Half a month ago, two days after the secret realm opened.
A man wiped the blood off his sword blade and stared coldly at the two corpses on the ground, their faces frozen in expressions of disbelief.
The reason for their disbelief was simple: the person who had suddenly killed them was their fellow junior apprentice.
But…
The man raised his hand and rubbed his face hard.
Immediately, countless pieces of flesh and skin fell from his face.
When he moved his hand away, what appeared was another grim and dark visage, and his pupils had turned blood red.
“Finally, I can shed this damn disguise.”
“I, Anyu, have been lying low for five years, all to enter this Ziyang Secret Realm.”
Anyu murmured, then threw his head back and laughed wildly.
“Hahaha, now, here within this secret realm, I wonder who can stand in my way.”
After speaking, Anyu reined in his expression and decisively flew his sword toward the very center of the Ziyang Secret Realm.
Thirteen days later.
At the center of the Ziyang Secret Realm.
A towering crimson spire stretched from earth to sky.
Eight thick chains hung from its top, each covered with countless talismans.
Around the tower, three layered formations operated in an orderly fashion, emitting a faint glow.
Anyu hovered on his sword in midair.
He took a deep breath, then pulled out a peculiarly shaped spindle-like magical device from his bosom.
“The Void Piercer.”
“And…”
Anyu exhaled slightly, and at once, dark clouds gathered above him, crackling with rolling thunder.
“Thunder Tribulation!”
Anyu sneered coldly, urging the Void Piercer to fly above his head.
“When the thunder tribulation descends, the Void Piercer, carrying the power of heaven’s lightning, will easily break through these three layers of formations.”
“At that time, the fiend beasts sealed here will awaken, and I will first kill the prodigies of every sect within the Ziyang Secret Realm, then unleash a bloodbath across the entire Northern Territory… The revival of my Demon Sect begins today!”
Chen Yuyang used his Qi to fly, continuously crushing teleportation talismans, traversing space straight toward the secret realm’s core.
The closer he got, the more he felt an unusual fluctuation in spiritual energy.
Some kind of restriction was being broken.
Could it be the fiend beast’s corruption sealed inside the tower at the secret realm’s center?
But who in their right mind would touch that thing?
Puzzled, Chen Yuyang slowed his pace.
After destroying more than a dozen teleportation talismans in succession, the towering spire that seemed to connect heaven and earth finally appeared at the edge of his vision.
Thunder Tribulation!
Immediately, Chen Yuyang sensed the anomaly in the sky.
Someone was undergoing a tribulation here!
His pupils contracted slightly, focusing on the black figure beneath the storm.
At this moment, the figure was manipulating the spindle-shaped magical device, circling above his head.
A pale blue bolt of lightning tore through the sky, but the device absorbed and blocked every strike.
Then, wielding the lightning-charged device, the figure shot it straight at one of the chains surrounding the tower.
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out.
The struck chain instantly snapped, and the talismans attached to it turned to ash in an instant.
The massive chain fell, the tower trembled violently, causing a new wave of quakes and spiritual energy fluctuations.
He was using the power of the thunder tribulation to break the formations.
And the spindle-shaped device was at least a Grade 7 treasure, carefully crafted specifically for breaking formations.
Combined with the man’s Nascent Soul Realm strength.
Now, the three outer layers of the formation had shattered, leaving only the eight chains as the tangible core of the array.
And four of those chains were already broken.
This was becoming a serious problem.
Who knew how many things were sealed beneath the Ziyang Secret Realm?
If they escaped, it would be a catastrophe.
Just as Chen Yuyang was considering intervening, a deafening roar sounded.
From the base of the tower, over a hundred fiend beasts cloaked in black and crimson corruption charged out.
Tsk…
Some of the lower-tier fiend beasts had already escaped?
Chen Yuyang bit his lip, ready to advance, but his steps froze.
Because those escaping beasts were at least at the peak Golden Core Realm.
They were likely the ones least suppressed by the secret realm’s rules, so even weaker ones escaped first.
These hundred-plus peak Golden Core fiend beasts, combined with that Nascent Soul cultivator…
This was trouble.
After all, his own current realm was still weak, and his options were limited.
Compared to managing the situation, self-preservation was priority.
So, realizing he couldn’t resolve the problem alone, Chen Yuyang immediately decided to retreat.
The hundred or so Golden Core fiend beasts, seeing the figure attacking the formation in the sky, were all somewhat surprised.
One bold fox demon leapt close to Anyu, bowing respectfully.
“May I ask, honored senior, why do you aid our kind’s escape?”
Anyu could not reveal his true intentions of using these beasts, so he cleared his throat and said, “Our sect has a transaction to discuss with your kind.”
“What sort of transaction?”
