They had met twice, and both times, Qin Yuwen tried to invite him to travel together.

For some unknown reason, Qin Yuwen seemed very eager to form a connection with him.

Chu Xinghui suddenly remembered something Xie Liufeng had told him before—someone was tracking his whereabouts.

Although Qin Yuwen only showed the cultivation level of the Foundation Establishment stage… given the current situation, even if it wasn’t Qin Yuwen himself, this matter was very likely related to him.

Chu Xinghui didn’t reveal any of these suspicions on his face. He simply asked: “May I ask where exactly the formation you mentioned is located?”

Qin Yuwen thought he had agreed to accompany him, and was overjoyed. He quickly told him the location of the formation’s core.

Chu Xinghui released his divine sense to investigate the area Qin Yuwen mentioned.

It was a small maze formation. Not very lethal, but quite complex. For cultivators not specialized in formations, it would be easy to get trapped.

But that was all.

The formation had never been of high level to begin with. After so many years of neglect and lack of spiritual energy maintenance, it was already very fragile.

Chu Xinghui withdrew his divine sense, drew his spiritual sword, gathered his spiritual energy into it, and slashed toward the core of the formation.

The core shattered in response.

The mist in the forest suddenly cleared a lot.

Chu Xinghui sheathed his sword and looked at Qin Yuwen: “It’s gone now. You may go wherever you like.”

Qin Yuwen: “…”

He lowered his head, a hint of killing intent flashing through his eyes, but he spoke in a tone full of sorrow: “Does Fellow Cultivator Xie dislike me that much?”

Chu Xinghui feigned ignorance: “We only met by chance. Why would you say that, Fellow Cultivator?”

Qin Yuwen lifted his eyes and spoke gently: “I feel that Fellow Cultivator Xie looks very familiar. Even though we’ve only met twice, I feel like we hit it off, and it makes me quite fond of you.”

Since the roundabout approach didn’t work, he could only try being direct.

Chu Xinghui firmly cut off any deeper conversation: “Thank you for your kind words, Fellow Cultivator.”

He couldn’t help but think of Xie Liufeng again.

Xie Liufeng also liked to talk nonsense, but compared to this very forced kind of nonsense from the person in front of him, Xie’s version was much more endearing.

Qin Yuwen was nearly speechless from the brush-off but still forced a gentle smile: “Fellow Cultivator Xie, you’re really interesting. How about we exchange communication talismans?”

Chu Xinghui replied apologetically: “Sorry, I come from a poor background. I don’t usually use such expensive things.”

Qin Yuwen: …

After waiting for a while and confirming that this so-called chance encounter really had nothing else to offer, Chu Xinghui politely said goodbye and continued on his way to find Cheng Yu.

After he left, the friendly and kind expression on Qin Yuwen’s face completely disappeared.

He stared darkly at Chu Xinghui’s retreating figure and snapped a branch off a nearby tree.

Since the polite way didn’t work, he wouldn’t mind using other means.

*

Cheng Yu was quite lucky. As soon as he landed, he found himself in a safe grassland area.

He was very self-aware about his own strength, and didn’t blindly run toward Chu Xinghui. He just wandered around the landing area, waiting for Chu Xinghui to come find him.

By the time Chu Xinghui found him, Cheng Yu was so bored that he had nearly plucked all the flowers and grass around him.

As soon as he saw Chu Xinghui, Cheng Yu rushed over tearfully: “Brother! You’re finally here!”

Chu Xinghui took a step back to stop him from pouncing and asked: “How have things been during this time?”

Cheng Yu’s landing spot had excellent conditions. There should be many cultivators passing through to rest.

Sure enough, Cheng Yu said: “I’ve met a few people and gathered some information. This secret realm is huge, and everyone landed in all sorts of environments, but the center seems to be that building on the mountain. So now, almost everyone is heading there.”

The most valuable treasures and rare inheritances in secret realms were usually hidden in buildings.

This secret realm had such an eye-catching structure right from the start, and it was located at the center—clearly a fat piece of meat placed in plain sight.

Following Cheng Yu’s words, Chu Xinghui looked toward the mountain in the distance.

The mountain was tall and vast. Even from far away, they could vaguely see the large buildings on it.

No matter where one landed in the secret realm, their gaze would be drawn to that mountain.

The mist in the forest had blocked the view earlier, so it wasn’t as clear.

Now, without the mist, the buildings appeared even grander and more resplendent—especially a tall tower standing at the mountain’s peak.

As he stared longer, Chu Xinghui felt himself getting closer to that tall tower. He “saw” rotting wooden stairs, spider webs covered in dust, a tightly locked cellar, and… a damaged bronze bell with strange patterns hanging at the top of the tower.

