Chapter 72: High-Grade Spirit Realm

Outside the cave abode, Ma Mingyuan guided a green leaf-shaped ritual implement down into a stretch of forest.

His spiritual sense swiftly swept across the surroundings, but he did not discover the presence of any other cultivators.

Even so, he did not dare grow careless in the slightest. After all, once the restriction activated, a dozen or twenty cultivators had emerged from the secret realm. It was hard to say whether someone might have taken the same route as him.

At that thought, he did not hesitate. He used a secret technique, and nearly half of the blood essence inside him burned away in an instant, transforming him into a blood shadow that vanished into the horizon.

This secret realm was good in every way, except that it was a little costly in blood essence.

Every time an exploration ended, a large batch of cultivators would emerge from the secret realm, greatly increasing the possibility of cultivators fighting over spiritual herbs.

Ma Mingyuan was also extremely cautious by nature, so he would rather consume a large amount of blood essence than risk a face-to-face encounter with other cultivators.

Besides, when he left the secret realm this time, he had once again obtained a paper slip just like last time. When he opened it, there was shockingly an Earthfire Heart Lotus Seed wrapped inside, overflowing with spirit energy.

In terms of value, it was at least equal to the Sword-Nurturing Gourd, if not greater.

With such a treasure on him, the blood essence he had consumed no longer mattered. He could just replenish it after he returned.

On a patch of grass, a little boy named Wu Jie quietly looked at the two high-level Qi Refining cultivators in front of him.

His cultivation was only at mid-stage Qi Refining. He had not cultivated any escape-related spells, nor did he have any speed-type ritual implements or talismans.

After coming out of the secret realm, he had been blocked by the two high-level Qi Refining cultivators before him.

“A little brat in his teens has already cultivated to mid-stage Qi Refining. You’ve got quite the talent for cultivation.”

“Just now in the secret realm, I saw you pick something up. What was it? Hand it over. Otherwise, out here in the middle of nowhere, we can’t guarantee what might happen.”

“And while you’re at it, take out all the spirit stones, ritual implements, and everything else on you. I promise I won’t kill you.”

The little boy looked at the two of them with an indifferent expression. For some unknown reason, the corners of his mouth slowly pulled apart, revealing a standard smile.

“Then can he guarantee it?”

“You’re pretty clever for a little brat. I’ll count to three. One…”

The little boy maintained his smile, as if the angle of his lips had been fixed in place by something, yet his eyes were utterly indifferent.

His gaze kept roaming across the skin of the two high-level Qi Refining cultivators, as if he were considering how to keep it intact afterward.

“This little ghost’s eyes are kind of creepy. Why does it feel like he doesn’t see us as normal people?”

Wherever the little boy’s gaze swept over them, goose bumps naturally rose in large patches.

The two exchanged a glance, then activated their ritual implements in tacit agreement and attacked the little boy.

Very soon, two flayed corpses were left on the ground.

The exposed flesh beneath the skin showed no trace of flowing blood.

A Black Jade Tower cultivator hid behind a massive dark-green tree. A rather large sheet of white paper floated in front of him, and black tadpole-like runes continuously flowed across it, forming line after line of tiny characters.

He recorded the detailed information from this exploration of the secret realm on the white paper one item at a time.

The appearance of the restriction on the outskirts of the secret realm, the changes to the white mist array, the Sword-Nurturing Gourds growing faster than expected, and their numbers being greater than last time.

The second-rank Python-Sparrow Eel was very likely to evolve into a third-rank demonic beast within a short period. The stone cave seemed to be protected by an array…

“This time, there definitely won’t be any more mistakes in the updated intelligence on this secret realm.”

“The biggest change last time was only the temporary appearance of a restriction. It was very likely triggered after we left the secret realm last time.”

“Aside from the area outside the secret realm, all the other changes conform to the secret realm’s regular development.”

“It’s not as if the secret realm could suddenly grow ten times larger all at once, right?”

Thinking this, he could not help laughing. He shook his head and dismissed that unrealistic thought.

