Apart from the people ambushed on both sides of the mountains, there was also a large group of people blocking the path ahead of Xu Zimei and his companion.
The leader of this group was a burly woman with dark skin, holding a Wolf Fang Club in her hand, and with her hair cut extremely short.
From a distance, her figure resembled that of a muscular man.
"So we have two pretty boys here," the woman said, bursting into loud laughter as she looked at Xu Zimei and his companion.
"Who are you?" Xiao Guizi, riding a Green Jiao Horse, went forward and asked.
"Take these two down. Tonight, they will marry me," the woman said, disregarding Xiao Guizi’s question and instead giving orders to those around her.
"Miss, our only order is to guard this place and prevent any unrelated people from passing through," a man in black hesitated before speaking. "It is enough to drive them away; it’s better to avoid trouble."
"It’s rare for anyone to come to the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and father won’t let me go out," the woman said with a cold huff. "Now that two pretty boys have finally come, how can I let them flee?"
As soon as the woman’s voice fell, the ground beneath their feet suddenly started to shake.
Not far ahead, a green light shot up into the sky, causing endless ripples to spread through the surrounding space. As the green light disappeared, the sound of a thunderous explosion came from not far away.
"Is that place about to open? Why is it so loud?" the man in black next to the woman frowned and said.
Then he waved his hand and said sternly, "Capture those two first so we don’t let any news slip away."
As the man finished speaking, the surrounding crowd charged at Xu Zimei and his companion.
A portion of them blocked the way behind, preventing the two from escaping.
Looking around, Xu Zimei noticed the varied cultivation levels of these people, the lowest being at the Spirit Vein Realm and the highest at the Empty Vein Realm.
Xiao Guizi didn’t say a word and had already charged out with his long staff.
Xu Zimei slowly drew his Tyrant Shadow. With an awe-inspiring presence, he moved as if walking on air and swung down his saber.
The turbulent water of the Torrent stirred up a ten-thousand-foot storm from the blade, bringing down a third of the people directly in front of him in an instant.
Endless currents swirled around, and the sound of the Torrent crashing seemed to echo in their ears.
The previously commanding man in black saw this scene and his face changed dramatically. He quickly said to the woman, "Miss, this is not good. He is a master. We must find the Clan Leader quickly."
Seeing that the two were about to flee, Xu Zimei pursued through the air, and those who blocked his path were cut down like leeks, all falling into pools of blood.
With one slash, he opened a deep ravine in the mountain path ahead and then slowly descended.
The two who were about to run saw Xu Zimei land, and the man hurriedly uttered pleas for mercy, "Sir, we mean no harm. We are people from the Bear Clan tribe."
A "clang" sounded and beneath the invincible edge of the Tyrant Shadow, the man’s head flew off.
"But I do mean harm," Xu Zimei said with a smile.
The woman beside him had been scared witless. Watching Xu Zimei step towards her, she said with a panicked expression, "Don’t kill me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know."
"No need," Xu Zimei said with a smile, shaking his head.
As the saber rose, the head fell.
With the woman’s death, the rest of the people around became panicked and fled in all directions.
Xu Zimei couldn’t be bothered to chase after them. He and Xiao Guizi walked toward the turbulent area not far away.
Several elders dressed in yellow robes stood above the emptiness. Around the vacuum, endless ripples spread through space as forces of engulfment expanded in the void.
The sound of thunderous explosions arose, this fragment of collapsing space was just a small part; the other spaces around it were actually intact and unharmed.
As the space crumbled bit by bit, the spiritual energy on the edge of the sky surged wildly, all converging into the collapsing space.
The dozens of elders nearby simply watched quietly, as if waiting for something.
"Senior brother, what is this?" Xiao Guizi asked in surprise.
"It looks like a secret realm is about to be opened," Xu Zimei said after watching for a while, his tone indifferent, "It’s just not clear whether it is a secret realm created by a powerful being or a natural dimensional space formed by heaven and earth."
On the Yuan Central Continent, in fact, there were many hidden secret realms.
Some were the dimensional spaces formed at the dawn of time with the creation of heaven and earth by the Chaos Pearl.
Others were simple secret realms opened by martial artists who had reached a certain realm and possessed unfathomable abilities.
Some powerful beings chose to live in seclusion in the secret realms they opened, while others would place their legacies within.
As Xu Zimei and his companion arrived, the several elders nearby also noticed the two.
All the elders had the cultivation of the Esteem Vein Realm, and none had reached the Saint Vein Realm.
One of the elders frowned tightly, watching as Xu Zimei walked on air, his Esteem Vein Realm aura echoing throughout the world.
His expression shifted, and he stepped forward with a smile, "I am the Clan Leader of the Bear Clan, may I ask who you are?"
"Just a passerby," Xu Zimei smiled and slowly drew Tyrant Shadow, with thousands of thunderbolts condensing in midair.
"The secret realm is about to open soon. Whether it is good or bad is yet undetermined," the elder said with a smile, "If you are willing, we do not need to compete. Everyone can enter the secret realm.
As for the fortunes inside, it will depend on one’s own ability. What do you say?"
"I don’t mind," Xu Zimei smiled.
He gazed deeply at the secret realm, the surge of green light that shot into the sky allowing Xu Zimei to feel a rich breath of life within.
He had seen the Spring of Life in his previous life, but the life aura here was even purer than that of the Spring of Life.
Having received Xu Zimei’s response, the elder went back to discuss with the others for a while, and everyone looked at Xu Zimei with cautious eyes.
The spiritual energy at the edge of the sky grew thicker, and the life essence in the entire space became increasingly intense.
Finally, as the space reached its limit of endurance, that piece of space completely shattered.
A huge vortex appeared in midair, emitting a soft force of engulfment.
The several elders exchanged glances and all flew towards the vortex, with Xu Zimei and Xiao Guizi following closely behind.
As they entered the vortex, like a drop of water in the ocean, it hardly caused any disturbance.
The surroundings became extremely quiet, and the originally broken space was also slowly restoring itself. Only the vortex remained, hanging upside down in midair with strands of engulfing force.
The Taiyuan Heavenly Sect was founded thirty thousand years ago. Emperor Taiyuan, originally a loose cultivator, did not have a life as glorious as that of the True Martial Great Emperor or Empress Hongtian, but it was filled with legendary tales.
In an age thirty thousand years ago, the Saint Heirs and Saintesses of various Sect Gates fought over the Destiny of their time, battling above the Heavenly Sea.