Chapter 39

“Is that… a swarm of snakes?” Someone stared blankly at the increasingly thick black line on the horizon, his face pale, and murmured.

After Yu Xizhi briefly explained the situation of the snake swarm she saw while riding her sword, everyone looked towards the edge of the desert. The previously relaxed atmosphere disappeared completely.

“Gao Xiude.”

With time pressing, Yu Xizhi straightforwardly called his name: “Pick three fellow disciples from Xuecan Peak, first take Ning Shuangsi and Zheng Chengxu to Tianjiu Town, and request reinforcements from the sect again. Tell the guards of Tianjiu Town that no villagers are allowed to step out of the town. After delivering them, leave two people in the town to look after them, and the other two return, ready to rescue any injured at any time.”

After a pause, she recalled what happened at Taiqing Peak and handed several communication talismans to Gao Xiude, “If the sect doesn’t respond, try these.”

Gao Xiude knew the urgency of the situation, asked no more questions, put all the talismans into his qiankun pouch, quickly called a few names, and the four of them split into two groups, swiftly carrying the two injured away.

“So many snake demons; can we kill them all?” Chen Nanjun of Ziyuan Peak clenched the hilt of his sword. Despite his fighting spirit, he couldn’t help but feel a bit fearful in the face of so many snake demons.

“We may have to tough it out; perhaps it’s not impossible to kill them all.”

Yu Xizhi shook her head, feeling that it was inconvenient to leave her hair loose in the wind and sand. She raised her hand to tie her hair, and in doing so, she caught a glimpse of Xiao Zhizhi’s angry eyes.

Yu Xizhi inexplicably met his gaze for a second, unaware of the issue, then looked away and continued tying her hair. She skillfully inserted a small twig into it and continued, “But there might be another way.”

“What way?” Yu Si slightly furrowed his brows.

“As everyone knows, the destructive power of a secret realm is always astonishingly large when it opens.”

Yu Xizhi continued amid everyone’s shocked gazes, “As it happens, there seem to be quite a few secret realms in the Kongti Desert.”

“Yes, it seems there are indeed secret realms. Before my ancestor ascended, he created a secret realm here. All of us in the Meng family know about it, but no one dares to go.”

Meng Xizhou of Xuecan Peak spoke, with a hint of hesitation on his youthful face, “But when the ancestor ascended, he was already at the Ascension stage. If we, a bunch of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, go in, wouldn’t it be certain death?”

“But Second Senior Sister’s idea isn’t wrong. There are only twenty-three of us. After excluding Senior Brother Gao and the others, plus Senior Brother Shen, that leaves twenty people. How can twenty people fight a swarm of snakes? Isn’t that also a death sentence?”

Someone shook their head and retorted, “Dying fighting the snake demons or entering the secret realm with a slim chance of survival, there might be opportunities there. In the struggle for the Great Dao, this seemingly desperate situation might turn out to be our opportunity.”

“Yes! Speaking of which, after the upcoming Sword Selection Conference, isn’t the sect’s reward for the top ranks a joint entry into a secret realm?”

Another person echoed, “Could this be an early reward?”

“The secret realm chosen by the sect will be entered by the five sects and three paths together, with the Great Elder overseeing it. They will use the Water Mirror to monitor and control the danger within a reasonable range. But here… who knows what level of secret realm this is?”

For a moment, the twenty or so people each held their own opinions. Some felt it was better to risk the secret realm than face possible death, while others believed they should fight the snake swarm and hold out until reinforcements arrived.

But from beginning to end, not a single person suggested retreating.

“We will split into two groups,” Yu Xizhi decided, cutting off everyone’s voices.

“Those willing to fight the snake swarm will team up with my brother. Those willing to try opening the secret realm will come with me, but you must be able to ride a sword.”

Yu Si’s gaze faltered slightly. He instinctively wanted to stop Yu Xizhi but suppressed the words that came to his lips.

Regardless of which side they chose, the level of danger was nearly the same.

Yu Xizhi indeed did not want Yu Si to take risks. In this vast world, her brother was the most important to her.

