Decisive Kill

Elder Yu was experienced; Chen Yang had only slightly stirred the spiritual power within him before Elder Yu noticed.

As he turned, an expression of disbelief flickered in his eyes.

"Patriarch! Wait!"

The Yang Family Patriarch was stopped and followed Elder Yu's gaze, seeing a smooth, round gray stone lying quietly at the base of the tree.

"Does this stone have some hidden secret?"

"Patriarch, this stone was right next to the Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass. When I dug it up just now, I checked its age; it had been mature for a long time," Elder Yu said.

Upon hearing this, the Yang Family Patriarch immediately understood.

"The books say this spirit plant produces a drop of spirit liquid every three months, and it likely all fell onto this stone."

"Precisely."

Elder Yu nodded, stepped forward, picked up Chen Yang, and then, with a mindset of giving it a try, channeled his own spiritual power into Chen Yang.

Swish--

The next moment, the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to find a target and converged upon this location.

"This!"

The Yang Family Patriarch's mouth hung half open, his expression utterly astonished.

Elder Yu, as if he had found a priceless treasure, caressed Chen Yang.

"Patriarch, there's no mistake! This is a Spirit Gathering Stone! It's at the Qi Gathering Early-stage, and if we take it back and nurture it properly with spiritual power, it won't be long before it advances to the Qi Gathering Mid-stage!"

Elder Yu's heart was overjoyed. "This little stone is also lucky. It had a Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass growing beside it, nourished by spirit liquid for a long time, and it has also become a treasure."

He had discerned Chen Yang's purpose but had gotten the relationship backward, thinking the Spirit Gathering Stone came into being because of the Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass.

In reality, this small spirit plant was what Chen Yang had nurtured over many years of spirit gathering.

It wasn't their fault for not guessing; after all, spirit items that developed sentience, could cultivate on their own, and could function independently only existed in legends, far beyond their current level of contact.

Elder Yu's words made the Yang Family Patriarch incredibly excited. His hands trembled slightly as he carefully took Chen Yang.

"To obtain a spirit plant and a spiritual treasure on this trip is truly a great fortune! My Yang Family is destined for prosperity!"

"Patriarch, time is almost up, we should leave quickly."

"Indeed, delays could lead to unforeseen changes. Let's go."

Tucking the black vine wooden box and Chen Yang into his sleeve, the two immediately sprinted back the way they came.

Inside the Yang Family Patriarch's sleeve, Chen Yang's eyes were opened.

Good grief, no wonder these sleeves are made so large.

Inside were ten fiery red talismans, a throwing knife-like hidden weapon, and five black and red pellets.

Like Chen Yang, these items were all absorbed into the sleeve by the Yang Family Patriarch using his spiritual power, ready to be deployed against enemies at any moment.

As expected of a small family in its nascent stage, they don't even have a storage bag.

Chen Yang remained quietly in the sleeve, waiting to leave the secret realm and head to a broader world.

But just as they neared the exit, an unexpected event occurred.

Three auras blocked the path of Elder Yu and the Yang Family Patriarch.

Chen Yang released his consciousness to perceive them. He found that these three cultivators were slightly weaker than the two Yang family members, but they had the advantage of numbers.

"Oh? Someone is actually faster than us. I wonder what benefits they gained."

"Big brother, judging by their appearance, these two don't look like cultivators from a sect or a Dynasty."

Said the two young cultivators on the sides.

Their words carried a clear threat.

If they weren't cultivators from a sect or a Dynasty, it meant they had no backing or support.

This implied that even if they died in the secret realm, no one would pursue the matter.

The bald cultivator in the lead looked at the two Yang family members, his eyes narrowed slightly. His body remained still, but his spiritual power was already quietly circulating.

At the same time, Chen Yang, who was in the sleeve, saw six fiery red talismans ready to be unleashed.

Without even exchanging names or engaging in any pleasantries, the battle between the two sides erupted instantly!

The Yang Family Patriarch moved to confront the bald cultivator, while Elder Yu flashed aside, engaging the two young cultivators from the flank.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh--

Six fire talismans shot out simultaneously, instantly repelling the two young cultivators.

The bald cultivator used his spiritual power to erect a barrier to defend himself. After blocking two talismans, he prepared to counterattack.

But the Yang Family Patriarch, having years of experience fighting and scuffling, was extremely ruthless and decisive in his actions.

Following the six fire talismans, three pellets were immediately shot out.

"No good! It's a Thunderfire Pellet!"

The bald cultivator shouted.

His two subordinates tried to dodge, but before they could even move, they felt an immense force press down on them.

Elder Yu, rotating his magic disk from the side, sneered.

"Big brother! I can't move my body!"

"We're finished!"

Bang! Bang!

The Thunderfire Pellets' power was astonishing, instantly blasting the two into pieces.

The bald cultivator narrowly dodged, enduring the immense pressure on his body, but the Yang Family Patriarch wasn't going to give him any chance to breathe.

Screech--

An ink-black shadow streaked across the sky, piercing through his waist.

The bald cultivator suddenly came to his senses, realizing he had encountered a ruthless character and kicked an iron plate this time.

Unfortunately, it was too late for him to circulate his spiritual power to use a movement technique and escape.

The Yang Family Patriarch, his face like cold iron, closed the distance in a single breath, appearing before him.

"Die!"

Raising his hand, the Yang Family Patriarch's arm instantly doubled in size!

Slap!

He brought his palm down, directly exploding the man's bald head and extinguishing his life completely.

After resolving the battle with swift and decisive methods, he quickly searched the man's belongings. Without any further delay, he rushed towards the exit.

Elder Yu followed closely behind, and the two figures disappeared into the teleportation array together, leaving ripples as they departed the secret realm.

Just a few breaths after the two left, the secret realm's teleportation array lit up again.

As spiritual energy fluctuations appeared, figures one after another entered the secret realm.

The aura of these later arrivals was significantly stronger than that of the Yang Family Patriarch and Elder Yu; they were all cultivators who had reached the Late Qi Gathering stage.

"What a secret realm filled with abundant spiritual energy!"

"Hahahaha, heaven truly helps me! I will find a great opportunity on this trip and break through to Qi Gathering Perfection!"

This group of rogue cultivators entered the secret realm with ambitious expressions, eager to find fortuitous encounters and treasures here.

However, they hadn't been happy for long before another group entered the secret realm's entrance.

This group of seven wore matching blue-azure long robes, with a design of a solitary moon against a clear sky embroidered on their chests.

The leader was capable of riding the wind and walking on air, already a powerful cultivator in the Core Formation Realm.

Seeing this, the smiles on the rogue cultivators' faces instantly froze.

"Damn it, why did people from this sect have to arrive first!"

"Curse it! Now, forget about treasures and opportunities, even our lives are in danger!"

"Heaven, please don't let him see me..."

With just a glance from the sect cultivator in the Core Formation Realm, the rogue cultivators below, who were in the Qi Gathering realm, were struck with fear and stood frozen on the spot, not daring to breathe.

Then, with a casual wave of his hand, a black light shot out, severing the heads of five of the rogue cultivators.

"Scram."

After uttering the word faintly, the remaining rogue cultivators no longer dared to linger and fled in disarray, leaving the secret realm.

Fortunately, the Yang Family Patriarch had been decisive enough, willing to pay the price to unleash his full power and quickly kill the three.

Otherwise, even if they had delayed for a moment longer, forget about obtaining spirit plants or spiritual treasures, their lives might have been forfeit in this secret realm.