novelhk Chapter 86 Soul Devouring in the Secret Realm, Ancient Demonic Shadow
Chapter 86 Soul Devouring in the Secret Realm, Ancient Demonic Shadow
Chapter 86 Soul Devouring in the Secret Realm, Ancient Demonic Shadow (Bonus Chapter for 8k words, please subscribe)
Chen Yi put away the puppet wolf and the small black arrow made of second-grade high-quality metal, then leaped up and, with his five fingers like hooks, plucked the lightning-encrusted [Lightning Spirit Cleansing Fruit]!
"boom--!"
Almost at the same instant, the lightning array above the treetop sensed that the spiritual fruit had been taken away and suddenly unleashed a bolt of purple lightning as thick as a bowl!
This attack was powerful enough to reach the second-tier high-grade level. If an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator were to be hit by it, he would at least vomit three liters of blood.
But Chen Yi grinned and didn't dodge or evade, letting the lightning penetrate his body!
"Sizzle sizzle—"
The violent power of lightning exploded within his body, and the dark golden lightning patterns on the surface of his bones suddenly lit up, like a ravenous beast, frantically devouring the surging lightning.
Although the flesh was charred and smoking, the bronze bones inside emitted a series of pleasant humming sounds, as if a long-awaited rain had come after a drought.
"system!"
With a thought, Chen Yi activated the dormant system power within his body, pulverizing and refining the remaining thunder spirit.
In the blink of an eye, fifteen [Thunder Spirit Golden Radiance] stones, shimmering with a purplish-gold luster, condensed within his bone marrow—more than the combined gains from withstanding two mid-grade second-tier lightning strikes!
"That lightning strike was worth it!"
Chen Yi laughed heartily, feeling great.
He casually stuffed the treasure-hunting rat into his spirit beast pouch, and with lightning speed, he sped off towards the direction marked by the Crimson Flame Sparrow's divine sense.
The puppeteer recognized Chen Yi's bald identity through the puppet; letting him out now might cause trouble at Qiyun Mountain.
He entered the secret realm under the identity of Bald Xu Jiu, and after leaving, he also had to register with the Jade Dragon Sect deacon using this identity.
This identity will need to be used for a while; at least until we safely leave the secret realm before making it disappear.
Therefore, he needs to resolve the puppeteer's situation.
-
"Whoosh!"
The second-tier high-grade puppeteer was running wildly through the forest when suddenly his divine sense stirred. He sensed a movement coming from the perception spider puppet he had left behind, about a mile away.
This means that the Golden Bone Warrior has caught up with them.
"Brother, wait!" He turned around abruptly, revealing most of his bald head, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "We're both bald, there's no need to fight to the death!"
The puppeteer was getting anxious. He still had a second-tier high-grade puppet for self-defense, but his opponent was a Golden Bone Body Cultivator, who was the complete nemesis of puppets. His puppet trump card was completely useless, so he tried to separate peacefully.
Who's bald like you? My bald head is fake.
Chen Yi sneered and remained silent. Realizing his presence had been exposed, and knowing the other party possessed powerful spiritual sense, he ceased to conceal himself.
[Golden Steps] With a burst of golden light, his speed increased by another 50%, and in the blink of an eye, he closed the distance by half a mile.
"You're courting death!" The puppeteer's face twisted in rage. He suddenly changed direction and charged towards a misty, desolate area deep within the Medicine Valley.
"You really think a second-tier high-grade puppeteer has no trump cards? If you chase me again, I'll take you down with me!"
As a puppeteer, his divine sense was naturally powerful, surpassing the peak of the second tier and reaching the near-third tier.
It was discovered long ago that it was a forbidden area, and what was brewing there was not a lightning array, but a corner of a divine sense array.
The bald puppeteer retreated to the edge of the divine sense array and stood still.
Chen Yi chased him to within a hundred feet, but then stopped.
The bald man sneered, "What, aren't body cultivators supposed to be able to withstand it?"
He stared at Chen Yi, who was a hundred feet away, his eyes filled with contempt.
"You can withstand a lightning strike head-on, but what about your spiritual defense? Come after me if you dare, and let's see whose soul explodes first!"
Chen Yi did not step forward.
His Heavenly Eye supernatural power had already seen through the truth—that bald man thought he was standing outside the safety line, but in fact he had already stepped into the great formation more than seventy feet away!
The real boundary was still thirty feet ahead of him.
"There's something strange about this formation..."
