“Fellow Daoist Yun, we meet again.”
Hearing that voice, Yun Heng looked up.
The newcomer wore plain, inconspicuous robes and carried a warm smile on his face.
It was Bai Yi.
Yun Heng offered him a subtle nod.
“Fellow Daoist Bai.”
That served as her greeting.
Just as silence settled between them, a familiar voice called out from the distance.
“Yun Heng!”
Yun Heng looked in the direction of the voice.
Yan Yi was walking swiftly over from Mirror Moon Sect's group.
She was still wearing the robes of a direct disciple of Mirror Moon Sect, her long hair neatly tied behind her back. Many cultivators turned to look at her along the way, but she paid them no mind, marching straight over to Yun Heng.
A slight smile touched Yun Heng's face.
“Yan Yi.”
Over the past half month, she and Yan Yi had stayed in touch using Transmission Jade Slips.
When they had first exchanged spiritual breaths, Yun Heng had simply thought Yan Yi had a pleasant personality and was worth befriending.
Only later did she realize that Yan Yi was an absolute chatterbox.
Whenever the Transmission Jade Slip lit up, Yan Yi would send a dozen messages all in one breath.
Sometimes it was secrets about a prominent family in the Eastern Region, sometimes it was amusing gossip among the five major sects, and other times it was just complaining about how many talismans the elders of Mirror Moon Sect had forced her to draw again.
With so much back-and-forth, their relationship had naturally grown considerably closer than it was half a month ago.
Yan Yi stepped up beside Yun Heng, glanced at the distant entrance of the secret realm, and then said, “The Qingming Secret Realm is massive. Once we go in, we probably won't be teleported to the same place.”
“Still, every inch of that place is filled with treasures. With our strength, we should be fine.”
Yun Heng nodded.
Having said that, Yan Yi finally seemed to notice Bai Yi standing beside Yun Heng.
She sized him up for a moment before turning back to Yun Heng. “And who is this...?”
Yun Heng introduced him, “This is Bai Yi, Fellow Daoist Bai. We met earlier at the Martial Inquiry Arena.”
“Bai Yi...”
Yan Yi searched her memory.
She had heard of almost every even remotely famous young cultivator in the Eastern Region, yet the name Bai Yi rang no bells.
Not hiding her curiosity, Yan Yi asked directly, “What is your cultivation level?”
Bai Yi didn't mind her bluntness, his expression remaining warm and gentle. “I am at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.”
Yan Yi grew even more puzzled. “Peak Nascent Soul? Are you not on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard?”
Someone entering the Qingming Secret Realm at peak Nascent Soul Realm shouldn't be a nobody.
Bai Yi let out a soft chuckle. “My strength is lacking, so I won't go and bring humiliation upon myself.”
Hearing this, Yun Heng scoffed internally.
Lacking strength?
If Bai Yi lacked strength, most people on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard could hardly be called powerful.
He simply didn't want to compete, or perhaps the Martial Inquiry Arena's Nascent Soul Leaderboard didn't catch his eye at all, making it beneath him to challenge.
His background was unknown, and he was clearly hiding a great deal. Once inside the secret realm, it would be best to remain cautious around him.
Not far away, the twenty direct disciples of Xuanxiao Sect stood behind the Grand Elder.
Su Mingyuan stood among the crowd, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings as if looking for someone.
When her gaze fell upon the spot occupied by Taihua Sword Sect, she suddenly paused.
Standing at the very front of Taihua Sword Sect's group was a young male cultivator.
He wore a white sword-robe and possessed a tall, upright posture, his dark hair bound by a silver crown. His features were handsome, though his eyes carried an air of detachment, and a long sword hung at his waist.
Even standing quietly, he seemed out of place with those around him.
His expression was aloof, his sword intent restrained, yet he still exuded an undeniable sense of pressure.
Su Mingyuan recognized his identity almost instantaneously.
Xie Wujiu.
The Eldest Disciple of Taihua Sword Sect, rank one on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, and universally acknowledged as the top genius among the younger generation of the Eastern Region.
