Chapter 569: with translation of chapter title

The other side.

Yan Buji, having entered the secret realm, curiously looked around and found the sky had turned orange‑yellow, somewhat resembling the Yellow Heaven layer of the Nine Heavens.

However, Yan Buji had never been there; he merely thought it looked a bit like it.

"I don't sense any powerful netherworld beasts here," Yan Buji frowned.

He discovered this secret realm while searching for spiritual materials in the wilderness; there were no seals before entering, so logically there should be netherworld beasts inside.

"No, no… how can there be spiritual energy here?"

Yan Buji raised his eyebrows, sensing that the surroundings were not filled with the unpleasant yin‑nether qi but instead emanated a faint spiritual energy, making him even more curious about what kind of secret realm this was.

Generally speaking, the dangers in a secret realm are limited to a few types.

Seals, formations, and demonic beasts.

Or perhaps someone is hiding in the secret realm to cultivate; if you barge into their dwelling and ransack it, would they let you off?

More specifically, the air might contain deadly toxins, but for Yan Buji, unless he encountered a toxin that could dissolve his flesh upon entry, he wouldn't take it too seriously.

"This secret realm is indeed peculiar."

Yan Buji searched all the way; the ground was barren with nothing, except for a bamboo grove ahead.

His eyes lit up; he walked over and examined it closely: 'It's actually Fivefold Transformation Purifying Spirit Bamboo? Great stuff, and it's an entire bamboo grove!'

This Fivefold Transformation Purifying Spirit Bamboo is one of the excellent spiritual materials for refining wood‑type Accumulation Devices; it is inherently sturdy and poses almost no hindrance to the flow of wood‑type spiritual power, the only drawback being that it is somewhat difficult to refine.

Although Yan Buji does not follow a pure wood‑type spiritual power, this material is still very useful for his five‑element power; at the very least, refining some Accumulation Devices or using it as a component installed in them yields a significant amplification effect.

Let's cut it down after we leave.

Yan Buji entered the bamboo grove, feeling the rustling of bamboo leaves blown by the wind, and frowned.

"Hoo!!"

"Here it comes."

Suddenly, a black‑and‑white giant bear appeared in the bamboo grove, bearing a bamboo pole on its back and charging at Yan Buji.

"What is this thing?"

Yan Buji frowned, having never seen such a strange netherworld beast… no, it should be an aberrant beast.

Just as he thought, the giant bear rushed over, stood upright, grabbed the bamboo pole on its back, and swung it at Yan Buji!

"Bold!" Seeing the bear's strike with the bamboo pole coming with terrifying force, Yan Buji dared not meet it head‑on; he took out his Sea‑Kun Hammer and dodged.

"Whoo‑whoo!!!"

The bear leapt up violently, actually following a set pattern; using borrowed force, its strike missed Yan Buji, but it used the jump to swing the bamboo pole again in mid‑air, aiming another blow.

"Interesting!"

Yan Buji's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected this aberrant beast to know staff techniques.

"If you're going to play like that, then I'll have to give you a good time!!"

Speaking, Yan Buji put away the Sea‑Kun Hammer, not intending to finish the opponent with a single blow, for otherwise, if he teleported over and struck it on the head, the beast couldn't withstand it.

This is because Yan Buji didn't sense any killing intent from the aberrant beast toward him; rather, it seemed to be playing.

In that case, although Yan Buji isn't soft‑hearted, he is also curious as to how such a peculiar aberrant beast could appear in this place.

If he could capture it, even if he couldn't use it himself, selling it would fetch a good price.

With the idea of making full use of things, Yan Buji rushed in for close combat, exchanging fists and palms according to the Heavenly Heart Four Symbols Technique; the bear, holding the bamboo pole horizontally, blocked all of Yan Buji's attacks and retreated.

What a bear skilled with the staff! In a blink, it retreated several meters with two steps combined into one, and as Yan Buji withdrew his move, it thrust forward with a 'Azure Dragon Emerging from the Sea' strike.

