Chapter 528

"Yes."

……

Card acquired.

Two cards: one Qi-Essence Card, one Soul-Enhancing Card—not bad.

From the strike to the two dying completely, the entire process took no more than two or three breaths.

Swift as a hare leaping, a falcon diving—so fast that Ning Zhixi could barely make out the details.

She saw only a flash of black-and-white sword light; the Poison Witch collapsed, Xue Wuyan summoned a strange treasure to block it, was wounded, and fled; then Chen Mu pointed through the air, and Xue Wuyan fell like a dead dog.

Among the Earth Altar Realm's elite, they were truly ants before Chen Mu, easily crushed.

Even with a strange treasure, they only held out half a breath longer.

Chen Mu raised his hand, drew the blood-colored longsword from the air into his palm-space.

Then.

He gazed at the Poison Witch's corpse, and remotely seized the fragmentary map.

The bone staff had not been destroyed by the Yin-Yang Sword Qi; only its gemstone had gone utterly dim, its shaft marked with several charred scars, leaning crookedly into the ground.

Chen Mu also drew it remotely, inspected it, and confirmed it was merely damaged—the material was still usable.

"Finders keepers—this one's yours."

Saying this, he tossed it to Ning Zhixi.

Ning Zhixi instinctively caught it, suppressed her shock, and quickly refocused on the present.

The open ground beside Bi Bo Pond returned to silence, save for the lingering, rapidly fading traces of sword qi and a faint scent of blood and char, reminding them of what had just occurred.

"Senior Brother Chen, what now?" Ning Zhixi asked.

Chen Mu's gaze swept over the ancient forest where the spatial fluctuations had appeared, then toward the direction Xue Wuyan had fled and fallen, and he declared decisively.

"Xue Wuyan burned his essence to activate a secret escape technique—its disturbance and blood aura were significant. Others from the Mo Sect or forest predators may be drawn here. This place is unsafe to linger. Stick to the original plan: head to meet Master Zhuqing first. Go."

"Alright."

Ning Zhixi naturally had no objection.

The two immediately left Bi Bo Pond in haste, racing toward Ting Lei Cliff.

……

On the way.

Chen Mu activated the "Qingling Message Charm," and briefly transmitted to Master Zhuqing the discoveries at Bi Bo Pond, the clash with the Blood Refining Sect's Ten Thousand Poison Cult, and the acquisition of half the secret realm's fragmentary map.

Not long after, Master Zhuqing's reply arrived.

"Thank you, Young Master Chen. I have made a discovery beneath Ting Lei Cliff—spatial fluctuations here are unusually active, with wood-spirit and thunder qi converging. This is likely the true entrance."

"But there are clear traces of Mo Sect activity nearby, and that 'unusual aura' you mentioned also appeared briefly here before vanishing. Hurry to Ting Lei Cliff to rendezvous—we must open the entrance before the Mo Sect arrives en masse."

Ting Lei Cliff indeed held major discoveries—and that "unusual aura" had appeared.

Chen Mu and Ning Zhixi exchanged a glance and increased their speed.

Ting Lei Cliff lay in the southeastern part of the Misty Lin Hai, a sheer cliff rising a thousand zhang high, its ravine below perpetually shrouded in mist; during thunderstorms, thunder echoed constantly between its walls, hence its name.

When the two arrived near Ting Lei Cliff, dusk was approaching.

From afar, they could hear the faint rumble of wind and thunder from the ravine; the air carried damp moisture, rich herbal fragrance, and a faint but undeniable sensation of spatial distortion.

On a relatively open platform below the cliff, Master Zhuqing stood alone, her pale-blue Daoist robe fluttering slightly in the mist-laced mountain wind.

She gazed intently at a point in the empty air above the ravine, cradling the "Jia Mu Ling Xin" in her palm—the emerald jade on the tortoise shell emitted a steady, clearly directed soft glow.

Hearing the rush of wind, she turned and saw Chen Mu and Ning Zhixi arrive safely; a faint easing passed through her eyes.

"Young Master Chen, Miss Ning, you've arrived."

Chen Mu landed, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, his spiritual sense already extended.

The platform showed no signs of battle, but faint traces of blood lingered in the air, along with an indescribable ancient, obscure aura—exactly as Master Zhuqing had described.

"Master, how is the situation?" Chen Mu asked.

Master Zhuqing pointed to a region thirty zhang above the ravine, where mist was unusually dense and faint lightning flickered.

"There—the spatial structure is thinnest, and the 'Jia Mu Ling Xin' responds most strongly. Combined with our sect's esoteric calculations, the moment the first spring thunder cracks at dawn tomorrow, during Jingzhe, will be the optimal time to open the entrance."

"At that moment, we must use the 'Key of the Four Seasons' or a related artifact as a catalyst, paired with a specific incantation, to channel thunder qi and wood spirit and stabilize the portal."

She paused, her Grave Demeanor deepening, "But an hour ago, forces from the Blood Refining Sect and the Mo Sect both came here to spy, seemingly confirming the entrance's location."

"Also, that 'unusual aura' flashed briefly in that region, carrying a ferocious aura. That thing is likely an unknown danger within the secret realm."

Chen Mu nodded and briefly recounted his acquisition of half the fragmentary map at Bi Bo Pond, then produced the fragment for Master Zhuqing to examine.

