Chapter 65 : Junior Brother Nan… Was Dead?
Chapter 65: Junior Brother Nan… Was Dead?
After returning to the tree hollow and settling down, Long Tao immediately and succinctly informed Fang Wuqi of the drastic upheaval that had occurred outside the Secret Realm.
After listening to everything, Fang Wuqi merely frowned slightly.
There was not the slightest trace of panic on his handsome face; instead, he appeared calm in a way that put others at ease.
“Matters outside need not be overly worried about for the time being.” His voice was steady, carrying an unquestionable certainty.
“True Person Zhiying, True Person Mingzhu, and True Person Duanyue are all top-grade Golden Core cultivators, and their cultivation levels are close to completion. Joining forces to deal with those five enemies will at most put some pressure on them. What’s more, Elder Xu is also aboard the Cloud Vessel. Though he is an artisan and not adept at killing, he is still a genuine Golden Core cultivator and can provide support at critical moments.”
Still, Long Tao could not help voicing the doubt in his heart.
“But Senior Brother Fang, since you were able to… so cleanly deal with two assassins, then when we first encountered them, we had the numerical advantage. Did we… actually have a chance to defeat them head-on?” He asked cautiously—not out of challenge, but purely from confusion about the tactics.
“Absolutely impossible.” Fang Wuqi answered without the slightest hesitation, his tone carrying a rare gravity.
“Junior Brother Long Tao, there are things you do not know. These people are an assassination unit painstakingly cultivated by the Wuyi Sect at great expense. I have crossed paths with them several times. Their most terrifying traits, aside from stealth and concealment, are their extreme proficiency in coordinated formation techniques.”
He paused before continuing, “When their numbers exceed ten, they can even restrain some weaker Golden Core cultivators. Don’t be fooled by how easily I seemed to handle the two of them. In truth, I used a magical artifact to instantly kill one with thunderous force, thereby creating an opportunity to face the second one-on-one. Even so… I was unable to leave him alive and could only kill him with full force.”
His gaze swept over everyone, carrying an unprecedented seriousness.
“If they were truly allowed to converge—even if only two or three formed a small battle formation—under the same numbers, most of us would not be their match, and casualties would be unavoidable.”
Fang Wuqi looked toward the unfathomable depths of the Secret Realm beyond the tree hollow, his tone calm yet resolute beyond doubt.
“This Secret Realm exploration has, in truth, already ended. The most urgent matter now is to quickly recover all scattered fellow disciples and leave this place alive. The Wuyi Sect was willing to risk a full-scale war with us and mobilize such force; there must be an enormous scheme hidden behind it, far beyond ordinary motives. Whatever that scheme is, it is no longer within the scope that we Foundation Establishment disciples should touch.”
Long Tao gave a bitter smile inwardly.
The reasoning was sound, but unfortunately… he had a pretty good idea of the Wuyi Sect’s true objective.
Most likely, it was aimed at the Yaoguang Azure Phoenix in his System Task.
The value of a Quasi–Holy Beast—whether it was worth completely severing relations with a colossal existence like the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect—was an interest calculation that Long Tao could not quantify.
But clearly, the upper echelons of the Wuyi Sect believed it was worth it.
The question was… how exactly had the Wuyi Sect learned of this information?
He himself had only known this earth-shattering secret in advance because of the System, this outright cheat.
Moreover, judging from the fact that the System could foresee the opening of the Secret Realm ahead of everyone else, no one should have been able to obtain intelligence faster than this thing.
If the Wuyi Sect truly possessed intelligence capabilities surpassing the System, they should have long since dispatched large forces to enter the Secret Realm first.
Why would they need to exhaust themselves with schemes at the entrance?
Long Tao frowned deeply.
His intuition told him that the Wuyi Sect must still be hiding other back-up plans and secret moves.
Those eight assassins were not the final killing blow.
But… there were three Golden Core True Persons at the Secret Realm entrance.
They should not have been able to commit any more strength.
Surely they would not send several more Golden Core cultivators—or even Nascent Soul–level ones.
That was impossible.
If things escalated to that level, the Secret Realm entrance would be destroyed, and no one would gain anything.
Unless… they had already planted an ambush inside the Secret Realm?
But the thought was dismissed the moment it arose.
As soon as the Secret Realm opened, patrol disciples from both sides had been tightly monitoring the surroundings.
Afterward, True Person Zhiying arrived at the first moment.
There was no possibility that anyone could have infiltrated in advance.
Could it be… just as they had, through fortuitous coincidence, turned these demon plant tree spirits from enemies into allies, the Wuyi Sect had also secretly colluded with some “rooted” power within the Secret Realm and long since placed their pieces?
His thoughts were tangled beyond measure, and for the moment, Long Tao could not sort them out.
