Thousands of miles away, deep inside a hidden mountain cave.
Space twisted for a moment. Xie Zhaolin and Elder Chou staggered into view, both reeling a little from the strain. A high grade Escape Talisman might be fast, but teleporting that far put a heavy burden on divine sense and spiritual power.
Both of them looked a bit pale, but their eyes stayed sharp.
Xie Zhaolin swept her gaze around the cave and spread her divine sense outward. Only when she confirmed there was no danger did she finally let out a quiet breath.
She flipped her wrist. Several storage bags with different patterns appeared in her palm, the loot she took from the three dead Tianyin Sect disciples.
When Zi Ying devoured the flute playing male cultivator, she followed the trail back and dragged the remaining two bags along as well.
Xie Zhaolin sank her divine sense into them one by one. She erased the restrictions that carried Tianyin Sect's mark and destroyed anything that might expose their identities.
Once she finished, she tossed one of the bags toward Elder Chou without even looking at it. It belonged to the zither playing male cultivator.
"This one's yours." Xie Zhaolin's voice was hoarse and calm, giving nothing away.
Elder Chou had taken that man down herself, so the spoils naturally went to her. Xie Zhaolin didn't care about such minor resources. What mattered was keeping this fragile cooperation intact.
Elder Chou froze for a heartbeat, then accepted the bag. Her divine sense brushed through it, and her eyes brightened.
A mid stage Golden Core cultivator from a major sect like Tianyin Sect would never be poor. The bag held plenty of spirit stones, pills, a few decent magic tools, and some spirit herbs harvested from the secret realm. This haul alone matched several years of her usual accumulation.
"Thank you, Elder Mo." Elder Chou thanked her sincerely.
Following this so called Elder Mo came with plenty of risks, but the rewards were undeniably real. Her unease and doubts were pushed aside for now.
"Elder Mo, where are we going next?" Elder Chou put the storage bag away. At this point, she was already used to letting Xie Zhaolin decide their route.
Xie Zhaolin didn't answer right away. She pulled out the jade slip that held the map Yingsha provided and immersed her divine sense inside, carefully comparing the terrain, aura, and surrounding landmarks.
After a moment, her eyes flashed with surprise, then settled into understanding.
So this high grade Escape Talisman really dropped them straight from the outer region of the secret realm's Ghost Soul Ravine into the central area of the Tianxu Secret Realm.
According to the map, this place was called Blackwind Ridge, already considered part of the secret realm's mid layer. Its danger level and opportunities were leagues beyond the outer areas.
A normal Golden Core cultivator would need several days to reach this place from the outside, assuming they had the right path and enough power to survive the journey.
This saved them a lot of trouble and avoided anyone searching for them near the outskirts. A pleasant surprise, honestly.
What made Xie Zhaolin pause was that she'd been here before in her previous life when she lived as Yun Qingyue.
Fragments of memory slowly surfaced.
The details were blurry thanks to the years and her rebirth, but she still remembered the general terrain, a few unique hazards, and some potential opportunity spots. Knowing the landscape in a place like this was a huge advantage. It let her dodge unnecessary danger and track down what she wanted with far more precision.
It really was good news.
Guided by her faint familiarity with the area, Xie Zhaolin led Elder Chou carefully through the rugged cliffs and ridges.
She avoided the nests of powerful group dwelling beasts she remembered, circled around patches of natural illusion miasma and unstable space cracks. The route was a bit long, sure, but it was safe. They skipped plenty of needless fights and avoided trouble entirely.
Along the way, thanks to her memory, they even found two small resource spots. One was a clump of Yinning Flowers growing on a shaded cliffside, perfect for crafting cold attribute pills. The other was an abandoned mine that hid several chunks of high quality obsidian iron essence. Not rare treasures, but real gains all the same.
They moved like this for a few days, peaceful and productive.
That day, while the two rested by a secluded mountain stream, Xie Zhaolin's communication jade suddenly buzzed faintly.
She shifted slightly and sank her divine sense into it.
It was You She, the soft voiced man from Yingsha's group.
"Honored one, the matter you instructed has made progress." You She's voice carried a respectful tone. "The rumor about Northern Ice Palace acquiring a heavy treasure has been secretly spread through several channels. Many capable teams in the secret realm have heard it by now. Xuantian Sect and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain seem especially interested and are secretly tracking Northern Ice Palace's movements."
Xie Zhaolin nodded with satisfaction. Perfect. That was exactly what she wanted.
"Good work." She sent her thought back. "Keep watching. If there's a major conflict or confirmed information about Northern Ice Palace's position, report immediately."
"Yes." You She hesitated, then added, "But… honored one, there's something else. Something rather strange."
"Speak." Xie Zhaolin's thought rippled out.
"It's about Hehuan Sect." His tone grew heavier. "According to the leader's orders, we've been searching for Yu Xiaotang and the elders accompanying her since we entered the secret realm. But something's off. Hehuan Sect's people have completely vanished."
Yu Xiaotang… vanished?
"We used every tracking secret art we have, even placed watchers near spots they'd likely visit," You She continued. "But we haven't found any sign of Hehuan Sect. Even the landing point they used when entering the secret realm was thoroughly checked. Aside from the faint traces from their arrival, everything after that was erased. It's like someone intentionally wiped it clean.
It feels like they went straight toward a specific target the moment they entered and used some extremely advanced concealment method to avoid everyone's perception. With their numbers, they shouldn't be able to hide so completely unless they planned this beforehand. Or… something in this secret realm is helping them hide."
Xie Zhaolin fell silent for a moment.
Yu Xiaotang… vanished? And so thoroughly?
That was definitely abnormal.
From what she knew about Yu Xiaotang, that woman wasn't the type to act quietly, not unless she had a very specific and important goal. Important enough to make her abandon early opportunities in the secret realm and avoid unnecessary conflicts entirely.
What was she after? Was she also aiming for the rumored Tianxu Palace inheritance? Or did Hehuan Sect have an even bigger agenda this time?
And to hide this perfectly, so perfectly that even Yingsha's specialists found nothing… that was no simple feat.
Countless thoughts flashed through Xie Zhaolin's mind.
"I understand." She steadied her breathing and sent back, "Keep looking. Focus on regions related to spatial concealment or large formation remnants. Report immediately if you discover anything."
She had to pick up the pace and increase her strength. At the very least, she needed to break through to late stage Golden Core as soon as possible.