73: Chapter 73 Entering the Secret Realm, Preparing to Make a Move!

The very instant his consciousness recovered, Shi Jian caught a scent.

It wasn't the smell of blood, nor was it the smell of burning.

It was the scent of Spiritual Qi.

Spiritual Qi so dense it had nearly condensed into a physical substance wrapped around every inch of his fur, pouring into the gaps of his armor plates and seeping through his pores into his skin.

He snapped his eyes open, and everywhere he looked, the world had been completely transformed!

Beneath his feet lay a vast, boundless wilderness of lush green grass. Crystal-clear dewdrops hung from the blades, each containing faint fluctuations of spiritual power.

In the distance, continuous mountain ranges rose abruptly from the earth.

Countless peaks pierced the heavens, their summits shrouded in golden clouds where light flowed as if something were slumbering within.

Between the mountains, waterfalls cascaded down from thousand-zhang-high cliffs, and where the mist gathered, seven-colored rainbows were faintly visible...

Rivers meandered through the landscape, their waters so clear one could see the bottom.

There were actually spiritual fish the size of fists swimming in the water, their scales shimmering with silver light. Everything was so beautiful, so brimming with spiritual energy!

And the sky—

Shi Jian looked up.

There was no sun, no moon.

The dome was a vast purple-gold light screen covering the entire world, with countless ancient runes faintly visible flowing across it. Each of those runes was staggeringly large!

Some runes were like stars, as large as the entire Hongtian City.

This was the handiwork of a Soul Transformation Immortal Lord.

A temporary Immortal Cave opened at will was its own small world.

It was truly terrifyingly powerful!

Shi Jian took a deep breath, and the silver electrical arcs on the Yao core inside his body immediately jumped violently several times. The concentration of Spiritual Qi here was at least twenty times higher than that of the Hongtian City Spiritual Vein!

The Spiritual Qi was as thick as mist, gathering into clumps that dripped down as pure spiritual liquid...

Even if he did nothing and just lay here breathing, his cultivation speed would increase several times over. This was truly a blessed land on earth.

"What a great place."

Shi Jian licked his lips, stood up on all fours, and looked around.

Empty and silent.

Within a radius of several li, there was no aura of any other Cultivators.

When they were teleported into the Secret Realm, everyone had been scattered to random landing points.

Shi Jian spat out the sensing plate. On it were two light orbs, one bright and one dim. One orb represented Sun Yao, located to the southeast about three or four hundred li away.

Yun Che's light point was due north, even further away, and the orb was dim and lusterless.

It was likely over five hundred li away.

The three of them had been thrown in three completely different directions.

Shi Jian swallowed the sensing plate and unfolded the beast-hide map.

He compared the surrounding landmarks one by one: there was a trident-shaped peak to his front-left, and a river with three bends to his right...

He roughly determined his position in the northwest region of the Secret Realm, near the edge.

He was about seven or eight hundred li away from the blank area in the center. Since he couldn't fly, traveling on foot would take several days.

On the map, two resource points were marked near his current area.

One was the 'Starlight Stone Mine' thirty li away, with a small line of text next to it: Grade 2 spiritual mine, guarded by a Level 3 Yao Beast.

The other was sixty li away, marked with a Spiritual Plant icon and labeled 'thunder accumulating orchid'.

Shi Jian's pupils constricted.

thunder accumulating orchid.

A Grade 2 thunder-attribute Spiritual Plant. It was more than a hundred times more precious than all the thunder-attribute Spiritual Plants in his back mountain medicine garden combined...

If he could obtain this and bring it back to grow alongside the lei yuan fruit tree, the accumulation speed of thunder spiritual energy would surely undergo a qualitative leap!

Shi Jian put away the map but didn't rush to leave.

He crouched on the grass, his nostrils twitching as he carefully identified every trace of scent in the air.

The fresh fragrance of vegetation, the dampness of the soil, the fishy-sweetness of the distant water...

And an extremely faint smell of blood coming from the north.

Something had died, and not long ago.

Shi Jian judged the wind direction and distance.

About ten li or so.

He chose to ignore it.

The Secret Realm had just opened, and Cultivators from all paths were scattered everywhere. It wasn't unusual for someone with bad luck to land near a Yao Beast's nest and get taken out right at the start.

Save them?

Not a chance.

He was a bear, and bears weren't philanthropists. The fact that he wasn't kicking them while they were down to kill and rob them was already a sign of his good conscience.

Shi Jian lowered his posture and moved steadily toward the thunder accumulating orchid sixty li away.

The dark patterns on the thunder-covering mysterious armor dimmed slightly, its spiritual light retracted to the extreme. He suppressed his aura to the lowest level, acting only after planning.

Besides, the inability to fly was his advantage.

A black shadow streaked across the grassland, moving with startling speed. Where it passed, the green grass only bowed slightly, not even shaking off the dewdrops.

This was one of the benefits of entering the Secret Realm in a Yao body. No need for sword-riding or flight techniques; just pushing off the ground with four legs made him faster than most Foundation Establishment Cultivator...

Flight ban?

That was for those who walked on two legs, which was one of the reasons Sun Yao had brought Shi Pan along—to serve as a mount.

Shi Jian ran for about half an hour before suddenly slowing down.

Ahead on the grassland, a distinct boundary appeared. The green grass stopped abruptly, replaced by a patch of withered, scorched earth!

Not a single blade of grass grew on the scorched earth. The ground was cracked, and a blast of hot air rose from the fissures, causing the surrounding grass to wither.

As his Divine Sense probed forward...

In the very center of the scorched earth was a clearly protruding mound, with the energies of thunder and fire blending atop it...

An inconspicuous little gray plant swayed gently in the breeze, surrounded by arcs of electricity and flickers of flame, appearing extremely extraordinary!

Its leaves were as thin as silver needles, and a faint purple glow shimmered at the base of the stem.

It was indeed a Grade 2 Spiritual Plant: the thunder accumulating orchid!

Beneath the mound was a deep, dark cave brimming with fiery energy—clearly the nest of a Demon Lizard.

That Demon Lizard was massive, its body covered in dark red scales. It was four zhang long, with a tail as thick as a pillar curled at its side...

With every breath from its nostrils, two plumes of white hot air puffed out.

A Level 3 Yao Beast.

Equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, it was one level weaker than him, but its Bloodline strength was definitely not low—it even contained a trace of Dragon blood!

He would have to fight, that was for sure.

A Level 3 Yao Beast was nothing more than a matter of two or three slaps for him.

But a fight would inevitably cause a commotion. Exposing his strength and location right after entering the Secret Realm was not a wise move...

But the thunder accumulating orchid was right before his eyes.

Shi Jian stared at that inconspicuous gray plant. The silver electrical arcs on his Yao core spun three times, making him feel an instinctive desire!

"Fine, the treasure is right here; it can't be missed."

"Taking some risk is only right. There's no reason not to eat meat that's right at my mouth. Only what you've actually eaten is truly yours!"

Having made his decision, the dark patterns on the thunder-covering mysterious armor slowly lit up, and countless electrical arcs began to dance around his body.

Shi Jian crouched, ready to strike. In the next instant, he turned into a blinding bolt of thunder and charged forward...

On his bear paws, countless electrical arcs jumped, carrying the might of thunder!

"The power of a motherf*cking bear!"