Chapter 466

Chapter 466: Returning to the Sect.

But despite his anger, he could only endure silently.

“Hahaha! My young friend has finally returned successfully. I have waited quite a while!”

Just as Ji Yang was heading to the gathering place, he heard another voice filled with laughter.

Seeing who it was, Ji Yang smiled faintly:

“Ah, it’s Peak Master Su.”

“How is it? Is that spiritual treasure of mine useful to you?”

Peak Master Su asked with a smile, seemingly having put aside any earlier displeasure about the lost treasure.

Although he had lost the connection to the treasure, he could still sense its presence in the secret realm using his Secret Technique.

Noticing Ji Yang smile at him without speaking, Peak Master Su decided not to waste time and directly handed Ji Yang a storage bag, saying:

“All the spiritual plants you need are inside; please return my spiritual treasure to its rightful owner.”

Ji Yang, after receiving the storage bag, did not hurry to return the spiritual treasure but instead opened the bag to take a careful look.

Inside the storage bag, there indeed were twenty high-level spiritual plants.

In addition to these twenty high-level spiritual plants, there was also one that looked quite extraordinary at the edge of the bag.

This spiritual plant appeared as a flower bud, with leaves resembling green jade, crystalline and transparent, and a trickle of water flowed within the center of the leaves.

Though its appearance was somewhat strange, it was undoubtedly a top-tier spiritual plant.

Furthermore, these spiritual plants were freshly picked and full of life, still viable for continued cultivation through supernatural means.

The top-tier spiritual plant was particularly vibrant, as even the spiritual soil at its roots was still intact, showing that Peak Master Su was quite considerate.

“Are you satisfied, my young friend?”

At that moment, Peak Master Su spoke up.

Not wanting to hesitate any longer, Ji Yang swiftly took out the red staff and tossed it over.

Since Peak Master Su had kept his promise, Ji Yang would naturally not be dishonest.

Seeing the staff being casually thrown by Ji Yang, Peak Master Su hurriedly reached out to catch it.

Though he knew it was a spiritual treasure, and it wouldn’t be damaged by falling to the ground or in battle, Ji Yang’s nonchalant action still made him wince.

This was his precious item, and he could only wonder how it had been treated in Ji Yang’s hands.

After catching the staff, Peak Master Su examined the spiritual treasure carefully. Once he confirmed there was no damage, he felt a sigh of relief in his heart.

Although the mark on the treasure was gone, meaning he would need to spend a good amount of time reapplying his primordial spirit mark, the important part was that the treasure had returned, and his strength would be restored once more.

“Peak Master Su, remember to take good care of your spiritual treasure next time. Don’t lend it out so easily again.”

Hearing the teasing voice next to him, Peak Master Su snorted coldly and turned to leave without looking back.

With the treasure returned, he saw no need to be so polite.

Next time? He would make Ji Yang understand what cruelty meant!

As for the spiritual plants he had sent out, Ji Yang would soon realize their significance. He wanted to see how Ji Yang would handle that top-tier spiritual plant.

To ensure that the spiritual plant would thrive, he even dug out a piece of soil to guarantee its survival.

After Peak Master Su left, Ji Yang turned and walked toward the territory of the He Dao Sect.

However, as the two departed, Tai Jin, who had been watching the scene unfold, stood frozen in place.

At first, he intended to return, but unexpectedly, he witnessed what had just occurred.

Seeing the spiritual treasure in Ji Yang’s hand and the storage bag tossed over by Peak Master Su, Tai Jin’s mind went blank for a brief moment.

It wasn’t until he overheard their conversation that Tai Jin understood what had transpired between them.

When he learned that even a figure of Peak Master level from the Heaven Demon Sect needed to trade for his spiritual treasure, Tai Jin felt a surprising relief in his heart, and the earlier discomfort faded away.

The Peak Master of the Heaven Demon Sect traded for his spiritual treasure, and he too could trade for his own treasure.

So, he was just like the Peak Master of the Heaven Demon Sect.

No problem there!

With a feeling of satisfaction, Tai Jin swaggered toward the He Dao Sect.

When Ji Yang arrived at the square, many cultivators had already gathered around.

