He had thought that harvesting half a head was already a massive windfall.

And now...

The Bell Stone Spiritual Milk was laid out before him...

Chu Mu was deeply conflicted.

The Bell Stone Spiritual Milk was in a subterranean karst cave. To reach it, he would have to enter a pool and navigate an underground channel.

For Bell Stone Spiritual Milk to form, the cave itself must be composed of stalactites that were also Spiritual Materials.

Breaking through them would be impossible in a short amount of time, and any attempt would undoubtedly create a massive disturbance.

The bamboo dragonfly, once beyond the limits of his Divine Sense, was just an inanimate object following pre-set commands. It was completely incapable of performing delicate operations.

Even standing at the edge of the pool, the distance to the cave was far beyond the reach of his Divine Sense. It was impossible to use the bamboo dragonfly to accomplish his goal as he had before.

Clearly, if he wanted the Bell Stone Spiritual Milk, there was only one path he could take.

He had to enter the pool and the cave himself...

Chu Mu silently watched the monstrous Two-headed Snake, feeling the torrent of Spiritual Qi converging upon it. Reason and greed tangled within him once more.

And this time, greed was clearly winning.

’After so many years on the Immortal Path, one fact has become undeniably clear.’

’As a Loose Cultivator, with no power or backing, every step is a struggle.’

’What others can obtain with ease, I... must risk life and limb for.’

’In the Qi Cultivation Realm, even though I have a source of income, the things I can get—or rather, the things I can buy with Spirit Stones—are all extremely limited.’

’Under the rigid hierarchy of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, everything has a barrier to entry.’

’The Qi Cultivation Realm is the lowest rung, so these barriers aren’t too obvious yet.’

’After all, there are countless Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Realm. With such a massive population, no amount of monopolization or restriction can completely block off all paths.’

’But what happens at the Foundation Establishment Realm?’

’The higher one’s Cultivation, the rarer the necessary resources and knowledge.’

’Spirit Medicines a few decades old and Tier One Spiritual Materials are common in the Marketplace and the Black Market.’

’But what about Tier Two Spiritual Materials, or Spirit Medicines that are hundreds of years old?’

’Those are a rare sight!’

’The invisible barriers will only grow taller, and the monopolization of resources and knowledge will only become more severe.’

’It’s just like... the countless Cultivators I saw at Lotus Marsh.’

’Why was I hounded by wave after wave of pursuers the moment I showed my face and revealed my Divine Soul Aura?’

’Why, despite knowing the major powers had locked down the area, did so many Cultivators still charge in fearlessly, just to gamble on an unknown possibility?’

’Because when an opportunity presents itself, no one wants to miss it.’

’I’m no different. I can’t let this pass me by.’

’Be discreet when you must, but when it’s time to take a risk, you have to take it!’

’There’s no such thing as a risk-free path in Cultivation...’

Chu Mu decisively headed down the mountain. He moved slowly, the Illusionary God Mask already concealing him completely.

But clearly, this was just a false sense of security.

With his current understanding of Artifact Refining, he knew this Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Illusion God Mask, was far from Seamless, even against those in the Qi Cultivation Realm. There were too many ways to see through its disguise.

Let alone in front of a Demon Beast at the Middle to Late Stage of Tier Two—equivalent to a cultivator at the Middle to Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. If it were awake, the mask would be completely useless.

’Before the Two-headed Snake transformed, its ability for Concealing Breath seemed to be superb...’

As he moved cautiously, Chu Mu suddenly recalled the half-head he had just obtained.

When he arrived in the valley, he hadn’t detected the Tier Two Demon Beast at all. Wangcai, also a Demon Beast, should have been extremely sensitive to its bloodline pressure, but it hadn’t noticed anything either.

The snake’s appearance proved that it had been in this very pool the entire time.

Clearly, the Two-headed Snake possessed some innate talent for concealing its breath and presence before its transformation.

’With that half-head, I could probably refine a superior Artifact Creation for Concealing Breath...’

Lost in thought, Chu Mu didn’t stop moving. He crept into the valley until he was only a few hundred meters from the slumbering, giant Two-headed Snake.

The pressure from the giant snake’s aura was so intense it was hard to breathe. The intricate patterns on the scales of its Demon Body were clearly visible.

Chu Mu steadied his breath, suppressed his anxiety, and shuffled forward with agonizing slowness.

By the time he reached the pool’s edge, the giant Two-headed Snake was still slumbering.

He stood by the water’s edge, and after a moment’s thought, he hesitated no longer and slipped silently into the pool.

Though he didn’t know any Water Attribute Magic Technique, his powerful physique allowed him to move with extreme speed in the water.

In just a few breaths, he had shot into the underground channel. He sped through the passage, collected the seemingly wrecked bamboo dragonfly along the way, and finally broke the surface to find himself in a hidden grotto.

Likely due to the lack of ventilation, the cave was filled with a putrid stench.

Chu Mu leaped out of the water without a second thought. With a flash of movement, he was already in front of the stone trough in the corner.

With a flicker of his Divine Thought, the Bell Stone Spiritual Milk collected in the trough flowed like water into the Jade Bottle he held ready.

