Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Yan Feng, on the other hand, possesses the ancient bloodline of the Luo Tian Sect and is not subject to much suppression from the Dharma Realm.

If they could personally subdue Lin Zhao, the other disciples in the top ten would also submit.

With the added power of the Luo family, dominating the secret realm and obtaining fourth-tier magic treasures would be within easy reach.

Unfortunately, Lin Zhao was nowhere to be found, and it was impossible to locate her.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the gloom on his face and putting on a gentle expression.

After Yan Feng left, Luo Wen, the head of the Luo family, sat in the main seat and narrowed his eyes. The hall remained quiet for a long time.

Half a day later, someone arrived.

He stood up and bowed: "Mr. Pei."

It was Pei Yue.

Pei Yue was previously chosen as a teacher by an ancient clan in an ancient city, but that clan was actually a branch of the Luo family, just with a different surname.

Three of the nine ancient cities in the secret realm actually belong to the Luo family, but outsiders don't know this, and even within the Luo family, not many people know it. The three branches of the Luo family take turns in power, dominating the situation in the secret realm and manipulating the winds of change.

This pattern has lasted for thousands of years, and Pei Yue just happened to walk right into the Luo family's trap.

However, Pei Yue had experienced a lot, and he went with the flow, transforming himself from a prisoner into a guest of honor in just one month.

Now even Luo Wen, the head of the Luo family, treats him with great respect.

The two sat down, and a maid served tea. Luo Wen then asked, "Mr. Pei, what do you think of Yan Feng?"

Pei Yue picked up his teacup and blew on it. "To be blinded by petty gains and forget the greater good is short-sighted. Though your mind is strong, you've gone astray."

He took a sip of tea. "He thought the Luo family knew nothing about him and that he could subdue you just by virtue of the name of True Lord Beichen."

Little did they know that the Luo family had already investigated his background—he was a nominal disciple, merely a key to opening the secret realm, and his relationship with True Monarch Beichen was just a transaction. Once the secret realm opened, his value would be minimal.

Luo Wen remained silent.

Pei Yue put down his teacup. "If he really obtained a fourth-tier treasure, he would never hand it over to True Monarch Beichen. He would keep it for himself. This deal was a scheme to get something for nothing from the very beginning."

Luo Wen nodded.

He knew all of this. If the Luo family hadn't been concerned about Beichen Zhenjun's reputation, they would have arrested him long ago.

He stood up and walked to the window. Outside, he saw the bustling street scene of Tiancheng, with its heavy traffic and lively chatter.

"But the Luo family doesn't have many options." His voice deepened. "Within the secret realm, disciples from the three major sects are closing in step by step. Outside the secret realm, Nascent Soul True Monarchs are eyeing us covetously."

The fifth-tier spiritual treasure had already become one with the secret realm, making it impossible to easily break free. Once the Nascent Soul cultivator made a move, the heavens and earth would collapse, and the secret realm would crumble before their eyes.

"Yan Feng wants a fourth-tier magic weapon." Luo Wen turned around, "but he can't give the Luo family what they want. True Monarch Beichen might be able to, but Yan Feng doesn't represent True Monarch Beichen."

He looked at Pei Yue and said, "Mr. Pei, I need to find another way for the Luo family and the mortals in the secret realm to survive. I wonder if you... have any?"

The reception room fell silent. Pei Yue picked up his teacup and took a sip; it tasted slightly bitter. He pursed his lips, offering no direct answer.

"Now that the Luo family has already figured out Yan Feng's information, I wonder how much they know about me."

Luo Wen glanced at him, somewhat puzzled, but still repeated what he had gotten out of Yan Feng.

He served as the tutor to three emperors during his mortal years, entered the Yunhai Cangming Sect at the age of eighty, and is now over one hundred years old.

He became an apprentice of an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator at the Yunhai Cangming Sect.

Pei Yue shook his head. "That Yan Feng really sold out all our information."

He put down his teacup. "It's basically fine. But the most important thing is that he didn't see it."

"What?"

"The Core Formation cultivator I apprenticed under was a disciple of the sect's leader, a Nascent Soul True Monarch." Pei Yue paused, "but he was only a nominal disciple."

Luo Wen's eyes widened slightly. Yan Feng was completely unaware of this situation.

Pei Yue waved his hand dismissively, "That's not important. What's important is—the Master's master is True Lord Xuan Yang."

He paused.

"True Lord Xuanyang, like True Lord Beichen, is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator in the sect."

The air in the reception room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Luo Wen stopped holding his teacup. He stared at Pei Yue for a few moments, seemingly trying to confirm the truth of his words, but Pei Yue's expression remained unchanged.

"So," Luo Wen put down his teacup, lowering his voice, "Mr. Pei is now representing the Xuan Yang True Monarch lineage in a dialogue with the Luo family?"

Pei Yue shook his head again.

"Although True Lord Xuanyang is powerful, he is, after all, far away in the sect and not outside the secret realm."

He said, "I can't speak with True Lord Xuanyang. The sect leader just gave me a task: to observe and record this sect mission."

Pei Yue picked up the herbal tea and took another sip.

"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. The future of the secret realm still depends on the Nascent Soul True Monarchs outside."

Luo Wen was somewhat disappointed, but not completely disappointed.

Because he believed Pei Yue wouldn't say such nonsense. Pei Yue was a smart man, and smart men don't do useless things.

He continued to wait.

Pei Yue nodded. Luo Wen was indeed capable, persistent, and patient; he was a good collaborator.

He stopped going in circles.

"Normally speaking, things are indeed as Yan Feng said."

Pei Yue put down his teacup. "But the Yunhai Cangming Sect didn't only send Beichen Zhenjun this time."

The air in the reception room seemed to freeze.

"The sect's Hall Master of Inquiry, True Monarch Qingyuan, has also arrived."

Pei Yue's voice was not loud, "Although he is in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, his status in the sect is in no way inferior to that of True Monarch Beichen, and may even be higher. Before entering the secret realm, he specifically summoned me."

Luo Wen's expression changed completely.

"True Lord Qingyuan said that he intends to protect the mortals in the secret realm. He wants you to gather the mortals into the city before the secret realm opens, so that you can avoid the disaster when the secret realm collapses."

The secret realm is too vast; once it begins to crumble, he can't possibly protect it all. The city is much simpler.

Pei Yue paused for a moment, "When I was summoned, True Lord Beichen was also present. He did not object."

Luo Wen stood up.

He didn't speak immediately, but took two steps in the hall and turned around.

"Mr. Pei, words are not enough." His voice was steady, but softer than before. "The Luo family's millennia-old foundation, the lives of tens of millions of people in the secret realm—I need proof."

Pei Yue extended his left hand. There was nothing on the back of his hand before. Suddenly, a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) mark resembling a jade tree with blue patterns appeared.

The mark is dark blue, with jade trees and Bagua symbols intertwined, like an ancient totem.

The mark suddenly flashed.

A phantom appeared in the reception room. It was True Lord Qingyuan, still half-reclining in his chair, as if he had just woken up.

Luo Wen immediately bowed in respect.

Qingyuan Zhenjun nodded, and then the illusory figure disappeared.

Luo Wen straightened up, a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.

He sat back down in his chair, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

"The three branches of the Luo family in the secret realm will fully cooperate with all the actions of the Holy Sect."

Pei Yue was somewhat surprised.

"Don't you want to think it over?" he said. "This time, it's not just the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect that's entering the secret realm."

Luo Wen shook his head.