48: Chapter 48 Skill Advancement, Chaos Deepening

Inside the meeting hall of the Heavenly Court headquarters, the room was brightly lit.

Lin Ye sat in the main seat, listening to everyone's post-battle reports. The wound on his left shoulder had been bandaged; although it was still throbbing with pain, with the recovery ability of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, it would be fully healed in at most three days.

"Brother Ye, we won a complete victory this time!"

Chen Hao waved the list in his hand excitedly: "The Blood Fiend Alliance's twenty assassins were wiped out, including the two Dao Palace Realm experts, Shadow Killer and Blood Blade. We captured a total of thirty-seven pieces of equipment, including twenty-five blue quality and twelve purple quality. There are also various Medicinal Pill, Materials, and Spirit Stone, with a total value of at least 80,000 Spirit Stone!"

Zhao Wuji took over, his eyes flashing with brilliance: "More importantly, this battle has established the prestige of the Heavenly Court. I have just received re-cooperation intentions from seven shops, and even the three medicinal herb suppliers who had previously cut off our supply have sent people to apologize, saying they are willing to supply us long-term at a 10% discount."

"Regarding intelligence," Qin Ruoxue also reported, "The Heavenly Secret Pavilion has tripled its eyes and ears in the capital. Now, we can grasp any movement in the city at the first moment. In addition, news has come from the Overlord Pavilion that their president, 'Overlord Spear', smashed three pieces of furniture in anger, but there are no further retaliation plans for the time being."

Su Qingyue added at the end: "The casualty statistics are out. We have fifteen lightly injured, three seriously injured, and no casualties. The seriously injured have already taken the Recovery Pill, and are expected to be able to move by tomorrow."

After listening to the reports, Lin Ye nodded slightly.

The goal of this battle had been fully achieved. Not only was the threat of the Blood Fiend Alliance eliminated and the Overlord Pavilion deterred, but the Heavenly Court's position in the capital was also more consolidated. Now, within the entire Yan State, no player faction dared to look down on the Heavenly Court.

"Distribute the spoils based on contribution," Lin Ye decided. "Participants have priority selection, and the rest will be stored in the guild warehouse to be exchanged for contribution points. Also, take 20,000 Spirit Stone from my share as an extra reward for this battle, and distribute it to all the brothers who participated."

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

After everyone dispersed, Lin Ye remained in the meeting hall alone.

He pulled up his personal panel, his gaze falling on the four words "Dao Palace First Layer". The Breakthrough to the Dao Palace Realm brought not only an attribute boost but, more importantly, the unlocking of the skill tree.

In the "covering the heavens era", every major Realm unlocks a new skill System. The Wheel Sea Realm mainly consists of basic Cultivation Techniques and combat skills, while from the Dao Palace Realm onwards, players can choose exclusive skill branches based on their Physique and Cultivation Techniques.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and focused, his consciousness sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.

There, in the void where only the "Void Scripture" runes were floating, three hazy light trees appeared. The three trees stood side by side, emitting gray, silver, and purple light, respectively.

[System prompt: Player detected to have broken through to the Dao Palace Realm, skill System unlocked]

[Currently activatable skill branches: Chaos (Unique), Void (Rare), Thunder (Rare)]

[Please select a main branch (Note: The main branch will determine the subsequent skill development direction and cannot be changed)]

Three choices, one to pick.

The Chaos branch corresponds to the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body and is clearly a tailor-made branch. The Void branch corresponds to the "Void Scripture" and focuses on the Law of space. The Thunder branch is because he absorbed the Thunder Crystal and the essence of the Thunder Eagle King, and also obtained the ring of the thunder god, giving him an affinity with thunder.

With almost no hesitation, Lin Ye chose the Chaos branch.

[Confirm selection of "Chaos branch" as the main branch]

[Activating Chaos skill tree...]

[Special Physique "Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body" detected, skill tree mutated...]

[Mutation complete! Obtained exclusive skill tree: Chaos Heavenly Emperor skill tree]

The three light trees in front of him disappeared, replaced by a giant tree that was gray all over. The giant tree was rooted in the void, with a thick trunk and lush branches and leaves. Every leaf was flickering with mysterious runes. Lin Ye didn't recognize any of those runes, but he could feel the true meaning of Chaos contained within them.

