94: Earth Spirit Secret Realm

About an hour later, they found a naturally formed grotto.

The cave entrance was hidden by vines, and the interior was quite dry. Its original owner was a rather majestic black bear, which had been killed by a casual strike from Qi Yuan.

Ling Qi quickly tidied a relatively clean area and set up several simple small Restrictions on the perimeter for warning and concealing their aura.

Qi Yuan threw Wen Ren into a corner of the cave and sat cross-legged on a nearby bluestone, silently adjusting his breathing to recover the spiritual power and mental energy he had just expended.

Ling Qi stood in attendance to the side, not daring to speak. Only the faint, flickering light of a fire-starter remained in the cave.

After finishing his meditation, Qi Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon Wen Ren.

With a flick of his fingers, he sent a wisp of spiritual power into Wen Ren's body, undoing part of the Restrictions and allowing him to regain consciousness, though he remained unable to move and his spiritual power was still sealed.

Wen Ren slowly woke up, instantly overwhelmed by intense pain and weakness, especially from the sword wound on his back and the tremors in his internal organs.

He took in his surroundings and the person before him; his eyes were initially dazed, but that was soon replaced by anger, resentment, and a hint of terror.

He gritted his teeth, a raspy sound coming from his throat as he tried to struggle, but it only caused the Spirit-Binding Rope to tighten further.

"Why must you be so stubborn, Fellow Daoist?"

Qi Yuan spoke, his voice sounding exceptionally clear and cold in the hollow grotto.

"The ones you care about are safe and sound for now. But their fate now depends on your decision."

Wen Ren's body stiffened. He suddenly looked up, glaring intently at Qi Yuan, fire nearly spitting from his eyes as he rasped:

"You... what have you done to them?!"

Qi Yuan didn't answer. He stood up slowly, walked over to Wen Ren, and reached out to feel around the edge of his cheek for a moment.

A tiny bit of spiritual power leaked from his fingertips, and with a soft "chi" sound, he actually peeled an exquisitely crafted, cicada-wing-thin human skin mask from his face!

Beneath the mask, a face completely different from the previous bloated and ordinary one was revealed—a man of about forty, his face looking somewhat weathered, but with distinct features that hinted at his youthful handsomeness.

"Since you have the ties of a wife and child, why bother hiding your identity and engaging in such robbery and slaughter?"

Qi Yuan casually tossed the mask aside, his tone indifferent yet carrying an invisible pressure.

Wen Ren's face twitched as he gave a miserable smile:

"Why? It's all for Spirit Stones, for resources, and for that sliver of hope for Foundation Establishment!

We Loose Cultivators—if we don't fight and snatch, are we supposed to wait for an Opportunity to fall from the sky?

As for planning... Haha, living on the edge, not knowing if there's a tomorrow, where would all that foresight come from!"

His words were half-truths, an attempt to frame the situation as a common case of robbery and murder.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan only gave a cold laugh, no longer wasting his breath on an argument.

He turned and walked back to the bluestone, picking up the beast-containing bag. He tilted the opening slightly, and a flash of spiritual light appeared.

Two unconscious figures, one large and one small, appeared on the open ground inside the cave—they were Wen Ren's wife and the eight-year-old boy.

"Fellow Daoist Wen,"

Qi Yuan's voice held no emotion, yet it made Wen Ren feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar:

"If you continue to prevaricate with empty words and beat around the bush...

...then I'll have no choice but to wake your wife and son so they can hear about your 'difficulties' as well."

"No! Don't!"

Wen Ren's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and he shouted hoarsely, his previous toughness and pretense vanishing completely.

He struggled to pounce forward, but was bound tightly by the Spirit-Binding Rope, forced to watch his wife and child lying unconscious just inches away.

Wake them up?

That would mean they would be completely dragged into this bloody vortex, with no possibility of escape.

This was something he absolutely could not accept.

He panted heavily, his eyes struggling intensely. After a moment, as if all his strength had been drained, he said despondently:

"Fellow Daoist... if... if you are willing to establish a spirit contract to protect the lives of my wife and child and let them leave safely... I... I will reveal the whole truth of what I know."

This was his final bottom line; if the person before him was unwilling, he wouldn't reveal a single word.

