"Of course. I've always valued harmony above all else."

Chen Qiu did not ask further. Instead, he looked toward Ma Yinxue, who lay in a pool of blood behind Fat Dragon, and sighed. "You two had some kind of connection, after all. You're just going to kill her like that?"

He had not killed Ma Yinxue earlier. After all, she was Fat Dragon's woman, and he could not very well make that decision on his own.

"Even a cursed bond counts as a bond?"

Fat Dragon shook his head. "I'm disappointed in women now. At least until I attain the Dao and ascend to immortality, I won't think about that sort of thing again. Finding a woman who can truly be of one heart and one mind with you, who won't mock you when you've fallen on hard times... feels really difficult."

Just then—

By the creek, a white vortex roughly thirty feet tall and thirty feet wide slowly emerged.

Floating above the vortex was a panel shrouded in white mist.

-

"Secret Realm Name": Mock Heaven Minor World.

"Secret Realm Restriction": Only cultivators at Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer and below may enter.

"Secret Realm Type": 'Trial'.

"Secret Realm Description": There are seven stages within. Clear one stage to receive one reward. At most 10,000 cultivators may enter. The entrance will close after one thousand breaths. The secret realm will close once someone clears all stages, or after thirty-six hours.

-

"The secret realm has opened!"

"It can hold up to 10,000 cultivators!"

The crowd that had scattered around the area immediately erupted into cries of surprise. Many subconsciously stepped forward two paces, restless and eager to move. Why had they traveled all the way to Windward City, this godforsaken backwater?

Was it not for this secret realm? Was it not for this opportunity?

On the path of cultivation, opportunities had to be fought for with one's own hands.

But now—

They were actually somewhat afraid to enter. There were too many monsters in this secret realm. First there was that lucky Foundation Establishment cultivator with dozens of Self-Destruct Traits, each carrying the might of a Golden Core cultivator. Then there was this monster who was clearly only at Foundation Establishment First Layer, yet could instantly slaughter five Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators in the blink of an eye.

The pressure of competition was a little too great.

"On the path of cultivation, if you don't advance, you die. Go!"

As everyone hesitated, a middle-aged man from some Lineage gritted his teeth slightly, then led more than a dozen younger members of his Lineage and charged into the white vortex first, vanishing from the creekside.

As he passed Chen Qiu, he even shot him a wary look as though facing a formidable enemy.

It left Chen Qiu rather speechless.

They had no grudge and no grievance—who would want to fight him? Wasting spiritual energy like that was a real loss, all right? That spiritual energy had been bought with Spirit Stones. What was the point of staring at him? If there was no conflict of interests, why would he have nothing better to do than attack them?

If there was a conflict of interests—

Then the bigger fist did the talking.

Perhaps the man had set a fine example. The people around them, who had still been hesitating, no longer hesitated. Gritting their teeth, they charged into the secret realm despite their fear. After all, it was a trial-type secret realm. The death rate would not be too high. So long as they did not encounter a monster like Chen Qiu, there should not be much of a problem.

Every person who passed Chen Qiu gave him a solemn nod, as though conveying some sort of message.

"..."

Chen Qiu shook his head helplessly. Only then did he tuck the storage ring he had picked up from Ma Yinxue into his robes. The ring had been bound by blood. His divine sense could not break through it, so he would just find an artifact refiner to help crack it open after they left.

He was rather curious about that thing that made plum blossoms bloom beneath her feet with every step. Was it a spell, or some kind of spirit treasure?

"Fat Dragon, did we forget to ask about the backgrounds of those men?"

"Seems like it."

"No one's going to come seeking revenge, right?"

"Hard to say. There are so many witnesses here. Unless, after entering the secret realm, we kill them all and leave no one alive. Then no news can leak out."

The moment those words fell—

A young man not far away, who had been preparing to enter the secret realm, had his ears twitch slightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he poured all his spiritual energy into his legs, activated his movement technique, and spun around to shoot into the distance with the speed of lightning, like a thief plugging his ears while stealing a bell!

Whoever wanted to enter this secret realm could go right ahead. He sure as hell was not going!

That incomparably swift movement technique drew admiration from quite a few people.

"Then forget it."

Chen Qiu shook his head. "There are almost ten thousand people here. I'm not that capable—I can't silence every last one of them here. Even if they stood still and let me kill them, I wouldn't have enough spiritual energy."

And then—

The ground began to tremble faintly. Then they saw Zhao Yishi, like a Sky-Piercing Giant, slowly walking toward them. He stopped several dozen feet away, looked down at them, and waved his hand as though signaling something.

Then, a young man standing by Zhao Yishi's feet came trotting over and handed over a Voice-Transmission Talisman. In a low voice, he said, "Fellow Daoist, Senior Brother Zhao wishes to speak with you. Would that be convenient?"

"..."

Chen Qiu looked at the Voice-Transmission Talisman the young man held out, then raised his head to look up at the Sky-Piercing Giant before him. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Being this tall was not entirely a good thing. To speak with ordinary people, he had to use a Voice-Transmission Talisman.

Otherwise, with dozens of feet between them, normal speech truly could not be heard clearly. If he poured spiritual energy into his throat, then everyone would hear him.

After taking the Voice-Transmission Talisman—

He soon heard a deep, muffled voice emerge from within.

"Big Brother, when there's an opportunity later, I won't fight you for it. Can you not kill me?"

"..."

A strange look flashed across Chen Qiu's face. He looked up at the enormous blade, more than three hundred feet long, resting on the Sky-Piercing Giant's shoulder, and felt an overwhelmingly strong sense of incongruity. Wasn't that thing in your hand? And you were asking me not to kill you?

Were you that certain you could not beat me?

Were you really that lacking in confidence?

But to be honest, he did not particularly want to make an enemy of Zhao Yishi either. With such a huge body, even if Zhao Yishi stood still and let him bombard him, Chen Qiu would still have to waste quite a bit of spiritual energy. So he nodded at once.

"Of course. I've always valued harmony above all else."

"Good, Big Brother. With those words, I'm at ease."

Then the deep, muffled voice continued from the Voice-Transmission Talisman. "You lot don't need to follow me. Just wait outside. Your targets are too big. You'll make it easy to expose me."

The sect disciple who had handed Chen Qiu the Voice-Transmission Talisman froze in confusion. He looked up at the senior brother standing behind him. Who the hell had the big target here? With you standing there, who within dozens of miles could possibly miss you?

You had just watched someone slaughter Nine Bulls without even paying an entrance fee—you watched it all from outside the city walls!

But remembering the mission the sect master had given him, the sect disciple still hurriedly said in anxiety, "Senior Brother Zhao, the sect master told us to protect you. You are the sect's hope and future. If anything happens to you, we won't be able to explain ourselves when we return."

"And Senior Brother Zhao, compared to you, our targets really aren't that big."

"No more talk."

"If you don't stay outside, then I won't go in."

The sect disciples exchanged glances and sighed helplessly. "Senior Brother Zhao, we'll listen to you and wait outside. You must be careful in there."

"Preserving your life is what matters most."