She didn’t want Yu Si to come along, so she preferred to face this unknown danger herself, even though she had just formed her Golden Core.

But now she saw what was truly there.

Even without spiritual vision, the demonic energy in the distance was already black and overwhelming.

After all, she was the Second Senior Sister of Taiqing Peak in the Kunwu Mountain Sect.

Her junior brothers and sisters trusted her, and she trusted her brother. So both she and Yu Si had to shoulder their responsibilities.

These responsibilities were both related to and unrelated to the sect.

The sect had given them their status, a place rich in spiritual energy, exceptional sword techniques, and stronger abilities than others.

No matter how people in the sect treated her, and regardless of whether this was from a book or not, at this moment, since she held a sword and could slay demons, she naturally had to protect the weak behind her.

As the First Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister of the sect, this was their duty.

Since they held swords, this was their duty.

The siblings exchanged a glance and saw the same resolve in each other’s eyes.

Thus, no more words were needed.

The twenty or so disciples quickly split into groups. Yu Xizhi took to the air on her sword and nodded slightly at Yu Si, “Brother.”

Yu Si looked at the girl standing on the sword.

His emotions were complex.

He always wanted to protect her, angry at her lack of progress and hating her for being lazy.

But at this moment, seeing the courageous and valiant girl, he wanted to return to the past.

“Stay alive.”

In the end, his lips moved for a moment, and he only said three words.

Yu Xizhi’s expression changed. She quickly swooped down and covered his mouth, “Brother, don’t say anything. We’ll see each other again. Now, let’s go.”

With that, she seemed afraid he wouldn’t listen, so she hurriedly flew off first.

Xiao Zhizhi, who had been annoyed by the hair in his face earlier, still didn’t look happy. But he couldn’t hold back his question, “Why did you tell him not to say anything?”

“Everyone who says they’ll return home to farm after the battle never comes back,” Yu Xizhi said seriously, evidently valuing this kind of superstition.

“So every time we part, we should act as usual. Don’t say anything strange, or something really might go wrong!”

“…What makes you think that bravely venturing into a secret realm like this won’t go wrong?” Xiao Zhizhi sat securely, hugging his knees. Though the girl’s shoulders were thin, no wind seemed strong enough to blow him away.

“Do you even know where the secret realm is?”

“I don’t know,” Yu Xizhi admitted honestly, but quickly raised a smile.

“But I have you, don’t I? You definitely know, right? Besides, even if we don’t know, if we wander around enough, we’ll find it eventually, won’t we?”

Before Xiao Zhizhi could say anything more, Yi Zui and Shen Ye had already come up on either side. Since Yu Si was guarding Tianjiu Town and they came to rescue Shen Ye, Shen Ye, knowing how much Yu Si treasured Yu Xizhi, gritted his teeth and followed, “As we pass by the snake swarm, should we try to divert some of them?”

“Snakes like blood,” Yi Zui quickly recalled the contents of the Ten Thousand Demons Compendium.

“But even if we cut ourselves now, for so many snakes, the blood would be too little. Where can we find a large amount of blood?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the seven of them paused slightly, and then, as if remembering something, they slowly looked toward the approaching snake demon swarm.

“Just kill a few, and there’ll be plenty,” Lu Zhiheng from Taiqing Peak laughed.

“We might not be able to kill the big snake demons, but there are plenty of small ones here. We should be able to spill enough blood over a few dozen miles.”

Huang Li also silently gripped his hoe.

“The snakes here are much easier to kill than the ones before. At least we can see their weak spots clearly.”

It was decided that they would try to divert the snakes. The others descended on their swords. Although they were somewhat afraid when they decided to follow Yu Xizhi, as they approached the snake swarm, there was a natural fear, but having fellow disciples around alleviated much of that fear.

When they grasped their swords again, a certain clarity came to their minds.

The best way to face fear is naturally to face it directly and then chop it into pieces!

Shen Ye followed behind them and said, “Spread out a bit! Don’t get hit by their tails! Only cut the small snakes; our goal is blood, not killing snake demons! Make as many wounds as you can! Don’t waste too much spiritual energy!”

