NOVPUB"How has Yan Buhui been lately?" Xu Zimei asked Xiao Guizi.
"I heard a while ago that he left the sect, and he hasn’t returned yet. It looks like he won’t be able to participate in the Blood Demon Secret Realm this time," Xiao Guizi replied.
Xu Zimei stroked his chin, according to the timeline of his past life, this should be the period when Yan Buhui was about to receive the Sword God’s inheritance.
Xu Zimei didn’t know how Yan Buhui got the inheritance, but he remembered the timing quite clearly.
It seemed that after this departure from the sect, Yan Buhui began to emerge as a rising star.
Originally, he was already extraordinarily talented and capable of comprehending Sword Intent, and this time the Sword God’s inheritance opened a new world for his journey on the Sword Dao.
From then on, he became one of the top young disciples in the True Martial Holy Sect.
Later, when his Sword Dao matured, he descended upon Northwest City, overthrowing the entire Huang Family.
The name of Sword Saint soon echoed throughout the Eastern Continent.
...
Before leaving for the Blood Demon Secret Realm, Xu Zimei first went to visit his father, Xu Qingshan, who lived on Azure Mountain Peak.
After asking for an item from his father, he then headed towards the Blood Demon Secret Realm.
By now there was already a long line in front of the Blood Demon Secret Realm, and most of the disciples here were from the inner and outer gates.
There were actually very few core disciples. After all, once core disciples cultivate to the Esteem Vein Realm, they must forge their own path on the Martial Way.
They must experience the mundane world, learn from the trials and tribulations of the crushing waves, and comprehend their own path—staying within the sect would hardly achieve great success.
Xu Zimei looked around, and there were probably only about five or six core disciples.
Among them were Meng Kuo, the eldest disciple of his father Xu Qingshan; Zhong Xin, a disciple of the Great Elder; Xiao Xinghe, the eldest disciple of the second elder; as well as Lu Ang and Cai Yufei.
At the very front of the line, presiding over the opening of the secret realm was Elder Feng, a distinguished member among the Inner Sect Elders.
His cultivation in the Emperor Pulse Realm was as vast as the sea, with an unfathomable presence.
With a gentle wave of his hands in the air, the atmosphere right in front of him immediately began to fluctuate.
His True Fate was a crescent moon. As the True Fate emerged, the pale white crescent hung in mid-air. Although it was daytime, the crescent was still as bright and pure as the moon at its zenith.
As Elder Feng lowered his hands, a thunderous sound came from the space in front of them.
With a crack sound, the space in front broke apart, and the shattered area took the shape of a doorway.
From inside the gate, an intensely thick smell of blood emanated, carrying with it a seemingly boundless bloody qi roaring like a Sea of Blood, as if wanting to charge out of the gate.
"Go in," said Elder Feng indifferently.
Those disciples who had been to the Blood Demon Secret Realm before were okay, but many who were entering for the first time looked pale at the sight inside.
Although this was an opportunity, it was also fraught with danger.
...
Xu Zimei and his two companions stepped through the gate. As their vision brightened, everyone stared dumbfounded at the scene before them.
A horizon that stretched as far as the eye could see, where yellow dust raised thousands of feet of whirlwind, howling in the distance.
Red winds danced across the sky, emitting a "whoo-whoo" sound, as if crying directly into one’s ears.
The path underfoot was all yellow sand, but amongst this sand were streaks of blood, and stepping on it produced a "crunch, crunch" sound that made one feel very uncomfortable.
The sky above was blood-red; there was no sun, just an alarming expanse of blood-red color.
"Is this the Blood Demon Secret Realm?" Xiao Guizi looked around in amazement.
"Let’s move forward. Although there are many Blood Demons here, their attacks are not very strong," Xu Zimei said.
The group had not walked long before they heard a roaring sound.
In the front, a creature resembling a human was blocking their path. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Although this creature looked human, it was more akin to a monkey.
It moved on all fours, scurrying a few steps on the ground before making a couple of jumps, its body entirely blood-red, and it emanated a thick stench of evil.
"So this is a Blood Demon? It doesn’t look so terrifying," said Xiao Guizi.
He drew his iron stick, ready to kill the Blood Demon, but a sword light shot out from the side.
The sword light instantly shattered the Blood Demon, so quick that it did not even have time to scream.
Xiao Guizi turned his head to look and saw Zhong Xin, the disciple of the Great Elder, standing by in a red robe, sword in hand.
"What are you doing? We found this Blood Demon first," Xiao Guizi said, frowning.
"Does being first necessarily mean it’s yours?" Zhong Xin snorted coldly, moving to where the Blood Demon had died and extracted the Blood Demon Crystal.
Xu Zimei glanced at Zhong Xin, uncertain whether the latter’s actions were intentional or not.
"It’s fine, let’s go," Xu Zimei said to Xiao Guizi with a smile, not showing any anger.
Xiao Guizi glared at Zhong Xin with frustration and then followed Xu Zimei.
However, no matter where Xu Zimei and the others went, Zhong Xin followed close behind, always quick to strike and kill any Blood Demon they encountered.
Since he was of the Esteem Vein Realm, Xu Zimei wouldn’t make a move, and neither Lin Ruhu nor Xiao Guizi could compete with him.
Xu Zimei glanced at Zhong Xin, now certain that he was intentionally targeting him.
But this made things interesting. He hadn’t come to the Blood Demon Secret Realm to collect Blood Demon Crystals in the first place; he was looking for something else.
He had initially planned to use the Jade Pendant empowered by the half-step power of the Saint Vein that his father had given him, but now it seemed like he was being offered a pillow as he was about to sleep.
...…
"Be careful not to lose track," Xu Zimei said to Zhong Xin with a smile.
Zhong Xin watched Xu Zimei’s retreating figure and frowned slightly.
In fact, the Great Elder had instructed him to do this. After returning from the Painting Palace in Purple Sun City, the Great Elder had also noticed the changes in his grandson Shao Xingyu.
The boy was now extremely fearful of Xu Zimei, sometimes having nightmares of Zhang He’s decapitated head placed before him and waking up terrified.
If it were just some childish squabbling, the Great Elder would not have intervened.
But this time, his grandson’s Dao heart was clearly unstable, which could lead to one of two outcomes.
One was to overcome the Heart Demon, be reborn stronger, and solidify his Dao heart.
The other was to sink completely, live in the shadow of others for the rest of his life, and never achieve anything great.
Zhong Xin actually looked down on Shao Xingyu somewhat because he had had an easy life since childhood, never facing any real hardships.
Being the grandson of the Great Elder, he was doted on, never lacking resources or connections, and acted like a little tyrant within the Sect.
Children raised in such a way could only end up as failures.
This is a world where the strong are revered, where every strong individual has their hands stained with blood.
Yet Shao Xingyu, just from seeing his friend killed by Xu Zimei, became inwardly craven.
It’s like raising a bird in a cage from birth, where it’s fed without effort and worries about nothing.
But when the bird grows up, you’ll find it’s only good for decoration and completely useless for anything else.
It won’t even know how to fly, let alone forage in the sky to find food, compete with its peers, or avoid natural predators.
