"Er..."

Amidst the jagged, bizarre rocks, Chu Mu stood atop a reef, his Giant Divine Arm extended. A glowing white flatfish was clutched in its mechanical palm.

The flatfish was still struggling desperately, its shrill shrieks piercing the ear.

Chu Mu stared at the struggling Flatfish Demon Beast in his hand, his expression completely bewildered. His mind couldn’t quite process it.

’What just happened?’

He had been terrified, meticulously plotting his every move...

’And yet, he’d captured it alive with a single move?’

’But what the hell was up with this terrifying aura?’

Chu Mu turned his head to the side. Wangcai, that foolish dog, was trembling like a leaf under the terrifying aura.

And the source of this terrifying aura was this... Tier One Late Stage flatfish that he had so easily captured alive?

’Was there ever such a weak Tier One Late Stage creature?’

Chu Mu recalled the scene that had just transpired.

He had been exceedingly careful, cautious beyond measure.

Then, a terrifying aura descended. Wangcai was trembling uncontrollably, and he himself had been ready to bolt.

Then, this flatfish had darted out from nowhere. He had prepared for a life-or-death struggle, stacking several Tier Two Defense Talismans and even bringing out his Top Grade Magical Artifact Shield.

And then...

The mere defensive recoil from the Top Grade Magical Artifact Shield had sent the flatfish flying...

So, this flatfish had the aura fluctuations of a Tier Two Late Stage Cultivation, but its actual Cultivation was only Tier One Late Stage, and its real Combat Power... was practically nonexistent...

Chu Mu’s cheek twitched. ’So, this flatfish was just putting on a front, a complete and utter bluff?’

He’d been fooled. The treasure-hunting Cultivators nearby had probably been fooled too. And as for Wangcai, that silly dog...

Chu Mu turned to look. Wangcai, that silly dog, was still trembling...

Seeing Chu Mu’s gaze, Wangcai looked at the flatfish in his master’s hand, seeming a bit dumbfounded itself. Its human-like expression quickly shifted from confusion to embarrassment.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF..."

Wangcai suddenly stood up straight, as if to prove its courage, and roared at the flatfish in Chu Mu’s hand. Normally, it would have been a howl like a wolf’s.

This time, however, it was the long-unheard sound of a dog’s "woof woof woof"...

Chu Mu was speechless, finding it almost unbearable to watch.

He then turned his gaze back to the flatfish, which was covered in a white fluorescent glow, his eyes now filled with curiosity.

Without a doubt, although this flatfish was a Tier One Late Stage Demon Beast, equivalent to a Cultivator at the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation, its own Combat Power was basically nil.

Furthermore, its body was covered in a white fluorescent glow, making it extremely conspicuous.

In this dog-eat-dog environment, a Demon Beast this conspicuous and lacking in Combat Power was essentially just food.

But...

...that terrifying aura, comparable to Tier Two Late Stage, or even Perfection...

Chu Mu couldn’t hide his astonishment. He carefully examined the flatfish before him, confirming again and again that its actual Cultivation was truly only Tier One Late Stage.

This terrifying aura did indeed originate from this feeble flatfish.

It had no signs of injury, so it was obviously impossible for its Cultivation to have dropped...

In other words, this peculiar flatfish could simulate the aura fluctuations of a higher-tier Cultivation, putting on a front to scare people and other Demon Beasts...

’This ability... or perhaps, this talent...’

Chu Mu’s eyes began to shine. ’A talent like this is simply heaven-defying!’

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, which Cultivator would be reckless enough to attack another Cultivator a full Grand Realm above them?

Demon Beasts have low Spiritual Wisdom and rely entirely on instinct. One look at Wangcai’s foolish state was enough to know how great the deterrent effect was.

Just as Chu Mu was pondering how to best utilize this captured flatfish, the creature, which had been struggling violently in his palm, suddenly went still.

Its eyes turned a grayish-white, and its slender body went limp as if it had exhausted all its strength, hanging down straight.

