"So many people..."
Honestly, appearing out in the open after activating the Void-Escape Talisman, and being stared at by thousands upon thousands of people, caused Wang Yu's heart to flutter uncontrollably. It felt like he'd just escaped the tiger's den only to stumble straight into a wolf's lair.
He couldn't help but sweep his gaze around.
When he saw the blood mist still gathering around the Yin Ghost Mountain, the dissipating dark clouds in the sky, and the further collapse of the inverted-mountain terrain layout, he could basically guess what was happening.
"What a bunch of stubborn leeches!"
He cursed inwardly for a moment.
Wang Yu's eyes then fell upon the group from the Netherworld Spring Monastery. With the help of the Earthly Nether Ghost Mask, unless a Nascent Soul elder personally intervened, it was nearly impossible for anyone to see through his true identity.
After their initial stunned silence, the cultivators present finally reacted.
"He came out from the Yin Ghost Mountain?"
"He's so severely injured. Could it be he discovered something?"
"Maybe he's a scout sent by the Sacred Sect or the Netherworld Spring Monastery?"
"Hey, hey... he's moving closer."
"He looks like he just fled from some secret realm. That silver light is a mark of spatial power, right?"
"Don't pretend to know if you don't. That's the trace of a Void-Escape Talisman, you idiot."
"What... you!"
The cultivators buzzed with discussion. Only the people from the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect and the Netherworld Spring Monastery, after pausing for a moment, began to approach.
As if by tacit agreement, both sides chose to surround Wang Yu.
In the ensuing silence and strange atmosphere, a peculiar aura of conflict began to rapidly brew.
The Sacred Sect's representative, an unknown peak Core Formation cultivator and the leader of this expedition—one of the Inner Sect's Ten Great Elders from the Gu Poison Peak—spoke first.
"Young friend, do you know the truth behind the anomaly at Yin Ghost Mountain?"
Wang Yu's eyes narrowed behind his mask. He replied politely, "Esteemed Sacred Sect senior, this humble one was ambushed by enemies outside the Sky Demon Bone Forest. I activated a Void-Escape Talisman to escape and never expected to be surrounded here by all of you. I am grievously wounded and urgently need a place to go into seclusion. Might I ask you seniors..."
"Hmph—"
Before he could finish, a cold snort shot towards him.
The imposing aura of a Core Formation cultivator pressed down on him. To be honest, he barely felt it, but he could only pretend to be affected. He dropped to one knee in mid-air, putting on an act of being unable to speak.
From the Sacred Sect's ranks, a gaunt, elderly woman at the mid Core Formation stage stepped forward.
"Brat, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. If you dare lie again, this old woman will slap you dead where you stand!"
"Heh—"
"Senior, why would you say such a thing?"
Wang Yu stared at the old woman with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, the killing intent in his heart gradually boiling. He narrowed his eyes to conceal any emotion they might reveal.
"When this old woman says you're lying, you're lying. Why should I explain myself to an ant like you? A slap for your insolence!"
Her magic power condensed, forming a giant hand that reached out to grab Wang Yu. He swiftly rose higher, his spiritual sense transforming into sharp steel needles to clash against it.
This was one of the many high-level techniques for utilizing spiritual sense he had obtained from the Heavenly Soul Repository's scripture pavilion. To put it simply, if he could master all these techniques to perfection, he would be a true soul-path cultivator, capable of battling peers using spiritual sense alone.
He hadn't had these techniques for long, having only briefly studied one or two, but this old woman was also attacking casually, merely treating him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The moment his spiritual sense power was exposed, it immediately put others on alert.
"That's Core Formation-level spiritual sense?"
"Fellow Daoist, you deliberately concealed your cultivation. What is your intention? If you do not speak of the intelligence from Yin Ghost Mountain, don't blame Fang for performing a soul search!"
These words came from the Sacred Sect's peak Core Formation expert.
Wang Yu couldn't help but let out a soft, derisive laugh. The Scarlet Luan Sect was still the Scarlet Luan Sect; this familiar taste... having been around Long Yiran for too long had almost warped his own temperament.
