128: Chapter 128 Strange Changes in the Secret Realm

The stone ring map in his palm, unexpectedly, points to the same coordinate as the Pill Formula Su Qingyao prepared for him, across vast space and time.

This is by no means a coincidence.

Lin Chen's gaze locks onto the grass-shaped marker, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

The Barrier-Breaking Golden Scale Grass is the core main ingredient for refining top-tier Five Elements Foundation Establishment Medicinal Pills, growing only in forbidden lands where Metal Spiritual Qi and Wood Spiritual Qi converge; it is extremely rare.

In the Pill Formula provided by the Danxia Sect, this ingredient can only be replaced by the inferior "Golden Silk Grass," significantly reducing the effect.

And now, this mysterious stone ring has directly marked its place of origin.

"Haoyu..." he mutters subconsciously.

His son, Lin Haoyu, is currently in that Secret Realm filled with the unknown and murderous intent.

And that Secret Realm is dominated by Metal and Wood attribute Spiritual Qi.

A strong premonition grips Lin Chen's mind.

The anomaly of this stone ring and the appearance of this map seem, in some mysterious way, closely linked to Haoyu's safety.

He forcibly suppresses the urge to break through his cultivation bottleneck immediately, takes a deep breath, and sinks his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness, attempting to catch a glimpse of the situation in the Secret Realm through the faint Bloodline connection between father and son.

Meanwhile, in the Danxia Sect's Secret Realm, within a Metal Spirit Valley rich in Spiritual Qi.

Lin Haoyu is half-kneeling in front of a cluster of golden Spiritual Plants shaped like wheat ears.

This is Metal Spirit Essence, an excellent Material for refining Metal-attribute Medicinal Pills.

One of his tasks on this trip is to collect enough Spiritual Plants for the Family.

He holds his breath, carefully extending his hand, with a wisp of gentle Wood-attribute Spiritual Qi lingering on his fingertips, preparing to uproot this Metal Spirit Essence with the most maturity.

Just as his fingertips are about to touch the root of the Spiritual Plant—

"Buzz..."

An extremely suppressed sword hum comes from the broken sword at his waist.

This broken sword, seized from Jin Feng and stained with his blood, is vibrating at a high frequency, the blade cold, emanating a strong sense of warning and resistance.

Lin Haoyu's movements freeze suddenly, his gaze turning sharp in an instant.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately withdraws his hand, his body sliding back several feet like a civet cat, scanning his surroundings vigilantly.

The mountain wind howls in the valley; apart from the wind, he hears no strange sounds.

The surrounding stone walls shimmer with a metallic luster in the sunlight; everything looks no different from when he first arrived.

Where is something wrong?

He trusts the warning from this broken sword.

After destroying Jin Feng's Dao Foundation with the "Law-Breaking" Sword Intent, a wondrous connection formed between him and this broken sword, as if it had become an extension of his senses.

His gaze slowly moves down, falling back onto that cluster of Metal Spirit Essence.

The Spiritual Plant is still swaying in the wind, glittering with gold.

But in the crevice of the stone at the root of the Spiritual Plant, he discovers a trace of abnormality.

An extremely fine fissure, like a spider web, is spreading from the depths of the stone crevice; if one does not observe carefully, it would be impossible to notice.

A wisp of ink-colored mist, thinner than a hair, is slowly seeping out from that fissure, silent and soundless, like a living venomous snake.

This mist has no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, yet it carries a chill and deathly stillness that originates from the bone marrow.

Lin Haoyu's pupils shrink.

He sees with his own eyes that the wisp of ink-colored mist wraps around an ordinary weed right next to the Metal Spirit Essence.

In just an instant, the leaves of that originally verdant weed curl and wither at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning from vibrant green to deathly charred black.

This scene perfectly matches the characteristics of the "Ink Abyss Erosion" that his father described to him and his mother after the arena battle!

"Roar—!"

Just as his mind is shaken, a beast roar mixed with pain and madness comes from the other end of the valley.

Immediately after, heavy footsteps approach from afar; a second-tier Yao Beast, the "Stone-Armored Savage Bull," with a body like an ox and covered in rock armor, charges into Lin Haoyu's line of sight like a madman.

Its eyes are blood-red, and foul-smelling drool drips from the corners of its mouth; it is clearly in a frenzy.

What shocks Lin Haoyu even more is that on the hard back armor of this Stone-Armored Savage Bull, there are several wounds deep enough to see bone; no blood flows from the wounds, but instead, wisps of the same ink-colored mist as in the ground fissure are leaking out!

It has been eroded!

Lin Haoyu immediately grips the broken sword in his hand, his entire body's Spiritual Qi ready to go.

"Vile beast, don't run!"

A cold, harsh shout follows.

