From the fake emperor to the concubine

Just as Zheng Yi was about to continue healing, his divine sense suddenly detected something unusual. Someone was rapidly approaching from within the maze outside the cave.

He frowned, quickly concealing his aura and minimizing his presence. Encountering other cultivators in this secret realm of time might not be a good thing. In the cultivation world, murder and robbery are commonplace, especially in a secret realm without rules.

Soon, a figure stumbled and rushed into the maze's range. Zheng Yi carefully probed with his divine sense and discovered that the newcomer was a female cultivator.

The female cultivator appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a long white dress that was torn in several places and stained with blood and dust. Her face was pale, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, indicating that she had suffered a serious injury. Even so, her outstanding beauty could not be concealed—willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, and skin as smooth as jade.

What concerned Zheng Yi even more was that this female cultivator's cultivation was not weak; she was actually at the Nascent Soul stage, and judging from the fluctuations in her aura, she should be at the early Nascent Soul stage.

The female cultivator frantically darted through the maze, clearly in a panic. Although her divine sense was searching for a way out, her injuries prevented her from breaking through this natural maze.

Just then, the voices of two men came from afar.

"Where do you think you're going, you bitch! Today is your death day!"

"Bai Ling'er, hand over that treasure, and we might still spare your life!"

Two figures streaked through the air at incredible speed. Zheng Yi scanned them with his divine sense and discovered that one of the male cultivators was at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the other at the early stage; both were quite powerful. The aura emanating from them was sinister, clearly indicating that they were not righteous cultivators.

The female cultivator named Bai Ling'er turned even paler upon hearing the voice behind her. She gritted her teeth and desperately tried to use her spiritual power to escape, but her injuries were too severe, and she couldn't move fast at all.

"Damn it!" Bai Ling'er cursed under her breath, despair in her eyes. She knew she was probably doomed today. These two demonic cultivators had been chasing her for three days and three nights; her spiritual power was almost exhausted, and most of her magical treasures had been destroyed in the battle.

"Found you!" A male cultivator at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm appeared at the edge of the maze with a sinister grin. He was a middle-aged man, burly, with a hideous scar on his face, and his eyes gleamed with greed. His name was Black Impermanence, and he was the leader of a small demonic cultivator organization in the vicinity.

Another male cultivator at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm followed closely behind. This man was called Blood Hand, and he was a capable subordinate of Black Impermanence. He was thin, pale, and his hands were an unnatural blood red, clearly indicating that he had cultivated some kind of evil technique.

"Bai Ling'er, you can't escape," Black Impermanence said sinisterly. "Hand over the Profound Ice Spirit Marrow obediently, and I might give you a quick death. Otherwise... hehe, you know what I'm capable of."

Bai Ling'er gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with determination: "Want the Profound Ice Spirit Marrow? Dream on! Even if I destroy myself, I won't let you demons succeed!"

She took out a fist-sized crystal from her bosom. The crystal was entirely ice-blue and exuded a chilling aura. This was the treasure she had found in the secret realm—the Profound Ice Spirit Marrow. This thing was priceless to ice-attribute cultivators; consuming it could cause their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds, and even give them a chance to break through bottlenecks.

Black Impermanence's eyes gleamed with even greater greed upon seeing the Profound Ice Spirit Marrow: "I've been searching for you for three days and three nights, and I'm finally about to get my hands on it!"

Just as he was about to snatch it, he suddenly felt a powerful divine sense sweep over him. His expression changed, and he looked around warily: "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Inside the cave, Zheng Yi initially didn't want to meddle. But upon hearing the words "Mysterious Ice Spirit Marrow," his heart stirred. Although he had no use for it, Zheng Qingyue, the exceptionally talented member of the Zheng family, possessed a mutated ice-attribute spiritual root. If he could obtain the Mysterious Ice Spirit Marrow, her cultivation would undoubtedly advance by leaps and bounds.

More importantly, these two demonic cultivators were clearly not good people. Although Zheng Yi wasn't exactly a saint, he had never had a good impression of demonic cultivators. Since he had encountered them, he might as well do them a favor.

With that thought in mind, he stopped hiding and slowly walked out of the cave.

"My name is Zheng Yi, and I happened to be passing by," Zheng Yi said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the three people. "Judging from this situation, it seems they are bullying a weak woman?"

Black Impermanence's pupils contracted when he saw Zheng Yi. He could sense that the man before him possessed a profound aura, and his cultivation was definitely above his own. But the arrow was already on the bowstring, and he had no choice but to release it. The Profound Ice Spirit Marrow was right before his eyes; how could he easily give it up?

“Sir, this is a personal matter between us and this woman,” Black Impermanence forced a smile. “Please don’t meddle. I will reward you handsomely once I’ve accomplished my task.”

