Chapter 521

"Yes."

The card is in hand.

Two cards, one True Essence Card, one Soul-Enhancing Card, not bad.

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

Quick as a flash, so fast that Ning Ning Zhixi on the side almost couldn't see the specific process.

She only saw a flash of black and white sword light, the Poison Crone fell to the ground, Blood Boundless sacrificed a strange treasure to block, was severely wounded and fled, and then Chen Mu pointed from afar, and Blood Boundless fell like a dead dog.

A standout among Earth Altar Realm experts, in front of Chen Mu, was truly like an ant, to be extinguished with a casual wave.

Even with a strange treasure, it only lasted half a breath longer.

Chen Mu raised his hand, taking the blood-colored long sword dropped by Blood Boundless from the air and storing it into his palm space.

And then.

Looking at the Poison Crone's corpse, he took the remnant map from the air.

That bone staff hadn't been destroyed by the Yin-Yang sword qi, only the gem on the staff head was completely dim, and there were a few scorch marks on the staff body, inserted diagonally into the ground.

Chen Mu also grabbed it from the air, checked it, and confirmed it was only damaged, the material still acceptable.

"Those who see it have a share, this one is yours."

Saying this, he threw it to Ning Ning Zhixi.

Ning Ning Zhixi subconsciously took it, suppressed the shock in her heart, and quickly turned her attention back to the present.

The open space by the Green Wave Pool returned to silence, only the residual sword qi lingering in the air and the faint smell of blood and scorched paste reminded them of what had just happened.

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

Chen Mu's gaze swept over the ancient wood forest at the edge of the open space where space fluctuations had appeared, and then looked at the direction Blood Boundless had fled and fallen, deciding decisively.

"Before Blood Boundless died, he burned his essence blood to perform a secret escape; the movement and blood aura were not small, and it might attract other demonic sect members or fierce beasts in the forest. This place is not suitable for staying long; according to the original plan, first meet up with Daoist Daoist Zhuqing. Let's go."

"Alright."

Ning Ning Zhixi naturally had no objections.

The two immediately left the Green Wave Pool rapidly, galloping towards the Thunder-Listening Cliff direction.

On the way.

Chen Mu activated the "Green Spirit Communication Talisman," concisely transmitting the discovery at Green Wave Pool, the conflict with the Blood Refining Sect and Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, and the news of obtaining half a secret realm remnant map to Daoist Daoist Zhuqing.

Not long after, Daoist Daoist Zhuqing's reply came.

"Many thanks to Young Master Chen for informing me. I have already made a discovery under Thunder-Listening Cliff; the space fluctuations here are abnormally active, and wood spiritual thunder energy is intersecting, which is very likely the location of the true entrance."

"But there are indeed traces of demonic sect activities nearby, and that 'peculiar aura' mentioned earlier also appeared here briefly and then disappeared. Please come to Thunder-Listening Cliff to meet up quickly; we need to find a way to open the entrance before the demonic sects arrive in large numbers."

Thunder-Listening Cliff, indeed a major discovery, and that "peculiar aura" also appeared.

Chen Mu and Ning Ning Zhixi looked at each other and increased their speed.

Thunder-Listening Cliff is located in the southeast of the Mist Forest Sea, a broken cliff a thousand yards high; the deep ravine under the cliff is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and during the thunderstorm season, thunder often echoes between the cliff walls, hence the name.

When the two arrived near Thunder-Listening Cliff, the sky was already near dusk.

From afar, one could hear the faint wind and thunder sounds coming from the deep ravine, the air filled with moist water vapor, rich herbal fragrance, and a trace of weak but indeed existing sense of space distortion.

On a relatively open platform under the cliff, Daoist Daoist Zhuqing stood alone, her moon-white Daoist robe fluttering slightly in the mountain wind mixed with water vapor.

She was staring intently at a certain area of the void above the deep ravine ahead, holding the "Jia Wood Spirit Core" in her hand, the green jade on the tortoise shell emitting a stable, clearly pointing soft light.

Hearing the sound of wind breaking, she turned around, seeing Chen Mu and the other arriving safely, a hint of imperceptible relief flashing in her eyes.

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

Chen Mu landed, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, his spiritual sense already spread out.

There were no traces of battle on the platform, but there were a few extremely faint blood smells lingering in the air, as well as a trace of an indescribable ancient and obscure aura, consistent with Daoist Daoist Zhuqing's description.

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

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing pointed to an area about thirty yards above the deep ravine where the mist was particularly dense and lightning faintly flickered.

"There, the space structure is thinnest, and the 'Jia Wood Spirit Core' sensing is also strongest. Combined with our temple's secret deduction, tomorrow at the Awakening of Insects, when the first spring thunder explodes here, it will be the best time to open the entrance."

"At that time, we need to use the 'Four Seasons Keys' or related artifacts as a guide, combined with specific incantations, to lead the thunder energy and wood spirit, only then can we stabilize the portal."

She paused, her expression solemn, "But just an hour ago, people from the Blood Refining Sect and demonic sects came here one after another to scout, seemingly also confirming the entrance location."

"Additionally, that 'peculiar aura' flashed and disappeared in that area, carrying a fierce killing intent. This thing is likely an unknown danger in the secret realm."

Chen Mu nodded, briefly mentioning the half secret realm remnant map obtained at Green Wave Pool, and took out the remnant map for Daoist Daoist Zhuqing to view.

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing looked at the remnant map carefully, especially the tree-shaped mark and the ancient characters beside it, pondering.

