"This secret realm greatly restricts our flight, so it seems we can't use our escape techniques to travel quickly."
Lu Qing's mind was somewhat grave.
Even with his background and foundation, he would find it difficult to fly in the sky.
The other cultivators who entered the secret realm, even those at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm with a high-grade innate Golden Core, would probably find it much more difficult to fly than he did.
"It seems that this secret realm is different from the large secret realms that have appeared in the Divine Mountain before. No wonder it was so unusual when it was conceived this time."
The Five Treasures Taoist's expression was also not very good.
This means that most of the information he painstakingly collected in Tian Shu City will be wasted.
"Why is this secret realm so peculiar? And what exactly are the opportunities and treasures within it?"
The Five Treasures Taoist was utterly perplexed.
After the news of the secret realm being nurtured by the Tian Shu Divine Mountain appeared, why did so many cultivators flock to it? Even many sects and forces far away in several continents sent their elite disciples to Tian Shu Continent.
Isn't it because every time the secret realm of Tian Shu Divine Mountain appears over the past tens of thousands of years, it is accompanied by a large number of opportunities and treasures?
However, they have been in the secret realm for some time now, but so far they have not found any treasures.
Even this secret realm looks barren, unlike a treasure land that could nurture a large number of opportunities and treasures.
And where have all those cultivators who entered the secret realm ahead of time gone? Why can't I find a single one of them?
Many questions arose in the mind of the Five Treasures Taoist.
“If even you, Daoist Master, don’t know, then I certainly don’t know either. It seems we can only try to figure out a way as we go. Our most urgent task is to find a way out first.”
Lu Qing looked around, but he had not yet seen any other creatures in the forest.
But deep down, he always felt a sense of danger lingering in his heart, not strong, but it was always there.
This shows that the secret realm is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface.
"Based on the information I gathered before, there are two ways to get out of the secret realm after entering it."
One option is to return via the same route as the space vortex you entered.
The second method is through the secret realm beads inside certain powerful spirit beasts within the secret realm.
However, given how strange this secret realm is, it's hard to say whether this second path will still work.
The Five Treasures Taoist was unsure.
“No matter what, we have to try to know,” Lu Qing said. “Master, aren’t you good at divination? Why don’t you cast a divination now and see which way we should go?”
"Divination, that is indeed a method." Upon hearing this, the Five Treasures Taoist's expression shifted. "Although the rules of heaven and earth in this secret realm are somewhat different from those in the outside world."
However, if you're only asking about good or bad fortune, there shouldn't be any major problems.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, please protect me for a moment."
The Five Treasures Taoist was a decisive person, and he immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot.
Then he took a black, ancient-looking tortoise shell from his waist, inserted several copper coins into it, and exhaled a breath of energy onto the tortoise shell.
With a hand seal, the black tortoise shell instantly floated in the air, emitting bursts of brilliant light and spinning rapidly.
After more than ten breaths, the black tortoise shell suddenly turned upside down, spitting out the copper coins, which fell to the ground.
The Five Treasures Taoist put away the tortoise shell and looked carefully at the several copper coins.
Then, his expression changed slightly.
"Master, how is it? Is there any result?" Lu Qing asked upon seeing this.
"The divination indicates that among the eight directions, three are slightly auspicious, four are slightly inauspicious, and one is a very inauspicious omen!"
"A very bad omen?"
“That’s right, it’s due north. The divination indicates that there is something extremely terrifying and dangerous there,” said the Five Treasures Taoist priest with a serious expression.
"In that case, let's head towards the direction that indicates a minor auspiciousness."
Lu Qing thought for a moment and then made a suggestion.
Although he has enough confidence in his abilities.
However, a wise person does not stand under a dangerous wall. This secret realm is now full of eeriness and is clearly not an ordinary secret realm.
He didn't intend to take any risks before figuring out the details of this secret realm.
What if this secret realm is extremely dangerous? Even a minor danger is a great danger that a Golden Core cultivator would find difficult to withstand.
"Then I can't go southeast, but Fellow Daoist Chen, I must make this clear beforehand."
Since the past is unknowable, the methods of divination and fortune-telling are not always accurate.
Even if the divination indicates great fortune, it doesn't necessarily mean that everything will go smoothly.
Please be mentally prepared for this, fellow Daoist.
"I am aware of that, Daoist Master. Please rest assured that I will be careful and vigilant."
