125: Slave Seal

Chen Xuan gave a casual "mm" in response, but beside him, Xiao Yun's back was already tense, his Adam's apple bobbing as he even lightened his breathing.

The other party hadn't hesitated to use a Magic Treasure to block detection; the truth hidden behind this matter was likely a storm capable of overturning the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven.

Qi Yue sat upright beside Chen Xuan, her plain white veil hanging down, yet it couldn't hide the solemnity in her eyes.

Only then did Qin Tianxing speak, "Before I answer this question, I would like to ask Brother Chen Xuan something first."

"Suppose you have a Sect that cultivates several brilliant Prodigies for you every so often. Brother Chen, what would you be most worried about or wary of?"

Chen Xuan thought for a moment and calmly uttered two words: "Loyalty!"

Qin Tianxing nodded deeply in agreement. "No matter how good a Sharp Weapon is, if it develops a heart for backlash, it's better to break it early to avoid it piercing your own heart later! That is exactly what the Profound Realm is thinking!"

"But this... what does this have to do with those people being unwilling to return to the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven?" Xiao Yun asked softly from the side.

Qin Tianxing glanced at Xiao Yun from the corner of his eye with a hint of disdain. This guy's Luck was quite impressive, but he wondered if it was just because he was benefiting from his adoptive father's presence.

"Every Cultivator who leaves the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven has a 'Slave Seal' planted deep within their Divine Soul. That is an ancient secret technique lost to the Profound Realm; once planted, it is incurable for life! From then on, if you dare to disobey the Sect in the slightest, no matter which corner of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands you hide in, with just a thought from the seal-holder, your Divine Soul will be shattered, leaving no chance for Reincarnation!"

Qin Tianxing told a small lie; this Slave Seal was not actually incurable.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Yun's body trembled instantly.

He couldn't help but look toward the green smoke above the Arena Stage.

These one-in-a-million cultivation geniuses—who would have thought that the spots they were currently competing for would hide such a truth?

Who could have imagined that the "immortal fate" they fought so desperately for was actually turning themselves into Puppets at the mercy of others!

No wonder that Senior had taken out a Magic Treasure earlier to block perception; if this secret were to spread, it would cause a massive uproar throughout the entire Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven.

The shock on Qi Yue's face lasted only a moment before it was quickly suppressed, but there was still an undetectable tremor in her voice: "Does... Heavenly Secret Pavilion also know this truth?"

Qin Tianxing slowly shook his head, his tone carrying a bit of gravity: "Aside from the people on those three high platforms, no one else knows this truth. If it weren't for my sincere friendship with Brother Chen, I wouldn't have spoken of this secret today."

"Please don't spread this around after hearing it, otherwise it will put the four of us in the crosshairs of everyone."

Qi Yue and Xiao Yun, who was still processing the information, both nodded heavily.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly; many things finally made sense. All his previous doubts were now completely resolved!

No wonder the Profound Realm was willing to pass down Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities to the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven, yet strictly limited their grades to Earth Rank; no wonder they allowed the Cultivators of this world to flourish, yet refused to let anyone reach a higher Realm.

It turned out that from beginning to end, they were raising "dogs."

Selecting the top candidates, planting the incurable Slave Seal, and then bringing them back to the Profound Realm for careful training.

Wasn't this the same as death soldiers? No matter how high your Realm, you were nothing more than a dog under their command.

From then on, no matter what Realm these people achieved, they would ultimately be death soldiers in the hands of the Profound Realm—Puppets without even the right to resist. The so-called Prodigies and Opportunities were nothing but a carefully woven scam, a tragedy destined from birth!

...Inside the Myriad Spirit Affinity Realm!

Mu Wanqing's group traveled in one direction for two hours; even though they were trying to avoid them, they still encountered two Yao Beast attacks.

Fortunately, their Realms weren't high, around the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer!

Any one of the five could easily deal with them.

From time to time, they would pick up spirit fate crystals dropped by deceased Cultivators; they now had 11 spirit fate crystals in their hands.

"Senior Sister, there's movement ahead," Ye Hao called out to remind her.

Mu Wanqing immediately raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, slowed down, and restrained her aura before silently scouting ahead.

Just as the group rounded a cluster of half-withered old locust trees, the scene before them suddenly changed.

Over a hundred feet ahead, a thick, impenetrable black mist loomed. This black mist not only blocked vision but also restricted and greatly diminished Divine Sense when it entered.

Ye Hao narrowed his eyes slightly. "Inside that black mist... there's the aura of a Yao Beast, and it should be around the Golden Core Third Layer."

"However, it seems it can only move within the black mist."

Mu Wanqing was somewhat surprised to hear this. Golden Core Third Layer—this kind of Yao Beast was on a completely different level than the previous ones. Among the five of them, perhaps only three could defeat that Yao Beast.

She widened her clear and beautiful almond eyes, observing the black mist, and said softly, "This should be the soul-confusing miasma. I recall the previous rules saying that this black mist gradually shrinks every hour."

Pausing for a moment, she looked in the direction the miasma extended, her eyes growing more solemn. "It seems we have indeed been traveling in the wrong direction."

Li Pingan smiled. "At least we finally have a result. Next, we just need to travel in the opposite direction to find the Central Stone Tower."

The others nodded one after another; no one had any objections!

In this forest where one couldn't tell directions apart, going the wrong way was a small matter; what was most feared was not being able to distinguish directions at all.

Just as the five of them had walked a few miles, a sudden flurry of footsteps came from the front-left, accompanied by a woman's cry of alarm, as two figures stumbled toward them.

Mu Wanqing and the others immediately stopped in their tracks.

Two women dashed out from the bushes; their clothes were somewhat torn, and dark red bloodstains clung to their skirts.

Their complexions were haggard, with traces of undried blood at the corners of their mouths. They looked as if they had been attacked by a Yao Beast, both giving off a pitiable impression.

The woman in the light purple dress glanced at Ye Hao's group, and a look of joy immediately surfaced on her disheveled face.

She quickly waved her hand and introduced herself to explain: "Fe... Fellow Daoists, please don't attack. We sisters mean no harm. My name is Su Zi, and this is my Junior Sister, Su Yan. We are both Cultivators from the Southern Region. We wanted to try our Luck during the Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony, but we never expected the second stage of this Secret Realm to be so dangerous!"

Ye Hao narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up the two in front of him.

Mu Wanqing took half a step forward, her gaze falling on the wounds on their arms, and said in a deep voice, "Did you two encounter a Yao Beast?"

Hearing this, Su Zi nodded repeatedly. "Yes... it was a Scarlet Flame Fang! That beast was covered in raging fire and shattered our Junior Sister's Magical Artifact with one claw. If I hadn't desperately sacrificed my family's jade pendant to block it, we would have become its food long ago!"

"Fine, then we shall part ways here!" After Mu Wanqing finished speaking, she intended to turn and leave.

"Fellow Daoist, wait!" Su Zi immediately called out to stop the five.

Li Pingan asked in a deep, expressionless voice, "Is there anything else?"

The two pitiable-looking women held out a hand, with two spirit fate crystals floating above them. Their eyes were full of pleading as they said haltingly:

"Cou... Could you Fellow Daoists save our lives? As long as you can give us a way to survive, we are willing to offer these spirit fate crystals."