Encountering a Formidable Enemy

A terrifying aura spread between the two of them.

Yue Lian crouched on the ground, the smile on his face gradually stiffening.

It was over...

He clearly did not believe him.

"It's so late, and I'm so sleepy. Eldest Senior Brother, rest early. Good night." Yue Lian stood up, yawned, and turned to leave as though nothing had happened. Before he had taken more than a few steps, someone grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him back.

Yue Lian: "..."

He had fantasized countless times about entering Eldest Senior Brother's room, but never like this.

Hugging that secret manual of bedroom arts, along with his two boxes, Yue Lian emerged from Chu Zeming's room battered and bruised. He reluctantly glanced at the black-haired young man inside, who had grown tired of beating him and was now sitting down to drink tea. Clinging to the doorframe, Yue Lian refused to give up. "It really is good stuff. I even found the other two volumes for Eldest Senior Brother. The upper, middle, and lower volumes can be used together..."

The anger Chu Zeming had only just managed to suppress began to rise again. Holding back the urge to smash the teacup into Yue Lian's forehead, he said in a low voice, "Get lost."

Perhaps his exposure to gay pornographic books had left him with aftereffects, because Chu Zeming began having indescribable nightmares again, where that white lotus took every advantage of him.

As a result, for the next several days, Chu Zeming's hands itched whenever he saw Yue Lian. He beat him every time he saw him, using a different method each time. The other disciples in the inn watched with trembling hearts, closing their eyes and chanting Amitabha.

Amid the happy days of Eldest Senior Brother beating up Little Junior Brother whenever he felt like it, five days flew by.

The Divine Wood Realm was about to open.

The Divine Wood Realm had originally been located in the barbaric wilderness of the northwest.

Later, it was discovered by the founding patriarch of the Guiyuan Sect during his travels, who used a secret art to move it into the Ten Thousand Mountains within Devil Forest of Cangzhou.

At noon.

The two hundred and fifty most outstanding cultivators of the younger generation finally passed through the savage miasma and poisonous rain of Devil Forest, all arriving at the entrance to the Divine Wood Realm.

At this moment, the Supreme Elders of the Guiyuan Sect had long been waiting at the entrance.

Some sat atop magical treasures, while others rode spiritual beasts. Each possessed the bearing of an immortal sage, like banished immortals descended to the mortal world.

The Guiyuan Sect was the foremost great sect, and its Supreme Elders were all mighty senior figures seldom seen in the world. For this grand tournament, the Guiyuan Sect had invited them out of seclusion to stand guard, which showed just how much importance the sect placed on this competition.

He Wuwei swept his gaze lightly over the crowd. Two hundred and fifty people; no one was absent.

He nodded in satisfaction, then swept his sleeve. Countless pale green rays flew from within it.

The next second, every cultivator had an jade talisman engraved with their sect and name in their hands.

He Wuwei slowly said, "The rules for this competition are simple: there are no rules. Every person's jade pendant contains a small spatial teleportation array. Should it become necessary, crushing the jade talisman will send you back to the first level of Divine Tree, where elders will escort you out. The Divine Wood Realm is fraught with danger. Remember to proceed cautiously at every step."

After He Wuwei finished speaking, he waved a hand, and the enormous stone gate behind him slowly opened.

A vortex emitting a faint green glow appeared before everyone's eyes. This was the entrance to Divine Wood—deep and mysterious, steeped in an ancient, primitive aura.

The Divine Wood Realm—officially opened.

The Divine Wood Realm was a secret realm that only cultivators beyond the Nascent Soul Realm could open. Though the disciples of the various sects present were all extraordinarily gifted and would surely amount to great things in the future, they were ultimately still children under a hundred years old. Most were at the Jindan Stage, and very few had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. For a moment, they all felt somewhat apprehensive.

"Since all my fellow Daoists are yielding, then Fu will be the first to enter."

Suddenly, a voice as clear as a breeze beneath the bright moon rang out.

Chu Zeming looked toward the sound and saw a handsome, refined man clad in snow-white robes slowly step out from the crowd. He strode toward the Divine Wood Realm entrance and vanished into it in the blink of an eye.

—This man was Fu Hongchen, the personal disciple of Elder Tianxuan from the Sacred Origin Sect. He was one of the few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, having only broken through three months ago. He was also the genius who had faced the original host in the arena during the previous Joint Grand Tournament and defeated him.

Watching him enter without even blinking, Chu Zeming could not help raising an eyebrow.

"Let's go in too."

With that, he flashed away and vanished from where he stood.

Yue Lian, Xuan Mo, and the others followed close behind.

With people taking the lead, the other cultivators present no longer hesitated and flew into the Divine Wood entrance one after another.

The instant he entered Divine Wood, Chu Zeming felt a powerful force strike him. His mind became muddled and dazed. When he opened his eyes again, the scenery around him had completely changed—this was the first level of Divine Wood, a place without sun or sky, surrounded by glowing trees and broad-leaved undergrowth.

Xuan Mo, Ling Tian, Yue Lian... none of them were there. Only Chu Zeming and Xiao Hei in his arms remained.

Without question, the mysterious force at the Divine Wood Realm entrance had scattered them apart. Upon entering the Divine Wood Realm, everyone had temporarily become a lone wolf.