Lu Qing nodded seriously.
He naturally didn't believe that the information obtained through divination was necessarily accurate.
If that's the case, then divination and prediction are the most powerful methods.
This secret realm was full of unusual things, and even his special abilities were temporarily rendered useless.
How could he possibly let his guard down?
After discussing it, the two immediately set off, their bodies transforming into streaks of light as they headed southeast.
This time, they learned their lesson and stopped flying high into the sky.
Instead, it only rose a few dozen feet, flying almost close to the treetops.
In this way, although the consumption is not small, it is at least within their tolerance range.
And so, the two flew for dozens of miles, and seeing that there was still an endless sea of forest ahead, they were calculating how long it would take to leave this forest.
Suddenly, Lu Qing felt a sense of alarm and looked down, only to see a black light rushing towards the two of them at lightning speed.
"careful!"
Lu Qing gave a reminder, and at the same time, with a thought, a sword aura slashed away the black light.
boom!
The sword energy struck the dark figure accurately, unleashing a powerful burst of energy that created waves of air.
The dark figure was immediately knocked back, tumbling downwards until it landed back in the woods.
"Um?"
Lu Qing was somewhat surprised.
He felt that his sword energy seemed to have struck an extremely hard object, shattering into pieces without actually cutting through it.
"What is that?"
The sudden attack startled the Five Treasures Taoist.
He did not sense the danger approaching in advance.
"I don't know, it seems to be some kind of creature."
Lu Qing looked down at the forest below, his expression solemn.
He discovered that after the thing fell into the woods, his spiritual sense could no longer detect its presence.
"Aqing, it's in the lower left!"
At this moment, Xiao Li's telepathic message suddenly rang in Lu Qing's mind.
Lu Qing immediately looked down to the lower left of the woods and, sure enough, saw a dark shadow flicker.
His gaze sharpened, and his magical power surged forth.
He conjured a crystal palm, tens of feet wide and shimmering with multicolored light, and slammed it down.
Boom!
The power of this palm strike was extremely fierce.
The surrounding forest, spanning tens of meters in diameter, was instantly shattered. The immense power caused the vast forest to undulate like waves.
Seeing the horrific scene he had created, Lu Qing's expression remained unchanged.
He stared intently down below, and sure enough, amidst the falling tree debris, a dark figure was fleeing in panic.
However, no matter how it tried to escape, it could not escape the range covered by the Five Elements Myriad Laws Palm.
With a thought, Lu Qing suddenly clenched his Five Elements Myriad Laws Palm, and the powerful sealing force immediately suppressed the black shadow, rendering it unable to move and holding it in his palm.
Then the Five Elements Myriad Laws Palm rapidly shrank and rose, until it returned to Lu Qing's front, where it had become only half the size of a person.
The Five Treasures Taoist stared blankly at the scene before him, especially at the incredibly clear palm print imprinted in the forest below, and was greatly surprised.
This was the first time Lu Qing had used offensive Taoist techniques in front of him.
But the sheer power of its abilities terrified him.
The Five Treasures Taoist had always known that Lu Qing's strength was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Otherwise, those inner disciples of the Qiankun Sect wouldn't have been so respectful to Lu Qing.
In his imagination, Lu Qing was likely already a powerful expert who had entered the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
Now, Lu Qing's actions have confirmed his suspicions.
The power of this palm strike was far beyond what a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator could unleash.
Lu Qing paid no attention to the Five Treasures Taoist's expression; he was observing what he had just caught.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, what is this?"
At this moment, the Five Treasures Taoist came to his senses and looked at the black shadow suppressed in the Five Elements Myriad Laws Palm.
Upon closer inspection, the two realized that it was a creature covered in scales, with wings, four claws, a long tail, and a shape resembling a rat.
"What kind of monster is this?"
After seeing the dark figure clearly, the Five Treasures Taoist was astonished.
He had never heard of this creature before.
"I don't know." Lu Qing shook his head. "This little thing's body is extremely tough. Even my sword energy couldn't hurt it. Moreover, it seems to have a natural ability to conceal its aura. It is obviously not an ordinary creature."
Thinking about this, Lu Qing was still somewhat surprised.
His current strength is incredibly formidable.
Even without using his full strength, the sword energy he unleashed was something that ordinary Golden Core Realm experts could not withstand.
