Chen Fan and Bai Mulan moved without a sound, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and their pursuers. However, as they pressed forward, their path abruptly ended in a sheer drop. A dead end.
Peering over the edge, Chen Fan was met with nothing but an abyss of inky darkness, its depth unfathomable.
"Do you have any protective treasures from your master?" he asked, bracing himself for the worst. Now more than ever, he needed to assess their overall strength.
"None that can contend with a Nascent Soul cultivator," Bai Mulan shook her head. The past thousand years had been a relatively peaceful era, so most resources had been dedicated to growth rather than defensive measures. "I do have a few teleportation talismans and a single presence-concealing talisman capable of evading even Soul Formation cultivators. But it lasts only thirty minutes, and there's no guarantee the teleportation talismans will work in this realm. Worse, we might end up materializing right beside another enemy."
She wasn't foolish enough to assume those three were the only enemies lurking in this place.
Chen Fan's expression turned grave. They were truly at a dead end. Even if they managed to teleport away, it would only delay the inevitable. Eventually, they would have to fight. Of course, they could gamble on the hope that their sect's stronger members would find and rescue them, but relying on an uncertain possibility wasn't a wise move.
"It seems our only option is to face them head-on," Chen Fan concluded, scanning their surroundings in search of a plan. If they were going to make a move, it had to be now.
Bai Mulan's curious gaze lingered on him, waiting to hear the details of his strategy.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave…
"Damn it! Where did they go?" The bald man's frustration was evident as he stomped through the cavern, his sharp gaze scanning every corner for their missing prey.
"Just keep searching," his long-haired companion replied, unfazed. He was well aware of his impatient nature.
"If only our teleportation technique hadn't been disrupted by that woman…" the bald man grumbled, his irritation growing as he recalled the red-haired woman who had nearly foiled their plan. If things had gone as expected, Chen Fan and Bai Mulan would have materialized directly into their grasp.
"She's the leader of her sect for a reason," the Nascent Soul cultivator remarked, clearly in a good mood. "Even the two elders could only contain her by working together. The fact that the teleportation succeeded at all is already a victory."
He had watched the tournament beforehand, and the thought of devouring such a prodigious talent made his mouth water. He didn't mind a game of cat and mouse if the reward was worth it.
"Brother, don't forget to share," the long-haired cultivator chuckled, his intentions aligning with the Nascent Soul expert.
Devouring both of them would undoubtedly propel their cultivation forward. After all, their sole purpose now was to hunt down the most gifted disciples from the three great sects. The competition had drawn them all together, while the sects themselves couldn't send their full forces outside their territory. It was the perfect opportunity to strike.
Every talented genius should have already been transported back to their respective sects by now—except for those from the Jade Spirit Sect. Attacking their main stronghold was simply too risky.
This secret realm had been discovered hundreds of years ago, but strict limitations had always governed those who could enter. Only cultivators at or below the early Nascent Soul stage were permitted access. Anyone with a higher cultivation level would be forcibly suppressed to early Nascent Soul upon entry.
However, according to the elders, when they first stepped into this realm, the suppression had been even stronger—reducing them directly to the Golden Core stage. It seemed that over time, the realm's restrictions had loosened, allowing Nascent Soul cultivators to enter freely.
After occupying this place for centuries, the Devil Sect had effectively turned it into their second stronghold. Nearly all their early Nascent Soul and weaker cultivators had been stationed here, making preparations for this very day.
"Let's check that cave," the long-haired man pointed toward one of the two unexplored tunnels. Out of the five total, they had already searched three.
"You two go in there," the Nascent Soul cultivator ordered, gesturing toward the chosen cave. "I'll take the other. As always, if you find them, call for backup immediately. If not, regroup here."
The other two nodded confidently. They had no doubts about their strength. No matter how talented their prey was, they believed they could handle them. After all, they had seen Chen Fan's battles. At best, his combat prowess was equivalent to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator—Stage 7 at most.
Both of them had already reached Stage 9. In this secret realm, they were invincible. They didn't see these so-called geniuses as anything more than their next meal.
Without hesitation, they split up and entered the caves.
Walking side by side, the bald man and the long-haired cultivator made their way into the pitch-black tunnel, careful not to make a sound. They wanted to avoid alerting their target.
