CHAPTER 541: CHAPTER 0533: HOW SINISTER

"Brother Lin, they’ve all gone in. Should we pretend to be bystanders and have some fun with them?"

Qin Yang was confident in his own strength.

Lin Fan glanced at Qin Yang and said, "No rush. Another group will come in soon. We’ve got some luck on our side—ran into a traitor. That traitor is sure to bring us a lot of benefits. Just not sure how many people they’ll bring along."

Since the whole Secret Realm setup started,

he had been a bit tense.

If they encountered a particularly strong individual, someone who could see through their presence and drag them out into the open, it would be quite the mess.

But for now,

things still looked safe.

Absolutely no problems so far.

Xiang Fei watched the situation on the screen and asked doubtfully, "Brother Lin, do you think our little setup will get exposed? With the treasures we’ve put up for grabs right now, they’ll keep hunting for a while. But if this drags on too long, we might have trouble."

Lin Fan smiled. "Relax, I’ve already thought it all through."

He had it all planned out.

It was exactly like a game—if you don’t give the players some early rewards, how do you get them hooked? When the time comes, he’ll tweak the settings. At the start, they’ll be able to find treasures quickly, but after some time, he’ll lower the drop rate. From his god-like perspective, when they start to lose hope and think they won’t find anything, that’s when he’ll let them stumble upon another treasure.

Just imagining their reactions,

he felt an unspeakable thrill.

Maybe they’d start with shock, then excitement, and finally be so overwhelmed they couldn’t put it into words.

The members of the Purple Immortal Pavilion had all entered the Secret Realm.

Zhou Tong had been here before, so he was very familiar with the terrain. He eagerly said, "Elders, I’ve scoured this area very carefully before, and there are no treasures left. The real valuable ones must be on the Path of Life and Death."

The elders looked around at their surroundings.

There were no signs of powerful battles having taken place. If anyone had been here before, there would definitely have been conflicts, leaving behind traces of combat.

But this place was pristine.

This was evidence supporting Zhou Tong’s claim—indeed, no one had been here before.

Outside,

the Pavilion Master of the Purple Immortal Pavilion was waiting alone. Her face was emotionless, but deep down, she was exasperated. Did the Secret Realm really have to be so picky about who could enter?

It wasn’t her fault she was so powerful.

She had simply worked hard enough to get here.

Encountering a never-before-explored Secret Realm was an incredible opportunity for any Immortal to advance.

But now, because her strength was too great,

the Secret Realm outright blocked her from entering. What a pity.

"Hmph!"

Suddenly,

her gaze shifted toward the distant horizon. A familiar yet hostile aura was approaching rapidly, and her expression instantly darkened with shock as though she couldn’t believe it.

In the distance, clouds churned violently.

A suffocating pressure swept over the land, and a black-red banner flapped in the void, blotting out the sky.

Soon,

a large group appeared above the Secret Realm.

The Pavilion Master of the Purple Immortal Pavilion frowned and said, "Lie Xiong, what are you doing here? This is Purple Immortal Pavilion’s territory. Are you trying to declare war on us?"

Lie Xiong, the Sect Hierarch of another faction, had rushed over with his followers after receiving a tip from one of the Purple Immortal Pavilion’s elders. The moment he saw the Secret Realm, he knew the information was true.

There really was a Secret Realm.

Most importantly, everyone knew there had been no Secret Realm here before. Its sudden appearance confirmed the claim—this realm had not yet been entered.

"Get in there, all of you," Lie Xiong ordered with a wave of his hand. "Grab everything valuable from the Secret Realm for me!"

His followers swarmed into the realm like locusts, furious with excitement.

"Courting death."

The Pavilion Master of the Purple Immortal Pavilion would not allow these intruders in. The Secret Realm was her sect’s discovery—how could she tolerate such audacity?

She struck without hesitation,

unleashing the overwhelming might of an Immortal King. An immense power crushed the space around them.

"Hahaha..." Lie Xiong laughed uproariously, striking back with a hand that slashed through the void. He confronted the Pavilion Master head-on. "Xi Yun, just because the Secret Realm appeared near your Purple Immortal Pavilion doesn’t mean it belongs to you."

The followers were ecstatic.

A Secret Realm!

If they managed to plunder this place thoroughly, they’d hit the jackpot.

Lie Xiong noticed Xi Yun standing outside the realm’s entrance.

It wasn’t difficult to guess that some limitations existed inside the realm.

Otherwise, why would she remain outside?

Their clash sent shockwaves everywhere. The Pavilion Master of the Purple Cloud Pavilion had long harbored a desire to kill Lie Xiong. When two rival factions met, it could only end in bloodshed. Peace was never an option between them—at best, their conflicts could momentarily be avoided.

Inside the Secret Realm,

the members of the Purple Immortal Pavilion had already reached the Path of Life and Death.

"Elders, this is the farthest I reached last time. I wanted to try going further, but the pressure within was too overwhelming. With my current cultivation, I couldn’t pass. So, I thought it must be a never-before-discovered Secret Realm and rushed back to report this to the Pavilion Master."

Zhou Tong’s intentions were clear—he was thinking of the sect’s interests above all else.

But, truth be told, he also wanted to cry a little inside.

