"If you want to come, then come together."
Xu Ming calmly looked at the cultivators in front of him.
Xu Ming knew there was no point in reasoning with them; these people wouldn't listen.
Cultivators, by nature, were far too selfish.
Some of them would even betray their friends, brothers, or even their own spouses for the sake of an opportunity.
And an opportunity like this—gaining control over a minor secret realm—was irresistibly tempting even to cultivators in the Fifth Realm, let alone these ones who hadn't even reached the Dragon Gate Realm.
What's more, once someone became the master of a secret realm, they didn't need to worry about others taking it from them.
The moment you bonded with a secret realm, you could stay hidden within it indefinitely.
Unless a Immortal Realm cultivator came along and used their full power to forcibly break the secret realm, no one could force their way in.
But normally, no Immortal Realm cultivator would bother doing such a thing.
Breaking a secret realm would cause its spiritual energy to leak out, leaving it in ruins and essentially worthless.
Given that, why would anyone waste their effort on such a thankless task?
As Xu Ming's words fell, Qin Qingwan, who had regained her mobility, flew to his side without hesitation. Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng also stepped forward to stand with him.
"Goose!"
"Roar!"
The white goose and the hopping zombie unreservedly aligned themselves with Xu Ming.
Xu Ming glanced at the zombie he'd first encountered years ago.
Back then, this hopping zombie had chased him relentlessly, nearly leading to the deaths of his teammates.
But now, he had to admit that the same zombie had just saved his life.
If not for it, he might have already been dead.
As for why the hopping zombie had saved him, Xu Ming didn't believe for a second that it was out of the goodness of its heart.
There had to be something it wanted from him.
Why it had chosen him, Xu Ming could think of only two possibilities.
One, the hopping zombie relied on its innate intuition and deemed him trustworthy.
Two, because they were "old acquaintances," Shen Sheng had left some kind of instruction before his death, using a secret technique to tell the zombie to trust him.
"Junior Sister! What… what is the meaning of this?" Xia Donghua's emotions were a chaotic swirl as he watched Qin Qingwan stand resolutely beside Xu Ming.
"Exactly what it looks like, Senior Brother. I won't let you harm Xu Ming." Qin Qingwan spoke calmly, even as she pressed closer to Xu Ming's side.
"Junior Sister, I don't know what Xu Ming has told you, but don't be deceived by him!" Xia Donghua urged. "Look carefully! Xu Ming is consorting with a demon and a hopping zombie. How could such a man be good?"
Qin Qingwan blinked and turned to Xu Ming. "Xu Ming, are you a good person?"
Xu Ming was momentarily taken aback. "I'd like to think I'm… more or less a good person."
Qin Qingwan turned back, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "He says he's a good person."
Xia Donghua felt a surge of frustration and disbelief. "And you believe him just because he says so?"
Qin Qingwan nodded earnestly. "Of course I do. Without Xu Ming, I'd be dead by now. He's my savior. If I can't trust him, who else should I trust? You, Senior Brother?"
"I…" Xia Donghua found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
"Do the two gentlemen from White Deer Academy also intend to stand on the wrong side of justice?" Xia Donghua turned to Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng.
Yu Wenxi chuckled. "We know Brother Xu far better than you, Brother Xia. Back when Miao Feng and I were being bullied by the demons of Baiwa City, it was Brother Xu who stepped in to help. That alone puts him far ahead of any of you."
"Enough talk. Attack!" The Crown Prince of the White Serpent Kingdom, She Yu, had lost all patience.
This woman was indeed stunningly beautiful.
Xia Donghua's infatuation with her was understandable.
To be honest, even he himself felt the urge to snatch this woman away.
But right now, the most important thing wasn't the woman—it was the treasure Xu Ming possessed! As for the two scholars from White Deer Academy?
That was a matter for the humans to handle. What did it have to do with the demon race? The humans might care about the Academy's reputation, but why should we? Let them die for all I care!
At She Yu's command, the prince's attendants surged forward.
Once the first person charged, the second followed, then the third.
More and more cultivators rushed toward Xu Ming.
The night was nearly over, and as long as She Yu could obtain the treasure orb, the first rays of sunlight marking dawn would also signify his mastery over this secret realm!
"Goose!" The Tianxuan Goose flapped its massive wings, unleashing blades of wind.
Some of the weaker cultivators didn't even have time to react before they were slaughtered under its wings!
Even those who managed to survive were dumbstruck.
How could this goose possess strength comparable to the Sea Observation Realm? That made no sense at all.
Typically, any ordinary demon beast that reached the Cave Mansion Realm would gain the ability to transform. That's why the Cave Mansion Realm was often referred to as the Shapeshifting Realm among demons.
But a demon beast at the Sea Observation Realm that hadn't transformed? That was unheard of.
This goose couldn't be a local, could it?
"Confucius said as he watched the river flow: 'Time passes like this, never ceasing, day or night.'"
"In the dead of night, I hear the wind and rain; iron horses charge across frozen rivers in my dreams."
Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng recited in unison.
As Confucian scholars, their words carried the force of natural law.
The classics they invoked transformed into spells—provided the verses were recognized by the Dao of Heaven.
Miao Feng's choice of verse, in fact, came from a line Xu Ming had composed in The Letter of Marriage Rejection.
In an instant, a river of time began flowing beneath Yu Wenxi's feet, and he appeared as if he had become a sage lamenting the passage of time by a flowing river.
The human and demon cultivators charging forward were all ensnared in the river.
Each time they broke through its currents, the river would reform anew.
And as soon as they shattered it again, a phalanx of iron cavalry forged from spiritual energy charged forth to meet them.
Meanwhile, Qin Qingwan formed hand seals, summoning a pair of Yin-Yang fish that orbited around her.
With a casual gesture, she called down black-and-white longswords from the heavens.
Qin Qingwan showed no mercy.
Any cultivator struck by her swords was utterly annihilated—body and soul.
Although she wasn't a bloodthirsty person, Qin Qingwan understood that mercy toward enemies was cruelty toward oneself.
Ironically, the weakest among Xu Ming's group was the hopping zombie. Yet even the zombie couldn't be subdued for the time being.
Qin Qingwan and the others formed layer upon layer of defenses around Xu Ming.
But just as a few managed to break through the lines and finally reach him, they realized—compared to Qin Qingwan and the rest—Xu Ming himself was an absolute monster!