Qi Yuan looked at him with a profound gaze for a moment, then slowly nodded:

"Agreed."

Wen Ren could hardly believe his ears. The other party had agreed so easily?

Unless... A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but he immediately forced himself to stop thinking about it.

Things had come to this; he had no other choice.

As promised, Qi Yuan released some of Wen Ren's Restrictions, allowing him to use a tiny bit of spiritual power to establish a spirit contract with clear terms:

Qi Yuan would protect the lives of his wife and child and promised that after obtaining the information, he would send them to a safe location and never harm them.

In return, Wen Ren had to truthfully disclose the real plot of the "Four Friends of Yuhuang Mountain" and all the secrets he knew.

The light of the spirit contract slowly dissipated, imprinted within the Divine Soul senses of both parties.

Wen Ren seemed to have exhausted all his strength, collapsing onto the ground and panting heavily. It was quite a while before he spoke in a raspy voice:

"Fellow Daoist... do you know of the 'Profound Purity Sect'?"

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in Qi Yuan's heart!

The Profound Purity Sect! How could he not know?

The Yimu Longevity Sword Art that he had relied on to break through to the Late Stage Qi Refining and lay the Foundation of his current combat power...

...was precisely one of the core Legacies of the Profound Purity Sect, which had dominated Southern Yue State a hundred years ago and could stand on equal footing with the Yue Kingdom's imperial Family!

Without this art, he would likely still be wasting time in the Mid-Stage Qi Refining, unable to have his current cultivation and the strength to slay those of the same rank with his sword.

On the surface, however, he remained impassive, only nodding slightly and speaking in his usual calm tone:

"The overlord of Southern Yue State a hundred years ago, which was eventually destroyed by the joint forces of the Zhao Kingdom's imperial Family and several major powers. Which Cultivator of some age doesn't know about this?"

Wen Ren didn't notice the massive waves in Qi Yuan's heart. Seeing his calm reaction, he assumed it was common knowledge and continued:

"Before the Profound Purity Sect's mountain gate was breached back then, its high-level members knew the situation was hopeless.

To prevent the Sect's most important Legacy from falling completely into enemy hands, they destroyed the spatial coordinate core leading to their fundamental stronghold—the 'Earth Spirit Secret Realm'..."

The Earth Spirit Secret Realm!

Upon hearing these words, Qi Yuan's pupils constricted imperceptibly, and a storm of shock surged within his heart!

He forcibly suppressed his churning emotions and continued to listen.

"...It is said that the Earth Spirit Secret Realm was the greatest reliance for the Profound Purity Sect's prosperity and for cultivating high-level Cultivators.

When the Zhao Kingdom's imperial Family and those few powers launched the great war back then, this Secret Realm was one of their primary targets.

Now that a hundred years have passed, the imperial Family seems to have used some ancient secret techniques to roughly calculate the location of that Secret Realm's space... It's right in the southern part of Southern Yue State, in a vast region that includes Yunliao Prefecture!"

Earth Spirit Foundation Establishment!

Various common knowledge about the path of Foundation Establishment instantly surfaced in Qi Yuan's mind.

There are many methods of Foundation Establishment in the world.

Foundation Establishment via Medicinal Pills is the most common, but it has the shallowest Foundation and limited potential, leaving little hope for Core Formation.

In contrast, Earth Spirit Foundation Establishment uses the incredibly pure earth spirit qi, nurtured for ten thousand years within an Earth Spirit Secret Realm, as its Foundation. It condenses Qi into liquid to forge a Dao Foundation.

Those who establish their Foundation through this method have a robust Origin and spiritual power purity far exceeding their peers.

Their success rate for Core Formation in the future is greatly increased, and it is even rumored to be helpful for forming a Nascent Soul!

The reason the twelve powers of the Zhao Kingdom have stood tall for thousands of years is that their core heritage lies in controlling Earth Spirit Secret Realms!

This is the true Foundation of their existence and the base of their Legacy!

Qi Yuan's heart sank, and a cold chill rose from his spine, instantly spreading throughout his entire body.

This pool of water was much deeper and a hundred times more dangerous than the worst-case scenario he had imagined!

This was no longer a common Family feud or a struggle for resources; it involved the Zhao Kingdom's imperial Family!