Ancient Hidden Realm Part 1

Under the glow of the fiery red sunlight, Zhang Jingmo and Wu Zuyao arrived at the sea.

It was the dead of winter, and a significant portion of the seawater near the shore had frozen. Wu Zuyao asked Zhang Jingmo what kind of spiritual beast he was seeking. Zhang Jingmo replied, "It's a fish called Rui."

Wu Zuyao said, "Oh, I know of this Rui fish. If it were spring, the fish would be easy to find, but now in the depths of winter, I'm afraid it will take some time to locate it."

Zhang Jingmo nodded with a smile, "Sorry to trouble you."

Wu Zuyao said, "Don't stand on ceremony, it's just a small favor."

The two of them continued talking as they flew towards the unfrozen sea.

Zhang Jingmo sensed the auras of other cultivators around them, presumably disciples from the Dayan Sect who had come out to search for the entrance to the secret realm.

Wu Zuyao asked in puzzlement, "Why are there so many people here? Did something happen?"

Zhang Jingmo said, "I don't know either."

As they spoke, the sun in the sky turned an even deeper red, casting a fiery red light that enveloped their surroundings in a faint reddish hue.

Wu Zuyao rubbed his eyes again, perplexed, "Baicang, are you sure you don't see the sun turning red?"

Although Zhang Jingmo also saw it, he still said, "What red? Are your eyes feeling uncomfortable?"

Wu Zuyao muttered, "Could it be that my eyes are playing tricks on me..."

Zhang Jingmo looked ahead, "I think I see the Rui fish over there."

Wu Zuyao said, "Then let's go take a look."

They had already left the frozen sea area, and the seawater beneath their feet rippled with a somewhat blackish color, appearing unfathomably deep.

Wu Zuyao followed Zhang Jingmo and flew for a while in that direction, but they did not find any traces of the Rui fish.

Zhang Jingmo calculated the position in his mind, knowing that the timing and location were about right.

Wu Zuyao, unaware of Zhang Jingmo's thoughts, was still earnestly using spiritual energy to probe the ocean. However, what puzzled him was that there were no signs of Rui fish in this sea; in fact, there were no ordinary fish either.

Suddenly, Zhang Jingmo said, "It seems someone is coming from over there."

Wu Zuyao didn't have time to think carefully and looked up upon hearing this. He saw two cultivators wearing Dayan Sect robes flying towards them. From a distance, Wu Zuyao could see that the two disciples had gloomy expressions, clearly coming with ill intentions.

Zhang Jingmo paid no attention to the two disciples and instead focused on observing the seawater beneath his feet. As the crimson sunlight grew more dazzling, tiny bubbles began to emerge from the seawater under Zhang Jingmo's feet. These bubbles might not have meant much to others, but Zhang Jingmo knew the time had come.

Then Zhang Jingmo took out a copper key from his sleeve, turned his palm slightly, and directly threw the key into the sea.

At this moment, Wu Zuyao was watching the Dayan Sect disciples approaching and did not notice Zhang Jingmo's actions. However, he seemed to hear a strange sound coming from below and subconsciously looked down.

With just one glance, before Wu Zuyao's face could even fully express his shock, he lost consciousness.

On the sea surface that had been calm and waveless just moments ago, a huge whirlpool appeared. The airflow stirred up by the whirlpool instantly sucked the cultivators above the sea into it.

Zhang Jingmo, who was prepared, managed to seize the last moment and threw out a rope, firmly connecting himself to Wu Zuyao.

At the same time, the two Dayan Sect disciples who were also sucked into this huge whirlpool had cultivation levels of only Foundation Establishment. Swept up by the spiritual power, they closed their eyes and directly fell unconscious.

Zhang Jingmo didn't resist and also lost consciousness.

When he woke up again, three days had already passed. Wu Zuyao was lying not far from Zhang Jingmo, still unconscious.

Zhang Jingmo thought for a moment, took out a bottle of spiritual wine from his sleeve, and poured it near Wu Zuyao's mouth.

At first, Wu Zuyao showed no reaction, but then he smacked his lips a couple of times and actually slowly woke up. The first thing he said upon waking was, "Good wine..."

Zhang Jingmo said, "Since you're awake, get up."

Wu Zuyao said, "Ah... I can't, my whole body hurts. Where are we?"

After he finished speaking, he sat up slowly and looked around, only to find that they were surrounded by ruins. The wind blew, stirring up a gust of sand. Wu Zuyao coughed a few times before saying, "Didn't we fall into the sea?"

Zhang Jingmo said, "That's right, we fell into the sea, but this sea seems to lead to another place."

Wu Zuyao said, "Wait a minute, could this place be the legendary ancient secret realm that only appears above the Kun Sea?"

Zhang Jingmo calmly said, "Perhaps it is."

At this time, they were surrounded by a desolate desert. Scattered across the desert were ancient buildings eroded by wind and sand. These buildings were mostly dilapidated, but one could sense a strong historical atmosphere from them.

Among these buildings, broken weapons and scattered human bones could be vaguely seen. Zhang Jingmo walked a few steps and saw a skeleton on the ground. He said, "This is probably an ancient battlefield secret realm."