"In the end, my Dao Heart is still not firm enough..."
Sighing inwardly, Wang Yu revealed a strange smile, hidden, of course, by his mask.
Taking a deep breath and feeling that the true essence in his body had mostly recovered, Wang Yu brought his palms together.
The phantom of a raging Yellow Spring materialized behind him. A murky, yellowish giant hand, reaching for the heavens, descended towards the old woman who had been so disrespectful.
This time, not only did the Sacred Sect members' expressions change.
The Netherworld Spring Monastery group, who had remained quiet due to their weaker position, also paled dramatically.
"He's actually a True Inheritance disciple of our Monastery? But which one...?"
"You're from the Netherworld Spring Monastery!!!"
"—Very well, very well."
"Let us settle this today."
Seeing the Sacred Sect Core Formation cultivators about to attack, Wang Yu flew back, smoothly merging into the Netherworld Spring Monastery's formation. He deliberately kept his voice low, yet just loud enough for the Sacred Sect members to hear.
"Elders of the Monastery, this disciple was sent by Lord Curseghost Demon Monarch to investigate the truth behind the Yin Ghost Mountain anomaly. By sheer luck, this disciple discovered a spatial secret realm within the mountain, containing a Ten-Thousand-Year Medicine King! I beg you, quickly inform the Nascent Soul Patriarchs and mobilize our forces!"
The Core Formation elders of the Netherworld Spring Monastery were momentarily stunned, then expressions of delight appeared on their faces. This True Inheritance divine ability could only be cultivated by those who practiced the *Yellow Springs and Jade Fall Sutra*. In other words, Wang Yu had just proven his identity.
Seeing the Sacred Sect Core Formation cultivators preparing to encircle them, they immediately summoned a river of condensed Yellow Spring magic power, shielding Wang Yu, and asked urgently, "Do you have proof?"
Wang Yu passed a hand over his abdomen—where he had been struck by the Blood Ginseng, leaving behind a trace of its aura. He extracted this wisp and let the Netherworld Spring Monastery elders sense it.
They were instantly filled with confidence.
"It is indeed a Ten-Thousand-Year Medicine King! This old man once caught a glimpse of one from afar in the Monastery's Yellow Spring Medicine Garden. I cannot be mistaken."
Upon hearing this, the other Core Formation elders also showed joy. This was a great merit!
The Sky Demon Bone Forest was unclaimed territory; anyone could explore it, and treasures belonged to the capable. Located right at the border of the two sects, conflict was inevitable.
"Although Medicine Kings are not adept at combat, they possess strength of at least the fourth rank. No wonder you are so severely injured. Fall back now; leave this to us."
"Yes—"
The situation was tense; exchanging these few words was already a delay, and there was no time to ask for Wang Yu's name.
With earth-shaking booms, the Sacred Sect Core Formation cultivators had already begun bombarding the river of Yellow Spring.
Turning his palm, Wang Yu produced a handful of top-grade spirit pills and swallowed them whole.
His figure then gradually began to fade, the effect of the Invisibility Art taking hold. This second-rank, lower-grade technique, though struggling to keep up with his rapid progress, was still remarkably effective at concealing his form. Combined with the Earthly Nether Ghost Mask and the Breathless Curse secret method, the moment the battle erupted and everyone's attention was drawn, he silently vanished from the center of the conflict.
Given just a little time to truly distance himself from the heart of the battle, as long as he wasn't caught in a large-scale area attack, he would be halfway to safety.
The two strongest sides were now clashing.
The Netherworld Spring Monastery people could allow Wang Yu to disappear.
But the Sacred Sect would not. The mid Core Formation old woman who had been glaring at him immediately shrieked with a sharp voice, "All Sacred Sect City Lords, hear my command! Capture that cowardly ant hiding his head and tail!"
Dammit!
