Lu Yuan could not help feeling a little surprised.
Could there really be other dangers within the secret realm of the Immortal Cave besides the ultimate ground? Yet there shouldn't be any real trouble, especially with Jiang Haokong around.
Given Jiang Haokong's cultivation, nothing posed the slightest threat to him unless it was a Great Saint. Apart from that, could there truly be some other unforeseen peril he didn't know about?
Lu Yuan pondered this for a moment and hesitated no longer. Taking a single step forward, he vanished from where he stood.
Although the secret realm of the Immortal Cave was vast, covering it was nothing to him. More importantly, he only needed to spread his divine sense to search for people, which would not take very long.
Unless there was some array formation or domain capable of masking their presence from detection, he would find them quickly. And such a concealment was unlikely; otherwise, Jiang Haokong would have reacted back then.
Therefore, while Lu Yuan felt a slight worry in his heart, it was nothing more than that. Along the way, he encountered many secret realm spirits once again, and just like before, every one of them was corrupted.
"Could this be what Immortal Guangchengzi spoke of—the corruption that emerges after being tainted by the power of those Extraterrestrial Demons?" Lu Yuan had already explored numerous secret realms by now and understood why secret realm spirits came into being.
He also kept Guangchengzi's warning firmly in mind, thoroughly eliminating these contaminated secret realm spirits. The reason was simple: Lu Yuan had no way of knowing whether the lingering power of the Extraterrestrial Demons remained upon them.
He vividly remembered how formidable and bizarre that red-haired monster had been.
Without sufficient cultivation and strength, dealing with such a creature was simply impossible. One had to remember that even Yu Heng of the Eternal Clan had been completely suppressed by it, left without even the slightest room to resist.
And that red-haired monster had merely been formed by the remnant power of an Extraterrestrial Demon. If a true demon were to descend in person, how terrifying would that be?
Because of this, Lu Yuan purged every single corrupted secret realm spirit he came across along the way.
Fortunately, there were not very many of them, so dealing with them was no trouble for him. At the same time, he searched for the whereabouts of Jiang Haokong and the others.
Time trickled by minute by minute. Soon, over an hour had passed. Lu Yuan's divine sense finally picked up a trace of something not far off to the west.
In fact, he had also spotted several extraterrestrial beings during the search, but he paid them no mind. Their cultivation realms simply were not worth his attention anymore.
While continuing to ponder, Lu Yuan soon discovered an enormous, blood-red valley in the distance and immediately headed toward it.
The Immortal Cave lay within a folded space, so naturally, it could not be thought of as a mere cave. It was truly a pocket world, larger than some cities from the old era; encountering valleys and dense forests here was hardly unusual.
However, upon entering the valley, Lu Yuan noticed an unusual fluctuation of energy.
Because of this energy's presence, even his divine sense was restricted, preventing him from exploring freely. Still, he detected no danger within.
"Oh? Lu Yuan, you're here!" Right at that moment, a voice sounded from not far below. It was Jiang Haokong.
Jiang Haokong stood on the shore of a lake in the valley with his arms crossed, casting an astonished gaze over at him.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan descended immediately. He was just about to speak when Jiang Haokong remarked that over a month had already passed. At those words, Lu Yuan could not help feeling surprised, for he had only spent a little over an hour in the ultimate ground.
Yet as the Divine Son of the Jiang clan, Jiang Haokong figured it out at once. He realized that the flow of time differed between the two places.
Hearing this explanation, Lu Yuan nodded. He knew this was the reason, as it was not his first time encountering such a phenomenon.
Afterward, he glanced around their surroundings and asked, "Where are Zhu Qingyu and the others?" He had not seen any sign of them since arriving.
"Them?" Jiang Haokong smiled and replied, "To tell you the truth, those folks have incredible luck. Look at this lake. Do you notice anything?"
Lu Yuan turned his head, divine light swirling in his eyes as he studied the lake before him. He was instantly taken aback. "Incredibly pure power of heaven and earth... The energy is immense, reaching a truly terrifying concentration. If one could absorb it, it would be immensely beneficial to one's cultivation and evolution."
In his eyes, wisps of incomparably pure energy rose continuously from the lake.
The water was an azure blue, with streaks of radiance surging from its depths, making it appear extraordinary.
"Exactly," Jiang Haokong chimed in. "This lake contains Innate Spirit Water, gathered by a supreme expert using special methods. Entering it to cultivate and evolve brings unimaginable benefits—the lower one's cultivation realm, the greater the gains.
"I drove every single one of your subordinates into the lake. Once they emerge and take some time to adjust, their progress will surely be tremendous.
"Who knows, several Saint Realm experts might even be born in quick succession before long. It's just a pity that this Innate Spirit Water has no effect once you reach the Saint Realm." He shook his head, thinking that if not for that limitation, he would have loved to step in himself, but his realm was simply too high.
"I see. Thank you," Lu Yuan said, offering his thanks at once. Even though Jiang Haokong had not mentioned it, it was certain that the extraterrestrial beings had noticed this valley and lake as well, yet none were in sight. Jiang Haokong must have intervened; otherwise, the place would never have remained so peaceful.
"Think nothing of it. Just remember the agreement between us," Jiang Haokong replied with a casual wave of his hand, completely unconcerned.
As a Divine Son, he was indeed arrogant at times, but once he acknowledged someone, his attitude changed completely.
Just as it was now, Lu Yuan's strength had earned Jiang Haokong's respect, and with Jiang Ningxian factored in, his relationship with Lu Yuan was naturally quite different from before.
"By the way, what did you discover in that ultimate ground? And where are the people who went in with you?" Jiang Haokong asked out of curiosity since he had nothing else to do.
While he had agreed to fulfill his promise to someone, that didn't mean he had no interest in the ultimate ground.
In reality, Jiang Haokong knew the Immortal Cave was the site where Guangchengzi attained the Dao. There was bound to be something extraordinary inside, so he wished to inquire about it.
"The ultimate ground is indeed extraordinary," Lu Yuan replied. "It's rather complicated, so I'll explain it to you slowly after we leave this place. As for the people who followed me inside... well, I slaughtered every single one of them. Not one was left alive!"
Slaughtered every single one, leaving not a soul behind.
The moment those words were spoken, the smile on Jiang Haokong's face froze. He had expected a great battle to erupt between both sides, given how fiercely they had fought outside.
Yet he never could have imagined that Lu Yuan had slaughtered them all.
Chapter 282