“Please let these people go.”
The sudden appearance of Lin Tianhai brought great surprise to Gu Ze.
He had feared Lin Tianhai wouldn’t slip up at all, in which case the suspicions he and Li Xunmiao shared would be nothing but empty conjecture, with no evidence to prove them.
But in this situation, Lin Tianhai had absolutely no reason to show up.
Unless he was shouldering some responsibility to guarantee the safety of Songhuo Peak’s disciples.
“Senior Brother Lin, what are you saying? We’re all members of the Immortal Pavilion—how could there be any reason to harm our own? I was just trying to frighten them a little, that’s all.”
Gu Ze sheathed the Moonmark Blade in his hand and motioned for Li Xunmiao to put away her sword as well.
Seeing the tension ease, those who had been kneeling on the ground started to get up and make a run for it, but Li Xunmiao’s icy glare pinned them in place, too scared to move recklessly.
Gu Ze changed the subject: “But we can’t just let ourselves be ambushed for nothing, can we? I don’t think we need to alert the Law Enforcement Hall for this—just hand over your storage pouches!”
He barked the order, and the group complied, obediently handing over their bulging storage pouches.
Gu Ze held all six pouches in his hands, examining them with the satisfied grin of a villain.
Lin Tianhai sighed. “In this matter, Songhuo Peak is in the wrong.
Since you’re taking compensation, Junior Brother Gu, I hope you’ll let the matter rest and not let this affect the harmony between our two peaks.”
“No problem, no problem.”
Gu Ze, fiddling with the pouches, tried to fit one inside another.
He managed two, but when he pushed the third one in, it popped right back out after a couple seconds, thudding heavily onto the ground and rolling a few times.
Gu Ze picked up the storage pouch tied with a red string, a bit regretful, and after a moment’s hesitation, handed it to Lin Tianhai.
“Senior Brother Lin, this one’s for you.”
“This… I can’t accept it.” Lin Tianhai quickly waved his hands.
“Just treat it as hush money. Although I’m taking this as compensation, it’s not exactly honorable on my part, so I hope you won’t mention what happened tonight to anyone else.”
As he spoke, he forced the storage pouch into Lin Tianhai’s hand and immediately let go, leaving him no chance to refuse.
Lin Tianhai could only accept it, half amused, half exasperated.
Harvesting storage pouches from five late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, Gu Ze had made quite a haul.
The only pity was, none of them contained anything the system recognized as an opportunity for Li Xunmiao.
Nor any supreme-grade artifacts.
Still, he’d found a few high-grade treasures—nothing to complain about.
After sending Lin Tianhai on his way, Gu Ze sorted through the storage pouches, pulled out all the Refining Pills that could aid his cultivation, picked a few of the best quality, and swallowed them whole, not caring whether he was wasting their medicinal effects.
Li Xunmiao wasn’t interested in any of it, so in the end, Gu Ze just stuffed all the storage pouches into his own.
They traveled for days across the ever-harsher terrain of Weijin Mountain. The mind-clouding poisonous miasma finally shed its last disguise, now as fine as threads, filling the air everywhere.
The group moved like prey caught in a spider’s web, unable to escape.
The cultivators with higher cultivation sometimes coughed, and for a moment, clarity would return to their eyes.
“There’s something odd about this poison gas all around us…”
“Senior Brother, you’re overthinking it. It’s just Sulfur Dust, which only harms mortals. We cultivators just have to hold our breath a little, and we can ignore its effects. Besides, look—my toxin-detecting artifact at my waist isn’t reacting at all.”
A few Songhuo Peak disciples, eyes bloodshot, chatted not far away. Gu Ze followed at the back of the group, quietly refining the medicinal power of the Refining Pills in his body.
Listening to their conversation, he seized the moment to deliberately remind them, “Even though Weijin Mountain is barren, there are still plenty of places where demonic beasts could live and breed. But we haven’t seen a single sign of one along the way—could it be because of this poisonous gas…?”
His words immediately woke several drowsy cultivators. They stopped in their tracks, eyeing the yellow mist around them as if facing a deadly threat.
“It really is strange… Why did we overlook this?”
“Maybe the demonic beasts were affected by the Divine Fire and left their homes. Either way, the top priority is still to obtain the Divine Fire.”
“Right, right, Divine Fire first! We can’t stop here!”
Before long, everyone once again pressed blindly onward, beyond the reach of mere words.
Suddenly, a somewhat anxious figure darted in front of Gu Ze; the two nearly collided.
Chen Lang bent down, stroking a lump of ore protruding from the ground, muttering to himself, “Such a big chunk of Mystic Iron—I’ve got to figure out how to dig it out and take it with me.”
A senior brother nearby, who seemed to resist the poison a bit better, laughed. “Junior Brother Chen, there’s plenty of this stuff outside; it’s not worth much. Why go through the trouble?”
