Chapter 703

Seeing Song Qingming speak of the matter so gravely, Huang Siyuan and the others said no more; they all nodded at him with calm expressions, their eyes conveying their trust.

In the hundred-plus years Song Qingming had served as the head of the Song family, the entire clan had flourished under his leadership, its momentum of growth almost never stalling.

Because of this, for many years, everyone in the Song family from top to bottom had held him, their patriarch, in high regard; very few would ever question the words he spoke or the decisions he made. — Over half a month later, above an unnamed small island in the outer seas of the Tianyuan region, a streak of white spiritual light flew in and landed directly atop a massive reef in the southeast of the island.

After the spiritual light dissipated, a flying boat about a zhang long slowly emerged in mid-air.

After confirming the familiar small island before him, Song Qingming calmly led the group as they jumped down from the flying boat, then stowed the "Phantom Boat" from mid-air into his storage artifact.

"Rest here for a moment and wait for me; I am going to check if there are any demon beasts hiding nearby." After giving these instructions to Huang Siyuan and the others, Song Qingming stepped into the air and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the sky.

This small island was precisely the location of the "Tianyuan Sect" secret realm that Song Qingming had discovered alone years ago while traveling in the East Sea and hunting demons nearby with Li Xianyun and the others.

Back then, while trying to avoid a demon wind and beast tide, Song Qingming had inadvertently stumbled into an underground cavern on the island, where he discovered the remains of Zhao Jibai and that ancient secret realm of the Tianyuan Sect.

It was a pity that at the time, the secret realm was not yet ready to be opened; Song Qingming had tried, but failed to enter, and could only leave with a touch of regret.

Now, decades later, according to Song Qingming's estimation, the barrier at the entrance of the secret realm should have reached its weakest point, making it nearly time to open the realm and enter.

This time, coming to the East Sea, besides selling demon beast materials and purchasing spiritual items needed by the family, the most important thing on Song Qingming's mind was opening this secret realm located in the outer seas.

A secret realm left behind by such a great ancient sect would be coveted even by Nascent Soul sects; if news leaked, Song Qingming and his group would absolutely lack the ability to guard this place.

Therefore, for all these years, Song Qingming had never mentioned this matter to those around him; even on the way here, when faced with inquiries from Huang Siyuan and the others, he still chose not to explain it.

The Tianyuan sea region, being located in the outer seas, was not only home to numerous demon beasts but was also occasionally visited by cultivators hunting demons; it was not a safe place, and one had to be cautious in everything they did here.

On the way here, the group had already encountered several Golden Core-level demon kings. Fortunately, both Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan possessed formidable divine abilities, and they quickly repelled the demon kings' attacks without encountering too much danger.

After patrolling the perimeter of the island, Song Qingming only found a few low-level demon beasts and saw no sign of those dangerous demon kings, which allowed him to return to the reef where Huang Siyuan and the others were waiting with peace of mind.

Afterward, Song Qingming found a relatively safe spot on the island, waved his hand to take out four formation flags, and set up a concealment array.

"Siyuan and I are going below to retrieve something. Yuanqian, Xuanfeng, you stay here. If any outsiders or formidable demon kings come to the island, send us a message immediately.

Remember, this is the outer sea, and there is danger everywhere. Do not leave the array and expose your position at will. If you truly encounter an emergency, use this talisman to guide you down to find us."

The array Song Qingming set up was of the second-tier high grade and could perfectly hide their figures and aura; unless they were unlucky enough to encounter those powerful demon kings approaching the array, it was unlikely they would be discovered under normal circumstances.

After leaving Song Yuanqian and Song Xuanfeng on the island to keep watch, Song Qingming took Huang Siyuan with him into the sea below, following the clues he had noted years ago to find the entrance to the cave submerged deep in the water.

After sneaking through the water, the two soon surfaced and arrived in the cavern in the middle of the island.

"I didn't expect there to be another world beneath this. Husband, how did you find this place?"

After taking out a night-luminescent pearl to illuminate the surroundings, Huang Siyuan quickly noticed some anomalies in the cavern and asked Song Qingming, who was walking in front.

"I discovered this place by accident while traveling nearby years ago. A secret realm left by an ancient sect is hidden beneath this. I brought you here this time because I wanted to go in and see if we could find any good things inside."

Since he had already brought them here, Song Qingming had nothing left to hide, so he walked and talked, explaining the whole story of how he discovered the ruins of the "Tianyuan Sect" to Huang Siyuan.

"To think there is an ancient secret realm here! This is something even Nascent Soul sects would fight over. That you have such an opportunity, Husband, is truly something we did not expect."

