67: Chapter 67 One Punch Destroys a Golden Core

Yun Ming's consciousness felt as if it were rising from the depths of a body of water, struggling through layers of Chaos until finally—his vision brightened.

He saw three young people.

Three youths who were as still as wooden chickens, dumbstruck, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

Yun Ming blinked, and then blinked again.

He looked down at himself—the golden light hadn't fully dissipated, his sleeves fluttered without wind, and a faint halo from his transformation still lingered around his body. He then looked back at the three petrified faces across from him, and a thought couldn't help but surface in his mind:

"Was my entrance that terrifying?"

He raised a hand to touch his face. Well, his features were regular and his eyes were clear; while not peerlessly handsome, he was at least easy on the eyes. How could he have scared them like this?

Yun Ming grumbled inwardly and was about to say something when he suddenly noticed something strange—

The three gazes didn't seem to be focused on his face.

They were looking behind him.

Yun Ming slowly turned his head.

Thirty meters away, a massive snake head was suspended in mid-air, its cold vertical pupils staring fixedly at him. Its body was coiled like a small mountain, its pitch-black scales shimmering with an eerie light under the dim glow, and a suffocating Aura bore down on him.

A Golden Core Stage Great Yao.

Yun Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he understood instantly.

Those three youngsters weren't looking at him, but at the behemoth behind him.

However...

Yun Ming narrowed his eyes.

Although the Great Yao was aggressive, it didn't pounce immediately. Instead, it froze in place, a flicker of hesitation crossing its vertical pupils. Clearly, the golden light and the phenomenon of his transformation from just now had made it unable to gauge the depth of this "little human" for a moment.

But this hesitation only lasted for a breath.

The Great Yao's Divine Sense swept over Yun Ming—Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

He hadn't deliberately hidden his cultivation; before a Golden Core Stage Divine Sense, Yun Ming's Realm was laid bare.

The hesitation in those vertical pupils instantly turned into ferocity.

It was just a slightly fatter ant.

The giant python suddenly lunged, its bloody maw opening to its limit as it came down toward Yun Ming's head!

"Senior, look out!"

A scream pierced the air. It was the round-faced girl; she had shouted instinctively, her face as pale as paper.

A foul wind hit his face.

The giant mouth was already before him, the pitch-black throat seemingly bottomless, and two rows of fangs glinted with a chilling light.

Yun Ming did not move.

He didn't even take half a step back.

Only at the moment the giant mouth was about to snap shut did the corners of his mouth curl slightly.

Just right.

Time to test the results of these three years of Body Refining.

He raised his right hand and clenched his fingers into a fist.

A very ordinary punch.

No dazzling spiritual light, no complex hand seals—just simply concentrating his entire body's strength into a single point, and then—

He struck out.

The moment the punch was thrown, space itself vibrated.

It wasn't a figure of speech; it was a real vibration. Centered on Yun Ming's fist, visible ripples surged through the Void Realm for several meters, spreading outward in circles. Wherever those ripples passed, the air let out a tearing shriek, and the rubble on the ground floated, suspended, and then crumbled into fine powder.

The wind from the punch whistled forth.

It wasn't a breeze; it was a hurricane. A destructive gale. Those towering trees—ancient woods that required several people to embrace and had grown for hundreds of years—were like weeds before the punch's wind, uprooted and swept into the high sky, snapping inch by inch in mid-air.

And the target of this punch—

The massive snake head vanished the instant the fist touched it.

It wasn't sent flying, nor was it crushed; it simply disappeared. Flesh, scales, and bone all turned into a mist of blood before that terrifying force, and were then swept away by the wind of the punch.

The giant python's headless corpse froze in place for a full breath before crashing down.

The dust settled.

A fist-sized golden orb flew out from the blood mist, instinctively trying to flee—that was the Golden Core, the essence of a Great Yao's entire cultivation.

Yun Ming raised his hand and made a grasping motion.

An invisible suction surged out. The Golden Core struggled twice before obediently falling into his palm.

He weighed the Golden Core in his hand and casually put it into his naxu ring. Then he looked at the headless snake corpse—this was the body of a Golden Core Great Yao, a treasure from head to toe. With a wave of his hand, the entire corpse also disappeared, falling into the ring.

After doing all this, Yun Ming finally flexed his right hand.

His bones throbbed with a faint pain.

He checked his internal state and saw that his hand bones were covered in a dense web of tiny cracks. However, those cracks were healing at a visible rate, as strands of warm current surged from the depths of his marrow, nourishing every injury.

He could move it.

And it was recovering very quickly.

A sense of gratification rose in Yun Ming's heart.

