News of the Kill Spreads, the Mysterious Light Formation

"Hiss! Did you see that? Xiang Nitian was sucked down to bare bones by that Yellow-Robed Strange Man!"

"Terrifying. Are we still going down to pick up Wang Chenjue's Storage Bag and the others'?"

"Forget it. Our lives come first!"

"Exactly! If some gray-robed or green-robed freak shows up next, we're all dead!"

"So it wasn't Qin Linyu fighting Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue after all. It was disciples of the Azure Feather Sect!"

"What Azure Feather Sect disciples? It was clearly a white-robed woman with a pearl, a gold-robed man with a sword, and a blue-robed man wearing gauntlets!"

"Unbelievable. That woman in white blocked Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue's combined ultimate attack. Who is she?"

"Hmm... she looks so familiar, like I've seen her somewhere. Right, I remember! She's Dongfang Muxue of the Dongfang Family!"

"The Dongfang Family? No way. Then why was she with disciples of the Azure Feather Sect from Eastern Search?"

"How would I know? Just spread the word that Dongfang Muxue and her two companions killed members of the Wang Family and everyone from the Moon-Reflecting Sect!"

"Right. Let's get out of here!"

Over a hundred streaks of light vanished beyond the valley, leaving it steeped in silence.

Within the valley.

A figure appeared out of thin air. It was none other than Wang Chenjue, who had supposedly died!

"Damn it. Good thing I had the Rot-Piercing Sacred Immortal's Life-Devouring Talisman, and that fool Xiang Nitian came rushing over to die just in time. That was the only reason I got my life back!"

Wang Chenjue muttered in relief.

"But even though I got my life back, I'm terribly weak. I need to find somewhere to hide and recover for a while!"

"Cough..."

Wang Chenjue coughed and spat out blood.

Looks like I'm even weaker than I thought. Dongfang Muxue, you reduced me to this. I swear I'll kill you!

Hatred burned in Wang Chenjue's eyes. He picked up the Storage Bags on the ground and disappeared into the valley.

Qigu Secret Realm.

Somewhere within it.

"Junior Sister, are you feeling better?"

Zhang Xingfeng asked with concern. Chen Guyu looked just as worried.

As soon as their group landed, Dongfang Muxue hurriedly took out the pill bottle Mo Lingyuan had given her. She swallowed Source Qi Pills from it, stopping only after the fifth.

"Much better!"

Dongfang Muxue answered with a faint smile.

Color gradually returned to her pale face, and some Source Qi had returned to her body.

"Thank you, fellow cultivators, for saving my life!"

Xie Shiwei approached Zhang Xingfeng and the others, cupped his fists, and thanked them.

"Thank you, fellow cultivators!"

The other Azure Feather Sect disciples also stepped forward to thank them.

After the battle in the valley, only sixty of the Azure Feather Sect's original eighty disciples remained.

"No need to thank us, everyone," Chen Guyu said with a faint smile. "It was no great trouble, and besides, Elder Mo asked us to do it."

"Elder Mo?"

Xie Shiwei and the others exchanged bewildered looks.

"Do you mean Mo Lingyuan, our sect's forefather?"

they ventured.

"That's right." Zhang Xingfeng nodded. "He's now a Reception Elder at my Heavenly Mist Sect."

"A Reception Elder?" "The Heavenly Mist Sect?"

The news struck Xie Shiwei and the others like a thunderbolt. They stood speechless, at a loss for where to begin asking questions.

"We still have important matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave. Please be careful, everyone."

To their surprise, Zhang Xingfeng merely cupped his fists, then left with Chen Guyu as they supported Dongfang Muxue.

Though Dongfang Muxue had recovered some Source Qi, the two men remained uneasy. They wanted to find a deserted place as soon as possible so she could recover more.

"Huh?!"

Xie Shiwei and the others were caught completely off guard.

"So our forefather wasn't wandering the world to gain experience. He became a Reception Elder at the Heavenly Mist Sect?"

"No wonder the pill bottle in Dongfang Muxue's hand looked familiar. It belongs to our forefather!"

"Dongfang Muxue took five Source Qi Pills and only recovered a little Source Qi. Just how vast must her Source Mansion be?"

