552: Chapter 552

The moment the Flying Boat passed through the entrance of the Ancient Saint Secret Realm, the entire world suddenly felt heavy.

In the next instant, space itself began to twist violently.

Those on the deck couldn't even stand steadily; as soon as someone raised a hand, their body was swept away by a powerful force.

In less than a breath, all the young Cultivators on the Flying Boat were pulled in by the power of the Secret Realm.

Qin Yun was also swept into it.

His vision blurred.

By the time he felt solid ground beneath his feet again, his surroundings had completely changed.

This was a forest of grayish-white stone pillars.

The stone pillars varied in height, the ground was crisscrossed with cracks, and the air carried a scent of ancient earth.

The roars of Vicious Beasts could be heard in the distance, the sounds intermittent as they drifted from deep within.

As soon as Qin Yun stood firm, the Divine Soul Mark between his brows—which had long since been hollowed out—gave a slight tremble.

A tugging sensation came through.

The direction was very clear.

It was precisely from Lu Cheng's side.

Qin Yun lowered his head and patted the dust off his sleeves.

"Quite impatient."

The old man in the ring gave a chuckle.

"That brat's first order of business upon landing is likely counting how many blades he still has in his hand."

Qin Yun ignored the tugging sensation.

The shell of the mark was still there, so it could transmit fluctuations.

But the inside had long been empty; forget about a forced recall, it couldn't even affect his footsteps.

Qin Yun no longer paid any mind to Lu Cheng. He opened his Double Pupils, and the Opportunities of the entire Secret Realm flowed within his vision.

While others had just entered the Secret Realm and were still being dragged around by their marks to find people, he was already picking out treasures.

After walking for less than half an hour, the sound of rolling gravel suddenly came from ahead.

A half-collapsed ancient hall lay buried at the end of the stone forest, with only half a wall and three broken pillars remaining.

In front of the hall was a cyan-black Restriction that had already been triggered, leaving the ground covered in cracks.

A woman was trapped in the middle of the Restriction.

She wore dark-cyan martial attire with her long hair tied up, holding a short blade whose edge was currently pressing against an array eye on the ground.

Her movements were steady, but her brow was visibly tense.

If the Restriction tightened any further, she would be shredded by it.

Qin Yun took a quick glance.

It wasn't anything particularly sophisticated.

It simply utilized the terrain of the ancient hall to forcibly bind three remnant arrays together.

The more panicked the intruder, the tighter the trap became.

The woman sensed someone approaching, and her peripheral vision shifted slightly.

Qin Yun didn't meet her gaze. He pivoted, walked straight to a broken pillar on the left, and threw a punch.

Bang!

Half of the broken pillar exploded.

The Restriction immediately wavered.

The woman's expression changed, and she immediately withdrew her blade and retreated.

Qin Yun had already moved to the other side and shattered a black stone anchoring the array with a kick.

Several cracking sounds rang out in succession.

The cyan-black Restriction dissipated on the spot.

The woman landed outside. After steadying herself, she looked at Qin Yun twice, her eyes showing a bit more gravity.

"Thank you."

She sheathed her blade, her tone very crisp.

"It was nothing."

Qin Yun replied and walked toward the ancient hall.

Several Heaven Rank Armaments and a few Spirit Medicines were scattered inside the hall.

Qin Yun was uninterested in most of them, except for a section of Crimson Wood Root wedged in a stone crevice in the corner; its surface was charred black, but fire essence was still hidden within.

Qin Yun leaned over and picked up the piece of wood root.

The woman stood behind him watching, her eyes flickering slightly.

At that moment, two more people rushed over from outside; they were both from the woman's side.

The two were originally full of wariness, but seeing the dissipated Restriction and the woman unharmed, their expressions froze.

"Young Miss."

The woman nodded.

"It's fine now."

She didn't explain much, only turning to look at Qin Yun.

"The situation ahead is not peaceful."

"Someone is gathering a team and pushing toward the core area."

"My side is also heading there."

She paused for a moment.

"If it's on your way, you can travel with us."

The offer wasn't forceful, nor did she lower her own status.

What she valued were Qin Yun's methods.

He traveled alone, was steady, had sharp judgment, and acted quickly.

Qin Yun put away the Crimson Wood Root. Without asking any questions, he simply said one word.

"Lead."

The woman glanced at him and said no more.

The group of four continued forward.

They encountered a fork in the road. The young man beside the woman originally wanted to take the left path, but Qin Yun glanced at the withered bones on the ground and stepped directly to the right.

"There is a Spirit-Swallowing Insect nest on the left."

"Going there is certain death."

