The Secret Realm Core Unlocked, the True Blood of the War God Appears

Deep within the Yanshan Secret Realm, there had always been a very strange silence.

It was not the kind of quiet that comes from an empty, uninhabited place.

Rather, it was a silence as if some colossal beast was crouching in the darkness; even though it hadn't awakened, it made all surrounding living creatures instinctively hold their breath.

But at noon this day, this silence was completely shattered.

After the final layer of restrictions in the middle tier of the secret realm collapsed, almost all the experts still remaining in Yanshan rushed toward the core area at the first opportunity.

Along the way, the ruined mountain walls trembled, and patches of ancient formation lines lit up. Blood-red and ghostly blue lights surged and intertwined deep within the earth like two incompatible tides.

Stay close, Wang Hao said, walking at the very front. His voice was not loud, but it was extremely steady.

He didn't sprint madly at the forefront like some old sect monsters, nor did he deliberately hide at the back.

His speed was just right.

Fast, but not reckless.

It seemed he valued the fortuitous encounters, but valued his life even more.

In the current situation, this sense of proportion was far more reassuring than blindly rushing ahead.

Shen Xue, Yun Meng, Ren Mingyue, along with the Eastern Depot guards, the Imperial Guards, and the elites of several sects, followed closely behind.

Further back were the Illusory Sea Immortal Sect, the Ice and Snow Divine Palace, some rogue cultivators, and sect experts who had arrived fast enough and luckily hadn't died on the way.

As for those who were even faster, they had long since charged ahead.

Among them were quite a few old monsters whose eyes had turned red with greed to the point of near insanity.

Their thoughts were very simple.

The core of the secret realm was open; if they didn't grab the loot now, what were they waiting for?

Waiting for others to pick the bones clean?

The spiritual pressure ahead isn't right, Shen Xue suddenly spoke, her brows slightly furrowed. It's too chaotic.

Yun Meng also noticed it, her expression darkening slightly. Not just chaotic, there's also a feeling... like flesh and blood breathing.

Although Ren Mingyue was not as sensitive to such fluctuations as they were, she also felt instinctively uncomfortable.

It's very evil.

Wang Hao didn't reply.

Because just a moment ago, the familiar system prompt had chimed in his mind.

[Detected high-level ancient martial arts remnant core energy.]

[Detected resonance between unknown pollution source and sealed remnant body.]

[Target ahead: Suspected Martial God's True Blood]

[Assessing pollution risk...]

Wang Hao remained impassive on the surface, but in his mind, he had already grabbed the system by the collar.

Hurry up.

[Assessing.]

Faster.

[Assessment complete.]

The next instant, a string of information unfolded directly in his consciousness.

[Martial God's True Blood: Extremely high-tier ancient martial dao origin remnant. Possesses immensely powerful effects for body tempering, meridian opening, intent shaping, and aspect condensing.]

[Current status: Suspended above the core node of the sealed Nightmare remnant body.]

[Warning: The True Blood is bound to the sealing system.]

[Warning: The first person to forcibly fuse with the True Blood will have an extremely high probability of becoming the priority host for the Nightmare remnant body.]

[Comprehensive advice: Do not be the first to touch it.]

Wang Hao was speechless.

He knew it.

Things like this that practically had Supreme Fortuitous Encounter written all over them usually came with a tremendously shameless trap.

And a very deep trap at that.

If you only saw the opportunity, you weren't far from death.

Your Majesty? Seeing his footsteps pause imperceptibly, Wei Zhongxian immediately stepped half a pace closer. Is there something strange ahead?

Yes, Wang Hao said mildly.

Danger?

Very dangerous. Wang Hao glanced at him and suddenly revealed a very amiable smile. But to some people, danger isn't important. What's important is that they think they can snatch it fast enough.

Seeing this smile, Wei Zhongxian understood in his heart.

Someone was going to be unlucky again.

And this time, they would likely be incredibly unlucky.

After passing through the final cracked blood-red stone gate, the view before the group suddenly changed.

Ahead was a massive underground cavity.

