231: Chapter 231 What Holy Land?

Chapter 231: Which Holy Land? The Black-Robed Elder stood up and looked down condescendingly at Xu Jianan, who was sprawled on the ground. The killing intent in his eyes was like the northern wind on a snowy plain, cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Since you are determined to seek death, this Elder shall grant your wish."

He raised his right hand.

At his palm, a ball of dark red light slowly condensed; this time, the light was even more intense than the previous two times.

This strike would be enough to crush Xu Jianan, bones and soul alike.

Xu Jianan lay on the ground, watching the increasingly bright ball of light, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He closed his eyes, and the image of the young man lazily drinking tea under the phoenix tree flashed through his mind.

"Young Master..." he murmured, his voice hoarse.

Just as that ball of dark red light was about to leave his hand—

"Plop."

A soft sound.

It was very light, as light as a single water droplet falling onto a stone slab.

Yet, when that sound reached the Black-Robed Elder's ears, it was like a heavy hammer striking a bronze bell, causing his entire body to stiffen.

He whipped his head around, looking toward the source of the sound.

The seven Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators behind him also turned around at almost the same time, their faces full of vigilance.

Then, they saw a turtle.

It was a pitch-black turtle, about a foot square, lying on a rock ten zhang away. It was slowly extending a claw and patting the stone, as if greeting them.

Having stayed in the Secret Realm for these past few days, they had seen Yao Beasts and strange spiritual plants, but a turtle... this was their first time seeing one.

"Where did this beast come from?" The Black-Robed Elder frowned. The dark red light flickered twice in his palm but did not release immediately.

An Elder of the Primal Chaos Realm beside him stepped forward impatiently: "It is just a turtle; stepping on it and crushing it will suffice."

With that said, he raised his leg to stomp down.

But before his foot could land, the turtle suddenly raised its head.

A pair of murky, old eyes stared straight at him.

That gaze. It held an indescribable... mockery.

The Elder's heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily held back three-tenths of the force in his foot, yet he remained tough-mouthed: "You dare to glare at me?"

He stomped down hard!

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

Gravel scattered everywhere.

Yet the turtle remained lying on the rock, unmoved.

The Primal Chaos Realm Elder, however, felt as if he had stepped onto an iron mountain. A sharp pain shot through his entire leg from below the knee, and the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

"Ah—!" He screamed, falling backward and rolling on the ground while clutching his right leg.

The Black-Robed Elder's pupils constricted: "What?!"

Alarm bells rang in the Elder's heart, and he subconsciously took half a step back. The dark red light condensed in his palm couldn't help but dim slightly: "This thing is strange! Attack together!"

Following his order, the remaining six Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators drew their blades and charged.

Six streaks of dark red blade light descended almost simultaneously, carrying fierce spiritual power on the blades, enough to split a small mountain in two.

But before the blade light could touch the turtle, it suddenly retracted its limbs and head, leaving only a round, black turtle shell in place.

"Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!"

Six long blades struck the shell in unison.

Sparks flew, and spiritual power exploded, causing the surrounding ground to crack into spiderweb-like patterns.

Yet, the turtle shell did not even have a single white mark left on it.

On the contrary, the six Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators all suffered cracked webs between their thumbs and forefingers, their blades flying from their hands. Some were even sent flying backward by the recoil, tumbling several times on the snowy ground.

The Black-Robed Elder's expression changed completely.

What a terrifying turtle; blades cannot cut it?

"There is actually such a terrifying Yao Beast in the Secret Realm?!" The Black-Robed Elder was suspicious and unsettled. They had been searching in the Secret Realm for several days, and this was the first time they had encountered such a formidable Yao Beast.

"If this is all the skill Sky Wolf Valley has, I am somewhat disappointed."

The voice came from the depths of the dense forest, unhurried and carrying a hint of casual laziness.

Xu Jianan trembled, suddenly opening his eyes and looking toward the source of the voice.

He saw two figures slowly emerging from the shadows of the dense forest.

Walking at the front was a young man.

His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and he wore a green robe, looking like a leisurely scholar who had stepped out of a painting in this gray, hazy Secret Realm.

