83: Chapter 83: The Battle in the Secret Realm

He looked Xiao Yuan up and down, Qi Condensation 9th Layer? A Loose Cultivator?

"Little brat," Zhao Tianlei walked over with an icy expression, pointing at the Profound Sun Grass in Xiao Yuan's hand, "I want this Spirit Medicine. If you know what's good for you, hand it over obediently. If this Young Master is in a good mood, I might spare your life."

Xiao Yuan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

That smile inexplicably sent a chill down Zhao Tianlei's spine.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, frowning.

Xiao Yuan looked at him with amusement and said indifferently, "Elder Zhao, it hasn't been that long, have you forgotten about this Xiao so quickly?!"

As soon as his voice fell, Zhao Tianlei's pupils shrank abruptly! He had evidently recognized him.

"Xiao... Xiao Yuan?!"

He widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, "Why are you here?! There was no spot for you in Jade Maiden Palace at all! How did you get in?"

However, he quickly noticed the Tianjian Sect attire on Xiao Yuan, and his expression turned slightly cold.

"You came in disguised as a Loose Cultivator of the Tianjian Sect, hum... You certainly have some nerve. Aren't you afraid that the Sect will discover this and charge you with the crime of betraying the Sect?!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan merely shrugged with amusement, noncommittal!

Seeing Xiao Yuan's calm expression, Zhao Tianlei's eyes flickered slightly, but soon, as if thinking of something, wild joy flashed through his eyes!

"Xiao Yuan! You actually delivered yourself to your doorstep!" he sneered, "When I sent Tie Tu to the mine to kill you and that good-for-nothing didn't return, I knew there must be something wrong with you! Now it seems that the jade talisman treasure must be on you!"

He stepped forward, unleashing the full pressure of Early Foundation Establishment, "Hand over the jade talisman treasure, and this Young Master will grant you a quick death! Otherwise—"

Xiao Yuan interrupted him, "Otherwise what?"

Zhao Tianlei sneered, "Otherwise, I'll do it myself, kill you, and search your corpse slowly!"

Xiao Yuan sighed.

"Zhao Tianlei, oh Zhao Tianlei," he said leisurely, "didn't you ever think about a question?"

"What question?"

"How did I survive back then in the mine? Also, how did that Yao Beast die?!"

This Zhao Tianlei looked cunning and deep in thought, but now it seemed he was also a good-for-nothing buffoon!

Didn't he notice anything wrong at all?!

Zhao Tianlei was stunned. His gaze shifted to the Yao Beast on the side, and feeling the Second-Rank Early Stage strength emanating from it, his pupils shrank instantly.

Recovering his wits, he immediately wanted to be on guard.

But at this moment, it was all too late. In the next second, Xiao Yuan moved!

The Gale Shadow-Chasing Movement Technique was fully unleashed, and his entire body turned into a cyan stream of light, instantly rushing in front of Zhao Tianlei!

"What?!"

Zhao Tianlei was alarmed and hurriedly raised his hand to block—but Xiao Yuan's sword had already pierced through!

Puff!

A sword pierced through the chest!

Zhao Tianlei widened his eyes, lowering his head to look at the tip of the sword protruding from his chest, his face filled with disbelief.

"You... How is it possible..."

Even though he couldn't find anything wrong, he never expected that Xiao Yuan could actually be this strong.

Xiao Yuan withdrew his longsword and said indifferently, "I forgot to tell you, my cultivation speed is rather fast. My current cultivation base is... more than enough to kill you!."

Holding his chest, Zhao Tianlei staggered backward, large mouthfuls of fresh blood gushing from his mouth, "No... Impossible... Qi Condensation 9th Layer... How is that possible..."

Before he could finish his words, he collapsed heavily to the ground with his eyes wide open, dying with an unfulfilled grievance.

He had never imagined that Xiao Yuan, merely at the Qi Condensation 9th Layer, would easily cut him down without even giving him a chance to fight back.

Had he known how bizarre Xiao Yuan was, even if beaten to death he wouldn't have underestimated him or been careless. Nor would he have been one-shot!

Xiao Yuan shook the blood off his sword and sneered, "When you sent Tie Tu to kill me, you should have expected this day."

