Chapter 695: Crimson Stars

After Ye Lin was attacked several times by shape‑mimicking monsters, he was as nervous as a startled bird.

"Who are you?!"

"Ye Lin?"

Yan Buji and Ye Lin frowned and stared at each other.

"If you are Hall Master Yan, tell me what you gave me before?"

"I gave you the jade tablet for calculating spatial nodes. If you are Ye Lin, what did you give me when you first entered the Lian Dan Tang?"

"Yin‑Yang Reversal Pill!"

The two exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.

With the tense atmosphere gone, Ye Lin sheathed his long sword, walked over and asked, "Hall Master Yan, how should we get out? This bizarre red mist and the mimicking monsters are truly disgusting."

Yan Buji nodded, scanned the surroundings carefully, and said, "We'll charge out in one direction together; our steps must stay orderly, preferably side by side!"

"Alright!"

With no other option, the two confirmed each other's identities and rushed out together.

Fortunately, Yan Buji and Ye Lin finally burst out, leaving the red‑mist area.

"That should be safe now, right?" Ye Lin said, still trembling; after all, it was his first time exploring a secret realm, and he remained somewhat nervous.

These years he had been devoted to cultivation; in fact, Ye Lin's cultivation time hadn't even reached fifty years.

Yan Buji raised an eyebrow, "Not necessarily safe."

Speaking so, Yan Buji reached out, grabbed the back of Ye Lin's neck, and pulled out a long fleshy tendril!

Ye Lin's eyes widened, "What is this?"

"I don't know, probably some kind of parasitic worm."

Yan Buji's palm ignited, turning it to ash; then, feeling up and down his own body, he pulled out a flesh tendril from his heel identical to Ye Lin's and burned it to ash.

"We must be more cautious; the things here seem altered by that star, turning into Abnormal Beast‑like entities," Yan Buji thought, looked at Ye Lin, and took some Accumulation Device components from his satchel to perform a temporary sealing refinement.

"Take this Accumulation Device; it will alert you to any subtle changes in your body and help protect you from external influences," Yan Buji said.

"Thank you, Hall Master Yan!" Ye Lin took the Accumulation Device, briefly refined it, and wore it.

"Hall Master Yan, don't you need one?"

"I have my own way," Yan Buji smiled.

Needless to say his experience is vast; even if this secret realm has become a mutant zone, he's not the first to have survived one, right?

Moreover, his Ten‑Flower Eye Secret Technique, empowered by the Mutant Eye, can still discern subtle irregularities.

"The only difference from a mutant zone is that this place still retains spiritual energy. Mutant zones lack spiritual energy and are filled with Mutant Force, but the strange creatures here are indeed hard to fathom, much like the Abnormal Beasts I've seen before," Yan Buji said gravely.

"If so, how should we explore?"

"First, check whether your horn gives any clues."

Hearing that, Ye Lin realized and hurriedly examined the horn.

Yan Buji shook his head helplessly; Ye Lin was a complete novice, lacking experience with sudden dangers in secret realms—a drawback of long‑term cultivation.

Yan Buji is also an ascetic; aside from cultivation, he never spends any resources on food, drink, or pleasure, unless absolutely necessary, in which case he has no choice but to indulge.

But he prefers to save resources for his own cultivation; aside from sipping his own brewed spirit wine, he has virtually no other hobbies.

Ye Lin is likewise an ascetic; otherwise he couldn't have reached the mid‑Nascent Soul stage in just a few decades, even with gifted talent—most people lacking perseverance couldn't attain such cultivation.

Nevertheless, it's a matter of experience; Ye Lin has stayed within his sect too long and has forgotten how dangerous the outside world can be.

But Yan Buji isn't merely trying to please him; befriending him is an investment because Yan believes Ye Lin is worth it, and should trouble arise later, a successful Ye Lin could return the favor.

Connections and resources are equally important.

After examining the horn, Ye Lin suddenly noticed the pattern resembled a map, and hurriedly showed it to Yan Buji.

"Hall Master Yan, could this be a map?"

Map?

Yan Buji examined it closely, then looked up at the dazzling red star among the endless star river and made a comparison.

"It should be. If we calculate based on the star's position, we're currently south of this area; moving forward we should see a mountain range, and crossing it eastward leads to the place the horn points to," Yan Buji said.

"I see… how did you read it?" Ye Lin asked curiously.

"Just know how to calculate stellar bearings."

It's not difficult knowledge; judging by Ye Lin, he probably cares about nothing beyond his own cultivation.

Ye Lin stared at the horn for a long time, then decided not to look further and followed the direction Yan Buji indicated.

Soon enough, the two indeed found a mountain range ahead, its peaks shrouded by vast stretches of primeval forest, obscuring clear view.

"Would entering it be dangerous?"

"At worst we'd encounter Abnormal Beast‑like monsters; as long as we lack special abilities, we can just run if we can't defeat them," Yan Buji mused.

But he couldn't be certain, since he didn't know how many powerful monsters lurked here; if they ran into a creature of the Hua‑God Refining‑Void tier, they'd be certain death.

So the two discussed for a while and decided to advance slowly, aiming to pass the mountain range safely.

At that moment, a distant space within the secret realm suddenly rippled, and two staggered in.

"What's happening?"

The person had white hair on his head, a long sword on his back, and widened his eyes at the unfamiliar surroundings: "Is this a secret realm?"

The newcomer was none other than Yun Hua of the Midsky City Grand Trade Association.

"I didn't expect that just coming here to investigate mortals would suddenly drop us into this place?"

Yun Hua had originally been instructed by the Grand Trade Association to survey the mortal situation here; after all, cultivators also do mortal business, but not for mortal wealth—precisely, for a cultivation resource only mortals can generate: popularity!

The mortal dynasty around Soul‑Cleft Mountain is thriving, and its popularity is also quite high. It was originally under the jurisdiction of the Great Sinful Sect, but they seemed to have no need for popularity and kept confiscating it. Upon learning this, Zhang Wang decided to send Yun Hua to investigate and then negotiate cooperation with the Great Sinful Sect.

Little did Yun Hua expect that upon arriving among mortals, he would encounter a strange mortal...