Immortality Cultivation

Just crawled out of that deadly Demon Beast’s nest, and before he could even catch his breath, the sounds of fighting came from the other end of the valley. Hearing this, Fang Hao’s head throbbed. This damn Secret Realm was practically a giant powder keg—wherever you went, it blew up!

He turned his head to look at the Little Princess Mu Zhenqing beside him. This little ancestor had just survived a life-or-death chase; her face was still deathly pale, and she clung to Fang Hao’s sleeve, her eyes filled with lingering fear. The Nanny beside her wasn’t doing much better—her hair was disheveled, her official robes were torn in several places, and she was leaning against a tree, gasping for air.

"Guest... Guest Official Ning, it sounds like another fight has broken out over there?" the Little Princess asked timidly, her voice still trembling slightly.

"Yeah, sounds like quite a few people." Fang Hao nodded, his brow furrowed tightly. How was he feeling right now? It was like you’d finally managed to snatch a piece of meat from a pack of vicious dogs, only to look up and find a pack of wolves surrounding you, and the wolves were already tearing at each other. Should you rush in to join the fun, or hurry and take a detour?

Rush in? Forget it! Fang Hao saw the situation clearly. What was their current state? One Late Foundation Establishment Stage (who could fight a bit), one little tag-along in the Qi Refinement Stage, plus a terrified old Nanny. A standard "old, weak, and disabled" combination. Dealing with the Demon Beasts and insects earlier relied on cleverness and desperation. If they really ran into two groups of blood-crazed Cultivators, those people wouldn’t care if she was some Prince’s Mansion’s princess. In this Secret Realm, killing for treasure was all too normal. If he couldn’t protect the Little Princess, he’d be dragged down too.

Qin Lie and his group of guards were currently missing, their fates unknown—they couldn’t be counted on. His only task was to get this little ancestor back in one piece. Treasure hunting, watching the drama—all of that had to take a back seat! Safety first!

"We can’t stay here," Fang Hao decided immediately, speaking to the Nanny and the Little Princess. "We need to leave this valley quickly, find a safe place to hide, and ideally find the Secret Realm’s exit directly."

"But... but where is the exit?" The Nanny looked bewildered; she had long since lost her bearings.

Fang Hao took out the Sensing Jade Talisman Master Zhao had given him and checked it. The talisman flickered with a faint light, but the direction was a bit chaotic, likely due to the unstable space inside the Secret Realm or the distance being too great. "It’s not very precise, but the general direction should be right. In any case, let’s leave this place of trouble first."

He stood up and carefully identified the direction. The sounds of fighting were coming from the east of the valley; it was a significant commotion, mixed with the booming of Spell explosions.

"This way!" Fang Hao waved his hand and unhesitatingly chose the opposite direction—the west. The trees were denser there and the terrain more rugged, making it look more concealed.

The Little Princess and the Nanny now saw Fang Hao as their backbone; whatever he said went, and they quickly followed.

The three of them plunged into the dense forest to the west. Fang Hao led the way, his Divine Sense fully active, scanning the surroundings like radar, not missing the slightest movement. He alternated between Divine Spirit Steps and Shrinking the Ground to an Inch; the speed wasn’t fast, but it was quiet and left as few traces as possible. The Little Princess and the Nanny followed with everything they had, afraid of falling behind.

The forest was silent, save for the rustling of leaves underfoot. Occasionally, they saw some low-grade Spiritual Plants and startled small beasts, but they did their best to avoid them and not cause trouble.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they could no longer hear the fighting. Fang Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his vigilance didn’t drop at all. He found a spot backed by a cliff with bushes in front for cover and signaled for everyone to stop and rest.

"Rest for a bit and drink some water." Fang Hao took a water skin from his storage ring and handed it to the Little Princess. He also leaned against the cliff, recovering his spiritual energy while pondering their next move.