He shook his head, deciding to temporarily set aside these unfathomable conspiracies.
No matter what, the most practical priority at present was to preserve their lives and reunite with their scattered companions as soon as possible.
As for the task, they would think of a way later.
Right now, there was no hope or opportunity to see it completed.
……
Just as everyone was discussing their next course of action, the three demon plant tree spirits came over again.
The leader waved its vines, its tone carrying a hint of ingratiation and urgency.
“Honored lords, honored aunties! We just received another message from the root network—we’ve detected the auras of two Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect disciples! This time they’re a bit farther away, about ten li out, but… those two seem to be injured!”
Hearing this, Fang Wuqi did not hesitate at all.
With a flip of his hand, he took out three low-grade Spirit Stones and handed them over.
“We’ll trouble the three of you to guide us another stretch.”
At the sight of the Spirit Stones, the three demon plants’ eyes immediately lit up.
They hurriedly accepted them, each carefully absorbing one into their bodies.
Then, brimming with enthusiasm, they twisted their root systems, exited the tree hollow, and assumed a guiding posture.
“Please follow us! We’ll definitely lead you along the safest route!”
The group once again entered the Azurewood Demon Forest.
With local guides leading the way, they indeed avoided many dangers that were difficult to detect with the naked eye.
Along the way, Long Tao once again experienced the strangeness and killing intent of this Secret Realm.
Beneath seemingly calm layers of rotting leaves, there might lurk putrid mud bogs; vines coiled around ancient trees would quietly writhe like living creatures.
If not for the three tree spirits’ intimate knowledge of every blade of grass and every tree here, it would have been impossible for them to pass through so smoothly.
Even so, the faint smell of blood lingering in the air and the occasional brief, miserable scream still reminded everyone that danger lurked everywhere.
After advancing at speed for some time, the leading tree spirit suddenly stopped, its branches pointing ahead as it lowered its voice.
“It’s just ahead!”
Everyone immediately went on guard, slowing their steps as they approached.
On the open ground, two disciples wearing Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect robes were leaning back against a charred ancient tree, barely holding on.
One of them was pale-faced, his left arm hanging limply, his sleeve soaked red with blood.
He gripped a longsword tightly with the right hand that could still move, vigilantly watching his surroundings.
It was the Inner Sect elite, Chu Yuanbai.
The other, a female disciple, was in even worse condition.
She was slumped on the ground, her face as white as paper, her breathing rapid and weak, blood continuously spilling from the corner of her lips.
Most horrifying of all, her abdominal clothing was torn apart, revealing a clear penetrating wound.
Though it had been crudely treated, blood still seeped out incessantly.
Her internal organs were clearly injured, and her condition was critical!
Chu Yuanbai was the first to notice Fang Wuqi and the others approaching.
He was initially wary, but once he saw clearly who it was, a burst of joy at escaping certain death erupted in his eyes.
“Senior Brother Fang! Senior Sister Zhu! It’s you!”
His gaze quickly swept over Long Tao and Luo Yusi.
When he saw the three demon plants, he was visibly stunned for a moment, but he could not afford to care about that now.
He urgently said, “Quick! Check on Senior Sister Liu! Her Dantian has been injured!”
Fang Wuqi’s figure flickered, and he was already beside the severely injured female disciple like a ghost.
He crouched down, his fingers swiftly resting on her wrist pulse.
His brows instantly knit together.
At the same time, without the slightest hesitation, he took out a pill shimmering with flowing light and carefully fed it into her mouth.
His palm covered the wound at her Dantian as pure, gentle spiritual energy slowly flowed in, trying to stabilize the life force that was constantly draining away.
At this tense moment of emergency treatment, Chu Yuanbai’s face was deathly pale as he walked heavily over to Zhu Huaisu.
His lips trembled several times, his eyes darting away.
He struggled for a long while before finally blurting out that heart-stopping news.
“I… I’m sorry… Senior Sister Zhu! Junior Brother Nan… he…” Chu Yuanbai’s voice faltered.
He took a deep breath before using all his strength to say the latter half, “He was… killed by the Wuyi Sect’s thieves…”
The words were like a bolt from the blue, exploding abruptly beside Zhu Huaisu and Long Tao.
Zhu Huaisu, who had been watching Fang Wuqi treat the injured with concern, abruptly turned her head.
Her beautiful eyes widened instantly as she stared at Chu Yuanbai in disbelief, unable to accept the news for a moment.
Long Tao’s heart was also violently shaken as he looked at Zhu Huaisu’s side profile, suddenly dazed and bereft of spirit.
Still, his mind remained quite clear.
Thinking of that foolish kid Nan Yuchen—wasn’t he a Child of Destiny?
Would he really die in such a mid-to-low-level Secret Realm?