If it had been three years ago, after throwing such a punch, this hand would have been basically ruined, and he wouldn't have been able to move it for half a month. But now, it was just some cracks that could heal themselves in moments.

These three years of Body Refining weren't in vain.

It's just...

He let out a sigh.

Without resources, the progress was simply too slow. In three years, he had only barely broken through from the Late Stage of the first layer of Body Refining to the Middle Stage of the second layer. If he had some Body Refining resources, like Yao Beast essence blood or Body Tempering Spirit Medicine, he might be at the second layer's Perfection by now.

A pity.

He withdrew his thoughts and looked up at the three youths.

They were still standing in place, motionless.

Their expressions were even more dazed than before, their eyes wide as copper bells, and their mouths open wide enough to fit two eggs. The round-faced girl had even forgotten to lower her hand from her chest, remaining frozen there like three clay statues.

Yun Ming couldn't help but find it amusing.

With a light tap of his toes, his figure drifted up and landed gently in front of the three.

"Hey."

He waved a hand.

The three of them shuddered in unison, as if waking from a dream.

"Sen... Senior!"

The girl in green was the first to snap out of it, hurriedly bowing in greeting. The round-faced girl and the youth in grey also followed suit, stammering out "Senior."

Yun Ming waved them off. "Don't be nervous, I'm no Senior." He paused. "My name is Yun Ming. And you?"

The three were stunned for a moment and exchanged glances.

The girl in green said cautiously, "This Junior is a Disciple of the Cangxuan Immortal Sect, surnamed Qin, named Zhi. This is my Junior Sister Zhou Ruo, and my Junior Brother Fang Mo."

Yun Ming nodded and asked again, "Where is this place?"

Qin Zhi said, "To answer Senior, this is the Imperial Sovereigns Legacy Abode, an ancient Secret Realm."

Hearing this, Yun Ming felt a headache coming on.

A Secret Realm?

Another Secret Realm?

He had just come out of Daoist Lord Wanfa's blessed land and hadn't even had time to catch his breath before entering another Secret Realm? What kind of destiny did he have with Secret Realms?

"This Secret Realm... can one leave?" he asked.

Qin Zhi nodded. "Yes. The Secret Realm entrance is not far from here; one can enter and exit at any time."

Yun Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he could leave, it was fine.

But then he thought of something—he wasn't a member of the Cangxuan Immortal Sect. If he left from the Secret Realm, he would inevitably be questioned. Although he could use the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record to hide his Aura and disguise himself, it would still be a bit of a hassle.

Forget it, he'd take it one step at a time.

He was about to ask more when he suddenly remembered something and asked Qin Zhi, "Have you ever heard of a country called 'Great Gan'? Or a Sect called the 'Sunset Glow Sect'?"

Qin Zhi was taken aback, thought carefully, and shook her head. "This Disciple has never heard of them."

Yun Ming looked at Zhou Ruo and Fang Mo; they also shook their heads.

Never heard of them?

Yun Ming's heart sank slightly.

Although Great Gan wasn't some top-tier great nation, it shouldn't be so obscure that no one knew of it. The Sunset Glow Sect at least had a Nascent Soul True Lord presiding over it, and was quite famous in its own neck of the woods.

The people here had actually never heard of them at all?

He took a deep breath, suppressing the doubt in his heart.

Never mind.

By careful calculation, it had been nearly five years since he first entered Daoist Lord Wanfa's blessed land until now.

Let's get out first.

After getting out, he could slowly ask around.

As he was thinking, he suddenly felt his sleeve being gently tugged. Looking down, it was the round-faced girl, Zhou Ruo.

Zhou Ruo looked at him timidly and whispered, "Senior... could... could you escort us out?"

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Ruo hurriedly explained, "Our cultivation is low, and there are still many Yao Beasts in this Secret Realm. We... we're afraid we won't make it out. We are willing to give you Spirit Stones! Although it's not much, it's all our savings..."

As she spoke, she pulled out a Storage Pouch from her robes and held it out to Yun Ming with both hands.

Qin Zhi and Fang Mo also hurried forward, each taking out their own Storage Pouches.

Yun Ming looked at the three anxious faces, then at the three proferred Storage Pouches, and couldn't help but smile.

Their attitude was decent enough.

He waved his hand. "No need for the Spirit Stones."

The three faces fell.

Yun Ming then changed his tone. "But you three seem alright, so there's no harm in escorting you for a bit. Let's go, lead the way."

The three were stunned for a second, then became overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Qin Zhi led the way in front, with Zhou Ruo and Fang Mo flanking him on either side, as the four of them headed toward the Secret Realm entrance.