The giant tree currently only had the lowest branch lit up. At the end of the branch, a gray flame was burning quietly—it was precisely the [Chaos Fire] he had comprehended before.

Lin Ye brought his consciousness close to that flame.

[Chaos Fire (heart palace exclusive)]

Current Level: Entry (0 / 1000)

Effect: Attacks carry Chaos Fire damage, causing 5% of attack power as continuous burning damage every second for 10 seconds. Damage is doubled against yin and evil enemies.

Consumption: Consumes 50 Divine Power per second to maintain the flame.

Advancement direction:

① [Chaos Fire Sea]: Spreads the Chaos Fire to a radius of ten zhang, forming a continuously burning sea of fire. Area attack, dealing 3% of attack power as damage per second, lasting 15 seconds.

② [Chaos Flame Explosion]: Compresses the Chaos Fire to a high degree and detonates it, causing 300% of attack power as instant damage, with a 3-second stun.

③ [Chaos Flame Armor]: Covers the whole body with Chaos Fire, forming flame armor. Increases defense by 30% and causes rebound damage to melee attackers.

(Note: Requires heart palace to be cultivated to Minor Achievement to unlock advanced skills)

Three advancement directions, each with its own focus.

The Fire Sea is suitable for group battles, the Flame Explosion is suitable for burst damage, and the Flame Armor is both offensive and defensive.

Lin Ye thought for a moment and decided to choose [Chaos Flame Explosion]. He currently lacked a one-hit-kill burst method. Although the power of Palm Thunder was good, it was a thunder-type skill after all and did not perfectly fit the Chaos Body. If Chaos Flame Explosion could be used in conjunction with the Chaos Domain, the instant burst power would reach a terrifying level.

"However, it requires the heart palace to reach Minor Achievement to unlock..."

The cultivation progress of the heart palace is divided into four stages: Entry, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection. He had just entered the Dao Palace Realm, and his heart palace had just been opened, so he was still some distance away from Minor Achievement.

According to the guidance of Elder Xuanwei, the cultivation of the heart palace for the Chaos Body cannot rely solely on hard work; it also requires the assistance of corresponding Heaven And Earth Treasure. The best choice is "Fire-type Origin" or "Fire-type treasure with Chaos attribute".

"Fire-type Origin is hard to come by, but a Fire-type treasure with Chaos attribute... perhaps I can find one among the spoils."

Lin Ye opened his eyes and looked at the pile of undistributed spoils on the table.

Among the equipment dropped by Shadow Killer and Blood Blade, there were a few Materials with a red luster that looked quite extraordinary. He walked over and checked them one by one.

[Shadow Stealth Cloak Fragment (Epic)]: A remnant of Shadow Killer's cloak, containing the power of shadows. Can be used to refine stealth-type equipment or enhance dark attribute affinity.

[Blood Fiend Crystal (Fine)]: Core material of the Blood Fiend Blade, containing a fierce aura. Can be used to refine Demonic Path weapons or Cultivate blood-type techniques.

[Thunder Eagle King Essence Blood (Rare)]: Found in the Blood Blade's Storage Pouch, it should be the remainder of the previous transaction. Contains pure thunder power, can be used for Body Tempering or refining thunder-type Medicinal Pill.

[Unknown Gray Crystal (???)]: Found in the deepest part of Shadow Killer's Storage Pouch, fist-sized, rough surface, with gray airflow faintly circulating inside. Quality and use cannot be identified.

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the last gray crystal.

He picked up the crystal, which was slightly warm to the touch. Sensing carefully, he could feel a peculiar power contained within the crystal—it was neither Spiritual Qi nor elemental power, but a more primitive, more chaotic energy.

"This is..."

Lin Ye tried to inject a wisp of Chaos Divine Power into the crystal.

"Hum!"

The crystal vibrated slightly, and the gray airflow on the surface accelerated. Immediately after, a pure chaotic energy fed back, flowing along the Meridians of his arm into his heart palace!

The Chaos Fire in his heart palace seemed to have encountered fuel and suddenly surged! The flame color turned from gray to deep, the temperature rose sharply, and the operation speed of the heart palace also accelerated by 30%!