"True, though our forefather's Source Qi Pills are only low-grade, so they don't restore it quickly."

"Forget that. Where is the Heavenly Mist Sect? Has anyone heard of it?"

"Never. But Dongfang Muxue and her companions possess Spirit Weapons and could wipe out people from the Wang Family and the Moon-Reflecting Sect. The Heavenly Mist Sect must be extraordinary!"

The Azure Feather Sect disciples talked among themselves.

"Enough talk. Find somewhere to treat your wounds first!"

Xie Shiwei cut them off, his expression stern.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Qigu Secret Realm.

Somewhere within it.

"Yan Yu, have you heard the rumors going around?"

"What rumors?"

"Muxue, who left the family, has appeared in the secret realm. She even killed Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue, every Moon-Reflecting Sect disciple, and the Wang Family members!"

"What? Muxue? Why would she be here? Wait, isn't she at Qi Refinement Third Layer? How did she kill Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue? They're both at Foundation Establishment Realm Eighth Layer!"

"Muxue isn't at Qi Refinement Third Layer anymore. Who knows what miraculous opportunity she encountered? She's already at Foundation Establishment Realm Sixth Layer!"

"What? So quickly? This is a grave matter that concerns the Lineage's survival. We must report it to the clan leader the moment we leave the secret realm!"

"Right!"

Three days later.

Qigu Secret Realm.

A hidden cave.

"Damn it. So many Heavenly Treasures in this secret realm are laced with deadly poison. Touch them and you die!"

"Exactly. Countless cultivators have died trying to take Heavenly Treasures. Now no one dares touch the ones they find!"

"Who says? Didn't Dongfang Muxue and her companions sweep up plenty of Heavenly Treasures?"

"Big Brother, should we kill them and take their Spirit Weapons and Heavenly Treasures?"

"Are you trying to get us killed? Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue were no match for them. What chance do we have?"

"What are you afraid of? Plenty of people outside are banding together to hunt Dongfang Muxue and her companions. Why don't we join them?"

"Go if you want. I'm not looking to die!"

"What a coward. I'm going!"

"Wait for me!"

"Me too. Ah... you! Who are you?"

"Wang Chenjue?! How are you here? Weren't you dead? Ah..."

"A ghost! Run! No!"

Screams erupted. All hundred-odd cultivators inside the hidden cave were wiped out!

"Hahaha..." Wang Chenjue laughed with bloodthirsty delight. "My body's recovering too slowly. I'll borrow your blood and cultivation!"

Qigu Secret Realm.

"Die!"

Zhang Xingfeng and his two companions unleashed their Cultivation Arts, instantly killed eight hundred cultivators, then turned and flew away at full speed.

"What's going on? Why do so many people keep coming to surround and kill us?"

Standing on Ink Edge, Zhang Xingfeng asked in confusion.

"Maybe we took too many treasures from the secret realm, and everyone's green with envy!"

Chen Guyu answered helplessly.

"Forget that for now. Fly toward the middle of the secret realm. The mist is thickest there, so it'll be harder for them to track us!"

Dongfang Muxue's expression turned serious.

"Right!"

The three drove their Source Power to its limit and sped toward the middle of the secret realm.

"After them! Don't let them reach the middle of the secret realm!"

"Right! The mist's thick there. If they get in, we'll have a hard time finding them!"

"Chase them! Chase them!"

Behind the three, streaks of light flashed as eight thousand cultivators shouted and gave chase.

Qigu Secret Realm.

The central region.

"Senior Brother Linyu, look! There's a Light Array up ahead. There must be some supreme treasure there!"

A Proud Sword Sect disciple pointed at a Light Array in the very center of the secret realm and cried out excitedly.

Countless strange characters floated within the Light Array, giving it an air of mystery!

"A supreme treasure? Could it be the legendary treasure of the secret realm?"

"Wonderful! After all the hardships we endured and the two hundred fellow disciples we lost getting here, it wasn't for nothing!"

"That's right. If we obtain the treasure, it'll all have been worth it!"

The other disciples were just as excited.

"Come on. Let's take a look, but be careful!"

Qin Linyu was excited too, but his warning was calm.