Half an hour later, a solar eclipse occurred.
The ice and snow covering the Gu Hong Secret Realm melted instantly, turning into icy water that surged down in all directions.
The nearby cultivators quickly erected protective barriers to avoid being swept away, but this year's water level seemed much higher than in previous years. Some cultivators with lower cultivation levels couldn't withstand the onslaught and had to retreat into the air to barely escape the bone-chilling water.
Shen Gurong, holding an umbrella, simply waved his hand, and the surging water in front of him instantly split in two, flowing past the two of them without splashing a single drop.
A moment later, the sun returned to normal on the horizon, and the "blood-red maw" in front of them gradually opened. A clear, cool spiritual energy swirled out from the secret realm, lifting a lock of white hair from Shen Gurong, who was closest to it.
A strange sense of familiarity welled up inside him.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow slightly.
Before he could think further, Mu Zhe said, "Master, let's go in first."
Shen Gurong nodded and slowly walked in, holding his umbrella.
The first person to enter the Gu Hong Secret Realm through a divinely bestowed opportunity is almost always the first person to enter, so countless people were vying to be the first to step inside.
Although Shen Gurong was slow, he was close to the entrance and quickly left the people, who were disheveled from the water, behind him.
Just as he was about to step through the stone gate of the secret realm, a dragon's roar suddenly came from behind him. Without thinking, Shen Gurong was about to rush in when a gust of wind swept in, and a black shadow flicked its tail, sending the cultivators who had finally managed to rush up flying eight zhang away, and then rushed into the secret realm ahead of Shen Gurong.
The shadowy figure landed, transforming into a humanoid figure clad in black robes. Looking defiantly at Shen Gurong, it said, "I was here first."
Shen Gurong: "..."
"Childish." The mature Shen Gurong subtly raised his hand, unleashing a burst of spiritual energy beneath Chao Jiuxiao's feet. The childish Chao Jiuxiao stumbled and fell to the ground.
Shen Gurong: "Ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
You're even more childish.
Chao Jiuxiao angrily scrambled to his feet, uttering threats: "Just you wait! Once I emerge from the secret realm as a dragon, you're dead, Shen Eleven!"
Shen Gurong was about to speak when he heard the cultivator who had been swept down by Chao Jiuxiao's tail shout angrily, "What kind of beast was that?! It was far too arrogant!"
Someone cried out in pain, struggling to their feet, and said, "It looked like a dragon to me?"
"Ha! Wasn't there only one dragon left in the Three Realms? It's Liren..."
Seeing that Chao Jiuxiao had caused trouble, Shen Gurong immediately raised his voice: "Chao Xiaowu of Suihan City, I'm waiting for you to kill me."
Chao Xiaowu: "..."
The cultivators behind him whispered amongst themselves.
"From Suihan City? Then it's probably not that dragon from Liren Peak; it's likely just a demon cultivator."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Tsk, I heard the city lord of Suihan City is here this time too. He really doesn't know how to manage his subordinates."
Not far away, Jing Zhuchen, sitting in a sedan chair fanning himself, was speechless. Chao Jiuxiao was furious, raging for a long time before finally letting out a cold snort, turning around, transforming into a dragon, and flying into the secret realm.
He planned to prove with his actions that the first thing he would do after transforming into a dragon was to kill his junior brother.
Shen Gurong resolved the crisis that his senior brother had repeatedly warned him about, and then stepped inside with Mu Zhe.
The outermost layer of the Gu Hong Secret Realm was the Chaotic Realm, shrouded in a white mist, so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
After Shen Gurong and Mu Zhe entered side by side, they disappeared from sight in no time.
Shen Gurong was also prepared, simply reciting a calming mantra as he walked forward, not caring whether he was going the right way.
Other cultivators also entered the Chaotic Realm one after another, and moments later, they entered the secret realm from different directions.
Just as they emerged from the thick fog, before anyone could react, countless ferocious beasts that had been waiting by the forest rushed forward with ferocious roars. Inexperienced cultivators were nearly bitten in the throat and could only struggle and run frantically.
Shen Gurong heard the increasingly clear, shrill screams around him and thought, 'Wasn't I supposed to enter the Chaotic Realm first? How come some people entered the secret realm before me?'
After thinking it over, there was only one reason.
Everyone else took the straight path, while he took a winding, circuitous route.
Shen Gurong followed the sound for a while, and suddenly a white light appeared before his eyes. He had finally emerged from the Chaotic Realm.
Like the others, he was still greeted by menacing beasts.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow. Having lived in this world for so long, he was no longer as easily startled as he had been when he first arrived, no longer easily frightened by the smallest things.
He slowly closed the umbrella in his hand, flicked his finger, and the bamboo-ribbed umbrella instantly transformed into a sharp sword.