Master Zhuqing studied the fragment carefully, especially the tree-like mark and the ancient characters beside it, and mused.

"This mark resembles a variant of an ancient spirit root—Jian Mu? The adjacent characters are incomplete, but I can faintly discern meanings of 'heart' and 'source.'"

"If I'm correct, this half-map points to the secret realm's center—a place tied to 'Wood Element Origin' or 'Vitality Core.' The 'Spring Key' may very well manifest near there."

"But with only half, we cannot know the exact path or dangers."

She returned the fragment: "This map is extremely important—keep it safe. The Blood Refining Sect holds the other half; they will do anything to enter the realm and reach the location marked. A struggle is inevitable."

Chen Mu put away the fragment and gazed at the misty region above the ravine, where lightning flickered faintly.

"Tomorrow, Jingzhe—the first thunder… Looks like we'll have to wait here all night. The Mo Sect won't give up easily. Tonight won't be peaceful."

Master Zhuqing nodded: "Correct. We must take turns on watch and set up warning and protective measures. I have some knowledge of arrays—I can set up a 'Green Wood Illusion Maze Array' around the platform's perimeter. It won't fully block enemies, but it will alert us and buy us time."

"Thank you, Master." Chen Mu did not object.

He was not afraid—but an array would spare them unnecessary trouble.

Master Zhuqing immediately acted, taking out several green array flags and some spirit stones imbued with wood spirit qi, arranging them around the platform according to specific positions.

Chen Mu found a dry, leeward rock, sat down, closed his eyes to meditate—yet his spiritual sense never left the ten-li radius; not even the rustle of a leaf escaped his perception.

……

At the third watch of Zi hour, the night was thick as ink; beneath Ting Lei Cliff, the wind grew fiercer, mist and clouds churned in the deep ravine, and muffled thunder accumulated deep within the clouds, as if a slumbering beast growled low.

Chen Mu sat cross-legged upon a rock, eyes half-closed, his breath harmonizing subtly with the mountain wind, the earth's veins, and even the faint spatial ripples emerging from the ravine, as if he had merged into this realm of heaven and earth.

Ning Zhixi stood guard nearby, her aura steady and dense.

Master Zhuqing stood alone at the cliff's edge, his fingertip tracing lightly over the "Jia Mu Ling Xin," calculating the optimal moment.

Suddenly, Chen Mu opened his eyes.

It was not due to the approaching poison miasma—his Divine Sense of the Tiangong realm had already detected their presence ten li away, leaving them no place to hide.

Rather, he sensed two powerful auras, like two venomous dragons slithering beneath the night sky, stealthily drawing near.

"They've come."

Chen Mu rose calmly.

Almost simultaneously, the night sky shattered in two directions: southeast and northwest.

In the southeast, bloodlight surged into the heavens.

It was not the scattered blood fiendish aura of before, but a dense, viscous, living river of dark red blood.

The blood river spanned over a zhang wide, cutting across the night sky; where it passed, plants withered, rocks turned rusted dark red, and the air filled with a nauseating stench of thick blood and death.

At the river's forefront strode a towering figure, draped in a dark red cloak like fresh blood, his face veiled in writhing blood mist, save for his eyes—blazing, terrifying, like two drops of concentrated blood, radiating cruelty, savagery, and cold, detached superiority.

His aura was dense as a mountain, yet saturated with overwhelming fiendish energy—he was none other than a cultivator of the final stage of the Earth Altar realm: "Ascend the Heavenly Soul Altar."

He had refined this realm for many years, perhaps only one awakening or opportunity away from Tiangong.

Blood Refining Sect, Duan Tianhe!

In the northwest, a silent, sprawling, bizarre "sea of flowers" spread.

This "sea of flowers" was not real vegetation, but a convergence of countless tiny, phosphorescent poison insects, powders, and gases, constantly writhing and shifting, emitting a cloyingly sweet yet terrifying aura capable of rotting bones and dissolving souls.

At the center of the flower sea stood a cold, beautiful woman clad in a tight, multicolored robe, floating in midair.

Her aura was elusive and sinister, as if fused with the deathly flower sea beneath her feet—also of the "Ascend the Heavenly Soul Altar" realm, yet her cultivation method was far more insidious and unpredictable.

Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, Wu San Niang!

A demon lord rivaled only by Duan Tianhe.

Behind these two elder demon lords of the Ascend the Heavenly Soul Altar realm, no fewer than twenty shadowy figures trailed—each a demonic expert of the Earth Altar realm, either "Perceive the Divine, Indestructible" or "Five Qi Converging," belonging to Blood Refining or Ten Thousand Poisons, clearly a full force of elite warriors united in this strike.

Farther still, more Innate Realm demonic disciples lurked, their killing intent filling the land.

Two Ascend the Heavenly Soul Altar masters, over twenty Earth Altar experts, plus numerous Innate Realm demonic disciples…

This force could easily crush a mid-tier sect and sweep across an entire region.

Their target was clear—their auras locked firmly onto Chen Mu and the two others on the platform.

"Was it you who killed those worthless brats?"

Duan Tianhe's voice scraped like two rusted iron sheets—dry, grating, laced with condescension and a cat-toying-with-mouse amusement.

"Young as you are, to reach such cultivation is rare."

"Too bad—you'll perish tonight. Your essence and blood will perfectly fuel my 'Blood Spirit Pill'!"