Chapter 11: Li Luoyi

The Nine Nethers Secret Realm was vast.

Tens of thousands of people had entered, yet it was like tossing stones into a pond — a brief splash, and then silence returned.

Lin Feng had been weaving through the dense forest for a full day, encountering only a handful of people, all of whom he had quietly avoided.

He had, however, run into quite a few medium and large wild beasts.

After searching for a long while, he finally spotted a small stream.

Where there was a stream, there would naturally be a lake.

Lin Feng followed the stream downstream.

Before long, he came upon a pool of still water.

The result, however, left him deeply disappointed.

The banks of the pool were covered in the tracks of all manner of birds and beasts.

Clearly, this was where they came to drink.

The Bianhua Flower was a precious rare treasure, and wherever it grew, exotic beasts would invariably guard it — and where exotic beasts stood watch, ordinary wild animals would never dare approach to drink.

This was something Lin Feng had learned from ancient texts before entering the Nine Nethers Secret Realm.

After reasoning it through, he was certain there were no Bianhua Flowers in this pool.

So he set off again.

He hadn't expected to find the Bianhua Flower the moment he arrived.

The Nine Nethers Secret Realm, once opened, required those inside to remain for a full three months before they could leave — there was still plenty of time.

Of course, having plenty of time didn't mean he could afford to be idle.

The sooner he found it, the sooner he could set his mind at ease.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Feng had been following the stream the entire time, discovering several pools along the way — none of them showed any trace of the Bianhua Flower.

After merging with more than a dozen tributaries, the original stream had grown into a proper river.

The volume of water had increased dramatically.

This meant there had to be a massive lake downstream; otherwise, there would be nowhere for all this water to go.

He only needed to keep following it — he would get there sooner or later.

After pressing on for several dozen kilometers along the river, the sounds of a fierce battle reached Lin Feng's ears.

He had no intention of getting involved.

But then a thought struck him — what if there were disciples from the Shenxiao Sword Sect?

He was, after all, a member of the Shenxiao Sword Sect. He couldn't bring himself to be completely indifferent to the lives of his fellow disciples.

So he crept quietly toward the sound.

When he saw the two sides engaged in combat, he confirmed that no Shenxiao Sword Sect disciples were involved.

One side wore black robes — the same figures he had seen before — and the other was from the Qingyun Sect.

Lin Feng was puzzled.

The people who had entered from the Wuji Demon Sect and the Seven Slaughter Sect didn't seem to wear black robes, did they?

These black-robed figures were all formidably strong, and every one of them was ruthless and merciless, clearly intent on killing. Which faction had sent them in?

While Lin Feng was still pondering this, the battle was already drawing to a close.

Though the Qingyun Sect had the advantage in numbers, their strength was no match for the black-robed figures at all.

Just five black-robed individuals had driven nearly twenty Qingyun Sect disciples to the brink of annihilation — only six or seven remained, the rest reduced to corpses.

"Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill members of my Qingyun Sect?! Are you not afraid of our retaliation?!" Li Luoyi demanded furiously.

Her talent and strength were far from weak, but against black-robed fighters with far greater combat experience and ruthless precision, she was completely overwhelmed.

In truth, if Li Luoyi had focused solely on escaping, there was still a chance she could have made it.

But as a Core Disciple of the Qingyun Sect, she could never abandon her fellow disciples and flee alone.

"Both the Qingyun Sect and the Shenxiao Sword Sect are on our kill list. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for choosing the wrong sect." one of the black-robed figures replied.

"Are you from the Wuji Demon Sect?"

"No point asking! I won't tell you — unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you all die!"

The black-robed figure finished speaking and immediately charged at the surviving Qingyun Sect members, intent on finishing the fight before things dragged on any further.

Hunting a Core Disciple of the Qingyun Sect — that was no small achievement.

"Stand and fight!!!" Li Luoyi roared.

She had hoped to stall for time, but since the enemy was giving her no opportunity, there was nothing left to do but fight to the death.

Even though she already knew there was no escaping today, she would not retreat even a single step, nor would she beg for mercy.

As a Core Disciple of the Qingyun Sect, even in death, she would not bring shame upon her sect.

