Chapter 886: The Hidden Realm

"Are you a guest? Since you're a fellow Daoist, why are you hiding and refusing to meet?"

Yan Buji frowned; he hadn't expected the many ancient clones to have traced his aura.

He was about to step out when a Refining Void cultivator struck, a sword light slashing horizontally, instantly appearing behind Yang Qing and Yang Lan to rescue them!

"Go!"

"Stop!" Yang Qing and Yang Lan widened their eyes, hurriedly trying to say something.

"Hahaha, you fell into the trap!" the ancient clone laughed loudly, and in an instant the region shook violently!

Huh?!

Yan Buji's eyes suddenly went black, and he fainted.

When Yan Buji regained consciousness, he found himself standing on a cliff at the outer rim of Zhonghai Mountain, his golden pupils reflecting the rolling sea of clouds in the distance.

"What happened? How did I suddenly lose consciousness?!" Yan Buji's face turned grim. But the next second, the Swallow Desire Pot suddenly emitted two strands of Qi threads!

"They're also here..." Yan Buji stroked the Swallow Desire Pot; the golden Qi threads indicated that the pair of sisters were deep within this mountain range.

Suddenly, a violent surge of spiritual energy rippled from afar.

Yan Buji narrowed his eyes, his form turning into a flash of golden light that darted toward the source. After passing several peaks, he saw in a valley three Transformation Saint cultivators besieging a Seven‑turn Demon Beast.

The beast resembled a qilin, its whole body sheathed in golden crystal armor, each scale shimmering with law patterns. Every roar it let out caused spatial tremors; the three cultivators were already badly wounded.

"Do any of you need help?" Yan Buji's voice rang clearly across the battlefield from the cliff.

The leading white‑haired elder looked up and barked, "Leave at once! This Seven‑turn Demon Beast is beyond your capability!"

Yan Buji's lips curled slightly; instead of retreating, he leapt into the fray. The emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast sensed the new threat, turned and spewed a golden beam at him.

"Watch out!" a female cultivator shouted.

Yan Buji neither dodged nor evaded; he lifted his right hand, and a golden barrier materialized out of thin air. The beam slammed into the barrier and was completely absorbed. The three cultivators stared dumbfounded.

"What…what technique is this?"

Yan Buji gave no reply; he smashed a fist down, and Chaos Break erupted from ten directions, a torrent of force that twisted the emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast's body, eliciting a painful roar. Its golden crystal armor peeled away piece by piece, revealing the writhing flesh beneath.

"Roar!"

The beast, enraged, lit up with dazzling law patterns and managed to resist his Chaos Break. Its four hooves lifted, turning into a golden flash that lunged straight at Yan Buji.

"Interesting." Yan Buji chuckled lightly, forming seals with both hands. Five‑colored light wheels burst from his body, radiating the power of the five elements—this is a modified Five‑Element Wheel derived from his seldom‑used Golden Wheel Technique, combining destructive force with elemental power; as the five‑element power materialized into five light wheels, the emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast was tightly bound.

He stepped forward, placed his right hand on the beast's forehead, and said, "May I borrow your demon pill."

"Pfft!"

His palm pierced the crystal armor, extracting a gleaming demon pill. The emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast let out a mournful cry, and its massive body crashed to the ground.

The three Transformation Saint cultivators were stunned as if wooden chickens.

"Thank you for the rescue!" the white‑haired elder was the first to react, bowing respectfully. Though he couldn't sense Yan Buji's true realm, his combat power still earned his respect.

Yan Buji toyed with the demon pill and said calmly, "Why are you tangled with this beast here?"

"Senior, we came for the 'Dream Realm' secret realm," the female cultivator explained, "Legend says this emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast guards the entrance to the secret realm."

"Dream Realm?"

"No, when I first came here there was nobody; it was after entering that Heavenly Demon secret realm…"

"A secret realm within the secret realm?"

"Yes," another middle‑aged cultivator replied, "It is one of the most mysterious secret realms in the world, formed from the dreams of countless beings. One day of cultivation within a dream equals a hundred days outside."

Yan Buji seemed thoughtful.

"If that's the case, no wonder Yang Qing and Yang Lan came here; they likely seek rapid power growth," he said, putting away the demon pill, "Where is the entrance?"

The three exchanged glances; the elder hesitated, "We… aren't sure either. But rumors say you need to gather three 'Dream‑Attract Talismans' to locate the entrance."

His gaze hardened, "Do you have any on you?"

Sensing the terrifying pressure, the three quickly shook their heads. The female cultivator trembled, "We only know one is inside the emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast; the other two…"

Her words cut off abruptly, as Yan Buji had already vanished from the spot.

Half a day later, Yan Buji stood before a deep cavern.

Ancient runes were etched on the stone wall at the cave entrance, emitting a faint Dream Realm pulse. He held three crystal‑clear jade talismans. Besides the one taken from the emerald‑eyed golden crystal beast, the other two came from a peak Transformation Saint cultivator and a Six‑turn Nightmare Beast.

"Finally complete," Yan Buji said, pressing the three jade talismans into the recesses of the stone wall.

The jade talismans glowed softly, and the runes on the wall lit up one by one. When the final rune illuminated, the entire stone wall turned transparent like water. Yan Buji stepped in without hesitation.

Passing through the water‑like barrier, the scene before Yan Buji made his pupils contract. He stood in an endless starry sky, with a flowing stellar river beneath his feet and a brilliant nebula overhead. In the distance, countless bubble‑like dreams floated, each reflecting a different scene.

"This is the Dream Realm…" Yan Buji felt the dense law power surrounding him, each breath seeming to ingest the very meaning of the Dao.

Suddenly, a sword flash struck from the side! Yan Buji tilted slightly, the blade grazing his cheek and leaving a crack in the starry sky.

"As expected, it's you, Yan Buji," a familiar voice rang out.

Yan Buji turned and saw the two sisters, Yang Qing and Yang Lan, hovering in the air.

They hadn't met in years; their aura had grown much stronger, clearly having gained much in the secret realm. Yang Qing wielded a star‑light longsword, while Yang Lan was surrounded by seven‑colored rainbow silk.

"I've been looking for you for a long time," Yan Buji's voice was as cold as ice.

Yang Lan sneered, "Back then you got lucky to escape; today I will take your life!"

Before she finished speaking, the rainbow silk in her hands transformed into seven arcs of rainbow light that shot toward him. Each arc contained a different rule power, intertwining metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder into a death net. Dao Marks interwove, laws surged, the might swelled like a rainbow!