Everyone Had Arrived

Of course, the white porcelain bottle in Xue Fuyao's hand was no ordinary bottle, but a magical artifact specifically used to tame monster beasts.

Though it was said to tame monster beasts, the space inside was not large. It could not hold large monster beasts, and even medium-sized ones would find it cramped, so it could only house small monster beasts.

Because of this, the artifact was something of a chicken rib-of little use, yet a pity to discard-but that mighty cultivator had kept it in their collection because of its beautiful appearance.

It was also very simple to use: put a monster beast inside the artifact, refine the artifact, then feed it with one's own flesh and blood.

Ever since I entered the Cultivation Realm in this life, I've been drawing my own blood rather often.

Still, this counted as a good thing, because only high-grade magical artifacts required blood to form a contract.

After putting away the white porcelain bottle, Xue Fuyao sensed someone-or rather, monster beasts-rapidly approaching. She hurriedly concealed her aura and hid herself.

Before long, the monster beasts that had reacted a step too late, along with the disciples of the Yuanji Sect and Kunlun Sect, finally arrived.

What puzzled Xue Fuyao, however, was that not a single one of the monster beasts she had previously seen in the Monster Beast Mountain Range appeared. All those that came were in the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Realm.

Judging by the auras these monster beasts gave off, their bloodlines were anything but ordinary.

Just then, Xue Fuyao suddenly recalled her previous life, when immortal traffickers had captured her and sold her to the Demon Realm. Although she had later escaped, she had suffered a great deal. During that time, she had heard a rumor that the Demon Emperor of the Demon Realm was searching for a Divine Spirit Fruit for his beloved youngest son.

Aside from granting people the aptitude for Ascension, Divine Spirit Fruits could purify the bloodlines within monster beasts.

So...

These monster beasts really had all come for the Divine Spirit Fruit that was about to ripen. As for why the powerful ones had not appeared, how could she possibly know the reason?

However, from Xue Fuyao's observations with the Heavenly Eye, those monster beasts seemed completely uninterested in the commotion here and simply went about their own business.

Though the reason was unclear, this was a good thing for them.

After all, they might still stand a fighting chance against monster beasts in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Realms, but if they were facing those in the Demon Beast Forest instead, they probably would not have the slightest chance.

As more and more people arrived, the enemies from the Yuanji Sect and Kunlun Sect gathered in their respective groups to discuss matters.

They, too, knew nothing about what lay inside the barrier, but there was no doubt that anything capable of attracting so many monster beasts at once had to be extraordinary.

After discussing it, the two sides decided to join forces and deal with these monster beasts first before addressing anything else.

Among the crowd, Gu Nian looked around but found no trace of Xue Fuyao, and she could not help frowning.

Ever since entering the secret realm, she had been searching for Xue Fuyao, but she had never managed to find her.

"Senior Sister Gu, what are you looking for?" a Kunlun Sect disciple asked.

"I'm looking for Junior Sister Fuyao. I haven't seen her since entering the secret realm. Have any of you seen her?"

Hearing Gu Nian's question, the others all shook their heads, indicating that they had not seen her either.

Just then, a cold scoff filled with disdain rang out. "That junior sister of yours probably became food for some monster beast in the secret realm long ago."

The speaker was Zhang Yizhi.

Zhang Yizhi looked very different from when he had first entered the secret realm, as though he had become another person entirely. His clothes were torn, his appearance unkempt, and his eyes bloodshot. His whole being exuded a vicious air that sent chills down people's spines.

After sensing his younger brother's death, Zhang Yizhi had rushed to the Demon Beast Forest as fast as he could and found the place where Zhang Hongzhi had died.

But he had still arrived a step too late. By the time he got there, monster beasts had already mauled Zhang Hongzhi's body beyond recognition.

After killing those monster beasts, Zhang Yizhi had set out to find the person who had killed his younger brother.

In the entire secret realm, aside from the three brothers, the only others were people from the Yuanji Sect and Kunlun Sect.

Although there were traces of many monster beasts in the Demon Beast Forest, Zhang Yizhi stubbornly believed that Zhang Hongzhi's death was absolutely not the work of monster beasts. His killer was hiding among these people.

So now, whenever Zhang Yizhi looked at the disciples of the two sects, he looked at them as though they were his sworn enemies, wishing he could kill everyone present to vent the hatred in his heart.

Unfortunately, that person was far too cunning. He had searched for a long time without finding even a single clue.

Xue Fuyao watched this scene from afar. Looking at the seemingly crazed twin, unsure whether he was Zhang Yizhi or Zhang Qizhi, she could not help curling her lips.

To think the person who drove me into a corner with a mere raise of his hand in my previous life, nearly forcing me to self-detonate, could make an expression like that. What a pleasing sight.

Xue Fuyao had no intention of showing herself. After all, if she appeared now, given how much attention Gu Nian paid her, she would certainly be unable to act alone, which would interfere with her stirring up trouble.

She looked inside the barrier again. The Divine Spirit Fruits on the Divine Spirit Tree were gradually ripening, and she surmised that once they ripened completely, the barrier would disappear.

Aside from the Divine Spirit Fruits, it could not be forgotten that the area within the barrier was itself an enormous medicinal garden. The spirit medicines inside were better in quality than those she had collected earlier by who knew how many times.

Looking at the people outside the barrier, Xue Fuyao could not help sighing. If the barrier suddenly disappeared, everyone would surely charge toward the Divine Spirit Fruits. Who knew how many precious spirit medicines would be destroyed in the process?

Just as Xue Fuyao was lamenting this, she suddenly felt the Heavenly Eye on her forehead stir. Immediately afterward, as though responding to some sort of sensation, she turned to look at a particular spot on the barrier.

She would never have known without looking, but what she saw gave her a fright. At that spot, a pale yellow figure flashed past and disappeared inside the barrier.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a gap in the barrier.

Seeing this, Xue Fuyao did not hesitate at all. She immediately transformed into a flying insect and flew toward that spot.

Everyone's attention was on the barrier at that moment. From the reactions of the surrounding monster beasts, they had also realized that this barrier probably could not be broken through brute force, and that they would need to wait for a particular moment to enter.

Xue Fuyao reached the gap without trouble, then imitated the figure that had flashed past earlier and slipped straight inside.

Even though she had already seen it through the Heavenly Eye, once she entered the barrier, she was still stunned by the sight within.

The Seven-Haze Lotus could bring mortals back from the dead when eaten and increase cultivators' cultivation when consumed.

The silver spirit tree could convert all the surrounding spiritual energy into wood-attribute spiritual energy, making it an utmost treasure for cultivators with a Wood Spiritual Root.

After all, although spiritual energy was abundant in the Cultivation Realm, cultivators could only absorb spiritual energy matching their own attributes to improve their cultivation.