Chen Yi did not proceed further; his divine sense detected a deadly danger within.
A sense of foreboding arose in Chen Yi's heart, and his three-colored divine sense quietly surged, weaving five layers of [Divine Shield] around his sea of consciousness. The last layer of [Divine Shield] was even integrated with that third-order divine thought.
At the same time, he slowly retreated.
Seeing this, the bald man assumed he was scared and laughed smugly, "Kid, it's good that you know when to back down! After we get out of here, we'll keep to ourselves. Consider that puppet a gift to you!"
Chen Yi ignored him and continued to retreat, having already retreated more than fifty feet in the blink of an eye.
Feeling safe, the bald man turned to leave the perilous situation.
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, from the darkness behind him, a terrifying surge of divine consciousness shot out like a venomous snake!
"What?!"
The bald man's expression changed drastically, but before he could react, the divine sense had already violently torn open his sea of consciousness defenses and forcibly pulled his soul out of his body!
"No--!"
The piercing screams abruptly ceased.
Chen Yi's pupils contracted sharply as he watched the bald man's soul being dragged into the depths of darkness, where it was instantly torn to pieces and devoured!
"escape!"
Chen Yi felt a chill run down his spine. His [Golden Step] flashed with lightning as he retreated like lightning!
"what?"
In the darkness, the fluctuation of divine sense seemed to have sensed Chen Yi's presence, and it changed direction and chased after him!
"Snap! Snap!"
The five layers of protective shields that Chen Yi had set up shattered one after another, leaving only one and a half layers in the blink of an eye!
"Heh heh... Interesting."
A hoarse, demonic voice directly entered Chen Yi's sea of consciousness.
In a daze, Chen Yi "saw" a distorted demonic face—composed of pure divine consciousness and demonic energy, its eyes flashing with greed and mockery.
"Thousands of years have passed, and yet a descendant has cultivated their divine sense to such a level at the second stage?"
The demonic shadow's divine sense was like a knife, stabbing fiercely at Chen Yi's last defense, but it suddenly stopped when it touched that wisp of [Third-Order Minor Five Elements Divine Sense]!
"This is……?!"
For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on the demon's face, which then turned into wild joy!
"Incomplete Five Elements Divine Sense?!"
Has soul cultivation in this era really developed to this extent? I'm really looking forward to it!
Little one, I'll remember you!
It seemed to be extremely interested in the essence of Chen Yi's divine sense, but ultimately, due to the distance from the great formation and the weakening of its power, it failed to break through the last layer and a half of Chen Yi's defense.
Finally, the demonic shadow grinned maliciously, and carrying away the remaining fragments of the bald puppeteer's soul, it retreated silently back into the darkness.
-
Chen Yi flew away until he was several miles away before he dared to stop and catch his breath.
His back was already soaked with cold sweat.
"Divine Sense Array... a demonic shadow that devours divine souls..."
Chen Yi looked towards the direction of the Desolate Land, his eyes filled with solemnity.
This Medicine Valley secret realm is far more dangerous than he imagined!
"No, we should go. The true dangers of this secret realm have yet to be discovered."
I've taken too much of a risk this time.
Chen Yi roughly organized his gains and prepared to leave when the time was right.
Nourished by lightning and spiritual herbs within the secret realm, his cultivation speed was rapid.
However, within just a few days, they encountered two deadly dangers: a third-tier lightning pool and an ancient demonic shadow.
Staying here any longer would be too greedy.
Chen Yi decided to quit while he was ahead. He walked to the outer edge of the Medicine Valley, to a safe, white area, and dug a temporary cave.
After preparing to consume the Thunder Spirit Cleansing Fruit and the newly accumulated Thunder Spirit Golden Radiance,
Then they left.
Half a day later, in a temporary stone cave in a safe area within the Medicine Valley,
Chen Yi consumed the Thunder Spirit Cleansing Fruit, raising the quality of his mana to a level almost equivalent to that of a Heavenly Spirit Root.
After all, his true spiritual roots are three, and the main magical power he cultivates is of the water and wood attributes. In addition, he also absorbs a very small amount of metal-attribute spiritual energy during his daily cultivation.
Therefore, no matter how highly he refines it, he can never catch up to the level of a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
But Chen Yi was already extremely satisfied with this.
He was just a middle-aged rogue cultivator, barely clinging to life at the age of thirty-three, looking like a dying candle in the wind.
