"Hey, you over there! Stop dawdling and dig harder! We need to extract as much as possible before the Secret Realm closes!"
"Yes, Senior Brother."
The man in the cyan-white Daoist robe nodded and returned to the center of the spirit stone vein. "Senior Brother Lu, the disciples are already mining at full capacity."
Senior Brother Lu, dressed in white robes, held a paper fan in his hand and wore a treasured sword at his waist. He looked more like a wandering swordsman from the martial world than an Immortal Cultivator. His cultivation base, at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, exuded immense pressure.
"Good. But also remind the junior brothers to be careful while mining. We can't afford any tunnel collapses burying them alive."
"Yes, Senior Brother. But won't this excessive mining deplete the Clear River Secret Realm?" The Inner Sect Disciple who asked the question was also at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and was already contemplating Foundation Establishment. He had originally planned to search the Secret Realm for the Spirit Medicines needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, but the sect had assigned him this secret mission: mining the spirit stone vein under the guidance of this True Inheritance Senior Brother.
If the Secret Realm truly became barren, where would he find the resources for his Foundation Establishment Pills in the future?
Lu Yibin nodded. "That's right. The Clear River Secret Realm will be completely abandoned from now on."
A clear look of regret crossed the junior brother's face.
"But there's no need to worry," Lu Yibin continued. "The sect has already prepared countermeasures. There will be no shortage of Foundation Establishment Pills; in fact, there will likely be several times more than before. Just focus on diligently completing the tasks assigned by the sect, and the Contribution Points you earn will be more than enough to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill."
Though still somewhat skeptical, the junior brother's face lit up with delight. "Understood, Senior Brother."
Lu Yibin unfurled his folding fan with a snap. "Continue overseeing the work here. Other cultivators are approaching from outside; I'll go handle them."
With that, he glided out of the mine entrance, leaving behind lingering afterimages but making not a sound, moving as silently as a ghost.
Left alone, the junior brother wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. The pressure from this True Inheritance Senior Brother was simply too great.
How did the Hall Masters manage to suppress his Foundation Establishment cultivation base to the peak of Qi Refining? It's truly baffling.
Still, it was reassuring to have Senior Brother Lu escort them. This trip to the Secret Realm would undoubtedly be much safer with him around.
Returning to the spirit stone vein, he called out loudly, "Everyone, be careful not to bury yourselves alive! Harming yourselves is one thing, but don't endanger your fellow disciples!"
Lu Yibin emerged from the mine and saw five streaks of escape light hurtling toward him.
The three trailing escape lights carried Wei Zhong's "acquaintances"—the Loose Cultivators who had been shadowing the Azurewood Sect disciples.
The two leading escape lights belonged to Inner Sect disciples of the Azurewood Sect. One was the leader of the group of Qi Refining disciples Wei Zhong had encountered upon first entering the Secret Realm. Lu Yibin wondered why he was alone now.
The other disciple wore a similar cyan-white Daoist robe and radiated the faint aura of a cultivator at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.
Both disciples were pale, their tattered robes stained with fresh blood.
Upon spotting Lu Yibin, their True Inheritance Senior Brother, their faces lit up with relief.
"Senior Brother, save us!" they cried out even before reaching him.
With a flick of his paper fan, Lu Yibin unleashed eight sword lights. The gleaming blades arced through the air toward the three Loose Cultivators.
The Loose Cultivators reacted swiftly. The elder surnamed Wu summoned a pitch-black shield and channeled spiritual energy into it. The shield rapidly expanded, growing to the size of a small house, and intercepted all eight sword lights.
Lu Yibin sneered, "Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"
Instantly, three of the sword lights pierced through the Spirit Shield's defenses and continued their assault, while the remaining five were deflected, lodging themselves in the shield's surface.
A flicker of panic crossed the elder's eyes as he realized he wouldn't have time to activate another defensive magic artifact.
Fortunately, his teammates reacted swiftly. Seeing their fellow Daoist's black shield shattered, they recovered from their momentary shock and immediately deployed their own defenses. One of them crushed a talisman paper, summoning a translucent golden bell that enveloped the trio.
The sword beams struck the bell, triggering a violent explosion of spiritual energy. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, but the bell held firm.
Lu Yibin recalled his eight small swords, which now hovered beside him.
The two Inner Sect Disciples landed behind Lu Yibin, seeking his protection.
"Senior Brother!" one of them cried, his voice thick with grief. "We discovered a patch of Thousand-Knot Flowers and were about to harvest them when these three ambushed us. Five of our Junior Brothers died in the attack! Senior Brother, you must avenge them!"
Barely out of danger, the two Inner Sect Disciples poured out their tale of woe.
Lu Yibin frowned slightly. "Where are the Thousand-Knot Flowers?" he asked coolly.
"We managed to salvage half," replied the disciple at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, hastily pulling a section of vine from his storage pouch. Over a dozen Thousand-Knot Flowers clung to it, five of which were over two centuries old, and one surpassing three centuries in age—mature enough to be used in refining higher-grade Medicinal Pills.
Seeing this, even the normally aloof Lu Yibin showed a hint of satisfaction. "Not bad at all," he praised.
Turning to the three Loose Cultivators, he declared, "Killing disciples of my Azurewood Sect is a crime punishable by death!"
The elder surnamed Wu clutched his First-Grade High-Grade Spirit Shield, his heart aching at the damage. Suddenly, a flash of realization struck him.
He exclaimed in terror, "White-Robed Paper Fan, Eight Swords from a Flick of the Sleeve—you're Lu Yibin, the Second True Disciple of the Azurewood Sect? Impossible! How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator enter this Secret Realm?"
But when he sensed the faint, suppressed aura of a Peak Ninth Layer Qi Refining expert emanating from Lu Yibin, the truth dawned on him. His face turned deathly pale.
Without a word, he abandoned his two companions and fled for his life.
His companions overheard their comrade's panicked words, their faces mirroring his terror. They were no match for ordinary sect disciples of their rank, resorting to ambushes even to steal Spirit Medicine. How could they possibly withstand a True Inheritance disciple suppressing his cultivation base?
Each deployed their own escape techniques and scattered in panic.
"Hmph! Trying to escape? Not so easy." Lu Yibin's figure blurred, vanishing from his original position in an instant.
Escape, escape, I must escape! The Azurewood Sect wouldn't send a True Inheritance Disciple here to suppress his cultivation base unless they had a grand scheme in mind.
Now that I've stumbled upon him, he won't let me live. If I can just escape this place and find a secluded hiding spot where no one can find me until the Secret Realm closes, I can leave safely.
Once I'm out, I'll embellish the secret I've uncovered and share it. That should rally the other Loose Cultivators against the Azurewood Sect, making it impossible for them to act against me.
The old man surnamed Wu thought to himself, inwardly regretting his greed for half of the Thousand-Knot Flower. If not for that, none of this would have happened.
His thoughts were interrupted by several nearby screams. The old man realized his companions had already met their end.
The True Inheritance Disciple, Lu Yibin, was rapidly closing in on him.
"You're quite the runner!" A ghostly, low voice hissed in his ear. The old man whirled around to find Lu Yibin's pale face looming inches away.
They were now running neck and neck.
The old man's heart nearly burst with terror.
"When did you—"
Before he could finish, a small sword pierced his abdomen from behind.