“I wonder why Senior Zhao still hasn’t arrived at the agreed meeting place.”

“Could it be that there were too many good things inside the stone cave, so he lost track of time and stayed inside the secret realm?”

The winged Foundation Establishment cultivator was a senior from Black Jade Tower who had come with him, and his status was much higher.

The main purpose of this trip had been the third-rank Sword-Nurturing Gourds inside the secret realm, as well as thoroughly exploring the stone cave.

“Forget it. It’s also possible that he finished sweeping through the secret realm and left early.”

The white paper in the Black Jade Tower cultivator’s hand transformed into a small bird with a white body and black markings, then shot straight into the clouds.

He himself activated a flying ritual implement and flew toward Cangxing City.

Inside the cave abode, Lu Yuan calculated and counted the gains and losses on both sides.

More than forty cultivators had entered, and over twenty had died in the cave abode, including one Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Among the twenty-plus Qi Refining cultivators, more than ten had died at the hands of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Among them, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion steward had taken out seven or eight in one go while fighting over the Sword-Nurturing Gourd.

The remaining ten or so had died fighting over spiritual herbs, or had been secretly ambushed by others.

A few had fought with the demonic beasts inside the cave abode, but they had all withdrawn after a brief clash. The one truly killed by the cave abode’s power had instead been that female Foundation Establishment cultivator.

A death rate of over sixty percent. As expected, dungeon runs in the cultivation world had an extremely high fatality rate…

I really envy those cultivators who can go to secret realms to pick spiritual herbs. Unlike me, who stays in a secret realm every day…

“I clearly only took out one of them, yet I have to take the blame for the twenty-odd deaths. Cave life is truly difficult.”

Lu Yuan could not help sighing. He ordered the fastest Red-Footed Golden Crow to collect the few storage bags left inside the cave abode.

Most of the dead cultivators’ storage bags had been picked up by other cultivators, leaving only a few behind. Fortunately, the most important Foundation Establishment cultivator’s possessions were still there. Hers alone was more than enough to surpass all the others combined.

After counting everything, he let the Blood-Devouring Vine and the others divide up the flesh-and-blood essence of the dead cultivators as they wished.

They had just eaten a feast, so now he would give them a little after-meal snack.

Lu Yuan’s divine sense returned to the depths of the stone cave.

Everything had settled. Next came his own exclusive prize-opening time.

As usual, he would use the spiritual energy light orbs to warm up first.

After opening prizes so many times, Lu Yuan could naturally distinguish which ones were basic spiritual energy light orbs, which ones were spells or restrictions, and which ones were spirit seeds or spirit beasts.

The spiritual energy light orbs were arranged one by one from small to large. Lu Yuan’s divine sense gently touched them.

The light orbs burst apart one after another, transforming into countless motes of light and bringing down a shower of spirit energy raindrops.

There were more and more light orbs, and the spirit energy raindrops grew denser and larger.

By the time he opened the light orbs brought by the three Foundation Establishment cultivators and the little boy with profound fortune, a rumbling sound suddenly rang out inside the secret realm. Spirit energy poured down like a surging rainstorm.

Under the constant nourishment of this origin source spirit energy, the Spiritual Vein hidden at the very bottom of the stone cave by the Spirit-Pardoning Vein-Sealing Art underwent a profound and mysterious transformation.

It was clearly formless and immaterial, yet Lu Yuan’s divine sense could feel it changing with each passing day, as though everything had been renewed.

In the unseen depths of existence, Lu Yuan seemed to hear a faint crack. The invisible membrane enveloping the outside of the stone cave shattered like an eggshell, and surging spirit energy flowed wildly toward the outer reaches of the cave abode.

Finally, outside an even larger area of the cave abode, a new invisible membrane rapidly formed. It gathered the dense spirit energy inside while resisting the invasion of the turbid spirit energy outside.

Lu Yuan understood clearly.

The cave abode had advanced into a high-grade spirit realm!

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