77: Chapter 77: Heavy casualties and unable to deliver on the task, so they had no choice but to set their sights on the fat sheep of Zhongzhou!

Outside the core Secret Realm, the magma in the ravines formed by Lu Chen's imperial fire continuously churned, the scorching heat roasting the surrounding rocks and distorting the air.

Aside from Zixiao Holy Land, Wanhua Immortal Gate, and Zifu Holy Land, no one else remained, and not a single Loose Cultivator was left waiting.

After all, other forces didn't care for lesser opportunities; with Emperor Yun bringing so many people inside, how much could possibly be left?

The Loose Cultivators had wanted to wait for Lu Chen and the others to come out so they could scavenge some leftovers.

Unfortunately, Zixiao Holy Land, Wanhua Immortal Gate, and Zifu Holy Land had been so overbearing before the Secret Realm even opened that it was obvious they wouldn't let anyone into the core Secret Realm.

Since the outcome was known, it was better for everyone to just go home.

Wan Tianchou stood ten paces away from the magma line.

His Divine Sense scanned the rows of Disciples sitting or lying before him.

The Wanhua Immortal Gate Disciples were huddled together, many missing arms or legs, their Daoist robes stained a dark red with blood.

Fewer than thirty people from Zifu Holy Land survived, each with a withered aura and a damaged spiritual altar.

The Disciples of Zixiao Holy Land were in even worse shape.

Ming Jiuyou leaned his staff against the ground, his bony fingers repeatedly rubbing the shaft.

"This is all that's left," Wan Tianchou muttered.

"Send them out of the Secret Realm first! The rest is up to us! These Juniors are useless; when they encounter someone they can't beat, they can't even run!"

After sending their respective Disciples out, the five of them communicated via voice transmission.

[Our three major forces brought in five hundred top prodigies.]

[Between the deliberate robberies by Loose Cultivators and the attrition from the Secret Realm's Formations and Yao Beasts...]

[Now, not even one in ten has survived. Forget about the Azure Emperor's fortune, they probably haven't even scavenged a few pieces of junk from the periphery.]

[The Loose Cultivators nowadays are disobedient; not only did they enter the Secret Realm, they even dared to retaliate against our Juniors. And then there's that unknown young Junior ruining our Holy Lands' reputations.]

[It's all because of this Emperor Yun, who doesn't follow the rules at all! He has no shame!]

[Shh, don't say it. What nonsense are you spouting?]

[If I bring this level of casualties back to the Sect, the Old Ancestor will surely skin me alive and pull out my Divine Soul to use as a sky lantern.]

"If we don't bring back some heavy treasures to report, we're all dead men," Zi Qianlan said in a low, suppressed voice.

Lei Zhengtian and Lei Xuzi stood side by side, the lightning light around them dim.

The two of them looked past the crowd, their gazes simultaneously landing on a pile of rocks to the right.

Behind the rock pile, Jiang Yifei, Ji Linger, and Nangong Ziyi were sitting cross-legged in meditation.

A piece of ancient green jade hung around Jiang Yifei's neck, continuously releasing pure life Origin to heal his wounds.

The Void Bracelet on Ji Linger's wrist shimmered with silver light, and the surrounding stray Spatial Laws actively gathered toward her.

A crimson bead floated in front of Nangong Ziyi; it was the Heavenly Sun Bead, a top-grade fire-element holy artifact bestowed by the Nangong Clan.

The dharma robes they wore and the accessories they carried were all priceless, top-grade Saint-rank Magic Treasures.

Wan Tianchou's eyes widened, a red light flickering deep in his pupils; he was envious.

[The Young Lord of the Ancient Desolate Jiang Family of Central Province, the little princess of the Ji Family, and the young lady of the Nangong Family.]

[The wealth of these three is enough to offset all of today's losses, and might even allow our cultivation to progress further.]

[As long as we are clean about it, kill these three Juniors and turn their bones to ash, no one will ever trace it back to us in this Azure Emperor's Secret Realm that is about to disappear.]

Wan Tianchou raised his hand to cast a sound-isolating barrier, enveloping the five of them.

"We can't afford to provoke a Great Emperor, but can't we handle these fragile and wealthy Juniors?"

"We must act quickly and use lethal methods. First, set up a Formation to isolate them. With the cover of the Azure Emperor's Secret Realm, there should be a 70% chance of success."

Ming Jiuyou drew a complex Formation pattern on the ground with his staff.

"We absolutely cannot let them crush a Cross-Realm Voice Transmission Talisman."

Lei Xuzi reached into his storage space, then flipped his wrist to pull out a pitch-black Formation Plate.

The surface of the Formation Plate was covered in red blood veins, emitting a heavy sealing power.

He applied force with his fingertips and tossed the Formation Plate into the air.

The Formation Plate spun rapidly in mid-air, shooting out twelve black pillars of light that plunged directly into the ground.

A layer of black light rose from the ground and closed in the air, completely sealing off the space within a ten-mile radius.

This barrier merged with the innate heavenly secret concealment effect of the Azure Emperor's Secret Realm, cutting off all internal and external Law sensing.

Jiang Yifei's tightly closed eyes snapped open.

He reached out to grasp the hilt of the long sword beside him; the blade unsheathed three inches, its Sword Qi splitting the ground.

"Something's wrong, there's Killing Intent!" Jiang Yifei barked.

Ji Linger moved extremely fast, tearing a golden Jade Slip from her waist and crushing it on the spot without hesitation.

The Jade Slip shattered, and a streak of golden light had barely traveled half a meter before it struck the invisible black barrier, instantly turning into ash and scattering.

"The distress Jade Slip failed!" Ji Linger raised her voice, her hands quickly forming seals in front of her chest.

Nangong Ziyi grabbed the Heavenly Sun Bead in front of her, crimson flames erupting from her body as she shielded Ji Linger behind her.

