou carried his sword in hand, ready to respond to any sudden situation at a moment's notice. Because of this, his senses were sharper than usual.

Ever since stepping into the secret realm, he felt his blood and qi becoming unusually active. The surrounding environment seemed to harbor a certain energy, and after breathing it in, their bodies felt as if they had become lighter.

Shen Zhou mentioned this observation. The Second Elder of the Qin Family, Qin Changfeng, said, "The Young Head's perception is accurate. This energy is what ancient cultivators a thousand years ago called Spiritual Qi. It originates from heaven and earth, and its energy is extremely pure. Ancient cultivators used this power to train themselves, strengthen their secret arts, comprehend the Dao through nature, and cultivate various divine abilities.

However, after the Millennium Cataclysm, this Spiritual Qi disappeared from the outside world. Only a few remnants remain in some secret realms, and even those are already very thin."

Shen Zhou had always been curious about the Millennium Cataclysm, so he pressed further, "Does the Second Elder know what exactly happened during the Millennium Cataclysm, and why it occurred?"

Qin Changfeng shook his head. "The records in the Qin Family's ancient texts are incomplete, as if no one knows about that period of history."

Qin Mingyue added, "Those who could have known that history have likely long since perished in the cataclysm."

Shen Zhou gazed at the secret realm before him and said slowly, "Perhaps here, we might find some clues about the Millennium Cataclysm."

After entering the secret realm, the Xu Family members were also surveying their surroundings.

Xu Baxia's gaze, however, was mostly fixed on Shen Zhou. He carried a large war halberd on his back, his blood and qi thick and vigorous. When his eyes fell on Shen Zhou, especially on the Taixuan Sword in the latter's hand, his battle intent surged.

Everyone has secrets.

Xu Baxia was no exception.

The war halberd in his hand was something he had obtained from a secret realm during a previous outing. It was a Spiritual Weapon, once belonging to an ancient cultivator from a thousand years ago.

At the place where he discovered the war halberd, he had received a portion of its original owner's inheritance. That was why his strength had increased so dramatically, allowing him to fight across realms—from the Transformation Yuan Fifth Realm to the Eighth Realm without defeat.

If he went all out and used secret techniques, he could even go head-to-head with the Transformation Yuan Ninth Realm.

This was also the reason why, during the earlier negotiations at North Mountain for the Grand Tournament, even knowing that Shen Zhou's strength was formidable with the sword, he dared to reveal his fighting intent. If not for the fact that Shen Zhou later unleashed Heavenly Firmament-level combat power with the sword, he would have already stepped forward to spar with Shen Zhou.

"Young Master Baxia, don't be impatient. I know you want to test the Young Head of the Qin Family, but after this operation, once he no longer has the Taixuan Sword, he will be nothing more than a chicken or a dog before you. Then you can do as you please. But for now, the Family Head's plan is the most important. You must hold back for a while."

Xu You had been following closely by his side.

Although Xu Baxia was nominally leading the team, the true person in charge was the Elder Xu You.

Seeing the battle intent in Xu Baxia's eyes, he feared it would alert Shen Zhou and ruin the plan, so he had to speak up to remind him.

Xu Baxia took a deep breath, quickly calming his emotions and retracting his battle intent. He then glanced at Shen Zhou once more, said nothing, and simply nodded.

Next, Xu You walked over to Shen Zhou, putting on a friendly smile as he greeted, "Head Shen, the other four families outside, the Flying Bird Academy, and those rogue cultivators are making a big fuss. Even with the Qin and Xu Families joining forces, I'm afraid we can't hold them off for long. So we should hurry to the sect ruins to search for treasures before more people arrive and cause trouble for us."

Shen Zhou nodded, having no objection.

The group began to follow the mountain path toward the sect ruins ahead.

Along the way, Shen Zhou noticed weapons lying on the roadside, along with traces of blood and signs of fighting.

The Third Elder, Qin Yihu, crouched down to examine them, then furrowed his brow. "After the light pillar erupted, before the Qin and Xu Families sealed the area, a group of rogue cultivators were the first to break into the mine. These should be their remains.

As for the blood and fighting... Could they have encountered some demon beasts in here?"

Tang Shan's expression stiffened at the words. "Demon beasts?"

Qin Mingyue spoke up to explain on his behalf. "It's not unusual for demon beasts to exist in secret realms. Their bloodlines are powerful, their vitality is strong, and their recovery is astonishing. So after the Millennium Cataclysm, many secret realms still harbor demon beasts. Even in some forests outside, you can occasionally find fierce beasts with demon beast bloodlines. Their flesh and blood contain abundant essence, which is a great tonic for martial artists.

Pure-blooded demon beasts are even more extraordinary. Almost their entire body is a treasure.

Their hide can be made into defensive leather armor.

Their flesh and blood are comparable to spiritual medicines.

Their ground-up bones and tendons are top-tier forging materials.

And most importantly, the Demon Core of a demon beast is a rare and invaluable treasure—the essence of the beast's entire life. If a martial artist swallows it, as long as they can withstand the torment of the Demon Sha force, their strength can increase dramatically.

So for martial artists entering a secret realm, even if they can't find treasures, being able to hunt a few demon beasts is already a great gain."

Qin Yihu's words broadened Shen Zhou and the others' horizons once again.

Meng Gang even clenched his fists, declaring that if they encountered any, he would definitely go and test his strength against a demon beast.

