Li Shifan smiled and said, "Senior Brother, do you remember the name of the Cultivation Technique we practice?"

Zhang Deming frowned slightly. After a moment’s thought, a glint appeared in his eyes, and he asked in surprise, "Are you saying the Cyan Wood Divine Refining Technique is..."

Li Shifan nodded. "That’s right. The Cyan Wood Divine Refining Technique is the orthodox core Entry-Level Cultivation Technique of the Cyan Wood Faction from the Five Elements Blessed Land.

My ancestor obtained it by a stroke of luck back in the day.

That’s also why when we entered this Secret Realm, we weren’t forced to start from the outer trials like in the previous Turtle Water Secret Realm. We were sent directly to this area instead.

I suppose that to the Secret Realm’s detection system, we’re considered regular Disciples of the Cyan Wood Faction.

I just didn’t expect the Cyan Wood Secret Realm to have become so dangerous."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming finally understood. No wonder he hadn’t seen a single soul for so long or sensed any Combat. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’So it turns out I came in through the back door, completely bypassing the Secret Realm’s outer trials and all that.’

’Was that his way of telling me why he’s so familiar with this Secret Realm?’

...

As they spoke, Zhang Deming helped Li Shifan over to a tree stump and sat him down.

A verdant Jade Vine sprouted, swaying as it grew several Jade Leaves.

A dense Life Aura emanated from the leaves. Although the healing effect of the Growth Technique wasn’t particularly strong...

...it was now a Tier Three Technique. No matter how weak it was for its type, it was still far superior to a dedicated Tier One healing Technique.

Zhang Deming plucked the leaves from the vine, and the entire vine dissipated into motes of light.

"Here. I’m not very good at healing. This is better than nothing, I guess," Zhang Deming said, placing the few Jade Leaves in front of Li Shifan.

Li Shifan put the leaves directly into his mouth. They melted instantly, turning into a warm current that began to heal his injuries.

After swallowing the leaves, he began to meditate and said, "This is already great. It’s countless times better than my situation, where all I know is the sword."

Zhang Deming glanced at Li Shifan. "You should just focus on healing. That doesn’t even qualify as a professional courtesy compliment.

Such awkward flattery... even if you’re not embarrassed, I’m cringing for you."

Li Shifan’s already stiff smile froze completely. After a long moment, he said, "You’re as witty as ever, Senior Brother."

Zhang Deming looked at Li Shifan’s expression and said, "You mean I have a twisted sense of humor, don’t you!"

Li Shifan paused, shook his head, and simply closed his eyes, focusing on regulating his breathing.

’If they kept talking,’ he thought, ’his ’ice mountain’ persona was going to crumble!’

Zhang Deming watched Li Shifan and gave a mischievous smile.

"Big Brother, is this your companion?" At that moment, Qing Xiaolu, who had been scared into hiding by Li Shifan, flew down and asked while looking at him.

Li Shifan’s newly closed eyes snapped open. The cold glint in them scared Qing Xiaolu so much that it zipped away, disappearing into the tree again. "Don’t get worked up. It’s a Flower Demon Elf," Zhang Deming said, looking at Li Shifan.

"A Flower Demon Elf? The groundskeepers of the Cyan Wood Secret Realm?" Li Shifan asked, looking at Qing Xiaolu, who was hiding with only its head poking out to peek at him.

Zhang Deming nodded. "It seems you really know a lot about the ruins of the Five Elements Blessed Land."

Li Shifan didn’t deny it. He nodded and said, "You could say that. After all, my ancestor collected a lot of information, and I was planning on coming here myself.

But the entrances are different, so the entry points vary as well."

Zhang Deming remembered. When they had met before, Li Shifan had indeed invited him to brave a Secret Realm together.

"So that Turtle Water Ruined Secret Realm from last time was also part of the Five Elements Blessed Land?" Zhang Deming asked.

Li Shifan nodded hesitantly. "It should be."

