274: The flawed jade is the king (thirteen).

Inside the Secret Realm was an entirely different world.

The Spiritual Qi was so dense that it had condensed into physical clouds and mist, drifting everywhere through the forests and mountain streams.

Wang Yun gently set down the soft, warm, and fragrant body in his arms. Looking at Luo Xi, who was still in a state of shock and daze, he muttered a low complaint.

"Women are so troublesome."

Luo Xi had just snapped out of the miraculous sight of "lotuses blooming with every step" when she heard those words, which left her both embarrassed and annoyed.

A blush appeared on her face, but more than that, she felt the relief of surviving a disaster and a deep sense of gratitude.

She tidied her slightly disheveled palace dress and bowed deeply toward Wang Yun's somewhat thin back, her voice soft and sincere.

"Thank you for saving my life, Young Master. This great kindness is something Luo Xi will never forget. In the future, should the Young Master have any commands, Luo Xi will not hesitate even at the cost of her life."

However, Wang Yun seemed to pay no mind to her words at all, walking straight toward the deepest part of the Secret Realm.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, yet it seemed to harmonize with the pulse of this world, each step landing on some profound node.

"Young Master!"

"This is the Secret Realm left by the number one Saint of the previous era, the Grandmist Saint. There are endless dangers within the Secret Realm; it is better to be cautious."

Seeing this, Luo Xi grew anxious and hurried after him, lifting her skirt.

She had read records of this Grandmist Saint's Secret Realm in ancient Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land texts. Although this place was filled with Opportunities, it was equally fraught with peril. Many areas contained killing Restrictions left by the Saint; one wrong step could result in the destruction of both body and Soul, and even a Venerable could perish here.

But the scene that followed left her utterly shocked.

Ahead, a seemingly peaceful meadow was, in her Divine Thought perception, densely packed with countless spatial rifts—enough to instantly shred any intruder into dust.

Yet, as Wang Yun walked through, those violent spatial rifts instantly became docile, actively opening a path for him.

Further ahead was a black river formed by the convergence of Soul Evil Qi. The water surged and resentment reached the sky, capable of easily eroding a Cultivator's dao foundation.

But when Wang Yun approached the riverbank, the black water automatically parted to both sides, revealing a dry riverbed.

Following behind Wang Yun and looking at his reliable back, Luo Xi was shaken to her core.

Just who was this mysterious Young Master?

Soon, Wang Yun stopped before an ancient altar crafted entirely from intact Grandmist Purple Crystal.

Upon the altar, a wisp of purple-gold gas, roughly the size of a thumb, floated quietly.

The second wisp of Hongmeng Origin Qi.

Found it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Yun sat cross-legged before the altar, his Divine Thought guiding it as he prepared to begin refining.

Luo Xi did not dare to disturb him. She quickly retreated to a distance, found a secluded corner, and stood guard as his Protector with a vigilant expression.

Boom!

The moment Wang Yun began refining, a sudden change occurred!

Three distinct yet equally terrifying powers erupted with him as the center, sweeping through the entire core of the Secret Realm.

One was the immortal vitality originating from the heart of flora in his chest; a jade-green brilliance soared into the sky.

One was the domineering and peerless Supreme power from the newborn Supreme Bone; purple, green, and gold divine lights intertwined, emitting an aura that suppressed all ages.

The final one was that wisp of Grandmist Origin—the most primitive and ancient Grandmist power. Purple-gold air currents swirled around his body, as if manifesting the Supreme mysteries of the world's creation and the birth of all things.

Any one of these three appearing in the world would be enough to create a future invincible powerhouse. Now, they incredibly appeared on one person at the same time.

Luo Xi, in the distance, was so stunned by this scene that she was speechless.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

At this moment, Luo Xi suddenly felt a strange throb in her own body.

The Origin of her "Taiyin Divine Body" actually began to circulate and transform uncontrollably under the nourishment of the ripples emitted by these three powers.

A trace of warm vitality integrated into that cold Lunar power, making her dao foundation increasingly rounded and resilient.

This was a massive Opportunity!

