167: Chapter 167 Deep into the Secret Realm!

As the group of demons passed through that layer of spatial barrier, the world suddenly inverted.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Elder Rat's small eyes narrowed into slits.

The sky was a grayish-blue, devoid of sun, moon, or stars; only a few faint streams of light drifted at a great height, emitting a weak halo.

The air was permeated with an ancient, decaying scent. Having been worn down by countless years, this Secret Realm was already on the verge of collapse.

Elder Rat habitually released his Divine Sense, wanting to scout the surrounding environment. But his mind was suddenly pricked.

His Divine Sense had barely left his body for a hundred zhang before it was blocked by the surrounding thin mist, unable to advance even an inch further. He tried to leap up, but a heavy pressure emerged from the Void Realm, forcibly pushing him back to the ground.

"An anti-flight Restriction, combined with a Divine Sense-locking Restriction."

Elder Rat sent a telepathic message to the demons behind him: "Keep your eyes peeled. Divine Sense can't reach far, so we have to rely on our eyes and ears."

"Be cautious, don't jump around randomly, and don't trigger the Formation here."

The demons all nodded slightly. The ten great demons transformed into ten gray shadows, using the cover of scattered rocks and withered trees to grope their way forward.

This Secret Realm was not large.

It was tightly surrounded by a circle of black mountains that towered into the clouds. The mountains were steep as if carved by a blade, with not a blade of grass growing. In the central area embraced by the mountains was a huge, sunken basin.

In the center of the basin sat a continuous complex of palaces. Due to the long passage of time, most of the halls had collapsed into ruins, the green bricks and blue tiles covered in dust.

Two li ahead, the Cultivator surnamed Wang and Junior Sister Lin were cautiously approaching the outer palace gate.

"Senior Brother Wang, why is there not even a single living thing in this place? It's eerily quiet." Junior Sister Lin held a water-blue Flying Sword, looking around with a vigilant expression.

"This is an Immortal Cave of an ancient Cultivator. After ten thousand years, all living things have long since died out."

"Added to that, the Spiritual Qi here is thin; I suspect this Secret Realm is already on the verge of collapse. We must speed up."

The Cultivator surnamed Wang held a bronze Formation Plate in one hand, while the other hand gripped several high-grade Talismans, reminding her from time to time:

"Just be careful, Junior Sister. The remnant map indicates that the outer halls are guarded by Puppets."

"Be mindful in a moment."

Before his voice faded, the blue stone slabs beneath their feet suddenly sank. Behind the collapsed stone pillars on both sides, the sound of mechanisms clicked repeatedly. Twelve bronze armored warriors, each a zhang tall, suddenly burst from the ground, holding long spears, with eerie green flames lighting up their eye sockets.

These Puppets had been eroded by time, their surfaces covered in rust, yet their movements were not slow in the slightest.

The long spears swung, cutting through the air with a screeching sound, aiming straight for their vitals.

"They are merely Low Grade Tier 2 dead things, do not panic, Junior Sister." The Cultivator surnamed Wang snorted coldly, and the Formation Plate in his hand shone brightly, transforming into a green light shield that blocked before them.

Junior Sister Lin let out a sharp cry, and the water-blue Flying Sword transformed into a water python, tightly binding two bronze armored warriors, attempting to strangle them.

Sword Qi flickered, cutting into the warriors' joints, sending sparks flying everywhere.

On the high slope behind, Elder Rat lay behind a giant rock, watching this good show with great interest.

"These two Human Race brats have decent foundations." Shi Pan commented in a low voice.

"Their Magical Artifacts are just good."

Lei Bao scoffed: "If it were me going up there, I'd smash one with a single slap. Why go through all this trouble? Elder Rat, when are we going to make a move?"

"What's the rush?" Elder Rat tugged at his whiskers: "The palaces in this basin are just an appetizer."

"The qi of the wind dao could never be placed in such an obvious spot. Let them clear the path ahead; we'll save some energy."

The battle in the basin lasted for half an hour. The Cultivator surnamed Wang used many techniques; although the bronze armored warriors were tough, they ultimately could not withstand the might of the Magic Treasure, and were dismantled into scrap metal one after another. The two pushed forward all the way, breaking through three incomplete killing Formations, and finally entered the core palace.