"Hey, let's eat one of them first before reporting back," the bald man suggested with a sly grin. "We can just say we only found one."
"Idiot," the long-haired man scoffed, refusing to entertain the thought. In the Devil Sect, hierarchy was absolute—power dictated everything. Lower-ranking cultivators were expected to obey the stronger ones without question.
If they devoured one of their targets, their cultivation would undoubtedly surge, and the Nascent Soul cultivator would notice immediately.
"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you," he added coldly.
"Hmph. Coward," the bald man muttered, irritated by his companion's rigid personality. He had never liked working with him, but in the Devil Sect, there was no such thing as camaraderie. It wasn't uncommon for members to betray or even devour each other.
As they proceeded through the darkness, they soon spotted a lone figure near the cave's entrance.
A woman with flowing white hair stood beneath the crimson sky, gazing upward as if lost in thought.
For a brief moment, they hesitated before the same thought crossed their minds—was she trying to escape through the sky?
A smirk curled on the bald man's lips. How foolish.
"Heh, seems like she doesn't know there's a barrier up there," he chuckled, his eyes gleaming with greed and lust. "Why don't we have some fun with her first?"
Bai Mulan was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Do whatever you want—if you can make her incapable of moving," the long-haired man replied indifferently. He didn't care what the bald man did, so long as he could consume her intact. "Just make sure to take her down in one strike."
However, before either of them could make a move—
Thud. Thud.
Two bodies collapsed to the ground.
Their eyes widened in shock, twin holes piercing through their skulls. Their consciousness faded rapidly, their minds still struggling to comprehend what had happened.
They had been the hunters. How had they become the prey?
A figure emerged from the shadows behind them.
"Hahaha. I can't believe it was this easy," Chen Fan chuckled, amused by their unexpected stroke of luck. "Good thing that Nascent Soul didn't come with them."
"That's all?" Bai Mulan stepped forward, somewhat surprised by how effortlessly they had dispatched two Golden Core cultivators.
Given their limited trump cards, their plan had been as simple as it was effective—Bai Mulan would act as though she were attempting to flee through the sky. Truthfully, that had been her original plan before Chen Fan pointed out the existence of the barrier, saving her from the embarrassment of mentioning it.
"Well, it would've been a different story if the Nascent Soul had been here," Chen Fan admitted, crouching down to inspect the bodies. "He would've reacted immediately to my attack."
Glancing at the concealing talisman in his hand, he thought back to his initial strategy.
His plan had been straightforward—lure the Nascent Soul into the perfect position, then use Rule Maker to make him explode. Bai Mulan had been placed precisely where she would be visible just as they exited the cave. That moment of hesitation would have given him the opening he needed to strike.
Of course, he would have been caught in the explosion as well, but as long as his cultivation wasn't completely crippled, he was confident in his medical skills. The downside was that he wouldn't be able to fight for a while if he sustained injuries—but given their current situation, it was the best option available.
Still, they weren't out of danger yet.
The Nascent Soul cultivator was still lurking nearby, and taking him down would come at a steep cost.
As he rifled through the corpses, Chen Fan noticed two skull-shaped tattoos on their palms. His eyes narrowed.
As expected, they have smartphones too…
"Can we take their smartphones from the tattoo?" he asked, looking at Bai Mulan.
"It's simple," she replied, pointing at the markings. "Just inject your qi into it, the same way you summon your own phone. Since they're dead, they no longer count as the owners, and the tattoo itself isn't truly fused with their bodies—it's more like a sticker."
Demonstrating, she channeled her qi into the tattoo, and a phone materialized in her hand. She powered it on, only to find the screen locked.
Without hesitation, she grabbed one of the dead men's fingers and pressed it against the sensor.
Click. The screen unlocked.
Tossing one of the phones to Chen Fan, she said, "Here, you check this one."
Chen Fan's mouth twitched at the efficiency of her actions.
He hadn't expected her to be so familiar with this process. Did she do this often?
Sensing his thoughts, Bai Mulan felt a rare twinge of embarrassment. She had picked up this method from a certain cultivator group she was part of, but now wasn't the time to explain.
Pushing aside his curiosity, Chen Fan focused on searching the phone. They needed to find something useful—fast.