Chapter 130: Secretly Spirited Away

Xia Jiuxuan was the first to leap into the entrance beneath the throne.

"Following Brother Xia is always the right move!"

The others did not hesitate, jumping into the entrance one after another.

"Hurry up, Bai Long!"

Seeing that only two remained, one urged the other before jumping down himself.

"What’s the rush? I’m coming."

The youth named Bai Long grumbled and walked to the edge of the entrance. Suddenly, threads of blood-red silk snaked across the ground and coiled tightly around his ankles.

"Ah!"

Bai Long let out a terrified scream.

*Rustle, rustle...*

The blood-red threads spread rapidly, quickly infiltrating his veins. His forehead bulged with crimson veins, and his eyes turned hollow and vacant—he was already dead!

*Hiss.*

After a few moments, Bai Long stood up from the ground. The crimson hue faded from his pupils, and his demeanor became exactly as it was before his death. He let out a low, hoarse moan and plunged into the pitch-black entrance.

...

Passing through a long, narrow tunnel, Xia Jiuxuan arrived at an underground stone chamber. In the center of the room stood a circular, three-zhang-high altar.

"Brother Xia, what is this?" Duanmu Wan asked curiously.

But Xia Jiuxuan was lost in thought, staring intently at the towering altar, seemingly oblivious to her question. A sense of inexplicable agitation stirred within him.

*Back then, how many drops of my Imperial Blood did he take? Two, or three?*

That was the question currently consuming his thoughts.

"Hey, Brother Xia, Miss Duanmu is talking to you."

Mu Feng, standing nearby, noticed Xia Jiuxuan’s dazed state and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Hm?" Xia Jiuxuan snapped back to reality. "What was that?"

"She asked what this thing is used for," Mu Feng said.

"Oh." Xia Jiuxuan finally returned to his composed self. "It’s a teleportation array. With this, we can safely teleport out of here."

"That’s wonderful!"

Hearing this, everyone beamed with joy. After surviving so many life-threatening ordeals since entering the secret realm, they finally had a chance to get out alive.

"If it weren't for Brother Xia, we would have died countless times over."

"Exactly! Our lives were all saved by Brother Xia!"

"From now on, as long as Brother Xia doesn't mind, I am willing to serve him like a beast of burden!"

"Me too!"

Having escaped the jaws of death, the group felt even more gratitude toward Xia Jiuxuan.

"Don't celebrate just yet. Whether the array can actually be repaired remains to be seen."

Xia Jiuxuan inspected it; the array had not been used for thousands of years, and some of the mystical runes had faded and needed to be re-engraved. Furthermore, even if repaired, it would require a massive amount of spirit crystals to activate.

"It’s fine, we trust that Brother Xia will fix it!"

These people now worshipped Xia Jiuxuan, trusting him unconditionally.

"Heh."

Xia Jiuxuan shook his head and began preparing to replenish the runes. With nothing else to do, the others sat down to meditate and cultivate.

Several days passed. Only three days remained until the secret realm would naturally expel all who had entered.

Outside, the high-ranking members of the hundred outer-realm sects wore grim expressions. They had brought over seven hundred geniuses from the mortal nations, but now, only a meager dozen could be seen on the giant screen in the sky. The others had either perished or fallen into that dilapidated palace where they could no longer be tracked.

"Sigh, that batch of mortal geniuses must all be dead," one sect master sighed.

Over seven hundred people, and only a dozen remained—how would they answer to those mortal noble houses and hidden sects?

The outer-realm sects did not fear the mortal powers, but for thousands of years, the two sides had maintained constant exchange and trade. If such a grave incident occurred, future trade relations might be blocked by the mortal royal families. It was well-known that the mortal lands possessed many resources unavailable to the outer-realm sects, such as rare alchemy materials, forging materials, and essential items for magical cultivation that had to be procured from the mortal nations. A vast majority of these resources were controlled by the royal families and hidden sects.

Everything happening within the secret realm was a massive headache for the outer-realm sects.

"It’s all that bastard Xia Jiuxuan’s fault! If not for him, at least two or three hundred more would have survived!"

"That wretch must have died in the dilapidated palace too. Sigh, I wanted to hold him accountable—it’s infuriating!"

"Your Heavenly Star Sect is doing well; you’ve secured several Fortune Light Orbs. Once you hand those over to that Lord, you’re sure to receive great benefits. Our sect, however, got nothing, and our agents were all slaughtered by Xia Jiuxuan!"

"That dog Xia Jiuxuan! Where is his hometown? I’ll send men to slaughter his entire clan!"

