Chapter 77 - 52: Enemies on a Narrow Path

Fifty disciples entered the Teleportation Array one by one. Meng Yifei personally activated it. The next moment, a white light flashed, and the once-glowing array fell silent again.

All fifty disciples had entered the Langya Secret Realm.

Meng Yifei looked at the empty Teleportation Array, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

It had been several hundred years since the Langya Secret Realm was first discovered.

For centuries, the Elite Disciples of the Six Sects had entered one after another, but to this day, they had only explored a small, relatively safe outer region.

The vaster, deeper inner and core regions remained shrouded in mystery.

All they knew was this.

Many of the most renowned and powerful experts in the Immortal Cultivation World today had found their fateful opportunities in the Langya Secret Realm in their younger years.

Some had obtained Heaven and Earth Wonders.

Others had found incredibly powerful Magic Treasures.

And still others had received an Ancient Inheritance.

Even he himself had once obtained a mysterious Cultivation Technique in the Langya Secret Realm, which had set him on his current path.

「Now.」

It was the younger generation’s turn to seek their own fortunes.

’I hope they can bring some surprises back to the sect.’

A gentle breeze blew, carrying the rich scent of flowers.

Li Shuang lifted her gaze.

Dense leaves covered most of the sky, but slivers of light filtered through the gaps, slightly dazzling.

Li Shuang narrowed her eyes.

’Here.’

’This is the Langya Secret Realm.’

She looked around. After entering the Secret Realm, they had all been scattered.

But their locations were sure to be within the outer region.

Li Shuang checked her Token to confirm her current position.

Her primary goal for this trip was the Ice Lake. As long as she could obtain another Lotus Seed, her mission would be complete.

The Ice Lake was located at the border between the inner and core regions.

The lake was quite peculiar; half of it lay in the inner region, and the other half in the core region.

The Ice Lake was also guarded by demon beasts.

Last time, her success in obtaining a Lotus Seed had been partly due to luck.

She might not be so lucky this time.

But in terms of the power she could wield within the Secret Realm, she was stronger than she had been last time.

Li Shuang pinpointed the Ice Lake’s location from memory and began to move.

She had only taken a few steps when the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace suddenly began to pulse with a faint light.

A flicker of understanding crossed Li Shuang’s eyes.

The outer region actually contained many treasures, but most of the obvious ones had already been taken.

The ones that remained were well hidden.

Under these circumstances, it was difficult for ordinary disciples to find anything.

But she was different.

She had the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace.

The Melting Furnace would react whenever it detected something with Spiritual Power.

Li Shuang searched the area and finally found a small seedling in a clump of bushes.

"Third-rank Spirit Grass, Illusion Spirit Grass seedling. Harvesting is not recommended. Seedling location has been marked. Two Sect Contribution Points will be awarded upon return." The Token’s voice announced.

Li Shuang raised an eyebrow.

This type of seedling couldn’t survive outside the Langya Secret Realm, and harvesting it now would yield no medicinal properties whatsoever. Therefore, when encountering such seedlings, disciples would typically mark their location and wait for them to mature before they were harvested.

Earning two Sect Contribution Points put Li Shuang in a decent mood.

After all, the Secret Realm expedition would last for a full three months.

This was only the beginning.

As she moved through the forest, the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace flickered with light from time to time, and Li Shuang soon found herself busy. She didn’t investigate every single one of the Spiritual Power Points; that would be too much of a waste of time.

She only thoroughly explored the locations where the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace had a stronger reaction.

Even so, after a few hours, Li Shuang had already gathered a considerable haul.

But Li Shuang’s expression grew increasingly grim.

’I’ve been exploring for so long, yet absolutely nothing has happened?’

The outer region was said to be relatively safe, but that was only in relative terms.

A forest this large should theoretically be home to a good number of demon beasts.

Yet she hadn’t encountered a single demon beast along the way!

’Something is wrong with this place! Luckily, the exit is just ahead. I should leave as quickly as possible.’

Li Shuang was just about to leave the forest.

Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Brother Chang, you live up to your reputation! We followed your choice of path and haven’t encountered any danger at all! Is this what it means to be a true child of fortune?!"

Then, Chang Le’an’s proud voice followed. "But of course. What you don’t know is that my luck reaches its full potential only within a Secret Realm. The path I choose is the path of absolute safety. If you stick with me, you’re bound to find other treasures soon enough."

The others chimed in one by one.

"We’ll definitely stick with Brother Chang."

"We got really lucky this time, the four of us meeting up so early! With the four of us working together, we’re much safer than anyone else!"

"You know, it’s probably because of Brother Chang’s amazing luck that the four of us were able to meet up."

"It’s all thanks to Brother Chang."

Amidst the chorus of flattery, a gentle voice spoke up. "All right, let’s not waste any more time. We should keep following Brother Chang. This forest clearly has plenty of good things to find."

"Yes," the others replied cheerfully.

Li Shuang sighed.

’What kind of luck is this?’

’Chang Le’an?’

’Ye Zhaozhao?’

’And the other two disciples from Lingxu Peak who made the cut.’

’How could I run into them of all people?’

Running into these four was one thing.

But what was going on with them? How did they manage to assemble so quickly in this vast outer region?

Li Shuang knew that within the Six Great Sects, the Thousand Mechanism Sect had a secret technique, the Thousand Machine Secret Technique, that allowed their disciples to sense each other’s locations.

It was their sect’s unique secret technique, something only disciples of the Thousand Mechanism Sect could do. That was why, in the Langya Secret Realm, the survival rate of Thousand Mechanism Sect disciples had always been slightly higher than that of others.

But these few from Lingxu Peak...

’How did they get together?’

’Because of Chang Le’an’s luck?’

Li Shuang knew better than anyone where this so-called "luck" came from.

’So was it really just... a coincidence?’

Li Shuang had no desire to meet with them. She changed direction, preparing to leave stealthily.

Suddenly, as if she had discovered her location, Ye Zhaozhao walked straight toward her. "Huh, I think someone’s over here."

Li Shuang frowned.

’I’ve already concealed my aura as much as possible. How did Ye Zhaozhao find me?’

Li Shuang stopped hiding and walked out calmly. "Junior Sister Ye."

"Senior Sister Li," Ye Zhaozhao said with a brilliant smile. "What a coincidence!"

Ye Zhaozhao concealed the hatred in her eyes.

’Coincidence?’

’Of course not!’

’I made a deal with the system. For these three months, Li Shuang’s movements will be continuously marked by the system!’

’I can see her location anytime, anywhere!’

’When the time is right, I will temporarily unseal my Nascent Soul Stage power and make sure Li Shuang dies without a trace!’

Ye Zhaozhao looked at Li Shuang, her body trembling with excitement.

’The favored child of heaven? The Heavenly Dao Female Protagonist? In the end, she’ll still die by my sword.’

’But I can’t make my move now.’

’I will keep a close eye on Li Shuang. The moment she leaves the outer region...’

A vicious glint flashed through Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes.