Zong Ziqi’s heart surged with emotion after hearing what Jiang Xu said.

He turned to face Qin Muxian, his body trembling slightly, overcome with an unbearable wave of guilt and self-recrimination.

A dull thud followed. With a PLOP, Zong Ziqi dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. His voice was filled with remorse and pleading:

"I have been useless! To think I let Master take such a huge risk to get that Treasure Medicine for me... Relying on others like this, unable to take responsibility for myself—it is not the action of a true man. I have failed to live up to your kindness and expectations, Master!"

Seeing this, Qin Muxian’s heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. He quickly helped Zong Ziqi up, his tone laced with bitterness and helplessness:

"You don’t need to blame yourself like this. The Treasure Medicine wasn’t actually used on you. I still don’t deserve to be called your master. The bond between us as master and disciple has not yet been restored."

But Zong Ziqi firmly refuted,

"No, you have always been my master. Nothing has changed that. As for the Treasure Medicine, it was only because my own fortune is too shallow that I was unable to benefit from it. It’s not your fault, Master. Please, do not blame yourself."

"Instead of giving the Treasure Medicine to someone like me, it would be better to give it to the two Golden Core Ancestors. That so-called Master Su is plotting something enormous. Only the Golden Core Ancestors can destroy him. Otherwise, even if my Qi Sea were restored, I would just end up dead anyway!"

Hearing this, a look of relief appeared in Qin Muxian’s eyes:

"The fact that you’ve come to this realization shows that my past teachings were not in vain. When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact? Only with top-tier experts among us can people like us ensure our own survival.

Actually, not giving you the Treasure Medicine might not be a bad thing. Now that you’ve lost hope of repairing your Qi Sea, you must focus solely on becoming a Body Cultivator.

Magic Cultivators and Body Cultivators both require immense resources, energy, and time. Aside from a few heaven-blessed prodigies, very few can achieve Mastery in both.

Since you are on the path of Cultivation, you must specialize. Don’t divide your focus. Otherwise, you’ll just waste your years and end up dying full of regrets when your lifespan runs out."

Zong Ziqi understood this principle and nodded in agreement.

Just then, as Jiang Xu was watching the heartwarming scene of the devoted disciple and his kind master, he suddenly felt a disturbance in the dense Demonic Qi around them. In an instant, almost all of it surged toward the very center.

After the Demonic Qi receded like a tide, Jiang Xu discovered that it had all vanished from the surrounding air. Spiritual Qi once again filled Heaven and Earth.

He felt as if the world had become open and clear, and all his suppressed emotions were swept away.

"The Demonic Qi... is gone?!"

Jiang Xu was stunned.

’Could it be?’

’Have the two Golden Core Ancestors successfully defeated that Elder Demon Su?’

This shocked him.

’Are the two Ancestors really that efficient?’

’Or is that Elder Demon Su just too weak, unable to put up a fight?’

At the same time, Qin Muxian and Zong Ziqi also noticed something was wrong.

Although they couldn’t see the tangible form of the Demonic Qi, they clearly felt the invisible pressure and restraint that had been weighing on their minds vanish in an instant.

In truth, they had felt that something was off the moment they entered the Secret Realm.

But since they had never entered a Secret Realm before, they had assumed it was normal and hadn’t paid it any mind.

Only now did they realize that something was amiss.

The Secret Realm had clearly undergone some sort of unknown change.

Combining this with what Jiang Xu had said earlier and the news that the Treasure Medicine needed by the two Golden Core Cultivators had been obtained...

"Could the two Ancestors have succeeded?"

After some discussion, Qin Muxian decided to head to the core area to check on the situation.

Zong Ziqi, of course, would go with Qin Muxian.

Jiang Xu, however, chose to part ways with the master and disciple.

He had already brought Qin Muxian to Zong Ziqi, so his task was complete. There was no need to travel with them any longer.

But just as he was about to leave, Qin Muxian suddenly sensed something and took an object out of his Storage Bag.

As soon as he took it out, a voice emanated from it.

"All Foundation Establishment Cultivators, heed this command! Effective immediately, search for all disciples and gather at Linglong Mountain in the Secret Realm by noon tomorrow. At that time, Fellow Daoist Gu and I will join forces to open a passage to leave the Secret Realm.

Any disciple who has not left by then will have to wait until the next time the Secret Realm opens to have a chance to leave!"

The voice was clearly that of Elder He.

"So sudden!"

Qin Muxian was surprised.

"And Elder He said we can leave tomorrow. Does this mean they’ve already dealt with that Elder Demon Su?"

"It seems so."

"But why give us so little time? You know, we disciples are scattered all over the Secret Realm, and there’s still a lot of time left before the originally scheduled departure."

"It seems something has happened that we don’t know about."

"Enough talk. Let’s start looking for the other disciples. Otherwise, who knows when the next opening will be."

...

"Wrong."

"Wrong."

"Still wrong."

"..."

Hearing the man’s muttering at her side,

Nan Yinghua, an Inner Sect Disciple of Purple Flower Palace, trembled uncontrollably.

She was an ordinary disciple from the Purple Flower Palace who had entered the Secret Realm this time.

Shortly after entering, she had joined up with some female disciples from other Sects, forming a small group that stuck together through thick and thin.

Although this meant that each person’s share of the spoils was small, they had managed to survive without any casualties by huddling together for warmth.

But not long after they felt the bloodthirsty tyranny in their hearts suddenly dissipate, they were attacked by a strange man.

The man was strikingly handsome, yet he had an indescribable, world-weary air about him. His Cultivation was unfathomably high; at any rate, Nan Yinghua couldn’t discern his level at all.

The moment he appeared, without any visible casting motion, he immobilized all twenty-odd of them. They couldn’t move a muscle.

Then, a bead appeared in his hand. A stream of inky black gas emerged from it and began to weave around each of them.

After it passed over each woman, the man would mutter "Wrong" in a disappointed tone before moving on to the next.

Nan Yinghua was the last in line. She had watched as the twenty or so people in front of her were all dismissed by the man.

Then, it was her turn.

Just as with the others, the man released a stream of inky black gas, which circled Nan Yinghua’s body once.

But this time, the gas didn’t return after just one loop.

Instead, after circling her, it attached itself to her left arm.

A piercing glint of light suddenly erupted from the man’s previously indifferent eyes!

"Finally found one!"

Immediately after, Nan Huaying lost consciousness.