Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Lin Ran glanced around, but instead of approaching the sect elders standing in front of the stone platform, he mingled directly into the crowd of Golden Core cultivators.

Although the probability of being investigated by Lu Wangchuan alone is very low, it is better to stay far away for the sake of safety.

At this moment, Yunmo leaned over and lowered his voice: "My lord, that is Elder Wan."

Lin Ran followed his gaze.

Wan Chongqiu stood among several Nascent Soul elders, his face thin, his cheekbones slightly high, and his triangular eyes half-closed, revealing no emotion.

He was accompanied by Wan Tianlin, who was looking around.

Wan Tianlin's gaze swept across the group of Golden Core cultivators, finally landing on Lin Ran. A sinister smile crept onto his lips.

Lin Ran remained expressionless, pretending not to see anything.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Yunmo bowed respectfully. "Please be careful in all matters, my lord."

After saying that, he turned and left the square.

Before long, everyone had arrived.

Lu Wangchuan stood on the stone platform, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. His aura was restrained, and the pressure of the Nascent Soul Realm faintly enveloped the entire square.

He raised his hand and waved it, and a bridge of light formed from spiritual energy extended from the edge of the square, reaching straight to the distant horizon.

"Set off."

Everyone took to the air on their swords and flew towards the direction of the light bridge.

Lin Ran mingled among the Golden Core cultivators, following at a leisurely pace on his Jinghong Sword.

The mountains and rivers beneath my feet receded rapidly, while clouds and mist surged around me.

After flying for about an hour, a huge spatial rift appeared on the horizon ahead.

The rift stretched across the sky like a torn curtain, its edges shimmering with a faint blue halo.

A dark red light emanated from the depths, and a low, guttural roar could be faintly heard emanating from within.

The group descended onto the open ground in front of the rift.

The wind blew out from the direction of the crack, carrying a dull, fishy smell.

Lu Wangchuan landed in front of the crowd, stood with his hands behind his back, and spoke in a deep voice.

"This secret realm is inhabited by ninth-tier ferocious beasts, as well as various rare and precious materials and a spirit stone mine."

His gaze swept over everyone, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"You are all elites of your sects. This battle is not only about the sect's resources, but also about your own opportunities. Afterwards, the sect will reward those who have contributed, so I hope you will not slack off, Master. Go forth, slay ferocious beasts, seize mineral veins, and strengthen our Qingxuan Sect!"

"Strengthen my Azure Mystery!"

The crowd responded in unison, their shouts echoing across the platform.

Lu Wangchuan nodded slightly, turned to face the rift, and flicked his sleeve.

"Enter."

A Nascent Soul elder was the first to step into the rift, his figure swallowed by the light.

Then came the second person, and then the third person.

The Golden Core cultivators entered one by one, and Lin Ran mingled among them, following them into the rift.

The moment you pass through the crevice, the scene before you changes abruptly.

A vast, desolate wasteland stretched out before them, seemingly endless.

The ground was covered with dark red gravel, with withered grass stems occasionally sprouting from among the gravel, rustling in the wind.

The sky was grayish-white, like a mirror covered with a layer of dust, preventing sunlight from penetrating and making the entire wasteland appear exceptionally gloomy.

The air was filled with a putrid smell, but the concentration of spiritual energy was several times higher than that of the outside world.

"It doesn't seem much different from the secret realm on Earth?" Lin Ran released his divine sense to perceive the surrounding environment.

As soon as he spread his divine sense, he sensed that there were countless fluctuations of spiritual energy hidden beneath the wasteland.

There's something underground.

"There are many of these Earth Vein Stone Claws," a Golden Core cultivator beside him whispered.

Watch your step.

Before he could finish speaking, the ground in front of him suddenly exploded.

boom!

A colossal beast covered in dark gray carapace emerged from the ground. It resembled a scorpion but was several times thicker. Its two front pincers were raised high, and its stinger gleamed coldly.

Earth Vein Stone Claw, seventh rank.

Subsequently, the second and third heads broke through the ground one after another, and several deep pits were blasted open in the ground.

"Form ranks!"

Several Golden Core deacons shouted loudly and led the crowd forward.

Lin Ran blended into the crowd, keeping a low profile, and unleashed his Jinghong Sword to slash at the nearest earth vein stone claw.

A dark golden sword light shot out and precisely struck the gap in the stone talon's carapace.

Click!

The carapace shattered, and the sword's edge pierced through flesh and blood.

The stone claw let out a sharp hiss and began to swing its giant claw wildly.