“Hmph, it’s too early to say now. When your king truly arrives, our sect will discuss it in detail… For now, do not disturb my breaking of the formation. Go hunt down the young human cultivators in this secret realm!”
Hearing this, the tiger demon’s eyes lit up and quickly responded.
“Yes, honored senior.”
Then the tiger demon returned to the other fiend beasts and shouted loudly.
“Brothers, we have been sealed in this tower for countless ages. Now is the time to avenge ourselves. Kill all these human cultivators! Drink their blood, feast on their flesh!”
“Kill!”
The fiend beasts shouted in unison, then scattered in all directions to hunt the human cultivators throughout the secret realm.
In the shadows, watching this, Chen Yuyang sighed helplessly.
However, just as he turned to leave, he suddenly felt a chill from behind.
He spun around and saw a pink-haired woman with revealing clothes, smiling warmly at him.
Atop her head were a pair of fox ears, and behind her flickered a fluffy tail with six distinct branches.
A fox demon—one who had cultivated into human form.
That meant her strength was at least above the Transforming God Realm.
But…
Chen Yuyang immediately sensed that her aura was far weaker than a Transforming God Realm master’s, roughly equivalent to mid-stage Nascent Soul level.
It must be due to the secret realm’s rules suppressing her power.
“Oh my~ You found me.”
The fox woman smiled coyly, her eyes shimmering seductively.
Every movement she made exuded countless charms.
“You’re quite sensitive for a young man~ So, how about spending a night with your sister? I promise it’ll be heavenly beyond words.”
She asked with a playful smile, her delicate body leaning forward, her snowy white chest fully revealed before the youth’s eyes as she bent closer.
Whether it would be heavenly, Chen Yuyang didn’t know—but dying was inevitable.
He didn’t respond, his gaze remaining wary.
“Young man, if you don’t speak, sister will take that as consent~”
The fox woman continued smiling, her arms winding around his body.
At that moment, Chen Yuyang moved.
Facing an opponent two or even three realms higher, Chen Yuyang’s first move was to unleash a Grade 6 offensive talisman.
“Purple Thunder Exorcism!”
“Go!”
As he spoke, he infused his spiritual energy into the talisman, turning it to ash.
In an instant, purple lightning shot from his fingertips, striking the fox woman’s chest straight on.
“Ah!”
The sudden attack caught her off guard, and she screamed as the lightning sent her flying back.
Chen Yuyang flipped his hands, each holding a talisman.
“Earth Split Slash!”
“Raging Flame Break!”
Two Grade 6 talismans were crushed, unleashing a blade light capable of cleaving mountains and a small fireball that instantly heated the entire surrounding space.
The twin attacks surged toward the fox woman.
Then, without waiting to see if his attacks were effective, Chen Yuyang immediately crushed a teleportation talisman and crossed space, escaping dozens of miles away.
From the start, he never intended to fight.
Especially with so many fiend beasts nearby and a mysterious Nascent Soul cultivator.
Appearing tens of miles away, Chen Yuyang let out a slight breath.
But just as he was about to crush another teleportation talisman to go even farther, he found himself still standing in the same place after the talisman burned out.
His pupils widened suddenly.
Space blockade!
“Young man, your moves are ruthless. If my body weren’t tough enough, I’d have been struck down by you.”
The fox woman gritted her teeth and appeared before Chen Yuyang in a flash.
Without a word, six talismans appeared simultaneously in Chen Yuyang’s hands, turning to ash.
Boom—
A low rumble sounded.
The space around Chen Yuyang collapsed instantly, turning into a pitch-black rift.
His figure disappeared into the rift in an instant.
“Forced teleportation… clever boy!”
The fox woman’s pupils dilated as she reached into the spatial rift to grab him.
But before her hand could close in, a golden long sword shot out from the rift, stabbing directly into her palm.
“A Grade 8 treasure!”
More than the pain, what shocked the fox woman was the sword’s grade.
This boy actually wielded a Grade 8 treasure sword as if it were a common flying sword.
If she could refine this sword…
The fox woman’s heart fluttered.
But the next moment, the brilliant light bursting from the Grade 8 treasure made her expression change drastically.
She dared not linger, dropping the sword and leaping back, unfurling her long tail to shield herself.
Boom—
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, a vast area of space was utterly destroyed by the devastating force.
The fox woman instantly appeared a thousand yards away, her heart still racing as she watched the Grade 8 treasure’s self-detonation energy.
“This boy is simply wasting treasures!”
“But he’s decisive too. Grade 8 treasure—self-destructs without hesitation, plus so many high-grade talismans protecting him… Who exactly is he?”
The fox woman narrowed her eyes, looking toward the spatial rift, involuntarily feeling a trace of fear for the youth.