Now, ten years later, he has reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, possessing such exquisite cultivation, and also has a Foundation Establishment Pill of purity far exceeding that of a fine-grade pill.
His body refinement and soul cultivation have both reached the middle level of the second tier, and his true strength is comparable to that of a high-level second tier cultivator.
What else could he possibly want?
That's enough.
Chen Yi smiled, preparing to go back and reorganize his magical power before attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
In fact, given his current situation, even without the Foundation Establishment Pill, he has a 70-80% chance of successfully establishing his foundation.
Imagine, if someone with his level of essence, qi, and spirit cannot even establish a foundation, then in the ancient times before the existence of foundation-establishing pills, who could have successfully established a foundation?
However, Chen Yi didn't like 70-80% purity; he wanted 99%. Besides, that Foundation Establishment Pill, refined to the extreme of a cultivator's level, would be a waste if he didn't use it.
Selling it is out of the question.
Chen Yi beckoned the two spirit pets into the spirit pet pouch and strictly instructed them to conceal their aura and use illusions from beginning to end. One was to disguise itself as an ordinary large sparrow, and the other as an ordinary large mouse.
Even inside the spirit pet pouch, this appearance must be maintained.
Before long, a bald, muscular man stepped out of the Medicine Valley's array and appeared in the mountains and forests.
Outside the Medicine Valley, many cultivators remained, some of whom had sent their subordinates into the valley to search for treasures.
Some stayed here to make a deal with the cultivators from Medicine Valley.
Upon seeing Chen Yi emerge, a cultivator stepped forward and asked him what he had gained, offering to purchase it with spirit stones at a price cheaper than that of the Jade Dragon Sect outside the secret realm.
But someone advised, "Brother, this looks like a strongman hired by Young Master Qi..."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately stepped back, looking apologetic: "I'm sorry, brother, I didn't recognize him. Young Master Qi hasn't gone far; he's in that wooden house over there."
Chen Yi looked in the direction the other person was pointing.
Sometime during the day, a platform appeared in the mountains not far away. The forest had been cleared away, and a wooden house had been erected there.
The wooden house has a quaint and antique feel.
Chen Yiling looked over and immediately noticed several temporary formations in operation: a spirit-gathering formation, a spirit-purifying formation, an isolation formation, a protective formation, etc.
Damn it, these few complex formations alone consume dozens of spirit stones every day.
This guy surnamed Qi is way too extravagant!
Then, Chen Yi realized that his premium Foundation Establishment Pill had contributed to the other party's extravagant spending, which made him even more unhappy.
Fortunately, we managed to retrieve the treasure-hunting mouse, which made up for it a little, but it's still not enough!
He had decided that if this guy surnamed Qi discovered the treasure-hunting rat in his spirit pet pouch, he would immediately unleash a devastating attack and fight him to the death.
Before anyone could react, he rushed out of the secret realm and left the market, whereupon the identity of the bald strongman Xu Jiu completely disappeared.
If the other party doesn't notice him, he will leave discreetly.
Let's leave this matter here for now and talk about it another time.
As luck would have it, among cultivators, there are always some who love to flatter.
Upon seeing Chen Yi emerge, someone immediately sent a message to Qi Yunshan: "Young Master Qi, your hired strongman has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Young Master Qi stood up, opened a corner of the array, and said to Chen Yi:
"Hey, you bald guy, come here, I have something to ask you!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Chen Yi did not do anything out of line.
He arrived at the wooden house, stepped into the array, and Young Master Qi deactivated several layers of the array.
Outsiders cannot perceive what is happening inside.
Normally, Chen Yi wouldn't rashly attack someone else's multiple formations, but today is different. If a conflict were to occur...
Within the formation, he could easily subdue Qi Yunshan and his old servant at close range in a short time. Afterward, he could create the illusion that the two were cultivating, giving him just half an hour to escape the secret realm and flee the bottom of the lake.
Inside the formation, Qi Yunshan reclined in a rocking chair, while an old servant served him tea.
The aroma of the tea alone invigorated Chen Yi; a second-grade, high-quality Refreshing Tea could soothe agitated mind, and even a single ounce was worth hundreds of spirit stones.
For ordinary cultivators, this is a spiritual medicine capable of healing damage to the soul.
Here at Qiyun Mountain, he only drinks a few sips of this tea to clear his mind when he's tired from cultivation.
"You strongman, let me ask you this: after you went in, did you find my treasure-hunting pet rat?"