Zheng Yi shook his head: "I can't stand seeing people ganging up on the weak. Besides, I've got my eye on that Mystic Ice Spirit Marrow. So, you should all leave."

Upon hearing this, Black Impermanence's face darkened: "Are you going to make an enemy of us?"

"You could say that," Zheng Yi said calmly, but his aura was slowly rising.

Bai Ling'er's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope when she saw Zheng Yi. Although she didn't know why he was willing to help her, at least she now had a chance to survive. She mustered her strength and flew to Zheng Yi's side, weakly saying, "Thank you for your help, Senior."

"Don't thank me yet," Zheng Yi said. "Let's deal with these two first."

He looked at the two Black Impermanence figures and said, "I'll give you a chance. Leave now, and I'll pretend this never happened."

Black Impermanence and Blood Hand exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with ferocity. They had roamed the Time Realm for decades, killing at least eighty or a hundred cultivators; they had never faced such a threat before.

"Since you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame us!" Black Impermanence roared. "Blood Hand, make your move!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the two attacked simultaneously. Black Impermanence formed hand seals, and a surge of black demonic energy erupted from his body, transforming into dozens of black ghost claws in the air, reaching for Zheng Yi. This was his signature move, "Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Souls," specifically designed to attack a cultivator's soul, making it virtually impossible to defend against.

Bloodhand flashed forward, his hands transforming into countless blood-red claw shadows as he launched a sneak attack from the side. His claws were coated with deadly poison; a single scratch would leave even the survivors severely wounded.

Despite being attacked from both sides, Zheng Yi remained calm. With a wave of his right hand, the Starfall Sword Formation instantly appeared, with thirty-six flying swords forming a net that shredded all the black ghost claws.

At the same time, he flicked his left finger, and a streak of cyan sword energy shot out, colliding with the claw shadow of the blood hand.

bang bang bang-

A series of explosions rang out, and Blood Hand was forced back several steps, his hands a bloody mess. He stared at Zheng Yi in horror: "You're in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!"

Although Zheng Yi wasn't fully recovered from his injuries and only possessed 70% of his fighting strength, it was still more than enough to deal with these two. He said calmly, "It's too late to know now."

Black Impermanence's face was grim; he hadn't expected to run into such a formidable opponent. But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed. He took out a black banner from his robes, and with the activation of his spiritual power, the banner swelled in the wind, growing to several meters in size.

"The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls!" Bai Ling'er exclaimed in shock. "This is a supreme treasure of the demonic path, containing the essence of tens of thousands of wronged souls!"

Countless ghostly figures flew out from the banner, their mournful wails echoing through the valley. These ghostly figures were cultivators cruelly murdered by Black Impermanence; their souls were refined into the Myriad Soul Banner after death, becoming his tools in battle. Zheng Yi frowned, his eyes showing disgust. This method of refining treasures from living people was extremely cruel and intolerable to Heaven.

"Since you've used something like this, then you can't be allowed to live any longer," Zheng Yi said coldly.

He formed hand seals, and his spiritual energy surged wildly around him. A vast aura erupted from his body, actually shattering all the ghostly figures.

"Tianmu Cage!"

The ground cracked open, and countless vines shot into the sky, coiling around Black Impermanence like giant dragons. These vines emitted a bluish spiritual light and contained a rich life force, making them the nemesis of ghosts.

Black Impermanence's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly activated the Myriad Souls Banner to defend himself. However, when those wronged souls encountered the power of life, they melted away like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

"No!" Black Impermanence screamed in agony. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was his natal magic weapon. With the vengeful spirits inside destroyed, he was also severely injured and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Ling'er also made her move. Despite her injuries, she summoned an ice-blue longsword, its blade shrouded in a chilling aura, clearly a top-grade spiritual treasure.

"Mystic Ice Sword!"

The longsword transformed into a streak of cold light, piercing towards Blood Hand. Blood Hand was dealing with the Starfall Sword Formation and, caught off guard, was struck in the shoulder by the Xuanbing Sword. The chilling aura emanating from the sword instantly seeped into his body, freezing half of his body.

"Ah—" Blood Hand screamed in agony, hurriedly circulating his internal energy to expel the cold. But Bai Ling'er cultivated an ice-attribute technique, and the cold energy was extremely domineering, so it couldn't be expelled in a short time.

Seeing this, Zheng Yi changed his hand seals, and the Starfall Sword Formation instantly shifted its formation. The thirty-six flying swords merged into one, transforming into a dazzling starlight that pierced towards Black Impermanence.