Hearing Song Qingming's explanation, Huang Siyuan could not help but exclaim in surprise, finding it hard to believe that Song Qingming could obtain such a great opportunity.

Seeing this, Song Qingming smiled and explained to her: "When I first came here, I also couldn't believe it, but what I said is indeed true.

It's just that the secret realm wasn't ready to be opened at the time, so I couldn't enter. I don't know if there are any good things inside, so you don't need to be too excited yet."

"A secret realm left by an ancient sect—even if there aren't many good things, it can't be empty, right!"

"Haha! Thousands of years have passed; who knows what the situation is inside? I'm afraid you're happy too early. If we don't find any treasures later, you'll be disappointed again," Song Qingming said with a smile, shaking his head.

As the two spoke, they had already passed through the labyrinthine cavern network and arrived in front of a mountain wall.

When Song Qingming left years ago, he had specifically set up a sealing array at the entrance of the secret realm to cover the cave opening.

Seeing that the array on the mountain wall had not been destroyed, Song Qingming felt slightly relieved. He stepped forward to remove the array, and soon, a cave entrance over a person's height appeared before them.

After walking into the cave, Song Qingming hurried forward to shut down the "Golden Yang Five-Thunder Array" that was running overhead, then brought Huang Siyuan into the stone chamber where he had discovered Zhao Jibai's remains.

"This is the place!"

After scanning the empty stone chamber, Song Qingming came to a stone platform in the middle of the room and confirmed the location to enter the secret realm.

"Siyuan! After I open the secret realm in a moment, don't rush to enter. I will notify you once I confirm it is safe."

Hearing Song Qingming's kind advice, Huang Siyuan nodded calmly and replied: "Don't worry, I know what to do. Husband, you must also be careful. If it's too dangerous, let's not force our way in this time; we can come back later when our cultivation is higher.

As long as you can break through to the Nascent Soul realm in the future, we should be able to enter such a secret realm at any time; there's no need to rush."

"Hmm! I have my own judgment and will not act recklessly."

Hearing Song Qingming's response, Huang Siyuan immediately turned and walked to the entrance nearby, so as not to disturb Song Qingming while he opened the secret realm.

After Huang Siyuan moved away, Song Qingming did not rush to open the secret realm immediately. Instead, he sat cross-legged, took out a mid-grade spirit stone, and began to quickly restore his magic power.

It was not until half a stick of incense later, having adjusted his state to perfection, that Song Qingming stood up.

Immediately after, spiritual light flashed on Song Qingming's body, and with a solemn expression, he took out a snow-white jade plaque artifact he had prepared long ago.

This object was the special artifact he had obtained from Zhao Jibai years ago to open the secret realm; even after so many years, it remained as good as new.

Before long, Song Qingming, holding the white jade plaque, performed a series of incantations. The plaque soon emitted a burst of spiritual light, flew into mid-air automatically, and began to crazily absorb the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy.

After another long while, the white jade plaque finally absorbed enough spiritual energy and began to spin rapidly in mid-air, forming a massive vortex of spiritual energy over a zhang in diameter.

After this spiritual energy vortex spun for a while, the spiritual energy within it became increasingly dense, soon turning into a spiritual energy spring. Before long, the spiritual energy in the entire stone chamber became extremely rich.

Standing not far away, Huang Siyuan saw this astonishing scene, her curious eyes widening, and a look of anticipation appearing on her face.

"Haha! The records in that notebook were indeed correct. The secret realm barrier has weakened by more than half compared to last time. Now is the perfect time; we should be able to get in."

After thinking this to himself, Song Qingming performed incantations with both hands and took out a magic treasure, the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring."

Subsequently, under the drive of Song Qingming's incantations, this magic treasure grew several times larger and, carrying a fierce force, slammed into the spiritual energy vortex in mid-air.

With a loud "bang," to Song Qingming's surprise, the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" was directly bounced back by the spiritual energy vortex, failing to open the barrier of the secret realm entrance as he had hoped.

Seeing this, a burst of green spiritual energy immediately emerged on Song Qingming's body, wrapping around the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring," and he once again accumulated power to strike the spiritual energy vortex.

This time, although the entrance barrier still did not open, the reinforced "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" had much greater power than before, striking a crack into the barrier atop the spiritual energy vortex.

Seeing that the previous strike had potential, Song Qingming's face lit up with joy. He injected more of his magic power into the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring" and directed the magic treasure to continue attacking the secret realm entrance barrier.

Seeing this, Huang Siyuan, who was nearby, immediately flew over and took out her own flying sword magic treasure to help Song Qingming attack the barrier.