To encounter an untouched Secret Realm, only to be held back by his lack of strength, left him feeling bitter. To think he had no chance with the treasures here—it was just too gloomy.

Had he been able to push through,

he wouldn’t have returned to report so soon.

The elders carefully examined their surroundings, and it was indeed extraordinary.

They tried extending their hands into the Path of Life and Death, only to feel sharp energies slicing at their bodies. However, thanks to their robust mana reserves, these attacks couldn’t seriously harm them.

At that moment,

they heard movement from behind them.

The elders turned around, and their faces froze in shock, disbelief etched into their expressions. Though one elder’s calm demeanor suggested they had anticipated this.

"How could they be here?"

"This is our territory, and this Secret Realm was just discovered. How did they find out so quickly?"

"Could someone have leaked the information?"

"I don’t think so. Perhaps Zhou Tong wasn’t the first to discover the Secret Realm—they may have found it before us."

But now wasn’t the time to debate such matters.

Tension spread across their faces. There was only one Secret Realm—both factions wanted its treasures, and compromise was impossible.

...

Lin Fan and his companions were glued to the screen, watching everything intently.

Everyone looked thoroughly excited.

"Brother Lin, things are about to get intense. I just scanned the scene—there are dozens of experts on both sides. If a fight breaks out, imagine the kind of loot we could collect!" Qin Yang said excitedly.

Lin Fan remained calm. "Who knows? But there’s no rush. From the looks of it, there will definitely be a minor skirmish. Let’s just watch and wait."

Xiang Fei’s blank face betrayed nothing, but inside, even he felt a bit stirred.

The Chaos Secret Realm was a treasure Lin Fan had acquired.

And it could enhance their strength.

But all of this required outside forces to help.

Now that the two rival factions had converged on the spot, conflict was inevitable.

This wasn’t some high-tier Secret Realm. Had it been, and if stronger cultivators were involved, a battle wouldn’t necessarily break out immediately. Instead, everyone would act based on their own abilities. Any fights that did happen would likely occur only over truly valuable treasures.

But Lin Fan couldn’t wait.

Come on, fight already.

Why weren’t they fighting yet? Verbal sparring was fine, but was it necessary to drag it out for so long?

Should he toss in a treasure just to stir things up?

No way!

To properly manage this Secret Realm, everything had to follow the rules.

Before long,

what he had been eagerly anticipating finally happened.

The negotiations broke down, and whether it was the elders or the common disciples, everyone erupted into battle.

Their mana, while not particularly potent in Lin Fan’s eyes,

began to accumulate.

The energy waves they unleashed seeped into the Secret Realm and were steadily absorbed.

"No fatalities! Please, no fatalities!"

Lin Fan silently prayed. If someone died, the loss would be too great—just one death would waste an unimaginable amount of mana.

"Brother Lin, how’s the haul looking so far?" Qin Yang asked.

Lin Fan replied, "Don’t worry. The fight just started. The haul looks promising so far. But if we can lure a group of prodigies in here, the rewards would be immense."

Prodigies...

It had been ages since he’d encountered a prodigy.

He wondered where they all were.

Gradually,

after some back-and-forth, a few disciples had fallen, bringing the fighting to a halt. The elders began negotiating, agreeing to traverse the Path of Life and Death together. Whether or not treasures could be obtained would depend on individual fortunes.

Lin Fan felt a bit annoyed.

Why couldn’t they fight a little longer?

He looked at the accumulated mana.

Not much.

It was far less than he had hoped for, which only meant one thing—someone inside was holding back.

Then again, it made sense.

With so few casualties, it was clear that everyone was pulling their punches.

Soon after,

the two groups, led by their elders, ventured down the Path of Life and Death. The overwhelming force bore down on them, but since the elders were highly cultivated, they could ignore it entirely.

Moments later,

they passed through the Path of Life and Death.

The oppressive aura vanished without a trace.

The elders withdrew their mana,

but both factions remained wary of each other. Suddenly, they noticed a faint glow ahead of them.

It was an Immortal Tree.

The Immortal Tree was a treasure Lin Fan had exchanged for—an artifact from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. On its branches grew a single Immortal Fruit, coiled with a phantom serpent. Consuming it promised myriad benefits.

When both sides spotted the tree,

they immediately felt the urge to snatch it.

But neither moved right away.

An elder of the Purple Immortal Pavilion declared, "This Secret Realm was discovered by us first. This Immortal Tree rightfully belongs to us."

"Nonsense! Treasures belong to whoever claims them. Who says it’s yours?" a black-robed elder roared in anger.

Words turned to actions.

Someone finally couldn’t hold back, and the fighting erupted again. Truly, a delightful turn of events.

Lin Fan cheered in his heart, "Fight! Just fight already! Quit dithering—fight as fiercely as you can!"

He watched as the accumulated mana steadily increased,

grinning from ear to ear.

In Lin Fan’s eyes, these Immortals were truly reckless. A single Immortal Tree was enough to drive them to fight to the death. Sigh, sometimes, it wasn’t even about the tree—it was about pride.

After all, some of these elders were even Immortal Monarchs.

To them, the tree wasn’t particularly valuable.

But they still fought like mad,

simply unwilling to back down.