Chen Yi noticed that when Qi Yunshan asked the question, the old servant beside him had a glint in his eyes and his divine sense quietly landed on Chen Yi's body to observe Chen Yi's most subtle expressions, heartbeat, and even blood flow and the reaction of his divine sense.
However, Chen Yi had already clearly sensed the other party's self-righteous act of observing from a superior position.
Although Chen Yi's total spiritual sense was far less than that of the old servant at the peak of the second tier, Chen Yi's Lesser Five Elements spiritual sense and the divine thought of that wisp of third-tier aura surpassed his in both quality and grade. How could he not detect the other party's subtle actions?
However, he didn't expose him, pretending he knew nothing.
With his endorsement, the results will only be better.
"Reporting to Young Master Qi, after entering the Medicine Valley, I followed the jade tablet's guidance for over four miles before encountering your treasure-hunting rat."
It was a large, gray-furred squirrel with a silver back, sharp claws, and bright, alert eyes.
They're carrying such a large piece of spirit copper ore out of a cave entrance.
Chen Yi gestured with his hands.
"Oh? Where is the mouse now?"
"It's dead," Chen Yi said in a slightly low voice, his eyes dimming as his gaze shifted downwards.
"You saw it? Tell me in detail how it died. Don't worry, if you answer correctly, I won't cause you any trouble." Qi Yunshan stood up from the rattan chair, his expression serious.
"Young master, the treasure-hunting rat died a terrible death!"
Chen Yi's expression was pained, his eyes filled with lingering fear.
"The rat said it had found an extremely rare treasure, located in this dark place in the valley."
After he went inside, just as he was preparing to carry the treasures out, suddenly, a terrifying beam of soul light shot out from the darkness.
In an instant, it tore apart the treasure-hunting rat's consciousness, snatched its soul, and dragged it into the darkness.
I was far away, and while running away, I almost peed my pants in fear, because in that fleeting glance, I saw the face of a demon appear within that ghostly light!
Chen Yi still looked extremely fearful when he recalled it.
"What? Is that really the case?"
Fifth Uncle, is he lying?
Qi Yunshan's expression changed, and he looked at the old servant beside him. Upon hearing Chen Yi's description, even his grief over the death of the treasure-hunting rat was momentarily interrupted.
The old servant nodded slightly: "He's telling the truth 99% of the time."
Qi Yunshan frowned: "So there's still a part of the lie left?"
"He said he was faking it because he was scared to death; he must have a strong mentality. He was really scared, but he didn't wet himself."
"Harmful."
Qi Yunshan believed it this time.
In addition, he saw the lightning strike marks on Chen Yi's shoulder, which made him look like an honest strongman.
He finally nodded and sighed deeply.
"Sigh, I never thought that after the little mouse had been with me for so many years, and I had spent so many spirit stones on it to raise its bloodline to the Earth Rank, and even sacrificed a talisman, it would still die like this."
Unbeknownst to him, at that moment, the treasure-hunting rat inside Chen Yi's spirit pet pouch felt like crying too.
It never imagined that its life would be so turbulent. The first half of its life was incredibly happy, but today it suddenly has a new owner. Not only does it have to go on adventures, get struck by lightning, move stones, fight puppet wolves, but it also has to learn some kind of concealment technique. Even in the spirit pet bag, it has to maintain its ugly big rat appearance!
"Hmm?" Chen Yi sensed the Treasure-Seeking Rat's emotional fluctuations through the soul connection and sent a cold snort.
"Master is the best, far superior to that Qi fellow. This little mouse wouldn't dare!"
The treasure-hunting mouse immediately turned timid.
"snort!"
The old servant seemed to sense Chen Yi's subtle fluctuations, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Chen Yi's storage bag, before losing interest.
An ordinary rat demon and an ordinary bird demon—too ordinary, perfectly fitting the identity of this poor wretch as an ordinary strongman.
"Fifth Uncle, how come there are demonic figures appearing in this Medicine Valley? Isn't this the Thunder Array area?"
Thinking about the cause of the treasure-hunting rat's death, Qi Yunshan asked.
The old servant beside him, who had already lived for over 200 years, frowned and pondered deeply. During his long career in the sect and family, he had seen many ancient books and secrets.
He thought for a long time before a glint flashed in his eyes, his expression changed slightly, and he said:
"Thunder Array, Divine Array, Demonic Shadow"
Could this be the legendary secluded secret realm of the Thunder Soul Sect?!