[System prompt: Discovered "Chaos Origin Stone (fragment)"!]

[Chaos Origin Stone (fragment) (Legendary)]

Quality: Gold (Incomplete)

Effect:

① Direct absorption can increase Chaos attribute affinity (+5-10 points per fragment)

② Assist in cultivating Chaos-type techniques, efficiency +100%

③ Core material for refining Chaos-attribute equipment

④ Chaos Body exclusive: Absorption can directly improve heart palace cultivation progress

Description: A fragment of the chaos origin source left over when the world was first opened, containing the most primitive Chaos Power. It is a supreme treasure for the Chaos Body.

Chaos Origin Stone! And it's a fragment!

Lin Ye was ecstatic. This was exactly what he needed most right now! The "Fire-type treasure with Chaos attribute" that Elder Xuanwei mentioned might be hard to find, but this Chaos Origin Stone had a better effect on the Chaos Body than any single-attribute treasure!

He did not hesitate and immediately began to absorb it.

Sitting cross-legged, holding the chaos origin stone fragment in both hands, he operated the absorption method recorded in the "Void Scripture". The gray chaotic energy flowed into his body like a stream, and after circulating through specific Meridians for one cycle, it flowed into the heart palace.

The Chaos Fire in the heart palace greedily devoured these energies, and the flame grew and solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye. The originally illusory flame gradually gained texture, and the color turned from light gray to dark gray, with even a bit of almost invisible black appearing at the core—that was a sign that the Chaos Fire was beginning to undergo a qualitative change.

[System prompt: Absorbing chaos origin stone fragment...]

[Chaos attribute affinity +3...+3...+3...]

[heart palace cultivation progress: Entry (0 / 1000) → Entry (350 / 1000)]

[Chaos Fire proficiency +50...+50...+50...]

Time passed minute by minute.

When the last trace of chaotic energy was absorbed, the gray crystal in his hand turned into powder and spilled from between his fingers.

Lin Ye opened his eyes, and the two clusters of gray flames in the depths of his pupils had solidified much more, no longer as illusory as before.

[System prompt: chaos origin stone fragment absorption complete!]

[Chaos attribute affinity: 38 → 50]

[heart palace cultivation progress: Entry (350 / 1000)]

[Chaos Fire proficiency: Entry (0 / 1000) → Entry (150 / 1000)]

[Chaos Fire effect improved: Burning damage per second increased from 5% of attack power to 6%]

[Duration extended from 10 seconds to 12 seconds]

One fragment increased the heart palace progress by 35% and strengthened the Chaos Fire! If he could get two more, Minor Achievement for the heart palace would be just around the corner!

Lin Ye calmed his excitement and began to think.

Why did Shadow Killer have a chaos origin stone fragment? It was unlikely that an assassin organization like the Blood Fiend Alliance would collect such a treasure that was only useful for the Chaos Body. The most likely possibility was that this fragment was obtained by Shadow Killer from some ruin or from some Chaos Body player.

"It seems I need to interrogate the captives of the Blood Fiend Alliance properly."

During the previous battle, the Heavenly Court captured three seriously injured assassins of the Blood Fiend Alliance, who were now locked in the dungeon. Lin Ye had originally intended to deal with them after asking for information, but now it seemed he had to question them carefully about the news of the Chaos Origin Stone.

But before that...

He looked at the skill tree.

The heart palace progress reached 350 / 1000, and Chaos Fire proficiency was 150 / 1000. Although there was still a distance to Minor Achievement, he could tentatively try to deepen the skill.

Skill deepening is different from skill advancement. Advancement is unlocking new skills, while deepening is enhancing the power and effect of existing skills. For example, Chaos Fire, if deepened to a certain level, might mutate and gain special effects.

"Let's give it a try."

Lin Ye stood up and came to the training ground in the backyard of the meeting hall.

This was a private training area specially prepared for high-level guild members, equipped with soundproofing and protective Formations, so he could test skills with peace of mind without worrying about destruction or being spied on.

He stood in the center of the field, stretched out his right hand, and moved his mind.

"Chaos Fire, appear!"