Then, he clearly heard a long, deep bell ring in his ears.

In the next moment, all the illusions receded from his mind like a tide.

Chu Xinghui’s heart trembled. He immediately looked away from the mountain.

That mountain… clearly wasn’t as harmless as it seemed.

“You felt it too, right?” Cheng Yu rubbed his arms in fear as he watched his reaction: “Even though everyone’s heading there, that building gives me creepy vibes. So… are we going along with the crowd?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and asked: “What’s your main goal in this secret realm?”

Cheng Yu answered immediately: “To collect herbs.”

He was working toward becoming a second-tier alchemist.

Chu Xinghui asked again: “What about me?”

Cheng Yu thought for a moment: “You’re the… partner I hired?”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “That’s right. I’m here to make money.”

He concluded: “So we’re not here to throw our lives away. We should prioritize looking for herbs that can earn us money.”

“As for that mountain…” Chu Xinghui commented neutrally: “It helped us eliminate a lot of competitors.”

Whether they joined the chaos later could be decided in time. But for now, while everyone was focused on the mountain, they could quickly scour the secret realm.

Cheng Yu eyes lit up after figured it all out.

*

Avoiding the crowded areas turned out to be a very effective strategy. Chu Xinghui and Cheng Yu spent ten days collecting many useful spiritual materials in the secret realm.

But others had the same idea. Even though they were careful, they still encountered several conflicts.

Like this time, for example—they had just killed a late-Foundation-stage beast, and not far away, another group was arguing over the ownership of a spiritual herb.

Since the conflict didn’t involve them, Chu Xinghui didn’t pay attention. He cut through the beast’s heart with one clean stroke, skillfully dismembered it, and stored the useful parts, then began wiping blood off his sword.

Cheng Yu, working as a team, cleaned the area and peeked toward the noise: “Sounds like things are getting lively over there.”

Chu Xinghui finally finished cleaning the blood, sheathed his sword, and said casually: “I’ve always been timid. I don’t like sticking my nose into trouble.”

Cheng Yu couldn’t resist his human curiosity and peeked for a while—suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure: “Hey, that looks like Ming Xiao!”

Chu Xinghui fell silent for a moment, then sighed and started walking toward the commotion: “Let’s go.”

Since it was someone they knew, they couldn’t just ignore it completely.

*

Ming Xiao faced a few rogue cultivators, trembling with rage: “No matter how long you argue, I found this herb first and already picked it. I absolutely won’t give it up!”

He had stayed behind just to wait for this herb to mature. No way he would give it up so easily.

But these rogue cultivators were clearly not good people. One sneered: “Little friend, you’re wrong. This secret realm has no owner, and neither do its treasures. Who said picking it first makes it yours?”

His companion was even more impatient and drew his weapon: “Enough talk. This kid is stubborn. Since he’s alone, let’s just take it. He’s got other good stuff too.”

Ming Xiao gritted his teeth and pulled out a high-grade magic weapon to fight back.

Suddenly, a bright sword light swept in, easily blocking the enemy’s attack.

Chu Xinghui caught the strike and pulled Ming Xiao behind him. His gaze turned cold: “Fellow Cultivator, since the item was already taken, isn’t it unreasonable to continue pestering him?”

Ming Xiao stood behind him, dazed by his sudden appearance.

The enemies stared warily at the newcomers. Sensing that both of them were early Foundation-stage cultivators, their wariness turned into mockery: “A couple of newbies, daring to meddle in others’ business?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t answer, but raised his sword and secretly sent Ming Xiao a voice transmission: “How many of them can you handle?”

To his surprise, Ming Xiao blushed and replied nervously: “I… I’m not a sword cultivator. I’m a formation cultivator.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.

Cheng Yu was surprised and joined the voice transmission: “Aren’t you from the Beiyue Sword Sect?”

Ming Xiao muttered: “Who says being in a sword sect means I have to be a sword cultivator?”

Chu Xinghui: …

He looked at the three fierce-looking late-Foundation cultivators and one peak Foundation cultivator eyeing them, and felt this was truly a tragic revelation.

So, he quickly changed tactics: “When I count down from three, we move.”

Ming Xiao pulled out his formation disk and hesitantly asked: “We’re charging them together?”

His disk was solid—it could probably be used to smash someone.

Chu Xinghui replied calmly: “We’re running away together.”

Ming Xiao: …

Without changing his expression, Chu Xinghui slapped a movement talisman onto his sword and quickly called out: “Three, two, one—”

The rogue cultivators, unsure of what he was planning, instinctively raised their weapons.

Chu Xinghui grabbed his two helpless companions, mounted his sword, and quickly flew away.

 

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