Chapter 151: Chapter 150: Foe, Not Friend

"Damn! The Blood Palace sure has a lot of tricks up its sleeve!"

Wu Chen gritted his teeth as he stared at the mark on Xue Hongling’s wrist. He had never expected a situation like this.

This development had truly taken him by surprise.

’Then again, it makes sense,’ he thought. ’How could a Demon Sect this large control its subordinates without a few tricks?’

"This is a mark placed by a Blood Coagulation Realm master from the Blood Palace," Xue Hongling said.

The Blood Coagulation Realm was the Sixth of the nine realms of Martial Arts. One could only imagine how troublesome a technique laid by such an expert would be.

Xue Hongling lowered her sleeve and clutched her wrist tightly, her expression complicated as she said:

"When the sect’s Elder captured me last time, everything happened so fast. I wanted to tell you that coming here would be pointless, but you just wouldn’t listen..."

Her voice trailed off, but then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"But I never thought you had connections to the four major sects! I was worried sick for nothing this whole time!"

"In any case, as long as you can leave this secret realm safely, that’s all that matters!"

Seeing Xue Hongling’s eyes suddenly turn bright and cheerful, genuinely happy for his sake, Wu Chen’s heart couldn’t help but stir.

But he still frowned and asked, "Have you tried to find out how this mark can be removed?"

’The mark on her wrist is probably just the visible part,’ he surmised. ’In reality, it’s likely connected to the host’s Qi and Blood. Severing a limb wouldn’t be enough to break the connection with the Blood Palace.’

Otherwise, with Xue Hongling’s resolute personality—the type to bite her own tongue to commit suicide—she would have probably cut off her arm long ago.

"I’m not too sure about that."

Xue Hongling shook her head. "I’ve heard people say it’s the handiwork of a Blood Coagulation Realm master. Without reaching the Blood Coagulation Realm yourself, there’s no way to remove it."

After she finished, she put on a carefree tone.

"Don’t worry about it! It’s just a trip to the Blood Palace, right?"

"Weren’t you just asking about the Blood Palace’s location? Once I’m there, I can help you find out where it is."

"Once I reach the Blood Coagulation Realm, I’ll figure out a way to escape on my own."

"Then the two of us can team up again and destroy the Blood Palace together!"

Xue Hongling guessed that Wu Chen was in the Organ Refining Realm and that his aptitude couldn’t be poor.

Plus, he was connected to the four major sects, or perhaps he had an even more powerful background.

But reaching the Blood Coagulation Realm was by no means an easy feat.

Even if one feasted on priceless herbs and treasures for every meal, it would be impossible without three to five, or even ten, years of dedicated cultivation.

So this was just her way of telling Wu Chen not to come looking for her.

Wu Chen watched her feign a relaxed attitude and secretly shook his head.

’Once she goes to the Blood Palace, she’ll become inextricably entangled with it. That supreme figure in the Blood Palace must have countless ways to control their subordinates.’

’Once she’s trapped in that quagmire, how could she even think of leaving?’

’I’m afraid if I can’t take Xue Hongling away this time, we’ll be enemies, not friends, the next time we meet.’

"Alright. When the time comes, the two of us will go see just what kind of world-shaking techniques this supreme leader of the Blood Palace has."

Wu Chen agreed with a smile, not pressing the issue or saying anything more, lest the girl’s imagination run wild with worry again.

But in his mind, he was still focused on the mark on Xue Hongling’s wrist.

’If it’s just a technique from the Blood Coagulation Realm, then with my current strength, I might have a good chance of removing it during our time in this secret realm.’

’But that’s only if I can find the location of those collapsed buildings.’

As they walked, Wu Chen took out the secret realm map again and carefully examined each region.

He didn’t intend to waste time in other areas. Instead, he wanted to find the location of the buildings that had appeared on the light screen when they first entered the secret realm.

Unfortunately, no matter how carefully he scanned it, he couldn’t find any such location marked on the map.

He then turned to Xue Hongling beside him. After all, she was the Direct Disciple of an Elder and had been marked by the Blood Palace; perhaps she knew something.

So he asked:

"Do you know of any area with collapsed buildings? Like pavilions, towers, and long, painted corridors."

"Buildings?"

