The First Hunt in the Secret Realm

As the one with the highest cultivation among them, Bai Lan naturally became the core of the group.

The other five clearly understood this as well.

They advanced cautiously toward the ruins while introducing themselves along the way.

“Senior Sister, how should we address you? Since fate brought us together here, we should at least get to know each other. My name is Ziyun.”

The girl in the purple dress spoke with a bright smile.

Bai Lan glanced at her briefly before replying simply.

“Bai Lan.”

Once Bai Lan gave her name, the other four quickly introduced themselves as well.

Their names were An Xiao, Duan Suzhen, Xuan Huang, and Xuan Ye.

These were the first companions Bai Lan had met and teamed up with since entering the Illusory Heaven Realm.

Among them, Ziyun had already spent two years inside the realm. When she first entered, she had only been at the third layer of Qi Refinement.

An Xiao and the others had each spent about one year here.

None of them asked Bai Lan how long she had been inside the realm.

From her calm demeanor alone, they could already tell this was definitely not her first time here.

Meanwhile, other trial participants had also begun forming temporary teams and were cautiously approaching the ruins.

No one tried to charge in recklessly anymore.

Instead, they cooperated to eliminate monsters that wandered into vulnerable positions.

These isolated monsters soon became Bai Lan’s targets as well.

Behind a large palace structure within the ruins, Bai Lan and her group quietly observed the situation ahead.

Eight Sand Monsters were patrolling the area.

Their plan was simple—lure the monsters behind the palace and eliminate them one by one.

“Try not to make too much noise,” Bai Lan instructed quietly.

“Lure them behind the palace before attacking.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll go first.”

Ziyun volunteered immediately.

She locked onto one of the Sand Monsters ahead.

Before the creature could react, her whip shot forward and wrapped around it.

With a sharp pull, she dragged the monster away from its patrol route.

Once the Sand Monster was pulled behind the palace, it had no chance to resist.

Bai Lan immediately launched a concentrated attack.

The Sand Monster shattered instantly, collapsing into a pile of loose sand.

Amid the scattered grains, a golden crystal rolled out.

It was a Gold Essence Stone.

This crystal contained concentrated earth energy.

For cultivators who practiced earth-attribute techniques, it was a valuable material. It could also be used when forging certain magical artifacts.

In the outside world, such a stone could easily sell for over a thousand spirit stones.

Although it was not an extremely rare material, it was still considered a decent treasure for ordinary cultivators.

“A Gold Essence Stone.”

“Does anyone want it?”

Bai Lan asked as she picked it up.

However, the others showed little interest.

Materials at this level simply did not attract their attention.

For disciples from powerful sects, anything worth less than hundreds of thousands of spirit stones was practically considered junk.

“What would we do with something like that?”

Ziyun waved her hand dismissively.

“Senior Sister Bai, let’s just keep clearing the Sand Monsters.”

“If we’re lucky, they might drop treasure maps or something truly valuable.”

Since no one wanted it, Bai Lan naturally kept the stone.

She was no longer a member of the Snow Clan, and the Luoshen Sect itself was already in decline.

A material worth a thousand spirit stones still had value to her.

After observing Ziyun’s method, the rest of the group followed the same approach.

They lured the monsters one at a time, then killed them quickly with coordinated attacks.

This was by far the safest strategy.

And they were not the only team doing it.

Almost every group around the ruins had adopted similar tactics.

Many of these cultivators were clearly not newcomers.

Anyone who had spent a year or two inside the Illusory Heaven Realm would naturally accumulate experience.

Such methods were common not only here, but also in many secret realms in the outside world.

The Sand Monsters themselves were not particularly strong.

The weakest were around the third layer of Qi Refinement.

They appeared as humanoid figures made entirely of sand.

The brighter the golden glow emanating from their bodies, the stronger they were.

As for the sand scorpions, even the weakest were around the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.

None of them exceeded the Foundation Establishment realm.

Creatures at the Foundation Establishment level were considered boss-type monsters on the first floor.

Under Bai Lan’s leadership, the group spent nearly ten minutes eliminating all eight Sand Monsters outside the palace.

Now they were ready to enter.

Of course, they all knew there would be more monsters waiting inside.

Unfortunately, the eight Sand Monsters had only dropped Gold Essence Stones.

There were no treasure maps or other rare items.

Bai Lan collected all eight stones.

“Alright.”

“This area is clear.”

“We can enter the palace now and deal with the Golden Scorpion inside.”

Soon afterward, the six of them stepped into the palace.

The interior was dim and filled with dust.

The moment they entered the hall, the enormous scorpion resting inside opened its eyes.

The creature was larger than an ox.

Its golden eyes immediately locked onto Bai Lan and her companions.

They were still in the outer area of the ruins, so the monsters here were relatively weak.

This Golden Scorpion was only at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.

Against Bai Lan’s six-person team, it posed little threat.

However, if Bai Lan fought it alone, the battle would certainly cause a large disturbance.

That might attract nearby monsters.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Bai Lan drew her Hanpo Sword and immediately rushed toward the Golden Scorpion.

At the same moment, Ziyun and the others attacked as well.

As a cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, Bai Lan’s strike was far beyond what the scorpion could easily withstand.

The Golden Scorpion raised its massive pincers in an attempt to block.

But Bai Lan’s sword easily deflected them.

‘Its shell is quite tough,’ Bai Lan thought.

‘Even though it’s only at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, its defense is comparable to an eighth-layer cultivator.’

After Bai Lan’s opening strike, the others followed up with their own attacks.

None of them used powerful techniques.

They relied only on basic attacks.

They were still in the outer area of the ruins.

If they wasted too much spiritual power now, they would be in trouble once they reached the deeper parts of the secret realm.

Conserving strength was essential.

Under the group’s coordinated assault, several of the Golden Scorpion’s legs were quickly severed.

The creature lost its mobility.

Finally, Bai Lan thrust her sword straight through its head.

The Golden Scorpion collapsed.

Its body soon dissolved into golden particles and disappeared.

The monsters of the Illusory Heaven Realm were not real creatures.

They were manifestations formed by the realm’s laws.

After the scorpion vanished, a treasure chest appeared in its place.

This was a basic rule of the Illusory Heaven Realm.

Every minor boss would drop a treasure chest upon defeat.

Bai Lan and the others had only spent a moderate amount of energy.

Bai Lan stepped forward and opened the chest.

Inside were more than a thousand spirit stones.

There was also a ninth-grade magical artifact—a shield known as the Profound Yuan Shield.

This shield was capable of blocking attacks from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It would likely prove very useful later on.

In addition, the chest contained several medicinal pills used to restore spiritual power and improve cultivation.

On the first floor, such pills were extremely valuable.

In critical moments, they could even save someone’s life.