Chapter 29

Li Mengze blinked and shifted her gaze toward the pair of black foxes still trapped within the formation. Most likely, Wang Mingzhe intended to sacrifice them, which was why he had only set up a separate confinement array for them, unlike the absolute deathtrap he used against those other people, leaving no path of escape.

Now that Wang Mingzhe had gone off to pursue the others, Li Mengze emerged from her hidden space and destroyed one of the key nodes of the array through sheer force, releasing the two foxes who had been circling inside. Unhurriedly, she left the area.

The two foxes had no time to bother with her. Among all the races, foxes were second only to dragons in holding grudges. That so-called Senior Brother Wang had actually dared to plot against them—surely the foxes had realized this and had already turned their sights on Wang Mingzhe. What’s more, since he had returned after previously leaving, their hatred had only deepened. Thus, Li Mengze was not at all worried about facing their retribution later.

She was confident that, for a while at least, no one would suspect her.

Leaving that troublesome place behind, Li Mengze summoned Little Black and Little White. These two had a much better sense of direction than she did, and with their help, she avoided many pointless detours.

Whether it was because the secret realm was simply too vast, or her luck was particularly poor, in the following month Li Mengze gained nothing of value. Instead, she encountered tier-five demon beasts out hunting two or three times. Once, she was defeated and barely managed to escape, needing a whole week to recover her fighting strength. Another time, she won and obtained a piece of fur and some blood from a tier-five Mengmeng Beast. On another occasion, after a drawn-out battle that led nowhere, her opponent simply decided to walk away.

As for rare spiritual herbs, ancient inheritances, or the fabled dwellings of cultivators from ages past, she didn’t even catch a glimpse. She didn’t see a single other cultivator, either. After comparing her map several times, Li Mengze was forced to admit that she had no talent for reading terrain, and gave up in resignation.

One day, while Li Mengze was building a fire to set up camp, the message jade at her waist began to flash. She looked down and saw that fellow sect members were nearby. She removed the jade and infused it with spiritual energy to activate it. A small map appeared on its surface.

At the same time, a voice came through: “Junior Sister, where are you now? Are you in trouble?” Li Mengze’s eyes lit up. To think she’d first run into her own Senior Brother—what luck! This was truly a case of finding something effortlessly after searching everywhere for it. Meeting him was far better than encountering any of the other brothers and sisters.

Although before entering the secret realm, they had already been divided into groups based on cultivation level, no one had said that, once separated within the realm, they couldn’t form new teams.

Li Mengze briefly explained her situation through the jade. Ba Yicheng, for his part, couldn’t help but reflect that their group already thought themselves unlucky: originally at the Golden Core stage, they’d been randomly transported into the territory of Nascent Soul cultivators by the secret realm’s caprice. They hadn’t lost anyone, but had been on edge the entire time. Nascent Soul cultivators were known to have tempers, and their power was such that a simple wave of the hand could mean death. So, though they’d acquired plenty of treasures, their nerves were frayed. The business of killing for loot—others had done it, and so had they, though mostly in self-defense. Their pouches were much fuller now.

They’d barely seen any fellow sect members—likely because, as soon as the realm opened, they’d been teleported to the Nascent Soul sector. Most Nascent Souls made for the heart of the secret realm, not lingering in the outskirts for minor squabbles.

As for his junior sister, she was truly unfortunate. Others might not have traveled in large groups, but at least they hadn’t been alone for this long; she must have suffered quite a bit.

With that in mind, Ba Yicheng told Li Mengze to stay put and wait for them to come find her.

After all, her location happened to be right along their path, and they could use the night to rest as well.

After explaining to the other brothers that he was going to pick up his junior sister and obtaining their agreement, they set off toward Li Mengze’s location.

It wasn’t difficult to secure everyone’s approval. Even cultivators have their own motives. Ba Yicheng was the chief disciple of his peak, and Li Mengze’s status was even more unattainable—most people would jump at the chance to curry favor with her, and who would want to be the villain by refusing such an easy gesture of goodwill?

Li Mengze obediently waited in place as instructed. To be honest, expecting someone as directionally challenged as her to find her own way through this dense forest was asking a bit much.

The distance between them wasn’t far. She hadn’t even taken a bite of her roasted spirit bird before she heard Ba Yicheng’s voice.

She stuck the spit into the ground and stood up, catching sight of Ba Yicheng’s figure. It was clear that he and the others hadn’t rested well these past days. Even Golden Core cultivators could look a little haggard after such an ordeal—if they were ordinary people, they’d have been exhausted long ago.