Even a Golden Core cultivator would be severely injured, if not killed, if struck by his sword energy.
But the creature being suppressed in front of them didn't seem to have a powerful aura; it was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Despite taking a full hit from his sword energy, his scales were only slightly pierced.
It is truly unbelievable that a mere Foundation Establishment stage creature could possess such formidable physical strength.
More importantly, he did not sense any spiritual power within the strange creature's body.
The opponent seems to be purely physically strong, without any other power.
Although the black creature was suppressed, the ferocity in its eyes remained undiminished as it stared intently at Lu Qing and the Five Treasures Taoist.
It seemed as if they had some deep-seated grudge against the two of them.
Upon seeing this, Lu Qing's mind stirred slightly, and he quietly activated his special ability to look at them.
Why did he act out of character, willing to expose part of his strength just to capture this strange creature?
Naturally, the purpose was to use supernatural abilities to investigate its origins and see if any information about this secret realm could be obtained from it.
As Lu Qing investigated, after a while, a faint golden light of supernatural power emerged from the strange creature, and several pieces of text floated out.
【Black-scaled Rats: A powerful creature found in the trial realm of Tian Shu Divine Mountain.】
【Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment Realm Perfection.】
【The Black-Scaled Rat possesses a unique bloodline, a powerful physique, and incredibly tough scales that are difficult to damage with magical artifacts.】
【This creature possesses a singular intelligence and, for some reason, harbors intense hostility towards all living beings outside the trial's secret realm.】
【The creatures within the Heavenly Pivot Divine Mountain Trial Realm all possess mysterious bloodlines. Extracting and absorbing these bloodlines can significantly enhance physical strength.】
...
"Black-scaled Rats, a trial realm?"
When Lu Qing finished reading the messages on the note, her heart skipped a beat.
He obtained crucial information from these notes.
First of all, this secret realm does not seem to be the blessed land and secret realm containing countless opportunities and treasures that everyone had expected in the past.
Rather, it is a trial realm that arose for a certain purpose.
As for what kind of trial it is, that remains unknown.
However, it is clear from this point of view that, as many cultivators outside the world have speculated, Tian Shu Divine Mountain is likely not naturally formed.
Rather, it was built by some superpower or mysterious being countless millions of years ago in ancient times.
It's unclear why this trial realm suddenly appeared.
And what exactly is this so-called trial?
"Fellow Daoist Chen, can you tell where this thing comes from?"
Seeing that Lu Qing was staring at the strange creature, the Five Treasures Taoist priest couldn't help but ask.
“I can’t tell.” Lu Qing shook his head. “However, this monster’s strength should not be underestimated, even though the aura it exudes is only at the Foundation Establishment level.”
However, it has a powerful body, sharp claws and teeth, and is incredibly fast, and can also conceal its presence.
In this strange and mysterious realm, even a Golden Core realm expert could easily perish if caught off guard and attacked.
"You're right. The spiritual energy in this secret realm is extremely thin, and the space is stagnant, which also greatly limits our spiritual senses."
If one is unaware of the monster's existence beforehand, a sudden sneak attack could catch them completely off guard.
The Five Treasures Taoist priest recalled the scene of the monster suddenly rushing out of the forest below and nodded in deep agreement.
If Lu Qing hadn't been there, and he had been alone, he probably would have been seriously injured, if not killed.
"This secret realm is getting stranger and stranger. Not only is the spiritual energy thin, but there are also such powerful monsters. This has never appeared in the previous secret realms. They are only at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet they can already threaten us. If they reach the Golden Core stage, how powerful would they be?"
The Five Treasures Taoist said with some concern.
The appearance of this monster made him realize the danger of this secret realm.
Lu Qing remained silent.
The Five Treasures Taoist was right; the creatures in this secret realm were indeed excessively powerful.
Judging from the performance of this Xuanlin Black Rat, even he wouldn't dare say he could suppress a late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator if one were to appear.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, how do you intend to dispose of this thing?"
“Kill it. This little thing is extremely hostile to us. Even if we release it, it will probably still attack us.”
Looking at the hatred in the eyes of the Black Scale Rat, the Five Treasures Taoist nodded: "Then let's do as you say, fellow Daoist."
Without hesitation, Lu Qing activated his mind, unleashing a powerful force that instantly crushed the suppressed Xuanlin Black Rat.
