Ye Xuan didn’t stop to rest. He quickly ventured deeper, scaling several Big Mountains before finally arriving at the area inhabited by Rank Four Beasts.
"Huh? Someone has been here!"
Ye Xuan frowned as soon as he entered.
Up ahead, trees had collapsed and bloodstains painted the ground. This clearly indicated that a battle had taken place here.
"Are the Zhang Family members in here?"
Ye Xuan instantly guessed that the Zhang Family was here. Their target wasn’t the low-rank Beasts near the entrance, but rather the Rank Four Beasts.
Every year when the Secret Realm opened, its masters would immediately hunt down the Rank Four Beasts because their Beast Pills were of great use to them! This led to the population of Rank Four Beasts being incredibly scarce. Over a period of four years, low-rank Beasts could rapidly reproduce, but Rank Four Beasts were always in short supply.
Meanwhile, at the foot of a certain Big Mountain.
A five-meter-tall Beast had its head blown apart by an Elder, who then reached into the gore and retrieved a sparkling Beast Pill. Standing beside the Elder were over a dozen Zhang Family members of varying ages.
"We finally obtained another Beast Pill. It’s truly difficult."
"Indeed. The Rank Four Beasts in the Ning Family’s Secret Realm are just as scarce as the ones in ours. We’ve been in here for four whole days and only encountered twelve Rank Four Beasts. We’ve managed to get exactly two Rank Four Beast Pills in total. The drop rate isn’t even twenty percent."
"It’s fine, let’s keep searching further inside. We’ve explored less than a tenth of the Rank Four Beast territory."
As the Elders spoke, they looked toward the younger generation of the Zhang Family. These youths were all around seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Do you want to continue further in with us, or go search for Spirit Medicine on your own? We’ve already killed all the Rank Four Beasts within a five-mile radius. As long as you don’t venture too deep, there shouldn’t be any danger. You can search this area for high-grade Spirit Medicine. If you happen to find any Spirit Medicine that can boost your cultivation, that would be a stroke of great luck."
"Elder, then we won’t go any further in. We’ll search around here for any fortuitous encounters. Perhaps this Secret Realm has some unrevealed legacy site that hasn’t been discovered yet," a young man spoke up, his gaze incredibly resolute.
"That’s right, we want to go with Wuying to look for undiscovered legacies!"
The youths’ words made the Elders shake their heads.
"You kids are just indulging in a pipe dream. The Ning Family has owned this Secret Realm for nearly a millennium. Even if there were fortuitous encounters or legacies left behind by experts, do you really think they wouldn’t have found them? This Secret Realm was combed through exhaustively a long time ago.
"Zhang Wuying, take this Fragrant Grass. As long as you don’t stray too far from us, we’ll be able to track you by the scent. Even if you do wander far, we can still find you using this Fragrance Butterfly. Therefore, if you encounter danger, crush your Twin Jade immediately."
An Elder took out a box containing a butterfly and handed it over. The Elders gave a few more instructions before continuing their advance deeper into the territory.
"Wuying, the Elders look down on us too much! To think they called it a pipe dream, but what if there really are hidden, undiscovered opportunities?"
"Exactly. Our Zhang Family had searched our own Secret Realm countless times before, but didn’t Lord Wuzong still find a set of ruins inside? He obtained an Elixir capable of Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining, and shot to fame overnight!"
Hearing others mention the name ’Lord Wuzong,’ Zhang Wuying’s eyes grew even more determined. He pointed at the sky and growled, "If he can do it, so can I! I want to let Father know that the Zhang Family doesn’t just have one Zhang Wuzong. There’s also me, Zhang Wuying!"
Zhang Wuying was Zhang Wuzong’s biological younger brother, twenty years his junior. He was the child born of his father and a concubine. His innate talent was actually quite good, but compared to Zhang Wuzong, it was like a dim firefly beside a blazing sun.
Because of that fortuitous encounter, Zhang Wuzong not only improved his talent but also managed to awaken a Mid-Rank Fierce Beast Soul. How powerful was a Mid-Rank Fierce Beast Soul? It was so formidable that even the Town Mayor of the Three-Star Main Town made an exception and accepted Zhang Wuzong as an Outer Disciple.
