Immortality Cultivation

Seeing the soaring white light from the island in the center of the lake growing brighter and the spatial fluctuations intensifying, the exit was right before them! Fang Hao was incredibly excited; he could finally leave this godforsaken place! He activated his Flying Sword, sweeping up the Little County Princess and the Nanny, and charged toward the lake’s surface like a refugee on the run!

But at this critical juncture, the Little County Princess, Mu Zhenqing, whose arm he was pulling, suddenly struggled backward. Her little mouth pouted so much it could hang an oil jar, and she clamored with a face full of reluctance, "Guest Official Ning! Wait! Are we... are we leaving just like this?"

Pulled by her, Fang Hao almost lost his balance on the Flying Sword. He quickly decelerated and stopped by the lakeshore, turning back crossly, "My little ancestor! If we don’t leave, are we staying for the New Year? Didn’t you see the pursuers are almost here?" He pointed toward the horizon behind them, where several streaks of Escape Light were drawing closer.

The Little County Princess ignored them, pointing instead at the distant mountains shrouded in mist and drifting Immortal Qi. She said pitifully, "But... but this Secret Realm is so big, and we’ve only explored a tiny bit of it! There are so many places we haven’t visited! Look at those mountains; there must be even prettier cloud dream flowers up there, and maybe even ruins of immortal palaces! Master Zhao said there are so many Opportunities in the Secret Realm. We finally managed to get in once, and now we’re running away so pathetically. It’s such a waste!"

Hearing this, the Nanny’s face turned pale with fright, and she quickly urged, "Oh, my Princess! What time do you think it is? You’re still thinking about playing! Haven’t you seen how dangerous this journey has been? There are Demon Beasts and villains everywhere. It wasn’t easy just to find the exit safely! Let’s hurry back; the Prince and Princess Consort must be worried sick!"

When Fang Hao heard this, his anger flared up instantly, and he almost couldn’t stop himself from shouting. A waste? Waste my foot! I almost lost my life, and I barely managed to fish you out of the mouths of Demon Beasts and swarms of insects, and now you’re telling me it’s a waste? Do you think this is your back garden? And immortal palace ruins? Is that something we can touch right now?

He suppressed his anger and tried to explain in a calm tone, "Princess, the Secret Realm indeed has Opportunities, but you need to be alive to take them. It’s too chaotic in the Secret Realm right now; all the factions are killing each other ruthlessly. We are weak and alone; staying any longer would be too risky."

"But..." The Little County Princess’s eyes reddened, tears welling up as her voice took on a sob, "This is my first time out for experience, and I haven’t seen anything. I almost died, too... If I go back like this, my brothers and sisters will definitely laugh at me... Guest Official Ning, you’re so powerful, you can even block Golden Core Demon Beasts. Protect me for just a little longer... We’ll just look around nearby, just for a bit, okay?" As she spoke, she tugged at Fang Hao’s sleeve and shook it gently, looking utterly pitiful.

Fang Hao looked at her aggrieved expression and then at the approaching Escape Lights behind them, feeling extremely conflicted. He knew, of course, that the most rational choice was to charge into the entrance-exit immediately, right now! What Opportunity was more important than one’s life?

However... looking at the Little County Princess’s expectant yet fearful eyes, and considering she was just a spoiled girl who hadn’t seen much of the world, it was indeed a bit much for her to experience so many scares on her first trip and end up with nothing. Moreover, if she made a scene and stubbornly refused to leave, delaying them until the people behind caught up, it would be even more troublesome.

"Sigh!" Fang Hao sighed heavily, feeling like this Guest Elder position was more like being a Nanny who had to manage a child’s emotions. He quickly weighed his options: if he forced her to leave, she would definitely be unhappy, and if she said something to the Prince later, he wouldn’t have a good time either. If he indulged her slightly by looking around the relatively safe area near the exit and finished quickly, as long as they didn’t go too far, it should... not be a big problem, right?

"Fine, fine!" Fang Hao waved his hand helplessly. "I’ll listen to you and we’ll look around nearby. But we have a deal! First, we can’t go too far from the exit; if anything feels wrong, we retreat immediately! Second, everything follows my command; when I say leave, we must leave! Can you do that?"

Hearing Fang Hao relent, the Little County Princess immediately turned her tears into a smile and nodded like a chick pecking grain. "I can, I can! I’ll definitely be obedient! Guest Official Ning, you’re the best!"

The Nanny stamped her feet in anxiety, but seeing that Fang Hao had already agreed, she couldn’t say anything more and could only follow along with deep concern.

"Hold on tight!" Fang Hao no longer hesitated. He steered the Flying Sword, not toward the island in the center of the lake, but along the lakeshore toward a hillside on the left that looked relatively gentle and was covered in exotic flowers and herbs. He planned to just look around right under the nose of the exit, let the Little County Princess have her fun, and then leave immediately.

Soon, the three of them landed on the hillside. The Spiritual Qi here was indeed dense, the flowers and grass were lush, and the scenery was pleasant. They could even see the white light of the island in the distance, providing a great sense of security.

The Little County Princess was like a bird out of a cage, happily running through the flower bushes, picking various beautiful flowers she had never seen before, and letting out surprised cries from time to time. The Nanny followed nervously behind her, her eyes constantly darting toward the island and the direction they came from.

Fang Hao, however, did not dare to relax at all. His Divine Sense was fully spread out, alertly scanning the surroundings. The spot he chose had a clear view, so he could detect any movement immediately.

Sure enough, before long, movement came from the island. Several groups of Cultivators arrived one after another, wary of each other, and charged into the white light, disappearing. It seemed everyone was eager to leave this place of trouble.

Fang Hao breathed a small sigh of relief. It was good that they left; fewer people meant less trouble.

After playing for a while, the Little County Princess picked a large bunch of colorful spiritual flowers and ran back contentedly, "Guest Official Ning, look! Aren’t they pretty? Let’s go back!"

Seeing that she was finally willing to leave, a weight lifted from Fang Hao’s heart, and he quickly nodded, "Good, we’re leaving now!"

He summoned his Flying Sword again and, carrying the two of them, charged at full speed toward the white light on the island!

Just as they were about to touch the spatial fluctuations, a sudden change occurred!

Rumble—!

The entire Secret Realm suddenly shook violently! It was as if a Earth Dragon was turning over! Distant mountain peaks collapsed, and huge cracks split the ground! Monstrous waves surged on the lake’s surface! Even the stable white light of the exit began to flicker violently, becoming unstable!

"What’s happening?!" the Little County Princess screamed in terror.

Fang Hao’s face changed drastically! This feeling... the core of the Secret Realm was unstable; it was going to close early! It might even be collapsing!

"Not good! The Secret Realm is collapsing! Move!" he roared, pushing his speed to the limit, shooting toward the increasingly unstable white light like a meteor!

They had to break out before the exit completely disappeared!

However, at the very moment they were about to touch the white light, a massive tentacle covered in suckers suddenly shot out from the lake water to their side. Carrying the stench of the lake, it lashed out violently toward the three on the Flying Sword! The tentacle radiated Demonic Qi comparable to the Golden Core stage!

At the same time, behind them, a cold sword light silently struck toward the back of Fang Hao’s heart! Someone was actually lying in ambush nearby, waiting for the final moment to kill and snatch treasures.

A tentacle blocking the front, a cold sword ambushing from behind. And the Secret Realm was still frantically collapsing.

A matter of life and death.