A burly figure chases from behind the Stone-Armored Savage Bull, holding a giant hammer like a door panel, shaking the earth with every step; it is Tie Xin from the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

Tie Xin clearly sees Lin Haoyu, but his entire focus is on the corrupted Yao Beast, so he just frowns and shouts in a deep voice: "Move aside if you don't want to die!"

Before the words fall, the Stone-Armored Savage Bull has gone berserk, ignoring Tie Xin behind it, and takes the closest Lin Haoyu as its attack target, lowering its head and charging wildly, the pair of sharp horns on its head shining with metallic cold light, pointing directly at Lin Haoyu's chest.

Lin Haoyu's eyes focus; he advances instead of retreating, his sword steps shifting, his body sliding past the horns like a willow leaf attached to the wind, narrowly avoiding them.

At the same time, Tie Xin's attack arrives.

He leaps high, his giant hammer carrying the momentum of ten thousand jun, smashing fiercely onto the back of the Stone-Armored Savage Bull's neck.

"Clang!"

A loud noise erupts, sparks flying everywhere.

The Stone-Armored Savage Bull feels the pain, lets out a deafening roar, abandons Lin Haoyu, turns sharply, and rams into Tie Xin.

"Troublesome!" Tie Xin curses inwardly, blocking with his hammer, and is forced to retreat several steps by the huge impact.

"It has been eroded by the Ink Abyss Qi and has lost its sanity; its strength and defense are far beyond normal!" Lin Haoyu's calm voice comes from the side. "Attack the wounds on its back!"

Tie Xin pauses, glances at this Lin Family kid, surprised that at such a young age, his insight is so sharp.

He says no more, a heavy "Hmm" serving as his response.

The two no longer hesitate, one on the left and one on the right, instantly reaching a tacit understanding.

Tie Xin faces it head-on, his giant hammer swinging wide, attracting the Stone-Armored Savage Bull's full attention.

Meanwhile, Lin Haoyu relies on movement techniques far superior to his peers, wandering the flank of the Yao Beast like a ghost, his broken sword piercing precisely into the crevices of the wounds on the beast's back with extremely tricky angles each time.

However, the Yao Beast corrupted by the Ink Abyss Qi is fearless of death; even with injuries upon injuries, its offensive remains fierce.

Just as the two are locked in a bitter battle, an ethereal and melodious flute sound drifts down from above the valley without warning.

The flute sound starts like a clear spring flowing over stones, ringing with a strange power that pacifies the heart.

The rampaging Stone-Armored Savage Bull's movements actually pause, a trace of confusion flashing in its blood-red eyes.

It works!

Lin Haoyu and Tie Xin look at each other, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.

"Now!" Tie Xin seizes this fleeting opportunity, lets out a shout, his muscles bulging, pouring all his strength into the giant hammer, delivering a forceful "Mountain-Shaking Hammer" that lands solidly on the Yao Beast's head.

At the same time, Lin Haoyu's figure rises like blue smoke, his blood-soaked broken sword, with indomitable determination, stabbing fiercely from top to bottom into the Yao Beast's spine through the largest wound on its back armor!

"Moo—!"

The Stone-Armored Savage Bull lets out a shrill, mournful cry, its massive body collapsing to the ground with a boom, twitching a few times before completely losing life.

The flute sound stops abruptly.

A slender figure in a water-blue dress leaps lightly down from the rock wall above; it is Yun Shang from the Miaoyin Valley.

She holds a jade short flute, her complexion slightly pale; clearly, the "Soul-Suppressing Melody" just now consumed quite a bit of her energy.

"Thank you." Tie Xin pants, cupping his hands towards Yun Shang in thanks.

He nods directly at Lin Haoyu, his eyes showing a bit more recognition.

"No need." Yun Shang's voice is cold, her gaze passing over the two and falling on the corpse of the Yao Beast.

Lin Haoyu pulls out the broken sword, shakes off the black blood, and also looks at the massive corpse.

He sees that with the death of the Yao Beast, those ink-colored mists that eroded it not only do not dissipate but become even denser, hovering and condensing above the corpse, as if looking for the next host.

Just within that mass of ink mist, half a broken token, neither gold nor iron, looms.

Tie Xin, sharp-eyed, steps forward and flicks the half-token out of the mist with the handle of his hammer.

The token is cold to the touch, with a blood-red character "Death" carved on the front and a vague serial number on the back.

"This is... the identity token of a True Blood Temple death warrior!" Tie Xin's expression changes.

Yun Shang also walks over, her beautiful brows furrowed: "A death warrior of the True Blood Temple? How could they appear in the Secret Realm? Logically, only Danxia Sect Disciples are eligible to enter."

Lin Haoyu's heart sinks abruptly.