Thus, sounds of violent impacts rang out continuously. After half an hour of uninterrupted effort by the two, the barrier located in the middle of the spiritual energy vortex finally emitted a sound of shattering. Immediately after, a very unfamiliar spiritual energy wafted out from within, causing the expressions of both Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan to change.

"Has the secret realm barrier been breached?"

Hearing Huang Siyuan's inquiry, Song Qingming, who had put away his magic treasure, the "Golden Radiance Treasure Ring," nodded with a smile and said: "This barrier is indeed a bit troublesome for us Golden Core cultivators, but fortunately, it has finally been opened successfully!"

"Looking at how rich the spiritual energy wafting out from inside is, there should still be things inside. We shouldn't return empty-handed this time." After sensing the spiritual energy wafting from the entrance, a hint of joy slowly appeared on Huang Siyuan's face.

"I hope it is as you say!"

After opening the secret realm entrance, Song Qingming did not rush to test entering the secret realm. Instead, he took out several spirit stones and began to sit in place to restore his magic power.

About a quarter of an hour later, sensing that the spiritual energy at the secret realm entrance had slowly stabilized, Song Qingming opened his eyes and stood up.

Under Huang Siyuan's gaze, Song Qingming first took off the spirit beast bag at his waist, released several colorful "Golden Illusion Butterflies," and then began to cast spells to control them as they flew toward the secret realm entrance.

After these "Golden Illusion Butterflies" circled the spiritual energy vortex a dozen times, they suddenly plunged into the vortex and soon disappeared from sight.

A moment later, Song Qingming, who was closing his eyes and using his spiritual sense to maintain contact with the "Golden Illusion Butterflies," suddenly felt the information they sent back after a moment of silence.

Learning that these "Golden Illusion Butterflies" were safe and sound after entering the vortex, a hint of excitement immediately appeared on Song Qingming's face, and he turned to look at Huang Siyuan nearby.

"This is a twin spirit talisman. After I go in, if you see the spirit talisman self-destruct, it means I have confirmed there is no danger inside, and you can come in directly.

If the spirit talisman is unharmed, then don't rush to enter! If I still have no news within three days, you must immediately take Yuanqian and the others and leave this place, returning to the Floating Cloud Mountain Range to seek help from Senior Sister Bai and Senior Uncle Li."

As Song Qingming spoke, two identical white spirit talismans had appeared in his hand, and he handed one of them to Huang Siyuan.

This twin spirit talisman was a second-tier spirit talisman Song Qingming had purchased in "Tiandan City" some time ago. It did not have any great effect, but it had some clever uses for passing messages, and it was something Song Qingming had specifically prepared for entering the secret realm.

Although Song Qingming had entered places like secret realms a few times before while following Fire Phoenix and roughly knew what the situation was like inside, he had not seen any mention of danger in the notes Zhao Jibai left behind regarding the secret realm.

However, this was the first time Song Qingming was entering the "Tianyuan Sect" secret realm, so he dared not be too careless and had prepared thoroughly before bringing Huang Siyuan and the others here.

"Hmm! I have noted it down. Husband, you must be careful!"

Facing Song Qingming's instructions, Huang Siyuan took the spirit talisman and immediately replied, her gaze remaining firm and full of confidence in his trip.

After Song Qingming nodded with satisfaction, he turned and flew into the air toward the secret realm entrance.

For the sake of safety, he still summoned his natal magic treasure, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," from within his body to protect his surroundings before transforming into a streak of light and plunging directly into the spiritual energy vortex before him.

A moment later, having experienced a bout of dizziness that he was already somewhat familiar with, Song Qingming's figure suddenly appeared above a vibrant valley.

Having just passed through the barrier, his mind was still a bit hazy, and it took a while for him to slowly stabilize his figure as he descended in the air.

"There is nothing unusual about the surrounding spatial barrier. It seems the situation in this secret realm is relatively stable. I didn't expect the spiritual energy here to be so rich; it's already catching up to the Taiyue Lake secret realm I've visited."

Song Qingming, hovering in mid-air, sensed the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy and could not help but exclaim in praise.

The few "Golden Illusion Butterflies" that Song Qingming had placed into the secret realm in advance sensed their master and flew up from the valley below, circling around Song Qingming.

"Haha! Thank you for your hard work."

After Song Qingming happily stroked the "Golden Illusion Butterflies" that had landed on his hand, he put them back into the spirit beast bag at his waist.

These "Golden Illusion Butterflies" had followed Song Qingming for so many years; although their help in combat was limited, they had helped him a lot in searching for items and scouting paths.

Whether practicing at home or traveling abroad, Song Qingming never forgot to carefully cultivate these spirit insects, and now his control over them was becoming increasingly proficient.

