Chapter 348: The Secret Realm Ends, Come to the Heavenly Sword Sect Within Ten Years!

“Big Brother, it seems that Miss Qin still remembers you.”

After leaving the cave, Lu Quanzhen spoke to Lu Ping’an.

Although he hadn’t approached earlier, he had overheard their conversation.

He knew that this woman named Qin Yi had recognized his big brother.

Even though his brother’s disguise was mediocre and easy to see through,

The fact that they hadn’t seen each other for so many years, yet she could immediately recognize him, showed that her memory was deep and her feelings were extraordinary.

“Hmm.”

Lu Ping’an nodded.

He naturally knew he had been recognized.

He guessed it was his fighting style, the way he addressed her as ‘Miss,’ and the manner he handed over the pills that made her feel familiar and figure it out, prompting her to call out his name.

The moment she called his name, his mind wavered, which was essentially an indirect admission.

“Sigh…”

Thinking about this, Lu Ping’an sighed inwardly, feeling that he had been too careless and that his mental state was still lacking.

“Since that’s the case, why didn’t you admit it, Big Brother?”

Lu Quanzhen asked.

Lu Ping’an shook his head without replying.

“Are you worried about bringing trouble to the family, Big Brother?”

Lu Quanzhen squinted his eyes and continued.

Although Lu Ping’an had cultivated for more than ten years and achieved such strength, which was astonishing, it might bring trouble to Bihu Mountain if word got out.

But he felt that the reason wasn’t that simple.

“Didn’t Father say that sometimes you need to be bold?”

“Besides, this Miss Qin probably doesn’t know about our family situation, right?”

Lu Quanzhen said.

“Forget it, Quanzhen,”

Lu Ping’an clapped his hands, signaling him to stop talking.

“Sorry, Big Brother.”

Lu Quanzhen nodded, understanding that his big brother must have had other difficult reasons, so it wasn’t easy for him to recognize her.

“Father probably knows the reason.”

Lu Quanzhen squinted his eyes, recalling how their father had urged Lu Ping’an to boldly pursue her outside the secret realm, as if he had anticipated all of this.

He didn’t dwell on it any longer and planned to mention it to their father later.

After spending time with Lu Ping’an these past few days, he had come to admire this responsible big brother.

He didn’t want him to have such regrets in his long life.

Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen continued searching for spiritual materials on Purple Secrets Mountain.

By this time, many people had already been to the mountain top, and the more obvious spiritual herbs had been picked, so they didn’t have much harvest.

As the secret realm was about to end in three days, Lu Quanzhen took out the family token from his Storage Bag, injected spiritual energy into it, and sent a message to Lu Qingshan, planning to meet up and hand over the spiritual herbs.

After a moment, the token responded, and the two tokens resonated with an invisible force, sensing each other from afar.

“Let’s go, Big Brother. Let’s meet up with Qingshan,”

Lu Quanzhen said to his big brother.

“Alright.”

Lu Ping’an nodded, feeling quite curious about this younger brother he had never met.

After all, he had asked Lu Quanzhen several times before if they should meet up with Lu Qingshan.

But Lu Quanzhen had said that this younger brother seemed easygoing, but deep down, he was very proud.

He had come to the Purple Secrets Realm for self-training.

If they traveled together, it would disrupt his training.

So Lu Ping’an hadn’t contacted him until now.

The two of them used the tokens, and after about a day, they saw Lu Qingshan, with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, standing tall and wearing the Golden Sun Sect robe, holding a golden Magical Sword.

“Seventeenth Brother?”

Lu Qingshan raised an eyebrow and greeted Lu Quanzhen.

Then, his eyes turned to Lu Ping’an, curious to know who he was.

As a sword cultivator, and because of his practice of Sword Piercing the Big Dipper, he had gradually mastered the ability to see through things with clarity. His perception was sharp.

He could vaguely sense that Lu Ping’an had a physique as fierce as a beast.

Just standing there, Lu Ping’an felt like a brewing volcano, ready to erupt at any moment, giving him an inexplicable sense of danger.

“Qingshan,”

Lu Quanzhen nodded and spoke, wiping his face to remove his disguise.

Then, he pointed to Lu Ping’an beside him and smiled, saying, “This is our big brother, Lu Ping’an. You’ve probably never met him since you’ve been away.”

“Hello, Qingshan.”

Lu Ping’an also removed his disguise and smiled.

Then, he observed the Lu Qingshan standing before him.

