“The Han Brothers also endured a lot of hards.h.i.+p while growing up!” Little Fatty shook his head as he told Yun Jiuge about the Han Brothers' past.

The Han Brothers were born into a family of farmers. They were quite well-off, initially, and their family had owned farms and land.

However, when Han Xiaodong was 10 years old, the parents had suddenly fallen terribly ill, and they pa.s.sed away a short while later, after using up all of their wealth.

As the saying goes, ‘when it rains, it pours.' After their parents died, Han Xiaoxi also fell ill. The brothers had no money left, and Han Xiaodong was not able to take his brother to see a doctor. Left with no other choice, Han Xiaodong had sold himself into servitude and worked for a landlord. He'd used the money to save Han Xiaoxi.

Sadly, the family that Han Xiaodong had sold himself into was not kind at all.

They did not show Han Xiaodong any compa.s.sion even though he was only 10 years old. They treated him like an animal. They made him work the farm and carry heavy loads of water every single day, and they even made him sleep in the pigsty and eat the pigs' food. Not only that, but they also beat and scolded him incessantly. All in all, they were vile human beings.

Eventually, Han Xiaoxi burned the entire evil family alive. The two brothers then became beggars and wandered about aimlessly.

“Han Xiaodong has reached a high stage of cultivation, and he's extremely ferocious. He never runs away from a fight and always chooses to battle to the death. Han Xiaoxi, on the other hand, is a sinister man who is good at devising underhanded tricks. The two brothers are tough to handle, and there is not a single secondary disciple in the sect who would dare to cross them…”

Yun Jiuge still wanted to hear more when Little Fatty finished his story about the Han Brothers' history. She immediately asked Little Fatty, “What about Senior Sister Bai Lan?”

All she knew about Bai Lan was that she was loose on morals and seemed to be having a flirtation with Su Junqing.

Little Fatty could not help but avert his gaze toward the buxom figure standing nearby when he heard the name ‘Bai Lan.' He noticed Bai Lan grinning at him incomprehensibly, and he immediately lowered his head and replied, “Senior Sister Bai Lan was a completely normal disciple before she entered the sect. I have nothing else to say about her.”

Yun Jiuge felt Bai Lan's gaze land on her, and she raised her head to look. Bai Lan winked at her and made a face as if she wanted to eat Yun Jiuge right up.

“Tsk!” Yun Jiuge averted her eyes. She did not like being teased by other women. This was all Zi Shang's fault!

It was extremely crowded and cramped, so Zi Shang had chosen not to stay by Yun Jiuge's side. He made himself invisible and hid in the mark on her hand. Had he stuck by her side to watch everything unfold, he would definitely have been proud of his ‘foresight.'

“Senior Sister, are you interested in Yun Jiu?” It did not take long for Su Junqing to notice that Bai Lan was staring at Yun Jiu.

“He's not bad, I guess!” Bai Lan smiled. She enjoyed stealing other people's vital energies while having s.e.x, but she did not do it with just anyone.

She would first judge the nature of the person with whom she was going to have s.e.x. If the target was lecherous, then she would sleep with him just to receive a reward in exchange for her time.

If the other party caught her stealing their vital energies, then she would stop at once. She did not forcefully steal vital energies from anyone.

After all, she would not be able to stay in the sect for long if she were to be caught doing that.

When Su Junqing observed that Bai Lan was interested in Yun Jiu, he wanted to encourage her to sleep with him.

However, before he could say a word to Bai Lan, the group felt a strong fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from a valley in the depths of the Dahuang Mountain. It was a sign that the Secret Realm was about to open.

Han Xiaodong raised his voice and hollered, “Everyone! Pay attention! The Secret Realm is about to open. Hold onto all your things carefully and stay alert. Don't lose your lives the moment you enter!”

Every single secondary disciple was on guard. It was said that many disciples were attacked the moment they entered the secret realm. No one wanted to play with fire.

“Senior Sister Bai Lan, it's almost time. Let's open the Secret Realm now,” Lang Ya said as he walked over.

In his hand, he held a palm-sized stone with countless tiny runes engraved on it. It was a key that opened the Secret Realm.

There were five keys in total, and every team leader had one. To open the Secret Realm's entrance, all the leaders had to use their keys at the same time.

“Sure. Let's open it now!” Bai Lan would never dare to slow down the entire team.

Along with Lang Ya and the other team leaders, Su Junqing fished out his key before they walked over to the center of the area where the fluctuation of spiritual energy was the strongest. The five of them then placed their keys on the ground in the shape of a pentagram.