As Su Mingyuan looked at Xie Wujiu, a wave of indescribable bashfulness and joy surged in her heart.
She knew she would definitely save Xie Wujiu in the Ancient Vine Array inside the Qingming Secret Realm. When that time came, the two of them would truly get to know each other.
At the thought of this, the corners of Su Mingyuan's lips curled up uncontrollably.
However, in the next moment, her gaze casually swept over the crowd and happened to land on Yun Heng standing in the distance.
The smile on Su Mingyuan's face vanished instantly.
Standing next to Yun Heng were a man and a woman.
The male cultivator was dressed plainly and seemed completely ordinary, likely nobody impressive.
But that female cultivator...
Su Mingyuan stared at Yan Yi for a moment and quickly recognized her identity.
Mirror Moon Sect's Eldest Disciple, Yan Yi.
The very same peak Nascent Soul cultivator who had lost to Yun Heng at the Martial Inquiry Arena half a month ago.
Su Mingyuan had never expected that after their match, their relationship would become so close.
Judging by the way Yan Yi spoke with Yun Heng, they were clearly already quite familiar.
Her fingers tightened bit by bit as another surge of hatred welled up in her heart.
Why?
Yun Heng was merely cannon fodder who was supposed to die early in the original book. How had her cultivation risen so fast, and why did she have someone with status and strength like Yan Yi by her side?
Su Mingyuan cast a glance at Yun Heng, then turned her head toward the distant Xie Wujiu, letting out an internal sneer.
Let Yun Heng gloat a little longer. Once inside the Qingming Secret Realm, she would make sure Yun Heng experienced Xie Wujiu's true power.
When that time came, let's see how Yun Heng could keep acting so proud.
The Hour of the Snake had just begun.
The originally calm entrance of the secret realm suddenly vibrated.
In the next instant, a massive pillar of light soared into the sky from the entrance, illuminating the surrounding heaven and earth in brilliant radiance.
The crowd fell silent in an instant.
The tokens hanging at the waists of all cultivators holding a Qingming Command lit up simultaneously.
Yun Heng looked down to see her Qingming Command radiating a dazzling green light.
The glow quickly enveloped her entire body.
In the next moment, everyone's vision blurred at once.
When Yun Heng opened her eyes again, she found herself standing inside a dense forest.
Towering ancient trees grew all around, their lush foliage intertwining to block out the sky above almost completely.
Only scattered beams of light filtered through the gaps between the leaves, creating dappled spots of light of varying sizes on the ground.
The wild grass beneath her feet reached half a person high, and the low roars of beasts echoed from a distance every now and then.
Yun Heng stood in place and quickly surveyed her surroundings.
There were no other cultivators nearby.
It seemed that all two hundred people who entered the Qingming Secret Realm had indeed been randomly teleported to different locations.
There was no map of the interior of the Qingming Secret Realm. She had no idea which direction she was facing, nor did she know where she should head.
Just as Yun Heng was pondering which direction to choose, the Tianheng Jade at her waist suddenly vibrated gently.
She looked down, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. Why had the Tianheng Jade suddenly reacted?
“Open System panel.”
A pale light screen quickly expanded within her sea of consciousness.
Yun Heng immediately saw the glowing Event Card in her card column.
【Four-Star Event Card: Clue to Repairing the Tianheng Broken Sword.】
【Event Card triggered.】
Seeing these lines of text, Yun Heng's eyes lit up instantly.
She had almost forgotten that she had drawn two Event Cards earlier.
One was the Wanbao Antique Anomaly, and the other was precisely the Clue to Repairing the Tianheng Broken Sword.
Yun Heng immediately opened the Event Card.
The light screen that originally showed only the card design began to shift, revealing a clear path bit by bit.
The area around the destination was shrouded in a layer of radiance, making it impossible to see what was actually there. However, being able to trigger this Event Card meant that whatever was needed to repair the Tianheng Broken Sword was definitely present at that location.
Rate on N.U.