At that moment, the countless ideas and plans swirling in Chu Mu’s mind regarding the flatfish came to an abrupt halt.

"It killed itself?"

Feeling the lifeless fish’s body, Chu Mu was momentarily stunned.

The next second, his Divine Sense completely enveloped the flatfish. After scanning it inside and out, all signs confirmed that the flatfish... had committed suicide...

The white fluorescence was already visibly dimming, and the fish’s body was slowly stiffening.

Chu Mu was at a loss for words. He slowly lowered his arm.

’For a Demon Beast so weak, yet possessing such a miraculous ability, to be so unyielding...’

’Captured, and it’s unyielding to the point of suicide...’

’Not captured, and it just bluffs people...’

’What the hell is this thing!’

He felt a strong urge to curse out loud!

If he could have tamed and nurtured a creature with such a miraculous talent, its usefulness would have been unimaginably immense!

At Tier One Late Stage, it could simulate the aura fluctuations of Tier Two Late Stage, even approaching Tier Two Perfection.

What if he had raised it to Tier Two?

Could it have simulated a Tier Three aura, a deterrent comparable to a Golden Core True Master?

That alone would have been a tremendous help!

It would be like having a High Tier Cultivator acting as his protector at all times!

Even if the simulation was just a facade, even if it had flaws he wasn’t aware of.

But what Cultivator would be reckless enough to attack someone a whole Grand Realm above them?

Even if the simulation had flaws, who would dare bet their life on it?

Chu Mu could no longer remain calm. His mind was in turmoil!

What a massive opportunity!

He had held it in his hand, and still missed it.

After a long while, Chu Mu had no choice but to accept this cruel reality. He took out a Jade Box and carefully sealed the magical flatfish’s corpse inside.

The entire body of a Demon Beast is considered Spiritual Materials, all of which can be used as Refining Materials.

Now, he could only hope that this corpse would yield some sort of gain.

"Fuck!"

Chu Mu couldn’t help but curse under his breath. Looking at the Jade Box, his heart was bleeding!

"Let’s go. We’ll check it out inside!"

Chu Mu looked toward the mountain peak in the distance, his mind still in turmoil!

This time, Wangcai seemed to sense Chu Mu’s foul mood and obediently followed behind him without daring to make a sound.

After about a quarter of an hour of winding through the underwater mountains of varying heights, Chu Mu finally stopped before a stone wall covered in all sorts of seashells.

The stone wall before him perfectly matched the information Zhao Shuang had left behind about the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion.

The existence of the mysterious flatfish had clearly played a significant role.

A terrifying aura reaching Tier Two Late Stage, especially at the bottom of a lake at least several hundred meters deep, was undoubtedly a massive deterrent for Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators.

He scanned his surroundings; there were no traces of any Cultivator activity. Looking at the shell-covered stone wall before him, his Divine Sense Perception detected nothing unusual either.

Chu Mu reached out to touch it. It felt like a solid, real object. The texture of the shells and the coldness of the stone wall were very distinct.

Within his Divine Sense Perception, everything in the vicinity seemed perfectly normal.

But... inside his Storage Talisman, the three Jade Scrolls that served as tokens for the Secret Realm suddenly began to vibrate.

With a wave of his hand, the three Jade Scrolls appeared in his palm.

One was from Nanshan, containing a Puppetry Skill inheritance.

One was from Jade Emperor Valley, a family heirloom of the Niu Family Brothers.

The last one was from Zhao Shuang, for the Soul Cleansing Pill inheritance.

As the Jade Scrolls hovered in his hand, the stone wall before him seemed to react. The wall trembled, and the piled-up shells scattered. Then, an indentation the size of a Jade Scroll appeared on the wall’s surface.

Seeing this, Chu Mu raised an eyebrow, unable to hide his surprise.

The stone wall was very ordinary, extremely common here at the bottom of the lake.

An uninformed person, even if they carried the Secret Realm token, would need incredible luck to happen to stand before this single, wall-sized slab of rock in this vast Secret Realm.

