Translator: Cinder Translations
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In the secret realm, the remaining seven cultivators were growing increasingly anxious. With less than two quarters of an hour before the exit closed, they faced a dire situation.
If they were trapped inside, given their strength, it would be very difficult for them to survive until the next opening of the secret realm.
Just as they were feeling desperate, they suddenly saw the bronze corpse at the mountaintop become enraged and start chasing after something behind it.
The seven were overjoyed and no longer cared about anything else. They quickly used their flying techniques to head towards the exit in mid-air at the mountaintop.
To their delight, they successfully reached the exit.
After confirming that there were no other people around, Song Wen also flew to the mountaintop.
Under his command, two Qi Condensation ninth-level Gu Insects led the bronze corpse towards the secret realm exit.
The bronze corpse followed closely behind, pursuing them relentlessly.
A glint of cold light flashed.
It struck the exposed bone of the bronze corpse's chest.
The bronze-colored, hard bone shattered into several pieces from the powerful force of the Cold Moon Blade, but it did not break completely. The speed of the bronze corpse was greatly reduced, however.
Enraged, the bronze corpse exerted force and charged forward again.
The cold light flashed once more, striking the bronze corpse's ankle.
The Cold Moon Blade only cut through the rotten flesh of the bronze corpse's ankle, but the immense force made the bronze corpse stumble and fall to the ground.
The bronze corpse, known for its high speed while running, lost its balance suddenly and rolled across the ground like a tumbling gourd, crashing into countless trees.
Retracting the Gu Insects and the Cold Moon Blade, Song Wen watched as the bronze corpse, now standing up and roaring angrily, turned and stepped into the exit.
The dark exit of the secret realm flashed with a white light, and Song Wen's figure vanished without a trace.
As the bronze corpse reached the entrance, its eyes fixed on the dark exit, it seemed to understand that passing through this opening was extremely dangerous for it.
It eventually turned around and headed towards the Falling Hawk Gorge.
...
After a brief sensation of weightlessness, Song Wen quickly regained the feeling of solid ground.
Looking up, he saw the seven cultivators who had exited before him. Four of them were floating in mid-air above him.
Among them were three Golden Core cultivators he had seen before: Xiu Yun, Xiang Qi, and the Fairy Huan Yu.
The other was a lean old man whom Song Wen had not seen before.
This man was Wu Ren, who had sensed the death of the Corpse Puppet and had arrived at the Withered Blood Secret Realm entrance.
Wu Ren's spiritual sense swept across the eight people, scanning them thoroughly without any restraint.
The eight, including Song Wen, felt a powerful and unmatched spiritual sense enveloping them, as if they were completely exposed. No secret or concealment could hide from this spiritual sense; both their internal and external aspects were completely visible.
Along with this, there was a tremendous pressure that made them unable to move.
Among the eight, Song Wen was undoubtedly the most nervous, as he had numerous secrets on him.
The storage ring in his heart, the hidden Gu Insects throughout his body, his concealed cultivation level, and the righteous aura from practicing the "Longevity Technique"—any of these secrets being exposed would make it very difficult for him to leave safely today.
Although Song Wen had previously used his spiritual sense to investigate and found neither the storage ring in the heart nor the presence of the Gu Insects, this old man was a Golden Core cultivator.
The strength of a Golden Core cultivator's spiritual sense was many times greater than his own newly-formed spiritual sense.
Song Wen was not entirely confident.
This was his first time facing a Golden Core cultivator directly.
Fortunately, after repeatedly scanning the eight people, Wu Ren did not detect anything unusual and seemed somewhat disappointed, looking instead at the three flying ships in the sky.
On the three flying ships were the group of cultivators who had exited the secret realm earlier. Those who exited first were stronger and more powerful, and were the most likely suspects in killing the Corpse Puppet.
The eight newly exited cultivators had a maximum cultivation level of Qi Condensation seventh layer. Even if they banded together, they would not be a match for Wu Sui.
Profound Yin Sect's Golden Core ancestor Xiu Yun, seeing that Wu Ren had found nothing after searching for a long time, asked, "Wu Ren, have you thoroughly checked each disciple who exited the secret realm? What exactly are you looking for?"
Wu Ren's face was grim. After a moment of silence, he said, "My grandson, Wu Sui, was killed in the secret realm. I had left a trace of divine consciousness on him, and I would have sensed his death."
"This divine consciousness was supposed to attach to the killer, but for some reason, it dissipated, and I can't sense who the killer is."
"Now, the only way to find the killer of my grandson is to check the storage bags and corpse bags of these people. If any of them have my grandson's artifacts or corpse puppets, they are surely the culprits."
Upon hearing that Wu Ren's grandson had been killed, the three Golden Core experts were initially stunned, but then a trace of amusement appeared on their faces, including Xiang Qi from the Corpse Demon Sect.
It seemed that seeing a Golden Core cultivator at a disadvantage was quite a pleasure.
However, when they heard that Wu Ren wanted to inspect the storage bags of all the surviving disciples from the secret realm, the three of them became serious again.
The Fairy Huan Yu from the Blood Fiend Sect was the first to object, "Wu Ren, your grandson was killed; you can only blame his lack of strength. If you want to inspect the storage bags of our Blood Fiend Sect's disciples, that is absolutely impossible."
"Moreover, the secret realm was full of dangers, and his death might not have been caused by a cultivator but could have been the work of a beast."
"Don't forget that a pseudo-second-grade bronze corpse was born in the secret realm. Wu Sui's death might be related to that bronze corpse."
Wu Ren snorted, "Hmph! I left many trump cards for Wu Sui. A mere pseudo-second-grade bronze corpse has a strong body but no brains, and it couldn't have killed him. Even if he couldn't defeat it, escaping would have been no problem."
Xiu Yun said, "Wu Ren, there were more deaths in this secret realm than just your grandson. Our Profound Yin Sect's Ghost Patrol also died. Should I also inspect the storage bags of every disciple to find the killer and avenge them?"
"Every time the secret realm is explored, only one in ten survives. This is common. Since you entered the secret realm, be prepared for death. Life and death are matters of fate. If you fear death, don't enter the secret realm."
Xiu Yun's tone was severe, showing no consideration for Wu Ren, a Golden Core cultivator.
Xiang Qi, another member of the Corpse Demon Sect, also chimed in, "Wu Ren, demanding to inspect every disciple's storage bag does seem to break the rules."
Seeing his own sect members opposing him, Wu Ren's face turned ashen.
The atmosphere on site became tense, as if a storm was about to break.
At that moment, the entrance to the secret realm in the valley suddenly closed.
This meant that the exploration of the Withered Blood Secret Realm had come to an end, and no more cultivators would emerge alive from the realm.
(End of the Chapter)
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