"Whoosh—"

Gray flames ignited from his palm. Compared to before, this time the flame was more solidified, the temperature was higher, and even the surrounding space was slightly distorted.

Lin Ye could feel that his control over the flames had improved. He tried to change the shape of the flames—with a thought, the flame spread from a cluster and turned into a three-foot-long fire snake, swimming between his palms. With another move, the fire snake turned into a flaming short sword, sharp and exposed.

"Morphological change... this is the first direction of deepening."

He threw the flaming short sword at the test wooden stake ten zhang away.

"Chi—"

The short sword penetrated the wooden stake without any obstruction, leaving a bowl-sized charred hole. The edge of the hole was still burning, and the gray flame stubbornly adhered to the wood, continuously burning.

[Damage dealt: 6248 (penetration) + 3749 (continuous burning 12 seconds) = 9997]

[Test wooden stake durability: 20000 → 10003]

A total damage of nearly ten thousand! And the penetration power was extremely strong!

Lin Ye's eyes lit up. If he combined Void Step to get close and used the short sword condensed by Chaos Fire to pierce, I am afraid that Cultivators below the Dao Palace Third Layer would be difficult to defend against.

"Next, let's try range variation."

He withdrew the flames and condensed them again. This time it was not compression, but diffusion—spreading the flames evenly in an area with a radius of three zhang centered on himself.

"Chaos Fire Domain!"

The gray flames covered the ground, forming a circular ring of fire with a diameter of six zhang. The temperature inside the ring of fire rose sharply, the air distorted, and the stone slabs on the ground began to crack.

Lin Ye stood in the center of the ring of fire and could clearly feel that within this range, his control over the flames reached its limit. He could make the flames explode at any position at any time, or condense them into a shield for defense.

"It's a pity that the range is still too small, and the consumption is too high..."

Maintaining this fire Domain consumed 150 Divine Power per second. With his current Divine Power limit, he could only persist for three minutes at most. In actual combat, it could only be used as a burst method and could not be sustained.

"Finally, try... Fusion."

Lin Ye had a bold idea.

Chaos Fire is a heart palace exclusive skill, and his heart palace is the Chaos Fire Palace, with the flame containing Chaos attribute. So, what if he fused this flame with the space power of the "Void Scripture"?

What would happen if you combined space and Chaos Fire?

He clenched his left hand lightly, mobilizing the power of his Void Realm.

A wisp of silver space power appeared in his palm, like a leaping silver snake.

His right hand held the Chaos Fire.

Then, he slowly brought the two together.

"Sizzle..."

The moment the space power and Chaos Fire made contact, a violent reaction occurred.

Two completely different types of energy repelled and collided with each other, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

Lin Ye felt as if his hands were holding two thunder orbs about to explode, ready to lose control at any moment.

But he did not give up, instead carefully adjusting the ratio of the two energies, searching for a balance point.

One minute later, the silver and gray energies finally stopped clashing violently and began to fuse slowly.

A silver-gray intertwined energy ball rotated in his palm, with tiny spatial cracks vaguely flashing inside, and gray flames burning at the edges of the cracks.

[System Prompt: You are attempting to fuse space power and Chaos Fire...]

[Fusion Progress: 1%... 2%... 3%...]

[Warning: The Fusion of two high-level energies is extremely dangerous; if it loses control, it may cause severe backlash.]

[Suggestion: Perform in a safe environment with a Protector present.]

Cold sweat seeped from Lin Ye's forehead.

It was indeed dangerous.

He could feel that if this ball of fused energy lost control and exploded, its power would be no less than the self-destruction of Shadow Killer.

By then, let alone the cultivation ground, the entire backyard might be razed to the ground.

But he gritted his teeth and continued.

The Fusion progress slowly increased: 5%... 8%... 10%...

When it reached 12%, the energy ball finally stabilized.

The silver-gray light sphere rotated slowly in his palm, the spatial cracks and Chaos Fire inside forming a delicate balance.

"Success... although it is only a preliminary Fusion."

Lin Ye let out a long breath and carefully moved the energy ball toward the distant testing area.

"Go."

The silver-gray light sphere drifted slowly toward a row of testing wooden stakes twenty zhang away.

