Hearing the sound of flowing water below, Lin Feng leaped down without hesitation.

In the month since entering the Jiuyou Secret Realm, he had followed a stream he'd discovered on the surface, losing track of how far he had walked.

By now, the stream had become a river, and he had passed many deep pools, yet there was still no sign of the Red Spider Lily.

This led Lin Feng to doubt his own judgment.

Could he really find the Red Spider Lily by just following the water?

Red Spider Lilies thrive in the cold. The temperature of underground water would surely be lower than that on the surface.

If he followed an underground river, perhaps he would find it?

It was this line of thought that prompted him to jump.

The further down he went, the louder the sound of water became.

After about ten meters, the scene below finally came into view.

It was indeed an underground river, and its current was strong.

As his feet touched the water, Lin Feng immediately felt a bone-chilling cold.

It was far colder than the water on the surface.

This was the perfect place for a Red Spider Lily to grow. Dark, damp, and cold.

Lin Feng felt as if he had wasted the entire past month.

If he had known, he would have searched for an underground river from the very beginning.

Of course, it wasn't too late. There was still plenty of time left before the Jiuyou Secret Realm closed.

With no mind to check which way the spider beast had fled, Lin Feng stepped onto the water's surface and moved downstream.

After a few hundred meters.

*Swish!*

A sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

A thumb-sized, crimson viper shot out from a crack in the rock, striking at Lin Feng. It was so fast it was nearly a blur to the naked eye, its speed making the very air hum.

Lin Feng casually raised a hand.

The small snake was caught in his grasp, letting out an indignant hiss.

*Hisss...*

After struggling for a moment, the snake prepared to sink its fangs into the back of Lin Feng's hand.

But a flash of Sword Qi sliced its head clean off.

Tossing aside the headless body, Lin Feng shook his head and continued on his way.

He traveled for dozens of kilometers, fending off attacks from numerous small, subterranean creatures along the way.

The underground river was no safer than the surface—in fact, it was even more dangerous.

Though the creatures were small, they were all highly venomous. A moment of carelessness could be fatal.

After walking a while longer, Lin Feng spotted the giant spider beast in the distance. It was hanging upside down above the river, its two red eyes watching him warily.

At the same time, it issued a warning, chirping, *"Chiri... chiri..."*

"Seeing as you led me to this underground river, I'll spare your life. Now, be on your way!" Lin Feng said to the spider beast.

The creature, however, continued to stare at him intently.

Evidently, while the spider beast had developed some intelligence, it was not yet capable of understanding human speech.

Seeing the spider beast remained unmoved by his words, Lin Feng couldn't figure out what it was thinking.

They were different species, after all, and the spider's intelligence was not fully developed. Communication was impossible.

As Lin Feng drew a little closer, the spider beast's warning cries grew louder.

*"Chiri! Chiri! Chiri!"*

"I told you to leave, but you won't! What are you screeching about? If you don't go now, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

With that, Lin Feng closed the distance again.

At the same time, he was puzzled. The spider beast had already fled, so why had it stopped here?

To ambush me? With its massive body taking up nearly half the cavern, an ambush was hardly feasible.

Puzzled or not, he still had to move forward.

When only a few dozen meters separated them, the spider beast suddenly attacked.

*Pthoo! Pthoo! Pthoo!* Webs and venom spewed from its mouth in a relentless stream, as if they cost nothing.

Once an ordinary animal was caught in its web, escape was virtually impossible, to say nothing of the copious amounts of venom.

Unfortunately for the spider, its opponent was Lin Feng.

A single flash of Sword Qi appeared.

The spider beast, dozens of meters away, was cleaved in two, splattering green blood everywhere.

A dark green bead flew out from the corpse and landed in Lin Feng's hand. He gave it a glance before storing it in his Qiankun Bag.

That was the spider beast's inner core, the most precious part of any beast and worth a fortune.

In truth, the spider beast had another valuable part—its venom sac—but Lin Feng had no interest in it.

Stepping past the enormous corpse, Lin Feng finally saw what lay ahead and understanding dawned on him.

No wonder the spider beast had been waiting for him here.

It wasn't trying to ambush him, nor was it seeking death. The path ahead was simply blocked.

The river water was flowing out from a submerged channel in the rock.

To continue following the river, one would have to dive underwater.

The spider beast was clearly not capable of such a feat.

After a moment's thought, Lin Feng summoned countless strands of Sword Qi, forming a protective barrier around himself. He then plunged headfirst into the river. The Sword Qi shield kept the water at bay, preventing it from touching his body.

The underwater passage was much narrower, and the current grew turbulent. Lin Feng was swept into the earth by the rushing water, letting the current carry him along.

...

On the surface of the Jiuyou Secret Realm.

A team of over a hundred people was hunting a gigantic beast—an Earth-horned Bull.

The Earth-horned Bull was a massive beast with formidable defense but little offensive power.

Countless flying swords and streams of Sword Qi rained down upon it. Although each attack only managed to break its skin, causing minimal damage, the sheer number of them was overwhelming.

Even an army of ants can kill an elephant.

To say nothing of so many incredibly powerful Sword Cultivators.

As time passed, the Earth-horned Bull's body became covered in wounds. Both of its eyes had been blinded, and a deep gash on its neck bled profusely, staining the ground red.

Finally, with a thunderous crash, its mountain-like body collapsed to the ground.

It was time to reap the spoils of victory.

This team was none other than the group from the Shenxiao Sword Sect, led by Ye Qingxuan. Their numbers had already swelled to nearly two hundred.

Faced with such a massive force, even a squad of the Black Robed Men would have to give them a wide berth.

The difference in numbers was simply too great.

Unless they could gather several dozen of their own, making a move would be suicide.

The Black Robed Men were not fools; they wouldn't knowingly walk to their deaths.

Their Killing God Technique was not yet perfected. They were still a far cry from the mindless killing machines cultivated by the Seven Kill Sect a millennium ago.

During this time, Ye Qingxuan had led her team through the dense forests, hunting for beasts.

Whenever they found one, they would swarm it, take its inner core, and claim any heavenly treasures it was guarding.

There was a clear advantage to having such large numbers: safety.

But there was also a downside: the treasures they found were too few to be divided among so many.

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The Inner Sect Disciples and Deacons could at least get a taste, but the Outer Sect Disciples were left with nothing.

It couldn't be helped. Who else but the Outer Sect Disciples, with the weakest strength and lowest status, would be left out?

As time went on, some of the older Outer Sect Disciples began to have other ideas.

They had come here to risk it all in search of a great opportunity. By following the main group, they weren't just missing out on great opportunities—they weren't even getting a share of the most common treasures.

And so, a dozen or so Outer Sect Disciples secretly broke away from the main force.

As it happened, they ran into a six-man squad of Black Robed Men not long after leaving.

The outcome was predictable.

Not only did they lose their lives, but they also exposed the location of the Shenxiao Sword Sect's main force.

Seeing that the Shenxiao Sword Sect had gathered so many people, the Black Robed Men did not act rashly.

They first sent two of their members skilled in concealment to track the sect's group and leave a trail of markers, while the others went to find reinforcements.

Their primary objective in the Jiuyou Secret Realm was the Shenxiao Sword Sect. Now that they had a chance to wipe out their main force in one fell swoop, they would not let it pass.

Ye Qingxuan and the others had no idea that their group was now being targeted by the Black Robed Men.

She still believed that with the Shenxiao Sword Sect's superior numbers, the Black Robed Men wouldn't dare to provoke them.

Little did she know, a far greater crisis was approaching.