Although it was just a thin layer of Spiritual Milk in the trough, there seemed to be much more of it than he had expected.

He filled two entire Jade Bottles before the trough was empty. Chu Mu lifted one of the bottles, catching a freshly formed drop of Spiritual Milk, then immediately swept his Divine Sense across the entire cave.

He leaped into the air and snapped off several stalactites from the ceiling, all of which shimmered with a faint Spiritual Light.

The two Jade Bottles and the five stalactites—all Tier Two Spirit Ore—vanished into his Storage Talisman.

After a final sweep with his Divine Sense to confirm he hadn’t missed anything, he didn’t linger for another second and leaped back into the water.

When he surfaced, the giant Two-headed Snake was still slumbering, mere feet away. Under its seemingly unconscious Breathing, the surging Spiritual Qi was nearly solidifying.

It was obvious this Two-headed Snake had experienced a blessing in disguise.

Chu Mu took one last, long look at the massive Two-headed Snake. He paused for a moment before carefully retracing his steps, just as he had come.

The path back was quiet.

The numerous Demon Beasts in the surrounding mountains seemed to have been frightened off by the transforming Two-headed Snake, having all fled the area.

The mountains were now eerily silent, the only evidence of life being the mess left behind by the fleeing Demon Beasts.

WHIMPER WHIMPER...

Seeing Chu Mu, Wangcai scrambled over excitedly with a massive rat in its mouth.

Chu Mu took a closer look. The rat was actually a Demon Beast, but only at the Tier One Early Stage of Cultivation. Wangcai had already killed it; only a corpse remained.

Chu Mu patted Wangcai, motioning for it to eat. He scanned his surroundings as several Jade Scrolls materialized in his hand.

The three Jade Scrolls that served as tokens for the Secret Realm had shown no changes since he’d entered.

It seemed they were nothing more than simple entry passes.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he stored the three tokens in his Storage Talisman. Chu Mu then examined the two Jade Scrolls Zhao Shuang had given him, which contained information about the Secret Realm.

The information Zhao Shuang had left was sparse: an extremely vague topographical map, a few equally vague descriptions, and—the clearest part—the location of the so-called Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion.

Its location...

Chu Mu scanned his surroundings again but couldn’t find any recognizable landmarks.

The only clue he had was that the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion was to the Northwest, at the bottom of a large lake at the foot of Sword Blade Peak.

The Jade Scroll contained a recording of the specific scenery, so it would be easy to identify once he reached the area.

’Northwest...’

Chu Mu looked up, his gaze sweeping over the vast expanse of rolling mountains and the endless sea of clouds.

With a thought, his Divine Wind Boots activated. A faint Spiritual Light enveloped his feet, and his figure flickered like a Ghost before vanishing into the forest.

...

「Two days later.」

A white tiger with wings sprouting from its back tore through the forest. It was covered in bloody wounds, including a gash several feet long on its flank. Dripping blood, it alternately flew and leaped, desperately trying to escape.

A black shadow pursued it relentlessly. The chase had already covered several miles through the woods.

ROAR!

With a sudden roar, the black shadow shot forward, its massive form becoming clear. Vicious claws plunged into the white tiger’s body.

RIIIIP! A large chunk of flesh was torn away. The next moment, a gaping maw clamped down precisely on the white tiger’s neck.

Fangs sank in, blood sprayed, and with one final, agonized shriek, the white tiger went still.

"Go on, eat."

Chu Mu drifted down from the sky. He carefully removed the white tiger’s wings, which he had intentionally left undamaged, and stored them away before speaking.

ROAR!

Wangcai roared in excitement. With a few ravenous tears, the white tiger’s massive body began to shrink and disappear before his very eyes.

Chu Mu watched, expressionless. He looked down at the white tiger wings in his hand with a hint of regret.

’A tiger born with wings must have an extraordinary bloodline,’ he thought. ’If Wangcai had faced it alone, he’d probably have been the one getting eaten.’

’But alas, it was only a Tier One Demon Beast. No matter how special its bloodline, these wings are only Tier One in value. They’re not very useful to me.’

He glanced at Wangcai, still devouring the white tiger, then looked out at the surrounding mountains, a helpless look in his eyes.

The Secret Realm was far more vast than he had imagined, and its dangers were far more real and cruel than the Jade Scrolls had described.

In two days of travel, he hadn’t encountered a single Cultivator, but he had run into plenty of Demon Beasts.

Low Tier Demon Beasts were everywhere, and he’d even sensed a few Tier Two Demon Beasts.

However, the territories of Tier Two Demon Beasts were usually obvious, since Low Tier Demon Beasts didn’t dare to enter them. Avoiding them wasn’t difficult.

But... not seeing a single soul was frustrating.

Judging by the Xie Family Cultivators he’d seen in the valley, there should be a large number of Cultivators from the various Clans, as well as the Longevity Sect, in this Secret Realm.

Yet he had traveled for two days without seeing a trace of another person.

None of the landscapes recorded in the Jade Scrolls matched his surroundings.

After traveling for two days, he was like a headless fly, completely lost and unable to find his destination...

...