Entering

The moment they stepped through the ice gate, an icy chill washed over them. The temperature here was even lower than outside, making even Nascent Soul cultivators feel their blood flow slow and their spiritual power become sluggish.

Looking around, the world was a sea of white. Ice mountains towered in the distance, and ice forests stretched out nearby. Feathery snowflakes fell from the sky, but when they landed on skin, they felt as sharp as blades.

"Such dense ice-element spiritual energy," Su Mei'er rubbed her arms. "This place is too suppressive for non-ice cultivators like us."

Tuoba Shan snorted, a yellowish-brown light emanating from his body, shielding him from the cold.

Yin Jiuyou, on the other hand, released wisps of death energy, forming a gray barrier around himself.

Qin Yuan circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art, his spiritual power flowing through his body, naturally dispelling the chill.

As the five were about to venture deeper, a sound of tearing air suddenly came from behind them.

More than a dozen figures rushed in from outside the ice gate. Leading them was a red-haired youth—it was Yan Lie of the Crimson Flame Sect!

Behind him followed seven or eight disciples from the Crimson Flame Sect, along with a few cultivators from other sects, all from Yellow Earth City.

"Li Qingfeng, you've got some nerve!" Yan Lie stared coldly at Li Qingfeng. "Sneaking in to open a secret realm, trying to hoard all the opportunities inside for yourself?"

Li Qingfeng's expression flickered, but he quickly regained his composure. "Fellow Daoist Yan Lie is joking. Secret realms are ownerless treasures. Whoever can open one claims the opportunities within."

"Nonsense!" a disciple in a red robe behind Yan Lie shouted angrily. "This secret realm was clearly discovered by us first! Your Book Sword Sect sneaked in to steal it, have you no shame?!"

Qin Yuan understood.

No wonder Li Qingfeng had come to Yellow Earth City to recruit teammates—this secret realm was located on the edge of the Crimson Flame Sect's territory. The Book Sword Sect wanted a piece of it but lacked the strength to confront the Crimson Flame Sect, so they resorted to this underhanded tactic.

"Fellow Daoist Li," Qin Yuan looked at Li Qingfeng, "you didn't mention it would bring this kind of trouble."

Li Qingfeng gave a wry smile. "There are reasons for this, and I hope Fellow Daoist Qin can forgive me. The opportunities in the secret realm are for each to claim by their own ability. Though they have more people, the five of us working together might not fear them."

Yan Lie's gaze swept over the five, pausing on Qin Yuan. A flicker of apprehension flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by greed. "Li Qingfeng, I'll give you two choices. One, hand over the Jade Talisman for opening the secret realm and get out. Two, die here."

Tuoba Shan slammed his great axe onto the ground. "If you want to fight, then fight! Stop with the nonsense!"

Su Mei'er flicked her long whip lightly. "Fellow Daoist Yan Lie, we are all disciples of the Hundred Sects. Why must we harm our harmony?"

Yin Jiuyou remained silent, but the skull ornament at his waist began to spin.

The atmosphere was tense, on the verge of exploding.

Qin Yuan suddenly spoke, "The secret realm is open. Let each rely on their own abilities."

His words were calm, but they caused Yan Lie's expression to darken.

"Well said, 'rely on your own abilities'!" Yan Lie sneered. "Then let's see if the five of you can stop our dozen!"

As his voice fell, flames surged around him, and he was about to make his move.

Just then, a long, drawn-out screech echoed from the depths of the secret realm.

The screech was like a dragon's roar, yet like a phoenix's cry, piercing through the wind and snow to reach everyone's ears. The screech contained a terrifying pressure that made everyone's hearts tremble.

"Is... is that the secret realm's guardian beast?" someone stammered.

Yan Lie's expression shifted. He finally gritted his teeth. "Let's enter the secret realm first! The opportunities are for each to claim, but if anyone dares to stab us in the back—our Crimson Flame Sect will hunt them to the ends of the earth!"

He led his people and rushed into the depths of the secret realm.

Li Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go too."

Deeper within the secret realm, the wind and snow intensified.