Just as both sides were about to clash again — with the Qingyun Sect's remaining strength, a direct confrontation would likely see them wiped out in an instant by the black-robed figures.

At that very moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four sharp sounds of objects cutting through the air reached everyone's ears.

Immediately after came four agonized screams.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

When Li Luoyi and the other Qingyun Sect disciples stopped and looked over, the sight before them struck them to the very soul, filling their hearts with shock beyond measure.

Of the five black-robed figures, four had been impaled through the chest by tree branches and pinned to the trunks of great trees, barely clinging to life.

The fifth was being held by the throat by a man who had appeared out of nowhere, utterly powerless to resist.

"Who sent you? What is your purpose in entering the Nine Nethers Secret Realm? Tell me, and I'll spare your life." Lin Feng looked at the black-robed figure in his grip and asked in a hoarse voice.

He had not wanted to get involved, yet in the final moment he couldn't stop himself from acting.

He didn't care about the lives of the Qingyun Sect disciples — but the black-robed figure had said the Shenxiao Sword Sect was also on their kill list. That he could not ignore.

If he hadn't intervened, more Shenxiao Sword Sect disciples might fall to these five black-robed killers in the future.

Since that was the case — he might as well kill them all and strangle this threat in its cradle.

The five black-robed figures were not yet dead. They all stared at the masked man before them with eyes full of fear and disbelief, unable to accept what had happened no matter how they tried.

All five of them had been taken out simultaneously?

Without even the chance to fight back?

In the outside world, that might be understandable — there was no shortage of powerful experts. But this was the Nine Nethers Secret Realm!

Everyone who entered had to have a bone age of no more than one hundred years, or they would be torn apart by the forces of heaven and earth.

Which meant this person's bone age was under one hundred.

It was absolutely insane.

"You… who… are… you…?"

The black-robed figure in Lin Feng's grip strained for a long moment before managing to force out those words.

"You're not in a position to ask me that. Tell me your purpose and who is behind you — or die."

"Dream… on!!!"

Lin Feng heard the answer he already expected.

He had long since noticed that these black-robed figures were professionally trained — they were unlikely to answer his questions.

"Since you refuse to speak, then end your wretched life and go keep company with those you've killed."

With that, he tightened his grip, and snapped the man's neck with a single squeeze of his palm.

Seeing this, the remaining four opened their mouths — blood poured out in torrents.

The branches had not only pierced their hearts; the tremendous force of impact had shattered their internal organs as well. One by one, they breathed their last.

The sight left the Qingyun Sect disciples utterly dumbstruck.

Even Li Luoyi, the pride of the Qingyun Sect, was no exception.

No one knew better than her just how powerful those five black-robed figures had been.

And they had been wiped out just like that?

By someone whose bone age didn't even exceed one hundred years?

Li Luoyi, who had always believed her talent was second to none, felt a crushing blow to her confidence in that moment.

The person standing before her could no longer simply be called a genius.

Lin Feng tossed aside the black-robed figure's corpse and was about to leave when Li Luoyi's voice came from behind him.

"Many thanks to our benefactor for saving us!"

He turned slowly, revealing his mask-covered face, and looked at the Qingyun Sect disciples.

"Don't thank me. Even without you here, I wouldn't have let those black-robed figures go."

"Regardless! The fact that you saved us is undeniable! Please, benefactor, leave us your name — when we return, my Qingyun Sect will come to pay our respects in person." Li Luoyi said, clasping her fists.

"There's no need. It was a trivial matter. Don't give it another thought. Farewell."

"To you it may be trivial, but to us it was our very lives…" Before Li Luoyi could finish her words, the figure had already vanished without a trace.

Lin Feng had no desire to linger and exchange pleasantries with the Qingyun Sect. He said his piece and left immediately.

Staring at the spot where Lin Feng had disappeared, Li Luoyi stood in a daze for a long while, unable to collect herself.

What faction could possibly have produced a disciple like this?

He carried no sword — which meant he wasn't a Sword Cultivator from the Shenxiao Sword Sect.

The Wuji Demon Sect and the Seven Slaughter Sect would never have saved her.

Was there truly another power on Li Continent capable of nurturing such a monstrous talent?