These were the people who had safely exited the secret realm, and many appeared joyful, clearly having gained significant rewards, while others looked dejected, showing signs of struggles during their time in the secret realm.

However, compared to those present, there were still quite a few cultivators who had not returned.

Although the exit of the secret realm would remain open for a while longer, those who couldn’t return in time were often unable to make it back.

As a high-risk secret realm, such occurrences were commonplace; cultivation required not only strength but also a bit of luck.

Ji Yang walked along the edge of the square, not hurrying to regroup, instead scanning the area as if searching for a target.

The direction Ji Yang focused on was where the cultivators from the Xuantian Sect and Blood Separation Sect were located.

The individuals he sought were, of course, the two who had escaped during their earlier battle.

Among them, the Xuantian Sect cultivator’s physical body had been destroyed, leaving only his primordial spirit. It was uncertain if his spirit could pass through the exit of the secret realm.

The remaining Blood Separation Sect cultivator appeared relatively unharmed.

However, after searching around the Xuantian Sect, Ji Yang found nothing.

When he looked toward the Blood Separation Sect, he spotted a familiar figure.

If he remembered correctly, this person was named Xue Sha.

But that no longer mattered.

Since he couldn’t deal with him in the secret realm, it would be even more difficult to make a move now.

At the same time Ji Yang glanced at him, the Blood Separation Sect cultivator seemed to be searching for something as well.

He should have been looking for Ji Yang, but unfortunately, Ji Yang had already restored his original appearance and suppressed his realm, making him unfindable.

With no luck in his search, Xue Sha snorted coldly and gave up.

However, he had reported this incident to the Unity with the Dao cultivator leading the sect in this expedition, and if he found that person named Yuan Qing, he would surely make him understand how to spell the word "death."

After passing the Blood Separation Sect, Ji Yang glanced at the location of the Qianji Gate. Since leaving the Secret Silver Mine, he hadn’t seen Huang Tian again and wondered where he had hidden.

Likewise, Ji Yang couldn’t find any trace of Huang Tian, and even the Qianji Gate cultivators had disappeared.

This person had helped him considerably, but Ji Yang didn’t worry too much; after all, a centuries-old being like him was unlikely to die easily.

However, Ji Yang soon thought of other matters.

A cultivator of Huang Tian’s level must have been famous during the Ancient Times, certainly more powerful than those at the Unity with the Dao stage. He surely mastered the essence of the Way and should be quite strong.

Yet during their earlier battle, Ji Yang didn’t see Huang Tian use the essence of the Way; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

There was no way Huang Tian would hide his essence and not use it, right?

But after thousands of years, it was normal for unexpected events to occur, so Ji Yang decided not to obsess over it.

Just as Ji Yang prepared to return to the He Dao Sect area, he unexpectedly ran into a young man.

This young man was none other than Liu Chen from the He Huan Sect.

Ji Yang had seen him in the upper levels of the secret realm, but after entering the mansion, he hadn’t spotted him again.

Since this person had successfully left and seemed to be in good condition, it appeared he had gained something in the secret realm. Ji Yang intended to greet him, but then he noticed the spiritual beast being led behind Liu Chen.

This spiritual beast was robust with a pair of horns on its head, looking exceptionally strong, but at that moment, its eyes were sunken and it appeared quite weak.

Ji Yang was taken aback, then met Liu Chen’s gaze.

Seeing this, Liu Chen quickly explained, “Cough, Fellow Daoist Ji, please don’t misunderstand. This spiritual beast is something I obtained in the secret realm, but I happened to not bring my Spiritual Beast Bag, so it’s like this.”

“As for its weakness, it’s purely due to the loss of vital blood within its body, and it has nothing to do with me. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Our He Huan Sect is a righteous sect…”

Upon hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Ji Yang’s face as he slowly replied, “Well, Fellow Daoist Liu, I haven’t even asked yet…”

Liu Chen was momentarily surprised, quickly showing a hint of embarrassment, but when he saw Ji Yang’s calm expression and his lack of distance, it was clear he still trusted him, which touched Liu Chen.

Then Ji Yang lowered his voice and said, “Fellow Daoist Liu, you can rest assured. I won’t share this matter with anyone.”

Liu Chen shuddered and intended to explain further, but Ji Yang walked away swiftly, leaving Liu Chen feeling helpless.