The young man was initially a bit defiant, but after walking a bit further, they indeed heard the sound of dense gnawing coming from beneath the ground to the left, and his face turned pale on the spot.

Later on, they passed through a field of broken rocks.

The field was scattered with many Spirit Light Stones and a few decent-looking medicinal herbs.

The other person beside the woman moved to collect them, but Qin Yun stepped ahead and pulled a half-buried small gray seal from beneath the rubble.

"Take this."

"Don't touch the things on the surface."

In the next moment, several Spirit Light Stones split open on their own, and a large cloud of black mist surged out, swallowing the entire area where they had been.

The two followers' faces tightened. When they looked at Qin Yun again, the wariness in their eyes had faded considerably, replaced by an irrepressible respect.

The woman observed everything along the way, and her judgment became increasingly firm.

She hadn't misjudged him.

This was a truly capable lone traveler.

Midway, she briefly mentioned that the most powerful group of people currently in the Secret Realm had been gathered together by Lu Cheng.

That man held a means of control and was leading a group of followers and War Slaves toward a core Legacy site.

"He moves very fast."

"If we let him enter first, things will become very troublesome later."

Qin Yun's expression didn't change after hearing this.

"Then we'll get there before him."

The group's speed picked up once again.

Half a day later, the mountain terrain ahead suddenly narrowed.

A massive black stone gate stood at the end of the canyon. An ancient aura faintly leaked from behind the gate, and two groups of people were already standing before it.

The group on the left was more numerous, with various banners and chaotic auras, but the figure in the very center was very eye-catching.

It was Lu Cheng.

He had already gathered many War Slaves and followers around him, each standing at the front, clearly intending to completely surround the stone gate.

As soon as the woman's side stopped, someone from the opposite side looked over.

Lu Cheng first swept a glance at the woman, his face expressionless.

But when his gaze fell upon the figure beside the woman, his eyes instantly darkened.

It was Qin Yun.

That mark, which should have been the first to return to the group, had given no response the entire way.

He had thought this person died on the road or was trapped somewhere, but now, the man was actually standing opposite him.

And he was in someone else's camp.

Lu Cheng's face grew several degrees colder.

His sense of control had been trampled upon.

"Qin Yun."

He spoke directly, his tone filled with a matter-of-fact command.

"Get over here."

"You didn't come when I activated the mark, and now you dare to stand on the opposite side."

"Who gave you the courage?"

As soon as these words came out, the people on the woman's side all changed expression.

Especially the woman herself.

Her eyes first showed shock, then immediately darkened.

She finally understood.

It turned out that Qin Yun and Lu Cheng didn't just know each other; it was the kind of relationship where he could be directly ordered to return to the ranks.

She had treated him as a lone Loose Cultivator all along and even actively invited him to travel together. Now that this reality had crashed down, her face turned pale.

The two followers beside her tensed up instantly, stepping half a pace forward to shield the woman, their gazes toward Qin Yun completely changed.

Several cold sneers also rang out from Lu Cheng's side.

"I was wondering how this person could have gone missing."

"Turns out he wanted to play tricks."

"A mere War Slave actually taking himself seriously."

Lu Cheng stared at Qin Yun, his expression already showing impatience.

"Come here."

"Attack and clear out the people on her side first."

The atmosphere of the entire field suddenly tightened.

The woman's fingers pressed onto her hilt again, her face incredibly cold.

She didn't speak, but simply stared at Qin Yun, the bit of recognition she had developed for him now suppressed into wary defense.

Everyone present assumed that Qin Yun was about to move.

After all, he had a mark on him.

And Lu Cheng's tone was far too natural.

But Qin Yun stood in place, not even moving a step.

Lu Cheng's brow furrowed.

"Did you not hear what I said?"

Qin Yun finally looked up.

In the next instant, he moved.

A shadow flashed.

He vanished directly from the woman's side, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng's face changed violently.

He hadn't expected at all that Qin Yun would come toward him.

Even less did he expect this punch to be so fast.

Bang!

A muffled sound.

Qin Yun's fist punched straight through Lu Cheng's chest from the front.

Blood splattered instantly.

All sounds in the field were cut short.

Lu Cheng looked down at the fist in his chest; the anger and sense of control on his face froze together, and even his eyes went momentarily blank.

The woman also froze.

The two followers beside her stood with their mouths agape, unable to process what happened for a long time.

Lu Cheng's side was in even greater chaos.

No one had expected this outcome.

Qin Yun withdrew his hand and flicked the blood from his fingers. His voice wasn't loud, yet it was heard clearly throughout the canyon.

"Commanding me?"

He looked at Lu Cheng's frozen face and added another sentence.

"Who do you think you are?"