Seeing his concise reply, Zhang Deming paused for a moment and didn’t press the matter. Instead, he turned his head and said:

"Come on down. He’s my companion, no need to be afraid. And here I thought you were so brave, wanting to run out and watch the commotion earlier."

"I wasn’t going to watch the commotion, I was going to see if they needed help!" Qing Xiaolu popped its head out and argued.

Zhang Deming looked at it, shook his head, and didn’t argue further.

He turned back to Li Shifan and asked, "Was that commotion just now caused by you?"

Li Shifan nodded, then looked at the arrangements around them. "It seems night in the Secret Realm is just as I suspected—there are some strange changes."

Zhang Deming smiled. "Yeah, I only set things up like this because I listened to this little guy.

Seeing the state you’re in, I’d say this little guy is actually somewhat useful."

"What do you mean? I’ve always been useful!" Qing Xiaolu retorted indignantly.

"Alright, alright, you’re very useful," Zhang Deming said, turning his head.

As he spoke, both Zhang Deming and Li Shifan froze, looking up toward the forest.

Zhang Deming asked, "You didn’t shake your tail?"

Li Shifan shook his head. "Impossible. I already killed the frenzied Demon Beast that was tracking me."

Just then, Qing Xiaolu’s timid voice piped up from behind them. "Um, Big Brother, did you dispose of the body?

If you didn’t, we’re in trouble! The living Demon Beasts at night aren’t the scariest thing."

"What?" Li Shifan asked, turning his head in confusion.

"I think I have an idea what it’s trying to say," Zhang Deming said, his eyes glinting with Spiritual Light as he stared into the dense woods in the distance.

Hearing this, Li Shifan also turned to look into the woods.

At that moment, something rustled in the dense woods, and a bizarre figure slowly emerged before them. When Li Shifan got a clear look at it, his pupils contracted.

From the woods, the head and body of a Demon Beast that somewhat resembled a leopard slowly came into view.

That’s right—the body and the head appeared separately.

The leopard-like Demon Beast had apparently been beheaded by Li Shifan’s sword.

But now, octopus-like tentacles had sprouted from beneath the leopard’s head, shimmering with a metallic luster.

Meanwhile, several tentacles were also growing from the severed neck of the leopard’s body.

Unlike the tentacles on the head, these eight tentacles on the neck had no suckers like an octopus.

Six of them were covered in countless, densely packed, fanged mouths, while the remaining two were covered in just as many eyes.

Staring at the Mutated Beast—or beasts, it was hard to tell—Li Shifan sensed its now much stronger aura, swallowed hard, and said:

"I think... I understand now too. So at night in this Secret Realm, you can’t kill the Demon Beasts?"

Qing Xiaolu explained, "Not exactly. A few hundred years ago, after the mutation began...

...most Demon Beasts slowly stopped being active at night.

Any Demon Beast that is active at night is a mutated one, and they’re very bizarre.

To kill one, you have to kill it completely and then destroy the corpse."

Before the three could talk further, the grotesque tentacle monster attacked.

The octopus-like leopard head, which had a slightly weaker aura, leaped toward Li Shifan, while the leopard’s body pounced on Zhang Deming.

Seeing the countless mouths and eyes on the eight tentacles of the leopard’s body, Zhang Deming’s skin crawled. One look was enough to tell this thing was no simple foe.

The Jade Vines coiled around the trees instantly came to life, their tips glinting coldly as they shot toward the leopard’s body.

Upon initial contact, Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly.

The moment the Jade Vines made contact with the tentacles, the six tentacles covered in fanged mouths immediately began gnawing the vines to shreds.

Instantly, Zhang Deming felt a sinister, cold energy invading the vines through the wounds.

One by one, the Jade Vines began to wither and turn grey. His expression changed, and he immediately shouted:

"Be careful! The mutations in this Secret Realm seem even trickier to deal with than the ones in the Hengduan Mountain Range. Besides being frenzied, they have a sinister aura."

Li Shifan nodded at his words. His hands rapidly formed a series of seals, and two small swords made of Spiritual Power materialized beside him, beginning to spin at a rapid speed.