Having just been injured, Hei Wuchang was powerless to resist. Terror filled his eyes as he tried to escape, but it was too late.

puff--

The starlight sword beam pierced through his dantian, shattering his primordial spirit. This dignified mid-stage Nascent Soul demonic cultivator died before he could even scream.

Blood Hand was terrified when he saw Black Impermanence killed. He dared not linger and turned to flee. But how could Zheng Yi give him the chance?
"Trying to escape? Too late."

Zheng Yi raised his hand and pointed, and a green vine sprouted from the ground, coiling around Blood Hand's ankle like a serpent. Blood Hand was tripped and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, Bai Ling'er's Xuanbing Sword arrived.

With a flash of sword light, Bloodhand's head flew high into the air, blood gushing out. His body twitched a few more times before falling completely still.

The battle was over. From beginning to end, it was only a short while. Two demonic cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, one dead and the other vanished, their bodies barely cold.

Bai Ling'er sheathed her Xuanbing Sword, her body went limp, and she almost fell. Zheng Yi reacted quickly and caught her.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, senior," Bai Ling'er said weakly, her eyes filled with gratitude. If it weren't for Zheng Yi's intervention, she probably would have died here today.

"No need for formalities," Zheng Yi said. "Your injuries are quite serious; healing them is the priority."

He helped Bai Ling'er into the cave and had her sit down by the spring. The spring water contained the power of life and was very helpful for healing.

Bai Ling'er sat cross-legged and began to heal her injuries. Zheng Yi went outside to examine the corpses of the two demonic cultivators. There's a saying in the cultivation world: "Kill and plunder." Since they had killed people, he naturally wanted to see what he could gain.

He rummaged through the Black Impermanence's storage bag and found quite a few good things. Besides some spirit stones and pills, there were also several decent magic treasures. The most precious one was a black cultivation manual called "Soul Devouring Technique." This was a demonic cultivation technique, of a high grade, but it was too insidious. Zheng Yi frowned after glancing at it a few times.

"This kind of technique must be destroyed to appease public anger." He clenched his fist, and the technique manual turned to ashes.

As for Blood Hand's storage bag, it contained far fewer items. However, a bottle of pills caught Zheng Yi's attention—the "Azure Blood Pill," specifically designed to repair meridian damage, which would be perfect for his current condition.

After collecting the spoils, Zheng Yi returned to the cave. Bai Ling'er's injuries had stabilized somewhat, and her complexion was much better than before.

She opened her eyes, looked at Zheng Yi, hesitated for a moment, and then took out the Xuanbing Spirit Marrow from her bosom: "Senior, this Xuanbing Spirit Marrow is what you wanted. Now it's returned to its rightful owner."

Zheng Yi waved his hand: "I've said it before, I only coveted it, not intended to possess it." He paused, "However, I do have a use for it. How about this, we make a deal. This Profound Ice Spirit Marrow is mine, and in exchange, I'll give you something else."

Bai Ling'er was taken aback: "What is that?"

Zheng Yi took out a pill and a cultivation manual from his storage bag: "This is a 'Foundation Strengthening Pill,' which can help repair damage to your fundamental essence and may even aid in future breakthroughs. This cultivation manual is called the 'Ice Heart Technique,' and it's a high-grade Earth-rank technique, a level higher than the one you're currently practicing."

Bai Ling'er looked at the two items with shock in her eyes. The Foundation Strengthening Pill was a top-grade elixir, priceless, while a high-grade Earth-rank cultivation technique was even more rare and hard to come by. The combined value of these two items far exceeded that of the Profound Ice Spirit Marrow.

"Senior, this..." She was somewhat at a loss.

"Take it," Zheng Yi said. "I don't like to take advantage of others. Besides, the Ice Heart Technique is an ice-attribute cultivation method, while I cultivate the wood attribute, so keeping it is useless to me. It's better to give it to you; it's making the best use of it."

Bai Ling'er hesitated for a moment, then finally accepted the pills and cultivation manual: "Thank you, Senior. I will remember this kindness."

She handed the Mystic Ice Spirit Marrow to Zheng Yi and asked, "May I ask your honorable name, senior? If there is an opportunity in the future, Ling'er will certainly repay you."

“My name is Zheng Yi,” Zheng Yi said. “No need for repayment; we’re simply getting what we need.”

He took the Mystic Ice Spirit Marrow and examined it carefully. This thing was indeed extraordinary; its chilling aura was overwhelming, yet it was harmless. If Zheng Qingyue could obtain this, her cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

Bai Ling'er looked at Zheng Yi, her eyes filled with curiosity. This senior was not only powerful but also so upright; such people were rare in the cultivation world. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Senior Zheng, are you also here in the Time Realm seeking a breakthrough opportunity?" (End of Chapter)