Both at the Purple Mansion Realm, Why Are You So Powerful

The teams from the Demon Heaven Sect and the Blood Soul Sect ran rampant through the secret realm. Wherever they passed, spirit herbs were plundered and cultivators suffered. Their ruthless methods left the surrounding forces daring to be angry but not daring to speak out.

Along their path of pillaging, whenever they encountered rogue cultivators, they directly killed them to snatch their treasures. When they ran into small factions, they forced them to hand over all their harvests, and the slightest resistance resulted in the annihilation of their entire group.

In less than a day, dozens of millennium-old spirit herbs and various treasures had fallen into their hands.

Seeing this, many factions could only avoid them from afar, lacking even the courage to approach and seek out opportunities.

Soon, the Demon Heaven Sect set their sights on an ancient medicine garden being explored by the Myriad Law Pavilion.

The medicine garden was rich in spiritual energy, and in the center grew a millennium-old "Purple Vein Dragon Fungus," which was the crucial medicinal ingredient for breaking through to the King Realm.

Just as the disciples of the Myriad Law Pavilion were about to pick it, Mo Luo arrived with over a dozen disciples of the Demon Heaven Sect. The eerie green firelight on his skull bracelet reflected upon the medicine garden, and his tone was chilling.

"Little guys from the Myriad Law Pavilion, this Dragon Fungus is not something you can touch."

Yun Canghai's face sank slightly. He tapped his green bamboo staff on the ground, and pale cyan spiritual energy protected the Purple Vein Dragon Fungus.

"The Demon Heaven Sect is being too overbearing. This medicine garden was discovered first by my Myriad Law Pavilion."

"Just because you found it first makes it yours?"

Mo Luo sneered, and the demonic energy around his body surged, transforming into a dark shadow that lunged straight at the Dragon Fungus.

Yun Canghai raised his hand to condense a spiritual energy barrier, and the two instantly clashed.

Mo Luo's "Netherworld Claw" scratched black marks on the barrier, while Yun Canghai used his green bamboo staff as a sword, thrusting toward Mo Luo's wrist, every move precisely protecting the Dragon Fungus.

After two exchanges, Mo Luo realized that Yun Canghai's spiritual energy was profound and it would be difficult to determine a victor in a short time. Fearing that dragging it out would attract other factions, he snorted coldly: "Consider yourself lucky."

He led his disciples away resentfully.

Yun Canghai watched the backs of the Demon Heaven Sect, the spiritual energy on his fingertips not yet dissipating. He knew that this was only a temporary retreat; for the sake of opportunities, the two sides would eventually clash again.

The surrounding factions watching heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good thing the Myriad Law Pavilion held their ground, otherwise this demonic cult would have turned the secret realm upside down!"

"At least the Seven Great Sects haven't been crushed yet, so we still have a chance."

On the other side, Shi Wanshan led the disciples of the Azure Profound Sect in searching for treasures on the eastern side of the secret realm. From afar, they saw a light flashing on a cliff face.

It was a piece of "Black Iron Essence Soul" embedded in the rock wall, glowing with a dark metallic luster. It was the core material for forging King-level artifacts.

But before they could get close, a group of black-robed men had already surrounded it. The leading gray-robed elder exuded a bloody aura, clearly an elder of the Blood Soul Sect leading the team.

The dozen or so disciples behind him also had condensed spiritual energy.

"From the Azure Profound Sect?"

The gray-robed elder glanced over sideways, his tone full of arrogance.

"My Blood Soul Sect has taken a fancy to this essence soul. If you know what's good for you, get out of here and don't be an eyesore!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the disciples behind him summoned their artifacts. Blood-colored spiritual energy churned in their palms, and their gazes swept over the Azure Profound Sect crowd with contempt.

The disciples of the Azure Profound Sect instantly exploded. Li Xuanfeng gripped his longsword tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. Spiritual light quietly lit up around him, ready to fight at any moment.

Behind him, Shen Jinghong, Shi Jingxian, and others also gripped their weapons, even their breathing becoming hurried.

Shi Wanshan frowned slightly, his gaze inconspicuously sweeping over the nearby jungle, where many rogue cultivators and small factions were hiding, peering out and watching.

