Chapter 89: Livestream Inside the Secret Realm

Damn, I'm really unlucky.

Jiang Yujiu arrived at a cluster of jagged rocks and found a concealed corner to hide in.

Looking back and seeing that the sword cultivator hadn't given chase, she finally let out a breath of relief.

Makes sense—she's so powerful, she must have already started heading toward Jianfeng. Hiding over here should be safe.

"Phew~"

Jiang Yujiu took off the miniature camera she'd been pinning to her chest, the one she used for recording. She'd been wearing it since before entering the Secret Realm.

She carefully extracted an extremely tiny crystal card from inside the camera, then placed it into her storage ring.

A little editing when she's back, and that'll be a huge wave of traffic!

"Hehe!"

Thinking this, she pulled out her phone, ready to take a selfie.

But the moment she turned it on, she realized something was off.

Wait!

Staring at the full bars of network signal, Jiang Yujiu froze on the spot.

"???"

Why is there internet inside the Secret Realm?! After blanking for a moment, she hurriedly went online to check the information on this trial.

Mainly to confirm whether those who had been eliminated were actually dead or not.

If they weren't dead, those people would definitely speak up on the Spirit Net! Sure enough, she quickly saw eliminated trial-takers already showing up on the Spirit Net to share their stories.

Some complained the difficulty was too high, others griped about their own rotten luck—getting swarmed and killed by a pack of Tongxuan Grass Monsters right from the start.

There were even some people starting to compile "clear guides."

Of course, that was pretty useless—the third round of the trial still mainly came down to individual ability.

So Jiang Yujiu just glanced over it and paid it no more mind.

Emm...

So the third round of the trial really doesn't kill you. She'd thought so before, but now it was thoroughly confirmed.

Jiang Yujiu's confidence instantly swelled considerably.

Since there's internet, then... how about starting a livestream right now? With her own strength, the hope of winning first place was pretty slim anyway—might as well run a livestream and cash in on some traffic! Compared to Jiang Yujiu's relaxed ease, Han Yun, who was hiding among the jagged rocks, was a bit at a loss.

No way—she'd already hidden in this godforsaken place, and someone actually had the nerve to come over here! The moment Jiang Yujiu approached this area, the warning formation he'd set up in advance had already triggered.

He'd assumed she was just passing through, but he never expected this idiot from the Hehuan Sect to actually stop here!

Why the hell aren't you heading to Jianfeng in the middle? What are you doing hiding here? Just as Han Yun was about to activate the contingency he'd prepared to scare her off.

"Good afternoon, fam! Didn't expect this, right? I'm actually streaming now. Let me tell you a secret—the streamer is still inside the Secret Realm!"

Damn you! Stream your grandpa's stream! Are you afraid people won't notice this place?! Han Yun cursed up a storm in his heart, but just a few curses in, he noticed something was wrong.

Wait!! Isn't this inside the Secret Realm? How can this idiot run a livestream?

Han Yun carefully pulled out his phone. A faint glow lit up on the screen, and he took a careful look.

Huh?!

There really damn well is internet!

"..."

He hadn't even considered this point at all—truly shouldn't have.

Looks like reflecting on himself thirty times a day isn't enough—gotta bump it up to fifty! Then, he did exactly what Jiang Yujiu had done—go online to gather information.

First, he had to confirm whether the third round of the trial would actually kill people!

At the same time, elsewhere.

Zhang Yunlu, in order to better feel the "Principle" she had comprehended, began constantly placing herself in danger.

Others would choose to avoid groups of three to five Tongxuan Grass Monsters, but she actively sought them out, raising her sword to meet them regardless of their numbers.

Because she felt that still wasn't enough, she even charged straight into the valley bottom.

Facing the dense, seemingly endless swarms of Tongxuan Grass Monsters at the bottom of the canyon, Zhang Yunlu plunged in alone with her sword, stirring up a storm of blood and gore.

And her charge into the valley bottom was witnessed by quite a few trial-takers, who couldn't help being shocked.

This person must be a lunatic, deliberately coming into the Secret Realm to look for death? The crowd looked toward the valley bottom, but because the canyon was simply too deep, they couldn't make out exactly what was happening.

After quite a while, Zhang Yunlu, with only a third of her spiritual energy remaining, finally burst back out of the valley bottom, her breathing somewhat disordered.

The trial-takers still lingering nearby were all stunned.

There were so many monsters down there, and after charging in, you actually came back out alive?

Where did this fierce character come from, to be this ferocious! While marveling, the trial-takers hiding nearby and observing also felt a restless stirring in their hearts.

She's in poor shape right now—isn't this the best opportunity?

Although most trial-takers felt that failing the trial wouldn't mean death, what if? What if people really did die? No one was willing to gamble on those odds.

So it was better to take a gamble now—knock out one powerful opponent first!

Otherwise, judging from her performance just now, if she made it to the foot of Jianfeng, how many could be her match? Where there's a will, there's a way.

A figure suddenly darted out from behind a boulder, rapidly closing in on Zhang Yunlu.

But Zhang Yunlu didn't flee. She turned to look at the person charging out, a faint ripple flashing through her eyes before quickly settling.

She knew this person—or more precisely, she'd seen him on TV.

A teacher at Xuan No. 1 Middle School, at the mid Nascent Soul realm, who every year managed to cultivate several students who went on to join the Xian Sect, so he was quite well-known throughout all of Xuanjian City.

His information flashed through her mind.

