Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Treasure in Hand

Right before Li Ping’s eyes, the thousand-foot-tall Flame Divine Bird let out a mournful cry and suddenly dispersed, revealing Xiao Yunzhi and the Blazing Sun Bird within the fiery light.

At that moment, both woman and bird were completely exhausted. Lacking even the strength to fly, they plummeted straight toward the ground. From a height of several thousand feet, they would undoubtedly be reduced to two bloody pulps upon impact.

Of course, Li Ping wasn’t about to stand by and watch that happen.

Jia Yi and Jia Er shot out as two streaks of light toward the falling Xiao Yunzhi and Blazing Sun Bird.

Li Ping, meanwhile, shot forward and snatched the Storage Bags from the waists of the corpses of Kun Hu and the triangle-faced Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He simply let their corpses fall to the ground.

To his regret, the Storage Bags of the four Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators had all been destroyed during the fight, and most of the items within them had been turned to ash.

Li Ping only managed to find a few High-tier Spiritual Materials that hadn’t been destroyed.

Clutching the two Storage Bags, Li Ping slowly descended onto a high ridge. Just then, Jia Yi and Jia Er landed before him, holding Xiao Yunzhi and the Blazing Sun Bird, respectively.

Seeing this, Li Ping didn’t immediately check the contents of the Storage Bags. Instead, he looked up at Xiao Yunzhi.

Although Xiao Yunzhi was drained of strength, she hadn’t fainted. Held in Jia Yi’s arms, she’d had a clear view of Li Ping’s actions.

Instead of coming to her aid himself, "Fellow Daoist Yan" had ordered his puppets to save her and the Blazing Sun Bird while he went straight for the two Demon Cultivators’ Storage Bags.

A strange thought suddenly occurred to Xiao Yunzhi. ’It seems that in Fellow Daoist Yan’s heart, those Storage Bags are far more important than I am.’

But she quickly shook her head, casting the strange feeling from her mind. If Physician Yan hadn’t intervened and killed Kun Hu and his men, she would have had no hope of escaping today.

’Physician Yan’s appearance here must be the will of the heavens,’ she thought. ’I have no reason to be jealous.’

When Li Ping looked over, she hurriedly struggled to her feet. "Fellow Daoist Yan, thank you for saving my life."

Although she didn’t know how he had appeared in this secret realm, thanks to the scent her Blazing Sun Bird had memorized, Xiao Yunzhi was certain the man before her was the very same "Physician Yan" who had treated her before.

As for his utterly ordinary appearance, Xiao Yunzhi paid it no mind.

After all, she knew full well from Junior Sister Qiao’s description just how handsome and dashing Physician Yan’s true face was, and that he possessed a refined, otherworldly air.

’This plain appearance must just be another one of Physician Yan’s disguises,’ she secretly surmised.

Just like the last time they met, when he had been disguised as a large, bushy-bearded man.

Li Ping didn’t deny her form of address, simply smiling and nodding. "Fairy Xiao, you’re too kind. I merely happened upon the scene."

He waved his hand, stopping her before she could speak. "There’s no need for further thanks, Fairy," Li Ping said coolly. "To be honest, I’m quite interested in the treasure you and those six Demon Cultivators were fighting over. Might you take it out and let me have a look?"

Though his words were phrased as a question, his tone left no room for refusal.

It was clear that if Xiao Yunzhi didn’t produce the treasure, he would simply take it by force.

After all, in Li Ping’s mind, the treasure rightfully belonged to him. ’I saved your life. Is taking one treasure in return asking too much? I haven’t asked for a single extra Spirit Stone! Well?’

Xiao Yunzhi gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "Physician Yan, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood. What I just snatched from them wasn’t some great treasure, but an evil object."

"Oh? An evil object?" Li Ping’s expression didn’t change. "In that case, I’m even more interested."

Xiao Yunzhi sighed. "Very well. Since you insist, Physician Yan, I will give you the evil object. However, you must be extremely careful not to be influenced by it."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a Jade Box materialized in midair.

The surface of the Jade Box was plastered with a dense layer of Spirit Talismans, showing that it was being handled with extreme caution.

Seeing Xiao Yunzhi’s wary attitude toward the object in the box, Li Ping’s expression finally changed.

He caught the Jade Box with one hand, but he didn’t rush to open it. Instead, he asked calmly, "Fairy, would you mind explaining the origin of this evil object?"

Xiao Yunzhi smiled at his question and immediately began to explain. "In the Ancient Times—"

But she had barely begun to speak when she felt the ground shake violently. She swallowed her words and glanced around, alarmed and uncertain.

Li Ping’s reaction was no better.

He was no longer in a hurry to learn about the evil object from her.

"Fairy Xiao, this tremor suggests there’s a problem with the secret realm itself. How about we leave first and talk later?" Li Ping proposed.

Xiao Yunzhi nodded softly. "Alright."

At the same time, she recalled the slumbering Blazing Sun Bird into her Spirit Beast Pouch.

The two of them stared at each other blankly for a moment before Li Ping finally couldn’t help but speak up. "Fairy Xiao, you can go ahead and get us out of the secret realm now."

Xiao Yunzhi stared at him, taken aback. "Huh? Me? Physician Yan, you don’t know how to leave the secret realm?"

Hearing this, Li Ping’s heart sank. ’This is bad.’ It seemed he had misunderstood something crucial.

...

「Donghua Mountain.」

The moment the entrance to the secret realm opened, figures began to fly out from within.