The void in front of them distorted, and Wan Tianchou, Ming Jiuyou, Zi Qianlan, Lei Zhengtian, and Lei Xuzi appeared together.

The five veteran Saints formed a perimeter, directly cutting off all paths of retreat for the three.

"What is the meaning of this, Seniors?" Jiang Yifei held his sword in one hand, standing before the two girls.

"We have no choice. The people behind us have asked us to borrow your lives and storage rings!"

Wan Tianchou spoke as he moved, his opening move being a lethal blow.

Intense blood Qi gathered in his palm, transforming into a blood-colored handprint ten zhang in size.

The handprint, carrying a fishy wind, struck directly at Jiang Yifei's face.

The spiritual power within Jiang Yifei's Dantian surged as the power of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body manifested for the first time.

Golden blood Qi soared into the sky. He drew the taichu sword, gripped it with both hands above his head, and slashed down fiercely.

A hundred-zhang-long golden sword glow met the blood-colored handprint.

A thunderous boom echoed out.

The sword glow struck the blood handprint and didn't even last a breath before it crumbled inch by inch; the massive suppression from the difference in Realm caused the taichu sword's Sword Qi to completely dissipate.

The blood handprint's residual power continued unabated, slamming into Jiang Yifei's chest.

A blinding white light erupted from Jiang Yifei's body.

The imperial protective armor bestowed by his Family activated passively, a layer of white light shield blocking the crushing force of the blood print.

However, the massive impact still sent him flying back, shattering three boulders behind him.

"Jiang Yifei!" Nangong Ziyi cried out.

The Heavenly Yin Fire God Physique erupted completely.

Nangong Ziyi's long black hair turned crimson, and she spread her arms.

A materialized phantom of a fire phoenix appeared behind her.

The fire phoenix let out a long cry and flapped its wings, sending overwhelming flames sweeping toward the five Saints.

Zi Qianlan raised the dragon-head cane in her hand.

The dragon head at the tip of the cane spat out a stream of pitch-black heavy water, which transformed into a black water net in mid-air and descended upon them.

The freezing black water instantly extinguished the fire phoenix phantom, and the water net contracted, binding Nangong Ziyi's body.

The black water droplets made a sizzling corrosive sound upon contact with her dharma robe.

Nangong Ziyi spat out a mouthful of blood, her knees slamming heavily onto the ground.

Ji Linger completed her hand seals.

Her eyes glowed with silver light, and the space in front of her was forcibly torn open into a black passage.

"Go!" Ji Linger reached out to pull Nangong Ziyi from the ground.

Ming Jiuyou struck the ground heavily with his staff.

Three pale bone spikes shot out from underground.

One pierced Ji Linger's calf, while the other two jammed into the edges of the spatial passage, forcibly causing the nearly formed passage to explode.

The backlash from the void turbulence sent Ji Linger flying back; she fell beside Jiang Yifei, her right arm hanging limply.

The five Saints' attacks were relentless; Lei Zhengtian pressed his palms together as violent purple lightning struck down, and Lei Xuzi threw out three quasi-imperial Flying Swords, aiming straight for their throats.

Jiang Yifei forced himself to stand, the light on the surface of his imperial protective armor already dim.

[They are all at the Peak of the Saint Realm, several major Realms apart. Although the three of them have protective treasures, they can only defend; they won't be able to hold out while being constantly attacked!]

[Even with all their trump cards out, they have no power to fight back. Messages can't be sent out, and this barrier has completely cut off any path to survival.]

Jiang Yifei bit the tip of his tongue and spat essence blood onto the blade of the taichu sword.

The golden blood Qi on his body began to burn, and a violent energy began to compress frantically within his Dantian.

The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body within him showed signs of self-detonation, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi was drained, forming a terrifying vortex.

Jiang Yifei's long hair danced wildly as he stood with his sword, shielding Nangong Ziyi and Ji Linger.

"Even if I, Jiang Yifei, have my Divine Soul obliterated, I will never let you old dogs touch a single hair on their heads!"

"Wanhua Immortal Gate! Zixiao Holy Land! If we die today, your Holy Lands will surely be destroyed in the future!"

Wan Tianchou sneered, his withered skin wrinkling together.

"You think you're worthy of threatening a Holy Land?" Wan Tianchou raised his right hand again, blood Qi churning.

"Once you've turned to ash, let your Family's Old Ancestor go complain to the King of Hell!"

The five of them simultaneously unleashed their killing moves: blood print, black water, bone spikes, purple lightning, and Flying Swords.

The five destructive forces converged into a torrent, heading straight for Jiang Yifei and the others.

Just as this power was about to touch the remains of Jiang Yifei's imperial armor...

The void where the five's attacks passed suddenly collapsed inward.

Then, with a deafening roar, the attacks dissipated, turning into nothingness.

A massive spatial rift appeared.

Leng Qingqiu, holding the imperial sword jiuyou, was the first to fall headfirst out of the black hole, yet she still landed steadily on her feet.

Next was Yun Qianyue, her nine fox tails spreading out in mid-air to stabilize her as she landed.

Su Xuner, Su Qiyue, Yan Lingji, Lin Bufan, and Shen Mengyao fell from the black hole one after another.

The seven of them landed with extreme precision, right in the center of this killing barrier.

They stood between the five veteran Saints and the three heavily injured Central Province prodigies.

The burning of Jiang Yifei's essence blood also halted in his Dantian. Holding the taichu sword, he stared blankly at the group of people who had suddenly dropped from the sky.

The two groups stood three paces apart.

Completely frozen in place.

Su Qiyue spoke: "Where is this? Why is the Killing Intent so heavy! Where did that old man Azure Emperor send me! Is this still inside the Secret Realm?"