Luo Tian’s expression was grave.
With just a quick sweep of his Qi Observation Skill, he discovered that most of the people present were tainted, to varying degrees, by Calamity Qi.
Li Yunxiu’s case was on the lighter side.
He wanted to check Xia Bingyue’s Destiny Chart and fortune, but there was no time.
Behind Xia Bingyue, Wang Tian shot Luo Tian a cold, cruel glance before striding tyrannically into the passage.
’So be it.’
Luo Tian set aside his doubts and stepped into the twisting Dark Silver Passage, his figure vanishing from the Royal Capital’s Cloud Heaven Mountain.
Just as more than half of the fifty geniuses had entered...
BZZZT!
A gruesome, bloody sheen suddenly appeared within the passage behind the Bronze Gate, spreading out toward the surrounding dilapidated hill.
"This is bad!"
The faces of the Royal Family Elders and Holy Mansion Masters present all changed. They unleashed an even more brilliant True Qi Radiance to stabilize the passage’s entrance.
"How vicious! To actually use a Blood Sacrifice Technique to piggyback on our opening of the Secret Realm Passage."
The Poison Dragon Mansion Master of the Martial Kun Holy Mansion roared in anger.
"Who would be so bold! To forcibly interfere with the opening of the Royal Secret Garden!"
Vice Manor Master Yue was furious.
"Who else could it be? The Blood Sacrifice Technique requires a massive amount of blood and corpses, which can only be found on a battlefield."
The Cloud Heaven Sect Master’s face was grim and cold.
"The battlefield? The Qiu Yue Kingdom!"
The hearts of the gathered higher-ups jolted.
"This is going to be trouble!"
A white-browed Elder of the Royal Family heaved a long sigh.
"The only silver lining is that the Qiu Yue Kingdom lacks a stable medium and array foundation. They won’t be able to send too many people into the Royal Secret Garden."
...
「Meanwhile.」
At the border between the Azure Cloud Kingdom and the Qiu Yue Kingdom.
Inside a valley sealed off by a large army, bodies were piled like mountains, and rivers of blood flowed freely.
In the center of the valley stood a bloody altar piled high with white bones. Blood from the surroundings flowed into it, igniting into churning, crimson flames. The sinister, bloodthirsty scene was horrifying.
At the very center of the altar was a massive, dark blue stone. Upon it, the blood flames twisted into the shape of a Light Gate.
"Marvelous! With the Azure Cloud Royal Family opening an entrance first, the Secret Realm’s spatial barriers are much easier to break!"
A handsome, middle-aged man in Confucian robes stroked his beard and smiled.
If Luo Tian and the Eldest Princess were here, they would have recognized this man as the Qiu Yue State Preceptor who had appeared at the auction.
Before the altar stood ten youths, all at the Spirit Sea Realm. The aura of each one was no weaker than the top five on the Azure Cloud Kingdom’s Human List.
The two at the lead, a silver-haired youth and a charming, barefoot woman in pink, had indistinct auras, yet they inspired fear in the other eight geniuses.
The two were the first-place winners from the last two iterations of the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s Human List, and their Cultivation had both reached the Spirit Sea Realm Second Layer.
"There aren’t many of you, so you must strike unexpectedly, with the force of a thunderbolt, and complete your mission," the Qiu Yue State Preceptor warned.
"Rest assured, National Preceptor! We are all top performers from the last three years of the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s Human List. Dealing with those weaklings from the Azure Cloud Kingdom will be a piece of cake," the silver-haired youth said confidently.
"That Wang Tian, second place in the Azure Cloud Kingdom, was once defeated by me. This time, I’m rather interested to see Xia Bingyue’s strength."
The barefoot woman in pink giggled, her enchanting voice flustering the hearts and minds of the Spirit Sea Realm geniuses present.
"Young Master Zheng!"
The Qiu Yue State Preceptor adopted a respectful expression and turned to greet someone.
THUMP! THUMP!
A burly, coarse-featured man in golden robes approached with the gait of a tiger and the stride of a dragon.
The man wore a look of wild arrogance, his scornful gaze sweeping over the geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom.
’What a terrifying aura!’
The Qiu Yue Kingdom geniuses, including the first and second-ranked silver-haired youth and pink-clad woman, were all deeply shocked.
"This is Young Master Zheng Wei, the son of Prince Zheng from the Chilong Dynasty."
