Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

214: Dead Secret RealmThe world before him was bizarre and kaleidoscopic, like the legendary Underworld, overlapping with the fragmented scenes he had glimpsed through the rock wall, yet more real, more oppressive, and more despairing.

The sky was a perpetually lifeless, murky grey, devoid of sun, moon, stars, or flowing clouds.

Only a turbid, seemingly congealed dark grey canopy pressed down low, casting suffocatingly dim light, and as far as the eye could see, everything was shrouded in gloom.

Beneath his feet was cracked, pitch-black earth, hard as iron and bone-chillingly cold. Occasionally, shriveled, blackened, grotesquely twisted plant remains could be seen in the cracks, silently narrating a tragic demise.

In the distance, black mountains undulated like colossal tombs, silently standing at the ends of the world, utterly still, exuding a chilling desolation and wildness.

Feng Xixi, who had entered before him, was already hovering three feet above the ground, her plain white long dress gently fluttering against the gloomy backdrop.

A faint, clear glow emanated from her, elegantly separating her from this dead and decaying world.

Her gaze was like lightning, swiftly sweeping the surroundings, with a hint of detachment and indifference.

”This Secret Realm is dying! Heaven and Earth are on the verge of decay!”

A faint voice drifted over.

Feng Xixi had once seen records of this in top-secret ancient texts.

Not long after, everyone entered the Secret Realm.

Dozens of Late Stage Qi Refining masters acted with extreme efficiency. Despite arriving in an unfamiliar dangerous place, they showed no panic and followed orders.

In just a moment, a circular formation, with Feng Xixi at its core, layered with both offense and defense, was already established.

Various Magical Artifacts shimmered with faint spiritual light, like vigilant eyes in the darkness, all directed towards the endless, murky unknown Domain outside, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

”Such dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi... unfortunately, it’s filled with inertia and Evil Qi, and mixed with some corrosive, defiling power.

It’s almost impossible to absorb and refine directly. Forcing its absorption would instead corrupt one’s Dao Foundation, leading to endless future troubles!”

Shopkeeper Shui Sheng frowned and tried to circulate her Cultivation Technique for a moment, then immediately shook her head, her beautiful face showing extreme regret and solemnity.

”The Laws of Heaven and Earth here are abnormal; Evil Qi corrodes the body, and the recovery speed of spiritual power is probably less than thirty percent of the outside world. The range of Divine Sense perception is also greatly suppressed.

Everyone, try to conserve spiritual power. Do not use large-scale Spells unless necessary. Prioritize Martial Skills, Magical Artifacts, and low-consumption Spells! Do not be stingy with Spirit Pills and spiritual liquid; replenish them promptly!”

Feng Xixi’s clear and cold voice distinctly reached everyone’s ears. Her perception was the keenest, and she had already sensed a despair permeating this world, a malicious Law power targeting living beings, extremely unfriendly.

However, just as her voice fell, an abrupt change occurred.

The black earth beneath their feet violently churned without warning! As if something terrifying was about to burst forth.

”Crack! Crack! Crack—”

A grating, dense sound of bones rubbing together came from underground, instantly piercing the silence of this dead world.

The next instant, dozens, even hundreds, of monsters resembling pale, withered bones, with eerie green ghostly flames burning in their eye sockets and claws and teeth sharp as knives glinting with strange black light,

Broke through the hard black ground, emitting piercing, ear-splitting shrieks that penetrated the Divine Soul. Like hungry ghosts sniffing out the scent of living beings, they wildly charged from all directions towards the exploration team, which had just formed a formation and was brimming with Spiritual Qi.

”They are Shadow Skeletons! Be careful, their claws and teeth carry an extremely Yin Corpse Poison that can corrode the spiritual light of Magical Artifacts and defile a Cultivator’s spiritual power.

Form a defensive array, cover with long-range Spells, and don’t let them get close!”

Captain Zhao Mang roared, his voice like a clap of thunder. He charged forward first, not even using a weapon. His giant, fan-like palms glowed with a bronze metallic luster, his vital Qi surged, and he slammed them forward.