He recalled the descriptions in the documents one by one, and the more he thought it matched, the more vivid his expression became. He looked at Chen Yi and said urgently:
"Baldy, describe in detail the moment the treasure-hunting rat was devoured by the demonic soul. Don't miss a single detail."
"You old geezer, you dare call me bald?" Chen Yi thought to himself, annoyed, but he didn't show it on his face.
He described it again, almost recreating the process of the puppeteer being devoured.
The only difference is that the one being devoured has changed from a puppeteer to a treasure-hunting rat, and the perspective from which the story is told has changed from a second-tier divine consciousness practitioner to an ordinary body cultivator.
After Chen Yi finished speaking, the old servant's eyes finally brightened, and he confirmed:
"Young Master! It's confirmed, this isn't some secret realm of a late-stage Core Formation sect."
It was actually the prison where the Thunder Soul Sect, a major Nascent Soul sect from ten thousand years ago, held its prisoners. And the Thunder Soul Sect was a major sect at the late Nascent Soul stage!
"What? A prison belonging to a major sect at the late Nascent Soul stage? It's this big?"
"Yes, more than ten thousand years ago, the Thunder Soul Sect was once unparalleled in its glory, leading the righteous path and standing shoulder to shoulder with the six demonic sects. For a time, it forced the six demonic sects to withdraw from the Central Plains."
The Thunder Soul Sect was enormous, and naturally it also had prisons for imprisoning demonic cultivators and ghost cultivators.
This secret location we discovered is most likely one of the prisons.
"Fifth Uncle, there's such a secret? Does that mean we're in the Central Plains ten thousand years ago?"
How could it possibly possess a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?
As far as I know, the current Qi Emperor is only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, right?
The later stages of intermediate-level cultivators are known as Grand Cultivators of that level, who almost completely overwhelm their peers.
A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is practically an entity that can suppress an entire continent.
Upon hearing this, Fifth Uncle laughed and said, "What are you thinking? This place is just a small border town, a remote area outside the Central Plains where the Demonic Sect was driven out by the Thunder Soul Sect. There are no major spiritual veins here."
The secret prison here was likely converted from a demonic sect that the Thunder Soul Sect destroyed during their invasion.
"Oh," Qi Yunshan said with a look of disappointment, thinking he had discovered something significant.
Seeing Qi Yunshan's expression, Fifth Uncle immediately understood what he meant:
"Young master, don't underestimate this secret prison."
How could a place that could be turned into a prison by the Thunder Soul Sect be a simple place?
The legacy left behind by any one of the great cultivators who suppressed demonic cultivators back then is enough for the cultivators of our Qi Kingdom to pursue madly for a lifetime.
"Is that so!?"
But here lies the Demonic Soul Devourer, whose soul, dating back thousands or tens of thousands of years, is still alive today. Such cultivation is undoubtedly of extraordinary value.
The old servant shook his head: "It shouldn't be a complete demonic soul, otherwise it would have at least cultivated to the Ghost Infant level by now."
In that case, none of us who entered the secret realm will survive.
Judging from its current behavior, it only dares to devour the souls of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
It is very likely a wisp of soul left behind by a Nascent Soul demon cultivator, which is now taking advantage of the opening of the secret realm to devour the weak in order to repair itself.
No wonder Master Lin of the Myriad Sounds Pavilion sternly warned Core Formation cultivators not to enter lightly when he left.
This place not only contains a powerful soul-devouring array, but also remnants of demonic cultivators' remnants. It's unknown to what extent the strongest remnant of a demonic cultivator here has cultivated.
If he can repair himself completely, there might be a possibility of him possessing another body.
We must report this matter to our sect as soon as possible, and we may even need to ask the Great Qi royal family for help.
"Now that we have discovered such a great secret, young master, you may be able to perform a great service."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yunshan's eyes lit up. He looked at Chen Yi and said:
"Baldy, you did a good job this time. I've bought out this information. Don't tell anyone. These spirit stones are your buyout fee."
Qi Yunshan casually tossed out five mid-grade spirit stones, equivalent to five hundred spirit stones.
Chen Yi didn't answer, but said:
"Young master, I don't want spirit stones. I was seriously injured when I went in. It would be best if you had any spiritual herbs, pills, or other materials."