The Qiu Yue State Preceptor’s posture was very subservient.
’The Chilong Dynasty! The son of a Prince?’
The geniuses present couldn’t help but gasp.
The Chilong Dynasty was the hegemon of the Dongchen Continent’s Eastern Domain. Both the Qiu Yue and Azure Cloud Kingdoms had to pay tribute to it annually.
To the Chilong Dynasty, kingdoms like Qiu Yue and Azure Cloud were like rural villages that could be annihilated with a flick of the wrist.
A Prince with real power in the dynasty held far more influence and authority than an ordinary Monarch.
"After entering the Secret Realm, you are to follow Young Master Zheng’s every command," the Qiu Yue State Preceptor ordered.
"Yes! We will obey Young Master Zheng!"
The ten geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom bowed in salute.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Zheng Wei took the lead and stepped into the Blood Flame Light Gate on the altar, with the silver-haired youth, the pink-clad woman, and the others following close behind.
...
After passing through the Bronze Gate, Luo Tian stepped into the twisting Dark Silver Passage. He felt a disorienting sense of spatial distortion, and his thoughts became a jumble.
WHOOSH!
His body suddenly grew heavy.
Luo Tian found himself standing on a branch, having appeared in an ancient, boundless space. An incredibly dense wave of Ancient Spiritual Qi washed over him.
CRACK!
The branch beneath Luo Tian’s feet snapped, and he began to fall.
Looking down, the hair on Luo Tian’s body stood on end. He was one or two hundred meters in the air, equivalent to a sixty or seventy-story building.
’As expected of a preserved Ancient Garden, to have such towering ancient trees.’
SWOOSH!
Using his *Cloud Traveling Step*, Luo Tian pushed off the empty air and took a step, landing on a thick tree trunk.
’What bad luck!’
Luo Tian breathed a small sigh of relief. Normally, when entering this space, one would make contact with a solid object within it.
He just had the bad luck of appearing at the top of such a massive tree.
Of course, this height made it easier to observe the surrounding terrain.
’I should be in the outer region of the Royal Secret Garden now.’
Luo Tian observed for a moment and came to a conclusion.
He had information on the Secret Garden from the Holy Mansion and the Nangong Family, which he had the Celestial Book use for Inference to create a rough map outline. Determining his approximate location wasn’t a problem.
"GAGA... The aura of Ancient Times! Quick, let this god out."
The Crow’s excited voice came from the Celestial Book in his mind.
"Come on out."
Luo Tian was just thinking of letting the Crow out for some fresh air anyway.
He hadn’t let the Crow out recently because of the Demon Emperor Bone.
But inside the Royal Secret Garden, there was no need to be concerned about that.
WHOOSH!
A crow, scorched black and emitting smoke, appeared in mid-air and began to survey its surroundings with great interest.
"Tsk tsk! This god likes this place! The Spiritual Qi is abundant and the resources are rich. It’s so much better than that last dump."
The Crow danced with joy, hopping up and down.
Luo Tian also noticed that the Ancient Spiritual Qi here was far superior to that of the Dongchen Continent.
Even just sitting down to practice Cultivation here would be more than ten times as effective as doing so in the outside world.
However, he only had seven days in the Royal Secret Garden.
Luo Tian had to try and find some Ancient Treasures and corresponding opportunities first before he could consider cultivating.
SWOOSH! SWISH SWISH!
Luo Tian executed his *Cloud Traveling Step*, quickly pushing off branches as he descended, landing on the ground a moment later.
"Quick, look! There’s a lot of Spiritual Grass over there."
The Crow flapped its wings.
Luo Tian glanced over and saw a patch of Spiritual Grass that was two to three meters tall.
"Holy cow! Spiritual Grass this big... as expected of an Ancient Garden."
Luo Tian couldn’t help but be amazed.
The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on the Dongchen Continent was thin, so ordinary Spiritual Grass only grew to be one or two feet tall.
Two-to-three-meter-tall Spiritual Grass would be world-shocking in the outside world. It could at least be used as a supplementary material for refining Two-star Spiritual Pills.
SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!
Luo Tian swung his Wind and Snow Sword, harvesting a large swath of Spiritual Grass at an extremely fast speed.
"It’s a pity the Space Ring has limited room."
Luo Tian harvested one patch and then gave up.
The man and the bird headed toward the center of the Royal Secret Garden.