He had seen him from afar outside the secret realm before.

But now, seeing him up close, Lu Qingshan’s sharp and arrogant spirit was quite surprising.

Because he hadn’t sensed this kind of sword energy from the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

This sword energy seemed to emanate from his very bones, making Lu Ping’an understand what a true sword cultivator was!

This younger brother of his could likely be recognized as a peerless sword cultivator wherever he went!

“Big Brother, Lu Ping’an?”

Although Lu Qingshan had never met Lu Ping’an, he had heard of this big brother.

He hadn’t expected that the person who gave him a sense of danger was his own big brother.

Wasn’t his big brother born without a Spirit Root and sent to the mundane world as a child?

Lu Qingshan didn’t think too much about it, looked at Lu Ping’an in front of him, and slightly raised the corners of his mouth, showing a faint smile as he cupped his hands, “Big Brother, it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”

After a brief catch-up, Lu Quanzhen took out a Spirit Plant Bag he had prepared earlier and said, “Qingshan, the secret realm is about to end. I plan to have you take these spiritual herbs out.”

“Otherwise, if Big Brother and I were to leave with them, we might attract unwanted attention and cause trouble.”

Lu Quanzhen said.

This matter had been discussed at home before.

But at that time, he hadn’t expected such a fruitful harvest from this trip to the secret realm.

“Alright.”

Lu Qingshan nodded, took the Spirit Plant Bag, and scanned it with his Divine Sense, raising an eyebrow in surprise, “Seventeenth Brother, it seems you and Big Brother had quite the harvest.”

The harvest inside wasn’t much different from his own.

And this was just a portion of Lu Quanzhen and Lu Ping’an’s harvest.

But considering Lu Quanzhen’s strength and having such a dangerous big brother, it was understandable.

After all, with their strength, as long as they didn’t encounter groups of disciples from the immortal sects, they were practically invincible.

“Hehe, we were just lucky.”

Lu Quanzhen said with a smile, exchanging some information about the secret realm with Lu Qingshan.

Before entering, he had thought of the Purple Secrets Realm as a very dangerous place.

But after actually entering, he realized that while the secret realm was indeed dangerous, the danger was limited.

Or rather, once your combat power reached a certain level and you were not afraid of battles between cultivators, the danger of the secret realm was quite low.

For example, it posed some danger to himself.

But for someone like Lu Ping’an, who was so powerful, as long as he didn’t court death, there was essentially no danger.

It could be said that no matter how dangerous this Purple Secrets Realm was, it was still just a secret realm for Qi Refining cultivators.

After chatting for a while, the three of them found a place to wait for the secret realm to end.

After all, at this point, continuing to explore wouldn’t yield any significant gains.

If they wanted to make a big gain, they would have to rob others.

But at this time, most of the rogue cultivators and small family cultivators were hiding in the outer areas, waiting for the secret realm to end, not greedy for the last bit of gain.

Outside the Purple Secrets Realm.

“The secret realm is about to end.”

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and looked towards the calm void portal at the center of the altar.

It had been a month since the secret realm opened.

Through the system, he knew that all three of his sons were safe and sound.

And that his eldest son, Lu Ping’an, had broken through to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

This made him very happy, and he wondered what opportunities this son had obtained in the secret realm.

At this time, besides Lu Changsheng, many other cultivators waiting outside were also looking towards the void portal at the center of the altar, including the Golden Core Formation cultivators from the four great immortal sects.

They were all eager to know the situation and gains of their own people.

Half an hour later.

“Open!”

The Golden Core Formation cultivators from the four great immortal sects approached the central altar with solemn expressions. They took out purple-gold tokens and injected their Golden Core power into them.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz——”

In an instant, the originally calm void portal emitted an ancient aura, and a black vortex formed in the center.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Soon, figures began to fly out of the portal from the secret realm.

Lu Changsheng immediately saw his son, Lu Qingshan, flying out on his sword.

His face was cold, his posture was upright, and he stood tall on his Flying Sword, without a trace of injury, making Lu Changsheng secretly nod in satisfaction.

As time went on, more and more cultivators came out of the secret realm.

It was evident that most of the rogue cultivators were not in good condition.

They were either seriously injured or mentally exhausted, with pale faces and disordered breathing.

The disciples of the family forces and immortal sects were generally in much better condition.

But there were still many who were not in good shape.

Lu Changsheng even saw a few cultivators fainting and near death as soon as they came out of the secret realm.

