102: Chapter 101 Cang Xuanzi Makes a Move

Nascent Soul Stage.

This black figure was also at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Moreover, it was the kind that disregarded all consequences, unleashing full power from the very first strike.

Ming Huazi's face turned ashen, but instead of retreating, he advanced. With a wave of his hand, a palm-sized bell flew out from his sleeve and hovered above his head. The bell was made of bronze, its surface covered in intricate runes, and it immediately emitted a crisp "ding-ling-ling" sound upon appearing.

The moment the ringing reached his ears, Yun Ming felt his head go numb as his Divine Soul began to tremble. He abruptly bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain snapping him back to alertness. Just as the Spatial Lock weakened, he pushed the taiqing wanderer to its limit, retreating frantically.

That bell was a Magic Treasure targeting the Divine Soul!

The black figure let out a muffled groan, and his sword momentum faltered slightly; clearly, he was also affected. However, instead of retreating, he pressed forward, his sword light like ink splashing toward Ming Huazi.

While ringing the bell, Ming Huazi barked, "Sect Leader, why haven't you acted yet!"

Cang Xuanzi remained where he was, standing with his hands behind his back, his expression as calm as water. He watched the chaotic battle, his gaze shifting from Ming Huazi to the black figure, then to the fleeing Yun Ming in the distance, yet he never moved.

That gaze was as cold as if he were looking at a group of dead men.

Yun Ming didn't have time to speculate on his thoughts. Seizing the moment the Spatial Lock was torn by the black figure's sword strike, he pushed his spiritual energy to the limit. Layering the Tahua Zizai Escape Technique with the taiqing wanderer, his speed surged to an inconceivable level.

His evasion speed finally matched his cultivation level.

From behind came Ming Huazi's roar, the whistle of the black figure's sword, and the increasingly rapid ringing of the bell. Without looking back, Yun Ming dove headlong into the distant mountain forest.

In the blink of an eye, he had fled a full three hundred miles before he dared to stop and catch his breath.

The sounds of battle could no longer be heard from behind.

Leaning against an ancient tree, Yun Ming panted heavily, his clothes soaked through with cold sweat.

He looked up toward the distance—the sky in that direction was distorting violently, with visible ripples spreading outward. Those were the aftershocks caused by the battle between Nascent Soul Cultivators; even from three hundred miles away, he could feel that terrifying pressure.

Yun Ming took a deep breath, suppressing the alarm in his heart.

Three hundred miles away.

Cang Xuanzi finally moved.

He merely raised his hand slightly.

In the next instant, the entire Secret Realm froze.

This freezing wasn't a Spatial Lock, but a stagnation of the Laws of heaven and earth themselves. The wind stopped, the grass ceased to sway, and even Ming Huazi and the black figure, who were in the middle of their fight, seemed to be pinned in place, their movements abruptly slowing down.

The bell in Ming Huazi's hand was still ringing, but the sound had become distorted and sluggish, like a recording slowed down countless times. A look of horror appeared on his face as he struggled desperately to break free, only to find it difficult to even move a finger.

The black figure was no better off; his pitch-black longsword hung in mid-air, its tip only three feet from Ming Huazi, yet it could no longer strike.

Cang Xuanzi slowly ascended into the air.

His figure rose higher and higher until he was suspended directly above the entire Secret Realm. His gaze swept over those below, over the frozen Cultivators—in the distance, several Disciples at the Early Qi Refining Stage who were gathering Spirit Medicine had been so terrified by this sudden change that they collapsed, before their bodies stiffened, blood leaked from their seven orifices, and they died on the spot.

Unable to withstand the pressure of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, they exploded and died.

Cang Xuanzi withdrew his gaze and looked at Ming Huazi.

"Sect Leader!" Ming Huazi spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and distorted. "Have you gone mad? Even suppressing me?"

Cang Xuanzi did not speak.

He just looked at Ming Huazi quietly, his gaze filled with exhaustion, weariness, and a trace of indescribable sorrow.

He thought back to many years ago.

Back then, he was just a Loose Cultivator with mediocre Aptitude, relying on a sheer obsession to reach where he was today step by step. He never sought trouble, avoiding it whenever possible, only wanting to Cultivate peacefully and step into the Soul Transformation stage as soon as possible.

He thought that as long as he didn't seek trouble, trouble wouldn't find him.

But he was wrong.

Yuan Zhenzi was from the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion, and he endured it. After all, it was one of the Three Great Sects, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

Ming Huazi was from the Shenduan Sect, and he endured that too. Their power was vast, and he likewise couldn't afford to offend them.

He treated them with sincerity, sharing the Sect's power with them, letting them serve as Grand Elder and Protector Elder, only hoping they could support the Cangxuan Immortal Sect so he could focus on his Cultivation.