"Nice move!"

Yan Buji hadn't expected the bear's body to be so huge yet its reaction so agile; facing this killing move, he snapped a nearby Purifying Spirit Bamboo with one hand, using it as a weapon, deflecting with a lift instead of a block, and with immense force generated, he turned four ounces into a thousand‑pound deflection, neutralizing the strike, then stepped on the bear's bamboo pole and rushed forward.

The bear staggered, apparently not reacting in time to Yan Buji's instantaneous move that broke the killing strike while simultaneously launching an attack at it.

"Hoo‑hoo‑hoo!!!"

The bear let out an excited shout, decisively threw away its bamboo pole, forcing Yan Buji to fall to the ground, then lunged forward and slapped down with a palm!

Yan Buji rolled to his feet; seeing the bear's unstoppable killing momentum, he hastily mobilized all his Immortal Essence, held the bamboo staff horizontally, and bore the bear's palm!

"Bang!"

"Boom—!!!"

"Crack!"

"Not good!"

The bear's monstrous strength is astonishing; although the Purifying Spirit Bamboo is sturdy and has Yan Buji's Immortal Essence attached, its palm nearly snapped it!

At that moment, Yan Buji secretly thought it was bad; seeing the bear's palm power growing stronger, he turned, released the force, and dodged the palm, throwing away his bamboo staff.

Man and beast locked eyes, then both charged forward again!

Yan Buji's force was not small, and with his Martial Dao realm backing him, the various Dao‑Martial extremes he unleashed only managed to fight the bear to a standstill, showing how astonishing this aberrant bear is.

In the end, as fist and palm collided, the entire bamboo grove suddenly seemed swept by a violent wind, with stalks toppling and breaking; only then did each side retreat several meters.

"Hoo!!"

"You fight not badly either."

"Huu… hoo."

The bear gave a human‑like smile and gestured for Yan Buji to follow it.

Yan Buji felt a bit curious; truth be told, the bear seemed to use no techniques at all, relying solely on its body and martial patterns, making Yan Buji doubt his own talent in Martial Dao might be inferior to that bear.

However, the bear appeared to have no ill intent, so Yan Buji followed it.

Soon, the bear led Yan Buji to a small courtyard and pointed at it, seemingly inviting him to enter.

"What's inside?"

"Hoo‑hoo‑hoo."

Yan Buji pondered for a moment, saw that there were no traces of formation restrictions nearby, and then walked in.

Obviously someone used to live here; this strange beast might be the pet of the small courtyard's owner, though it's also unknown whether the owner is still around.

Yan Buji entered the small courtyard, his pupils constricting: 'Six-Transform Immortal Material? So much?!'

In the small courtyard there was a medicinal field, in which many spiritual and celestial materials grew; judging by their growth, they were at least tens of thousands of years old.

I also don't know who left this here.

Yan Buji frowned, entered the house, and looked at the simple furnishings inside.

There was a table and a bed, and nothing else.

On the table sat two bowls of tea, as if waiting for someone's arrival.

Yan Buji stroked his chin, looked around, then sat down at the table.

Fellow Daoist.

A phantom suddenly appeared opposite Yan Buji, picked up the tea, and took a sip.

Who are you?

I am Wu Konghou of the Shenlong Sect.

The Shenlong Sect?

Yan Buji froze for a moment: 'Heavenly Heart Four Symbols Technique?'

Not bad; that fellow Daoist must have received the Shenlong Sect's inheritance.

Yan Buji previously didn't know the origin of the Heavenly Heart Four Symbols Technique; this was a Dao Martial Ultimate manual he obtained in the Nan Ting Mountain Region back then, but when he fought that giant bear, he noticed the bear's path was not much different from his own Heavenly Heart Four Symbols Technique, and the bear's was even better.

That's why he came to that conclusion.

He hadn't expected to encounter an ancient martial artist here.