At the same time, the four great immortal sects began collecting spiritual herbs.

The Golden Core Formation cultivators from the four sects ordered their disciples to bring out spirit beasts to sniff and check everyone’s Storage Bags for hidden spiritual herbs.

“Lu Qingshan, as long as you agree to one thing, I can exempt you from handing over your gains from this trip to the secret realm.”

At this moment, Jade Sword Zhenren saw Lu Qingshan coming forward to hand over his spiritual herbs and spoke up.

The spirit beast in his hand had smelled that Lu Qingshan’s Storage Bag and Spirit Plant Bag contained a significant amount of spiritual herbs.

But compared to these spiritual herbs, he was more interested in Lu Qingshan himself.

He wanted to use Lu Qingshan’s sword to sharpen the disciples of his sect.

“Hmm?”

Lu Qingshan looked surprised, thinking, ‘Is there such a good thing?’

He immediately cupped his hands and asked, “May I ask what the Immortal wishes?”

The gains in his Storage Bag and Spirit Plant Bag were not ordinary.

If he could be exempted from handing them over, it would be a fortune!

“All you need to do is come to my Heavenly Sword Sect within ten years after you break through to the Foundation Establishment and participate in a sword duel.”

Jade Sword Zhenren, dressed in a simple white robe with a stern face, said calmly.

“That simple?”

Lu Qingshan was stunned.

He had already planned to visit the Heavenly Sword Sect to challenge them.

He didn’t expect Jade Sword Zhenren to waive the requirement to hand over his secret realm gains for such a simple matter.

He didn’t immediately agree.

He looked up at his master, wanting to know if there was any other meaning behind the Immortal’s words.

“You can make the decision yourself on this matter.”

Immortal Tian Yuan nodded slightly.

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan immediately cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, Immortal. After I break through to the Foundation Establishment, I will definitely come to the Heavenly Sword Sect within ten years to fulfill today’s promise!”

“Good.”

Jade Sword Zhenren nodded and didn’t ask him to make a Heart Demon Oath, simply indicating that he could leave.

“Thank you, Immortal!”

Lu Qingshan thanked him again, then flew his sword to his master’s side.

The Golden Core Formation cultivators from the Azure Cloud Sect, Sunset Glow Sect, and Spirit Control Sect, seeing this, didn’t say anything.

After all, since Jade Sword Zhenren had spoken, they naturally wouldn’t dare to offend him.

Not to mention that Immortal Tian Yuan was also watching.

If they spoke up at this time, it would make them seem petty.

So they wouldn’t do anything to offend anyone for no reason and just let it go.

“Jade Sword Zhenren, fellow Immortals, Tian Yuan bids you farewell!”

After exchanging a few words with Lu Qingshan, Immortal Tian Yuan cupped his hands towards Jade Sword Zhenren and the others.

Then he placed Lu Qingshan on his Gourd, transformed into a divine rainbow, and shot up into the nine heavens, entering the strong winds.

“Damn it, who could it be?”

At this moment, on the huge divine boat pulled by nine Thunder Wind Beasts, Old Ancestor Xu of the Xu Family looked at the cultivators continuously emerging from the secret realm with a grim face.

Because all of the soul tokens from the Storage Bags had shattered, indicating that all of his family’s disciples had died in the secret realm, so he had been observing the four great immortal sects and other major Golden Core family forces.

But upon observation, he found that while the other families had suffered casualties, they weren’t severe and were similar to previous years.

This left him puzzled.

He couldn’t figure out who had killed his family’s disciples!

He knew that all the Xu Family disciples had spirit beasts with them, and their combat power far exceeded that of their peers. They wouldn’t be any weaker than the disciples of the immortal sects.

So no matter which force attacked his family, it would result in significant casualties on both sides.

However, among these top forces, the Spirit Control Sect, which had the most casualties, only lost seven people.

“The Spirit Control Sect has always been on good terms with my family, and even if they don’t want to see us rise, they wouldn’t be the first to attack us.”

Old Ancestor Xu thought, eliminating one force after another from his mind.

“Old Ancestor Xu, why don’t I see any of your family’s disciples? Could it be that they all died in the secret realm?”

At this time, Shangguan Family Ancestor of the Shangguan Family looked at Old Ancestor Xu and teased.

But despite his words, he was still quite surprised to see that not a single Xu Family disciple had emerged from the secret realm.

Because it had been many years since such a thing had happened among these top forces.

