The Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm, within the underground palace.
Chu Yunfei was unaware that the successive deaths of the three sects' holy sons and daughters had sparked a clash between the Dao Mysterious Realm giants.
At this moment, he was staring at the spot where Yin Hanmei's body had disappeared, his eyes icy cold.
His divine sense spread out once more.
He could perceive all the auras within a hundred miles.
In a corner of the underground palace, the corpses of many disciples of the Cangyun Sect and the Puppet Sect were scattered.
The bodies remained in the same spot.
It did not disappear.
Only Yin Hanmei's mangled body was missing.
"The ordinary corpses are still there, but only Yin Hanmei, who possessed the Netherworld Nether Puppet Spirit Physique, has disappeared."
Chu Yunfei narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself, "It seems that what the other party truly values is not the cultivation level and blood essence within the corpse, but rather the unique physique origin within her body."
Deep within his consciousness, Xiaoxiao Dragon also came to his senses.
"What the remnant soul of the secret realm wants is your physical body."
" Yin Hanmei is only half a body left; her physical body is completely destroyed. Even if we take her away, she has no value for possession."
She paused for a moment, a cold glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"Moreover, when the corpse disappeared just now, there were no fluctuations of secret realm power around it, so the person who made the move was most likely not that remnant soul."
A dark golden light flickered in Chu Yunfei's eyes.
It's not a remnant soul from a secret realm.
They are also interested in the origins of special physical constitutions.
They could also secretly take Yin Hanmei's body away from the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm.
The answer is obvious.
Ling Zhantian!
That dog emperor possessed a demonic array that stripped away the essence of a special physique, which was precisely what he needed to replenish his Dao injury.
The royal family is also the nominal controller of the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm.
Although Ling Zhantian could not enter in person, he most likely left behind some kind of secret method to move the corpse in the secret realm beforehand.
"I see."
Chu Yunfei's lips slowly curled up, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.
He had found it strange before.
The Seven Sects Grand Competition was originally an internal matter for the seven major sects. Why did the Great Qian Imperial Family suddenly intervene, not only opening the Heavenly Mystic Secret Realm but also significantly relaxing the entry requirements?
Those at the Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer and above, and those below the Divine Sea Realm Middle Stage, can enter.
Such lenient conditions attracted not only disciples from the six sects, but also major families, second-rate sects, and countless Rogue Cultivator from the Eastern Continent.
The secret realm is a place where life and death are not forbidden.
Tens of thousands of cultivators fought each other.
If one or two individuals with special physical constitutions were to die violently in the secret realm, Ling Zhantian could secretly collect their corpses and strip them of their origin.
From the very beginning, this competition was not just a trap set to kill him.
It was also a bloody selection process to collect the source of Ling Zhantian's special physique!
This would cause cultivators from all sides to fight each other, weakening the younger generation of the six sects.
Using the remnant soul from the secret realm, he possessed Chu Yunfei and seized the Abyss-Devouring Sword and the key to the Heaven-Slaying Sword Emperor.
Then, he secretly took away the corpse with the special physique to heal his own Dao injuries.
This achieves multiple benefits at once.
"Dog emperor."
Chu Yunfei sneered inwardly, "Using my sword to collect your physique's essence, you've certainly got a good plan."
Xiaoxiao Dragon crossed his arms, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Now that he has successfully taken the essence of the corpse, he will have already refined it by the time you leave."
"So, do you still plan to storm the palace then?"
"Don't blame me for not warning you, the outside world probably already knows about your massacre of disciples from the three sects in the secret realm, aside from the royal family. With your current strength, once you get out... are you really confident you can handle it?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Chu Yunfei looked up at the underground palace, his gaze seemingly piercing through the barrier of the secret realm and landing deep within the heavily guarded imperial palace.
" Divine Sea Realm Sixth Layer isn't enough..."
"Then it must be the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level!"
The ground was littered with corpses, which served as readily available resources for breaking through to higher realms.
Since the enemy has handed him the knife, he has no reason not to use it.
Xiaoxiao Dragon followed his gaze across the underground palace and immediately understood his plan.
"Hey kid, what are you standing there for?"
"If this drags on any longer, the underground array will drain our life force!"
Chu Yunfei didn't waste any words.
With a flick of his sleeve, immense spiritual power swept across the entire underground palace.
The corpses of the Cangyun Sect and Puppet Sect disciples disappeared one after another, and he collected them into the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate.
Storage rings, battle puppet cores, and scattered fragments of spiritual artifacts were also collected one by one.
Although the black-armored corpse puppet was broken, the refining materials used in it were quite valuable.
For the Abyss-Devouring Sword to advance further, it needs to devour a large number of spiritual artifacts.
These magical artifacts, of course, should not be wasted.
The nearby cultivators' eyelids twitched as they watched.
They could understand why Chu Yunfei accepted the storage ring and the spiritual artifact.
But to even search for corpses is rather strange.
Zhao Manshan hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Young Master Chu, these corpses have lost all life. Do you have another purpose for keeping them?"
Chu Yunfei glanced at him.
"Some special techniques require corpses as materials."
Zhao Manshan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately shut his mouth.
The others around also looked away, not daring to ask any more questions.
The Puppet Sect is particularly skilled at corpse refining.
