The Sect Leader had always been on good terms with Duan Xingyun, so he was quite attentive to this matter.

When he learned that the Qingyu Secret Realm had manifested, he immediately informed Li Qiancheng and the others.

Upon hearing the news, Li Qiancheng and the others were overjoyed.

"This is wonderful! The Qingyu Secret Realm is one of the three great Ancient Secret Realms... There’s a very high chance we’ll find Hell Grass there!"

Luo Linlang also nodded in delight. "I heard the Qingyu Secret Realm only manifests once every few hundred years, and its time and location are never fixed. We’re so lucky to have this chance."

Shen Yuzhao said, "This is great! Master can be saved!"

The only one who remained calm was Lu Sangjiu, who had known all along that this would happen.

In contrast to the others’ excitement, her expression was grave as she looked at Li Qiancheng. "This is good news, but the Qingyu Secret Realm is incredibly dangerous... I don’t think we should stake everything on it."

Li Qiancheng froze. "You mean..."

"Senior Brother, your cultivation is the highest, which makes it safer for you to travel alone, so..."

Lu Sangjiu suggested earnestly, "Senior Brother, can you not go to the Qingyu Secret Realm?"

Her somber tone made the atmosphere tense.

None of them could quite understand her words. Shen Yuzhao spoke up hesitantly, "But... since Senior Brother’s cultivation is so high, shouldn’t that mean he’ll have a better chance in the Secret Realm?"

Luo Linlang nodded as well. "And it’s not just for Master’s sake. The Qingyu Secret Realm itself is an incredibly rare opportunity. Senior Brother has been stuck at the Late-stage Golden Core for a long time now; braving a Secret Realm would be good for him."

Lu Sangjiu lowered her gaze and remained silent. She knew her words didn’t make much sense.

’But I don’t want to take matters into my own hands and use deceit to forcibly change Li Qiancheng’s fate. Otherwise, how would I be any different from the Heavenly Dao that toys with their lives as it pleases?’

Seeing her silence, Li Qiancheng, who was usually so carefree, seemed to sense something.

He spoke in a gentle voice, "Little Junior Sister, is there something you’re finding hard to say?"

Lu Sangjiu sighed. "It’s not a secret, exactly. It’s just... I have a really bad feeling. I can’t shake the sense that if you go into the Secret Realm, Senior Brother, something will happen to you. So I was hoping... could you not go?"

The others were stunned, not having expected that to be her reason.

Luo Linlang’s expression also grew serious. "A Cultivator’s premonitions can sometimes be accurate. Senior Brother, maybe you should..."

Compared to the opportunity, they were all, of course, more concerned about Li Qiancheng’s safety.

But Li Qiancheng shook his head before she could finish. "I know you’re all just looking out for me, but... whether what Little Junior Sister says is true or not, running away is never the answer."

"If I’m destined to face this tribulation, then even if I avoid it now, it will simply find me somewhere else."

"The best way to handle it is to face it head-on... If I can survive it then, that’s how I’ll truly change my fate, right?"

With that, Li Qiancheng let out a hearty laugh. "So... Little Junior Sister, I believe you, but I can’t run away!"

’Besides, with Master in this state, he, as the Senior Brother, had the highest cultivation among them. When faced with danger, how could he be the one to flee?’

’I have to go, and I have to protect my junior brother and sisters!’

Lu Sangjiu looked at Li Qiancheng and sighed inwardly. ’I knew it.’

Although she was a little disappointed she couldn’t stop Li Qiancheng, she wasn’t discouraged.

"Alright. Even if Senior Brother really is facing a tribulation, we’ll definitely get through it together!"

’I know the general plot already. If I still let Li Qiancheng die in front of me, wouldn’t that just make me completely useless?’

’As a top-tier Demon Cultivator who once made the entire Cultivation World tremble in fear, even starting over, I will never be a helpless weakling.’

Having decided to venture into the Qingyu Secret Realm together, the four of them began preparing for the journey.

In addition to preparing consumables like Elixir Pills and talismans, they also had to arrange for someone to look after the comatose Duan Xingyun.

「A few days later」

The news that the Qingyu Secret Realm was about to open had spread throughout the Cultivation World.

After all, a Secret Realm like Qingyu that had no cultivation restrictions was a rarity. Its opening was a momentous event for the entire Cultivation World.

However, while it was said that any Cultivator could enter, entry actually depended on an individual’s personal destiny.

The Qingyu Secret Realm was sentient and would choose which Cultivators could enter. Simply put, it didn’t care about cultivation level; you could only get in if it took a liking to you.

This wasn’t something that could be controlled by any person, so the various sects had to gather the disciples who wanted to try their luck and wait for the Secret Realm’s entrance to open, at which point the realm itself would screen the candidates.

Upon entry, the cultivation of anyone at the Golden Core Stage or higher would be suppressed to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. As for disciples at the Foundation Establishment Stage or below, their cultivation would remain unchanged.

According to past records, no more than one hundred thousand people could enter at a time, and barely half of them ever made it out alive.

So, when the Sect Leader gathered all the disciples from the Seven Emotions Sect who wanted to try their luck at the Secret Realm, Lu Sangjiu glanced over the assembled group and saw only a few thousand people.

"Tsk. Ye Zhiyao just broke through to the Golden Core Stage. Instead of staying in the sect to stabilize her cultivation, she’s coming to the Secret Realm to get herself killed?"

Li Qiancheng had no love for anyone from Purple Peak these days. Seeing Ye Zhiyao in the group, he couldn’t help but mutter to Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu wasn’t the least bit surprised. "She has Qin Yu, doesn’t she? He’ll protect her."

After a pause, her eyes widened in surprise. "Huh... why is Bai Heng here too?"

Li Qiancheng was stunned and said in disbelief, "You’re kidding... A great elder of a peak is going to compete with us juniors for opportunities?"

Although the elders of the sect’s various peaks were qualified to enter, they were all at the Divinity Transformation Stage. If they went into a Secret Realm that suppressed their cultivation down to Foundation Establishment, wouldn’t it be a senseless waste if they were killed by someone with a lower original cultivation level?

That was why none of the sect elders had any intention of going. Bai Heng was the only exception.

It was hard to say whether he was just overconfident in his own abilities, or if he was so worried about Ye Zhiyao’s safety that he had thrown caution to the wind.

Lu Sangjiu and Li Qiancheng weren’t the only ones muttering; the other disciples also couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves when they saw Bai Heng.

However, after Bai Heng’s gaze swept across the crowd, no one dared to make another sound.

Bai Heng had always used his power to throw his weight around the sect. Who would dare get on his bad side?

Lu Sangjiu remembered that during the trip to the Qingyu Secret Realm, Bai Heng had not been by Ye Zhiyao’s side. ’He probably won’t be able to get in,’ she figured, and didn’t pay it much mind.

’I have a general idea of where Ye Zhiyao will obtain her inheritance. As long as I can get into the Secret Realm, I don’t need to follow her; I can just go find it myself. There’s really no reason to get involved with them.’

She just never expected that while she wanted nothing to do with Ye Zhiyao, Ye Zhiyao would take the initiative to approach them.

"Junior Sister Lu, Senior Brother Li, this is wonderful! You’re going to the Qingyu Secret Realm too. We can all travel together again!"