155: Chapter 155: Red Light Valley

The bead was in hand, the Opportunity secured.

This was not the time to carefully study the treasure. Given the commotion earlier, for the sake of safety, Li Changqing quickly scavenged the Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines on the island, had his several Spirit Beasts rest and recover their state within the Changsheng Garden, and continued to fly on his sword westward.

Three days after Li Changqing's departure, the lunar radiance of the Cold Moon Silent Marsh still shone down as it had since ancient times. The clear lake surface was calm and tranquil, with only the ancient white jade altar in the center retaining a faint, lingering warmth of Dao rhythm, ethereal and quiet, just as it had always been.

Only the water-wood dao-nourishing bead, which had guarded the ages and held the Secret Realm's supreme Opportunity, had vanished without a trace.

Above the vast, blue lake, over a dozen streaks of black-clad light tore through the air, carrying a cold and murderous Qi as they suddenly hovered outside the solitary island altar.

The newcomers were all dressed in ink-colored Dao robes embroidered with red beast patterns, their sleeve ribbons fluttering in the wind; they were none other than Chi Ling Valley Cultivators.

This group consisted of thirteen people, with twelve Foundation Establishment Cultivators arrayed around the perimeter. Their auras were steady, their gazes sharp; they were all elite Disciples meticulously cultivated by the Chi Ling Valley, seasoned in the experience of slaughter.

Standing in the very center was a tall figure in black robes with the face of a middle-aged man. His expression was cold and stern, his brows etched with the deep vicissitudes of time, and his pressure was heavy. All the surrounding Chi Ling Valley Cultivators treated him with great respect.

This person was none other than the Golden Core Middle Stage Elder of Chi Ling Valley, Qin Cang!

When the Taixu Secret Realm had opened last time, Qin Cang had only been a Cultivator who had just barely broken through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. While exploring the Taixu Secret Realm, he had once broken into the Cold Moon Silent Marsh and seen the water-wood dao-nourishing bead.

But three hundred years ago, he had been powerless to retrieve the treasure. He could only watch helplessly as the supreme Opportunity, right within his reach, was blocked by an insurmountable barrier of Yao Beasts. In the end, carrying a heart full of unwillingness and regret, he had retreated from the Taixu Secret Realm in a sorry state.

Over the three hundred years that followed, he had practiced bitterly day and night, enduring countless years of sitting in meditation and surviving several life-or-death battles to break through and become a Golden Core Stage Cultivator. The obsession with missing the supreme treasure back then had never diminished in the slightest; instead, it had settled with time, becoming even more deeply etched in his heart.

This time, with the Taixu Secret Realm opening again, he had risked his own safety to lead the team into the Taixu Secret Realm personally, all to make up for the life-long regret of three hundred years ago and firmly take the water-wood dao-nourishing bead into his hands!

He had long since made thorough preparations, certain that even if his cultivation were suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Peak by the Secret Realm's rules, his methods would be enough to crush the water-type Yao Beasts of the Cold Moon Silent Marsh and easily take the supreme treasure from the altar.

But when Qin Cang's gaze fell upon the empty center of the altar, and he felt the thin and dissipated lunar Dao rhythm remaining in the air, his extremely steady aura instantly fluctuated violently!

"It's empty..."

Qin Cang whispered, his voice hoarse and cold, carrying an unbelievable dead silence, his pupils suddenly contracting violently.

He stared fixedly at the empty Void Realm in the center of the altar. The water-wood dao-nourishing bead, which should have been floating there with the accumulation of ages, and the sacred Dao rhythm that should have been flowing, belonging solely to the supreme treasure, were gone. Now, only the faint, lingering fluctuations of Spiritual Qi remained, proving that the supreme treasure had once existed.

Three hundred years of obsession, three hundred years of anticipation, an obsession spanning long ages—at the very final moment, it had all turned to nothing!

A monstrous rage instantly exploded from the depths of his heart, spreading crazily through his limbs and bones!

Boom!

An invisible pressure erupted, and a violent wave of Spiritual Qi swept out in all directions with him at its center!

The clear lake water around him was instantly forcibly pressed down, creating a vacuum depression dozens of feet deep. The Spiritual Qi on the lake surface churned chaotically, and the mist of lunar radiance filling the sky was completely torn apart by the biting, murderous Qi!