But what about them?

Yuan Zhenzi stared at that Teleportation Array, plotting day and night, thinking he didn't know.

Ming Huazi secretly cultivated his own power and won over people's hearts, thinking he was blind.

And that Golden Core Cultivator named Yun Ming, appearing out of nowhere and infiltrating the Sect, also staring at the Teleportation Array.

They were all staring at the Teleportation Array.

They were all staring at his things.

Cang Xuanzi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Enough.

He opened his eyes, and there was no longer a trace of warmth in them.

"Today, this seat shall suppress and kill you all."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it rolled across the entire Secret Realm like thunder.

Ming Huazi's expression changed drastically. Regardless of the consequences, he directly brought up the name of the Shenduan Sect: "How dare you! I am from the Shenduan Sect! If you kill me, the Shenduan Sect will cross domains to destroy you!"

Cang Xuanzi remained expressionless. "Shenduan Sect? Let them come."

With a wave of his hand, a Small Cauldron flew out from his sleeve.

The cauldron was only the size of a palm, pitch-black and unadorned. But the moment it appeared, the temperature of the entire world began to drop—it wasn't cold, but a kind of extreme dead silence.

Ming Huazi's pupils constricted as he struggled frantically, yet he couldn't break free from the frozen space.

Just then, the black figure suddenly spoke.

"Sect Leader Cangxuan, I am merely a Loose Cultivator who received a few benefits from Yuan Zhenzi to act on his behalf."

His voice was hoarse and low, yet neither humble nor arrogant.

"I am willing to offer my life's savings and beg the Sect Leader to spare my life."

Cang Xuanzi glanced at him but did not answer.

The black figure fell silent for a moment, then added, "Yuan Zhenzi should already be at the Teleportation Array by now. If the Sect Leader delays any longer, he will take it away."

Cang Xuanzi gave a faint smile. "Take it away? It won't be that easy."

He looked at Ming Huazi, then at the black figure, his tone terrifyingly calm. "It won't be too late to deal with him after I refine the two of you first."

The Small Cauldron descended.

Ming Huazi and the black figure simultaneously let out shrill roars, putting all their effort into summoning their Magic Treasures—a shield, a jade seal, and a string of Buddhist beads, all of them bottom-drawer treasures. They erupted with blinding light at the mouth of the cauldron, desperately resisting that terrifying refining force.

But that light only lasted for three breaths.

After three breaths, the shield shattered, the jade seal disintegrated, and the Buddhist beads exploded into powder.

Ming Huazi's body began to twist, his flesh and blood melting away inch by inch, revealing the white bones beneath. He screamed in agony, using his last bit of strength to attempt a self-detonation—

The moment his Nascent Soul rushed out of his Dantian, Cang Xuanzi pointed a finger.

The Nascent Soul let out a shrill scream and exploded into a sky full of light specks.

Ming Huazi's mangled remains fell from mid-air, turning to ash before they even hit the ground.

The black figure was the same, unable to break free despite his best efforts.

After three breaths, he too turned to ash.

Three hundred miles away.

Yun Ming leaned against the mountain wall, watching that direction from afar.

He couldn't see what was happening, but he could sense that terrifying fluctuation. It was the aura of a Nascent Soul self-detonating—though it only lasted for an instant before being forcibly suppressed.

Then, everything returned to silence.

Yun Ming held his breath and waited for a long time.

Nothing happened.

Ming Huazi's screams drifted from afar, intermittent and so shrill it made one's scalp tingle. It was a deathbed curse, drifting into Yun Ming's ears in fragments:

"Cang Xuanzi... for all eternity... you shall never break through to Soul Transformation... the Shenduan Sect... will avenge me... just you wait... just you wait—!"

The voice came to an abrupt halt.

The hair on the back of Yun Ming's neck stood on end.

Ming Huazi was dead?

That Nascent Soul True Lord, who had been so overbearing just moments ago and wanted to search his soul, was dead just like that?

And that mysterious person was dead too?

Yun Ming's mind was in a mess.

Weren't they on the same side? Why did they suddenly start fighting?

He thought of Yuan Zhenzi.

Where was Yuan Zhenzi, who hadn't appeared from beginning to end?

The Teleportation Array.

Yun Ming's gaze narrowed.

Yes, the Teleportation Array.

Yuan Zhenzi must have gone to the Teleportation Array. Now that Cang Xuanzi had killed Ming Huazi and that mysterious person, his next step would be to find Yuan Zhenzi.

When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured.

And what he needed to do was find the Teleportation Array amidst the chaos.

That was his only way out.

Yun Ming took a deep breath, suppressed his swirling thoughts, and activated the taiqing wanderer, flying toward the depths of the Secret Realm.