He squatted down, removed the Storage Pouch from Zhao Tianlei's waist, and extended his Divine Sense into it.

There were quite a few Spirit Stones, plenty of Medicinal Pills, and a few Magical Artifacts.

But what surprised Xiao Yuan the most were several Jade Slips.

He took out the Jade Slips and checked them one by one.

《Distribution Map of Spiritual Objects in the Tianyuan Secret Realm!

Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up as he looked through it carefully.

This Jade Slip detailed the distribution locations and exact positions of the three-attribute Foundation Establishment spiritual objects!

The earth-attribute Thick Earth Hills, wind-attribute Wind-Howling Cliff, and wood-attribute Myriad Woods Forest.

Aside from the first two overlapping with Yun Feiyang's information, the wood-attribute one was not something Yun Feiyang had.

Xiao Yuan was filled with joy.

He hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall.

He had been fretting over how to find the specific information for the other four attributes, but Zhao Tianlei had directly delivered the specific location of another attribute to him.

He put away the Jade Slip, rummaged through the rest of the items to ensure nothing was missed, and then stood up.

He flicked out a fireball, burning the corpse into ashes.

"Next, for the eight-attribute spiritual objects, I am still missing information on the water, lightning, and ice attributes."

Xiao Yuan looked into the distance, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"But right now, I'll go rendezvous with Su Li first."

He continued on his journey.

Right as he crossed a mountain peak, he heard miserable, piercing screams coming from ahead.

His figure flashed, hiding behind a large tree as he poked his head out to look.

In the valley, four Qi Condensation Stage Loose Cultivators were besieging another Loose Cultivator.

Four against one, the besieged Cultivator was clearly no match. He had already been slashed seven or eight times, and fresh blood stained half his body red.

"Hand over the Purple Heart Grass! I'll spare your life!" the burly man at the lead sneered.

The besieged Loose Cultivator gritted his teeth, tightly protecting the item in his arms, "In your dreams! I risked my life to find this!"

"Then go die!"

The four of them attacked simultaneously, blade lights and sword shadows instantly engulfing him.

Slash—!

A head flew up, and the headless corpse swayed for a moment before crashing heavily to the ground.

The burly man stepped forward, violently ripping the Storage Pouch from the corpse's arms, digging out the Purple Heart Grass, and laughing heartily, "Good stuff! Let's go, to the next place!"

The four of them swaggered away, leaving the headless corpse lying in a pool of blood.

Xiao Yuan silently watched all of this without making a move.

This was the Secret Realm.

There were no rules, no morality, only the law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.

Continuing forward, he passed through a swamp.

In the center of the swamp, a seven-colored lotus was in full bloom, exuding an alluring fragrance. That was a Spirit Medicine, the Seven-Colored Lotus, and it was worth a fortune.

But around the swamp, seven or eight corpses were already lying.

Some belonged to Loose Cultivators, others to Sect Disciples. Some had just died recently, their blood still flowing; others were already rotting and stinking, attracting a flock of scavenging vultures.

There were also three people engaged in a fierce battle.

They were all in the Early Foundation Establishment stage. Judging by their attire, one side seemed to be from the Wanfa Sect, while the other seemed to be from Spirit Beast Mountain.

"Little brat! We discovered this Seven-Colored Lotus first!" That Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain looked at the Cultivator from the Wanfa Sect and sneered, "If you know what's good for you, get lost!"

That Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Wanfa Sect gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger, "Bullshit! You guys hadn't even arrived yet when I got here!"

"Then die!"

The three of them fought into a ball, Spells roaring and Sword Qi crisscrossing.

In the end, the Cultivator from the Wanfa Sect was pierced through the Dantian by a sword, screaming as he fell into the swamp. The swamp churned a few times, swallowing him up.

The two Spirit Beast Mountain Cultivators laughed heartily and were about to go over to pick the Seven-Colored Lotus—

Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out from the depths of the swamp, bit onto one of them in a single bite, and dragged him into the mud!

"Ah—!"

The screams came to an abrupt halt.

The remaining Spirit Beast Mountain Cultivator was so frightened that his soul flew away and his spirit scattered, and he turned around and fled, never daring to look back at that Seven-Colored Lotus again.