The stone walls towered on all sides, covered in martial dao carvings so ancient they were almost blurred. It was as if countless experts had left their fist intents, palm prints, saber momentums, and sword qi here. Even after the erosion of time, a shocking sense of oppression still lingered.

In the center of the cavity hovered a blood-red altar.

The altar wasn't large, but it gave off a highly incongruous sense of heaviness, as if it wasn't standing on the ground, but pressing down on everyone's chests.

In the center of the altar, a drop of blood, so bright red it was almost demonic, hung quietly in midair.

It wasn't large; one could even say it was pitifully small.

But when all eyes fell upon it, everything else around seemed to fade away.

That drop of blood was like a sun shrunk to its absolute limit. Its brilliance was contained within, yet it possessed an unsuppressible dominance and majesty.

Just one look at it made one's vitality surge and bones heat up, as if some instinct deep within their physical bodies was screaming madly—

Swallow it.

Take it.

That is the ultimate good fortune for a martial artist.

Martial God's True Blood... someone blurted out, their voice trembling.

The next moment, the breathing in the area grew heavy.

Even the most composed individuals had a change in their eyes.

Because what those few words represented was simply too massive.

Let alone the younger generation.

Even those old monsters who had lived for hundreds of years, stuck at a bottleneck unable to advance an inch, would find it hard to remain truly indifferent in the face of such an opportunity.

Yun Meng stared at the drop of blood, her expression showing obvious shock for the first time.

She hailed from the Illusory Sea Immortal Sect and had vast experience, but even so, she knew that even among the top-tier factions of the Eastern Wasteland, this kind of thing was a supreme treasure capable of triggering a massive war.

Shen Xue's pupils also shrank slightly.

The Ice and Snow Divine Palace had a long heritage, and she understood even better what the Martial God's True Blood meant.

It might not just be a simple opportunity to break through to the next realm.

Rather, it was something capable of rewriting the future upper limit of a person's martial dao.

Although Ren Mingyue was not from an orthodox sect, she wasn't stupid.

Anything that could make a group of seventh-tier, eighth-tier, and even higher-level experts breathe heavily was absolutely not ordinary.

Looking at the increasingly burning gazes around him, Wang Hao was already amused internally.

Here it comes.

The most familiar segment had arrived.

Once a treasure appears, IQ evaporates.

And it was exactly at times like this that it was easiest to see who was the greediest, who was the most impatient, who was the stupidest, and who was the most suitable to be used as a negative example.

Everyone.

Wang Hao suddenly spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but carried by his true essence, it instantly suppressed the commotion in the area.

Gazes immediately turned toward him.

Wang Hao stood with his hands behind his back at the outer edge of the altar, his expression calm, even carrying a convincing trace of solemnity.

If my expectations are not wrong, this item is the core fortuitous encounter of this place.

He spoke very seriously.

So seriously that it made people instinctively want to keep listening.

The Martial God's True Blood is rare since ancient times. Obtaining it can temper the body, cleanse the marrow, expand the meridians, and awaken intent. One might even hope to catch a glimpse of a higher realm.

As soon as these words came out, many people's eyes in the area turned red.

Yes.

This was it.

This was the exact feeling.

They had risked their lives coming to Yanshan, wasn't it precisely for this kind of thing?

But Wang Hao's tone suddenly shifted.

However—

Everyone's hearts tightened.

Since the core of the secret realm hides this item, it cannot possibly be without danger. The more earth-shattering the opportunity, the more cautious one must be.

He spoke with righteous severity.

He even displayed somewhat of an emperor's big-picture perspective.

But paradoxically, his next sentence carried a highly punchable hint of instigation.

Of course, if any fellow Daoist feels that they have profound fortune, a tough destiny, and world-beating luck, there's no reason you couldn't be the first to give it a try.

Everyone: ...

Shen Xue, Ren Mingyue, and Yun Meng looked at him almost simultaneously.

The three of them were far too familiar with this tone.

This clearly meant—

I, the Emperor, cannot directly say that whoever goes first will be the unlucky one.

But I can set the stage and let those who want to die rush in themselves.