The next second, the two were pulled into the combat space.

Who will win?

The cultivators hiding in the shadows waited in silence.

Five seconds later, Zhang Yunlu's figure reappeared.

Fuck!

They finally understood Jiang Yujiu's feelings now.

Five seconds? Even killing a chicken wouldn't take this fast!

The startled cultivators began slipping away quietly; Zhang Yunlu noticed but did not pursue.

She stood in place, murmuring softly: "Not enough…"

Yes, far from enough. She recalled her only encounter with Chi Jiuyu.

Calling it an exchange was misleading—it was more like guidance, a complete one-sided crushing.

Zhang Yunlu had originally believed her gap with Chi Jiuyu in the Qi Refining realm lay solely in "understanding the principle."

But now, after truly achieving "understanding the principle," she realized just how much Chi Jiuyu had held back during their sparring that day.

Chi Jiuyu's level—even now—was still far beyond her reach.

The more she understood, the more she admired.

"The road ahead is long and arduous…"

She suddenly remembered a phrase spoken by Shenghuang Yuan.

If she wished to become a swordsman like Chi Jiuyu, the path ahead was still incredibly, incredibly long.

"I shall seek high and low."

Whispering the second half, Zhang Yunlu walked toward Jianfeng.

…………

At this moment, Chi Jiuyu, unaware she had become someone's life goal, lay like a salted fish on the sofa, one hand holding her phone.

After all, Xiao Yunlu had achieved understanding the principle—she'd surely dominate. Better to check the Spirit Net for entertainment.

As she scrolled, she spotted a post.

【Shocking! There's internet inside the Secret Realm of the Third Trial!】

The post included a link.

Clicking it directly redirected to a livestream, where a small line in the top-left corner read: Live Broadcast of the Third Trial Secret Realm.

Gazing at the dense, scrolling comments, Chi Jiuyu jolted upright. "Aren't you my senior? How is there even internet here?"

"Didn't I already say? Because I wanted it to be there."

"…"

So you never cut off the internet after connecting last time?

She looked again at her phone screen.

There, Jiang Yujiu was explaining the rules of the third trial; due to the treacherous, dangerous terrain, her clothing was slightly "torn," and dust and soil clung to her body.

But this had the perfect effect—the glimpses of skin were undeniably stirring.

Many people loved this "battle-damaged" aesthetic!

Chi Jiuyu immediately posted several comments to expose her trick.

"Fake! That's clearly self-torn!"

"You actually believe her? Do you even have brains?"

But her messages were drowned beneath the dense stream of comments, stirring no ripple.

And…

【Dear (Future Sect Master of Sword Sect), you have been muted for 3 days by the streamer. Please mind your speech—violations will result in permanent ban!】

Not only did it fail, she got banned. Immediately, a faint pull of energy came, as if trying to drain a thread of essence.

Damn it!

Chi Jiuyu slapped it away with one hand!

Should I give you a slash of sword qi, old man? Xu Xing glanced at her.

Choosing Chi Jiuyu as a life goal—no idea if it's right or wrong.

……

……

Inside the Secret Realm, Jiang Yujiu was enjoying the surge of attention immensely.

A constant stream of essence and desire flowed into the incense pouch at her waist, and the Secret Realm's enhancement granted her deep insights into her next realm.

When she stepped out of this trial, she'd be ready to begin her advancement.

Thinking of this, she laughed more brightly, ignoring the occasional negative comments drifting past.

A seduction cultivator must be willing to sacrifice her dignity to cultivate.

But then, the earth suddenly shook violently.

Boom—! A thunderous roar came from afar; Jiang Yujiu turned to look, her expression freezing.

A silver-gray wave seemed ready to swallow the entire world.

Towering cliffs, knife-sharp precipices—all corners coated in a writhing silver-gray.

Every Tongxuan Grass Monster in the Secret Realm had revived! The Tongxuan Grass Monsters controlled by Gu Jie after possessing Xiao Fan paled beside this silver-gray tide that nearly consumed the world.

Jiang Yujiu swiftly turned her camera toward the distance; the apocalyptic scene sent the comments into a frenzy.

"Sorry, fam, I think I gotta run."

Saying this, she ran toward Jianfeng while holding up her phone.

Though she wouldn't die, every minute spent in the Secret Realm brought torrential traffic, so she wanted to live a little longer.

Within the cluster of scattered rocks, Han Yun also felt the earth tremble and Jiang Yujiu's departure.

'Finally gone.'

Out of caution, Han Yun waited a moment before using the Method of Turning Beans into Soldiers to summon a phantom, sending it out to scout the situation.

But what met his eyes were countless Tongxuan Grass Monsters that had already arrived nearby! Fuck!

The next moment.

Boom! The cluster of scattered rocks exploded open, and Han Yun leapt out, his body wreathed in purple lightning.

Zilaa!

His form became a streak of Lei Guang, following the safe path he had previously scouted.

So fast was his speed that within less than a minute, he surpassed Jiang Yujiu.

Under the pressure of the Tongxuan Grass Monsters throughout the Secret Realm, all remaining trialists were forced to rush at full speed toward the central Jianfeng.

Many trialists encountered others along the way and were pulled into combat spaces.

But even after defeating their opponents, they were swallowed by the vast horde of Tongxuan Grass Monsters upon emerging.

The number of trialists, originally fewer than a hundred, began to plummet rapidly.

Third update, please subscribe! This arc of the plot is nearly over.

(End of Chapter)