Once Ji Yang had left, he shook his head.

Liu Chen looked quite serious, yet it turned out he walked such a wild path of dual cultivation; no wonder the He Dao Sect had a poor reputation.

However, Ji Yang chose to respect others’ destinies without showing too much discrimination.

Before long, Ji Yang returned to the area of the He Dao Sect.

At that moment, several cultivators were already gathered ahead, including the two true heirs who had decisively chosen to leave the Temple of Heaven earlier.

However, judging by their expressions, it seemed their harvest this time wasn’t substantial.

Ji Yang didn’t pay much attention; many cultivators had entered the secret realm for the He Dao Sect, but upon returning, one-third were missing.

As for other sects, the situation was even worse—some large sects had sent out cultivators who experienced complete destruction of their forces.

Above the square, the Peak Masters from various sects simply closed their eyes and waited quietly.

As the entrance to the secret realm completely shut, several people slowly opened their eyes.

The cultivators still inside could not come out now.

They looked down at the cultivators from each sect and confirmed no one was left behind before launching several flying artifacts from their hands.

“Disciple from the He Dao Sect, heed my command, return to the sect!”

As the warship grew larger, Peak Master Xing’s voice reached everyone’s ears.

Ji Yang followed the crowd and boarded the warship.

This trip to the secret realm finally came to an end.

Ji Yang summarized his gains from the journey.

The greatest reward was, of course, the several essences he had acquired. Now, his Essence of War condensation exceeded ten percent, allowing him to use it successfully.

Apart from differences in cultivation level, he was no different from ordinary cultivators at the Unity with the Dao stage.

In addition to the absorbed essence, he possessed a thread of time essence.

This thread of essence might be Ji Yang’s greatest gain, but he didn’t yet know how to use it. With only one percent condensation, he found it too low. While he could trigger the Essence of War while picking spiritual plants, he had never activated the time essence passively.

This left Ji Yang feeling puzzled.

He planned to study it further once he returned.

Aside from the essence, Ji Yang’s largest gain this time was various spiritual plants.

The rich spiritual energy in the secret realm allowed the spiritual plants to grow quickly. He collected quite a few high-level spiritual plants, and these could be replanted, meaning he could harvest again, though it would require some time.

Additionally, he had just received a top-tier spiritual plant and twenty high-level spiritual plants from Peak Master Su, which counted as an unexpected reward.

Although the spiritual treasure he obtained was decent, it wasn’t a true spiritual treasure, and it was unsuitable for Ji Yang.

As for the low-level spiritual plants he pulled out in the secret realm, they were largely useless. Their vitality was not strong enough, and most could not be planted once out of the spiritual field.

Moreover, low-level spiritual plants didn’t hold value for Ji Yang to continue growing; he would rather plant spiritual grains, which grew quickly and produced White Light Points.

He planned to use those low-level spiritual plants to feed dogs.

In addition, Ji Yang had another distinct gain— the Mine Spirit obtained at the Secret Silver Mine.

This item was quite precious. He had previously fed the Mine Spirit with the secret silver ore for a while in the secret realm, but it still needed time to reach perfection.

However, Ji Yang wasn’t lacking time or secret silver ore, so once he returned to the peak, he could continue to nourish it.

Once it fully developed spirit intelligence, he could strengthen his iron pick.

But he would need the aid of a crafting master for that.

Aside from the gains mentioned, Ji Yang also had several storage bags from other cultivators, but most of the items inside were of little use to him.

The spiritual plants within could not be replanted due to improper harvesting by the cultivators and were only usable for alchemy.

Overall, the harvest from this trip to the secret realm was quite good; it was not a wasted journey.

However, the existence of the Celestial Dao shackles and Calamity Clouds dampened Ji Yang’s joy over his gains.

With these two blades hanging over him, he wondered when he could break through the Unity with the Dao stage.

After returning to the peak, he also needed to consider how to strengthen his physical body more rapidly; otherwise, he wouldn’t survive the upcoming Calamity Clouds.

It would take two days to return to the peak, and during this time, Ji Yang planned to stay in the warship’s room and study the thread of time essence.

If he could master this essence, it would surely lead to significant breakthroughs in both cultivation points and physical strength.