Clash in the Secret Realm
Clang—!!
The hand that moved on pure reflex knocked the incoming sword aside. Thanks to the protective barrier of the Profound Mountain Finger and the Annihilation Grand Hand deployed in that unconscious instant, he remained completely unharmed.
Boom…!!
In that brief moment the sword had already been sent flying an immense distance, smashing into a distant cliff wall and triggering an explosion. The sound only reached the spot where Han Yujin stood several seconds later.
Until then, everyone remained frozen, watching one another with wary eyes.
Han Yujin glanced around.
It was a vast canyon terrain that inspired a sense of nature’s majesty. Strangely, however, the sky held neither clouds nor sun—only a bright, ashen glow illuminating everything.
Eight figures stood ahead of him.
The middle-aged man with graying hair was the Nascent Soul cultivator who had launched the recent attack. Beside him, the strikingly handsome young man was also at the Nascent Soul stage.
The rest appeared to be their disciples or subordinates, all at the Core Formation stage.
They must belong to the same organization.
Their clothing showed no obvious common traits, yet the aura each of them gave off felt similar.
Whoosh…!
At that moment the flying sword treasure—which had caused the pointless explosion—returned and hovered above the middle-aged man’s head. It was a slender blade with an antique ivory body and a dark hilt, the sort that emphasized speed.
The fact that it remained undamaged despite being deflected with considerable force proved it was no ordinary item. It had to be his natal magic treasure.
“An unfamiliar face.”
The middle-aged man was the first to break the tense silence.
“How you entered this secret realm is… something we can look into at our leisure, given the circumstances. First, however, I’d like to hear why you were tailing us.”
It seemed they had concluded Han Yujin had been following them and was discovered.
The crucial piece of information hidden in the middle-aged man’s words was that this place was a secret realm—a location usually concealed, one that even if found by chance could not be entered lightly. A place where danger and opportunity coexisted.
In fantasy terms, it would be the equivalent of a dungeon or labyrinth.
“Did you not hear me?”
He had not been silent long, yet the middle-aged man twitched his eyebrows, openly displaying displeasure.
“Elder, why waste time with words? It would be faster to capture him and use soul-searching techniques.”
At the handsome man’s suggestion the middle-aged man gave him a quick glance. The motion seemed to convey some private meaning through a method only the recipient could perceive.
The handsome man, however, paid it no mind.
“Haha… Even a remote mountain bumpkin at the Nascent Soul stage possesses at least one decent technique. If it truly bothers you, I’ll handle him myself.”
Before those clearly hostile words could finish, Han Yujin let out a soft chuckle and instantly cast the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art toward the Core Formation cultivators surrounding the man. Even if he planned to kill them, he naturally needed to extract information first.
Yet the moment the art was deployed—
All manner of restrictive seals activated in succession inside the targeted cultivators’ minds. When the final stage triggered, every one of them collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
Hah…!
Their important memories had been completely erased as they lost consciousness. It was clearly a precaution to prevent information theft.
Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art
Target memories erased by implanted restrictions. Information protection protocol activated.
How dare you!
The thought As expected of the cultivation world had barely formed when the handsome man roared in fury and attacked. A pale light flashed; before Han Yujin could register it, the flying sword was already upon him.
A single swing transformed into five or six slashes and three or four thrusts, unleashing an explosive sword qi that shredded the surroundings. Han Yujin responded by deploying the Profound Mountain Intent. Wreathed in the light of the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art, he shot forward.
Boom—!!
The ground sank from the repulsive force. While he deflected the incoming attacks with the Annihilation Grand Hand and parried others with the Profound Mountain Barrier, the middle-aged man—protecting the fallen—aimed his flying sword with a slightly irritated expression, preparing to join the fray.
But in the next instant something startled him. His figure retreated in a hurry, accompanied by ashen cloud-like energy. The spot he had just vacated was torn to shreds by hundreds of thousands of hair strands a split second later.
“What…?!”
Having identified the ambusher, he cried out in shock. At the same time all the darkness in the area rippled once before rapidly swelling and devouring the space.
Be careful! He is a ghost cultivator!
He urgently sent the mental warning to his comrade.
Unfortunately, the handsome man was in no position to heed it.