The next instant, many rays of black spiritual energy shot out from the keys. They then merged into a single beam of light about the width of a man's arm and surged for the skies.

Rumbling sounds started up in the distance. The group felt as though the air surrounding the Dahuang Mountain had been ripped to shreds, and a black hole soon formed before their eyes.

“Make your way inside in sequence. Disciples from Number One Peak, follow me.” Lang Ya led his team into the Secret Realm first.

When all of the disciples from the Number One Peak had entered, Su Junqing then led in the disciples from the Number Two Peak.

The Liu Sisters followed Su Junqing closely.

Yun Jiuge and Little Fatty entered the black hole along with the other disciples.

After pa.s.sing through a long black tunnel, Yun Jiuge's vision went dark just before she experienced a spinning sensation. A moment later, she fell to the ground.

Before she could scramble back to her feet, however, she heard fierce winds howling above her. Then, something that smelled of blood rushed straight at her.

Yun Jiuge immediately controlled her Sharp Metal Bone Spur and made it fly at her attacker.

A moment later, she heard the sound of flesh being pierced.

Yun Jiuge raised her head to look, and she saw a black Eagle Beast fall to the ground with a puncture wound in its chest.

Its body was about as big as a three-year-old child's. Its beak and claws were razor-sharp, and they glinted wickedly under the light.

The Eagle Beast possessed immense strength, and they were also able to fly at breakneck speed. If one were caught by it, one would instantly be lifted into the air with no chance of survival.

“F*ck! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d sure is treacherous!” Little Fatty exclaimed. He was positioned right behind Yun Jiuge.

If Yun Jiuge had not been able to hold back the Eagle Beast, then he would have been killed as well.

“Be careful. I reckon there are still more around,” Yun Jiuge warned. She retrieved her Bone Spur and clutched it in her hands as she warily surveyed her surroundings.

In front of her, she noticed an expanse of brown wasteland overgrown with weeds. Numerous crushed stones were littered all over the ground, and she could see a mountain in the distance. It did not look very far away, but Yun Jiuge knew that they would all be exhausted by the time they reached it.

At that exact moment, the disciples behind her suddenly let out a distressing cry, startling her. “Ah! There's an Eagle Beast! Help me!”

Yun Jiuge turned her head to look and saw two Eagle Beasts s.n.a.t.c.h one disciple each before flying off to the skies. It did not take long before both beasts became nothing more than two small black dots against a backdrop of blue firmament.

“Stay calm, stay in formation, and make sure you defend yourselves well!” Su Junqing shouted as he brandished his Bone Spur in a hurry.

A few of the more alert disciples immediately began brandis.h.i.+ng their Bone Spurs as well.

The Eagle Beasts noticed that they would not be able to win easily, and they immediately retreated to the skies.

However, they did not fly away. Instead, they continued to circle the area, clearly waiting for a chance to attack again.

The look on Su Junqing's face was most unpleasant. They had only just entered the Secret Realm, and they had already lost two disciples. He knew that morale would be negatively affected.

“Senior Brother Su! Someone has killed an Eagle Beast! Come and take a look!” a husky voice suddenly rang out.

Yun Jiuge looked over in the direction where the voice had come from, and she furrowed her brow instantly. The voice belonged to Broom Eyebrows Chen.

Broom Eyebrows Chen enthusiastically called over Su Junqing and showed him the Eagle Beast, which Yun Jiuge had killed. It was clear that Broom Eyebrows Chen was up to good.

Su Junqing walked over and examined the Eagle Beast's remains before asking, “Who killed it?”

“It was Junior Brother Yun Jiu,” Broom Eyebrows Chen answered at once. “Junior Brother Yun Jiu is very powerful even though he has only reached the third level of the Qi Refining stage! We should let him march up front!” It was more dangerous to be at the front.

“I was just lucky,” Yun Jiuge replied in a flat voice.

The Eagle Beast's attack had been too sudden, and she had not been able to hold herself back. She was afraid that they were going to figure out that she was actually much stronger than she claimed to be.

“You are too humble, Junior Brother Yun Jiu! Luck is also an important element of cultivation. Please go to the front and share your luck with all of us!” Su Junqing was clearly up to no good as well.

Yun Jiuge wanted to refuse, but she knew that she would be deemed as uncooperative if she did not listen to Su Junqing. He was the leader, after all.

If Su Junqing were to say something provocative later on, then she would definitely be put on the spot. She had to agree to Su Junqing's request right now to save herself even more trouble in the future.