He thinks of Jin Feng in the arena, and the conflict between his father and Venerable Xueli.

The hands of the True Blood Temple have actually reached into the Secret Realm!

"These Ink Abyss Qi, I'm afraid, are also inseparable from them." Lin Haoyu points to the fissure on the ground that is constantly seeping mist, saying in a deep voice.

The three follow the fissure all the way, soon arriving before a hidden rock cave covered by vines.

The cave entrance is filled with chilling winds, and that deathly still ink-colored mist is continuously gushing out from inside.

They look at each other, without hesitation, light a fire stick, and walk into the cave.

The cave is damp and cold, and the four walls are carved with countless ancient and twisted runes.

The moment Lin Haoyu sees those runes, he feels a familiar burning pain in his right thumb—the jade talisman his father gave him for protection is slightly hot.

These runes on the cave walls are actually 70-80% similar to the patterns on the inner wall of his father's mysterious stone ring!

"What are these ghost symbols?" Tie Xin frowns, feeling that these runes make him very uncomfortable.

He extends his finger and touches the rock wall, feeling a cold chill drilling straight into his bone marrow from his fingertip.

He subconsciously raises his life-bound giant hammer and strikes a seemingly loose rock wall beside him.

"Thump."

The sound is dull but carries a hollow echo.

"It's empty inside!" Tie Xin's eyes light up.

He increases his strength and strikes a few more times; with a "crack," the rock wall covered with runes falls off, revealing the scene behind it.

Behind the stone wall, it is not the dark room imagined, but a huge, long-petrified turtle shell fossil embedded in the mountain.

The turtle shell is about half a person high, covered with naturally formed, crack-like grooves.

And in the very center of the turtle shell, there is a groove that can just accommodate a jade talisman, its shape exactly the same as the hot jade talisman in Lin Haoyu's bosom.

"This is..." Yun Shang's breathing also becomes rapid.

A strong urge surges in Lin Haoyu's heart; he takes out the warm jade talisman.

Just as he is about to embed the jade talisman into the groove—

"Jie jie jie... actually the residue of the Five Elements True Spirit... also worthy..."

A hollow, hoarse, non-human voice explodes in the entire cave without warning.

Following the sound, the ink-colored mist permeating the cave gathers crazily, slowly condensing into a blurry humanoid shape in front of the turtle shell fossil.

It has no facial features, only two bottomless pits, as if it could devour all light.

Bone-Eroding Demon General! Just a Divided Soul!

The terrifying sound wave shatters the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, and gravel falls like raindrops.

Yun Shang's face changes drastically; without thinking, she brings the jade short flute to her lips, suddenly raising the pitch, and a sharp sound blade stabs fiercely at the Demon General's Divided Soul, forcibly interrupting its words.

The Demon General's Divided Soul is hit by the sound blade, its figure swaying, but it does not dissipate, instead letting out an even harsher roar.

Lin Haoyu is not gripped by fear.

The moment the Demon General appears, he makes the most decisive decision.

He presses the jade talisman tightly into the groove of the turtle shell!

It fits perfectly!

But apart from a flash of light from the jade talisman, there is no response.

The Demon General's whisper sounds again: "Useless... without the Bloodline guidance, you cannot wake up the remnant soul of this old turtle..."

Bloodline guidance!

Lin Haoyu's eyes sharpen; without the slightest hesitation, he slashes his left palm with the sharp edge of the broken sword, blood dripping instantly.

He presses his bleeding palm heavily onto the turtle shell!

The hot blood, containing the power of the Lin Family's Dao Heart, is instantly greedily absorbed by the ancient grooves on the turtle shell.

Buzz—!

The entire turtle shell fossil vibrates violently; those rune grooves that absorbed the blood light up one by one with a warm earthy-yellow glow, instantly connecting into a piece, forming a huge, semi-transparent earthy-yellow protective shield, firmly protecting the three of them inside.

At the same time, the jade talisman in the groove, after absorbing the blood, suddenly erupts with a blinding silver light!

That silver light is pure and upright, carrying an inviolable majesty, shining on the Divided Soul of the Bone-Eroding Demon General.

"Ah—! This is... impossible!"

The Demon General's Divided Soul lets out a terrified scream; the body made of Ink Abyss Qi, under the illumination of the silver light, actually melts and retreats like ice under the scorching sun.

This is the first time since it appeared that it has shown fear of a certain power!

Inside the protective shield, the earthy-yellow light gradually condenses into a huge, weary-looking phantom of the Wutu Spirit Turtle.

It glances at Lin Haoyu, a trace of approval and relief appearing in its eyes.

It says nothing, only using its last strength to open its mouth, pick up the jade talisman in the groove, and violently throw it into the depths of the cave.