But at that moment, the ferocious beasts, whose faces had been grotesque, trembled, as if they had seen something terrifying. Their vertical pupils contracted sharply, and they stared at Shen Gurong with trembling eyes.
Shen Gurong tilted his head, looking at them with suspicion, wondering, 'Aren't they going to pounce?'
Shen Gurong wasn't one to provoke others; he only acted when others posed a threat to him.
Seeing the wolf-like beasts trembling with fear, Shen Gurong lowered his sword and said calmly, "Aren't you coming?"
His words were like a signal. The beasts, which had been frozen in place, seemed to remember something extremely frightening. Suddenly, they howled, turned, and ran—some even nearly tying their limp paws into knots as they fled.
In an instant, all the ferocious beasts around him vanished.
Shen Gurong: "?"
Shen Gurong was full of doubt, but since no beasts attacked him, he was happy to stay put, obediently holding his umbrella like a hermit, waiting patiently for his disciple to come find him.
Mu Zhe had emerged a quarter of an hour earlier than Shen Gurong and had already cleanly dealt with the beasts that had attacked him. He was now following the red "Disciple Contract."
The Gu Hong Secret Realm was teeming with ferocious beasts; he couldn't possibly kill them all along the way. Mu Zhe eventually grew impatient.
"I just want to get to Master's side," Mu Zhe thought coldly. "Why are there so many unnecessary things in this world?"
The ferocious beasts were.
That Daoist partner… was too.
Jiu Xi had already rushed out impatiently, sweeping past and swallowing hordes of ferocious beasts whole for Mu Zhe.
Having temporarily cleared away the surrounding ferocious beasts, Jiu Xi transformed into human form and appeared beside Mu Zhe.
Four years had passed, and Jiu Xi, having eaten something with Mu Zhe, had grown tall and handsome, his face now resembling that of a young man, though his smile still retained a touch of childishness.
"Mu Zhe, Mu Zhe," Jiu Xi said, smiling as he stepped back towards Mu Zhe, "I think you don't even need to seek any opportunities anymore. That half-mahjong-stage inner core in your dantian is the most supreme opportunity in the entire Three Realms. With that, you don't even need to cultivate your mental state; you can leap to the Mahayana stage in one step with countless spiritual energies. Tsk tsk, I really want to eat your core."
Mu Zhe coldly replied, "You're blocking my disciple contract."
Jiu Xi had no choice but to step aside and turn to follow him closely.
He stared at the red disciple contract for a long time, then said, "I'm still curious, aren't everyone else's disciple contracts black? Why is yours different from the others?"
Mu Zhe casually replied, "It's probably because of that half of the yuandan."
Mu Zhe always gave the same reason, so Jiu Xi could only pout and not ask any more questions.
"Ah, there are more ferocious beasts ahead!" Jiu Xi, like a child seeing candy, rushed forward happily before Mu Zhe could even speak.
A series of mournful howls came from not far away. When Mu Zhe went over, he found Jiu Xi talking to two girls.
Mu Zhe glanced at them, his face immediately darkening.
"Jiu Xi, come back."
Jiu Xi turned to look at him, smiling, "Mu Zhe, look, your old acquaintances."
The old acquaintances Jiu Xi was referring to were Su Fangyi, who had competed against Mu Zhe at the Chanwei Tournament, and Miao Qingfeng, who had made Yu Xinghe run all over the field.
The two had been traveling together, now somewhat disheveled, their clothes stained with blood.
Mu Zhe glanced at them briefly before looking away, showing no interest in reminiscing. He coldly said, "Let's go." Su Fangyi gripped her sword, gritting her teeth as she looked at Mu Zhe.
"You... you've already reached the Nascent Soul Realm?"
Mu Zhe didn't want to answer. He grabbed Jiu Xi's braid and turned to leave, showing no mercy.
"Mu Zhe!" Su Fangyi called after him.
Mu Zhe glanced at her impatiently: "What is it? Speak quickly."
He couldn't keep his master waiting too long.
Su Fangyi hesitated for a long time before stammering, "Thank you for saving us."
Four years ago, those at her level had already progressed from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul Realm, while they had only just advanced to the Core Formation stage.
How could such a disparity be compared?
Su Fangyi recalled her provocation at the Chanwei Assembly years ago, and her face flushed red.
So impetuous in youth.
Ah, shame and indignation suffocating.
Mu Zhe had no intention of saving them; it was just that Jiu Xi was greedy, so he didn't take credit: "It's not my doing, just thank my sword."
Su Fangyi: "..."
Miao Qingfeng: "..."
Mu Zhe turned and left after speaking.
Su Fangyi's tears were about to fall. The usually taciturn Miao Qingfeng remained silent for a long time before awkwardly comforting her: "He... don't be sad."
Su Fangyi burst into tears, sobbing, "It's too much! Why is he always so unreasonable? Doesn't he ever speak human language?"