There were no treasures on the first level of the Divine Wood Realm.

Chu Zeming did not waste any time. He made a prompt decision, turning into a streak of light and speeding forward.

He had read the book and knew that after passing through this dark, glowing forest, one would find a boundless swamp of poisonous creatures. Within it stood a solitary abandoned graveyard. Opening the graveyard would reveal one of the entrances to the second level of the Divine Wood Realm beneath the ground.

But this glowing forest was vast and filled with danger everywhere.

Although Chu Zeming had done his utmost to conceal his aura as he traveled, he was still frequently attacked by monsters in the forest. With one slash, he cut down the giant demonic beast pursuing him from behind. Chu Zeming slowly let out a breath. By then, he was covered in blood, his clothes tattered and ragged.

Because the Divine Wood Realm had existed in eternal night for countless years, Chu Zeming had no idea how long he had spent in the forest. Gripping his bloodstained sword, he continued onward. After walking an unknown distance, a gap suddenly opened in the dense forest. Immediately afterward, a barren land with no end in sight appeared before him.

It was a swamp stripped of all life. Strange-looking dead trees stood silently throughout it, scattered here and there, while black fog drifted above the swamp.

Chu Zeming sighed in relief.

He had finally found it.

This black mist, which had drifted for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, was highly poisonous. Chu Zeming formed a hand seal to seal off his mouth and nose, then flew toward the center of the swamp.

After flying for roughly the time it took two incense sticks to burn, a lonely grave came within the range of Chu Zeming's divine sense.

But what surprised Chu Zeming was that the graveyard had already been opened—someone had found this entrance before him.

Chu Zeming felt a little impressed.

As expected of the favored sons and daughters of the cultivation world. Even without a script for reference, they had found a way to break the deadlock so quickly.

Below the desolate grave lay darkness and depth, with white bones scattered everywhere.

Yellow lamps lit both sides of the long, dark passage. Chu Zeming advanced with his sword in hand when a strange sound suddenly came from ahead, as though something were gnawing on flesh and blood.

A thick stench of blood filled the air.

Chu Zeming's heart tightened, and his grip on the Luminous Glaze Sword grew firmer.

As he passed around a bend in the corridor, an enormous coffin appeared before him. The coffin was open. On the ground, a monster wearing human clothing and dragging a long tail was crouched over a corpse, its fanged maw chewing on the corpse's internal organs.

Not far from the corpse lay a faintly glowing jade talisman.

The disciple who had entered the graveyard had died without even getting the chance to crush his jade talisman.

The sudden unfamiliar aura made the monster pause. Before it could drag away its prize and flee, a profound, ancient sword strike brimming with terrifying killing intent shot straight at it. The monster let out a howl. The next second, its body was cleaved in half, dark-red, foul-smelling blood spilling all over the ground.

Chu Zeming sheathed his sword, bent down, removed his outer robe, and covered the dead disciple with it.

Then he put away the Luminous Glaze Sword and walked directly toward the coffin.

Chu Zeming lay down inside the coffin. Immediately afterward, the silent, motionless coffin began to shake violently. The half-open lid slowly closed. When the space became pitch-black, Chu Zeming felt as though he were floating through the air.

This state did not last long before the coffin returned to stillness.

A cool sensation spread over his body.

Chu Zeming slowly opened his eyes. He was no longer inside the coffin. Before him was a cold pool, and he was soaking in its waters. Moonlight poured down from overhead, making the pool's surface shimmer.

Chu Zeming stood up, and the sound of splashing water echoed through the silent space.

Not far away was a hidden cave. Emerald-green vines crawled around its entrance, heavy with bright-red fruits that looked ready to drip. A rich fragrance wafted from them.

Chu Zeming froze.

Scarlet Scale Fruit?

Chu Zeming walked over and was about to pick one when he suddenly sensed danger behind him.

Chu Zeming abruptly withdrew his hand. With a thought, he vanished from the spot.

The next second, an impossibly sharp Soul-Piercing Cone suddenly appeared where Chu Zeming had just been.

"What a pity. You noticed it."

A clear voice sounded.

Chu Zeming raised his head and looked toward it. On the bank of the cold pool not far away, six or seven figures had appeared.

The speaker was clad in snow-white robes. It was Fu Hongchen, who had been the first to enter the Divine Wood Realm.

He slowly withdrew his hand, and the Soul-Piercing Cone that had been suspended in the air returned to his grasp.

And standing beside Fu Hongchen was none other than Lu Benxiong. Upon seeing Chu Zeming, he grinned viciously. "Well, well. I finally caught you, didn't I? You still wanted to pick fruit? Today, I'll make sure you lose your life here too."

Chu Zeming's expression darkened somewhat.

There was no doubt that after entering, Lu Benxiong had clung to Fu Hongchen for protection. He had run into a troublesome opponent.

Fu Hongchen wore a smile as he toyed with the Soul-Piercing Cone in his hand, looking every inch the gentle and refined gentleman. "What a coincidence. We meet again. My apologies for the offense, but it seems I will have to defeat you once more."

Chu Zeming sneered. "Ugly as sin, yet dreaming of beauty?"

The smile on Fu Hongchen's face stiffened for a moment before his gaze turned cold and hard. "Oh? Then I shall send you out of Divine Wood. You are not worthy to compete with me."