Xue Hongling shook her head, a confused look in her eyes. "I’ve never heard anyone mention them, and the Elder never brought it up either."

’Even a Direct Disciple doesn’t know?’

Wu Chen stroked his chin, not overly disappointed, and thought to himself:

’Perhaps only the elite among the Direct Disciples know about it. After all, a place like that is bound to be dangerous. Sending someone with a low cultivation realm would be a death sentence, so it makes sense they wouldn’t be told.’

’Only the elite Direct Disciples would have a chance of going there and bringing something back.’

’But that’s probably not very likely.’

Then he shook his head again.

He had, after all, taken this very map from a fairly strong Direct Disciple.

Back then, Wu Chen had crushed nearly every bone in that Direct Disciple’s body during his interrogation. Even if he hadn’t asked every single question, there was no way he would have missed something so significant.

Therefore, Wu Chen figured there had to be another possibility.

This secret realm had existed for a century and been explored dozens of times by the various sects, yet it still wasn’t fully mapped. There had to be unexplored areas.

’Talk about a lack of effort!’

Wu Chen clicked his tongue, but he quickly dismissed that possibility as well.

The secret realm opened for three months at a time. Between the four major sects, the Blood Slaughter Sect, and the unaffiliated cultivators who snuck in through the Blood Slaughter Sect’s entrance, there were at least thirty to forty thousand people at or above the Flesh Refining Realm inside.

Dozens of times, with thirty to forty thousand people each time, swarming like a plague of locusts... and they still hadn’t fully explored this secret realm?

Wu Chen didn’t buy it.

So, he concluded there must be another possibility: the buildings were located in an area beyond the Blood Slaughter Sect’s ability to explore.

So this time, Wu Chen rephrased his question:

"Are there any places the Blood Slaughter Sect hasn’t explored? Or areas they haven’t explored thoroughly?"

This time, after a moment of thought, Xue Hongling nodded.

"The territory of the four major sects. It’s very difficult for members of the Blood Slaughter Sect to get over there, so the map is very vague when it comes to their region."

Wu Chen nodded. He was starting to get the picture.

’It seems this map is only detailed in the regions controlled by the Blood Slaughter Sect.’

’To understand the entire secret realm, I’ll have to make a trip over to the territory of the four major sects.’

Wu Chen looked toward the northern part of the map, at a relatively flat region.

A conspicuous red circle was drawn there, marking the entrance and exit to the secret realm used by the four major sects.

He wasn’t sure if it was because the area was unexplored or simply flat, but for a hundred li in every direction around the four sects’ entrance, there were very few markings for mountains or rivers.

’The entrance for the four major sects... If I ran at full speed, I could probably cover the distance in three or four days.’

’If I walk at a normal pace, it’ll take five or six days, definitely less than ten.’

’The secret realm has only just opened, so there’s no need to rush.’

Wu Chen roughly planned his route for the immediate future, intending to avoid venturing too deep into the Blood Slaughter Sect’s territory.

After all, it would be difficult for him alone to scour every corner and plunder every resource.

"Let’s head directly over to the four major sects’ territory."

Wu Chen glanced at Xue Hongling, telling her their next destination.

She nodded lightly. "Okay, I’ll follow your lead."

...

「Seven days later.」

Wu Chen and Xue Hongling stood atop a mountain.

This mountain was at the very edge of the Blood Slaughter Sect’s territory. From this high vantage point, they could see the region of the secret realm belonging to the four major sects in the distance.

The landscape before them was a panorama of rolling hills and vast green fields.

Compared to the Blood Slaughter Sect’s territory—a place of mountains, canyons, and ravines teeming with venomous creatures—the region belonging to the four major sects was visibly flatter, and the terrain looked far less deadly and complex.

Wu Chen drew his gaze back, focusing on a spot not far from the foot of the mountain.

There, he saw a clear dividing line between the disciples of the Blood Slaughter Sect, clad in dark red, and those of the four major sects.

They stood on their respective territories, warily watching each other.

The Blood Slaughter Sect disciples, however, were clearly more restless. From time to time, one of them would try to charge over and snatch some benefits from the territory of the four major sects.

Naturally, the disciples of the four major sects wouldn’t allow this, and the sounds of fierce clashes erupted from various spots along the border.

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