If his identity wasn't at risk of exposure, he'd truly love to rip off this mask and slap that old hag a few times. The ruins of the Heavenly Soul Sect held far too many secrets. Especially now that the power of the Blood Demon hidden within was exposed, the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect would definitely spare no effort to seize it. After all, the Blood Demon Hall lineage cultivated the "methods" passed down by the Blood Demon himself. Their connection ran deep; they would absolutely not let this opportunity slip. If the Netherworld Spring Monastery wanted to fight for it, a conflict even larger in scale than the struggle over the Chasing Moon Prefecture would erupt.
In that case, his connection with the Three Young Masters of the Reverse Spirit Sect would become somewhat useless, and he couldn't afford to let Jin Miaoshan's side guess the truth either. Wang Yu's identity absolutely could not appear in the Sky Demon Bone Forest, or Jin Miaoshan would surely figure it out.
When those City Lords fixed their gazes on him, he knew his escape plan had failed. He immediately prepared to use another Void-Escape Talisman to flee this dense crowd.
At that very moment.
A familiar, thunderous roar suddenly echoed across the sky. The hard clash between the Core Formation cultivators of both sides came to an abrupt halt. Wang Yu also relaxed his movement and looked up towards the heavens.
Black lightning erupted abruptly, forming a sea of thunder in mid-air. The blood mist roiling up from the ground surged with unprecedented vigor, clashing endlessly with the lightning as if it had no end.
The blood mist was no match for the lightning, but it won in sheer, inexhaustible quantity.
The Nether Tiger's lightning, unleashing all its power in one burst, was immensely potent but lacked endurance. After violently splitting several Yin Ghost Mountains apart...
The dark clouds in the sky completely scattered.
The phantom of an array of ancient structures appeared, separated by space, gazing distantly upon the cultivators below.
"This—"
"It really is a secret realm!"
"Hahaha, we've hit the jackpot! Good thing I kept waiting here. Everyone knows the first exploration of a secret realm is always when the harvest is richest."
"By your auspicious words, brother! I see your strength is not bad. How about cooperating to explore together?"
"I'll consider it."
The loose cultivators and members of third-rate forces were overjoyed, believing their opportunity had arrived.
Wang Yu, however, also let out a sigh of relief. He had thought the Nether Tiger Formation was triggered by Long Yiran. He wondered how she was doing now.
Then.
He witnessed an even more bizarre scene. The phantom in the sky seemed close at hand, yet was actually like a mirage—visible but untouchable. Normally, one would need to find the secret realm's entrance.
But the Nether Tiger Formation, having completely exhausted its power and vanished from heaven and earth, meant its spatial seal on the secret realm had also ended.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the fate of this space was to vanish into nothingness. Yet today, tens of thousands of years later, without the influence of the Blood Demon's true form, it seemed to reappear as if replaying the past.
It "grew" out of thin air.
The Yin Ghost Mountains were completely torn apart. Space began to expand. Patches of land were "squeezed" out from the void. The ruins of ancient buildings replaced the positions of the Yin Ghost Mountains.
What everyone felt first was the aura of a super spirit vein.
Wang Yu's expression turned grave. He understood clearly in his heart: **This is huge trouble!**
It wasn't just the significance of a fifth-rank spirit vein. The legacy of an ancient hegemon was another major attraction. Forget the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect and the Netherworld Spring Monastery; even the Nether Mountain Sect from the southernmost tip of the Scarlet Luan lands would be tempted.
And the most troublesome thing of all...
Descended abruptly amidst the crowd's joyous excitement.
"ROAR!!!"
The Blood Demon Ginseng, the Blood Demon Headless, and the Blood Demon Ganoderma Horse.
The moment the three Nascent Soul-level Medicine Kings descended, the endless blood mist found its masters. It transformed into countless blood beasts, blood corpses, and blood corpse giants, launching a charge against all living beings in this land. Their numbers were endless, stretching beyond sight.
Furthermore, a colossal Demon Blood Sunflower, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, stood towering. Its late fourth-rank aura alone was enough to crush Qi Condensation loose cultivators to death. This was the fundamental disparity brought by differences in life hierarchy.
The cultivators from the Sacred Sect and the Netherworld Spring Monastery were utterly horrified, scared out of their wits would be an understatement.
*(End of Chapter)*