Read Novel Full Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 301: Interception
Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 301: Interception
The storage bag given by Xuan Ze contained very little—only a few hundred medium-grade spirit stones, a high-grade spirit sword, and a box of various plant seeds. It was still considered quite generous.
To Yun Lie at this time, the spirit sword was merely a luxury, of little practical use, but those plant seeds were much to Xu Ziqing’s liking—many of them were seeds of spirit herbs used for alchemy, making the gesture truly precious.
After they put away the storage bags, the two of them flew away from that place. Although there was no one to obstruct them, they still felt a prickle at their backs—
Without a doubt, it should be the two sword masters from the Wanjian Immortal Sect.
Yun Lie was not afraid, while Xu Ziqing felt a bit of sweat trickling down his back due to the oppressive atmosphere, but he quickly suppressed that feeling of fear and took a deep breath.
In front of so many eyes, what was there to fear?
However, once they stepped out of the Absolute Sword Heavenly Manor, Xu Ziqing became even more cautious.
The Heavenly Secret Realm was filled with countless treasures, and people’s hearts could become quite treacherous. There might be some tricks to avoid drawing attention, and if they were not careful, it would be a great injustice to fall into the hands of petty people.
However, they hadn’t traveled far when a black-gold long sword appeared beneath Yun Lie’s feet, its form ancient and rustic, with a sharp aura concealed deep within. He reached out and grabbed Xu Ziqing’s arm, allowing him to leap onto the sword’s body. Then, the black-gold long sword rose from the ground and sped away into the distance.
Seeing Yun Lie’s action, Xu Ziqing felt a twinge of doubt. His Shixiong always acted methodically; was he sensing something this time? At such moments, he deeply resented his lack of cultivation, which made it difficult to foresee the enemy’s moves.
The black-gold long sword moved extremely fast, covering hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye, its speed several times faster than before.
Xu Ziqing could hear the wind whistling past his ears, his body swaying slightly, but Yun Lie’s grip on his arm prevented him from falling despite the explosive force. However, after this brief flight, a powerful pressure emanated from ahead, remaining still as if it were waiting.
The black-gold long sword wanted to change direction, but even as it did, it could still sense that pressure, which seemed to be omnipresent.
It was like a net closing in, trying to seal them within and leaving them with no way to escape.
Xu Ziqing’s heart tightened; he knew that the incoming party was not friendly.
Yet, Yun Lie raised one hand and executed a spell, slapping it onto his shoulder.
In an instant, a dragon pattern emerged in that spot, appearing incredibly majestic and accompanied by a faint dragon’s roar, exuding overwhelming authority.
Xu Ziqing felt it looked familiar and, in the next moment, recognized it.
That was the dragon pattern of core disciples!
His Shixiong was activating it at this moment…
Before Xu Ziqing could think further, a figure suddenly appeared ahead!
It was an old man with white hair and beard, but his face was plump and rosy, exuding a friendly smile.
Yet beneath that seemingly friendly smile lay an unspeakable malice.
“Brat, leave your life to me!” he declared and then struck out with a palm—
In that moment, the fiery true essence seemed to transform into an endless sea of flames, as if the surrounding space was about to melt from the heat.
At the same time, at the center of the sea of flames was a massive hand, red-hot and scorching, crashing down with great force!
Undoubtedly, this old man was a Nascent Soul Laozu1Same as Golden Core with Zhenren, Nascent Soul cultivators will be called Laozu. He might even be stronger than an early-stage Nascent Soul Laozu.
The oppressive aura he exuded was far stronger than that of the Nascent Soul cultivators Xu Ziqing had seen beside Xuan Ze.
But why would such a lofty ancestor come to trouble him and his Shixiong? Then he recalled that the only people they had truly offended in the Heavenly Secret Realm were the two sword masters from the Wanjian Immortal Sect.
Indeed, the Wanjian Xian Sect mainly comprised sword cultivators, but that didn’t mean there were no other powerful beings. Even if there were only sword cultivators, the dependents beneath a large sect would certainly be numerous.
To dispatch a Nascent Soul Laozu like this… a flash of worry crossed Xu Ziqing’s mind. It seemed the person who sent him had the intention to take his and his Shixiong’s lives!
However, at that moment, a sudden indentation and collapse occurred in the nearby void.
From that collapsed area, a crack suddenly appeared, and a massive hand emerged from within, exuding an endless and distant presence, instantly colliding with the fiery red palm!
“Boom! Boom!”
The sound of several explosions echoed as the two palms collided head-on, rapidly neutralizing each other.
The shockwave that should have spilled out between the two palms unexpectedly dissipated silently, as if it had never existed at all.
Xu Ziqing stared in astonishment, but his arm was pulled by Yun Lie, causing him to unconsciously continue moving forward.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the old man’s expression change dramatically, and from the crack, a handsome young man dressed in scholarly robes stepped out.
The young man smiled slightly, his demeanor calm, yet he did not appear at all intimidated by the imposing old man.
However, this scene flashed by in an instant, as Xu Ziqing was quickly led away by his Shixiong, so he did not hear any conversation between the two.
The scholarly young man spoke warmly, “Who is this lapdog that dares to attack a core disciple of the Wuling Immortal Sect?”
The old man’s expression changed drastically: “You are… the sect master of the Wuling Immortal Sect! You actually value that junior so much that you have entrusted your divine sense to him!”
