Translator: Cinder Translations
---
Four days later, after finishing his meditation, Song Wen stood up.
Suddenly standing up caused the storage ring in his heart to shift, bringing a sharp pain that made him wince.
Summoning the two Black beetles and two black-bellied armored beetles stationed as guards, Song Wen summoned his flying boat, adjusted its flying height, and flew close to the treetops towards the exit of the secret realm.
Given Song Wen's cautious nature, he was reluctant to use the flying boat, but since the storage ring hidden in his heart caused him intense pain with every step, it was impossible for him to traverse mountains and rivers on foot to reach the exit two thousand miles away.
With Song Wen's current cultivation level, even flying close to the treetops at the speed of the flying boat was still faster than most Qi Refining late-stage cultivators' escape techniques. He wasn't worried about missing the exit before it closed.
After flying for several hours, as dusk approached, Song Wen, who was only a few hundred miles from the exit, encountered the problem he feared.
Robbers!
With Song Wen's cultivation and methods, he naturally had no fear of the robbers.
However, with the time until the exit closure getting closer, and with cultivators from various sects rushing towards this direction, Song Wen was worried that while dealing with these robbers, he might be spotted by other cultivators, revealing his hidden strength.
Fortunately, the two robbers he encountered had relatively low cultivation levels, both being Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivators.
TL Note: Blood Red Sect à Blood Fiend Sect
The two wore the attire of the Blood Fiend Sect. Seeing Song Wen's flying boat from afar and noticing his Qi Refining mid-stage aura, one of them controlled a ghost while the other held a sword and advanced aggressively towards Song Wen.
To avoid drawing attention, Song Wen pressed down the boat and descended into the dense forest.
The two robbers, assuming Song Wen was fleeing in fear, let their guard down.
When the two were still about three to four hundred meters away from Song Wen, the eight black-armored beetles suddenly emerged.
The two were immediately thrown into disarray and were silently killed by the beetles before they could even resist.
A quarter of an hour later, Song Wen dealt with the corpses of the two robbers and continued on his way with the boat.
Within half an hour, the exit of the secret realm was already in sight.
The exit was located atop a several hundred-meter-high mountain peak.
A dark entrance stood in mid-air at the summit of the mountain.
However, entering this entrance was not so simple. Seven cultivators from the Profound Yin Sect stood on the mountain peak, blocking the exit.
Among these seven, there was one Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivator, whom Song Wen recognized as Chen Xiuming, three Qi Refining eighth-layer cultivators, and three Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivators.
"These seven dare to block the exit!" Song Wen thought, somewhat astonished. He released all the black-armored beetles to search the mountain.
As expected, there were nine more Profound Yin Sect disciples hidden in the mountain: four Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivators and five Qi Refining eighth-layer cultivators.
"Is the Profound Yin Sect planning to take down all the other sects?"
Earlier, at the Falling Hawk Gorge, Song Wen had noticed that the Profound Yin Sect's experts were surprisingly few, suggesting that this group had long been plotting.
Song Wen looked up at the sky and estimated that there was still about an hour and a half until noon when the exit would close, giving him ample time.
He descended and landed on the canopy of a large, lush tree.
Afterwards, he released the black-armored beetles to monitor the movements of the Profound Yin Sect disciples and to prevent other cultivators from approaching unexpectedly.
Half an hour later, a group of eight cultivators arrived, stopping several hundred meters from the mountain.
Among these eight, there were both disciples from the Corpse Demon Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect.
Clearly, they were aware of the Profound Yin Sect's blockade of the exit, which is why they gathered in such numbers before daring to approach the exit.
"What are you Profound Yin Sect trying to do? Are you planning to surround and kill all the disciples entering the secret realm? Don't you fear igniting a war among the three sects?" asked an inner disciple from the Corpse Demon Sect.
Chen Xiuming replied in a clear voice, "Everyone, don't misunderstand. We don't want to harm anyone's life. As long as you all hand over half of what you've obtained from the secret realm, we will let you leave safely."
"Preposterous!" a disciple from the Blood Fiend Sect scolded sharply. "The spiritual herbs we acquired at great risk, and you think you can just take half with a few words? Do you think the Blood Fiend Sect and Corpse Demon Sect are so weak?"
Chen Xiuming said, "Whether we are weak or not will be revealed after a fight."
As he spoke, the ghostly aura around Chen Xiuming surged, his clothes fluttered despite no wind, creating a sound of flapping, giving him a heroic presence as if he could stand against thousands of troops alone.
The eight cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sect and Corpse Demon Sect exchanged glances, all showing hesitation.
They were a temporary team with no trust among them, even among members of the same sect. They lacked confidence in coordinating their efforts against the seven Profound Yin Sect disciples.
It was unclear who first took a step back.
This simple retreat seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with all eight of them retreating together, quickly pulling back several miles.
The eight understood that if they couldn't ensure victory against the Profound Yin Sect's seven disciples, they should wait until their numbers were sufficient, hoping the Profound Yin Sect would retreat in fear.
At a distance they deemed safe, they found an open area and began to sit and meditate.
What they didn't know was that nine hidden Profound Yin Sect cultivators were already moving in the shadows.
Just as Song Wen was preparing to observe the impending battle and perhaps take advantage of the situation from the shadows, a figure appeared in the night sky from a distance.
The person, dressed in the inner disciple robes of the Corpse Demon Sect, had the cultivation of Qi Refining ninth-layer, but his aura was chaotic and his expression panicked as he rushed towards the exit.
The sudden appearance of this person drew the attention of the Corpse Demon Sect and Blood Fiend Sect disciples and disrupted the Profound Yin Sect's ambush plan. They could only continue hiding in the darkness and wait for the right moment.
"Brother Chai Bin, why are you so flustered?"
A disciple from the Corpse Demon Sect recognized the newcomer and called out from a distance of about two miles.
Chai Bin heard the call, looked over, saw the eight cultivators on the ground, and his face lit up with joy. However, he did not land but instead made a slight turn and leaped over the eight cultivators.
Chai Bin's unusual behavior immediately alerted the eight cultivators.
They quickly scanned the surroundings with their spiritual sense and, finding nothing, one of them ascended into the air to check in Chai Bin's direction.
In the darkness, the trees in that area were violently swaying, as if something was rampaging on the ground, causing the trees to shake, with some even being knocked down.
Gradually, the sound of falling trees reached them.
The cultivator in the air's expression changed slightly and said, "No good, something is chasing Chai Bin and heading this way."
With that, the cultivator flew off in a diagonal direction.
He understood that regardless of what was chasing Chai Bin, as long as they put some distance between themselves and Chai Bin, they would be safe.
The other seven also quickly took to the air, preparing to escape.
"Roar!"
A massive figure, exuding a strong aura of corpse energy, appeared in their line of sight.
It was none other than the pseudo-second-tier bronze corpse.
(End of the Chapter)
---
FUN FACT! You can now support me and read advanced chapters of RDC!
Currently up to 183 as of 24Sep24.
Just visit my p atreon: Pa treon.com/CinderTL
If you are content with the free chapters, you can show your appreciation by joining me for as low as $1. You can read this and other series (more coming in the future) on my Pa treon.
AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME REVIEWS, NEED MORE REVIEWS