News of the Kill Spreads, a Mysterious Light Array

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

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

"Forget it. Our lives come first!"

"Right! 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. It was disciples of the Azure Feather Sect!"

"What Azure Feather Sect disciples? It was clearly three people: a white-robed woman holding a pearl, a gold-robed male cultivator wielding a sword, and a blue-robed male cultivator wearing gauntlets!"

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

"Hmm... she looks so familiar. I feel 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!"

More than a hundred streaks of light vanished beyond the valley, leaving it silent.

Within the valley.

A figure appeared out of thin air. It was 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 along just in time to throw his life away. That's the only reason I'm alive!"

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!"

"Cough..."

Wang Chenjue coughed, spitting up blood.

"I'm even weaker than I thought. Dongfang Muxue, you did this to me. I swear I'll kill you!"

Hatred blazed in Wang Chenjue's eyes. He picked up the Storage Bag on the ground and disappeared from the valley.

Qigu Secret Realm.

Somewhere within it.

"Junior Sister, are you feeling better?"

Zhang Xingfeng asked with concern. Chen Guyu looked worried too.

As soon as their group landed, Dongfang Muxue hurriedly took out the pill bottle Mo Lingyuan had given her. She swallowed one Source Qi Pill after another, 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 recovered within her.

"Thank you, fellow cultivators, for saving our lives!"

Xie Shiwei approached the three of them and cupped his fists in gratitude.

"Thank you, fellow cultivators!"

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

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

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

"Elder Mo?"

Xie Shiwei and the others exchanged looks.

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

They ventured the question.

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

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

The news struck Xie Shiwei and the others like a thunderbolt. They stared, speechless, unsure what to ask first.

"We still have urgent business, so we'll be going. Take care, everyone."

To their surprise, Zhang Xingfeng merely cupped his fists, then left with Chen Guyu, the two of them supporting Dongfang Muxue.

Although Dongfang Muxue had recovered some Source Qi, neither man felt at ease. They wanted to find a deserted place as soon as possible so she could recover more.

"Huh?!"

Xie Shiwei and the others had not expected them to leave so abruptly.

"So our ancestor wasn't traveling 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 belonged to our ancestor!"

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

"True, though our ancestor's Source Qi Pills are only low-grade. They don't restore it very quickly."

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

"Never. But Dongfang Muxue and her companions have Spirit Weapons, and they managed to kill people from the Wang Family and the Moon-Reflecting Sect. The Heavenly Mist Sect must be extraordinary!"

The Azure Feather Sect disciples buzzed with discussion.

"Enough talk. Let's find somewhere to tend our 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, along with every Moon-Reflecting Sect disciple and Wang Family member there!"

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

"Muxue isn't at the Qi Refinement Third Layer anymore. Who knows what chance encounter she had, but she's already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm Sixth Layer!"

"What? So quickly? This is a grave matter. The Lineage's survival may depend on it. We must report it to the patriarch the moment we leave the Secret Realm!"

"Right!"

Three days later.

Qigu Secret Realm.

Inside a hidden cave.

"Damn it! So many Heavenly Treasures in this Secret Realm are laced with deadly poison. Touch one and you die!"

"Exactly. Countless cultivators in the Secret Realm have died because of them. Now no one dares touch the Heavenly Treasures they find!"

"Who says? Dongfang Muxue and her two companions have swept 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 couldn't beat them. What chance do we have?"

"What are you afraid of? Plenty of people outside are banding together to hunt those three. Why don't we join them?"

"Go if you want. I don't intend 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 rang out. 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, killing eight hundred cultivators in an instant before turning and flying away at full speed.

"What's going on? Why do so many people keep coming after us?"

Aboard Ink Edge, Zhang Xingfeng asked in bewilderment.

"Maybe we took too many treasures from the Secret Realm, and they're green with envy!"

Chen Guyu answered helplessly.

"Never mind that. 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 shot toward the middle of the Secret Realm.

"After them! Don't let them reach the middle!"

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

"Go, go, go!"

Behind the three of them, streaks of light flashed as eight thousand cultivators shouted in pursuit.

Qigu Secret Realm.

Its central region.

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

A Proud Sword Sect disciple pointed toward the Light Array at the very center of the Secret Realm and cried out excitedly.

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

"A supreme treasure? Could it be the legendary treasure of the Secret Realm?"

"Wonderful! We endured a thousand hardships and lost two hundred fellow disciples to get here, but it wasn't for nothing!"

"Right! If we obtain that treasure, it'll all have been worth it!"

The other disciples were just as excited.

"Let's go take a look. Quickly, but be careful!"

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