The scholarly young man’s gaze was indifferent: “For us old fossils, it is exceedingly difficult to ascend to immortality; nowadays, we can only slightly protect our juniors. You, a dignified Nascent Soul Laozu, actually block the path of a junior and attack him. Such despicable behavior is enough to make the world ashamed to be associated with you.”
The old man’s expression changed several times before finally turning a shade of ashen: “Hmph! If you had come here in your prime, I would naturally have to flee quickly. But now, you are merely a divine soul that has left a bit of power behind, and you dare to look down on me?” He gritted his teeth and continued, “In that case, I will first shatter your divine soul, then crush your precious disciple to ashes to avenge this humiliation!”
The scholarly young man’s gaze turned cold as he raised his massive hand again: “…You truly overestimate yourself.”
Then, flames and powerful forces exploded in a continuous roar, one representing the arrogance of an unparalleled powerhouse, the other a desperate fight to succeed or die trying, resulting in an intense battle. However, regardless of the outcome, the white-haired old man could not continue to pursue the two brothers.
Meanwhile, Yun Lie pulled Xu Ziqing as they rode the black-gold long sword at high speed, eventually leaving all the fighting behind. They quickly fled thousands of miles away and, according to Xuan Ze’s description, found an exit.
This exit was actually a kind of hidden door, which had appeared in the Heavenly Secret Realm when many treasures were born. Moreover, more than ten hidden doors were recorded in the fragment of the map held by Xuan Ze, which he had informed his Shixiongs about during their separation.
Thus, the two of them easily found one of them.
The hidden door was a deep blue color, somewhat resembling the sky, but if one observed it closely with spiritual awareness, it would not escape the notice of the cultivators.
After confirming, the black-gold long sword let out a clear cry and swiftly entered the hidden door.
Then, there was a moment of darkness, and when Xu Ziqing opened his eyes, he found himself outside the Heavenly Secret Realm, greeted by a beautiful landscape.
—Although the spiritual energy outside seemed not as strong and pure as that within the vault, it still put his mind at ease.
They had finally escaped.
The black-gold long sword did not stop; it continued to fly forward.
Outside, there were still many cultivators arriving intermittently, all hurrying toward the secret vault. Some might have been far away, some could not free themselves earlier, and others received the news a little late. In any case, everyone appeared hurried, and there were some with expressions of frustration, clearly worried that the opportunity would be lost and taken by others.
Naturally, they would not pay much attention to the two who suddenly emerged from the tomb.
As they traveled together, Xu Ziqing recalled the earlier events and spoke up, “Shixiong, that senior just now…”
That person appeared the moment his Shixiong cast the spell and activated the dragon pattern; if this were unrelated to the action, he found it hard to believe.
At this moment, the black-gold long sword slowed down, and Yun Lie released Xu Ziqing’s arm, saying, “The sect master’s divine soul.”
Xu Ziqing was taken aback: “…Sect master?” He had never seen the sect master before and did not know what they looked like, so he naturally could not recognize them now. He simply did not expect the sect master to be such an… indescribable person. However, upon further reflection, he found it unsurprising.
Cultivators had long lifespans, and their appearances often resembled those of youth; there was nothing strange about that. Even he himself had not changed much in appearance since establishing his foundation, always looking like a young man.
Xu Ziqing continued in confusion, “Did the sect master come here because of Shixiong…?” He patted his shoulder, “…because of this?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly and replied, “Those who possess dragon patterns carry a trace of the divine sense of a great being above the Nascent Soul stage.”
It turned out that the Wuling Immortal Sect was different from some sects that would extract a trace of the essence soul from important disciples to make a soul lamp.
This was because disciples who received such importance from the sect often had their own temperaments, were proud, and unwilling to be restrained. While the trace of the essence soul in the soul lamp could grant protection from the sect, it would inevitably subject them to control… If the essence soul fell into someone else’s hands, they could potentially use some secret technique to extract it and control the owner of the essence soul.
Such a risk was far too great; which extraordinary geniuses would willingly place their lives and fortunes in someone else’s hands?
Even to their own sect, which they owed a great deal to, it was not acceptable.
However, these disciples who became core disciples were the talents that the sect intended to cultivate vigorously. Although going out to travel and experience was a necessary part of their growth, they could not allow them to carelessly perish outside and waste the years of protection the sect had provided. Therefore, the dragon patterns contained a trace of the divine soul of a great being.
With the power of a great being, if anyone attempted to extract the divine soul, it would self-destruct immediately, ensuring the attacker’s demise.
At the same time, if a core disciple could use a specific spell to activate it, the divine sense would rapidly transform into a physical entity, striking with one-tenth of the original body’s strength. And even such power would be enough to settle matters for the disciple, as long as the adversaries were not ancient monsters of a similarly great level.
This was the reason why Yun Lie encountered an ambush and activated the dragon pattern.
This also explains why Yun Lie dared to return to the sect with his junior brother, even after offending the two sword masters.
He was indeed combative and willing to fight to the death with opponents to comprehend his own path between life and death.
But he was not a stubborn fool; fighting against an old man clearly would not benefit his path, and if he knew he was at a disadvantage yet still recklessly confronted him when there was another way out, that would not be bravery in battle but rather seeking his own death.
Upon hearing this, Xu Ziqing finally understood.
So that was it…
Translator: Lynn
Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.
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