The flying sword capable of delivering more than ten strikes at once had already been brutally seized and sealed by Han Yujin’s Annihilation Grand Hand, which had activated the True Dragon Steel Body divine ability.
His other hand, half-wreathed in light and charging forward, swung in a way that distorted even space and time. A large, bell-shaped protective barrier appeared, but the collision produced an enormous roar and countless cracks spider-webbed across it.
“B-body cultivator?!”
The handsome man’s face turned deathly pale. In panic he cast spells and hastily pulled out several items to deploy them.
The afterglow of the Six Paths of Reincarnation exploded outward as the Monghyeon-gyeong floating above Han Yujin’s head unleashed a bombardment of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning.
Six Paths of Reincarnation + Purple Heaven Divine Lightning
A storm of emotion like a great bell tolling shatters the mind and spirit. Lightning strikes follow.
A tempest of emotion slammed into the man to crush both mind and spirit. Then, accompanied by a thunderclap that could rupture eardrums, bundles of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning crashed down and struck true.
Even while vomiting blood and screaming, the handsome man refused to fall quietly. He radiated cloud-like power from his entire body, deployed several additional magic and spiritual treasures, and created more than three clones in an attempt to evade in every direction.
The once-pristine canyon was reduced to ruins in the blink of an eye.
Continuous flashes of light, ceaseless explosions, and roars shook the entire area.
In the midst of it all, a streak of cloud dodged the unending barrage of lightning and burrowed underground. An iridescent beam chased after it; upon collision the shockwaves from their underground clash shook the earth itself, erupting the surface like a volcano.
Meanwhile, within the darkness that continued to devour space, the middle-aged man operated his flying sword at full power and desperately deployed spiritual treasures specialized in warding off evil.
Countless cloud blades shredded the surroundings without leaving a single gap, clashing against the incoming hair strands. A small bell emitting clear tones circled the area, repelling the darkness, while smoke rising from an incense burner transformed into a miniature phoenix that radiated light.
The two effects seemed to synergize and dispel the darkness somewhat. Yet when a woman’s figure with abyssal black eyes appeared in the cleared space, an overwhelming chill and the thick scent of blood only intensified. The man’s mind shrank back and his senses grew numb.
Aaaaah…! Aaah…!
Keuheuuuk…! Keuheuk…!
Countless sounds of lamentation, groans, and ragged breathing pierced the mind, amplifying fear. When he thought his flying sword had pierced the revealed woman, he realized the next instant that nothing was there—as if he truly had been possessed by a ghost.
Then, from an entirely unexpected direction, a wave of hair rushed in at terrifying speed. Once again he frantically maneuvered his spiritual treasures, pouring out power to escape.
A l-late-stage Nascent Soul vengeful ghost…!
He had touched something he should never have touched.
The middle-aged man, repeatedly thinking this, screamed.
Wait…!! We are elders of the Cloud Valley Sect! If you kill us, the Grand Elder will never forgive you—!!
He shouted this several times, but the assault showed no sign of easing.
Do you not know that our Cloud Valley Sect’s Grand Elder is a Transformation God True Lord?! Or do you not realize that he has entered this secret realm together with us?!
Around the time such threats mixed with pleas continued—
No…!!!
A mental message filled with terror and shock spread intensely in every direction. Immediately afterward came a scream that undoubtedly belonged to the handsome man, and the violent aura that had been pouring out until a moment ago was abruptly snuffed out.
He was dead.
The middle-aged man called “this elder” lamented that he had truly provoked the wrong person. Instead of despairing, he steeled his resolve even further.
At that moment—
Boom—!!
The instant a spacetime-shattering explosion rang out, Han Yujin’s Annihilation Grand Hand—having closed the distance while half-evading even the light wreathing the man’s body—swung in the shape of a ferocious dragon’s claw.
Empowered by the True Dragon Steel Body divine ability, the attack flew in with even more horrific force. It tore through the middle-aged man’s defenses—which had been focused solely on exorcism powers against ghosts—like a sheet of paper.
The condensed, swirling cloud barrier was mercilessly scattered. When the Annihilation Grand Hand struck, the power of annihilation transferred like fierce flames and unleashed its full, unrelenting might.
Kuaaaaaaaaagh…!!
