After Yunze stored the remains in the Qiankun bag, he continued what he had not finished explaining, telling everyone what Du Zhi the monk had told him.
He also mentioned the water spirit that was suspected to be Di Sha!
As soon as everyone finished listening, Dan Chenyu was the first to speak, "Little Martial Uncle, you said that the water spirit, suspected to be Di Sha, appeared and its target was Xiao Shu's blood?"
"Yes!"
Yunze replied, but soon heard Xiu Yun speak.
"Then there's a problem."
Xiu Yun frowned and analyzed, "From Du Zhi the monk's current state, he clearly wasn't here to retrieve something. Otherwise, he would have stated his demands before making a move.
But he didn't do that, he didn't even make the first move, only retaliated passively after we attacked.
Yunze also frowned upon hearing this.
Looking at it this way, Du Zhi the monk's behavior was indeed strange.
"This might not be Di Sha's original intention."
Dan Chenyu spoke again, "Little Martial Uncle mentioned before that Du Zhi the monk had moments of regained consciousness.
If Di Sha's original order was for him to kill us, and he still had a sliver of consciousness to resist it, then the current situation might have occurred.
He found us, but didn't actively attack us."
"...That's also possible," Xiu Yun nodded beside him.
"So,"
Yunze picked up the conversation, "The most important thing right now is to find Di Sha and the other thirty-four strange corpses, and seal them or deal with them!
With the time that has passed, they might have recovered some of their cultivation. If they encounter cultivators who don't know them, their cultivation might recover quickly due to spiritual energy!
By then, we will be facing thirty-four prodigies from thousands of years ago!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Yunze felt three surges of fighting spirit rising before him!
One belonged to Xiu Yun, one to Dan Chenyu, and another... to Gu Wudao, who was recovering from his injuries nearby.
These guys seemed eager to use those ancient prodigies as whetstones!
Yunze's mouth twitched.
He wasn't as crazy as these guys!
One Du Zhi the monk was already so difficult to deal with. If there were a few more, even if he worked himself to death, he wouldn't be able to kill them all!
"There's one more thing!"
Dan Chenyu spoke from the side, "Since we've found the source of those thirty-six human corpses, what about the other thirty-six spirit beast corpses?"
"This is also something I'm puzzled about.
Let me continue explaining, and perhaps you'll discover something after I'm done?"
After Yunze had explained everything clearly, Xiu Yun led the people from the Demon Cave to the side, as if to discuss their next course of action.
Gu Wudao, belonging to the path of cultivation, naturally did not follow.
He stood there silently, clutching his still bleeding left arm.
Yunze smiled upon seeing this.
With the immediate matters taken care of, it was time to deal with someone who wanted to challenge him.
He turned to Gu Wudao, and just as he was about to speak, the latter had already approached Dan Chenyu.
"Fellow Daoist Dan, how have you been since we last parted?"
Dan Chenyu looked at Gu Wudao with some confusion but still nodded and replied.
"Not bad."
She had indeed met Gu Wudao before, but that was at a small gathering of prodigies a few years ago.
They hadn't interacted much, only a nodding acquaintance. Why was he showing such concern for her now?
Dan Chenyu couldn't see Gu Wudao's intention, but Yunze had figured it out.
This kid was just trying to change the subject!
"Ahem."
Yunze coughed lightly, "Fellow Daoist Gu, I heard... you wanted to challenge me."
"...Brother Yun, where did you hear that!"
Gu Wudao pondered for a few seconds, then finally turned to Yunze, his brows slightly furrowed, and his tone carried a hint of criticism, "With a great enemy at our doorstep, our personal grievances are minor matters. We can settle them slowly after we leave the secret realm!"
In fact, everyone present could see that Gu Wudao was scared.
Yunze's sword strike just now had shattered the Golden Body of a Core Formation stage cultivator from tens of meters away, even with Dan Chenyu in between!
Gu Wudao was already good at Foundation Establishment, but his physical strength was at most barely at the Foundation Establishment level. If he had to withstand that sword strike...
Let alone flesh and blood, he probably wouldn't even leave behind his bones.
His master was right, the disciples of the Gui Wu Emperor were all perverts among perverts!
"Indeed, Brother Gu understands the situation."
Yunze also smiled and, seizing the opportunity, continued, "Unfortunately, I wonder how many of the prodigies entering this secret realm are as understanding as Brother Gu."
"Hmm?"
Gu Wudao snorted lightly, not quite understanding.
He could tell there was more to Yunze's words, but he couldn't be sure what he meant.
Xiu Yun, who had just finished his internal discussion and was walking towards them, smirked, having caught the drift.
He stepped forward and slowly said, "Brother Gu, Brother Yun will need some time to recover after that sword strike. If those fellows come looking for Brother Yun, who will step forward?"
"That would be me, of course!"
Gu Wudao was not stupid. With Xiu Yun's hint, he naturally understood the implication.
He walked directly in front of Yunze, raised his hand, and thumped his chest, "Brother Yun, you can rest assured. If anyone with no eyes comes to challenge you, they'll have to get past me first!"
"Brother Gu!"
Yunze placed his hand on Gu Wudao's shoulder and patted him twice, "There are very few people in this world like you who repay kindness with virtue, are understanding, and know what's important!
How about we call each other brothers from now on?"
"Okay... No! Absolutely not!"
Gu Wudao had only uttered the word 'okay' but quickly realized something was amiss.
"Are you looking down on me?" Yunze's tone turned cold, as if he was about to get angry!
"Of course not, but... Fellow Daoist Yun."
Gu Wudao smiled helplessly, even changing his address to Yunze, "Your senior sister is of the same generation as my master. If you and I were to call each other brothers, how would I face my master in the future?"
