The gloomy, gray sky felt oppressive.
The once-silent forest suddenly erupted in a cacophony of noise.
Countless birds and beasts cried out.
This was the Jiuyou Secret Realm, a place that opened only once every hundred years.
Tens of thousands of people stepped into the secret realm at this very moment.
However, they were not all transported to one place, but scattered to various corners of the realm.
Somewhere in the Jiuyou Secret Realm.
A middle-aged man licked his lips, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face. He changed into a black robe that completely concealed his head and body, then muttered to himself, "Let the hunt begin!"
At the same time, hundreds of others throughout the Jiuyou Secret Realm performed the exact same actions, spoke the same words, and donned the same black robes.
Their mission was not to search for treasures, but... to kill.
In another corner.
Leng Hanshuang removed her disguise, revealing her true face.
Her age was just within the limits of the rules, making her the youngest of the current generation's Shenxiao Seven Swords.
In terms of strength, Leng Hanshuang was undoubtedly one of the most powerful experts in her age group.
Even in the entire Lizhou, one would be hard-pressed to find more than a few geniuses of comparable strength and age.
Logically, an expert like Leng Hanshuang, entering the Jiuyou Secret Realm just under the age limit, should have been an invincible presence.
Yet, at this moment, she felt a sense of unease.
While blending in with the unaffiliated cultivators, Leng Hanshuang had noticed many experts. Although they were far weaker than her, they were numerous, and they all exuded a bloody aura, which made her suspicious.
In truth, unaffiliated cultivators were usually the least threatening group.
Lacking innate talent and powerful backing, they relied solely on themselves. Even with a few fortuitous encounters along the way, they rarely achieved much.
At most, one or two late-blooming geniuses might emerge from their ranks.
But for so many experts to appear at once was clearly abnormal.
Leng Hanshuang knew in her heart that this trip to the Jiuyou Secret Realm would be anything but simple.
Of course, she wasn't afraid.
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This was the confidence that came with being one of the Shenxiao Seven Swords.
After landing, Lin Feng found that just as Ye Qingxuan had said, there was no one else around. He couldn't have been happier.
He took a set of white clothes from his Qiankun Bag, changing out of his green robes. He then put on a mask, completely transforming his appearance. Even his master, Su Mubai, and his junior sister, Su Muyao, the two people closest to him, would likely not recognize him now.
"Finally, I'm free!" Lin Feng couldn't help but exclaim.
Here, he didn't have to worry about his identity being exposed.
No one could possibly guess that he was the good-for-nothing Senior Brother of the Shenxiao Sword Sect.
As for his safety?
Among those with a bone age under one hundred, Lin Feng truly didn't see anyone as a threat.
First, find the Red Spider Lily. Everything else could wait.
Lin Feng moved swiftly through the forest.
Without needing to hide his strength, his speed was so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Even the dense woods did nothing to slow him down.
The Red Spider Lily thrives in cold places. To find it, he needed to find a source of water, preferably a pool or pond.
"Ah!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream caught Lin Feng's attention, and he stopped.
Judging from the cry, its owner was likely dead or dying.
He just didn't know what they had encountered. Was it a person or a beast?
Sensing the sound wasn't far, Lin Feng decided to investigate.
He moved toward the direction of the scream.
It wasn't long before he reached his destination.
There, he saw a corpse lying on the ground, dressed in green robes.
It was a disciple of the Shenxiao Sword Sect.
Lin Feng walked over and knelt to examine the body.
The corpse's tendons had been severed in its arms and legs, indicating it had been tortured before death. The fatal wound was to the neck, inflicted by a sharp weapon. It seemed the killer was human, not a beast.
Although he didn't recognize the person, seeing a life extinguished right before him still made him feel a pang of sorrow.
After all, they were from the same sect.
Moreover, all disciples of the Shenxiao Sword Sect who entered the Jiuyou Secret Realm had one mission: to find the Red Spider Lily.
Whether they succeeded or not, Lin Feng felt he owed them his gratitude.
What he couldn't understand was why this person was killed. Everyone had just entered the Jiuyou Secret Realm; there hadn't been time to find any treasures or opportunities. Robbery wasn't a valid motive.
If he had died to a beast, it would be one thing, but to be killed by a human, and tortured beforehand...
What kind of hatred, what kind of grudge, would lead to this?
"Thank you," Lin Feng said softly.
Then he asked, "Why did you kill him?"
The scene was silent. There was no response. Lin Feng asked again, "We all just arrived. No one has found anything. Why did you have to kill him?"
Still, no one answered.
Lin Feng stood up, his icy gaze fixed on a dark patch of the dense forest.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows, completely shrouded in a black robe, looking at Lin Feng in surprise.
"How did you find me?"
"I asked you why you killed him," Lin Feng retorted.
"What a ridiculous question. He was just an ant. If I want to kill him, I kill him. Do I need a reason?" the black-robed man sneered.
"Is that so? In my eyes, you are also an ant. Does that mean I can erase you as I please?"
"Of course! If you have the ability!"
As soon as the black-robed man finished speaking, his body shot forward.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Lin Feng, a dagger in his hand slashing toward his neck.
His instincts told him this masked man was not to be trifled with. He had to strike first.
He no longer cared about torturing his opponent; killing him was the priority.
Just as his dagger was about to slice through the man's neck...
The black-robed man suddenly felt a chill run through him. His entire body went limp, his strength draining away, and his hand fell slack.
Unseen, Lin Feng had already placed a single finger on his forehead. His movement was so fast it was impossible to react.
"Who... in the world... are you?" the black-robed man asked in shock.
He couldn't comprehend it. Besides the Great Leader, how could there be another expert in the Jiuyou Secret Realm who could render him so utterly powerless?
"I was sent by the heavens to punish demons like you. Go to hell and repent! The world of the living is no place for you."
The black-robed man's eyes widened. Before he could utter another word, he departed from this world for good.
Even in death, he never knew what kind of existence he had provoked.
Lin Feng, a man who could annihilate the Luosha Gate with a single sword strike and force the retreat of the Wu Ji Demon Sect's Great Elder, Qian Dao Xiong, was not someone a small fry like this could provoke.
If he were to truly let loose, not even Lin Feng himself knew where his limits lay.
He had never once fought with his full power, always hiding his true strength.
In truth, Lin Feng sometimes longed for an all-out battle. But without revealing his strength and identity, it was impossible to find a worthy opponent.
This wish had remained unfulfilled.
Having dealt with the enemy effortlessly, Lin Feng's figure vanished into the dense forest, continuing his search for the Red Spider Lily.
The battles within the Jiuyou Secret Realm were far from limited to this one location.
There were fights between people, and fights between people and beasts.
Generally, heavenly treasures were guarded by powerful spirit beasts.
To obtain the treasure, one first had to defeat the beast.
As time passed, the death toll continued to rise. In just one day, it had already reached over a thousand.
At this rate, the tens of thousands who entered wouldn't be enough to sate the appetite of death.
However, this was only temporary. Similar situations had occurred in the past.
So many had died because they had just entered the Jiuyou Secret Realm and were unfamiliar with its dangers.
After all, each person only had one chance in their lifetime to enter the Jiuyou Secret Realm.
Once they gradually became more familiar with the realm, the various factions would leave secret signs to gather their members.
The more people they gathered, the safer they would be.
The death toll would naturally begin to decrease.
Proofreader: Peter Pan