Chapter 401: Chapter 370: The Secret Realm Opens_1

At the heart of the sea, hurricane winds whipped up raging waves and furious currents.

A white Escape Light ripped through the storm, crossing several miles in an instant before suddenly halting. Around it, the winds and waves of a hundred meters radius were suppressed by an invisible force and gradually calmed.

The Escape Light slowly faded, revealing a handsome young man in a green robe.

This man was none other than Xu Mu, who was rushing to the spatial rift.

“I can’t fly any further; if I attract the attention of the people from Butian Pavilion, it will be troublesome!” Xu Mu muttered under his breath.

The island where the spatial rift was located was only three to five hundred miles away. If he flew any further, he would enter the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator’s range of awareness. If there happened to be a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator stationed on the island, even if they weren’t aware of his intentions towards the Xuan Yang Secret Realm, they would undoubtedly be alert.

There were only so many Nascent Souls in the entire sea area. Any unfamiliar Nascent Soul would certainly arouse suspicion.

That was why, in these past few years, Xu Mu had rarely ventured out to prevent detection.

Xu Mu stopped, squeezed a spell command, and his spiritual power surged within him. His muscles and bones began to twist, quickly transforming him into a silvery-haired Sea Race being, half-man and half-shark.

A smile appeared on Xu Mu’s face. “This way, even if I’m discovered, the blame will only fall on the Sea Race!”

As for when the Sea Race has a new Nascent Soul, investigating that would not be so simple.

Once he finished transforming, Xu Mu plunged into the sea, his aura disappearing without a trace.

With his marvelous Ancestral Nascent Soul, Xu Mu could bring out the potential of whichever martial method he cultivated to the extreme. Paired with the Twelve Startle Cicada Skill, his presence hidden in the vast sea was nearly impossible to detect.

As Xu Mu merged with the sea water, he seemed to flow with the ocean currents towards the island. Not long after, the barren island with the spatial rift appeared in his line of sight.

The island he saw now was just a fabrication obscured by formations. The real island had long been transformed into a paradise inaccessible to the mortal world.

Xu Mu sank his body completely to the sea floor, stealthily approaching the island. Before long, he sensed a unique aura that could only be attributed to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

“There is actually a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator stationed on the island. Is it because I killed someone last time? Or because the Xuan Yang Secret Realm is about to open?” Xu Mu pondered.

He did not dare to venture deeper in case he was discovered. If that happened, it would be troublesome for him to enter the Xuan Yang Secret Realm.

Operating his martial method, Xu Mu completely retracted his aura, as if entering a state of false death. At this time, even a Nascent Soul Stage expert wouldn’t be able to detect him even if he used Divine Intent at close range.

Xu Mu focused his mind into the God Refining Tripod, instructing the two people within to cultivate.

Time trickled by, and two years passed in a blink of an eye.

One day, a new Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, accompanied by a dozen men and women at the Golden Core Stage, quietly approached the island retreat.

The leader at the Nascent Soul Stage was a round-faced, adorable little girl in a red dress who looked to be no more than seven or eight years old.

“It’s Butian Pavilion’s Third Pavilion Master Lian Hongshuang!”

Xu Mu had a flash of realization, guessing the identity of the little girl.

She was a member of Butian Pavilion and had the appearance of a little girl. It wasn’t hard to guess who she was.

Then, Xu Mu focused his perception on the dozen or so Golden Core Stage cultivators following Lian Hongshuang. He sensed that most of their auras were weak and muddled, not like normal Core Formation cultivators. He had seen a similar situation with Feng Que before.

“They’re fake pill cultivators brought here as cannon fodder! It seems that the Xuan Yang Secret Realm is about to open. But to take out so many fake pill cultivators at once, Butian Pavilion is really willing to bleed.” Xu Mu thought to himself.

Lian Hongshuang arrived near the island and stopped. Then, the array on the island opened, revealing pavilions, birds chirping, flowers fragrant. A woman with blue pupils, leading a group of Butian Pavilion disciples, stood at the entrance to receive them.

“It’s Yun Mengyao!”

Xu Mu didn’t dare look any longer. After confirming the identity of the person stationed at the island, he recalled his perception and continued to lie in wait. In the meantime, Lian Hongshuang under Yun Mengyao’s reception, walked into the island’s array. The two of them were laughing and talking, seemingly in a good relationship.

“I wonder who the person going in will be. If it’s Lian Hongshuang, then it would be easier for me!” Xu Mu secretly thought.

Lian Hongshuang was an established Nascent Soul cultivator. Although her cultivation had not reached the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, her various methods were sure to be more than those of an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. It was said that she was the daughter of the former Pavilion Master who was a great cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage. She might have some life-saving methods passed down to her. If Xu Mu truly faced her, it certainly wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

As for Yun Mengyao, she had just progressed not more than several decades ago. Despite having a reputation for genius, she would definitely not be better than Lian Hongshuang. If she was left to guard, Xu Mu had a greater chance of silently infiltrating.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, the auras of Lian Hongshuang and some Golden Core cultivators began to disappear one by one.

Xu Mu was taken aback and suddenly realized that the spatial rift to the Xuan Yang Secret Realm had opened.

To avoid bumping into Lian Hongshuang, Xu Mu patiently waited for a day before he shifted his body into an unseen state and quietly approached the island.

After lurking around the vicinity of the island for a while, Xu Mu found a gap in the formation, threw an array stone to open a crevice, and quickly crawled in.

Array stones are special tools of the array method. Array formations are engraved on small stones and can be activated for a short time once energy is infused. They can then be incorporated into other Great Arrays, allowing outsiders to use them as breach points, without alerting the controller of the array.

It was because Xu Mu had a profound understanding of array formations, that he was able to use this method to break into a tier eight array.

Using the same method, Xu Mu broke through several outer layers of the Great Array consecutively and arrived within the island.

Compared to the last time he snuck in, the island hadn’t changed much, except there were many more restrictive formations set up in concealed places.

“This is to prevent me from sneaking in again! Unfortunately, these methods aren’t very effective against me!”

Not only was he good at hiding, but he was also an Array Master. Even a mid-Nascent Soul expert might not be able to avoid these methods, but for Xu Mu, they were as good as non-existent.

Disciples of the Butian Pavilion were coming and going on the island. Most of them had vigilant expressions, their Divine Intent ceaselessly scanning their surroundings, completely oblivious to Xu Mu who was passing by them.

And so, Xu Mu went all the way unhindered and quickly reached the center of the island, making his way downwards.

There were even more hidden formations underground, and Xu Mu had to proceed cautiously. Soon, the stone chamber used to conceal the spatial rift appeared in his line of sight.

When he ingeniously infiltrated through the wall of the stone chamber, and after he entered the stone chamber, the first sight that met his eyes made his heart leap.

A stunning woman in a blue dress was sitting quietly in the center of the cramped stone chamber.

“This woman is indeed stationed here!”