The group continued forward, and before long, they reached the mountain gate of the sect ruins.

The so-called mountain gate was actually just a mountain path, with a stone stele standing beside it, engraved with three large characters: 'Fire Spring Sect.'

"Fire Spring Sect?"

Shen Zhou murmured the sect's name, then turned to ask the Qin Family elders beside him if they knew of it.

Both Qin Family elders shook their heads.

Old Man Ji and Li Taohua looked at each other, equally clueless.

However, Xu You, an elder of the Xu Family, stepped forward and said, "Our Xu Family once found some ancient texts in another Secret Realm, and there were records about the Fire Spring Sect. According to those texts, the Fire Spring Sect is a Second-Rate Sect. Its disciples come from all sorts of backgrounds, and its techniques are bizarre, overbearing, and sinister. Their conduct walks the line between righteous and evil, so even many First-Class Sects don't provoke them lightly. It's considered a fairly formidable sect."

Qin Changfeng gave Xu You a second look and praised, "Elder Xu You has a remarkable memory."

Xu You smiled and replied, "You flatter me. I just have a good memory; it's nothing special."

This was just a minor interlude. After learning about the sect's background, everyone continued climbing the mountain. Soon, they found more and more scattered cultivator corpses and signs of battle, strewn across the mountain path.

They couldn't tell whether these people had encountered some danger or had fallen out over a treasure they'd found.

Old Man Ji warned everyone to be careful, in case there were still sect formations lying in wait on the road.

Everyone nodded in unison, and their pace slowed.

Not far ahead, the mountain path suddenly split into three forks, each leading to a different peak. This seemed to signal that they were about to enter the true heart of the sect.

Seeing the forks, Qin Changfeng suggested to the Xu Family elder that they split up. This would not only speed up the search but also prevent any conflict over discovered treasures that might damage their relationship.

Elder Xu You was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Before they parted, he even reminded Shen Zhou and the others to be careful. If they ran into danger, they could shout for help, and the Xu Family would come to their aid upon hearing it.

The Qin Family members nodded without objection.

Then, Xu You, Xu Baxia, and the rest of the Xu Family took the rightmost path first. Only after they had been gone for a while did Qin Changfeng let out a breath and say, "I hope the Xu Family really doesn't have any ill intentions."

Qin Yihu heard this and asked in surprise, "Second Brother, are you still worried that the Xu Family's goodwill toward us is a cover for some scheme?"

Qin Changfeng replied, "One should not have the heart to harm others, but one must have the heart to guard against them. I'm just being cautious. Didn't the family head warn us through Mingyue that the Xu Family wouldn't be so kind for no reason? I hope I'm overthinking it."

Shen Zhou thought back carefully. Before the city-wide Grand Tournament at the martial hall, he had indeed told Qin Mingyue that the Xu Family's kindness toward the Qin Family must have ulterior motives.

But for now, he still couldn't figure out what the Xu Family was really after.

Shen Zhou then looked in the direction the Xu Family had gone, waved the Taixuan Sword in his hand, and said, "It doesn't matter. It's best if they stay out of trouble. But even if they do cause trouble, we don't need to be afraid of them. At worst, we'll just cut them down!"

Shen Zhou was now at the Coagulation Sixth Realm, and with the strength of the Golden Body Art's second layer, if he fully unleashed his Entry, he truly didn't know how high his power could reach.

So if the Xu Family dared to act up, he wouldn't mind using them to test his sword.

Everyone shook their heads and smiled at his words.

That attitude was very 'Shen Zhou'!

But deep down, they all felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

"Which way should we go next?"

After the laughter faded, Qin Mingyue looked at the left and middle paths ahead and asked for everyone's opinion.

Having just arrived in the Secret Realm, no one was sure which way was best.

Qin Mingyue thought for a moment and said they should take the left path, because in most sects, things like medicine gardens and alchemy chambers were located on the side peaks.

Tang Shan, however, argued that the middle path was the main road and should lead to the sect's most important areas, so it was worth trying.

Shen Zhou listened, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this: you two play rock-paper-scissors. If Qin Mingyue wins, we go left. If Senior Brother Tang Shan wins, we go middle?"

Qin Mingyue: "..."

Tang Shan: "..."

Wasn't that a bit too reckless?

But they did it anyway.

Best of three, the answer came quickly.

In the end, Qin Mingyue won, so they took the left path.

As they set off, Shen Zhou walked past Tang Shan and sighed, "Ah... Senior Brother, you actually lost to a woman. This... this... ah!"

Tang Shan was stunned.

That sounded weird somehow.

It was just a game of rock-paper-scissors; it wasn't that big a deal!

Then Old Man Ji came up to Tang Shan, shook his head, and said, "Can't even beat a little girl. What kind of future do you have? Tsk!"

Tang Shan was speechless. "Master, you too..."

Then Meng Gang walked over, looked at Tang Shan, and said, "Senior Brother, you're really too weak. You..."

Tang Shan snapped, "Get lost!"

Li Taohua couldn't help but laugh.

The two Qin Family elders smiled and shook their heads.

After the group left the fork, they didn't notice that the Xu Family, who had left long ago, had quietly returned to the crossroads.

Watching Shen Zhou and his party disappear into the distance, Xu You's previously amiable demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, stern expression. He ordered, "Everyone, be careful. Don't leave any traces. Follow them!"

The Xu Family members replied in low voices, "Yes!"