Qi Yunshan found it troublesome, "Alright, considering your honest and simple nature, I'll reward you with a Yellow Cloud Pill. This pill can heal a Foundation Establishment cultivator from serious injuries and is worth eight hundred spirit stones. Consider it a reward for your information."
Chen Yi accepted the Huangxiao Pill, took his leave, and departed.
Chen Yi had to reveal the existence of the remnant soul of the demonic shadow in the secret medicine valley, stirring up trouble so he could have a chance.
However, he lacked channels to communicate with the higher-level sects. Normally, if he didn't tell Qi Yunshan, he would inform the Jade Dragon Sect cultivators at the exit.
However, the Jade Dragon Sect cultivators would not pay for the exclusive information.
Only by spreading this news, and ideally having higher-level cultivators come and clean up the remnants of demonic cultivators inside, can he easily go in to seek opportunities.
At present, Chen Yi does not plan to enter the secret realm again in the short term.
Chen Yi had a hunch that the ancient Thunder Soul Sect's prison secret realm might grow larger and larger.
At that time, more and more cultivators will come seeking opportunities, and their levels will become higher and higher.
He could easily make a good living by simply performing his culinary skills in this bustling market, and most importantly, it was safe.
However, this matter can be considered in detail after he has established his foundation.
As for the grudges with Qiyun Mountain, this matter is far from over.
Chen Yi had been mentally calculating how the other party had set a trap to steal his high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills.
This time, all I did when I entered the secret realm was steal one of his low-grade treasure-hunting rats, which was only worth a few thousand spirit stones.
As for the copper ore brought by the treasure-hunting rat and the three spiritual herbs hidden in its body, these were items from a secret realm, so what did they have to do with Mount Qiyun? Chen Yi didn't include them in the compensation the other party gave him.
At most, that talisman was a gift from Qi Yun Mountain, but Chen Yi couldn't openly use or sell it, so its value was naturally discounted. The talisman was originally worth about 10,000 spirit stones, but now it's barely worth 3,000 spirit stones.
The Yellow Cloud Pill was obtained by Chen Yi through a transaction using information, so it cannot be counted.
Therefore, the combined gift of the Treasure-Hunting Rat and the Talisman Treasure is only five thousand spirit stones, which is not enough to buy that premium Foundation Establishment Pill.
Besides, the other party stole his high-quality Foundation Establishment Pill, which is an act of obstruction. It's not unreasonable to double its value and charge it 20,000 spirit stones, is it?
After calculating the accounts, Chen Yi felt somewhat relieved. If the man surnamed Qi had given him three more of these gifts, he might have been able to save his life.
No, three times isn't enough. Interest has to be calculated. In total, he'll have to pay back 30,000 to 40,000 spirit stones, which will barely be enough to buy his life.
As for that old dog Qiu Danshi, Chen Yi only hoped that he wouldn't live too short a life.
In the matter of stealing his premium Foundation Establishment Pills, Master Qiu used underhanded tactics to break the contract with Qin Chengcheng and deceived Chen Yi, giving away the premium Foundation Establishment Pills that should have been his as a favor. He is the most hateful mastermind.
Compared to that, Qi Yunshan isn't even that hateful.
Chen Yi left the secret realm and arrived at the bottom of the lake. While registering his harvest with the Jade Dragon Sect cultivators,
The other party inspected Chen Yi's storage bag and spirit pet bag and found only two spirit herbs that had just entered the second stage, with a total harvest of 500 spirit stones.
"One low-grade second-tier Xuanling Fruit and one low-grade second-tier Frost Flower, with a total value of approximately 500 spirit stones. According to the agreed-upon division, you will receive 150 spirit stones. Any objections?"
"No objection."
Chen Yi nodded and then received 150 spirit stones.
As for the Yellow Cloud Pill, it was a gift from Qi Yun Mountain and bore the mark of the Xuanxiao Sect. It was clearly not obtained from the secret realm, and the cultivators of the Jade Dragon Sect did not forcibly confiscate it.
Chen Yi then wrapped the talisman with animal hide engraved with concealment array patterns and hid it in the storage pouch in the throat of the treasure-hunting rat.
Simultaneously, there were three layers of obstruction: animal hide, treasure-hunting rat, and spirit pet pouch. Furthermore, when the opponent probed Chen Yi's spirit pet pouch with divine sense, Chen Yi secretly hid a wisp of divine sense within the pouch as interference.
Even through the spirit pet pouch, the other party couldn't see through the true appearance of the Treasure-Seeking Rat and the Crimson Flame Sparrow, let alone the treasures in the storage pouch inside the Treasure-Seeking Rat's body.
