Chapter 68: Seizing the Treasure

Once everyone entered the secret realm, they found themselves even more stunned than before. No one had expected this place to be the burial ground of a mighty cultivator at the Sword Saint Realm. What they didn’t realize, though, was that this cultivator had simply died within the secret realm—not that it was built as his grave.

Ahead of them, even greater fortunes—and dangers—remained hidden, waiting to be discovered.

Just entering the mouth of the cave, their feet crunched on a carpet of spirit stones and treasures. On either side, low-grade spirit herbs grew thick along the ground. Though these were only first-tier herbs, they were a rare find for cultivators of their modest level.

Everyone was beaming with delight, stuffing their pockets with as much as they could grab, eager to loot everything in sight.

The leaders of each great faction could only watch their disciples in helpless resignation.

They knew that treasures like these were barely a scratch on the surface of what the secret realm offered—in their eyes, this loot was trash, but for their disciples it might as well be gold.

So the leaders stepped forward to urge their junior brothers and sisters, “Don’t waste your time on these low-grade herbs. If you linger here, the real treasures ahead will be snatched up by someone else.”

Snapped back to reality, the group reluctantly tore their eyes from the scattered herbs, all secretly wishing they could take them home for alchemy.

But with no choice, they hurried to catch up with the main group and moved on.

Gu Qingyi led his companions deeper into the secret realm. All around them, discarded spirit herbs lay on the ground in chaos, as if tossed away by someone who no longer cared.

He called everyone together, urging them to stay close as they quickly passed through the entrance.

The scene ahead brought them all to a halt. The ground was littered with corpses.

Many people were still fighting fiercely over poisonous insects, grappling and stabbing at each other as if those bugs were rare treasures worth killing for.

A few survivors, grinning wildly, waved the poisonous insects in their hands, shouting and cackling, “These are mine! All mine!”

A strange purple smoke hung in the air.

Seeing the strange smoke, the bodies on the ground, and the way the survivors clung to their poisonous prizes, Gu Qingyi’s heart skipped a beat. He ordered quickly, “Circulate the Mind-Clearing Incantation! That smoke has hallucination effects!”

Everyone hurried to operate the Mind-Clearing Incantation, narrowly avoiding its effects as they cautiously made their way forward.

Suddenly, the poisonous insects in those madmen’s hands burrowed into their bodies. In an instant, the victims’ eyes turned bloodshot, and their heads twisted at impossible angles.

They grinned hideously and let out bizarre noises, raising their swords high and swinging wildly at Gu Qingyi’s group.

In their crazed eyes, anyone else was a rival for their ‘treasure.’ Anyone who dared take it was as good as dead.

The female disciples from Tianwu Academy saw the lunatics charging at them and froze in terror, screaming for help.

Gu Qingyi’s reflexes were lightning fast. He snatched a sword from a nearby female disciple, his figure flickering as he spun gracefully. In a flash, the attackers’ heads fell from their shoulders.

Bodies hit the ground with heavy thuds.

From their severed necks, a few rainbow-colored centipedes struggled out, only to be crushed in midair by a mysterious force.

“Senior brother, what are those things? They look terrifying.” The group stared at the centipedes, faces pale with shock.

Gu Qingyi shook his head, replying calmly, “No idea. Let’s keep moving, and everyone stay close.”

Nodding obediently, they followed behind Gu Qingyi.

………………

Deeper inside, amidst treasures scattered everywhere, stood a brilliant golden fruit tree laden with Marrow-Cleansing Fruits.

This miraculous fruit could transform ordinary people, allowing them to step onto the cultivation path. With no side effects at all, it was unimaginably precious.

Everyone stared at it, eyes blazing with desire.

After all, at any auction house, these fruits were worth over a thousand high-grade spirit stones and even then were rarely found—making them priceless.

The prospect of such fortune inspired every group to risk it all. This was the greatest opportunity they’d encountered so far.

But where rare treasures grew, danger followed. While everyone scanned the area in confusion, their eyes fell on the remains of a fourth-rank Flame Serpent demon beast, chopped into bloody chunks on the ground.

The corpses of Sky Sword Sect disciples lay scattered everywhere around it.

“So, do you lot really want to fight me for this tree?” Zhi Yin was lounging lazily at the tree’s roots, scarlet eyes cool as he idly licked his blade and swept his gaze across the crowd. “I suggest you all think carefully. You only live once—whether you seize this chance is up to you.”

………………..

“He… He’s right. What do we do?” Someone gulped. Zhi Yin’s words struck home. Even with their numbers, facing true power made them feel like helpless children.

But the allure of the Marrow-Cleansing Fruit was too much to resist.

“Forget it—we fight together! High risk, high reward!” They decided to work as one, daring to take a bite out of the ‘tiger.’ First, defeat Zhi Yin, then split the fruits among themselves.

Glaring at the relaxed Zhi Yin, everyone shouted, “We know you’re strong, but fortune favors the bold. We can’t let you take it all for yourself!”

“No matter how strong you are, today we’ll see who prevails!” In one motion, swords flashed from their sheaths, their blades gleaming cold in the dim light.

“So you’ve all grown tired of living? In that case, allow me to help you along.” Zhi Yin’s eyes drifted open, a smile curling his lips as he moved the blade in his hand. The moment his words fell—

“No! Fall back!” The crowd felt as if he’d vanished, flitting about like a wraith. Realizing the danger, they cried out in anger.

“Damn it! Come out and fight! Hiding in the shadows—is that all you’ve got?” But before anyone could make a move, they felt a cold touch on their throats—and one by one, they were cut down.

“How… How is this possible? You’re this strong?!” Wide-eyed with disbelief, everyone grasped how deep the gap truly was. Even joining forces, they hadn’t stood a chance—it was a chasm they couldn’t ever cross.

Most had barely raised a weapon before their lives ended in a bloody flash.

………………..

“Hehe, look at all these spirit herbs and medicines! Senior sister’s bound to praise me for this.” One final female disciple from the Sky Sword Sect, who had secretly stayed behind to gather herbs, had managed to avoid the massacre. After picking her fill, she rejoined the group—only to stumble upon a scene of carnage.

In shock, the spirit herbs and medicines slipped from her hands as she stared at her fellow disciples’ corpses. Some were clutching their throats, still not quite dead.

“Ah… What happened here?” Her face went pale as a sheet, and she let out a terrified scream.

“Oh, someone’s still alive? Turns out it’s you, junior sister.” Her shriek drew Zhi Yin’s amused attention.

“Where have you been, junior sister? Senior brother has been looking all over for you!” In one swift motion, Zhi Yin appeared by her side, gripping her throat, gaze playful and chilling. “Everyone’s down below—only you were missing!”

“Please, senior brother, let me go! I promise I’ll keep your secret!” she choked, struggling in vain as tears streamed down her face.

Zhi Yin laughed coldly as he stroked her pale cheek. “Junior sister, you really are too naive—keep a secret?”

“Please, I don’t want to die! Let me go—please, senior brother!” Her pleading became sobs.

“I’d like to, but if you live…” Zhi Yin’s eyes flashed with menace as he licked her cheek. “If the sect leader starts asking questions, that’d be a problem.”

“Junior sister, the only secrets are the ones the dead can keep. Don’t blame me for being cruel!” With a sickening crack, he snapped her neck.

Her body dropped with a heavy thud beside the other disciples’ corpses. Her bloodshot eyes stared, wide in shock. She’d never imagined that the senior brother who had always been so gentle could turn into such a merciless killer.