Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Discovering the Secret Realm
Yu Zhao and Zhou Jin Yue looked at each other and saw excitement in each other’s eyes.

The Scarlet Flame Lion could not have fallen from the sky, so there had to be something that had brought it here.

That thing could be a Teleportation Array, or it could be an unknown secret realm.

Naturally, Zhou Jin Yue and Yu Zhao hoped it was the latter.

Zhou Jin Yue said: “Everyone spread out and look around. See if there is any strange place nearby, or any fluctuation of Spirit Power.”

The disciples of Five Elements Dao Sect scattered at once to search.

Yu Zhao also chose a direction.

She walked with her head lowered, examining every inch of the ground as if she wanted to dig three feet into the earth.

After walking more than a hundred steps forward, she stopped and looked at the huge boulder in front of her.

It was an ordinary stone. There was no sign of Spirit Power and no trace of life.

It was no different from any random rock in Dragon Roar Valley.

But Yu Zhao just had a strange feeling.

This boulder had a secret.

Yu Zhao channeled Spirit Power into her palm and pressed her hand against the stone.

Hum.

A strange wave of energy wrapped around her.

A strong sense of weightlessness hit her. When Yu Zhao opened her eyes again, she was already in a completely unfamiliar place.

The sky was gray. All around were large stretches of withered grass and trees. Deathly stillness filled the air. At the end of the path, thick fog covered everything, and through it she could faintly see a stone bridge.

Yu Zhao tried to absorb Spirit Power and found that the Spirit Power here was very thin.

She felt a bit disappointed.

This was a secret realm that was about to collapse.

The master of the realm had most likely already passed away. Spirit Power could no longer support the operation of the realm, and before long, this place would be swallowed by the void.

Yu Zhao looked around more carefully and found a charred corpse and several huge footprints.

So the Scarlet Flame Lion really had come from here.

Buzz buzz buzz.

Another strange spatial fluctuation spread out.

Zhou Jin Yue and the others appeared one after another around Yu Zhao.

Seeing Yu Zhao standing there safe and sound, Zhou Jin Yue let out a sigh of relief and stepped forward to ask how she was. The others looked around and began to comment.

“This secret realm looks so desolate, and the Spirit Power is thin. It is far worse than the secret realm of our Five Elements Dao Sect.”

“I thought we had found a treasure land, but it turned out to be a wasteland. We were happy for nothing.”

“Did the Scarlet Flame Lion come out from here? Then will there be any other Demonic Beasts here?”

As soon as these words fell, the surroundings went quiet.

If they ran into another fourth rank Scarlet Flame Lion, their trip would be over.

“Everyone stay together and do not split up. We will go ahead and have a look.”

Zhou Jin Yue’s strong leadership calmed everyone down again, and they all walked together toward the depths of the secret realm.

Along the way, they did not encounter a single Demonic Beast. Their footsteps fell on the withered grass, making soft rustling sounds.

Yu Zhao’s Divine Sense kept covering the entire area she could probe, ready at any moment for any sudden danger.

The secret realm did not look very big, yet they walked for a full three hours before finally reaching its end.

At the end there was a stream, with a stone bridge over it connecting the two banks.

Thick fog blocked all sight. They could not see where the bridge led at all.

“Senior Sister Zhou.”

Everyone stared at Zhou Jin Yue, waiting for her decision.

“Three people will go over first to check the situation. If there is no danger, the others will follow,” Zhou Jin Yue said decisively.

No one objected.

The ones scouting ahead would face the greatest risk, so they had to choose the strongest people. Zhou Jin Yue took the lead as a matter of course, and the other two were decided to be Zhang Jun and Lan Zi Yu.

If Fang Cheng Lang had not been injured, one of those three spots would have been his.

Yu Zhao really wanted to go with them, but when she thought of her own strength, she decided not to drag them down.

Fortunately, Zhou Jin Yue and the other two did not encounter any danger. After they landed safely on the other side, they immediately sent a signal to the remaining disciples.

Yu Zhao and the rest moved at once and crossed the bridge together.

As they passed through the thick fog, the view ahead slowly became clear.

The closest thing before them was a garden, but the plants in the garden were also withered. Farther in stood a three story wooden pavilion with carved railings and jade like balustrades. It was quiet and elegant.

From the layout of the realm and the decorations of the pavilion, Yu Zhao roughly formed an image of its master. This must have been someone who loved flowers and plants and had a simple, refined taste.

The wooden doors of the pavilion were wide open, and there was no one guarding the area. It looked very safe, but no one dared to relax their guard.

As usual, Zhou Jin Yue and the other two were the first to enter.

They went in smoothly without any obstruction. The faint lines of a Defensive Array on the floor had already become useless decoration.

Seeing this, Yu Zhao and the others stepped forward and followed.

No one had been in the pavilion for a long time. A thin layer of dust covered every surface.

The disciples of Five Elements Dao Sect were very curious, but they did not dare to wander around. They obediently followed behind Zhou Jin Yue and the other two.

Soon they had finished walking through all three floors of the pavilion.

Someone could not help sighing: “The master of this secret realm is way too poor. Besides some daily use items, there is nothing left here.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They had thought they could find some opportunity in the secret realm, but there was nothing at all. They had just wasted a whole day.

Yu Zhao’s eyes flashed. She felt that something was not quite right.

It was like they had missed something.

Just as Zhou Jin Yue was about to lead everyone out, Yu Zhao finally thought of it and said excitedly: “The Scarlet Flame Lion!”

“Where? Where is the Scarlet Flame Lion?”

“Is there another Scarlet Flame Lion?”

“Junior Sister Yu, don’t scare us!”

“…”

The disciples of Five Elements Dao Sect huddled together, shivering.

Zhou Jin Yue, however, understood what Yu Zhao meant. She clapped her hands and said: “Right, how could we forget the Scarlet Flame Lion? Since it lived in this secret realm, it must have a lair. We have not seen its dwelling since we came in. There might be some unexpected gains there.”

Everyone’s spirits lifted.

They did not really expect some heaven defying chance. It was just that going back empty handed was disappointing. Even a small gain would make the trip worthwhile.

They perked up and actively started searching for the Scarlet Flame Lion’s lair.

Once again, it was Yu Zhao who first noticed something.

Behind the pavilion, thick weeds happened to hide the mouth of a cave.

Yu Zhao cleared away the weeds at the entrance and tossed a stick of incense inside.

Smoke spread through the cave, and before long, a small Scarlet Flame Lion ran out.

It scrambled in panic and crashed straight into Yu Zhao’s leg, then collapsed on the ground in a daze.

This little Scarlet Flame Lion was only as long as Yu Zhao’s arm. Its face was covered in fine, soft, light red fur.

Yu Zhao pinched the back of its neck and lifted it up, meeting its round eyes.

After a moment, Yu Zhao nodded.

Yes, it was this one.

In her last life, Yu Zhao had seen this little Scarlet Flame Lion before, but what she had seen then was only its severed head.

When the Sect Master learned of Senior Sister Zhou’s death, he flew into a rage and went straight to Dragon Roar Valley, where he cut off the heads of the fourth rank great demon Scarlet Flame Lion and its youngling and brought them back to Five Elements Dao Sect as offerings.

Yu Zhao had a deep impression of this, so she had guessed that there should still be a little Scarlet Flame Lion that had slipped through the net in this secret realm.