Sure enough.

Someone in the crowd could no longer hold back.

"Your Majesty's words make sense!" a gray-robed old man suddenly laughed heartily, a sharp light flashing wildly in his eyes. "With an opportunity right in front of us, how can we be timid? I have cultivated for over two hundred years. If I don't fight for this chance today, haven't I lived in vain!"

Before his voice even faded, he had already soared into the sky.

His speed was incredibly fast.

So fast that it seemed he feared if he was a moment slower, that drop of true blood would be snatched away by someone else.

"That is the old ghost from Heifeng Ridge," Wei Zhongxian said in a low voice. "Peak of the Seventh Realm, with quite a fierce reputation."

Wang Hao gave an "Mhm," his expression mild. "I can tell, he's quite in a hurry."

As soon as Old Ghost Heifeng moved, two other sect monsters who had been itching for action could no longer hold back.

One was Master Kumu, a rogue cultivator, and the other was Patriarch Jugu from the northern evil sect, Giant Bone Sect.

The three of them lunged at the altar almost at the same time.

A wave of exclamations immediately rang out across the field.

Some wanted to stop them, some wanted to curse, and some simply wanted to charge in after them.

But in the next instant, a sudden change occurred.

Just as Old Ghost Heifeng became the first to touch the blood light surrounding the true blood, the entire altar suddenly trembled.

Deep underground, an extremely sharp and thin sound, like countless resentful souls shrieking at the same time, violently exploded.

"Buzz—!"

Everyone felt a sharp pain in their ears, their souls feeling as if they had been forcefully scraped by something.

Immediately after, the seemingly dead dark red patterns beneath the altar all came alive.

They didn't just light up.

They came "alive."

Like awakened blood vessels, they frantically squirmed, bulged, and spread across the ground.

Old Ghost Heifeng's expression changed drastically. Just as he tried to pull back, his entire arm instantly turned black and swelled. Beneath his flesh, it looked as if countless tiny things were burrowing.

"Ah—!"

He let out a miserable shriek. The sound only lasted for half a breath before his throat violently bulged out, as if something was pushing up from inside his body.

Master Kumu and Patriarch Jugu, who followed behind, fared even worse.

They hadn't even truly touched the true blood; they were merely swept by the foul blood aura erupting from the altar, and their bodies began to mutate.

Their joints rapidly expanded, their flesh split open, and their eyeballs turned red.

In just a few breaths, the three originally majestic old monsters turned into three half-human, half-monster foul abominations right before everyone's eyes.

"Retreat!" Shen Xue's expression changed sharply as she shouted sternly.

The crowd hurriedly backed away.

However, a few cultivators who were too close couldn't dodge in time. Stained by the foul blood brought out by the three monsters, they screamed as half of their bodies melted away on the spot.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

"As expected," Wang Hao thought, not surprised in the least.

Just like in the novels from his past life, whoever tries to fuse with it first is out of luck.

Since these people insisted on rushing in, they could only use their own lives to teach everyone a lesson.

At this moment, the three monsters had completely lost their human appearance.

Half of Old Ghost Heifeng's face had caved in, while the other half bulged with layers of flesh tumors. Master Kumu grew scarlet bone spikes all over his body, looking like a walking piece of rotting wood. Patriarch Jugu was even more exaggerated; his back split open, and several fleshy tentacles covered in barbs drilled out.

Many people in the field turned pale.

One moment ago, it was a supreme opportunity.

The next moment, it had become a living scene of contamination.

The deterrence of such a shock on people's hearts was far more effective than ten thousand words of warning.

Yet Wang Hao chose this exact moment to step forward very timely.

"Did you all see that?"

His voice deepened, and his face even carried a trace of sorrow, as if taking responsibility for the common people of the world.

"I knew it. The opportunity in this place could not possibly come without a price."

Everyone: "..."

You knew?

If you really knew, how could you have said "those with deep fortune can try first" just a moment ago?

But no one dared to ask this to his face.

Because the most important thing right now was to survive.

