"You're talking about the spiritual energy surge just now?"
Chu Lingwei recalled the scene she had witnessed earlier. She hadn't seen any great treasures.
The man shook his head. His complexion had recovered somewhat due to taking the pill. He clutched his chest and said, "To the south. They all went south."
South, the exact opposite direction from where she had come.
"Since a great treasure has appeared, I'll go take a look." Chu Lingwei's eyes held a hint of a smile. She summoned her Illusory Gauze Ribbon and flew directly towards the south.
The man watched the direction Chu Lingwei left in. With a wave of his right hand, he collected the magical artifact Chu Ling薇 had given him.
"Wei Wei, how could you put me away?"
Released from the spiritual beast pouch, Feng Ming sat in front of Chu Lingwei, looking aggrieved.
"It was dangerous just now. If I had brought you, you would have been hurt." Chu Lingwei stroked Feng Ming's head. She couldn't let Feng Ming know about using items from her spatial dimension yet.
"I can protect Wei Wei." Feng Ming rubbed against Chu Lingwei's hand, its gaze firm.
Chu Lingwei smiled. Ever since arriving here, Feng Ming had stayed by her side, preventing her from feeling too lonely.
"Wei Wei, where are we going now?" Feng Ming turned its little head. There were no cultivators around, not even any spiritual beasts to be seen.
"Let's go east."
Chu Lingwei stood up and looked towards the south. The man had clearly deliberately tried to lure her southward; his intentions were too obvious.
Feng Ming flew to Chu Lingwei's side, staring in the eastern direction. Its small body hovered in the air for only a few breaths before it plummeted heavily downwards.
Chu Lingwei's reaction was swift. She caught it.
"What's wrong?"
"Wei Wei, I just felt a panic." Feng Ming human-like touched its chest.
"You feel panic?" Chu Lingwei was surprised. When her master had fed Feng Ming that precious spiritual spring water, she had known Feng Ming was no ordinary spiritual beast. And indeed, Feng Ming, having only recovered a tenth of its injuries, already possessed the capabilities of a fourth-tier spiritual beast.
If it felt panic, something significant must have happened.
"Yes, just now, I felt very panicked, and a little scared." Feng Ming flew into Chu Lingwei's embrace, its four small paws clinging tightly to Chu Lingwei's body.
"Do you still feel it now?" Chu Lingwei held Feng Ming, closed her eyes, and scanned the surroundings. She found nothing.
"No." Feng Ming tilted its head, as if sensing the tremor that had frightened it.
In the cultivation world, every subtle illusion could be a warning.
"It's possible a great treasure has appeared in the secret realm. Let's find Chu Xiyin first." Recalling the man's words, Chu Lingwei became even more vigilant.
Although she was interested in great treasures, revenge held a greater appeal for her.
"Okay. I've placed a tracking spell on that spiritual butterfly. As long as it's within a hundred miles, I can find it." Upon hearing Chu Xiyin's name, Feng Ming's expression turned serious. It wanted to help its master get revenge.
Chu Lingwei continued eastward. After half a day of travel, she began to see disciples from various sects.
They weren't diligently searching for spiritual herbs or treasures, but were instead fighting amongst themselves.
Death in a secret realm was the law of the jungle. Therefore, in the later stages of entering a secret realm, the real danger wasn't the treacherous terrain or perils within the realm, but people.
Fighting for spiritual herbs, magical artifacts, and secret manuals obtained in the secret realm, and then claiming them as their own.
"Still no trace of Chu Xiyin?" Chu Lingwei traveled swiftly. She hadn't even encountered a single disciple from the Xuanxin Sect.
"No." Feng Ming's face was anxious. It had clearly placed a counter-tracking spell on the spiritual butterfly; it shouldn't be impossible to find.
"Perhaps we should head south to look."
They had been traveling east, and seeing no Xuanxin Sect disciples here, Chu Lingwei pondered for a long time. Perhaps there really was a great treasure to the south, and Chu Xiyin had already gone there.
After changing direction and traveling for another day, they still found nothing.
However, she did encounter Chu Heng.
He was alone; the other four Xuanxin Sect disciples were nowhere to be seen.
"The aura around him is very unusual." Chu Lingwei invisibly approached Chu Heng and secretly observed him.
She noticed a faint dark light seemed to envelop him, which strongly resembled descriptions of demonic energy she had read in books from the library.
An aura, like fire and demon, merged with spiritual energy, slowly seeping into his body, undetectable by anyone.
"This aura makes me very uncomfortable." Feng Ming nodded, staring at Chu Heng. This man smelled so bad.
Suddenly, Feng Ming's eyes lit up. "Wei Wei, I sense the spiritual butterfly's trace! It's within a hundred miles of us!"
"Let's go find her."
A smile appeared on Chu Lingwei's lips. She had finally found Chu Xiyin. This time, she would not let her escape.
Riding her flying artifact and following the direction indicated by the tracking spell, Chu Lingwei traveled for a full day before she could sense Chu Xiyin's aura.
"How strange. Chu Xiyin must be moving."
Chu Lingwei, with Feng Ming, put it into the spiritual beast pouch.
She had chased Chu Xiyin for an entire day. Chu Xiyin hadn't stopped anywhere. Even when encountering a thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit, she had only hesitated for a moment before hurrying on.
She was either looking for something, or she knew someone was pursuing her.
However, this time, she would not let Chu Xiyin escape.
Ahead, Chu Xiyin felt the treasure artifact in her hand continuously sending her messages, her eyes filled with excitement.
Mother was right. There really was a divine beast here.
Thinking that her three contracted beasts had all been killed by Chu Lingwei, yet she, through misfortune, was fortunate enough to contract a divine beast about to be born, Chu Xiyin was filled with excitement.
She leaped off her flying sword and took out over a dozen high-level formation plates from her storage bag, tossing them into the air one by one. High-level magical formations formed a net, encircling a waterfall before her.
Chu Lingwei watched Chu Xiyin's actions, understanding that she must have found something important here.
Using her spatial power to create an invisibility barrier for herself, she followed beside Chu Xiyin.
As the layers of grand formations descended, Chu Xiyin's eyes were filled with determination to obtain it. She quickly entered the grand formation.
These formations were all high-level, and ordinary people couldn't easily break them. Chu Xiyin entered the formation with ease.
Chu Lingwei followed behind Chu Xiyin, memorizing the secret to entering the formation.
"It must be here."
Chu Xiyin arrived at a medicinal field and frowned upon seeing only low-level spiritual herbs before her. "Such a gluttonous divine beast."
Returning to the place where she had been teleported upon entering the secret realm, Chu Lingwei was startled. Although it was a different direction and a different region, it was the same location.
Chu Xiyin took out a ninth-tier pill. The pill floated into the air, emitting a rich fragrance. Chu Lingwei couldn't help but take a deep breath. This aroma contained both spiritual energy and a special kind of magic.