“Hmph!”

Old Ancestor Xu snorted coldly, not saying a word.

Seeing this, the Shangguan Family’s pseudo-core ancestor stopped teasing.

After all, if all the Xu Family disciples had really died in the secret realm, provoking Old Ancestor Xu might lead to a fight.

And if they did fight, he wouldn’t be a match for Old Ancestor Xu.

“Could it be that it wasn’t the immortal sect forces who did it? Could it be that they simply encountered danger in the secret realm?”

Old Ancestor Xu frowned, thinking that this was the only explanation.

But even he didn’t believe this explanation!

Because the Purple Secrets Realm had been opened for nearly a thousand years and was now considered a training ground, there were essentially no significant dangers left inside.

“Could it have been rogue cultivators?”

An absurd thought crossed Old Ancestor Xu’s mind.

But he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea.

After all, how could rogue cultivators have the ability to kill all of his family’s disciples?

“Damn it!”

Old Ancestor Xu felt irritated and angry, then decided to leave, not wanting to see any more.

Meanwhile, Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen emerged from the secret realm.

The two of them lined up to hand over the spiritual herbs.

With the spirit beasts around, no one dared to hide any spiritual herbs, and everyone followed the rules.

If anyone was caught hiding rare spiritual herbs, they would either be executed on the spot as a warning to others or be condemned to a life of mining.

“Hmm, so many?”

“Two rogue cultivators managed to collect this much?”

The supervising disciple from the Sunset Glow Sect was surprised to see this pile of spiritual herbs.

Although Lu Quanzhen had given most of the spiritual herbs to Lu Qingshan,

The remaining spiritual herbs were still quite impressive among rogue cultivators.

However, the supervising disciples didn’t say much about it. After taking half and checking that there were no spiritual herbs that had to be traded, they allowed the two to leave.

“Father.”

Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen walked over to Lu Changsheng.

Even though the two sons had disguised themselves, Lu Changsheng recognized them immediately.

He patted their shoulders and said with a smile, “It seems you had a good harvest this time.”

“Indeed, it was good.”

Lu Quanzhen smiled and said.

“Alright, we’ll talk about the situation and our gains when we get home.”

Lu Changsheng said, taking out a Spirit Boat from his Storage Ring.

The palm-sized Spirit Boat glowed with a green light and instantly expanded into a small boat over ten feet long, carrying his two sons home.

As for Lu Qingshan, he had already left with Immortal Tian Yuan.

And he had noticed that Lu Qingshan hadn’t handed over any spiritual herbs after speaking with the Immortal from the Heavenly Sword Sect.

He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart—this is the power of strength!

A Golden Core Formation cultivator had gone to meet him, and even the four great immortal sects had shown him respect.

As Lu Changsheng was flying the Spirit Boat home with his two sons, Old Ancestor Xu from the Xu Family was getting more and more frustrated, feeling utterly humiliated.

Moreover, returning home like this without any explanation was just disgraceful.

“Wait a minute…”

At that moment, Old Ancestor Xu remembered that he had given a Black Dragon Shears, a Spirit Tool, when he came here.

The Black Dragon Shears were crafted from the body of a black dragon he had slain in his early years, forming a complete set of Spirit Tools.

Although he had already given away most of the set, he still had the Black Dragon Orb made from the black dragon’s monster core!

As long as the Black Dragon Shears weren’t too far away and hadn’t been lost in the Purple Secrets Realm, he could sense them through the Black Dragon Orb.

“If it’s in the hands of an immortal sect disciple, I can just demand it back.”

Old Ancestor Xu’s eyes gleamed as he muttered to himself.

At this point, he didn’t care about face anymore.

Because this matter had already cost him his dignity.

Once this incident spread, his Beast Taming Xu Family would be ridiculed by other families!

So this matter needed a resolution!

Old Ancestor Xu took out a fist-sized, pitch-black orb.

He formed a hand seal and spat a mouthful of blood onto it, trying to sense the location of the Black Dragon Shears.

“Hmm!?”

Old Ancestor Xu’s eyes lit up as he looked towards the southwest.

Not only did he sense the location of the Black Dragon Shears, but he also sensed that they were moving rapidly.

“It’s not with the four great immortal sects? Who has it!?”

Old Ancestor Xu’s face turned cold.

He immediately mounted his Nine Thunder Wind Beasts and rushed towards the location of the Black Dragon Shears with terrifying speed.