The inherent dangers of the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm were trivial for Foundation Establishment Cultivators; they could essentially steamroll their way through it. In just over ten days, the cultivators who had entered had already swept the realm clean of all its Spiritual Materials.

The remaining time was dedicated to a bloody free-for-all between the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Daoist Guardian Alliance and the four sects of the Demon Dao.

Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators had fallen in the bloody slaughter, and with the exception of a few, the survivors were unwilling to remain in the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm a moment longer.

Within fifteen minutes, nearly every cultivator inside the secret realm had chosen to leave.

However, compared to the number of cultivators who had entered, only about half were still alive.

SWOOSH!

Three figures flew out from the passageway; they were Huang Yan, Xiong Pohai, and Ji Shuwen. It was unclear how Ji Shuwen had ended up with the other two, but she seemed rather close to Huang Yan.

After they left the secret realm, no other cultivators appeared.

This caused the hearts of both Old Devil Lu and Qiu Changfeng to sink.

As for Old Devil Lu, it went without saying. The six people he had sent in had not appeared, and the most important matter he had toiled over for centuries seemed to have hit a snag.

Qiu Changfeng, meanwhile, noted that Xiao Yunzhi still had not emerged.

Xiao Yunzhi was a cultivator with a Celestial Spiritual Root, the future pillar of the Academy Palace. Her importance in Qiu Changfeng’s heart was self-evident.

Furthermore, she was a descendant of Xiao Changkong.

From every angle, Qiu Changfeng hoped for her safe return.

’Yunzhi’s life token is still intact. She should be fine.’ Thinking this, Qiu Changfeng breathed a small sigh of relief.

’The life tokens of all six of them are still intact. They must just be delayed,’ Old Devil Lu likewise reassured himself.

Huang Yunzi’s gaze swept over the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the square, and he spoke calmly. "Since the juniors are all out, let us close the entrance."

The other five all nodded in agreement.

But Old Devil Lu and Qiu Changfeng cried out in unison, "You mustn’t!"

The two exchanged a glance, and Qiu Changfeng quickly explained, "The Academy Palace still has a cultivator inside. Her life token is intact. Please, wait a little longer."

Old Devil Lu offered the same excuse.

Out of respect for the two of them, the other six could only continue to channel their Magical Power to keep the secret realm’s exit stable.

But as time ticked by, anxious expressions inevitably appeared on the faces of both Old Devil Lu and Qiu Changfeng.

"CRACK~"

The crisp sound of a life token shattering emanated from Old Devil Lu’s Storage Bag, attracting the attention of the eight Late-stage Core Formation Cultivators present.

Old Devil Lu’s expression turned grim, but he tried to reassure himself. ’Only one has fallen. It’s not a big deal.’

But as he looked up toward the entrance of the secret realm—

"CRACK~" "CRACK~" "CRACK~"

Three more successive cracks echoed from his Storage Bag, and Old Devil Lu’s heart sank into an abyss.

He forced himself to remain calm. ’It’s fine, it’s fine... Kun Hu and Juedu are still alive. They’re Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they both have their own methods. They have to be okay.’

Hearing the continuous cracking of life tokens from Old Devil Lu’s Storage Bag, Qiu Changfeng’s own anxiety grew immensely.

Although Xiao Yunzhi’s life token was still intact, she had yet to emerge. If Core Formation Cultivators were not barred from entering the secret realm, he would have already gone in to find her himself.

In that brief span of time, the tremors from within the secret realm grew increasingly violent.

Nearby, an old man with a square face and large ears, Hua Wuji, let his gaze sweep over all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the field, finally flickering past Qiu Changfeng with feigned indifference.

Then, his lips barely moving, he sent a voice transmission to Old Devil Lu. "Fellow Daoist Lu, are any of your sect’s cultivators still alive? If not, we should withdraw our Magical Power. I see that female cultivator with the Celestial Spiritual Root from the Academy Palace is still in the secret realm. Closing it now means we’ll have one less major enemy to face in the future."

Old Devil Lu, agitated, shook his head repeatedly. "Wait a little longer! I still have two—"

His voice died abruptly, accompanied by two more "CRACK~" "CRACK~" sounds from the Storage Bag at his waist.

Just like that, all six of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators Old Devil Lu had sent into the secret realm were dead.

His face was ashen; he knew he was in deep trouble.

Once the secret realm dissolved, the treasure would be lost to the spatial storms. Even if it wasn’t destroyed, it would be impossible for it to ever return to this world.

He had completely botched his master’s instructions.

’How could this be?’ Old Devil Lu’s face was ashen, but his mind was reeling in utter confusion.

Two Late-stage and four Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he had even bestowed treasures upon each of them before they entered.

How could such a powerful lineup be completely wiped out in the mere Cyan Cloud Secret Realm?

’Surely a Core Formation Cultivator couldn’t have snuck inside!’

’There’s still someone who hasn’t come out.’

Old Devil Lu’s gaze swept over Qiu Changfeng, and he began to suspect that Xiao Yunzhi had killed the subordinates he sent into the secret realm and that the treasure had fallen into her hands.

Hearing the two final cracks from Old Devil Lu’s Storage Bag, Hua Wuji nodded to himself. He then said bluntly, "We’ve held the entrance open long enough. All the juniors who were going to come out have done so. I am withdrawing my Magical Power."

"You mustn’t!" Old Devil Lu and Qiu Changfeng once again cried out in unison.

Hearing this, Hua Wuji looked at Old Devil Lu with an expression full of confusion, as if to say, ’I say, my friend, all of your people are dead. What are you still objecting to?’

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