The Secret Realm Exit Is Blocked
Four days later, Song Wen stood up after finishing his meditation.
He suddenly stood up, shook the storage ring in his heart, and the sudden, sharp pain made his lips twitch involuntarily.
After recalling the two armored Gu Worm and two Black-Bellied Armor Gu that were on guard at the perimeter, Song Wen summoned his flying boat, controlled its altitude, and flew close to the treetops, heading towards the exit of the secret realm.
Given Song Wen's cautious nature, he was unwilling to travel by flying boat. However, he had a storage ring in his heart, and every step he took would bring him excruciating pain, making it even more impossible for him to trek through mountains and rivers to reach the exit more than two thousand miles away.
With Song Wen's current cultivation level, even flying close to the treetops, the speed of his flying boat is still faster than most Late Qi Refinement, so he is not worried about missing the exit closing time.
After flying for several hours, as darkness fell, Song Wen, who was only two or three hundred miles from the exit, encountered the very thing he had been worried about.
Bandit Cultivator!
With Song Wen's current cultivation level and abilities, he naturally has no fear of those Bandit Cultivators.
However, with the closing time of the exit drawing ever closer, cultivators from various sects were all rushing in this direction. Song Wen was worried that while killing these Bandit Cultivators, he might be accidentally seen by other cultivators, thus exposing his hidden strength.
Fortunately, the two Bandit Cultivator he encountered were not very powerful; they were only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
The two, dressed in Crimson Blood Gate attire, saw Song Wen's flying boat in the distance. Noticing that Song Wen's aura was only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, one rode a ghost and the other held a sword, and they attacked Song Wen without any concealment.
To avoid attracting attention, Song Wen lowered the bow of the boat and disappeared into the dense forest.
The two Bandit Cultivator mistook Song Wen's actions for cowardice and fled, and their last bit of vigilance vanished.
When the two were still three or four hundred meters away from Song Wen, eight Black Armor Gu suddenly attacked.
The two were thrown into panic and, before they could even resist, were silently killed by the Black Armor Gu.
Half an hour later, Song Wen cleaned up the bodies of the two Bandit Cultivators and continued his journey by boat.
In less than half an hour, the exit of the secret realm was already in sight.
The exit of the secret realm is located atop a mountain peak several hundred meters high.
A dark, gaping cave entrance stands high in the air atop the mountain.
However, this cave entrance was not one that could be entered at will. Seven cultivators from the Mysterious Yin Sect stood atop the mountain, blocking the exit.
Of these seven people, one was at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, Chen Xiuming, whom Song Wen had met before; three were at the eighth level of Qi Refinement; and three Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
"These seven people dared to block the exit!"
Song Wen was somewhat surprised and suspicious. He released all the Black Armor Gu and searched the mountains.
As he expected, there were nine more Mysterious Yin Sect disciples hidden in the mountains: four at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and five Qi Refinement the eighth level.
"Is the Mysterious Yin Sect planning to wipe out all the other sects in one fell swoop?"
Previously, at Fallen Eagle Ravine, Song Wen had noticed that the Mysterious Yin Sect had an unusually small number of experts, indicating that this group had planned this all along.
Song Wen looked up at the sky and estimated that there were still about six hours before the exit would close at noon the next day, which was still plenty of time.
He descended and landed on the canopy of a large, leafy tree.
At the same time, they released the Black Armor Gu to monitor the movements of the Mysterious Yin Sect disciples and prevent other cultivators from suddenly approaching.
Half an hour later, the group of eight cultivators used their Flight Technique to stop a few hundred meters in front of the mountain.
Among these eight people were disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect and disciples of the Crimson Blood Gate.
These people clearly knew about the Mysterious Yin Sect blocking the exit, which is why they gathered eight people before daring to come to the exit.
"What is your Mysterious Yin Sect planning? Are you going to surround and kill all the disciples who entered the secret realm? Aren't you afraid of triggering a war between the three sects?" said an inner disciple of the Corpse Demon Sect.
Chen Xiuming said loudly, "Fellow Daoists, please don't misunderstand. We don't want to take anyone's life. As long as you hand over half of what you've obtained in the secret realm, we will let you leave the secret manual An Ran."
"Delusion!" a disciple of the Crimson Blood Gate shouted sternly.
"These spirit medicine are the result of our countless lives and sacrifices. You think you can take half of them with just a few words? Do you think our Crimson Blood Gate and Corpse Demon Sect are incompetent?!"
Chen Xiuming said, "Whether they're incompetent or not, we'll know after we fight them."
As he spoke, Chen Xiuming's body surged with ghostly energy, his clothes fluttering and rustling even without wind, exuding an air of heroic spirit that could single-handedly hold off an army of thousands.
The eight cultivators from the Crimson Blood Gate and the Corpse Demon Sect exchanged glances, their eyes filled with hesitation.
The eight of them were a hastily assembled team, with no trust among them, even among fellow disciples. They lacked confidence in cooperating with each other to fight the seven Mysterious Yin Sect disciples before them.
It's unclear who it was, but they took two steps back first.
This simple act of retreating seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with all eight people retreating in unison, quickly disappearing several miles away.
These eight people understood perfectly well that they were not confident of victory against the seven members of the Mysterious Yin Sect. So they continued to wait until they had enough numbers, at which point the Mysterious Yin Sect members would naturally back down in fear of battle.
The eight people found an open space at a distance they deemed safe enough and sat down to meditate and regulate their breathing.
Unbeknownst to them, nine Mysterious Yin Sect cultivators, hidden in the shadows, had already crept over.
Just as Song Wen braced himself, preparing to observe the battle between the two sides and perhaps reap some benefits from the shadows, a figure appeared in the distant Ye Kong.
This person was dressed in the robes of inner disciple the Corpse Demon Sect and possessed the cultivation level of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. However, his aura was disordered, his expression was panicked, and he was rushing towards the exit.
The arrival of the newcomer instantly attracted the attention of the Corpse Demon Sect and the Crimson Blood Gate disciples, disrupting the Mysterious Yin Sect's plan for a sneak attack. They could only continue to hide in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity.
"Senior Brother Chai Bin, why are you in such a panic?"
A disciple of the Corpse Demon Sect recognized the person and shouted loudly at the figure in the air from two miles away.
Upon hearing the sound, Chai Bin looked in the direction of the sound and saw eight cultivators on the ground. His face lit up with joy, but he did not land. Instead, he turned slightly and flew over the eight people.
Chai Bin's unusual behavior immediately alerted the eight people.
The eight people used their mental energy to quickly search their surroundings, but found nothing. One of them then took to the air and looked in the direction where Chai Bin had come from.
In that direction, the woods swayed violently in the darkness, as if something was running wildly across the ground, shaking the trees and even snapping or knocking some of them down.
Gradually, the sound of the big tree falling came over.
The person who took off changed his expression slightly and said.
"Something's chasing Chai Bin, and it's heading this way!"
After saying that, the person who had taken off darted off to the side.
He knew that whatever was chasing Chai Bin would be safe as long as he kept his distance from Chai Bin.
Seeing this, the other seven also leaped into the air, preparing to flee.
"Roar!"
A burly figure, exuding a dense Corpse-Baleful Qi, appeared in the seven people's sight.
It turned out to be that pseudo-second-tier Copper Corpse.