Chapter 26 : Unexpected Changes in the Secret Realm

Centuries of refining and countless trials had made Chen Yuyang very clear about one principle.

Everything else was external; only his own life mattered most.

So, he wouldn’t hesitate, nor would he feel any pain.

Even if it meant destroying an eighth-rank treasure, he simply wouldn’t care.

After all, it wasn’t like he couldn’t refine another one; it would just cost some time and materials.

Compared to that, saving his life from that fox woman was the priority.

This time, Chen Yuyang managed to flee hundreds of kilometers in one breath.

Relying on the spatial fluctuations caused by the self-destruction of that eighth-rank treasure, he finally halted the fox woman’s pursuit.

Judging by her ability to lock onto spatial techniques at the Nascent Soul stage, her true power was far beyond his initial estimate of the Transformation Realm.

She was at least at the Consolidation Realm.

Most likely, she was a demon king-level existence.

What puzzled him was how she managed to escape the Demon Tower ahead of time.

Boom—

The earth trembled once more.

A storm of spiritual energy swept across the area.

It seemed the sealing of the Demon Tower had been broken down another layer.

Although, under the suppression of this secret realm, the demons released could at most display Nascent Soul-level cultivation.

But for every young cultivator in this secret realm, that power was overwhelming.

Moreover, the demons appeared in swarms.

However, Chen Yuyang had no intention of meddling with them.

He silently calculated roughly how long it would take for those demons to reach near the entrance of the Ziyang Secret Realm.

He couldn’t leave too early because those young cultivators hadn’t yet come into contact with the demons.

He needed to follow the main group’s pace to escape or wait until the one-month deadline passed, allowing the secret realm’s laws to teleport him out.

Only then would his words carry more weight.

Hmm, those three fought the demons for three hundred rounds but eventually fell beside him, hidden in the corner.

Their soul marks contaminated his own.

Once the demons began slaughtering these young cultivators, similar incidents would likely occur.

Using that as an excuse, he could more or less bluff his way through.

He doubted anyone would believe a Foundation Establishment cultivator could take on three Golden Core cultivators.

He only wondered whether his junior sister could leave safely.

Probably no problem—she was focused on running now and could reach the secret realm entrance in five or six days.

At that point, whether she waited near the entrance for him or left directly, danger was unlikely.

As for himself…

Chen Yuyang glanced back toward the direction of the Demon Tower.

“Anyway, since I can’t leave immediately because of the time constraints, I’d better find a more secluded place to lie low.”

“Also, prepare more self-defense methods, just in case a similar situation happens again.”

With that thought, Chen Yuyang crushed several teleportation talismans again.

About two hundred miles from the secret realm’s entrance, he found a relatively spacious cave.

He set up an illusion formation at the cave entrance, then plunged inside to wait for time to pass.

As the seals on the Demon Tower at the heart of the secret realm were broken one by one, increasingly powerful demons began to surge out like a tide.

The disciples of the various great sects who had entered were caught completely off guard.

Their experience always told them that the Ziyang Secret Realm was prosperous and that training there was relatively easy.

The most intense conflicts they expected were rivalries with disciples of other sects.

Who would have thought that suddenly, packs of demons would arrive, bringing death with them?

In an instant, casualties were heavy.

The first to notice the problem were the Seven Great Sects.

Because only the disciples of the Seven Great Sects were branded with soul-chasing marks and left soul tokens in the outside world.

At this moment, the Seven Great Sects began to find that the soul tokens of disciples sent to train in the Ziyang Secret Realm were shattering en masse.

In response, the sect leaders or elder representatives from the Seven Great Sects immediately convened to discuss the matter.

Tai Lingxuan received the summons under these circumstances.

She was somewhat taken aback but quickly prepared and headed to the grand hall at the peak of Ziyang Mountain where the sect conference was to be held.

At this moment, dozens of sect leaders and elder representatives from the Northern Region’s cultivation world had gathered.

The sect leaders whispered among themselves; most knew nothing about the reason for the sudden late-night assembly.

Tai Lingxuan took her seat, but her gaze landed on the seven seats at the head of the long table.

Those were reserved for the top Seven Great Sects of the Northern Region.

Sword Gate Mountain.

Dan Sect.

Qiankun Sect.

Martial God Gate.

Luoshen Cliff.

Mystery Valley.

Xuanyuan Hall.

Tai Lingxuan noticed that although these seven seats were occupied, no one took the initiative to speak.

They all wore grave expressions, their brows tightly furrowed.

Something had happened.

And it was serious.

Tai Lingxuan thought to herself, though she still had no idea of the specifics.

After a while, once everyone was seated,

Xuanyuan Fourteen, the head of Xuanyuan Hall, cleared his throat.

His low cough instantly drowned out all the murmurs, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Xuanyuan Hall’s leader, why have we been summoned so late at night?”

The sect leader of Tianyang Sect cupped his hands and greeted, asking aloud.

