Mo Clan, where Zhiran came from, was located in Mistvale City of the Clear Sky Empire. This city bordered the Spiritfang Mountains. Yet its name was not that renowned due to its bordering the barren region with only a few monsters around.

However, that was not the case for Bloodridge City. With its impressive location that allowed access inside the core of the Spiritfang Mountain, countless people from all around the world came here to hunt.

Hence, it was given the nickname of "Hunter City" by the Divine Cauldron Sect. It was one of the prosperous cities from where the sect gained precious ingredients for Alchemy.

Even many inner sect missions were related to this place.

'Tch... just a few talismans and I am already out of all the spirit stones. If I don't gain anything from this secret realm, it will be a huge loss.'

But Zhiran was not enamored by its grandeur nor by its extensive business channel. Rather, he was lamenting that he spent all the money given by the clan leader.

'Welp! But this much should be enough for protection. With my Divine Sense and knowledge from last life, I don't think there will be any problem.'

Zhiran was not regretting his decisions, though. The location shown by the map in that jade stone he got from Elder Shuren was quite deep into the Spiritfang Mountain.

He had to be careful so he would not lose his life.

'Well, it will take some time to arrive at the transit. Let's look at the Divine Sense technique.'

Zhiran thought while looking at the clouds passing below him before closing his eyes.

Currently, he was traveling on a Spirit Boat that left from Bloodridge City. The Secret Realm was too far, and he had no intention of going there on foot.

So, while there was still time, he reviewed the Divine Sense Technique engraved inside the jade.

Although he still could not practice it, he felt that he might be able to after this visit.

It did not take long for Zhiran to reach the transit, Traveller's Hut, with the help of a spirit boat.

Due to him wearing the Inner Sect outfit during this travel, nobody bothered him, and he reached his destination safely.

'Now, let's travel the remaining way on foot, shall we?'

Zhiran thought and quietly left the hustle and bustle of hunters around the transit to a secluded corner.

After that, he discarded the Inner Sect robe before wearing the dark robe that had a concealing function.

Since he was going for an undiscovered secret realm, he had to be extremely careful lest he be spotted by someone with an ulterior motive.

Not to mention the monsters around this part of the Spiritfang Mountains were quite powerful. Without Divine Sense, Zhiran would not dare to step into this place.

'Now, please show me the way, could you?'

After scanning the area with his Divine Sense and not finding anyone, Zhiran finally took out a jade slip he got from Elder Shuren, which immediately floated on its own, pointing in a certain direction.

So, without waiting, Zhiran followed the direction all the while making sure no monster could spot his location.

...

"Tch... tch... an inner sect disciple is an inner sect disciple, alright. I knew he was onto something."

After Zhiran disappeared from his place following the directions pointed by the jade slip, a dark silhouette suddenly sprang out from the shadows out of nowhere.

Surprisingly, this person was actually following Zhiran from Bloodridge City and even managed to remain undiscovered by his Divine Sense.

While Zhiran was correct that showing his status as someone from the Divine Cauldron Sect could reduce the trouble he might get, he forgot that such identities could also attract a certain kind of people.

People who had no qualms in life and liked to take risks for the benefits.

'But this person is quite strange. He is clearly in the realm of Qi Condensation, but he already has Divine Sense?'

The black silhouette thought with intrigue. Just now, he was almost discovered by Zhiran.

If he were not a Foundation Realm cultivator adept in stealth and assassination techniques, he would have been discovered.

'Well, it seems this time I found someone good. Kek... for now, let's follow this person in the dark.'

The person smiled and suddenly disappeared from his position, blending into the darkness. He could feel that Zhiran was here for something very important.

So, he thought of killing him after finding out what that was.

Anyway, now or later didn't matter to him, as Zhiran was only a Qi Condensation cultivator.

No matter how heaven-defying he was, he couldn't save his life from the assassination of a Foundation Realm, could he?

**

"Boom!"

Somewhere in the depths of the Spiritfang Mountain, a huge monster boar suddenly fell down weakly, bleeding from its mouth and nose.

Although its whole body was completely intact with no sign of struggle or fighting, from its unfocused and lifeless eyes, it was clear that it was already dead.

'Tch... it took nearly five minutes for it to die. The monsters in the Spiritfang Mountain are really something else.'

Zhiran thought while walking slowly towards the large corpse before placing his hand atop the head of the monster.

---

[A fresh brain with a damage level of 13% has been detected.]

[Do you want to perform extraction?]

---

The moment he placed his hand atop its head, a familiar blood red panel appeared in Zhiran's mind.

'Extract!'

Zhiran showed no surprise and gave the order before storing the beast in his storage ring. This wasn't the first time he did this after all.

---

[Extraction successful!]

[Congratulations! You gained a deep memory of Peak Qi Condensation Monster Boar: Vertical Slash (Proficient)]

---

'Another Proficient level technique. Killing them with poison is really effective.'

Zhiran smiled after seeing the reward he got. As he knew that the damage percentage of a brain was directly related to the reward he got from the dead body, he began to use subtle means like poison.

And as he thought, all the techniques he got from these monsters he killed along the way were the best techniques they knew of in their life.

'Well, let's see....this is the place.'

After dealing with the monster, Zhiran looked at the location pointed to by the floating jade, facing the trunk of a huge tree.

If not for his jade slip, he would never have known it was the entrance to the secret realm. There was no indication of it at all.

'Seems like a hidden one. Opening it shouldn't cause any disturbances.'

In this world, Zhiran knew there were all kinds of secret realms.

In the Azure Star Continent alone, there were countless secret realms, out of which most were naturally occurring, while some were artificial.

But whatever the type they were, not all secret realms could be found easily. For example, the Blood Mist Valley was a secret realm that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

And this unknown secret realm right now was still hidden behind the veil and could only be accessed with a key.

As Zhiran looked around the thick trunk of the old tree pointed by the jade slip, he finally saw a hidden grove at its base.

'Found it!'

Looking at the size, it seemed to perfectly accommodate the jade slip that was floating in front of him.

So, without hesitation, Zhiran grabbed the slip and inserted inside the groove.

"Swish!"

As soon as he did that, as if some mechanism had been triggered, the thick trunk began twisting on its own before opening a narrow dark tunnel that led to unkonwn destination.

"Tch...tch...a portal inside a tree. Who would have thought?"

Zhiran mumbled with a smile, grabbed his jade slip, and walked forward, intending to enter the secret realm immidiatley.

*Swish!*

However, just before he could enter the portal, suddenly his Consciouness Platform sent him a strong warning.

Not only the platform, but also those heads floating around the chain send a signal to his mind, warning him of danger.

*Shirek!*

Although Zhiran appeared relaxed and carefree, he was extremely alert all the time.

So, the moment he sensed the danger, he directly used the teleportation jade dissappering directly from his position.

"Boom!"

His decision proved extremely correct when, in the spot he had occupied a moment ago, an assassin appeared with a blade as black as the bottom of the abyss.

The assassin's hand swung horizontally, intending to cleave Zhiran's head in half. Instead, the strike tore through the thick tree behind him, splitting it into two without the slightest resistance.

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