Countless sword lights touched the snake demons and cut them open. Everyone carefully chose to strike at the snakes’ tails, aiming to injure them seriously, if not kill them.

“I brought a demon-binding rope, Old Lu, give me a hand! Let’s drag this snake away! Look at this blood! I’m about to vomit! Is there any way to breathe without using the nose? ! ”

“Is there really such a trick? Brothers, does anyone else have a rope?”

“Brother Huang, your hoe is something else! You hit the mark every time. Aren’t you afraid you’ll pierce the ground when you use it for farming?”

Huang Li struck down a snake with each swing, diligently and effectively. His simple yet precise movements brought sword energy with each hoe strike, spilling a whole lot of blood from the snake corpses.

“The land on Qianya Peak is really hard. I’ve never hoed such hard ground in my life.”

The others were impressed, “So that’s it!”

Amidst the sneak attacks on the snake demons, Cheng Luocen moved through the fray. The remnant soul of the old man revived upon hearing Yu Xizhi wanted to explore the secret realm, “Exploring a secret realm is a good idea! Take them to the nearest one! I’m familiar with it. When that secret realm opens, it creates a huge commotion. It’ll swallow all these snake demons, though it’s a pity about the demon cores… But compared to the treasures in the secret realm, those demon cores are nothing.”

“Which direction is it in?”

The old man chuckled and said, “You’re in luck. In the direction you’re heading, there’s a Hunyuan Secret Realm.”

…

“Consider yourself lucky,” Xiao Zhizhi snorted.

“Ahead, there’s a Hunyuan Secret Realm. A loose cultivator of the True Immortal in the Soul Accumulation died here after a failed breakthrough to the True Lord, creating the secret realm just before his death. That person had quite a few broken treasures on him. If we go inside, we should find something worthwhile.”

In this world, there are many secret realms, and just as cultivators have levels, secret realms are also graded.

From low to high, they are categorized as Huagu, Hunyuan, Pingtian, Xingji, and Wenyuan, with the highest being Wuya, left behind by great powers who have reached the Void stage.

(T/N: in chapter 33, I put this as the free and unfettered stage, but it actually means the void stage: refining void-> profound void-> mahayana..(grandmaster) The “void stage” is where the individual experiences letting go of their previous identity, beliefs, and attachments… thus, indirectly, it can also be described as the free and unfettered stage, where one will be free from their previous attachments… I hope i get this right..huhu)

If it were a Huagu Secret Realm, the commotion caused by forcibly entering might not be large enough. If it were a Pingtian Secret Realm, it would be too dangerous for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators to venture into. The Hunyuan Secret Realm is just right.

Seeing that the blood-spilling action was going smoothly, the snake demons in the front naturally rushed forward. But many of the snake demons in the rear couldn’t resist the scent. As the group kept descending and rising, slashing their swords and spilling more blood, they managed to attract a considerable number of snake demons. Soon, there was a long line of snake demons following the seven sword-riding cultivators, forming a dense, dark mass.

The crimson tongues flickered, and the hissing sounds surrounded them. Initially disgusted, the group adapted after killing so many and even started making comments.

“What kind of demon is this? It looks like Tu Huaping, but with this size and aggressiveness, it’s more like an Exploding Snake.”

Yi Zui held a thoroughly dead snake corpse, his face full of disdain as he flew swiftly on his sword.

“Logically, Tu Huaping usually appears in rainforests. What are they doing in this desert?”

“Could these two types of snakes have fused?” Someone boldly speculated, coming very close to the truth.

“What’s in this desert that’s causing these snakes to change like this?”

“I don’t know what’s here, but there must be a secret realm!” Yi Zui shouted, the usually pampered young master barely tolerating the snake in his hand.

“Secret realm! Hurry up! I’d rather bleed in the secret realm than carry this thing—”

As he yelled, he charged ahead. The yellow sand filled the sky, the twilight deepened, and although the air seemed unchanged, Yi Zui felt as if he had suddenly bumped into something.

Suddenly, there was a visible ripple in the air.