The moment of contact—

No explosion, no loud noise.

The light sphere expanded silently, forming a silver-gray Domain with a diameter of three zhang.

Within the Domain, space was distorted, and gray flames burned within the spatial cracks.

Those testing wooden stakes decomposed rapidly within the Domain—not burned, but cut into pieces by the spatial cracks, and then the pieces were burned to ashes by the Chaos Fire.

The whole process was silent and deadly.

Three seconds later, the Domain dissipated.

Only a scorched open space remained, not even the residue of the wooden stakes was left.

[Damage Dealt: Testing wooden stakes x 5 all destroyed (Durability zeroed)]

[Attack Type: Mixed Damage (Space Cutting + Chaos Burning)]

[Special Effect: Enemy movement speed -50% within the Domain, defense -30%]

[Consumption: This Fusion consumed 1200 points of Divine Power]

Terrifying!

Even Lin Ye was shocked by this power.

Five testing wooden stakes, each with a durability of twenty thousand, totaling one hundred thousand durability.

All destroyed within three seconds, averaging over thirty thousand damage per second!

And it also had a powerful debuff effect!

Although the consumption was huge, requiring 1200 Divine Power at once, it was completely worth it as a trump card!

"This move... let's call it 'Chaos Void Flame'."

Lin Ye named the newly fused skill.

Although the Fusion degree was only 12% now and there was still much room for improvement in power, it was already enough to serve as one of his trump cards.

He pulled up the skill panel and found an extra line of notes behind [Chaos Fire]:

[Chaos Fire (Exclusive to heart palace)]

Current Rank: Entry (150/1000)

Effect: Attacks carry Chaos Fire damage, causing continuous burning of 6% of attack power per second, lasting 12 seconds.

Damage doubled against evil enemies.

Special Status: Preliminarily fused with space power (Fusion degree 12%)

Derived Skill: [Chaos Void Flame] (Mixed damage, area attack, comes with slowing and defense-reducing effects)

Very good!

The improvement brought by the skill deepening was real.

The current Chaos Fire was at least 50% stronger than when he first comprehended it.

Once his heart palace reached Minor Achievement and the Fusion degree increased, it would be even stronger.

Testing finished, Lin Ye retracted all his power and prepared to leave the cultivation ground.

Just then, he suddenly felt something and looked up to the east.

There, dawn was approaching, and the sky was turning a fish-belly white.

But in this normal morning light, Lin Ye vaguely felt an abnormal spatial fluctuation—very weak, flashing and passing, and if it weren't for the fact that he had just fused space power and was extremely sensitive to spatial fluctuations, he would not have noticed it at all.

"This direction is... the location of Zhao State?"

Lin Ye frowned.

Yan State was in the north of the Eastern Wilderness, Zhao State in the east, and the two countries bordered each other.

Although that spatial fluctuation was weak, its level was extremely high, at least a Saint Lord level character performing spatial techniques.

"Zhao State... I remember that in my past life at this time, something big seemed to have happened within Zhao State."

He tried hard to recall.

In the third month of the server launch, near Handan, the capital of Zhao State, an ancient Secret Realm suddenly opened.

That Secret Realm was said to be the place where a Quasi-Emperor passed away, containing a Quasi-Emperor Legacy and countless treasures.

At that time, it attracted most of the forces in the Eastern Wilderness to go there, and a tragic battle for control broke out.

In the end, the Secret Realm was controlled by a mysterious force, and opinions on who it was were divided in his past life.

But one thing was certain—within that Secret Realm, there were clues to the "Five Elements Origin"!

Five Elements Origin, this was exactly what Elder Xuanwei mentioned, the key to condensing the Chaos Five Elements divine storehouse!

"Could it be that the Secret Realm opened early? Or... were there other changes?"

Lin Ye's expression was solemn.

He had to make a trip to Zhao State.

Not only for the Five Elements Origin, but more importantly, to prevent that mysterious force from controlling the Secret Realm—if that force was a hostile faction, such as the Olympus branch in the Eastern Wilderness, that would be a big problem.

Returning to the meeting hall, Lin Ye immediately summoned the core members.