Behind him followed a woman in white, her brows and eyes as cold as frost.

The turtle also flickered and transformed into a stooped old man in a gray robe, slowly following behind the two. His murky, old eyes were fixed on the Black-Robed Elder, filled with mockery.

"Yo... Young Master?" Xu Jianan was stunned, his murky, old eyes filled with disbelief.

He thought he had seen wrong and blinked hard, but the three figures continued to walk steadily, showing no signs of vanishing.

"Young Master! Why are you here?!" Xu Jianan struggled to stand up, but covered in wounds, he fell back down as soon as he propped himself up halfway, grimacing in pain.

Shen Qingyuan walked up to him and stopped, looking down at him. Seeing that there wasn't a single patch of good skin on his body, with a bloody hole in his left shoulder and white bone exposed at his right knee, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

"Look at you, why run so far? Tianxuan Sect wouldn't eat you."

Shen Qingyuan's face revealed a hint of mockery, "I think the Old Saintess of Tianxuan Sect is not bad either."

"I was just afraid of causing trouble for Young Master..." Xu Jianan smiled sheepishly, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to gasp in pain.

The Black-Robed Elder stood to the side, watching this scene with a livid expression.

He realized that this old thing was in cahoots with these people.

"Who are you people?" the Black-Robed Elder asked in a deep voice.

Shen Qingyuan did not turn back; he simply crouched down, took out a glistening white Medicinal Pill, and casually stuffed it into Xu Jianan's mouth.

The Medicinal Pill melted upon contact, and a surge of warm medicinal power instantly exploded within Xu Jianan's body. The gaping wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his shattered bones sent a tingling sensation of growth.

Xu Jianan's eyes widened; he could clearly feel the immense vitality within that medicinal power, far surpassing any healing medicine he had ever seen.

"Young Master, this medicine..." Xu Jianan's voice went out of tune.

"Don't speak, lie still." Shen Qingyuan stood up, dusted off his hands, and then turned around, his gaze falling upon the Black-Robed Elder.

The Black-Robed Elder felt his scalp tingle under that gaze.

He was at the Peak of the ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm and was a person of standing within Sky Wolf Valley, yet facing this youth of about twenty years old, he actually felt an uncalled-for sense of timidity.

But this timidity only lasted for a fleeting moment.

The Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators behind him had already regrouped. Although the webs between their thumbs and forefingers were cracked, they still gripped their long blades tightly. The dark red runes on the blades lit up again, and the fierce killing intent intertwined with the cold air of Wolf Ridge, like an invisible net, enclosing the three of them along with Xu Jianan.

"From which Holy Land is Your Excellency?"

Shen Qingyuan chuckled and replied: "The Shen Clan of Guangnan!"

The Shen Clan of Guangnan?

The Black-Robed Elder slowly repeated the name, his brows furrowed deeply.

He truly could not recall any great clan surnamed Shen in the Northern Plains, nor did he remember any Holy Land surnamed Shen.

But this did not hinder him from continuing to maintain the dignity of Sky Wolf Valley.

"Regardless of which family you are from, you have trespassed into the ancestral grounds of our Sky Wolf Valley and harmed our Sky Wolf Valley Disciples. If you do not provide an explanation today, don't even think about leaving this Secret Realm."

As his voice fell, the six Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators stepped forward in unison. The runes on their blades suddenly lit up, and the six streaks of dark red light converged into a beam of light as thick as an arm, shooting straight toward Shen Qingyuan.

The Old Turtle stood behind Shen Qingyuan, raised a withered palm, and lightly slapped.

The dark red light that had converged into a beam seemed to collide with an invisible wall, exploding with a roar and dissipating into a sky full of light points.

The storm of spiritual power whipped up the withered leaves and gravel on the ground, shaking those Primal Chaos Realm Sky Wolf Valley Cultivators so much that they retreated repeatedly; some even landed on their backsides in the snowdrifts.

The composure on the Black-Robed Elder's face finally shattered completely, his pupils constricted, and he blurted out: "Peak of the Asking Dao Realm?!"

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