Chapter 412

Chapter 412: A Kind-hearted Person

As the dust settled, Ji Yang glanced back at the punch he had just thrown, which seemed to carry a unique essence.

It was not merely the strength of his body.

It seemed to contain traces of his Essence of War!

Unfortunately, once the feeling faded, Ji Yang could no longer grasp it again.

Ji Yang looked around; the disciples of the Heaven Demon Sect had all retreated, and even the other cultivators who had been lining up stood far away.

As Ji Yang’s gaze swept over the crowd, everyone took a few steps back, their eyes fixed on him. If they sensed even a hint of danger, they would flee.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ji Yang stored Wang He’s storage bag and then turned to vanish at the entrance of the secret realm’s mid-layer.

Once Ji Yang left, the tension among the crowd gradually eased.

With the obstruction of the Heaven Demon Sect disciples gone, the gathered cultivators hurried toward the entrance of the secret realm; if those Heaven Demon Sect cultivators returned, they wouldn’t get another chance like this.

…

Before Ji Yang could clearly see the surrounding terrain, he felt that the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth had increased significantly.

In just a breath, his internal energy began to slowly rise.

This speed of cultivation was undoubtedly an advantage in the mid-layer of the secret realm. Even if he couldn’t uncover great opportunities, staying here for a few months would benefit his realm.

As his vision cleared, Ji Yang quickly released his primordial spirit energy and before him appeared a valley. At the center of the valley was a lotus pond, surrounded by beautiful birds singing, flowers blooming—it’s as if he had entered a fairyland.

Though there was only one entrance from the lower to mid-layer of the secret realm, arriving at the mid-layer from the same entrance did not mean standing in the same place.

Looking around, there were no other cultivators in the valley.

Just as Ji Yang prepared to check the map, a sudden roar echoed in his ears.

Turning toward the sound, Ji Yang saw a dark dragon leap out from the once tranquil pond.

This dragon was covered in scales, with a pair of horns on its head. Though it was only at the Spirit Transformation Stage, its aura rivaled that of a Void Refinement stage cultivator.

Its massive body towered several feet high in the pond.

After the roar, the dark dragon turned its curious gaze toward Ji Yang.

For the spiritual beasts living in the Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong, the appearance of a cultivator often disrupts their usual lives. The dark dragon, clearly intrigued by this unfamiliar presence that had never appeared in the secret realm before, approached.

Seeing that the dragon did not attack, Ji Yang decided to ignore it.

He glanced around; it seemed there weren’t any treasures here. A Spirit Transformation Stage dragon might attract many cultivators, but Ji Yang was not among them.

Since Ji Yang posed no threat, the dark dragon moved closer and examined him curiously before diving back into the water.

When it emerged again, it had a lotus pod in its mouth, the pod containing several plump lotus seeds.

After the dragon placed the lotus pod in front of Ji Yang, a hint of surprise flickered in Ji Yang’s eyes.

Ordinary spiritual beasts usually had territorial awareness, and upon encountering a cultivator, they would either attack or drive them away. He had not expected to meet such a generous dragon here—it was certainly better than his own spiritual beasts.

Examining the lotus seeds on the ground, which were abundant in spiritual energy and clearly rare spiritual plants, Ji Yang didn’t find them particularly valuable, but at least it was the dragon’s kind offering.

Seeing Ji Yang accept the lotus pod, the dark dragon appeared quite pleased.

As Ji Yang took a few Yun Ling Dans out of his storage bag, the dark dragon became even more excited, swaying its body in the pond, its eyes shining with anticipation.

Clearly, it regarded the item as a gift from Ji Yang.

Noticing this, Ji Yang smiled slightly and immediately without hesitation tossed a Yun Ling Dan into his mouth, which made the joy on the dragon’s face disappear, and before it could express any confusion, the valley echoed with a sound of sorrowful wailing.

Once the wailing faded, Ji Yang clapped his hands in satisfaction and leisurely walked out of the valley.

He had a kind heart; otherwise, he might have actually given the dragon some pills.

Ji Yang simply wanted to teach the dragon a lesson, to help it understand that giving does not always result in receiving, and a good heart does not always yield rewards. He hoped to impart a lesson to this naive dragon.

After Ji Yang walked further away, the dark dragon cautiously peeked its head out from beneath the water.

However, the purity in its eyes had faded slightly, as it seemed to grasp the cruelty of the cultivation world.

…

Three days later, Ji Yang stood atop a cliff, absorbing the recently emerging Blue Light Points.

Cultivation level +1

Casually collecting the high-level spiritual plant he had just dug up, Ji Yang wore a satisfied expression.

Indeed, this mid-layer of the secret realm, rich in spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, had yielded far more high-level spiritual plants than the lower levels.

Ji Yang’s cultivation points had now reached 977, getting closer to the milestone of 999.

After putting away the spiritual plants, Ji Yang took out the booklet to check the area he was in.

Unfortunately, the booklet only contained partial maps of the mid-layer of the secret realm, while the remaining sections were blank shadows—places unexplored by cultivators or places where cultivators had ventured but never returned, resulting in a lack of updated information.

Even so, the entrances to the upper levels of the secret realm were quite clear, not hindering Ji Yang’s progress.

However, along the way, Ji Yang encountered many powerful ferocious beasts. These beasts were strong and would often attack passing cultivators.

Ji Yang did not hold back against these ferocious beasts, completely raiding their lairs.

Most of Ji Yang’s cultivation points had come from these beast lairs.

To express their gratitude for Ji Yang clearing their environment, the beasts kindly offered him some valuable items from their possessions.

Ji Yang gladly accepted, as he had put in the effort and certainly deserved some gains.

Although the rewards were good, sadly, Ji Yang had not found any trace of the essence of the Way so far.

He wasn’t discouraged by this; if discovering the essence of the Way were so easy, many cultivators wouldn’t have to venture into the upper levels of the secret realm.

According to the classifications of the Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong, the upper layers belonged to the celestial realm, and such rare items like the essence of the Way would naturally be in the hands of celestial beings, which made perfect sense.

At his current pace, he could reach the upper levels of the secret realm in about three days.

However, before heading to the upper levels, Ji Yang needed to maximize his cultivation points so he could observe the situation. Regardless of whether he could exceed the limits of his cultivation points, it wouldn’t affect his ascension in realm.

The purpose of this was straightforward; the upper levels gathered top figures from various major sects, and there were numerous late Void Refinement stage cultivators, including true heirs from these sects. Among them, there might even be cultivators who have mastered the essence of the Way.

This was not merely Ji Yang’s speculation, but a conclusion he drew after encountering two true heirs from the He Dao Sect.

Although his current realm, late Spirit Transformation, was not low, if he encountered a Void Refinement stage cultivator who had mastered the essence of the Way, he might not be able to defeat them.