"This time, many core disciples who entered the Celestial Flame Secret Realm obtained the Transcendence Fruit and, with its help, broke through to the True Dao Realm in one fell swoop!"
Just as Chu Ming and his two companions arrived and were still unaware of the dynamics of the scene, Li Yuqing began explaining the situation to them. They understood the importance of knowing the enemy and quietly listened.
"Although the Celestial Star Sect only has three people, their strength cannot be underestimated. There’s no need to mention Liu Lin. The other two are both True Dao Martial Artists now. One of them is Yan Lingyu, who was already close in strength to Liu Lin in the Transcendence Realm. Now, his power can only be described as unfathomable! The other one is called Li Zhuo. He was originally unremarkable in the Celestial Star Sect, but he was fortunate enough to obtain a Transcendence Fruit, and directly advanced to the True Dao Realm!"
Chu Ming and his friends looked over at the Celestial Star Sect’s team. Liu Lin and Yan Lingyu stood there with reined-in auras and composed expressions. As for Li Zhuo, he had a pale complexion and an ordinary appearance, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Chu Ming couldn’t help but marvel at how the Celestial Flame Secret Realm was truly a place of great opportunities. In the outside world, Li Zhuo might never have hoped to stand out as a core disciple of the Celestial Star Sect, but in the Secret Realm, a single Transcendence Fruit allowed him to soar to the top.
Chu Ming believed that as long as Li Zhuo returned to the Celestial Star Sect, he could immediately become an Outer Sect Elder, and in the future, there would even be a place for him as an Inner Sect Elder.
"In Burning Fire Valley, the True Dao Martial Artist known as ’The Iron Legs’ is Du Wei!" Li Yuqing said leisurely, casting her gaze toward the teenager beside Li Yun. Following her gaze, Chu Ming and the others looked over.
Du Wei was a lean man with straight legs that seemed deeply rooted in the ground. Sharp gleams occasionally flashed in his eyes. Sensing the gazes of Chu Ming and the others, Du Wei turned to look at them.
At that moment, Li Yun whispered a few words into his ear, and Du Wei nodded lightly. The coldness in his eyes as he looked at Chu Ming was enough to tell Chu Ming that Li Yun must have instructed Du Wei to find an opportunity to deal with him.
Although many core disciples had broken through to the True Dao Realm, the ones holding dominant positions on the field were still the talents of the Five Great Sects. After all, their foundations were incredibly profound. Ordinary core disciples, even after breaking through to the True Dao Realm, still stood no chance against the top talents.
"The True Dao Martial Artist from Cyan Nether Mountain is Leng Wuyan, known as ’Cyan Sword’."
Chu Ming had met Leng Wuyan before at an auction in Qing Yang City, though they hadn’t interacted much at the time.
This time, he clearly felt that Leng Wuyan’s Sword Dao aura had become even more intense. The edge of his Sword Dao aura seemed to surround him continuously, giving off a sharp and piercing feeling, like a sword drawn from its sheath.
"The True Dao Martial Artists from Martial Extreme Sect are Huang Tianhe and Zhang Tu!"
Huang Tianhe was a martial arts expert, dressed in yellow, with dark and shiny skin and bulging muscles that stretched his clothes tight. His eyes were somewhat vacant, and a silly smile occasionally appeared on his face.
Despite the male name, Zhang Tu was actually a woman, not particularly beautiful—one might even call her ugly. Her weapon was a blood-red scythe coiled around her arm, with blood-colored glimmers continuously flashing at its end, adding a sense of slaughter.
In summary, the overall strength of core disciples from the Five Great Sects who had reached this place was now about equal. Many originally prominent core disciples had died, and many obscure ones had soared to prominence.
This is why, despite the known dangers, the Five Great Sects were still drawn to the Celestial Flame Secret Realm like moths to a flame.
As Li Yuqing was introducing the other teams, the massive black palace in the sky, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, slowly descended. Blue lightning danced chaotically across the sky, seemingly connecting with the top of the palace, lighting up the entire area.
Chu Ming suddenly shouted, his body turning into a streak of light as he fled from the palace. The wind gusted past, making his robes flap wildly, looking quite disheveled.
Even without him saying it, the moment he moved, all the core disciples on the hillside simultaneously rose and flew away, their speed like lasers and lightning.
The black palace landed, and countless blue bolts of lightning flashed, shattering the ground with powerful impact. Cracks spread out like a spiderweb. The force was unparalleled, with countless blue sparks dancing like wild serpents.
A faint white shockwave radiated rapidly from the palace, shattering everything within a thousand meters. Dust and sand flew everywhere, in a hazy mess.
A Martial Extreme Sect disciple who failed to escape in time was directly shattered by the terrible white shockwave, his body turning into a mist of blood and scattering in the air, blood splattering everywhere.
Witnessing this scene, Chu Ming and his companions broke out in cold sweat, their backs soaked. They knew the terrible white shockwave could not be resisted by anyone among them. Even the aftershocks had left them nearly breathless.
As the terrifying white shockwave gradually subsided, on close inspection, the land around the palace was wrecked and pitted, black haze hovering, and a basin-like depression was formed.
Chu Ming and his companions, in a sorry state, quietly waited from a very far distance. Other sect disciples also gathered around the palace, their eyes flickering, staring intently at the white shockwave around the palace.
The terrifying white shockwave suddenly vibrated a few times, then began to slowly dissipate in everyone’s eyes.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
When the terrifying shockwave disappeared, the core disciples scattered around instantly darted toward the black palace.
Li Yuqing’s eyes flickered, and she said lightly while leading Chu Ming and the others toward the black palace.
In front of the palace stood a blue pillar of light, emitting a faint, gentle glow, radiating streams of light, dazzling the eyes.
As they slowly approached, the terrifying pressure from the black palace increased continuously, slowing down Chu Ming and his friends’ pace. The normally short distance took them half an incense stick to cover.
At this moment, other core disciples had also approached the black palace. The palace had only one entrance, facing south, but tightly shut. The massive blue pillar of light stood right before the entrance.
A cold, piercing gaze was directed at Chu Ming. He turned and saw Li Yun’s eyes filled with sinister coldness.
They stopped thirty meters before the blue pillar of light, gathering once again, their eyes fixed on the pillar and the black palace!