This was the question on everyone’s mind.

“The matter is urgent, so I won’t beat around the bush.”

“Something has gone wrong in the Ziyang Secret Realm.”

“Our thirty disciples sent into the Ziyang Secret Realm from Xuanyuan Hall—seventeen have died.”

“Nine disciples from Sword Gate Mountain have died.”

“Thirteen from Dan Sect…”

Xuanyuan Fourteen listed the casualties one by one.

With every number spoken, the expressions of those present grew darker.

From what Xuanyuan Fourteen revealed, about half of the disciples from the various great sects who entered the Ziyang Secret Realm had been killed or injured.

“This… how is this possible? Inside the Ziyang Secret Realm? How could there be such massive casualties?”

The Ziyang Secret Realm was renowned for its safety.

The greatest threat inside was usually other sects, not the realm itself.

Even if all the sect disciples fought each other inside, casualties wouldn’t be this severe.

“We don’t yet know what exactly happened, but there’s no doubt that some terrible incident occurred inside the Ziyang Secret Realm,” said Nie Qi, deputy leader of Sword Gate Mountain.

“The most reasonable suspicion is that there’s a problem with the Demon Tower inside the secret realm.”

“We are restricted by the secret realm’s rules and cannot enter, but we can arrange for some cultivators below Nascent Soul stage to enter and investigate the exact cause.”

Elder Chen Mo of Dan Sect added.

“We need a team to investigate inside the Ziyang Secret Realm.”

“For this, we require support from the sect leaders to select some elite disciples below Nascent Soul to conduct the investigation.”

Upon hearing this, the other sect leaders remained silent.

What did it mean to ask the sects for support and send elite disciples to investigate?

The majority of disciples who entered the Ziyang Secret Realm came from the Seven Great Sects.

Now, such a serious incident had occurred, yet they were asking the other sects to send elite disciples to investigate?

Anyone could see that the secret realm had become extremely dangerous, and going deeper to investigate was likely a near-suicide mission.

“The teleportation talismans and jade tokens for cross-dimensional communication will be provided by Mystery Valley.”

“Luoshen Cliff will offer a reward of one hundred top-grade spirit stones per investigator, and if one unfortunately dies, five hundred top-grade spirit stones will be given.”

“Qiankun Sect will provide each participant with a fourth-rank spiritual weapon…”

The Seven Great Sects each laid out their offers.

Hearing this, the other sects finally understood.

The Seven Great Sects’ meaning was simple.

They would fund the investigation, but the other sects would provide the manpower.

Pills, talismans, equipment, spirit stones…

Those willing to investigate would be generously rewarded.

This immediately stirred the hearts of some sect leaders and elders.

“I, from the Wuxiang Sect, am willing to send one disciple.”

“I, from the Xuan Shield Sect, will send three disciples…”

Tai Lingxuan remained silent, neither shouting to volunteer nor sending her disciples.

Not only because she wouldn’t recklessly sacrifice her disciples for mere spirit stones, pills, or equipment,

But also because her heart was already troubled.

Her thoughts lingered on the fact that more than half the disciples inside the secret realm had been killed or injured.

A pang of panic, even terror, welled up inside her.

The image of a handsome young face appeared in her mind.

Yuyang—he…

Could he be in danger?

Damn it.

The Ziyang Secret Realm had remained accident-free for thousands of years.

Why this time? Why precisely when Yuyang had entered?

Tai Lingxuan clenched her fists tightly.

For the first time, she felt so restless.

For the first time, she felt utterly at a loss.

Soon, some sects declared they would immediately use teleportation talismans to return to their sects and gather elite disciples below Nascent Soul to investigate.

Once the number of investigators was sufficient, the meeting would adjourn.

Time was limited, and the sects needed to arrange things quickly.

But just as Tai Lingxuan was about to leave with the dispersing crowd, a voice called out to stop her.

“Wait, Lingxuan, don’t leave yet.”

Nie Qi caught up from behind and stood before Tai Lingxuan.

Her delicate brows immediately knitted together.

Her mood was already sour, and seeing this man only made her feel more irritable.

“I’m going back. Deputy Leader Nie, what do you want?”

“Lingxuan, you should have reached the Consolidation Realm by now.”

“Since that’s the case, there is an important matter to discuss.”

Nie Qi knew Tai Lingxuan disliked him, especially after the incident involving his disciple’s duel.

But this time, he wasn’t calling her for personal reasons.

“There’s another meeting…”

“Yes, only those at Consolidation Realm or above can participate.”

Upon hearing this, Tai Lingxuan nodded slightly and followed Nie Qi back into the grand hall.

At this moment, of the nearly one hundred sect leaders originally present, fewer than ten remained.

Of course, this did not mean the Northern Region cultivation world had so little strength.

Many sect leaders or powerful figures had simply not come personally.

But undoubtedly, having stepped into the Consolidation Realm, Tai Lingxuan now held a seat among the stronger figures in the Northern Region.