Lin Ran dodged to the side, then delivered a follow-up sword strike, piercing the man's skull.

The first stone claw fell to the ground.

Without stopping, he slashed at the second head.

One after another, the stone claws emerged from the ground in astonishing numbers.

Fortunately, everyone was at least at the Golden Core stage, and their well-coordinated and tight formation allowed them to quickly clear out the wave of stone claws.

Lin Ran killed five heads by himself and took their inner cores into his storage bag.

Some people noticed the number of times he made his move, and their gazes became more scrutinizing.

"keep going!"

The team continued deeper into the wasteland, where the gravelly ground gradually transformed into large slabs of cracked rock, with occasional glimmers of spiritual light seeping from the cracks.

A sharp screech came from afar, like a stone scraping against an iron plate.

Immediately afterwards, several mounds of earth suddenly bulged up from the rocky ground in front of them.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

The three-headed giant lizard emerged from the ground, its body exceeding three zhang in length, its entire body covered in grayish-white rock armor, the surface of which was inlaid with densely packed crystal fragments.

Their eyes are the most striking feature.

Two fist-sized crystals were embedded in their eye sockets, their interiors shimmering with a deep blue light.

Crystal-eyed Rock Lizard, Rank 8.

The crystalline eyes of the leading rock lizard suddenly lit up.

hum!

A blue beam of light, as thick as a thumb, shot out from its eye socket at an extremely fast speed.

The beam of light swept across the crowd and precisely struck the right shoulder of a Golden Core cultivator.

puff!

A beam of light pierced his shoulder, instantly charring and curling his robes, tearing his flesh, and gushing out blood.

"what!"

The cultivator screamed and staggered backward.

"Watch out for the beam! Don't take it head-on!" someone shouted a warning.

The three-headed rock lizard's crystalline eyes lit up simultaneously.

call out!call out!call out!

Blue beams of light swept across the crowd, slicing through it in several death rays.

Everyone dodged and the formation instantly broke apart.

"Go around to the side!"

A cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage was the first to cut in from the side, his longsword carrying sharp sword energy as he slashed at the rock lizard's side.

Ding!

The sword struck the rock armor, sparks flew, leaving only a shallow white mark.

The rock lizard shook its head, its crystalline eyes locking onto its opponent.

call out!

The man's expression changed drastically, and he retreated rapidly. The beam of light grazed his cheek and melted a deep, charred pit in the rock behind him.

"The stone shell is very hard and difficult to break easily."

Lin Ran observed from behind the crowd for a moment, his gaze settling on the gap between the rock lizard's eye sockets and its armor.

There was no crystal covering there, but a ring of light gray soft skin.

He approached silently from the flank, the Jinghong Sword twirling in his hand.

The rock lizard was focused on suppressing the cultivators in front of it and was completely unaware of Lin Ran's approach.

He flashed forward, and the Jinghong Sword pierced straight in from the side.

The sword tip precisely pierced the gap between the rock lizard's eye socket and its carapace.

puff!

The sword pierced through the back of the crystal pupil and emerged from the other side.

The rock lizard let out a mournful roar, its crystal eyes dimmed instantly, and its massive body crashed to the ground, its limbs twitching a few times before it stopped moving.

Lin Ran drew his sword, turned around, and pounced on the second one without stopping.

The second rock lizard sensed the threat and immediately turned its crystal eyes toward Lin Ran.

call out!

A beam of light shot out.

Lin Ran stepped on the rock slab with his toes, his body rising more than ten feet, and a beam of light swept past his feet.

Using the momentum of his fall, he pierced the gap in the carapace on the rock lizard's head from top to bottom with his Swift Swallow Sword.

A sword pierced his skull.

The second one fell to the ground.

Seeing that things were not going well, the third rock lizard turned around and tried to burrow underground.

Lin Ran raised his hand and threw the Jinghong Sword.

A dark golden sword light shot out and precisely struck the gap in the carapace on the back of the rock lizard's neck.

Click!

With its neck broken, the third rock lizard burrowed its front half into the ground, while its hind half lay limp on the rock slab. Its tail thrashed weakly twice before it fell silent.

Lin Ran retrieved his flying sword and took all three inner cores.

The surrounding cultivators watched his actions; some frowned, while others gritted their teeth inwardly.

"What right does an outsider have to take our sect's resources?"

"That's not how it works. He obtained the inner core by killing the strange beast himself."

"Since the elders haven't said anything, let's not meddle in their business."