The five pressed forward against the biting wind, encountering several waves of ice-element demonic beasts along the way, all of which they dealt with together. Most of these beasts were at the Early Nascent Soul stage, with a few reaching the middle stage. However, with the secret realm's amplification, their combat power was greatly increased, making them quite troublesome to handle.

After about an hour of travel, an ice mountain appeared ahead.

At the foot of the ice mountain was an opening covered by ice and snow. Above the entrance were carved three ancient seal script characters: Cold Ice Mansion.

"This is it!" Li Qingfeng's eyes lit up.

The five entered the cave mansion.

Inside, the cave was more spacious than they had imagined, a vast ice cavern. Countless ice cones hung from the ceiling, and the ground was a smooth, mirror-like ice surface. The surrounding walls were inlaid with glowing ice crystals, illuminating the cavern as brightly as day.

In the center of the cavern stood an ice sculpture of an altar. On the altar lay several items:

A crystal-clear blue jade slip.

A three-foot-long ice crystal sword.

A bottle of pills, with the words "Ice Heart Pill" engraved on its body.

And an ancient beast-skin map.

Li Qingfeng stepped forward, picked up the map, and unfolded it.

The map marked the terrain of the secret realm. The central area had a prominent red dot, with the words "Inheritance Ground" written next to it.

"There really is an inheritance!" Tuoba Shan exclaimed excitedly.

Su Mei'er picked up the bottle of Ice Heart Pills, opened it, and sniffed. A look of joy appeared on her face. "A fifth-grade pill, capable of stabilizing the Nascent Soul and clearing inner demons. Good stuff!"

Yin Jiuyou, meanwhile, stared at the ice crystal sword, a glint of greed in his eyes—this sword was at least a high-grade Earth-tier magical treasure.

Qin Yuan picked up the blue jade slip and probed it with his Spiritual Sense.

The jade slip contained an ice-element cultivation technique, the Cold Ice True Art, which could lead directly to the Deity Transformation Stage. The technique was good, but it was useless to him.

He put down the jade slip and looked at the map.

The land of inheritance marked on the map was in the deepest part of the secret realm, requiring passage through three dangerous areas: Ice Wind Valley, Cold Pond, and Ice Soul Forest.

"As agreed, the spoils will be distributed according to contribution," Li Qingfeng said. "We'll hold onto this map, cultivation techniques, elixirs, and magic treasures for now, and divide them after we leave the secret realm. The priority is to head to the land of inheritance."

Everyone agreed.

After putting away their belongings, the five of them left the cave dwelling and, guided by the map, advanced towards the land of inheritance.

On the way to Ice Wind Valley, the five encountered their first ambush.

It was people from the Crimson Flame Sect.

They had clearly found a similar map and were heading in the same direction. The two groups met in a narrow ice canyon, a classic case of two armies meeting on a narrow road.

"Li Qingfeng, hand over the items," Yan Lie said coldly.

Behind him, Crimson Flame Sect disciples had already formed their formation. In addition to them, there were three cultivators from other sects, clearly recruited by Yan Lie.

A total of eleven people against five.

The numerical disadvantage was obvious.

Li Qingfeng said gravely, "Yan Lie, opportunities in the secret realm are earned by skill. You have more people, but if a real fight breaks out, victory is not certain."

"Then let's try!" Yan Lie roared, attacking first!

He formed a hand seal, and a fire dragon roared out, lunging straight at Li Qingfeng!

Li Qingfeng unfurled his scroll, and countless characters flew out, transforming into a golden barrier that blocked the fire dragon. However, Yan Lie was, after all, in the late Nascent Soul stage, and the fire dragon's power was astonishing. The golden barrier instantly showed cracks.

Tuoba Shan roared, his great axe cleaving towards a Crimson Flame Sect disciple. The disciple raised his sword to block, but was sent flying back, sword and all. His chest caved in, and his fate was unknown.

Su Mei'er's long whip snaked out like a serpent, entangling another person. Yin Jiuyou, meanwhile, released death qi, which transformed into a gray mist that enveloped the battlefield.

Qin Yuan did not move.

He was observing.