As he screamed from the pain of having both body and soul torn apart—
Han Yujin shook the man’s mind once more with the Six Paths of Reincarnation and deployed the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art. Yet before it could properly affect the opponent’s proud Nascent Soul, a restriction that felt as if it had been planted from the root activated and revealed itself.
He had only examined it briefly, but given what happened with the Core Formation cultivators earlier, he realized he could not resolve this restriction in a short time. Forcibly breaking through would only erase all the important memories.
These harsh cultivation bastards.
As he lamented inwardly and prepared to simply kill the man cleanly—
Wonhui, who suddenly sprang out from behind, had her form distort and stretch like smoke before piercing straight into the screaming middle-aged man’s mouth.
He reflexively tried to close his mouth, but it was futile. Eventually his body convulsed madly and his pupils turned pitch black.
Hmm……
Right after a woman’s voice—completely mismatched with her appearance—Wonhui’s seemingly troubled mental message flowed out faintly, the middle-aged man’s body exploded into pieces. Even his Nascent Soul was annihilated along with it. Wonhui, who had achieved little success, emerged with a rather unsatisfied expression and immediately melted into Han Yujin’s shadow and vanished.
The darkness that had been encroaching on all sides faded away. The noise and vibrations caused by the battle quickly subsided as well.
“Phew……”
Releasing the True Dragon Steel Body divine ability and returning to human form, he closed his eyes for a few seconds to calm his state.
Knowing this was a secret realm, he had gone all-out from the beginning in case other variables were drawn in.
As expected, the confidence he held in his own skill had not been misplaced. He had eliminated two Nascent Soul cultivators in a short time without much difficulty.
And these were not nobodies—they were elders holding proper positions in a respectable sect.
Cloud Valley Sect… I’m certain I’ve heard that name before.
While moving to collect the spoils from the two slain Nascent Soul cultivators and the Core Formation cultivators who had died in the aftermath, he searched his memories.
A cultivator’s memory was nothing to scoff at; he soon recalled it without difficulty.
When he had attended a lecture on formation techniques at the Heavenly Origin Star, he had disguised himself as a member of the Cloud Valley Sect named I Gon.
If I’ve encountered elders of the Cloud Valley Sect, does that mean the Heavenly Origin Star is not far from here?
It might not be far from Taeqing Palace either. Perhaps people from Taeqing Palace had also entered this secret realm.
After finishing collecting the spoils, he immediately changed locations. He had layered Monghwan Yusim with the Dream Illusion Escape Art to conceal his presence to an extreme degree.
It would be troublesome if the real Cloud Valley Sect Grand Elder comes looking.
As he moved, he quickly examined the spoils. As expected of skilled individuals from a famous sect, their wealth was quite substantial.
He cleanly annihilated items such as identity plaques that might allow tracking, using the Annihilation Grand Hand. After storing the rest in his spacer ring, he picked up one particular object and examined it closely.
It was a kind of map.
🏛 Type: Upper Ancient Secret Realm — Yin-Yang Sect Legacy Site
⚔ Notable Treasures: Ten Thousand Spirits Candle Fruit, Yin-Yang Creation Dao Manual, Life-Death Infinite Dao Manual, Chaos True Annihilation Dao Manual
📍 Danger Zones: Multiple restriction arrays, ghost domains
💀 Mission Objective (Cloud Valley Sect): Retrieve Yin-Yang Dao Scriptures
It was a precious bundle of information recording the name of this secret realm, the important treasures known to exist, the dangerous zones in various places, and the restrictions deployed throughout.
It also contained details about the mission the Cloud Valley Sect members had been assigned, which would prove quite helpful in moving while avoiding them.
Han Yujin’s heart pounded as he continued moving without pause, examining the map.
An ancient secret realm, the ruins of the Yin-Yang Sect…
Since he was already pursuing the great dao of Monghyeon Taiji, he could not help but be interested. Moreover, the map even marked the location of a spiritual fruit used as an ingredient for the Seonwon Dojong Pill.
Ten Thousand Spirits Candle Fruit.
As expected, his awakening ability—or rather, the Primordial Treasure—had not opened the gate here for nothing.
His gaze then shifted to the massive palace building drawn at the center of the map.
Yin-Yang Creation Dao Manual, Life-Death Infinite Dao Manual, Chaos True Annihilation Dao Manual.
Names he could not possibly ignore were written there.