"Uh..."
Yunze hadn't thought of this before.
If they were to be counted from Mu Si Yue's generation, his seniority was higher than most people present.
Gu Wudao's concern was not unreasonable.
"It's fine, we can call each other whatever we want."
Xiu Yun spoke again from the side, "I make friends like this. If I were to consider seniority for everyone, then countless Nascent Soul ancestors would have to call me uncle."
Damn it! He almost forgot there was an elder here.
"Yes, let's call each other whatever we want!"
Yunze also chimed in. He could see that Xiu Yun wanted to befriend him, and thinking about future dealings with the Demon Cave, he blurted out, "Fellow Daoist Xiu, if you don't mind, let's three brothers swear an oath today!"
Swear an oath?
Wei Lanshu, listening from the side, felt that these words sounded familiar.
Brother Yun... he seemed to really like swearing oaths.
"Good!"
Gu Wudao naturally had no reason to refuse.
One was the second son of the Demon Cave's master, and the other was the direct disciple of the Gui Wu Emperor. Regardless of their status, they were both more talented than him.
The contemporary legend, Master Yun, once said that traveling with those who are more outstanding than oneself can subtly improve oneself.
He was willing a million times over!
Xiu Yun also nodded beside him.
He intended to befriend Yunze, and Gu Wudao was merely an added bonus.
Yunze smiled, pulled Gu Wudao and Xiu Yun, and performed a simple oath-swearing ceremony.
Since they were all cultivators, age was just a number. They didn't rank seniority by age, but by cultivation!
Currently, Gu Wudao had the highest cultivation, so he was the eldest brother, Xiu Yun was the second, and Yunze was the third.
However, whoever had the highest cultivation in the future would take the position of eldest brother.
The three of them had no objections.
Afterward, Yunze introduced Wei Lanshu to them.
As the youngest sister, Gu Wudao and Xiu Yun each gave Wei Lanshu a meeting gift.
Although they weren't particularly rare items, each one was worth a second-tier spiritual artifact.
Yunze was extremely envious.
As expected, the disciples from these immortal cultivation families never had to worry about spirit stones or spiritual artifacts.
"By the way."
Yunze withdrew his envious gaze and turned to Xiu Yun, "Second Brother, how did your discussion go?"
"Mostly settled."
Xiu Yun replied, "Besides searching for those corpses, the most important thing is to improve our strength.
Unfortunately, Yuan Qi cannot be used now, so we can only use the most traditional method of Earth Vein Foundation Establishment!
We calculated that there are a total of ninety-nine sets of materials for Earth Vein Foundation Establishment, and we plan to have the twelve of them undergo Earth Vein Foundation Establishment first."
Ninety-nine sets!?
Yunze was immediately startled!
Wasn't this the standard his senior sister had wanted to try for Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?
He subconsciously wanted to ask about the relationship between the Su family of Zhongxuan Heaven and the Demon Cave, but before he could speak, Dan Chenyu continued...
"Me too."
Dan Chenyu replied casually, "If the situation becomes urgent, I can take out some of it to help others establish their foundation."
Well!
It seemed these two had monopolized the Earth Vein Foundation Establishment materials in the Nine Heavens.
No wonder they had chased him so relentlessly for that Earth Soul Liquid back then.
It turned out that both the immortal and demonic paths were collecting them.
He figured that if it weren't for Brother Yu, he probably wouldn't even have been able to gather a single set of materials...
"Breaking through should be done sooner rather than later."
Yunze also said, "If we want to improve our strength, it's best to concentrate our breakthroughs now.
If those survivors see someone breaking through at a concentrated point, they will likely rush over immediately."
"Alright."
Xiu Yun turned to Su Ling behind him, "Su Ling, prepare for your breakthrough."
The twelve of them, including Su Ling, had no objections. Although their Qi Sea realms were different, they were all at the ninth level of Qi Refining. The reason they entered the secret realm was simply to save a set of Foundation Establishment materials.
But now that there was a problem with Yuan Qi, establishing a foundation outside or inside was the same. It was better to do it sooner, and they wouldn't have to suppress their cultivation any longer.
As the twelve simultaneously swallowed Foundation Establishment Pills and began their breakthrough, the five of them, including Yunze, lit a bonfire and sat nearby to guard them.
The sky was gradually darkening, and the roars of spirit beasts could be heard all around.
No one paid much attention to it. Since they had entered the secret realm, they had long become accustomed to such things.
As long as they didn't make a move, these spirit beasts would eventually fight among themselves, and they could then pick up the scraps.
However, now that Yuan Qi was useless, even picking up scraps wasn't very meaningful, and no one even bothered to look.
They continued to sit around the bonfire, discussing their plans.
But soon, they sensed something was wrong!
As time passed, the roars of the spirit beasts not only did not diminish but instead increased, and they were getting closer!
"This is not right!"
Dan Chenyu was the first to notice the anomaly and stood up with a frown, "Such a dense cluster of spirit beasts should have started fighting each other by now. But there's not a single sound, and they're only getting more numerous."
"Perhaps it's too late, and we can't see them?" Gu Wudao asked from the side.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Xiu Yun immediately retorted, "Impossible. Most spirit beasts rely primarily on their sense of smell to track prey. Vision is only an auxiliary. Some spirit beasts that hunt by sight would not have their efficiency reduced by the night."
This was indeed not right!
Yunze immediately closed his eyes and sensed the fluctuations in the surrounding space.
Ever since he had unleashed his Hidden Sword, he had become increasingly familiar with space.
Although he couldn't tear space like Bu Bu yet, sensing the spatial fluctuations around him was effortless.
After a few breaths, Yunze raised his eyelids, a wry smile on his lips.
"Everyone, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"