Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 224: 138. Qinglong Association (6)

An unknown space, a vast expanse of dense forest stood upon the ground, the sky devoid of sun and moon, pitch-black throughout, and surrounding the land was a murky barrier, reminiscent of chaos that had not yet separated.

Majestic ancient trees with lush branches towered among them; the forest, already too dark to see your hand in front of you, became even darker due to these ancient trees.

Inside the dense forest it was not only dark, but also eerily silent with no whisper of wind, although all the ancient trees seemed full of life, the absence of wind added a strange aura of deathly stillness.

Suddenly, in one corner of the dense forest, seven powerful presences swept by.

They were six men and one woman, all appearing middle-aged, dressed and bearing themselves with extraordinary flair, equipped with various weapons - knives, swords, spears... each wielding a different blade. Yet at this moment, all seven of them wore expressions of fatigue, clearly having traveled for quite a long distance.

"This Secret Realm, how can it be so vast? We've been heading in this direction for almost twelve hours, and still, we haven't reached the end!"

Yu Guixin was annoyed and couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped on a horizontal tree branch and, filled with frustration, slashed at the tree trunk with his knife.

The other six, seeing him stop, also halted immediately, their expressions not much different from his, indicating they were just as frustrated as Yu Guixin.

These seven were none other than the leaders of the seven local influential forces of Tongling, who had just entered the Secret Realm: Yu Guixin from Qijue Gate, Zhao Mansha from Lonely Moon Sect, Bai Yunfan from the Bai Clan, Li Sanyun from Medicine Dust Sect, Liu Jianghong from Xi Yun Escort Agency, Nie Xinchuan from Hongdao Gang, and Tong Yun from Ling Cheng Escort Agency.

"Damn it, I thought entering the Secret Realm would bring us some fortune, but who would have thought it would be like this? Haven't seen any Yuan Gang Beads, not to mention Spiritual Medicine or Spirit Material, and the space is so vast that we haven't seen a single soul in twelve hours!"

Bai Yunfan, an Artifact Refiner by trade with a rather fiery temperament, cursed outright, and upon hearing his words, a shadow passed over the others' faces.

"A common secret realm would, at most, span a hundred miles. With the speed of the seven of us, in twelve hours, we should have far surpassed that distance. It makes no sense, no sense at all."

Hearing the words of the Sect Master of Medicine Dust Sect, Li Sanyun, everyone's gaze shifted to him, their faces showing surprise.

The world's power hierarchy was rigid; only Earth Level forces possessed secret realms, and although they were all leaders of minor forces, their understanding of secret realms was limited.

"Master Li, have you been to a secret realm before?" Tong Yun asked.

"I was indeed fortunate enough to enter a Secret Realm in my youth, and I heard back then that Secret Realms are born from the natural order of the universe, constrained by rules. The Yuan Gang Secret Realm is no larger than a hundred miles at most. We've traveled for so long; surely we've covered more than a hundred miles, right?"

The others nodded in agreement; in twelve hours, their pace had certainly covered more than a hundred miles, yet they couldn't explain the situation they were facing. Suddenly, a speculation rose in their minds, and a shiver ran through everyone's heart.

"Then... is it possible that this Secret Realm is not at the Yuan Gang Level, but..."

"What dream are you having? Damn it, we haven't seen a single Yuan Gang Bead; it's hard to even say if this is a Yuan Gang Secret Realm, let alone a death zone, or Holy Sky Secret Realm. Have you gone mad with fatigue from our journey?"

Bai Yunfan's cold shout brought everyone back to reality. However, dismissing the conjecture didn't explain the current situation, and silence was all that remained.

Nie Xinchuan suddenly leaped to the top of the trees, looked around and then jumped back down with a furrowed brow, speaking to everyone.

"Lord Fan, Magistrate Ding, Tong Wudi, as well as those Grandmasters who entered around the same time as us, have been silent all this time. That's impossible. Even if this Secret Realm is more than a hundred miles across, a battle of Grandmasters should make some noise. We haven't seen anything all this half-day; surely we can't be trapped here for life!"

Upon these words, everyone's faces turned even grimmer. They had dared to venture into the Secret Realm because both Fan Longhe and Ding Dian had entered, thinking that if these two were present, they would handle any dangers. But now, they hadn't seen any sign of them since their arrival.

Now inside, they had gained nothing beneficial and seen no one; they didn't even know where the exit was. Could they really be trapped here for life?

Yu Guixin's face turned ugly; as annoyance surged, he looked around and suddenly noticed a cut mark, which was exactly where he had slashed with his knife upon stopping.

But a closer look revealed something unsettling.

The cut was on the tree trunk, and a dark green sap was seeping from it. He felt something shift within him, moved closer to the cut, and after observing it for a moment, he turned to look at the large trees surrounding them and asked the others.

"Does anyone recognize this type of tree?"

The ancient trees in the forest were all a dark gray color, with the smallest tree having a girth that required three people to encircle, with a diameter of about three to four meters and a height of several hundred to a thousand meters.

They had passed by these towering ancient trees all along the way without paying much attention, but now prompted by Yu Guixin, everyone hurriedly took a closer look, only to realize that they did not recognize them.

Everyone turned their gaze to Li Sanyun. As a Pharmacist, he was the most familiar with Spirit Material and should have recognized the trees.

Unfortunately, after inspecting the ancient trees for a dozen breaths, Li Sanyun could only shake his head towards the others and said, "I do not recognize it either!"

Yu Guixin looked at the green sap flowing down the ancient tree, his face twisted with irritation. He drew the long knife from his waist, his Core Essence Qi surging, and he fiercely slashed a black blade light, tens of meters long, down across the trunk of the tree.