"This mark seems to be a variant of the ancient spiritual root 'Jianmu'? The ancient characters beside it are incomplete, but 'heart' and 'source' meanings can be vaguely distinguished."

"If my guess is correct, this half map points to the center of the secret realm, a place related to the 'Wood Element Source' or 'Vitality Core.' And the 'Spring Key' is very likely to appear near there."

"It's a pity there's only half, making it impossible to know the specific path and dangers."

She handed the remnant map back: "This map is extremely important and needs to be kept properly. The Blood Refining Sect holds the other half; they will definitely try every means to enter the secret realm and head to the place indicated on the map. At that time, I'm afraid a fight will be unavoidable."

Chen Mu put away the remnant map and looked towards the mist area where lightning appeared above the deep ravine.

"Tomorrow at the Awakening of Insects, the first thunder... it seems we have to wait here for the night. The demonic sects will definitely not give up. Tonight, I'm afraid it won't be peaceful."

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing nodded: "Indeed. We need to take turns on guard and set up some warning and protective measures. I am slightly proficient in arrays and can set up a 'Green Wood Maze Array' on the periphery of the platform; although it cannot completely block the enemy, it can warn us and delay them slightly."

"I'll trouble you, Daoist." Chen Mu did not object.

Although he wasn't afraid, having array protection would always save some trouble.

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing immediately took action, taking out several green array flags and some spiritual stones containing wood spiritual energy, setting them up around the platform according to specific directions.

Chen Mu found a sheltered, dry rock to sit on, closing his eyes to regulate his breath, while in reality, his spiritual sense remained covering ten miles, and any movement could not escape his perception.

At the third quarter of the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM), the night was as thick as ink, the wind under Thunder-Listening Cliff became sharper, clouds and mist churned in the deep ravine, and faint muffled thunder accumulated deep in the clouds, as if a dormant giant beast were growling.

Chen Mu sat on the rock, eyes slightly closed, his breathing faintly merging with the mountain wind, the earth veins, and even the space fluctuations appearing and disappearing in the deep ravine, as if he had already merged into this heaven and earth nature.

Ning Ning Zhixi guarded on the side, her aura solemn.

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing stood alone at the edge of the cliff, her fingertips lightly sliding on the "Jia Wood Spirit Core," deducing the best timing.

Suddenly, Chen Mu opened his eyes.

Not because of the approach of toxic miasma; with his Heavenly Palace Realm spiritual sense, those auras would have been nowhere to hide ten miles away.

But because he sensed two tyrannical auras, like two poisonous dragons roaming under the night curtain, approaching quietly.

"They're here."

Chen Mu stood up calmly.

Almost simultaneously, the night sky in the southeast and northwest directions was suddenly torn apart.

In the southeast, blood light soared into the sky.

It was not the scattered blood evil from before, but a dark red blood river that was condensed, viscous, and seemed to flow with life.

The blood river was a yard wide, spanning the night sky; wherever it passed, plants seemed to wither, rocks were stained with dark red rust, and a thick stench of blood and death filled the air.

In front of the blood river, a figure stepped on the waves; this person was tall, wearing a dark red cloak like blood, his face shrouded behind a layer of wriggling blood mist, only a pair of eyes shining frighteningly, like two drops of concentrated fresh blood, exuding cruelty, violence, and aloof indifference.

His aura was as solemn as a mountain, yet carried a rich evil spirit; he was clearly at the last stage of the Earth Altar Realm—the cultivation of "Ascending the Heavenly Soul Altar."

And he had polished in this realm for many years; from the Heavenly Palace, perhaps only one epiphany or opportunity was missing.

Blood Refining Sect, Duan Tianhe!

In the northwest, it was a strange "flower sea" that spread silently and was colorful.

This "flower sea" was not real plants, but condensed from countless tiny poisonous insects, poisonous powder, and poisonous gas emitting various phosphorescent lights, constantly wriggling and changing, exuding a terrifying aura that was sweet enough to make one dizzy, yet hid the power to corrode bones and erode souls.

In the center of the flower sea, a cold and beautiful woman in a colorful tight robe stood in the air.

Her aura was erratic and strange, as if merging with the sea of death flowers under her feet; she was also at the "Ascending the Heavenly Soul Altar" realm, but her cultivation method was even more sinister and unpredictable.

Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, Centipede Sanniang!

A demonic head as famous as Duan Tianhe.

Behind these two old demonic heads of the Ascending Heavenly Soul Altar, there were no fewer than twenty figures following in the shadows, all demonic path experts of the Earth Altar Realm "Seeing God Not Broken" or "Five Qi Qi Chaoyuan," clearly the elite of the Blood Refining and Ten Thousand Poisons sects had all come out, joining forces.

Further away, there were more Prenatal Realm demonic disciples lurking, murderous intent filling the wild.

Two great Ascending Heavenly Soul Altars, more than twenty Earth Altar experts, plus numerous Prenatal demonic disciples...

This lineup was enough to easily level a medium-sized sect and sweep across a region.

Their goal was clear, their auras firmly locked onto the three people on the platform, Chen Mu.

"So it was you who killed those useless things?"

Duan Tianhe's voice was like two rusty iron pieces rubbing together, dry and harsh, carrying a condescending scrutiny and a hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness.

"Young, to have such cultivation, it is indeed rare."

"Pity, today you will die here, your essence blood will just help me refine a furnace of 'Blood Spirit Pills'!"