Chu Yunfei dared to kill even the Holy Son and Holy Daughter of the Puppet Sect, so it's not surprising that he possessed a secret technique for utilizing corpses.
Only Xiao Yihan seemed lost in thought.
He could sense that the corpses did not enter ordinary storage rings when they disappeared.
Living creatures and corpses with lingering spiritual energy are difficult to store in ordinary storage spaces.
Chu Yunfei likely possesses a spatial treasure of extremely high grade.
However, Xiao Yihan did not investigate further.
Every monk has his own secrets.
To pry into the secrets of a prodigy out of curiosity is the most foolish thing to do.
Soon, Chu Yunfei had cleared away most of the corpses in the underground palace.
Only the corpses of those Rogue Cultivator and members of other sects who had no grudge against him remained lying quietly in the same spot.
Chu Yunfei scanned the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate with his divine sense.
The cauldron was already filled with a large number of corpses.
Yue Chenzhou, Qin Hao, He Yang...
There are also many core disciples and elites from two sects.
These people all have at least the Late Stage of the Heavenly Origin Realm in terms of cultivation level.
Among them were more than ten experts at or above the fourth or third level of the Divine Sea Realm.
In addition, the spirit stones, pills, and elixirs obtained from their storage rings constitute an astonishing amount of cultivation resources.
Once you refine and absorb it all, breaking through to the Divine Sea Realm Eighth Level will be a piece of cake.
There's even a very high chance that you'll reach the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level in one go!
However, this place is crowded with people and has mysterious blood-red array patterns hidden underground, so it is clearly not a place for breakthrough.
It's not too late to break through in a safe area after we've explored all the ruins.
Brother Chu!
A loud voice rang out from behind.
Wu Changge strode over, looked Chu Yunfei up and down a few times, his face full of complicated emotions.
You really kept this from me for a long time!
"When we met outside the secret realm, I only felt that your aura was much deeper than before, but I never expected that you had already broken through to the Divine Sea Realm Sixth Layer."
He couldn't help but give a wry smile as he said this.
I've challenged you to a fight time and time again.
"Looking back now, Brother Chu didn't agree at the time because he was saving face for me."
Chu Yunfei put away the last storage ring and smiled, "Brother Wu, there's no need to belittle yourself. Your body-refining method is extremely pure, Nine Heaven-Shaking Strikes also has its unique aspects."
"If it were a battle between people of the same realm, the outcome would be uncertain."
Wu Changge's eyes lit up immediately.
"Really?"
"Brother."
Wu Mingyue walked over from the side and couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "Young Master Chu was only giving you some face, and you're really planning to take advantage of that?"
She looked at Chu Yunfei, a smile playing on her lips.
"Young Master Chu shattered the Dao Mysterious Realm a single sword strike; my elder brother couldn't even suppress Divine Sea Realm Seventh Level ancient ape on his own just now."
Do you still want to fight Young Master Chu?
Wu Changge's excitement froze instantly.
He opened his mouth, then glanced at the Abyss-Devouring Sword in Chu Yunfei's hand, a rare hint of embarrassment on his face.
"That..."
There's no need to rush into a friendly exchange.
Wu Mingyue chuckled softly.
"Even your elder brother has moments of fear?"
Wu Changge's thick eyebrows furrowed.
"Who's afraid?"
"I just fought a fierce battle with the ancient ape, and my energy and blood have been greatly depleted. Once I leave the secret realm and cultivate to the Divine Sea Realm Sixth Layer, I will naturally seek out Brother Chu for a fair and square battle!"
Chu Yunfei chuckled and shook his head.
Wu Changge may appear rough, but he is not stupid.
To knowingly engage in combat when the disparity between the two sides is vast is not warlike, but suicidal.
"Good."
Chu Yunfei nodded and said, "Once Brother Wu reaches the Divine Sea Realm Sixth Layer, I'll be ready to accompany you at any time."
"Then it's a deal!"
A smile returned to Wu Changge's face.
Xiao Yihan and Si Yunshu also came over.
When Xiao Yihan looked at Chu Yunfei, the scrutiny in his eyes had completely turned into solemnity.
"Having witnessed Brother Chu wield his sword today, I, Xiao, truly understand what it means to be outmatched."
"I had been thinking that if I had the chance, I would like to have a friendly spar with Brother Chu."
He shook his head and smiled wryly.
"Looking back now, it seems I was rather arrogant and ignorant."
Chu Yunfei said calmly, "Brother Xiao, there's no need for that. Your aura is much deeper than your apparent cultivation level suggests, and you probably haven't used your full strength."
Xiao Yihan's eyes flickered slightly.
He did indeed conceal some of his strength.
However, compared to Chu Yunfei, those trump cards seemed somewhat inadequate.
Several areas deep within the main hall of the ruins remain unexplored.
Xiao Yihan turned his head to look at a deep passage behind the underground palace.
"Seventh-grade spiritual herbs and high-grade Heaven-rank spiritual artifacts have already appeared here; perhaps even greater opportunities lie ahead."
"Brother Chu, if you have no other plans, why don't we go in and take a look together?"
Chu Yunfei's divine sense spread deeper into the passage.
After traveling a hundred miles, perception was once again blocked by several layers of restrictions.
The faint fragrance of elixirs and fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from within were noticeably stronger than those from the outer side halls.
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Good."
"Let's go explore the depths of the ruins together."