His story was a legend within the Zhang Family.
As for Zhang Wuying, no matter how hard he worked or how talented he proved to be, the clan members still wouldn’t acknowledge him.
"Wuying, you still need to work harder. You’re a far cry from your older brother."
"Wuying, you’ve captured a fraction of your older brother’s past brilliance. But it’s only a fraction, which is far from enough."
Zhang Wuying had always lived under Zhang Wuzong’s shadow. His greatest wish was to surpass his older brother. However, surpassing him was easier said than done. He also needed to stumble upon a fortuitous encounter and seize an extraordinary opportunity.
Therefore, upon learning that the Zhang Family had annihilated the Ning Family, and finding out it coincidentally aligned with the opening day of the Ning Family’s Secret Realm, he had rushed inside at the very first opportunity. His goal wasn’t Beast Pills, but fortune.
The Zhang Family’s last great fortune had been claimed by his brother. Then what about the Ning Family? Could they possibly have an undiscovered legacy hidden away as well?
"Wuying, don’t worry, we’ll definitely help you!"
"The Elders think it’s impossible, but we’re going to use our actual accomplishments to show them that nothing is impossible in the world of Cultivators! Wuying, you can do this!"
"Let’s go. We have a legacy to find."
...
Ye Xuan pressed onward. There were traces of battle everywhere, and he knew there probably weren’t any Beasts left along this path.
He changed directions and searched for a long while until a Rank Four Beast finally appeared in his line of sight. It was a five-meter-tall Long-tusked Elephant—a Rank Four, Tier Two creature. Because of its massive frame, it looked like a small mountain when it moved.
Ye Xuan suddenly remembered that one of the Ning Family Elders he had slain possessed an awakened Long-tusked Elephant Soul. He guessed the Elder had fortunately awakened it after killing a Long-tusked Elephant and obtaining its Essence Blood. This was exactly why the experts in the Main Towns almost exclusively awakened Wild Beast Souls. They could actively hunt and choose which Beast Soul to awaken, and although the success rate wasn’t high, once awakened, they were guaranteed to be Wild Beast-level Beast Souls.
"Finally found one. Time to die."
Ye Xuan smiled as his Divine-Demonic Overlord Body manifested. Currently, his Divine-Demonic Overlord Body was only two meters in size, rather than its full twenty meters. Since the Zhang Family members were wandering around inside, he couldn’t afford to draw too much attention to himself.
Wielding a Peak Profound Level weapon, Ye Xuan charged at the Long-tusked Elephant.
A Rank Four, Tier Two Long-tusked Elephant was equivalent to the 2nd Layer of the Super Spirit Realm. In the past, Ye Xuan would have needed to use his Dragon Soul Power to fight it. However, his current cultivation was already at the 7th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm. Even without using his Soul Power, he could kill it. It would just take a bit more time rather than being an instant execution.
RUMBLE.
Deafening explosions quickly echoed through the forest. The Long-tusked Elephant’s hide was incredibly tough, to the point where the sword in Ye Xuan’s hand actually couldn’t pierce it. Even with a Peak Profound Level weapon, breaking through the defense of a Rank Four Wild Beast wasn’t an easy task.
It was a pity he didn’t have a Spirit-Level weapon. Otherwise, this battle would be much simpler and easier.
After striking it hundreds of times, Ye Xuan finally found an opening and pierced the Long-tusked Elephant’s eye with his sword. No matter how impenetrable its body was, its eyes were still vulnerable. His blade sank deep into the Long-tusked Elephant’s head.
However, the beast didn’t die immediately. Instead, it went berserk and blindly fled in a frenzy. Wherever it charged, massive trees were violently knocked down, sending thick clouds of dust billowing into the air.
"Huh? There’s dust rising up ahead... is someone fighting?"
"Aside from us, no one else from the Zhang Family came in here, right? Could it be someone from a subordinate faction?"
Such a massive commotion immediately caught the attention of the Zhang Family Elders in the distance.
"Come on, let’s go take a look."