The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

When the first shard appeared, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had originally planned on claiming it. After all, it was from a Divinity Transformation Stage secret realm, which could very well contain treasures unidentified even by cultivators of that stage, left within the secret realm.

Assembling the shards wasn’t easy; the White Snake Clan’s Bone Collector had searched for many years without finding the other two pieces, so Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were prepared to spend a year or perhaps even longer in the Demon Territory, slowly gathering them.

A year or so later, the two would rightly reach the Nascent Soul Stage, and to break into a Divinity Transformation Stage secret realm would only make sense.

What neither of them expected was that in less than a minute, they had all the pieces.

"Bone Collector, Jin Xuan, so the other two shards were in your possession!" the old lion erupted in fury, suddenly opening his eyes wide, his gaze burning like torches, his fur bristling.

"Old lion, have you no shame? You hid that piece quite well!" Jin Xuan, who was also the Qiongqi Clan’s Manager, was equally enraged.

He had searched for the other two shards for over a hundred years all over the Demon Territory, nearly running his legs off, only to find the piece was right under his nose the whole time.

Even through the projection of his Spiritual Sense, Lu Yang could feel the killing intent emanating from the three.

Bringing together the three shards could open a Divinity Transformation Stage secret realm, which was worth more than any Clone, illegitimate child, or talented junior—it was absolutely not something to be given up!

The three shards, sensing each other’s presence, began to tremble violently before shooting out, quickly converging above Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"This is bad!" The three old demons of the Demon Race turned pale with shock, not expecting the shards to fly out of their control and toward Lu Yang!

An opportunity that had fallen into their hands was not to be surrendered; such generosity did not exist in the Demon Territory!

"Don’t panic—the key may be in their hands, but if they don’t know the location of the secret realm, it’s futile!" Bone Collector sneered, for what good was the key if one didn’t know where the door was?

Even he didn’t know the location of the secret realm.

"The most pressing matter right now is to intercept those two quickly and snatch the key back!" All three of them were great demons in the late stage of the Nascent Soul, and they refused to believe they couldn’t overcome these two Nascent Soul Stage lads!

"You’re right." The other two demons agreed, realizing they had panicked.

The three shards collided above the heads of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, forming a white jade disk. A white light appeared under their feet, corresponding with the pattern on the disk!

Boom—

The ground cracked, rumbling continuously, until the pair swiftly leapt aside.

"The secret realm is right beneath their feet!" Bone Collector’s eyes bulged with fury, almost bleeding with anger.

"Hurry up and call in the Divinity Transformation Stage you know—we three alone can’t stop these two!" Bone Collector shouted, it was easier to win three against two, but difficult to catch them.

Originally, he thought there was plenty of time—if they were caught multiple times, they’d eventually be captured. But now that the secret realm was right under their nose, there was no time to catch them multiple times.

They needed to urgently call for help from the Divinity Transformation Stage; even if the Divinity Transformation Stage got the lion’s share, they’d still be able to partake in the spoils.

Without hesitation, the three old demons dispersed their Spiritual Sense projections and sought out acquaintances in the Divinity Transformation Stage.

Bone Collector and Jin Xuan had it easier; their backers in their respective clans were of the Divinity Transformation Stage, while the old lion needed to seek help from other places.

"Is this the key to opening the secret realm?" Lu Yang pointed at the floating white jade disk above him, looking puzzled.

"Judging by their reaction, yes," Meng Jingzhou’s expression was equally priceless.

Within moments, an eight-hundred-li radius was enveloped by turmoil—as if someone had leaked the news, or perhaps a Divinity Transformation Stage worried about being outcompeted had called in friends and acquaintances to help, leading countless Divinity Transformation Stage beings to the opening of the secret realm.

Many in the Divinity Transformation Stage became interested in a secret realm left by someone of their own level.

It might contain treasures that could aid in elevating their realm, and cultivation techniques left by those at the same level also held significant value.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

One after another, enigmatic figures wielding tremendous power and of various shapes—all from the Divinity Transformation Stage of the Demon Race—appeared.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou swallowed hard; facing one or two Divinity Transformation Stage beings, they might not be in mortal danger, as they could flee if they couldn’t fight.

But facing a swarm of Divinity Transformation Stage beings was a different story—then none of their Nascent Soul Stage talents would be of any use.

"The white jade disk is in the hands of these juniors?" A late-stage Divinity Transformation Qiongqi with glaring fangs looked coldly at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"To answer the senior, yes, it’s these two!" Jin Xuan bowed his head, kneeling on the ground.

A giant white snake coiled in the sky, with two bulges on its head, seemingly on the verge of transforming into a dragon!

