Supreme Sword Exalt

Upon hearing Murong Yan’s exclamation, Gu Han followed her into the secret realm.

Soon, he furrowed his brow as well. “This isn’t right!”

Even the smallest secret realm should logically have abundant spirit qi within. However, the spirit qi in the Yang family secret realm was extremely sparse, even lesser than the outside world. As for spirit herbs, there were scarcely any to be found. Even the occasional ones they spotted seemed half-dead, devoid of any vitality.

It was the obvious aftermath of a long-term lack of spirit qi nourishment. Even more bizarre was the patterns on the leaves and veins of those few spirit herbs. They were faint and dark-red, resembling blood vessels.

Gu Han was dumbfounded. “No way. All that effort for nothing?”

The technique was shared, and everyone was lured away. He even took care of the demoness along the way. And this was the result?

Beside him, Shen Xuan and Yang Ying looked grave.

“Does it look similar?”

“Very much so!”

Gu Han suddenly snapped back to attention. “What do you mean? Similar to what?”

Murong Yan pointed into the distance. “Look! There’s a restriction over there, and something inside it!”

Hmm? The three were stunned and instinctively looked over. Right then, they saw a semi-transparent restriction about ten zhang wide in the distance.

Gu Han was the first to rush over. “Let’s go take a look!”

The secret realm wasn’t very large to begin with. In less than two breaths, the group reached the outside of that restriction. Within it was a small black pond about a chi wide, on which a palm-sized, deep purple spirit herb grew. Despite the lack of wind, its seven leaves swayed, appearing sentient and extraordinarily mystical.

Gu Han was taken aback. “What spirit herb is that?”

Shen Xuan’s eyes went wide. “Soul-Nourishing Grass? And seven leaves?”

Gu Han’s eyes lit up. “Soul-Nourishing Grass? It’s something good, right?”

He could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary thing based on its appearance alone.

Yang Ying sighed out of the blue. “Did you forget? I told you the Yang family has a precious herb that can supplement soul power!” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

“It’s this one?”

Yang Ying nodded. “Yes. Over ten years ago, Old Ancestor obtained this precious herb from the deepest part of the Wild Forest. They always kept it here to greatly boost Yang Lin’s soul power. This way, when he breaks through to the Divine Connection realm, he can skip several minor stages at once.”

Gu Han pondered. “Yang Lin? Yang Fei’s older brother? The Qixia Court’s chief disciple?”

Yang Ying nodded. “Yes. He is also the Yang family’s young lord.”

Gu Han raised an eyebrow. “Young lord? It seems I’m at odds with that term too!”

Yang Ying ignored his teasing, looking puzzled. “But I don’t know why this Soul-Nourishing Grass has seven leaves...”

Gu Han’s heart skipped a beat. “What if it has seven leaves?”

Shen Xuan explained, “Brother Gu, although it’s considered a top-tier precious herb for supplementing soul power, its growth cycle is extremely slow. It grows only one leaf every hundred years, so it must be seven hundred years old! Junior Brother Yang, since you knew about this herb, why are you so—hmm?”

Something seemed to have occurred to Shen Xuan. “Could it be...”

Yang Ying thought for a moment. “When the old ancestor brought back this precious herb, I saw it from afar. It only had five leaves!”

Shen Xuan sighed. “Indeed. The abnormalities here are definitely connected to the two extra leaves!”

Gu Han’s eyes gleamed, but not because he cared about the abnormalities. “Does that mean the effect is better?”

Yang Ying sounded somewhat emotional. “Of course. When this spirit herb grows to nine leaves, it will evolve into a half-saint herb. Seven leaves already surpasses the most precious herbs in the world.”

Gu Han was full of desire. “We must get this thing!”

He had a feeling that the effects of this herb was much better than the Ghost Physician’s pills. After all, the nine pills were made from a half-saint herb, while this was a full spirit herb nearing half-saint level.

Murong Yan nodded. “Right! We’re already here. If we don’t take some good stuff back, what’s all our hard work these past days for?!”

Gu Han and Murong Yan were in perfect agreement. “Exactly! There’s a saying that goes ’a thief never leaves empty-handed’!”

Shen Xuan felt a bit awkward. “Brother Gu, we... ahem—”

Gu Han said with absolute conviction, “We are thieves! We absolutely cannot return empty-handed! That’s against the rules!”

Shen Xuan was speechless.

Yang Ying shook his head. “It’s difficult. This restriction was obviously set up by the old ancestor himself. He’s at the Half-Step Transcendent Realm. To break it, I’m afraid you’d at least have to be a Heavenly Tribulation realm expert.”

Gu Han instantly drew his sword. “Let’s try. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll go back and ask Senior Sister for help.”

“No need for that! Let me try first!” Murong Yan hefted her great hammer, her aura surging. She raised her hammer high, smashing down fiercely onto the barrier. “Break for me!”

A deafening roar sounded. Luckily, the commotion couldn’t spread since they were inside the secret realm. Otherwise, that single strike would’ve alerted the entire Yang family.

The barrier visibly rippled and even dented inward slightly. Ultimately, Murong Yan’s strength was far from enough. In less than a split-second, the barrier had returned to its original state, its glow dimming slightly.

Murong Yan was greatly dissatisfied. “Nothing? Another one!”

Gu Han stopped her. “Wait. Let’s do it together!”

It became clear that breaking the barrier would be extremely difficult with Murong Yan alone.