"I heard he came from the Xianwu Dynasty. We'll find an opportunity to inquire and hold his family accountable!"

"Good, that’s the plan!"

...

The members of the outer-realm sects gnashed their teeth in hatred toward Xia Jiuxuan, wishing they could peel his skin and feast on his flesh. But they all assumed he had perished in the dilapidated palace, leaving them with no one to punish.

"Wait? Look!"

"In the north of the secret realm, why have dozens of people suddenly appeared?"

"Isn't that Bai Long and the others? They were the ones who entered the dilapidated palace earlier!"

"They aren't dead!"

Just as everyone was falling into despair, a portion of the youths who had entered the palace emerged from the remote northern reaches of the realm.

"Look, that wretch Xia Jiuxuan is there too!"

The high-ranking members of the eighteen sects immediately spotted Xia Jiuxuan among the group.

"Good, very good! He’s actually alive!"

Seeing Xia Jiuxuan, the members of the eighteen sects were overjoyed, for they did not want him to die so easily. Li Hengyang and Bai Wendao, in particular, harbored a blood feud with him; they would not be satisfied until they killed him with their own hands.

"Disciples, listen: all those at the peak of the Lifan stage are to immediately guard the major exits!"

"And you, Elders, please go to the exits as well. You must capture Xia Jiuxuan alive, so he can suffer every torture before he dies!"

In an instant, the major sects issued orders to capture Xia Jiuxuan. The eighteen sects, to ensure nothing went wrong, sent all their experts to guard the exits, leaving only a few elders and top prodigies to hold down the fort.

...

In the secret underground chamber of the realm:

"Brother Xia, how did you make that group earlier look exactly like us?" Duanmu Wan was truly startled, as every single one of them had appeared with a duplicate.

Xia Jiuxuan toyed with a bronze mirror in his hand—a treasure he had found within the teleportation array.

"It was just a light-shadow illusion created by this mirror," Xia Jiuxuan replied.

"Oh? I thought you could really create people infinitely, hee hee," Duanmu Wan laughed.

"Brother Xia, why did you make illusions of us?" someone asked.

Xia Jiuxuan sneered. "Do you think the outer-realm sects will let me go? Once I step out, they will stop at nothing to kill me. I just created some phantom illusions to distract them."

The others nodded silently.

"Brother Xia, the outer-realm sects aren't good people either. Regardless of what happens, we stand with you!"

"That’s right! Even if it means war with the outer-realm sects, I’m not afraid! My family is not to be trifled with either!"

"Brother Xia, from now on, let us follow you. If you tell us to go east, we will never dare to go west!"

"Please, Brother Xia, take us in!"

Everyone knelt on the ground, bowing in sincerity. Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow. "Are you really willing to follow me?"

"Yes!" the group answered in unison.

"Even if it means you might die at any moment, you are still willing?" Xia Jiuxuan asked calmly.

"We would die without regret!"

They answered together again. Having witnessed Xia Jiuxuan's various miraculous methods, they considered the chance to follow him to be the greatest fortune imaginable.

"Very well. Since you are all sincere, I will accept you. Soon, I will teleport you directly to the Xianwu Dynasty’s Taixuan Academy. Wait for me there," Xia Jiuxuan said.

"What about you, Brother?" one of the youths asked.

"I have some small matters to attend to. Don't ask," Xia Jiuxuan said coolly.

"Understood. We will follow your orders, Brother."

Everyone nodded.

"Everyone, get on the teleportation array immediately." Xia Jiuxuan brought out eight thousand spirit crystals and refined them into the array.

"Brother Xia, I’ll go with you," Duanmu Wan said, remaining off the array.

"You are to go with them and wait for me at Taixuan Academy," Xia Jiuxuan refused.

"Hmph." Duanmu Wan pouted, clearly reluctant.

"Don't waste time, get on," Xia Jiuxuan urged.

"I’m just worried about you!" Duanmu Wan stomped her foot, then reluctantly flew onto the array.

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law. Brother has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, hehe," someone teased.

"Pfft, who's your sister-in-law?" Duanmu Wan’s face flushed, and she bowed her head with a shy smile.

Xia Jiuxuan shrugged helplessly and immediately channeled his spirit energy to activate the array. A white light enveloped the group, and after a few moments, they vanished.

Then, Xia Jiuxuan stepped onto the array.

"The Feathered Sect... it seems to be in the Northern Territory."

Xia Jiuxuan was intimately familiar with every inch of this world. He carved his destination onto the direction disk, aiming for the vicinity of the Feathered Sect.