"I am going to Zhao State." He said straightforwardly, "Time is tight, we leave today."

Everyone was surprised.

"Brother Ye, so urgent?" Chen Hao asked, "Your wounds haven't fully healed yet."

"The wounds are fine." Lin Ye waved his hand, "Just now I sensed abnormal spatial fluctuations in the direction of Zhao State, very likely an ancient Secret Realm opening. This Opportunity cannot be missed."

"Ancient Secret Realm?" Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up, "There must be many treasures! But Brother Ye, it's too dangerous for you to go alone, I will go with you."

"I will go too." Su Qingyue said.

"And me!" Chen Hao and Shi Potian said simultaneously.

Lin Ye thought for a moment: "Qingyue will go with me. Her Vast Cold Spirit Body might have special sensing abilities in the Secret Realm environment. Chen Hao and Shi Potian stay behind, responsible for the headquarters' safety. Zhao Wuji, you continue to manage the chamber of commerce, and at the same time collect all information about the Zhao State Secret Realm."

"Yes!" Everyone accepted the orders.

"Then when do we leave?" Su Qingyue asked.

"In one hour." Lin Ye said, "You go prepare first, bring enough Medicinal Pills and supplies. I will go to the dungeon to interrogate the captives and see if I can get news about the chaos source stone."

The dungeon was located on the third floor underground of the headquarters.

It was originally a storage room, later converted into a temporary detention area.

The conditions were simple, but the Formations were complete, preventing prisoners from escaping or committing suicide.

Three Blood Fiend Alliance assassins were locked in three separate stone rooms, their hands and feet wearing special shackles that could block the circulation of Divine Power.

Their injuries were severe, but after simple treatment, they were no longer in life-threatening danger.

Lin Ye walked into the first stone room.

Inside was a thin, small man, with Wheel Sea Realm Eighth Layer cultivation, skilled in using poison darts.

Seeing Lin Ye enter, fear flashed in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"I only ask one question." Lin Ye said indifferently, "Does your boss, Shadow Killer, have a gray crystal? Where did he get it?"

The thin man was stunned, not expecting Lin Ye to ask this.

He hesitated for a moment, then said hoarsely: "If I... tell you... can I survive?"

"Yes." Lin Ye nodded, "As long as you answer truthfully, I will not kill you."

"...That stone was obtained by Boss Shadow Killer half a month ago in the depths of the 'Ancient Yao Mountain Range'." The thin man said, "At that time, we accepted a mission to go to the mountain range to hunt a python Yao Beast that was about to transform into a flood dragon. In the deepest part of the python Yao Beast's lair, Boss Shadow Killer discovered an underground cave. There were some ancient relics in the cave, and that gray crystal was among them."

Ancient Yao Mountain Range? Lin Ye noted the name.

It was a huge mountain range at the border of Yan State and Zhao State, stretching for ten thousand miles, with Yao Beasts running rampant inside, and it was said that there were also ruins left by the ancient Yao Race.

"What else was in the cave?" Lin Ye asked further.

"There were also a few broken ancient artifacts, some rotten Jade Slips, and... a skeleton of someone who had passed away." The thin man recalled, "The skeleton had weathered, but the bones were pale gold, clearly having extremely high cultivation during their lifetime. Boss Shadow Killer said that it was at least the remains of a Saint or higher."

Saint remains!

Lin Ye was shocked.

Saint-level existences, their bones would not rot for ten thousand years after death, and might even retain the Dao rhymes from their lifetime.

Such a place could indeed produce treasures of the level of a chaos source stone.

"Do you remember the specific location?"

"I remember roughly..." The thin man described a coordinate range.

Lin Ye noted it down, then looked at the other two stone rooms.

The information provided by the other two was mostly the same, and after mutual verification, it could be confirmed that the intelligence was basically true.

"Alright, you can go." Lin Ye unlocked the shackles of the three, "But remember, if I see you here again, or hear that you continue to serve the Blood Fiend Alliance... you will be killed without mercy."

"We dare not! We dare not!" The three felt as if they had been granted amnesty, and scrambled out of the dungeon.

Lin Ye did not stop them.

Three small characters of the Wheel Sea Realm, whether to kill them or not was irrelevant.