The injured wolf-shaped puppet was too large for the treasure-hunting rat to swallow, so Chen Yi had to refine and shrink it before placing it in his storage bag.
If asked, Chen Yi simply said it was a gift from a friend; this kind of item clearly didn't belong in the secret realm, and the Jade Dragon Sect cultivators had no reason to confiscate it.
As a result, the cultivator sensed the puppet's presence, but only glanced at it with surprise, without asking a single question.
This saved Chen Yi a lot of explanation.
As for whether he would leak the news afterward, thus attracting the pursuit of that second-tier high-grade puppeteer's sect and relatives,
Chen Yi didn't care.
What Xu Jiu, the strongman, did has nothing to do with me, Chen Yi, the cook.
After Chen Yi left, the Foundation Establishment elder of the Jade Dragon Sect only made a brief speculation:
"We actually managed to get a high-grade second-tier puppet. That puppet alone is worth three or four thousand spirit stones, and that Yellow Cloud Pill is also worth about a thousand spirit stones."
This young man may have gained more than this on this trip. After entering, he should have met Qi Yunshan, a newly promoted Earth-grade Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xuanxiao Sect, and traded most of his gains to him.
This puppet and the Yellow Cloud Pill were most likely gifts from Qi Yun Mountain.
He had already recognized the puppet; it was clearly made by a disciple of the Thousand Machines Pavilion. He wondered how Qi Yunshan had obtained it.
The sect cultivators analyzed the situation in secret, but he didn't intend to tell the Thousand Machines Pavilion members.
Cultivators die every day in this secret realm, regardless of whether they are disciples of a sect or rogue cultivators. The opportunities they gain here go far beyond the spiritual treasures found within the realm itself.
Furthermore, there are the legacies of other monks,
There are too many such things; revealing them wouldn't do him any good and might even backfire.
Anyway, the two spiritual herbs they just collected were worth more than six hundred spirit stones combined, but he only registered five hundred spirit stones for them, so he naturally kept the one hundred spirit stones as profit.
The safest approach is to accumulate small gains and avoid getting into trouble.
And he would never know.
Chen Yi consumed three high-grade second-tier spiritual herbs and one near-top-grade second-tier Cleansing Pulse Fruit during his recent visit.
More than a dozen pieces of second-grade, mid-level thunder copper ore were used, weighing at least twenty to thirty thousand catties.
In addition, the thousands of spirit stones lost due to being struck by lightning would be worth several thousand spirit stones if converted into equivalent resources to improve cultivation.
He spent over ten thousand spirit stones just on this trip alone, just from absorbing energy.
Furthermore, there was a treasure-hunting rat with a low-grade bloodline, as well as other gains and insights regarding lightning spirit body tempering, mana quality, and spiritual essence.
In total, the value is nearly a hundred times higher than the 150 spirit stones received.
Even if other cultivators received thousands or tens of thousands of spirit stones, they still had to hand over the lion's share to the Jade Dragon Sect.
This is the benefit that Chen Yi gained from consuming, taking, and transforming the product on the spot.
These major sects opened secret realms for him, scouted ahead, and provided protection.
But he doesn't share the harvest with others; he keeps it all for himself.
It's a bit of a pity that Chen Yi didn't search the puppeteer's corpse after it was devoured by the demonic soul. Perhaps it contained other resources or the puppeteer's legacy.
But then I thought, even if I got these things, I'd still have to be checked at the exit of the secret realm, which would be quite inconvenient.
Taking a puppet could be explained as a gift from a friend, but taking the puppeteer's entire legacy is simply inexplicable. It's no wonder the sect is seeking revenge.
Furthermore, forcibly venturing into the Demon Soul Devouring Land to search for corpses is extremely dangerous, as the demon soul has clearly memorized Chen Yi's aura.
It's not worth the risk.
Overall, the gains from this trip to the secret realm far exceeded his expectations, and once the dangers exposed here are resolved, he can come back to take advantage of the situation again. It's practically his holy land for cultivation.
At this moment, Chen Yi was in a good mood.
He quietly returned to Huhaifang City.
We prepared to take the flying boat to Qingfeng Immortal City the next day.
Make final preparations before foundation building, and then attempt foundation building.
P.S.: Bonus chapter of 8000 words, please vote with monthly tickets and subscribe to the full version.
(End of this chapter)