Chapter 716 - 187: Five Cauldrons Break the Limit to Open the Secret Realm, Profound Undercurrents and Lurking Murder

Chapter 716: Chapter 187: Five Cauldrons Break the Limit to Open the Secret Realm, Profound Undercurrents and Lurking Murder

She took a step forward, her figure disappearing into the glowing array.

Chu Fan and Xiao Ziye followed close behind, feeling the world spin as the scene before them instantly shattered and reassembled.

...

Yuanlong Mountain, over eight hundred li from Qing Province City, possessed a strange and perilous terrain. It coiled upon the earth like an azure dragon, its spine soaring into the clouds. A perpetual, thick fog, like a white silk burial shroud, enveloped the great mountain completely, lending it a grim and mysterious air.

The light of the Teleportation Array flashed at the foot of the mountain and vanished.

Chu Fan, Leng Qingqiu, and Xiao Ziye appeared at the edge of a mountain cliff.

His gaze fell upon the heart of the mountain range. There lay an eerie forest of ancient, towering trees, yet most of their branches and leaves were withered and yellow, as if all life had been drained from them.

Legend had it that many years ago, some Cultivators had walked into this forest and vanished without a trace, like clay oxen entering the sea. This was what had finally drawn the attention of the Demon Suppression Bureau and the major sects and Noble Families.

Through the thin mist, scattered white bones were faintly visible at the forest’s edge.

Some were weathered and brittle, while others still had tattered clothing clinging to them—a chilling sight.

Deeper within, amidst the withered trees and white bones, ruined walls and ramparts were visible everywhere.

Enormous stone pillars lay toppled in the weeds, their weathered carvings still hinting at their former, exquisite beauty.

Legend told of an ancient kingdom that had existed here long ago. Though its territory was not vast, it had been mysterious and glorious for a thousand years.

Whether by natural disaster or human calamity, the ancient kingdom had vanished overnight like smoke, leaving only these ruins to keen in the wind.

On one side stood a steep cliff, its rock face polished by ten thousand years of wind and sand. Its mottled texture seemed to silently narrate tales buried by the ages.

At this moment, the open area below the cliff was already teeming with figures.

This was no natural flatland; someone had used a Great Divine Technique to level the rough ground and had even constructed several enormous stone platforms.

The Demon Suppression Bureau, Prince Zhennan’s Mansion, the Zhang Family, and the various major sects and Noble Families each occupied a platform, their territories clearly demarcated.

In the foremost seats of each platform sat several cross-legged elders with white hair and beards.

Their auras were as deep and vast as bottomless ancient wells.

With their eyes closed in meditation, they seemed completely uninterested in the surrounding clamor.

Yet, the occasional wisp of pressure they leaked was enough to make the very air turn thick.

Under the pressure emanating from these powerful experts, the young disciples from the various sects and Noble Families dared not act rashly.

Although there were several dozen of them, they rarely spoke.

Even when they did, it was in hushed tones or via secret voice transmissions.

Their gazes were strange and wary as they sized up those from the other factions, filling the air with a tense, oppressive atmosphere, like that of drawn swords and taut crossbows.

In the Demon Suppression Bureau’s area, besides Leng Qingqiu, two other Demon Suppression Envoys whom Chu Fan had never seen before were also present.

Their auras were obscure and profound; they were clearly terrifyingly powerful experts as well.

Upon seeing Leng Qingqiu arrive, the elders from the various sects and Noble Families, who had appeared to be deep in meditation, all opened their eyes. Some nodded in acknowledgment, while others cupped their fists in salute.

The position of a Demon Suppression Envoy in Qing Province was of immense importance.

Even the Sect Leaders and Noble Family Heads had to show them a measure of courtesy.

With an indifferent expression, Leng Qingqiu led Chu Fan and Xiao Ziye to the Demon Suppression Bureau’s area.

With a flick of her sleeve, Primordial Qi surged. Dust and dirt on the ground condensed, materializing out of thin air into an exquisite stone chair.

She calmly took her seat, her gaze passing over the crowd to rest on the mirror-smooth cliff face ahead.

Chu Fan stood behind her, watching the front with a blank expression.

This world was vast and boundless, hiding countless unfathomable secrets.

Secret Realms and forbidden lands were among the most captivating and, at the same time, most terrifying of these secrets.

Some Secret Realms were cultivation abodes carved out by Ancient Great Powers through immense effort;

Others were small worlds that had evolved from the lingering soul remnants of fallen gods and demons.

Within these folded, overlapping spaces—

Some brimmed with life, their Spiritual Qi as thick as mist, growing exotic flowers, Spirit Fruits, and rare Treasure Plants that were extinct in the outside world. Through their forests ran spirit beasts bearing ancient bloodlines and extraordinary gifts.

Others were utter domains of death, where Evil Qi billowed to the sky like black ink and baleful winds howled like wails. To step inside was to face certain death.

Still other Secret Realms held heaven-shattering ancient secrets, perhaps the ruins of thousand-year-old sects, waiting for a destined person to unseal their long-lost legacies...

What drove the Cultivators of Qing Province wild about this Yuanlong Mountain Secret Realm was its abundance of two rare treasures: Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystals and the Clear and Muddy Spirit Source.

These two types of Spiritual Ore were priceless.

The Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal could cleanse impurities from the Divine Soul, making one’s Divine Sense pure and condensed.

The Clear and Muddy Spirit Source could purify the Primordial Qi in one’s physical body, making one’s foundation stable and solid.

For any Cultivator, these were supreme treasures one could only hope to encounter by chance, not seek out.

More importantly...

Both could suppress the "Contamination" that made Cultivators across the world pale at its mere mention!

For this very reason, the various powers of Qing Province had engaged in countless brutal battles on Yuanlong Mountain to contend for these two supreme treasures.

Flashes of blades and the shadows of swords had dyed the soil and rocks of Yuanlong Mountain a dark crimson, unleashing one wave of bloodshed after another.

In the end, the Demon Suppression Bureau forcefully mediated. After weighing the pros and cons, the various powers compromised, resulting in the current, seemingly gentle method of competing for slots through martial contests.

Though it seemed gentle, undercurrents surged, and killing intent lay hidden beneath the surface.

At this moment, dozens of young experts of the Acupoint Realm and Divine Power Realm were gathered before the cliff face.

Despite the large number of people, it was strangely silent.

Only the mountain wind, whimpering as it passed through the ruined walls, seemed to play a sorrowful dirge for the impending struggle within the Secret Realm.

Time trickled by. It felt as though long hours had passed, yet also as if it were but an instant.

An incense stick later—

"The hour has arrived!"

Beside Leng Qingqiu, a pale-faced, beardless Demon Suppression Envoy with eyes as soft and sinister as water slowly rose to his feet.

His voice was not loud, but like a sharp needle piercing silk, it instantly shattered the dead silence that had been stretched to its absolute limit.

Everyone’s gaze sharpened like a knife, turning in unison toward the open space in the center of the area.

Under the watchful gaze of the crowd—

From the Demon Suppression Bureau’s camp, a dark-robed Demon Suppression Envoy stepped forward, his aura heavy and solid.

From among the brocade-robed crowd of Prince Zhennan’s Mansion, a middle-aged man emerged. He was as deep as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain, his presence commanding authority without a hint of anger.