Murong Yan knew the seriousness of the matter and wouldn’t act recklessly. “Alright.”

In the blink of an eye, the three were ready. One sword with murderous intent surging, one spear pressing forward unwaveringly, and one savage and overbearingly large hammer. As for Shen Xuan, he was nimble, but his killing power was average. He could only be counted as an extra.

Continuous roars kept ringing out. All four were going all out, their attacks constantly landing on the barrier. Although the barrier persisted, its glow gradually dimmed even more. After some time, the barrier seemed unable to hold on any longer. It flickered for an instant and then vanished into nothingness.

Now, Gu Han and Yang Ying were almost exhausted. Clearly having a tough time, Murong Yan’s mouth was dripping with blood.

Suppressing his exhaustion, Gu Han excitedly approached the small pond. “Success!”

Upon seeing the layer of transparent, clear liquid within the pond, faintly glowing with divine light, he couldn’t help but pause. “Hmm? What’s this?”

The roots of the Soul-Nourishing Grass were embedded in the liquid, evidently using it as nourishment.

Shen Xuan and Yang Ying’s expressions instantly turned grave. “It’s really here!”

Perhaps because the restriction was destroyed, that layer of liquid quickly evaporated, transforming into wisps of spirit mist glowing with divine light.

With just one breath, Gu Han felt all his exhaustion swept away. Not only that, the lingering internal injuries were completely gone. Even his cultivation had advanced a bit.

Gu Han’s eyes lit up again. “Now that’s some good stuff!”

The spirit mist’s effect was actually dozens of times better than the Murong family’s heaven-class room!

Shen Xuan took a deep breath. “Remember when I told you that large secret realm that held a heaven-defying opportunity. I actually meant this liquid!”

Recalling the wonderful feeling just now, Gu Han deeply agreed. “This is it? It really is a heaven-defying opportunity!”

Murong Yan suddenly understood. “No wonder this place felt so similar to that secret realm!”

Yang Ying’s face was filled with complex emotions. “I understand now. No wonder this Soul-Nourishing Grass evolved to seven leaves so quickly! It was because of this! How on earth did the old ancestor manage this?”

Shen Xuan frowned deeply. “Something’s off. This is more than just similar! It’s practically carved from the same mold. Logically, this thing shouldn’t even appear here!”

Murong Yan glared at him. “What’s the point of overthinking?! When the old ancestor returns, I’ll ask him, and then we’ll know everything!”

Shen Xuan sighed. “That’s the only way, I suppose.”

Murong Yan looked at the Soul Nourishing Grass, a flicker of desire in her eyes. “Brother Gu, quick, take it! This precious herb is perfect for that little girl’s condition. We really hit the jackpot this time!”

Hesitating for a moment, Gu Han secretly sighed and didn’t refuse. He had an apologetic look on his face. “This Soul-Nourishing Grass is too important for Ah Sha! I’m really sorry!”

After all that effort, the biggest and only gain from this operation was this Soul Nourishing Grass. Logically, all three should have a share for contributing significantly. Moreover, the three were approaching the Divine Connection realm. They would benefit well off this precious herb.

Seemingly displeased, Murong Yan slapped Gu Han’s shoulder. “Stop being so formal! As your elder sister, would I fight my own brother for something? Besides, isn’t the Heaven-tier technique that you gave us more valuable than this herb? If you keep saying things like that, I’ll really hit you!”

Gu Han grimaced in pain.

Shen Xuan almost couldn’t hold back a laugh. “That’s right. I may not be exceptionally talented, but I won’t be held back by the Divine Connection realm either. Just take this thing with peace of mind!”

Yang Ying replied straightforwardly, “I owe you. That Heaven-tier technique was too great a favor. Consider this as me repaying part of it first. And also, this Soul-Nourishing Grass is not very useful for me...”

The others thought he was just being polite and didn’t pay it much mind.

Murong Yan’s large hand pressed down slightly harder. “Brother, don’t say things like that again in the future!”

Crack!

A faint bone-cracking sound was heard.

Murong Yan looked embarrassed and quickly withdrew her hand. “Alright, alright, we got a good haul this time. If that old bastard Yang Tong comes back, he’ll be furious!”

Shen Xuan gave Gu Han a speechless look. “Is it broken?”

Gu Han looked resigned. “Yeah.”

I was careless! I forgot to dodge!

Quietly increasing his distance from Murong Yan, he rubbed his shoulder. “In that case, then we—”

Yang Ying hesitated for a moment. “Actually, if you want to compensate, there might be a way.”

Murong Yan flared up in anger. “Dude, have you no shame! You got a Heaven-tier technique for free, and you still want compensation?!”

Gu Han immediately caught on, his eyes lighting up. “Brother Yang, you mean—”

Yang Ying took a deep breath. “Yes. The Meng family’s secret realm.”

Cautious and meticulous as he was, he normally wouldn’t even suggest such things. However now, he had clearly fallen too deep into the dream of getting rich.

Gu Han forgot his shoulder pain. “Brother Yang, you are truly my soulmate! The Yang and Meng families are closely connected. If we’ve robbed the Yang family, how can we not rob the Meng family! We must be fair and impartial! We absolutely cannot show favoritism!”

Shen Xuan opened his mouth but said nothing. He suddenly felt that offending Gu Han was definitely the stupidest thing the two families had ever done.

***

At this moment, Meng Chuan was oblivious that the Meng family’s secret realm had also caught Gu Han’s eye. The great melee in the ancient relic had already reached a fever pitch.