The main hall was empty, with only a jade stone coffin placed in the center. The Cultivator surnamed Wang stepped forward and pushed open the coffin lid; there were no remains inside, only three dusty Magical Artifacts and a few Jade Slips. He was overjoyed and gathered everything into his Storage Pouch.

"Senior Brother, is that it?" Junior Sister Lin was somewhat disappointed. "What about the promised qi of the wind dao?"

"The remnant map indicates that the heaven and earth qi is in the 'Gale Gorge' to the south of the Secret Realm."

The Cultivator surnamed Wang put away the Formation Plate and pointed to the gap in the black mountain range to the south: "That is where the core of this Secret Realm lies."

"Let's go. While the Spiritual Qi of the Formation Plate hasn't dissipated, let's make one final push."

The two rested briefly, swallowed a few Medicinal Pills to restore their magic power, and then hurried towards the south without stopping.

"Follow them." Elder Rat waved his claw. The ten great demons followed like shadows, maintaining a distance of about two li, trailing slowly behind them...

The further south they went, the tighter the wind sounded. At first, it was just a light breeze brushing their faces, but when they approached the gap in the mountain range, the wind became extremely violent, surging fiercely.

The gravel on the ground was swept into the air, colliding with each other and emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound.

At the entrance of the gorge, there stood a broken stone tablet inscribed with the two characters "Gale".

The Cultivator surnamed Wang raised a Spiritual Qi barrier to isolate the wind and sand, and Junior Sister Lin followed closely behind. The two stepped into the gorge one after the other.

Inside the gorge, the light was even dimmer. The rock walls on both sides were riddled with holes cut by wind blades, covered in gullies of varying depths.

"This wind is strange." The Cultivator surnamed Wang stopped, his expression solemn. The wind blades striking his Spiritual Qi barrier actually contained an insidious corrosive power, and the light of the barrier was dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Just then, a piercing shriek came from the depths of the gorge. The sound was neither bird nor beast, extremely sharp, piercing straight through the eardrums.

"What is that?" Junior Sister Lin's expression changed, her water-blue Flying Sword hovering above her head, guarding against the surroundings at all times...

In the dim wind and sand, pairs of scarlet eyes lit up. Dozens of black shadows used the momentum of the wind to pounce out from the holes in the rock walls.

The Cultivator surnamed Wang stared intently and gasped. Those monsters had heads resembling bats with fangs protruding outward, yet their bodies were as strong as apes, with wings on their backs, and sharp, sickle-like claws at the ends of their arms. Half-human, half-demon, extremely evil!

"It's the Hurricane Demon!" The Cultivator surnamed Wang was terrified. "This Secret Realm has been sealed for ten thousand years, how could it breed such evil things!"

The Hurricane Demon traveled with the wind, their speed astonishingly fast. The monster at the very front flapped its wings and suddenly appeared before Junior Sister Lin, its sharp claws slashing down fiercely.

"Clang!" The Flying Sword met the attack, but was actually swatted aside by the monster's claw. Junior Sister Lin stumbled backward, her face turning pale.

"Junior Sister, step back!" The Cultivator surnamed Wang roared, throwing out four Formation Flags, shielding the two in the center.

The Hurricane Demon did not retreat; instead, they gathered in greater numbers. There were at least a hundred monsters circling outside the Formation, shrieking repeatedly, constantly tearing at the Formation's light curtain with their sharp claws.

Behind them. Elder Rat stopped his steps, his small eyes gleaming.

"The opportunity has come." He licked his lips. "There are quite a few of these bat monsters; those two Human Race members won't last long."

"Elder Rat, how shall we fight?" Lei Nu clenched his fists, his knuckles clicking.

"The old rules." Elder Rat pointed forward: "Shi Mo, Shi Pan, you two have thick skin, go and hold off that group of Hurricane Demon."

"Lei Nu, Lei Zhen, you four from the Thunder Bear lineage lead the way. The moment that Formation breaks, kill that man."

"As for that woman..." Elder Rat looked at Shuang Yu: "I'll leave her to you. Don't make too much noise."

The group of demons accepted the order and dispersed silently. Like a large net, they surrounded the depths of the gorge.