Chapter 285: Unknown Secret Realm

Although Ye Yuan's third-rank spirit-gathering formation was powerful, it could not gather such a vast amount of primal energy.

The reason it caused such a commotion was that Ye Yuan used a technique of leveraging a small force to move a large one, using the two men's primal energy storm as the formation base, infinitely amplifying their storm.

No matter how strong Ye Yuan was, he was still a Liquid Realm martial artist. Without the foundation of their primal energy storm, how could he have plundered all the primal energy within a radius of over ten li?

Li Changyu felt a sweetness in his throat; the internal injury he had just suppressed flared up again. He nearly spat blood but managed to hold it back.

"Changyu is a distinguished guest of the Heavenly Qian Sect, truly embodying the demeanor of a major sect disciple—finding joy in helping others." Luo Qingfeng followed up with another jab.

"Heavenly Qian Sect?" Ye Yuan looked bewildered, clearly having never heard the name.

Luo Qingfeng was taken aback and asked, "You don't know the Heavenly Qian Sect?"

Ye Yuan shook his head blankly and said, "This disciple comes from a humble place and has limited knowledge; I truly do not know the Heavenly Qian Sect."

Luo Qingfeng was speechless for a moment, then explained, "The Heavenly Qian Sect is the number one great sect in the Southern Domain, the leader of the eight major sects. Changyu is the prized disciple of the Heavenly Qian Sect's Supreme Elder. You are an elder of our sect, so calling him 'senior brother' is appropriate."

Li Changyu was startled inwardly—Ye Yuan, at such a young age, was already an elder of the sect?

But before he could recover from his surprise, Ye Yuan suddenly realized, "Ah! So that's it! The Heavenly Qian Sect truly lives up to its reputation as the number one sect in the Southern Domain. The Supreme Elder's disciple is so self-sacrificing, willing to let his own realm drop to help others. Ye Yuan is extremely grateful."

"Pfft!"

Li Changyu finally couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, adding injury to injury.

The two of them played off each other, and Li Changyu, being young, couldn't withstand such provocation.

But Ye Yuan truly didn't know the Heavenly Qian Sect; he wasn't playing a double act with Luo Qingfeng.

The effect, however, was the same.

...

Two days later, Li Changyu's injuries had slightly improved, and Luo Qingfeng summoned him.

By now, Li Changyu had become much more restrained, no longer as arrogant as when he first arrived.

Luo Qingfeng's aura that day had thoroughly intimidated him.

"Your injuries—are they better?" Luo Qingfeng asked casually, as if making small talk.

Not mentioning this was fine, but when he did, Li Changyu's heart ached as if a scar had been torn open.

"They are much better, thank you for your concern, Sect Master Luo." Li Changyu forced a smile.

"Mm, good that they're better. Changyu, you came as an envoy to our Nethercloud Sect—what is the matter?" Luo Qingfeng said.

Getting down to business, Li Changyu quickly composed himself and said, "Not long ago, a secret realm was discovered within the territory of our Heavenly Qian Sect. It should contain many good things. The eight major sects of the Southern Domain have always been united in spirit, so the Sect Master specially sent seven disciples to the seven sects, inviting everyone to explore the secret realm together, so that all may share in the bounty!"

Luo Qingfeng's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he began to ponder the Heavenly Qian Sect's intentions.

Talk of unity and shared bounty only fools three-year-olds.

The eight major sects of the Southern Domain, including the Nethercloud Sect, each had their own agendas.

The Nethercloud Sect had never harbored ambitions to contend for dominance in the Southern Domain; its disciples' aspirations had always been to fight their way back to the Northern Domain.

Of course, that was merely a distant dream.

The reality was that the Nethercloud Sect could only survive in the cracks between the various sects of the Southern Domain.

The Heavenly Qian Sect had always been very overbearing—not only did they claim secret realms within their own territory, but they would also find ways to get a share of others' secret realms!

When something is out of the ordinary, there must be a catch!

If anyone believed the Heavenly Qian Sect was being so benevolent, even a fool wouldn't buy it.

But it had to be said, the Heavenly Qian Sect had dangled an extremely tempting bait. Luo Qingfeng estimated that the other sects would find it hard to refuse the invitation, because even he himself was tempted.

What does a sect's development rely on?

Resources!

Primal crystals, heavenly treasures, techniques, weapons—the quantity of these things determines a sect's strength.

As the strongest sect in the Southern Domain, the Heavenly Qian Sect monopolized forty percent of the region's resources!

The other seven major sects combined barely had sixty percent!

It was these resources that ensured the Heavenly Qian Sect always stood above the rest.

Among them, heavenly treasures were a very important category of resources.

The daily expenses of sect disciples, the elixirs and medicinal herbs used for cultivation—these constituted a massive consumption. Without the accumulation of these resources, a sect simply couldn't sustain itself, no matter how deep its foundation.

Where did these heavenly treasures come from?

Secret realms!

Secret realms are small spaces attached to the Boundless Realm. Because of sparse human activity and abundant primal energy, they often give birth to many heavenly treasures.

Within the territories of the Southern Domain's various sects, there were some secret realms, all controlled by the major sects.

These were known secret realms, their dangers mostly cleared out by the sects.

But the secret realm recently discovered by the Heavenly Qian Sect was clearly an unknown secret realm!

Secret realms rarely have human presence, but they contain many demonic beasts and other naturally formed dangers!

Exploring a secret realm is an extremely dangerous task!

Not to mention anything else, the Heavenly Qian Sect's invitation to other sects to explore the secret realm together was likely with the intention of bringing along more cannon fodder.

As for whether there were other plans, Luo Qingfeng couldn't judge for now.

"What kind of secret realm? Tell me about it." Luo Qingfeng said impassively.

"It's an unknown secret realm! We've already sent people in to explore it, and the heavenly treasures inside are countless. It is said that there are many third-rank and quasi-fourth-rank medicinal herbs, quite a few fourth-rank herbs as well, and even some extremely rare herbs can be found there!" Li Changyu said.

Luo Qingfeng suddenly smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple, is it? That's not what I want to hear. What did you encounter inside?"

Li Changyu's expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure and said flatly, "We sent in three teams in total. They were all wiped out."

Luo Qingfeng frowned and asked, "What kind of people were sent in?"

Facing Luo Qingfeng, Li Changyu was fully alert.

This guy was too shrewd; every question hit the nail on the head!

Previously, because he had been low-key and forbearing, everyone thought he was a cowardly and incompetent person.

Now it seemed this guy was a real sharp cookie!

Now that Luo Qingfeng had bared his fangs in front of Li Changyu, there was naturally no need to pretend anymore.

Li Changyu said cautiously, "The first team was led by a Condensation Realm initial stage, the second by a Condensation Realm mid stage, and the third... by a Condensation Realm ninth level martial artist!"

"Oh? Since they were all wiped out, how did you learn the information about the secret realm?" Luo Qingfeng said calmly.

Li Changyu cursed the old fox inwardly and said, "The last Condensation Realm ninth level martial artist fought his way out and brought back this information. But not long after he came out, he also died. This unknown secret realm is indeed dangerous, but the things inside are too tempting, so the Sect Master earnestly invited everyone to explore it together."

Luo Qingfeng nodded and said, "Go back and rest for now. Let me think it over."

After Li Changyu took his leave, the door to the inner chamber suddenly opened, and Ling Potian, Xiao Jian, and Ouyang Yu walked out.

And behind them followed Ye Yuan, who had just broken through not long ago.