“Don’t let him escape, this man is a core member of a family clan, and he is quite wealthy. We must capture him…”
A loud voice echoed through the sky.
More than thirty Cultivators, all at the peak of Qi Gathering, were chasing after a man in green robe.
All of them had a cold and murderous expression as they went after the man. They had long suffered oppression from family of this young man in green, and now they were eager to kill him immediately and divide his spiritual objects.
“HOW DARE YOU! All of you are courting death! There’s still time. Stop and this young master will forgive you!”
The man in green shouted in fury, unable to believe that just as he entered he had just encountered a large group of Cultivators who, in the outside world, always behave so “generously”. But now…
Here, all status and identities were worthless. Only strength could control everything.
Just as Lucian completely stabilized his cultivation, when he sensed the intense Spiritual Energy fluctuations above.
He immediately suppressed his aura as much as possible and waited quietly.
Even if other Cultivators used the Qi Sense, they would find it hard to detect him, unless the person was many times stronger than him.
Soon, the group fled deeper into the forest.
Lucian slowly exhaled a breath and took out his Halberd.
The Halberd was completely red in color as it was made of fire element related ore. Its size was nearly as long as his body, the handle crafted from the wood a Second grade Spiritual Tree.
In the darkness of his hiding spot, it glowed softly, quite extraordinary.
Now, with his newfound Foundation Establishment strength, he could finally begin to truly refine this treasure.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began to circulate his Crimson Flame Spiritual Energy through the Halberd.
The weapon seemed to respond eagerly, its glow intensifying.
…
Time slowly passed, in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
In a dense jungle, a handsome man flew up to a treetop to check his surroundings.
It was Lucian, who his Cultivation suppressed.
During this month, he had been staying in the pit all along. His Foundation Platform’s size had also increased slightly.
The Secret Realm would stay open for about a year, so he wasn’t in a hurry to explore.
Seeing that there was no-one around, he slowly flew towards the southwest, his Qi Sense continuosly scanning for another usual around him.
Right now, he was at the outermost area of the southern area of the realm. The entire realm was divided into three areas: outer, inner, and core.
Anyone who had just entered would find themselves on the outermost perimeter.
Lucian’s destination was the inner area of the southwest, a place with pure Yin energy, which was thousands of miles away from his current location.
After flying for a few hundred miles, Lucian noticed something unusual ahead.
A small swamp appeared before him, its murky waters bubbling softly, giving the area an eerie atmosphere.
At the middle of the swamp was a small pink lotus, emitting spiritual energy fluctuations.
A quick scan told him that it was a second grade Spiritual Herb.
Beside the spirit herb, a black crocodile, nearly two meters long, was silently lying in the murky waters. Its red eyes looked up at Lucian who had just entered its territory, releasing a threatening aura. The beast was at the peak of Qi Gathering stage.
Lucian silently flew down, landing on the bank of the swamp.
At this moment, an unexpected change occurred.
From his left side, three flying swords tore through the air with a piercing whistle, their sharp tips gleaming with cold light.
“Haha… another fool fell into your trap, senior brother!” A sinister laugh echoed across the swamp.
“Didn’t I tell you it’s best to use this place to ambush these fools? It’s better than running through the forest chasing after them,” another voice laughed mockingly.
Three young cultivators emerged from the thick bushes, their eyes full of malice. They wore plain robes, stained with mud and leaves, clearly having hidden here for some time.
Lucian’s crimson eyes turned cold. Without a word, his halberd flew out like a bolt of red lightning.
Like a fire dragon, it immediately collided with two flying swords that came whistling through the air.
Clang!!
A sound like metal scraping against stone filled the air as the wild energies clashed!
As for the last sword, as it got closer Lucian closed his fist and punched out.
A wave of crimson energy surged from his hand, meeting the sword head-on.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
Three flying swords immediately pushed back tens of meters by Lucian’s counterattack. The ground beneath was destroyed like being plowed by the force of the collision.
The Cultivators who had launched the sneak attack felt a tight pain in their chests from the backlash, their energy flowing disorderly.
“Which sect’s core disciple are you?”
“Fellow Daoist, there is a misunderstanding!”
The three cultivators’ faces turned ashen with horror. They hadn’t expected such a powerful opponent to still be in the outer area after a month.
“F-forgive us, senior! We didn’t know…” one of them stuttered, cold sweat beading on his brow.
Without hesitation, they activated a Forbidden Technique, as they began to burn their Essence Blood, sacrificing their cultivation base for a burst of power.
“Run!” the leader shouted, his voice strained with desperation.
They turned to flee, their bodies surrounded by unstable energy!
They also took out defensive treasures and positioned them above their heads. Then a Spiritual Energy Shield surrounded them.
Lucian smirked coldly and completely released his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation.
At the next second, the Halberd tore through the air with a whistling sound. A streak of crimson light flashed across the swamp.
Before they could react, it directly penetrated through the protective shield of the man in the middle. The light of treasure dimmed significantly.
Blood sprayed from his chest as the Halberd burst out.
The man’s eyes widened in horror as the Halberd exited his body.
The man’s companions could only watch in horror as their comrade’s body was engulfed in crimson flames, reducing him to ashes in mere moments.
This was the manifestation of Crimson Flames!
Lucian’s then gestured with his hand, and the Halberd, like fish in water, smashed through the remaining two cultivators’ defenses.
With a “crack”, it tore through flesh and bone.
Lucian waved his hand, summoning the Halberd back.
He then turned his gaze to the swamp, where the pink lotus floated peacefully. With another gesture, he plucked the spirit herb from the swamp.
As for the black crocodile, it had already fled.
After securing the herb, Lucian flew to where the cultivators had fallen and collected their storage bags.
After removing the Qi Imprint, he found nearly a thousand spirit stones, “It seems they have killed quite a few cultivators.”
Lucian gathered the spirit stones satisfactory and then pulled out a map Alisa had given him. After reconfirming his direction, he began flying through the low sky toward the southwest.
The air was filled with spiritual energy, making his flight effortless.
However, after flying for another thousand meters, a withered man in tattered robes suddenly burst from the canopy below.
Its eyes were hollow, like… a corpse!
Rotting flesh hung from its mouth, and a foul stench permeated the air. It didn’t attack, just silently blocked his path.
Behind it, a handsome young man slowly walked out from the forest. He was wearing a white robe.
“You’re Prince Lucian, right? Isabella’s brother?” the young man spoke, a grin spreading across his face. His voice carried a hint of amusement, as if he found great pleasure in this unexpected encounter.
Lucian raised his brow in surprise. It had been a long time since he had been called Prince.
“And who might you be?” Lucian asked coolly.
“I’m Aron, the person who was supposed to be your dear sister’s fian—”
However before the young man could finish, his eyes widened in terror.
BOOM!!
A loud crack echoed through the forest as the corpse suddenly burst open. Rotting flesh and putrid fluids splattered across Aron’s white robes.
In that instant, Aron felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him. The corpse he had painstakingly refined over the years was destroyed in mere seconds.
Before he could even process what was happening, a heart wrenching pain exploded in his chest. He looked down to see a blood-red flaming halberd protruding from his body.
“H-ow could this be…?” Aron’s eyes widened in terror as he felt the searing heat spreading through his body. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
The flames consumed him from within, reducing his flesh and bones to ash in mere seconds.
Lucian waved his hand, summoning his halberd back to him. The weapon’s flames faded as it settled into his grip.