He said in a deep voice to his disciples: "Let's go, head towards the valley on the south side."

A disciple couldn't help but step forward, his tone filled with unwillingness: "Martial Uncle Shi! We discovered this Black Iron Essence Soul first, and it's crucial for the sect's artifact forging. How can we easily yield it to the demonic sect!"

Although Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen didn't speak, they straightened their backs, their unconcealed defiance showing that they were ready for battle.

Seeing the excited appearance of his disciples, Shi Wanshan lowered his voice and added:

"The other side is led by an elder and has strength in numbers. If we fight them head-on, even if we win, we'll suffer heavy losses, and in the end, we'll only let others take advantage."

Following Shi Wanshan's gaze, Li Xuanfeng looked into the distance and noticed the rogue cultivators hiding in the shadows. He instantly understood Shi Wanshan's thoughts.

He said to the crowd: "Martial Uncle Shi is right. We shouldn't clash head-on, let's retreat first."

Although the disciples were still full of grievance, they knew that the two's considerations were reasonable, so they could only slowly loosen their grips on their weapons.

As the group turned to retreat, the mockery of the Blood Soul Sect disciples came from behind: "Cowards of the Azure Profound Sect, you don't even dare to fight!"

A young disciple paused in anger but was quietly pulled back by a senior brother beside him. He could only grit his teeth, quicken his pace, and swallow his unwillingness.

The group walked south for about half an incense stick's time before Shi Wanshan suddenly stopped in a hidden bamboo forest. The dense spiritual mist around them perfectly concealed their figures.

He turned to the three accompanying elders and said: "I have something to do and need to go out for a bit. You stay here with the disciples and wait. Don't wander off, and keep an eye on them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xuanfeng tacitly followed, his tone certain.

"Martial Uncle Shi, I'll go with you!"

He understood Shi Wanshan's temperament too well. Martial Uncle Shi definitely wanted to sneak back for revenge, and how could he miss out on such a good thing.

The two walked back along the edge of the bamboo forest. Their pace was not fast, but they accurately avoided the spirit herbs and gravel along the way to avoid leaving traces.

After reaching a hidden mountain pass, Shi Wanshan stopped first. The spiritual energy at his fingertips quietly circulated. It was no longer the fierce, outward-releasing body-tempering spiritual energy of the past, but rather condensed into a gloomy hidden force. At first glance, he looked just like an ordinary cultivator.

Li Xuanfeng understood and also adjusted his aura, completely changing the trajectory of his spiritual energy circulation. His originally clear sword qi was kneaded into a restrained bluntness, and the spiritual light around him was completely concealed, leaving only the appearance of an ordinary cultivator.

The two looked at each other and simultaneously took out a black cloth, covering their faces and leaving only their eyes exposed.

They also changed out of their sect attire and into the style of ordinary rogue cultivators.

Having completed their disguises, the two retraced their steps along the footprints they had left. When they approached the cliff face, they saw that the Blood Soul Sect group was indeed still there.

The Black Iron Essence Soul had already been taken down by the gray-robed elder, who was preparing to put it away.

The surrounding rogue cultivators and small factions had long been scared away by the demonic sect's aura. Only the dozen or so of them remained gathered by the rock wall, taking inventory of the spirit herbs and medicinal pills they had just snatched, their vigilance far lower than before.

"Do it!"

Shi Wanshan shouted in a low voice, drawing a longsword. The gloomy hidden force wrapped around the blade and lunged straight at the gray-robed elder.

The sword momentum seemed gentle, but in the instant it closed in, it suddenly erupted. The fierce force split the spiritual mist, and even the air was shaken into ripples.

Caught off guard, the gray-robed elder hastily condensed a blood-colored spiritual energy shield. With a crisp "clang," the shield was actually shattered by a single sword strike!

The longsword's momentum remained undiminished, grazing past his shoulder and bringing up a spray of blood.

The gray-robed elder was sent flying backward with heavy injuries. Blood continuously seeped from the wound on his chest, and his eyes were filled with shock.

"Who... who are you? We are both restricted by the rules of the secret realm and both have Purple Mansion Realm cultivation bases, so why are you so strong?"

Shi Wanshan didn't answer. He took a step forward and pursued, swinging his longsword again. The sword light flashed past like lightning.