This Secret Realm was too big; wandering around like a headless fly wasn’t the way. He had to find a way to determine the exact location of the exit or... find Qin Lie and the others. But how? Risk using the jade talisman to contact them? What if Qin Lie and the others were already... or what if the talisman’s signal drew enemies?

Just as he was worrying, his ears suddenly twitched. He heard an extremely faint, suppressed groan, seemingly coming from behind the bushes not far away.

"Shh!" Fang Hao immediately signaled the Little Princess and the Nanny to be quiet, then crept over soundlessly.

Parting the bushes, he saw a young Disciple wearing Qingyang Sect robes lying in a pool of blood. He had a horrific wound on his chest, his breath was weak, and he looked like he was about to die. Beside him lay a few freshly picked Spiritual Plants. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Fang Hao knelt down and checked. The wound was a saber cut, ruthless and fatal, looking like a sneak attack. He tried to channel a sliver of spiritual energy into him to sustain the Disciple’s last breath.

"What... what happened?" Fang Hao asked in a low voice.

The Disciple struggled to open his eyes. Seeing Fang Hao’s Guest Elder robes, a flicker of hope appeared in his eyes. He said haltingly, "It’s... the people from Black Fiend Valley... they ambushed us... to steal... our map..."

"Map? What map?"

"The exit... the marker map for the Secret Realm’s exit..." After saying this, the Disciple’s head slumped, and his breath ceased completely.

Fang Hao’s heart skipped a beat! An Exit Marker Map? This was truly charcoal in the snow! He quickly searched the Disciple’s body and indeed found a blood-stained Jade Slip in his robes. Probing it with his Divine Sense, he found a simple map of the Secret Realm inside, with several possible safe points and a suspected exit location marked with red dots! That exit location happened to be deeper to the west!

"Excellent!" Fang Hao was overjoyed. This was truly finding it without effort after wearing out iron shoes! Although the map might not be a hundred percent accurate, it was better than fumbling blindly!

He tucked away the Jade Slip and quickly buried the Qingyang Sect Disciple (to avoid drawing trouble) before returning to the Little Princess.

"We have a lead. I know roughly which direction the exit is in." Fang Hao briefly explained the situation, omitting details like the Black Fiend Valley ambush, only saying he had found a map.

Hearing this, hope appeared on the faces of the Little Princess and the Nanny.

After a short rest, the three set off again. With a clear goal, Fang Hao felt much more settled. He followed the map’s guidance, specifically choosing hidden and difficult paths, avoiding areas where Demon Beasts or Cultivators might gather.

The journey was tense but without mishap. After crossing two mountain peaks and passing through a mist-filled canyon—during which they saw several groups of Cultivators in the distance, whom Fang Hao led the Little Princess to avoid in advance—they finally arrived at a lake shrouded in thick fog on the second afternoon, following the map’s directions.

The exit marked on the map was on a small island in the center of this lake.

"This is it." Fang Hao looked at the calm but eerie surface of the lake, his expression solemn. This lake didn’t give him a good feeling; it was too quiet, without even any water birds.

How to get across? Fly? The target would be too big, making them easy marks. Swim? Who knew what was in the water.

Just as Fang Hao was considering his options, a pillar of white light suddenly shot into the sky from the island on the opposite shore! A strong spatial fluctuation followed!

"The exit is opening!" Fang Hao’s spirits lifted! It seemed the Secret Realm’s opening time was almost up, and the exit was being activated!

But at the same time, they heard the sound of air being pierced from far behind! Several streaks of light were racing toward the lake! Clearly, other Cultivators had found this place too!

"No time to hesitate!" Fang Hao gritted his teeth and said to the Nanny and the Little Princess, "Stay close! We’re charging straight across!"

He summoned the yitian sword and shouted low, "Go!"

The sword light swept up the three of them, skimming the lake’s surface as they charged toward the white light on the island at maximum speed! Almost simultaneously, the streaks of light behind them spotted them and accelerated in pursuit.