Letting them go could instead demonstrate the magnanimity of the Heavenly Court, and also send a signal to other forces—the Heavenly Court is not bloodthirsty, but those who offend us must be punished.

Returning to the surface, Su Qingyue was already prepared.

She had changed into a light blue outfit, carrying an ice crystal long sword on her back, and several Storage Pouches hanging at her waist.

The Vast Cold Spirit Body made her temperament even colder, but when she looked at Lin Ye, there was a hint of warmth in her eyes.

"All prepared?" Lin Ye asked.

"Yes." Su Qingyue nodded, "Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and supplies, enough for a month. Also, Qin Ruoxue gave me this."

She handed over a Jade Slip.

Lin Ye swept his Divine Sense through it, and inside was the latest intelligence on Zhao State:

The largest player force in Zhao State is currently the "Zongheng Alliance", and the leader "Alliance Master of Henghe Alliance" is at the Dao Palace Second Layer cultivation, said to have royal background.

The second largest force is the "Green Robe Tower", all female players, the leader "Qing Luan" is at Dao Palace First Layer, skilled in musical attacks.

In addition, the Olympus branch in Zhao State is responsible by "Athena", Dao Palace Sixth Layer, with extraordinary wisdom.

She has been operating in Handan for two months, and her Foundation is much deeper than Apollo's in Yan State.

The last piece of information caught Lin Ye's attention:

"Three days ago, an abnormal celestial phenomenon appeared at 'Phoenix Falling Slope' 300 miles outside Handan city, with five-colored clouds rushing into the sky, lasting for half an hour. Local Cultivators rumored that it might be a sign of an ancient Secret Realm opening. Dozens of forces have already sent people to investigate."

Phoenix Falling Slope, five-colored clouds.

This matched the spatial fluctuation Lin Ye sensed.

"It seems that the Secret Realm is indeed opening." He put away the Jade Slip, "We must hurry. Once the Secret Realm officially opens, major forces will swarm in, and if we go late, we won't even get to drink the soup."

The two left the headquarters and came to the west gate of the capital city.

There was a small teleportation Formation here, which could teleport to a border city, and then fly to Zhao State.

Although flying directly would be faster, Lin Ye's injuries had not healed, and Su Qingyue was only in the Wheel Sea Realm, so long-distance flight would consume too much energy, it was better to teleport to save energy.

After paying the Spirit Stone, the teleportation Formation lit up with white light.

However, just at the moment when the two were about to be teleported away—

"Boom!"

A blood-colored blade light descended from the sky, slashing directly at the teleportation Formation!

"Watch out!"

Lin Ye reacted extremely fast, pushing Su Qingyue away, while simultaneously summoning the myriad mother qi cauldron to block above his head.

"Clang—!!!"

The sound of metal clashing was deafening.

The teleportation Formation was hit by the blade light, the Formation runes flickered a few times, and it shattered with a boom.

Although Lin Ye blocked the blade light, he was also shaken with surging Qi and blood, the wound on his left shoulder cracked open, and blood seeped out.

He looked up into the air.

There, a middle-aged man wearing blood-colored armor stood in the air, holding a giant blade as wide as a door panel in his hand.

The man had a hideous scar on his face, extending from his forehead to his chin, his aura as fierce as a prehistoric beast.

[Name: Xue Kuang]

[Identity: Blood Fiend Alliance Headquarters Elder]

[Rank: 58 (Dao Palace Fourth Layer)]

[Status: Killing intent boiling, targeting locked]

Dao Palace Fourth Layer! And looking at this aura, it was more than a notch stronger than Shadow Killer!

"You are the one who killed twenty elites of my Blood Fiend Alliance, and also killed Shadow Killer?" Xue Kuang's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing, "Very good... very good! I haven't taken action personally for a long time, today I will use your blood to pay tribute to the dead souls of my Blood Fiend Alliance!"

Before the words fell, he had disappeared from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already above Lin Ye's head, the giant blade carrying the momentum of splitting mountains and cracking the earth, slashing down with a boom!

This blade was as fast as lightning and as heavy as Mount Tai!

Lin Ye's pupils contracted.

He knew that the real test had just begun.