He was a Divinity Transformation Stage being from the White Snake Clan who Bone Collector had summoned.

The celestial wolf capable of swallowing the moon, the giant ape who could walk while carrying mountains...

One Divinity Transformation Stage being after another appeared, leaving Bone Collector, Jin Xuan, and the old lion three demons shaken with fear. Any one of these beings could sweep the three of them aside and could forcibly take over their territories without much resistance from them—they didn’t even dare to fart too loudly.

Such was the power of being an entire realm apart!

Among the three demons, Jin Xuan was the strongest, possessing the strength just Half Step away from the Divinity Transformation Stage; but here, he also had to keep his head down and behave humbly, not daring to draw too much attention to himself.

The Golden Core elders and Foundation Establishment demons who had been knocked unconscious began to regain consciousness, only to wish they could lapse back into unconsciousness upon seeing those Divinity Transformation Stage beings in the sky.

Divinity Transformation Stage dragons are so rare to be seen; it could be decades before one shows up. How long were they unconscious, what happened, and how did so many of the Divinity Transformation Stage appear?

Was it their lifespans that were exhausted to exchange for this one opportunity?

"It’s a bit tricky, if only I’d known, I would have carried Old Ma here." Meng Jingzhou clicked his tongue, "How about you show them a round of Eldest Senior Sister’s Imitation Fist?"

Originally they were just showing off in front of the Golden Core members of the Demon Race, but how did they end up gathering so many from the Divinity Transformation Stage?

This is not following the script, where’s the transition through the Nascent Soul Stage?

At the very least, let the two of them kill a few Nascent Soul Stage members before leading to the Divinity Transformation Stage, that would be something.

Lu Yang showed a troubled expression: "Third Senior Sister is still unaccounted for; wouldn’t it be a little inappropriate to call Eldest Senior Sister over?"

They had come to assist Third Senior Sister in her archeological research, not to sweep through the Demon Territory.

Just as Lu Yang and his company did not take this group of Divinity Transformation Stage members seriously, those members also did not regard Lu Yang and his company highly.

They were merely two slightly talented juniors at the Golden Core Stage, hardly significant.

"Let’s kill these two juniors first, then we can talk about exploring the Secret Realm."

"Alright."

The Divinity Transformation Stage members quickly came to an agreement, their aura turbulent and their killing intent unrestrained.

Lu Yang sighed; there was no other way; they had to force an invitation to the Eldest Senior Sister.

Thud—

Suddenly, a pleasant sound of a zither echoed through the sky, tingling like a stream striking against stones, inexplicably comforting and calming the restless hearts.

"Did I allow you to kill?"

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As the zither music ceased, a figure in green appeared in front of Lu Yang, blocking all murderous intents directed at him.

The figure in green cradled an ancient zither, her posture lazy and looks stunningly beautiful, eyes covered with a black cloth, adding a touch of mystery.

"It’s her!"

"Damn it, how could it be her!"

"Isn’t she currently being hunted by various clans, yet she dares to show her face?!"

The pupils of those in the Divinity Transformation Stage shrunk, agitated and looking towards the green-clad figure with a combination of fear and disbelief, as a wave of terror spread among them.

This was a formidable figure even those in the Body Integration Realm could not handle, not someone they at the Divinity Transformation Stage could mess with!

"Run!"

Without hesitation, those in the Divinity Transformation Stage fled.

Clang!

The plucking of the zither strings vibrated the space, immobilizing everyone in mid-air, unable to move even a finger, fear unmistakably etched in their eyes.

"Did I say you could run?"

"Third Senior Sister?" Lu Yang asked tentatively, his tone carrying a hint of joy.

He had seen portraits of Third Senior Sister before.

"It’s me."

"Senior Sister, how did you get here? We were just saying we need to find you!"

They were still hundreds of miles away from the location Third Senior Sister had given them.

Third Senior Sister spoke with a tone of helplessness.

"Eldest Senior Sister sent me a message, saying that it’s unlikely you two would honestly come to find me. If there were any major disturbances in these few days, it likely would have been caused by you two. She told me to come to your aid, to prevent any accidents."

"How did you two manage to draw in so many from the Divinity Transformation Stage?"

Lu Yang said cautiously: "...If I said it was all a coincidence, would you believe me?"

"I do."

"You do?"

Lu Yang was overjoyed, not expecting the Third Senior Sister he had never met to trust him so much.

"Mmm, that’s what I always tell Eldest Senior Sister when I cause trouble in the Demon Territory."

(Wishing you smooth sailing with the postgraduate exam, success in reaching the shore)