Boom!

The air let out a sonic boom-like roar. The immensely powerful palm wind was like a tangible iron wall of protective Qi, its violent force directly shattering the dozen or so Shadow Skeletons at the very front.

Pale bone fragments mixed with eerie green ghostly flames scattered everywhere!

The other Cultivators also reacted immediately, their combat instincts instantly ignited. In an instant, swords hummed, Flying Swords left their sheaths, transforming into streaks of sharp rainbow light of various colors, weaving a net of death as they slashed out.

Various Spells and spiritual talismans bloomed like dazzling yet deadly fireworks. Fireballs, ice cones, lightning chains, and wind blades roared as they smashed into the tide-like army of skeletons.

Body Cultivators, skilled in Martial Skills, growled as they guarded the periphery. With every punch and kick, vital Qi surged, powerful and domineering, shattering and repelling the approaching monsters.

The battle erupted instantly, and its intensity was beyond imagination!

These individual Shadow Skeletons were only at Qi Refining Middle Stage strength, but they were numerous, endless, and fearless of death. Moreover, they seemed to have an extreme craving for the aura of living beings.

No sooner had one batch been eliminated than more hair-raising roars and dense scuttling sounds came from the darkness in the distance.

Among them, some larger elites even began to appear, with dark golden bones and deep purple ghostly flames burning in their eye sockets, their aura comparable to Qi Refining seventh or eighth layer Cultivators. Their power to impact the formation was clearly stronger.

”We cannot prolong the battle! This place is strange, and spiritual power recovers extremely slowly, yet the Shadow Skeletons seem endless! Dragging this out is disadvantageous to us! According to the original plan, split up!”

Feng Xixi hovered in mid-air, calmly giving commands, her voice clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

”Gu Yue, lead a team to search for Spiritual Plant veins to the east. Shui Sheng, lead a team to investigate possible ancient Cultivator ruins to the west.

Zhao Mang, take the main force to clear the surrounding monsters, establish a temporary safe stronghold, and stay to provide support! I will lead a team myself to explore the desolate forest to the south and search for Xu Li’s whereabouts!

Contact each other once every hour using the special communication jade slips. Call for help immediately if you encounter danger!

Gather in six hours!”

With the order given, the well-trained Alliance quickly moved.

Feng Xixi’s team had the fewest members, only five including Lin Jingyu.

Lin Jingyu followed closely beside Feng Xixi, pushing the Spirit Refining Art to its limit. His powerful Mental Energy was like an invisible spider web.

He cautiously extended his perception in all directions, striving to avoid the chaotic Death Qi emanating from the Shadow Skeletons.

In the desolate forest, the twisted tree branches were like grotesque ghostly claws, menacingly spread, and the ground was covered with thick black ashes of unknown origin.

The air was filled with a dense stench of decay and a faint, nauseatingly sweet, bloody smell, almost solidifying, constantly trying to erode one’s mind.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense keenly captured an extremely faint yet unusually chaotic and violent spiritual energy fluctuation from far ahead.

Mixed within it was a trace of Sword Intent that he had felt before in front of the ancestral hall, unique and sharp, like a cold sword on a lonely peak.

But that Sword Intent was now like a flickering candle in the wind, scattered and weak, filled with despair, unwillingness, and... a chilling, resolute self-destructive implication.

It was Xu Li!

He carefully observed the surrounding terrain, comparing it with the information on his panel.

”Shopkeeper Feng!” Lin Jingyu immediately transmitted his voice, with a hint of undetectable urgency.

”It’s likely a demonic Cultivator at work. Should we go check it out?”

Feng Xixi’s eyes suddenly narrowed, radiating cold light, and she made a decisive call: ”Go! Full speed ahead! Everyone else, follow!”

Five figures shrouded in grey cloaks, like five arrows released from bows, swiftly sped towards the direction from which the waves of despair and destruction emanated.