Miao Qingfeng: "..."
Miao Qingfeng said softly, "He's probably afraid you'll bother him."
Su Fangyi's face was streaked with tears, and she asked blankly, "What do you mean?"
Miao Qingfeng hesitated for a moment before saying, "The thing next to him just now was his Daoist contract."
Su Fangyi was stunned, even forgetting to cry.
“He already has a Daoist partner, so naturally he won't get entangled with other women.”
Su Fangyi was stunned for a long time before tilting her head and muttering, “Then he really is a good man.”
Miao Qingfeng: “?”
“No!” Su Fangyi wiped away her tears, snorted, and said, “I want to follow him and see who his Daoist partner is, and whether he will speak ill of her or not.”
Miao Qingfeng looked troubled: “No, no, don’t.”
Su Fangyi grabbed Miao Qingfeng’s hand and chased after him aggressively: “No, I’m going.”
Miao Qingfeng: “…”
The inarticulate Mu Zhe walked for a while, then noticed someone following him. He didn’t care and continued walking forward with his “disciple contract.”
Jiu Xi was responsible for gnawing on the ferocious beasts on the side, and his teeth were still quite good after gnawing all the way.
After walking for a long time, Su Fangyi and Miao Qingfeng finally caught up with Mu Zhe.
There were quite a few ferocious beasts ahead, and even after Jiu Xi had been gnawing for a long time, he still hadn't finished. Mu Zhe, too lazy to help, simply stood still and waited. He gently raised his finger, letting the butterfly-like red contract land on his index finger, staring intently at the obviously strange contract.
He had seen Wen Liubing's disciple contract when he was young; it was shaped like a butterfly, like splashed ink, very similar in style, but the color was completely different.
At first, Mu Zhe thought everyone's disciple contract was a different color, but later, he accidentally stumbled upon other people's disciple contracts, all seemingly identical to Wen Liubing's splashed ink, which finally made him suspicious.
However, his disciple contract could connect with his master as usual, seemingly no different from other disciple contracts, so Mu Zhe could only attribute it to the fact that he had half of his master's yuandan within him.
But Jiu Xi kept talking incessantly in his ear, making Mu Zhe somewhat uncertain for a moment.
Moreover, when he broke into master's room yesterday, the contract had been inexplicably agitated, eventually making Mu Zhe feel as if he were possessed, finding a strange attraction to his master on the bed. If he didn't act, he would be defying the natural order.
So Mu Zhe followed the natural order, committing that heinous act against his master without batting an eye.
Too strange.
Mu Zhe thought to himself, this contract is truly too strange.
Thanks to Jiu Xi's clearing the way, Su Fangyi and Miao Qingfeng encountered no ferocious beasts along the way, making it much easier than before.
However, after traveling for a while, the originally murderous Su Fangyi completely concealed her sharpness, feeling that it would be impolite to treat them with cold indifference after they had been "escorted" by Mu Zhe all the way.
Just moments before, Su Fangyi had been accusing Mu Zhe of being inhuman, but seeing Jiu Xi clearing a path indiscriminately, she realized that Mu Zhe might not have intended to save them at all; he was simply passing by.
His words, "Thank my sword," weren't meant as an insult.
Thinking this way, Su Fangyi's resentment slowly dissipated.
She coughed lightly and walked forward with light steps. Knowing that Mu Zhe had a Daoist partner and disliked entanglements with other women, she deliberately kept her distance and asked, "I misunderstood you earlier; I'm sorry."
Mu Zhe frowned and turned to look at her: "Misunderstood me in what way?"
Su Fangyi said, "Misunderstood you as cold-blooded and heartless, and inhuman."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe looked at her strangely, finding women really odd. She had been cursing him behind his back, and now she was cursing him to his face.
Just then, Jiu Xi had already cleared the way. Mu Zhe lightly lifted a finger, and the "Disciple Contract" flapped its wings and flew forward, continuing to lead the way, albeit unsteadily.
Mu Zhe took a step to follow, and Su Fangyi followed as well, casually asking, "Your Daoist partner has also come to the Gu Hong Secret Realm?"
Mu Zhe continued walking forward, not paying much attention, but after taking three steps, he suddenly stopped, staring blankly at Su Fangyi.
"What...did you say?"
Su Fangyi looked at him strangely, pointing to the Daoist Couple Contract flying around in front of them: "Isn't this a Daoist Couple Contract?"
Mu Zhe's mind went completely blank for a moment. For the first time in his life, his face was full of confusion: "Daoist Couple what?"
Su Fangyi: "Daoist Couple Contract."
Mu Zhe: "What contract?"
Su Fangyi: "..."
Su Fangyi blushed and scolded, "Look at you, you're starting to talk nonsense again. Are you playing me? I'm taking back my apology."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Daoist Couple... Contract?
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