"Did she already know, or was it a true coincidence?"

Chu Mu examined the three Jade Scrolls in his hand, lost in thought.

’An indentation appeared, clearly for inserting a Jade Scroll token to be inspected, which would then activate some kind of Array Restriction.’

’Then...’

’Would the contents recorded in the Jade Scroll affect the final outcome?’

One represented Artifact Refining Skill, one represented Alchemy Skill, and one represented Body Refining Cultivation.

The contents of the three Jade Scrolls were all different...

Chu Mu pressed his lips together. In the end, he placed the Jade Scroll recording the Soul Cleansing Pill into the indentation.

Since it was a transaction, he had to keep his word.

It had nothing to do with oaths or contracts, but simply his own basic moral principles.

Although he was an Evil Cultivator, he still wanted to be one with principles and a bottom line.

The Jade Scroll fit into the indentation perfectly, without a single gap.

A faint Spiritual Light flickered. The next second, the original stone wall transformed into a portal of shimmering light.

The light shimmered, revealing a vast expanse of fluorescent white.

He tentatively probed it with his Divine Sense, but it was as if an invisible barrier blocked his prying senses.

He kicked a small stone, and it passed right through the white-light portal, disappearing from sight.

He tied a rope around the stone and tossed it in. With a light tug, the stone was pulled back out.

Then, he took out the broken bamboo dragonfly. The next second, the bamboo dragonfly disappeared into the white-light portal.

Soon, the bamboo dragonfly wobbled back out of the portal.

The Memory Stone showed only a vast expanse of white. There was white fog above, below, and on all sides, making it impossible to see anything at all.

Staring at the vast whiteness in the image, Chu Mu froze. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him.

’It seems...’

’Back then at East Lake, when his Jade Scroll touched the mysterious fog, he was pulled into this same vast whiteness.’

’Then he was swept over by a scanning wave, and finally... thrown out.’

’And this time, entering the Secret Realm...’

Chu Mu recalled the information Zhao Shuang had left.

The Jade Scroll had also clearly stated that everyone who enters the Secret Realm, whether through the temporary passage opened by the Longevity Sect or by holding a Secret Realm token, is randomly teleported to a location within the realm.

And in this Secret Realm, the information he had gotten from killing Cultivators from other Clans also said nothing different; everyone was randomly teleported to a location and then had to use various means to contact each other and gather.

Apparently, he hadn’t been hallucinating back then. It was a real experience.

"Was that also part of the random teleportation, or... was it special?"

Chu Mu thought silently. He was more inclined toward the latter.

After all, this vast whiteness was an Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion, an Inheritance Land.

’Could his luck have been that good, to be teleported directly to the Inheritance Land back then?’

Moreover, as far as he knew, it seemed only Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators could enter this Secret Realm.

Those above or below the Qi Cultivation Realm could not enter. Forcing entry would result in a backlash from the Secret Realm.

The strength of this backlash could be seen from the fate of that fallen Golden Core True Master.

The current population of Cultivators in the Secret Realm also made this crystal clear.

If a Nascent Soul Powerhouse could force their way into the Secret Realm, would the Longevity Sect and the various great Clans need to go to such great lengths to send in their Qi Cultivation Disciples batch after batch?

"Special... what made it special?"

Chu Mu pressed his lips together. Then, he waved to Wangcai and stepped through the white-light portal.

Wangcai followed close behind. But as it charged at the portal that Chu Mu had passed through so easily, it was like running into a solid bronze wall, and it was sent tumbling backward.

Afterward, the white-light portal vanished before its eyes, and the shell-covered stone wall reappeared.

"WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER..."

Wangcai grew frantic. It circled the stone wall, biting at it and struggling for a long time, but there was no reaction.

Finally, it seemed to understand that its efforts were useless.

Wangcai pushed aside a pile of seaweed and lay down alone in front of the wall, its eyes fixed on the shell-covered stone, waiting in silence...

...