Teleported to Different Places

Hou Zhiyu took a step forward, bowed slightly, and spoke in a gentle yet composed tone:

"For all of you to be accepted as disciples by that senior, you must be exceptionally talented, one in a million. It is only natural that you possess such great aptitude."

Hou Zhiyu cleverly brought up Gu Changyuan, which not only praised Jun Anshi and the other two, but also tactfully gave Hou Tianqi a way out, using Gu Changyuan's formidable strength to justify the trio's outstanding talent.

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the group of disciples behind Jun Anshi, her tone carrying a hint of apology:

"The secret realm is about to open, and I assume everyone has preparations to make. We won't disturb you any longer and will take our leave."

With that said, she pulled along the still somewhat sullen Hou Tianqi and led the disciples of the Zichen Dynasty to an empty clearing on the other side of the palace, not lingering any further.

Jun Anshi watched their retreating backs, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

As for whether this would forge a grudge with the Zichen Dynasty, she was not worried.

The other party certainly wouldn't harbor any ill will toward them over such a trivial matter.

After all, the Zichen Dynasty was a top-tier faction in the Southern Continent; they wouldn't be so petty.

Furthermore, their Master had said that if they encountered any grievances or intolerable situations while outside, they shouldn't worry about bringing negative consequences to the Holy Land and should just do as they pleased.

She hadn't done anything excessive today anyway.

She merely stated the facts.

Jun Anshi withdrew her gaze, turned around to hug Gu Xing'er who was beside her, and reached out to rub her head.

Previously, she had felt a bit sour that her own cultivation could not compare to this youngest junior sister.

Thinking about it now, having a highly presentable junior sister was actually quite nice.

Gu Xing'er blinked and asked softly:

"Sister Anshi, what's wrong?"

Jun Anshi let go of her and shook her head with a smile:

"It's nothing. I just feel that it's really great to have you as my junior sister."

Gu Xing'er tilted her head, not quite understanding, but if her senior sister said it was great, then it must be great.

Half an incense stick of time later.

All seven teams were fully prepared.

Jun Mukong, Jun Anshi, and Gu Xing'er stood at the very front, while Gongsun Qingling, Dugu Shiling, Xuanyuan Lanfeng, and Shangguan Zhuoye flanked them on both sides.

"Let's move out."

Jun Mukong's voice was not loud, but it clearly transmitted into the ears of every team member.

The seven teams set off simultaneously, walking toward the deep blue vortex deep within the palace.

...

Her vision blurred as an intense wave of dizziness struck her. The spiritual energy around her fluctuated violently, and the howling of the wind echoed in her ears.

In just a moment, the dizziness vanished without a trace, and her vision cleared once more.

She steadied her mind and found herself standing in a lush, primeval forest.

Ancient trees towered into the sky, blotting out the sun. Sunlight could only filter through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled spots of light on the ground.

She immediately scanned her surroundings to take a headcount.

She found that all twenty disciples belonging to her team were by her side, not a single one missing.

However, there was absolutely no trace of Jun Mukong, Gu Xing'er, or the other teams.

It seemed that the entrance to this secret realm did not teleport everyone to the same location, but rather distributed them randomly.

The reason she and her team members were teleported together was likely because their Master had established a teleportation link within each team in advance when dividing them up.

When secret realms opened in the cultivation world, there were usually two methods of teleportation: one was where all entrants were first teleported to the same open area, and after resting and regrouping, they would form teams to explore on their own.

The other method was like the current situation, randomly assigning teleportation locations to test the independent adaptability of each team.

To cope with this random teleportation, many factions possessed corresponding secret arts.

They would establish teleportation links among their disciples to ensure that teammates were sent to the same location, preventing them from being separated.

Jun Anshi reined in her thoughts. Following the prior instructions of her Master, Gu Changyuan, she raised her right hand and tapped lightly behind her right ear.

A small, pale blue crystal appeared on her auricle. Shaped like a thin leaf, it clung tightly to her skin, making its presence almost imperceptible.

This was the communication dharma artifact given by their Master. It could conduct real-time communication with other crystals it had established a connection with, unaffected by most of the restrictions within the secret realm.

"Jun Anshi here. I have successfully arrived in the secret realm. The team members are all present, and we are currently in a forest."

As soon as she finished speaking, the crystal in her ear vibrated slightly, transmitting the voices of the other six.

"Jun Mukong here. All team members are present. We are in a swamp with fog around us; visibility is low."

"Gu Xing'er, present. We are in... uh, ruins? It looks like the remains of some kind of architecture. The team is also complete."

"Xuanyuan Lanfeng here. The team is fully intact. We were teleported to a stone forest area."

"Dugu Shiling here. No personnel missing from the team. We were teleported to a wasteland, and the roars of demonic beasts can be heard in the distance. There should be demonic beasts living in this secret realm, everyone be careful."

"Gongsun Qingling here. All team members are present. We were teleported to the ruins of an ancient battlefield. There are lingering spiritual energy fluctuations on the ground and many broken weapons stuck in the earth."

"Shangguan Zhuoye here. The team is complete. We were teleported to a gloomy canyon. The light inside the canyon is dim, but since I have a fire constitution, lighting is nothing to worry about."

Seven people, seven different locations.

Following the secret art taught by her Master, Jun Anshi raised her right hand and tapped her index finger against the center of her brow.

A faint trace of spiritual energy seeped in from her fingertip. In an instant, six pale red dots of light surfaced in her vision, floating at the edge of her sight and vaguely pointing in different directions.

The colors of the light dots varied in depth.

The closer a team was to her, the deeper and redder the dot's color.

The farther away a team was, the lighter and pinker the dot's color.

Her Master had said that if they could see these red dots, it meant they were in different locations within the same spatial plane.

If they couldn't see them, it meant they had been teleported to completely different spatial layers.

Jun Anshi quickly scanned the distribution of the six light dots.

Gu Xing'er's light dot was the deepest in color and closest to her, roughly to the southeast.

"Alright, the locations are roughly clear."

Jun Anshi withdrew her hand, and the red dots faded from her vision, ready to be summoned again whenever needed.

"Everyone, focus on exploration first and don't rush to travel. We don't know what dangers lurk in this secret realm, so be careful. Report immediately if anything happens."

Jun Anshi lowered her gaze, sweeping over the twenty team members behind her.

"Let's go,"

she said, raising her hand to point toward the southeast.

"We'll scout in that direction first."

The fifteen people nodded in unison, silently following behind her.

The team navigated through the forest with light footsteps, making no unnecessary noise.

Sunlight scattered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows over everyone.

Jun Anshi walked at the very front, the perceptive abilities of her Temporal Dao Body fully unleashed. The flow of time around her became slow and distinct within her senses.

Any abnormal temporal fluctuation—whether it was the momentary stagnation before a trap triggered, or the minute disturbance caused by a hidden creature's movement—could not escape her perception.

This was her first time entering a secret realm, and also her first time leading a team through one.

He was no longer following his senior brothers and sisters, nor was he walking in the shadow of his master.

Instead, he was leading the team himself.

Jun Anshi took a deep breath, his gaze resolute.

He absolutely could not bring shame to his master.