The outer area of the Secret Garden was a wilderness region, home to Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, as well as many Demon Beasts, and even Exotic Beasts.
The Crow hovered in mid-air, its beady black eyes darting around.
Half an hour later.
"GAGA... Quick, look over there!"
The Crow let out a strange cry, pointing toward a cliff face.
On the cliff, patches of golden-yellow grass leaves covered in scale-like patterns were growing.
"Is this... Dragon Scale Grass?"
Luo Tian sensed that these leaves were extraordinary. He had the Celestial Book perform an Inference and reached an astonishing conclusion.
Dragon Scale Grass.
This was a legendary item that had long since vanished from the Dongchen Continent.
Ancient texts recorded that ordinary mortals who consumed Dragon Scale Grass would become immensely strong and impervious to blades and spears.
Real Dragon Scale Grass wasn’t as exaggerated as the legends claimed, however.
But these leaves could indeed greatly enhance one’s physique and strength, and they were extremely suitable for Body Refiners.
Looking over, there were six or seven mature stalks of Dragon Scale Grass on the cliff.
The man and the bird quickly rushed toward the cliff.
"Don’t waste your effort!"
A lazy voice called out.
A hundred meters from the cliff, a Silver-armored Youth was sitting on a huge boulder.
’Someone’s already here?’
Luo Tian sized him up. The Silver-armored Youth had a Spirit Sea Realm Cultivation and seemed to be a member of the Royal Family’s extended relatives.
Since the Silver-armored Youth was sitting on the boulder and hadn’t picked the Dragon Scale Grass, there had to be a reason.
Soon enough, Luo Tian discovered the issue.
Near the Dragon Scale Grass on the cliff, there were large patches of vines.
Hidden among the vines were two Cyan-striped Pythons. They exuded the powerful pressure of ancient demon pythons and were both Spirit Level Demon Beasts.
Luo Tian broke out in a cold sweat.
The auras these two Cyan-striped Pythons emanated were even stronger than the Jade Spirit Python’s from before.
Without three or four Spirit Sea Realm experts teaming up, victory would be nearly impossible.
"GAGA... What’s there to fear about two Ancient Giant Pythons?"
The Crow said arrogantly.
It flapped its wings, trailing black smoke as it flew straight toward the two Cyan-striped Pythons on the cliff.
"Mm."
Luo Tian understood the Crow’s intention and followed close behind.
"A talking, arrogant crow? And a moronic teenager?"
The Silver-armored Youth was taken aback, a strange look on his face.
He was in his twenties or thirties and hadn’t participated in the Wu Mansion’s grand event, having obtained his spot through an internal Royal Family arrangement. He didn’t recognize Luo Tian.
He watched as the man and the bird swaggered straight toward the two giant pythons, getting within twenty or thirty meters of them.
The Silver-armored Youth looked on as if they were complete fools.
HISS!
The two giant pythons on the cliff spotted the intruders and immediately opened their cavernous mouths, their cold, bloodthirsty eyes locking onto the man and the bird.
But the two giant pythons didn’t act rashly.
There was a faint aura on the Crow that made them feel a deep-seated fear in their bloodlines.
"Beasts! Scram!"
Luo Tian’s gaze sharpened, and his aura changed drastically. It was as if he had transformed into a majestic and mighty Ancient Demon Emperor that dominated the heavens and the earth.
A wave of Demon Emperor’s Qi, filled with overwhelming fury, pressed down on the two giant pythons.
HISSSS!
The two giant pythons revealed expressions of extreme terror, an instinctual fear welling up from the depths of their bloodlines.
They were Ancient Giant Pythons.
And what Luo Tian was simulating was the aura of an Ancient Demon Emperor, which more than doubled its deterrent effect on them.
Back then, when Luo Tian was only at the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening, the Demon Emperor’s aura he simulated with the Demon Emperor Bone could already intimidate Spirit Level Demon Beasts.
Now that he had advanced to the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening and was cultivating a Spiritual Secret Technique like the *Demon Thought Technique*, the Demon Emperor’s aura he simulated was several times more powerful.
WHOOSH! SWOOSH SWOOSH!
The two Ancient Giant Pythons transformed into streaks of cyan light and fled at an incredible speed.
"That easy?"
Luo Tian laughed heartily, and the aura of the Ancient Demon Emperor around him vanished in an instant.
"Th-this... how is this possible!"
A hundred meters away, on the giant boulder, the Silver-armored Youth’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
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