Secret realms come in many types, with ancient battlefields being the most precious because it is easy to find some magical weapons, treasures, and martial arts manuals in them.

Wu Zuyao stared at the skeleton for a long time before saying, "Misfortune lurks beneath blessing, and blessing is hidden within misfortune. Since we're already here, it wouldn't be my style not to explore around." After saying that, he added, "Weren't there two Dayan Sect disciples? Why haven't we seen them?"

Zhang Jingmo said, "I don't know. When I woke up, I only saw you."

Wu Zuyao said, "Let's go and look around."

Zhang Jingmo nodded and walked away with Wu Zuyao. Wu Zuyao was just wandering around, but Zhang Jingmo's route was deliberate. He pretended to investigate the surroundings, but the direction he took was roughly the destination of this trip.

Wu Zuyao didn't notice that Zhang Jingmo was leading him. Although he had traveled all over the world, this was his first time entering a secret realm, and it happened to be the most rare ancient battlefield secret realm.

Since he was already here, it would be a waste not to take a good look around. Wu Zuyao was quite carefree, not thinking about how to get out or how to find treasure, but just enjoying himself.

As he walked along, he picked up quite a few pieces of junk, like rusty daggers and a sword broken in half. He even picked up a skull, looking like he wanted to stuff it into his Sumeru Ring and take it with him.

Zhang Jingmo couldn't stand it anymore and said, "What do you want that for?"

Wu Zuyao replied, "...It looks a bit familiar."

Zhang Jingmo said helplessly, "They're all bones. How can you find it familiar?"

Wu Zuyao let out an "oh" and very reluctantly put down the bones in his hand.

If the two of them wandered aimlessly in this ancient battlefield, they might not find where Zhang Jingmo wanted to go even in a year. But fortunately, he had been here more than once, so he headed straight for the target. However, because of Wu Zuyao, Zhang Jingmo didn't dare to be too obvious. The two walked and stopped, and more than ten days passed in a flash.

In these ten days or so, nothing happened in the secret realm. It could even be said to be...eerily calm.

It is said that every ancient battlefield condenses the resentful souls of hundreds of thousands of people who have not reincarnated, among which there are even Nascent Soul stage cultivators. It is precisely because of this that ancient battlefields can give birth to many rare and exotic treasures that only appear in extremely Yin places.

The Yin Pearl that Tianwan created with a hundred thousand lives could be found in this ancient battlefield.

Wu Zuyao said, "Baicang, why is there nothing here?"

There was nothing unusual, and the scenery seemed half-frozen.

Zhang Jingmo said, "Perhaps the time has not come?"

Wu Zuyao's eyes turned, and he suddenly said, "Baicang, you really know a lot."

Zhang Jingmo laughed, "I'm just talking nonsense. You don't have to take it to heart." He knew that Wu Zuyao's personality was rough but meticulous. After more than ten days, he must have noticed something.

Wu Zuyao said, "Okay."

The two traveled for a few more days, and there were still no strange things happening in the secret realm, but the wind and sand suddenly became strong. If they didn't use spiritual power to protect their bodies, they would be hit by the sand and feel pain.

There was a lack of spiritual energy in this ancient battlefield. Wu Zuyao was a little worried and said, "You say there are no treasures here and no exit. Sigh..."

As he spoke, he walked forward, but his footsteps suddenly stopped.

Zhang Jingmo said, "Why aren't you walking?"

Wu Zuyao said doubtfully, "Did I just see the bones on the ground move?"

Zhang Jingmo still had a gentle smile and said, "You must have seen wrong. How could the bones on the ground move?"

Wu Zuyao started rubbing his eyes again and said, "Before, I saw that the sun was red, and now I see the bones moving. Could it be that I'm being blown by the wind..." Before he could finish, he swallowed the rest of his words.

Where he had just walked, the withered bones that should have been motionless slowly crawled up from the ground. The bones on the withered skeleton were not complete, but they still stood up inch by inch from the ground.

Wu Zuyao: "..." His expression twisted for a moment. Before Zhang Jingmo could react, he saw Wu Zuyao kick hard and shatter the withered bones.

After shattering them, his face still looked bad. "It really scared me to death."

Zhang Jingmo knew that Wu Zuyao had always been very afraid of these ghostly things. There was laughter in his eyes, but he said, "Huh? The bones under your feet seem to be moving."

Then Wu Zuyao jumped up like a rabbit.

When he realized that Zhang Jingmo was joking with him, Wu Zuyao said angrily, "It's not funny. Do you know that scaring people like this can scare them to death?"

However, the smile on Zhang Jingmo's face deepened, but it quickly faded because he heard a sound.

The sound slowly approached them from a distance, sounding like thousands of horses and soldiers galloping, mixed with the clashing of weapons and the screams of humans.

Wu Zuyao's face looked even worse. He said, "Baicang, did you hear that?"

Zhang Jingmo said lightly, "I heard it." He knew that what he was waiting for had come.

The sound got closer and closer. When it got close enough, Zhang Jingmo saw the source of the sound.

In the vast desert, a line of dust was kicked up, and in the dust, one could vaguely see galloping horses and warriors holding weapons.

These warriors shouted and killed, rushing towards him and Wu Zuyao. The hooves pounding on the ground made the earth tremble.