The twelve Foundation Establishment Cultivators from Chi Ling Valley beside him trembled violently, their faces turning pale. Pressed by this aura of extreme rage, their bodies quivered slightly, and no one dared to make a sound.

"Who is it!!"

Qin Cang suddenly raised his eyes, a deep shout shaking the lake area for miles.

In his eyes was the unwillingness accumulated over three hundred years, extreme fury, and the chilling murderous intent of someone whose bottom line had been completely touched.

"I missed this Opportunity three hundred years ago and have endured bitter cultivation until now. Who dares to steal my, Qin Cang's, fortune and cut off my life's Opportunity!"

A leading Core Disciple at the Foundation Establishment Peak stepped forward half a step and said respectfully in a low voice, "Elder, the Secret Realm is vast. We should first hurry to the Strange Beast Forest and complete the Sect's mission to avoid any long delays."

Hearing this, the monstrous murderous intent churning in Qin Cang's eyes suddenly froze. He turned his head and shot a cold glance at that Foundation Establishment Peak Disciple.

That glance was bone-chillingly cold, carrying the seasoned, murderous Qi accumulated over centuries of cultivation. It instantly made this experienced Core Disciple of Chi Ling Valley stiffen, his scalp tingling. He subconsciously retracted the step he had just taken, lowered his head, held his breath, and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

The violent, gale-like murderous Qi churned endlessly around Qin Cang, and the lake surface still trembled with waves.

The leading Disciple's back was already soaked in cold sweat, knowing that his advice just now had undoubtedly touched the reverse scale of the enraged Elder.

But as the leader of the Foundation Establishment Disciples on this trip, bearing the Sect's orders, even if he knew it would anger the Elder, he had to speak up to remind him.

This time, the Sect had paid a huge price to purchase fifty Secret Realm tokens. The core task was to go deep into the Strange Beast Forest to capture the Golden-Winged Great Eagle and the Nine-Colored Spirit Python, both possessing Earth Rank Bloodlines.

In addition, they had to hunt exotic Yao Beasts of the Secret Realm, collect exclusive Spirit Medicines, and record the distribution of the Secret Realm's Yao Beast populations, to accumulate more foundation for the Chi Ling Valley Disciples who would enter the Secret Realm in the future.

Compared to the elusive, already-stolen private Opportunity, the Sect's great undertaking was of paramount importance.

The deathly silence lasted for a few breaths.

Just when all the Disciples thought the Elder would fly into a rage and hurt someone, the furiously surging anger in Qin Cang's chest was forcibly suppressed by his hundred-year-old Dao Heart.

The crimson murderous intent in his eyes faded away, leaving only a bottomless, cold, and stern chill.

"...You are right."

Qin Cang spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse, carrying restraint suppressed to the extreme, each word cold: "Long delays mean more trouble."

How forbearing he was, how seasoned he was.

Rage was rage, obsession was obsession; he had lived for nearly five hundred years and long since understood the importance of weighing priorities.

The Taixu Secret Realm had a limited opening time, and the rule suppression was extremely strict. His cultivation was currently locked at the Foundation Establishment Peak. Although his combat power crushed ordinary Cultivators, he ultimately lacked the heaven-reaching means of a Golden Core.

It was a foregone conclusion that the water-wood dao-nourishing bead had been taken by someone else. The other party had likely left three days ago, and their trail was faint.

The Secret Realm was vast; chasing a Cultivator aimlessly was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, if the Sect's mission was delayed and he returned empty-handed, he would surely be held accountable by the Valley Master upon returning to the valley.

With this thought, Qin Cang instantly suppressed all his restlessness and rage.

"Let it go for now."

He coldly flicked his sleeve, and the violent pressure raging around him instantly converged. The chaotic Spiritual Qi on the lake surface slowly calmed down, and the trembling water returned to stability. Only the biting murderous intent remaining in the air indicated that the monstrous rage just now had not been in vain.

"The junior who stole the treasure got lucky and escaped into the depths of the Secret Realm; there is no way to pursue them for now."

"I will finish the Sect's important tasks first."