Li Mengze found it odd—she recognized the faces in the group, and those she was familiar with were all people of status within the sect. They shouldn’t look this worn out.

Ba Yicheng sat down beside her, tore off a wing without ceremony, and, with the meat in his mouth, mumbled, “Ze’er, you have no idea how unlucky your brother’s been.”

That address, “brother,” was something Ba Yicheng had coaxed her to use as a child. She’d seldom called him that since growing up, so he must have a lot of grievances to air this time if he was reverting to the old term.

Li Mengze gazed at the grand structure before her, her eyes filled with irrepressible awe. Even through the thick, milky mist, the palace’s magnificence could not be dimmed.

Noticing the scattered groups of people around, Li Mengze frowned, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

She had wandered the secret realm for several months with Ba Yicheng and the others. With half the allotted time already gone, they had gained quite a bit, but the place where the heroine was supposed to receive her inheritance had not yet appeared.

Although they couldn’t enter yet, just seeing the palace put everyone at ease. There were many people here, but the inheritance of the secret realm was not for everyone. Only those with fate could obtain it; everyone understood this.

Li Mengze quietly stood behind Wen Yuanyuan and the other Kunlun disciples. Their little group wasn’t large, but besides Ba Yicheng’s team of Golden Core cultivators, the only others present were Wei Qingtong and another Nascent Soul True Lord—someone Li Mengze recognized as the heir to the Sword Peak. Clearly, those two had come together.

After greeting the two of them, they chose an empty spot to sit and, like everyone else, meditated to recover their spiritual energy.

The inheritance grounds of the secret realm did not open at any fixed time, but with so many gathered, it was likely that the time was near.

Li Mengze discreetly observed the surrounding cultivators. The numbers of rogue cultivators and sect disciples were roughly equal. Sect disciples had their organizations to rely on and access to many resources, while rogue cultivators depended on themselves for everything, making them more formidable in actual combat. The current balance was only to be expected.

Her gaze paused at a certain corner before shifting back. There—it was as she suspected. The match between the heroine and the male supporting character was only a matter of time.

Ba Yicheng was sitting next to her. With a cultivator’s sharp senses, whispering was impossible; even the faintest murmur would sound like it was blared through a megaphone.

“Senior Brother, that person I told you about—the one who cultivates demonic arts and uses formations to drain the energy of fellow disciples—he’s here too.” After indicating the direction, Li Mengze fell silent, conveying her message telepathically—a skill available to anyone past the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ba Yicheng opened his eyes and glanced over. Though he hadn’t seen the man before, someone who practiced demonic arts and was wounded would take a long time to fully recover, so his aura was leaking out. Ba Yicheng recognized him at once.

For this man to appear so brazenly, he must be confident that no one would expose him—which could only mean that everyone who entered the secret realm with him had vanished.

At this thought, Ba Yicheng’s expression darkened. According to his junior sister, there had also been two Xuantian black foxes at the time. For this man to escape, his methods must be extraordinary.

After a moment’s thought, Ba Yicheng relayed the information to Wei Qingtong via telepathy. Based on his junior sister’s description, this was no ordinary demon cultivator. Li Mengze was young and hadn’t heard of such techniques, but Ba Yicheng remembered his master mentioning it in his childhood.

It was said that the Blood Demon Lord, who was jointly suppressed by the leading sects of the time, had once sought to refine a supreme art by harvesting the blood and life force of nine hundred and ninety-nine children. Both righteous and demonic factions regarded him as a mortal enemy. No one now knew where he was being held.

Wei Qingtong’s brow twitched upon receiving Ba Yicheng’s message. Others might not know, but he did. People claimed that the alliance between the righteous and demonic paths began with intermarriage, but in truth, their first joint effort was against the Blood Demon Lord. Before turning to the demonic path, he had been an elite disciple of the Cloud Mist Sect. For certain reasons, he was expelled and began practicing demonic arts—not a capital crime in itself, since righteous and demonic were not always at war. But this man had somehow acquired a technique that accelerated his cultivation at a horrific price, making him anathema to heaven itself, and so both sides united to destroy him. Wei Qingtong knew that the demonic art was believed destroyed. Could it be that the Blood Demon Lord himself had resurfaced?

Wei Qingtong wasn’t sure, but in his heart, he resolved to keep a close watch on this man’s movements.