Chen Lang smacked his forehead, his expression twisted as if in a great headache. “Right, what’s gotten into me…?”
It seemed the secret realm’s will had intentionally arranged it so that all the Songhuo Peak disciples entered at just the right distance and had now all gathered together.
***
Meanwhile, the Dan Yin Peak disciples had been teleported to the other side of the secret realm, and were now close to the summit. At last, the two factions met.
From afar, Gu Ze caught a strong Dan Fragrance on the wind, dispersing much of the poisonous air nearby.
Looking up, he saw the leader was a clean-shaven, youthful-looking cultivator with slicked-back hair. His bearing was extraordinary—clearly a cut above the many pill cultivators following behind him.
Gu Ze recognized at a glance: this was the Peak Lord of Dan Yin Peak, Wang Xiao Immortal Lord.
He had suppressed his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining and entered the secret realm to lead his team in person.
It was obvious: with him around, Dan Yin Peak’s cultivators could use Dan Fragrance to ward off the poisonous miasma, making them all look healthy and clear-eyed.
Although he’d never seen the man in person, Biluo Peak had plenty of portraits of him, all marked:
No admittance.
It was clear the two peaks really had a terrible relationship.
Wang Xiao had clearly noticed the Songhuo Peak disciples too. Even though he could see their bloodshot eyes and heavy poisoning, he made no move to warn them.
Wang Xiao raised his hand, signaling his disciples to halt.
Standing with his hands behind his back, his black robe was immaculate, not a speck of dust or dirt on his boots even after days trudging through this filthy terrain. Clearly, he cared a lot about appearances.
With a cold gaze, Wang Xiao swept over the group, curling his lips in a mocking sneer. “So Songhuo Peak just sent you people to die? Fu Xu really doesn’t value his disciples.”
No, maybe he’s already gone ahead to subdue the Divine Fire alone? Not that it matters; there’s no way he can take that Divine Fire by himself…
The “Fu Xu Immortal Lord” he spoke of was Songhuo Peak’s Peak Lord—a most mysterious figure, rarely seen.
By rights, as the master of the great forging peak, his abode should have been bustling with visitors. Yet among the Immortal Pavilion disciples, there were almost no rumors about him.
Gu Ze guessed to himself that the man was probably like several other Immortal Lords he’d met—a recluse.
Suddenly, a refined sandalwood aroma swept over him. In a flash, Wang Xiao crossed past several peak-stage Qi Refining cultivators standing at the ready, appearing before Gu Ze and Li Xunmiao.
He hadn’t relied on spiritual power, just pure bodily speed.
Though his cultivation was suppressed, the physical strength of a Golden Core cultivator still far surpassed the imagination of a Qi Refining one.
Even at the same “peak of Qi Refining,” he could defeat these disciples as easily as squashing ants.
But Wang Xiao had no killing intent—in fact, he didn’t even see these juniors as opponents worth his attention.
Until Fu Xu appeared, no one in this secret realm was worth his effort.
“So you’re the juniors from Biluo Peak.” Wang Xiao looked down at the two, noticing their secretly entwined hands and clicking his tongue, though he didn’t take the chance to tease them.
Li Xunmiao’s eyes were sharp; Wang Xiao was far too close, so she instantly drew her Zangtian Sword.
Wang Xiao noticed her weapon, but wasn’t offended, and laughed heartily.
“Truly, you’re just like your master—ready to cut someone down at the drop of a hat. Don’t worry, the grudge between her and me doesn’t involve you two juniors. She’s close to reaching Nascent Soul, so consider this an early gift—I’ll guarantee your safety in this secret realm from here on.”
Suddenly, Wang Xiao turned to Gu Ze, face wrinkling in distaste as he pinched his nose. “Why do you reek of low-quality Refining Pills? Why eat so much trash?”
He tapped his finger, and a white stream of spiritual energy shot into Gu Ze’s chest.
Gu Ze immediately felt his lungs tighten and coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of black filth.
It was the pill poison accumulated in his body—these days, he’d swallowed many Refining Pills in his rush to break through, not caring about the consequences.
It wasn’t that he’d been poisoned by the secret realm, but that he’d been stockpiling strength for safety.
The pill residue’s poison could be cleansed slowly after leaving the secret realm.
The fact that a Golden Core Peak Lord would personally cleanse a Qi Refining disciple’s poison made the surrounding crowd look on with naked envy and greed.
After helping him, Wang Xiao raised an eyebrow, “Hmm, your spiritual sense is remarkably pure—must be the work of Qingquan.”
Clutching his chest, Gu Ze nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
This person could actually tell that his spiritual sense bore traces of cleansing by the Origin Water of Qingquan.
If Qingquan ever got curious and checked his spiritual sense, he wouldn’t be able to keep some secrets anymore.