Just after putting away the "Golden Illusion Butterflies," Song Qingming was about to scout the surroundings to see where he was, when a cry suddenly rang out from the sky not far away, interrupting his train of thought.

Turning to look, he discovered that it was a giant white eagle with a wingspan of two or three zhang, and Song Qingming frowned slightly.

Sure enough, just as Zhao Jibai's notes recorded, there were many demon beasts in this secret realm, and it was not that safe.

When the giant white eagle flew to within dozens of zhang of Song Qingming, it suddenly spread its wings and aggressively fired over a dozen feathers glowing with golden spiritual light at him.

Watching these golden-glowing feathers arrive before him, Song Qingming remained unhurried, waving his hand to release a protective light that blocked them all with ease.

This giant white eagle was a second-tier high-grade demon beast with cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Seeing the small and unremarkable Song Qingming before it block its attack so easily, it was somewhat surprised.

Just as it wanted to continue its attack, Song Qingming suddenly flashed and quickly arrived before it.

After a gray sword light flew past, the giant white eagle, which had not yet recovered from its shock, had one of its wings severed in two by Song Qingming's sword, and it immediately let out a painful wail.

"Hmph! Thinking of running now? Isn't it a bit too late?"

Watching the giant white eagle before him retreat in panic, wanting to escape, Song Qingming's "Mo Bai Sword" unceremoniously slashed out an even more violent sword light, directly killing this regretful demon beast in mid-air.

After killing this second-tier demon beast, Song Qingming did not bother with its corpse first. Instead, he took out the "Phantom Boat" to circle the surroundings, confirmed his location in the secret realm, and then returned to the original spot.

Unexpectedly, in just that quarter of an hour, the white eagle's corpse had already attracted four or five low-level demon beasts from nearby, which were fighting over this "heaven-sent prey" beside its corpse.

It was not until Song Qingming approached that those demon beasts, sensing his powerful aura, hurriedly abandoned their prey and scattered to escape.

"There are so many demon beasts nearby. It seems that since no one has entered for thousands of years, the number of demon beasts in this secret realm is no longer what it used to be."

Song Qingming's location was in the northeast corner of the entire "Tianyuan Sect" secret realm. According to the notes on the secret realm Zhao Jibai had, very few demon beasts appeared in this vicinity.

However, Song Qingming had only been inside for a quarter of an hour and had already seen so many demon beasts appear. After so many years, the situation in the secret realm had indeed changed compared to before.

Confirming that the situation in this secret realm was very stable and there was no major danger, Song Qingming immediately activated the twin spirit talisman in his hand to inform Huang Siyuan outside of this news, then turned to deal with the demon beast corpse before him.

After Song Qingming had taken all the useful demon beast materials from the giant white eagle, a streak of white light came from the distant horizon and landed before Song Qingming.

"I also ran into a few low-level demon beasts near where I entered, which delayed me for a little while!" Looking at the demon beast corpse not far away, Huang Siyuan said to Song Qingming with a smile.

Song Qingming nodded slightly and said: "No one has entered this place for thousands of years, so the number of demon beasts is much higher than before. I'm afraid there will even be demon kings of the third tier or higher, so we must be more careful in our actions from now on."

"With the two of us working together, we don't need to fear even if a late-stage Golden Core demon king appears, so Husband, don't worry too much."

Song Qingming's current combat power was no weaker than an average seventh-layer Golden Core cultivator; in the last great battle at "Guiyun Workshop," he had faced the late-stage Golden Core "Giant Elephant Demon King" without falling behind.

It was precisely because she knew Song Qingming's strength that Huang Siyuan had the confidence to say this while deep in the secret realm.

"Hmm! But since this is our first time entering, being careful is always the right thing to do." Song Qingming nodded with a smile, took out the notes he had obtained earlier, looked at them carefully, and continued: "There is a spiritual herb garden a hundred miles from here. According to the records, it contains precious spiritual herbs cultivated by the Tianyuan Sect for many years. I don't know how many mature spiritual herbs can still be picked, so let's go take a look first!"

After choosing their destination, Song Qingming took out the "Phantom Boat," jumped on it, and took Huang Siyuan with him, transforming into a streak of light and leaving the spot.

After flying east for a quarter of an hour, the two soon arrived outside a valley filled with white mist.

Confirming that the valley before them was the destination of their trip, Song Qingming steered the flying boat down and stopped outside the valley.

"Husband, is the spiritual herb garden recorded in the notes inside the valley?" Looking at the mysterious valley shrouded in white mist, Huang Siyuan could not help but ask.