"Factory Guards, Imperial Army, form formations!" Wang Hao waved his hand and ordered without hesitation. "Kill anyone who approaches the altar! As for the contaminated, if they still have their sanity, try to suppress them; if they are completely mutated, execute them on the spot!"

Once the order was given, the crowd finally felt as if they had found their backbone.

Yu Huatian led his men to press forward instantly.

The people from the Ice Snow Divine Palace and the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect also reacted quickly, cooperating to clear out the three out-of-control monsters.

With a single frost-sealing sword strike, Shen Xue directly severed the mutated half of Old Ghost Heifeng's body.

Yun Meng used the secret arts of the Phantom Sea to disrupt Master Kumu's soul, causing his movements to stagnate.

The ten temporary workers of the Great Zhou were also anxious. They were children of destiny, after all, so they also rushed to the very front.

Although Ren Mingyue was not at the very front, she extremely quickly coordinated the manpower in the rear, suppressing the chaos.

As for Wang Hao himself, he stood in the most suitable position, watching everyone fight for their lives, occasionally landing a finishing blow, and incidentally solidifying the image of "the Emperor always stepping up to handle things at critical moments" exceptionally well.

This chaos lasted for a full half-incense stick of time.

By the time the three monsters were completely annihilated and the bloodstains on the ground were swallowed up by the ancient formation itself, the field had become so quiet it was almost oppressive.

No one dared to easily touch that drop of true blood anymore.

The scene just now was enough to cool off half of all greedy thoughts.

Wang Hao looked around at the faces filled with trepidation, lingering fear, and a mix of relief, feeling very satisfied in his heart.

Very good.

The negative examples were set.

He had also won over a wave of people's hearts.

Next, who would dare say that he, the Emperor of the Great Zhou, only knew how to snatch opportunities and did not care whether others lived or died?

It was clearly him who had first reminded them to be "cautious." It was these old monsters whose fortune was shallow and lives were short, insisting on rushing up to throw their lives away.

"Everyone, calm down," Wang Hao sighed softly, his tone steady. "The opportunity is still here, but you only have one life. The more we reach this kind of moment, the less we can afford to panic."

At this moment, the way many people in the field looked at him changed.

Especially those rogue cultivators and people from small martial arts sects who originally harbored some wariness and doubt toward him.

They suddenly realized that although this new emperor had a sharp tongue, somewhat ruthless methods, and indeed didn't seem like a proper person normally...

No wonder the secret realm portal guarded by Wei Zhongxian and his large army allowed everyone to enter except the people from the Heavenly Dao Alliance. This was treating us as free cannon fodder.

And at the critical moment, he was truly steady.

He could stabilize the situation, control the scene, dare to let people step up, and also dare to immediately clean up the mess after things went wrong.

In a secret realm like this where danger lurked everywhere, this kind of person was terrifying, but also someone people instinctively wanted to follow.

Feeling the gradually changing gazes around him, Wang Hao felt amused again.

That's right.

High-end reaping never meant being the first to rush up and risk one's life.

It meant first letting others step on the landmines for you, and then stepping forward to be the one who best summarized the experience and looked the most like a savior.

Gaining both safety and reputation.

Taking all the benefits.

Comfortable.

But right at this moment, that drop of Martial God's true blood in the center of the altar suddenly trembled slightly.

It was as if it had awakened.

A wisp of extremely faint yet extremely pure blood light spilled out from it and circled in the air.

Everyone's nerves instantly tightened again.

"It moved!" someone cried out in shock.

The next moment, under countless shocked gazes, that drop of true blood actually slowly detached from the center of the altar and floated in a certain direction.

It was not rushing toward those old monsters with the highest cultivation.

It did not rush toward the Holy Maiden of the Ice and Snow Divine Palace, nor did it aim for the prodigy of the Illusory Sea Immortal Sect.

Instead—

It flew straight toward Wang Hao.

Dead silence fell over the entire scene.

Even Wang Hao himself was stunned for a moment.

Immediately after, he almost couldn't hold back a choice curse word in his heart.

Hold on.

This emperor hasn't even started acting yet.

Why did you come over on your own?