Luo Xi was both shocked and delighted. She quickly focused her mind, sat cross-legged, and fully guided this power to temper herself... Meanwhile, outside the Secret Realm.

News of a youth in white carrying a Fairy, walking on lotuses, and entering the Grandmist Secret Realm as if on level ground quickly spread throughout the Soul-Severing Mountain Range and diffused toward the entire Eastern Region even faster.

The Golden Crow Ancient Clan.

"Bang!"

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

"You couldn't even catch one woman, and you let my woman be snatched away in public! The face of my Golden Crow Ancient Clan has been completely thrown away by you bunch of idiots!"

Below, the group of guards who had fled back were trembling, prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

"Daozi, please calm your anger! That kid... that kid is too strange. He seems able to control plants and ignore the Grandmist Secret Realm's Restrictions. He's... he's almost like the master of that Secret Realm!"

"Shut up!"

The Golden Crow Daozi shouted angrily, killing intent cold in his golden pupils.

"I don't care what methods he has! Anyone who dares to touch my person is my enemy! They are an enemy of the Golden Crow Ancient Clan!"

"Pass down my order: seal off this place! I want him to know the consequences of offending my Golden Crow Ancient Clan!"

He stood up, looking toward the Secret Realm entrance with sinister eyes.

"When he comes out, I will personally grind his bones to ashes!"

As the news spread, countless Cultivators in the Eastern Region focused their attention on this place.

A confrontation between the "Destined One of the Grandmist Secret Realm" and the top Prodigy of the Eastern Region seemed inevitable.

"Who do you think is stronger between these two?"

"I favor the Golden Crow Daozi! At only fifty years old, he already has a Guiyi Realm cultivation base. He possesses the Golden Crow Divine Physique, and his Golden Crow True Fire is domineering and peerless. He rarely meets a match in the same rank!"

"Although that white-robed youth is mysterious, his Origins are unknown and his Foundation is shallow. I'm afraid he's no match for the Daozi. After all, in this Golden Great Age, it ultimately comes down to background and strength. He's just a Loose Cultivator; what kind of waves can he possibly make?"

For a time, discussions were rampant, but few people favored Wang Yun... A year passed.

On the altar, Wang Yun slowly opened his eyes, a purple-gold divine light flashing through them.

That wisp of Hongmeng Origin Qi had been completely refined by him.

An aura far more powerful than before erupted from within his body.

The Guiyi Realm!

Not only that, inside his chest, next to the purple-green-gold Supreme Bone, a brand new embryonic bone wreathed in primordial chaos violet qi was slowly gestating, emitting an even more ancient and noble aura.

A second Supreme Bone—the grandmist supreme bone!

Wang Yun stood up, feeling the abundant and vast power within him. His expression was calm, as if everything was under his control.

Not far away, Luo Xi had long since finished her cultivation and was waiting quietly.

The current her was a completely different person from a year ago.

Thanks to Wang Yun, her cultivation base had risen from the Late Stage of the Heavenly Spirit Realm to the Three Origins Realm.

Her Taiyin Divine Body had undergone a startling transformation. Not only had a trace of the vitality of grass and wood integrated into it, but beneath her skin, a faint purple-gold Supreme Bone imprint vaguely emerged, as if she had taken on Wang Yun's shape.

"Young Master."

Luo Xi stepped forward and bowed gracefully to Wang Yun, her eyes full of gratitude.

Wang Yun merely nodded indifferently.

"Let's go. It's time to head out."

The two walked side by side toward the exit of the Secret Realm.

The moment they stepped out of that restricted portal—

Buzz!

Several powerful auras instantly locked onto them.

Outside the Secret Realm was already a sea of people with banners fluttering.

The war chariots and flying ships of the Golden Crow Ancient Clan blotted out the sun, surrounding the place so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through, and a murderous aura permeated the air.

A youth wearing golden battle armor, with a handsome face and a domineering aura, stood with his hands behind his back atop a war chariot pulled by nine divine birds breathing fire. His golden eyes were full of killing intent as he stared fixedly at them.

It was the Golden Crow Daozi.