Without a cultivator infusing spiritual power, a defensive spiritual artifact could only withstand one or two hits.
Fortunately, the male and female demonic cultivators were still in decent shape, and they had plenty of defensive spiritual artifacts on hand, which barely allowed them to hold the line.
They had considered kicking the dead weight out, but the pressure from the three attackers was too great, and they couldn’t spare the hands to shove the useless one off.
All they could do was grit their teeth and keep the good-for-nothing sheltered within their barrier, letting him leech off their defensive artifacts.
The light of the transmission array beneath their feet had grown increasingly intense, and both demonic cultivators standing on it could feel as if space itself was turning fragile.
This was the sign that the array was about to activate—and the hope that kept them rooted here.
If they could just hold out until then, they would survive!
Meanwhile, the demonic cultivators besieging them had intensified their assault.
Some of the more impatient ones even climbed directly onto the platform and began striking their barrier at close range with spiritual tools.
Close-range attacks were indeed a fair bit more formidable than long-range ones, putting immense pressure on the pair.
Fortunately, their stockpile was substantial. After all, since entering the secret realm, they’d only fought once, and in that fight they’d seen the situation going south and retreated immediately without suffering any real losses.
Compared to the attackers, who still had to think about how they’d continue fighting inside the secret realm, the pair could throw out their trump cards without any hesitation—which actually made them the side with the advantage.
No need to worry about the future, because this was their final stand!
Facing this situation, the three attacking demonic cultivators lost their composure too. These two are turtles, aren’t they? Playing shell games, huh? Fine, we’re done playing too!
All three demonic cultivators came onto the transmission platform, pulled out their spiritual tools, and launched a ferocious assault, betting that they could crack the turtle shells and kill the two turtles before the array activated.
If they couldn’t crack it, then they’d all get teleported out of the secret realm together!
Neither side, locked in their heated battle, noticed that high above in the sky, a pitch-black shell pierced through the clouds, aimed at their position, and dove downward at terrifying speed.
At the same moment, the transmission array erupted with a violent burst of white light, freezing the movements of everyone on the platform.
The world before their eyes seemed to split into layers. Their bodies and souls felt as though they were being torn apart by an invisible force, pulled into two different realms.
This was the effect of the transmission array activating!
The male and female demonic cultivators were overjoyed—they’d held out! They could leave this godforsaken place!
The other three demonic cultivators, however, were shocked. That meant they’d been dragged into this too.
Now they’d be sent out of the secret realm along with those two turtles.
The entry ticket was wasted for nothing. Tch.
Just as both sides thought the outcome was sealed and were wallowing in their respective joy and despair, a black light descended from the sky.
All present were Spiritual Realm cultivators, yet even they couldn’t fully make out the shape of that black light.
They only saw it slam into the transmission platform, instantly releasing a storm of dark fragments.
Before they could react, those fragments, shooting out like raindrops, pierced through their passively triggered spiritual barriers and embedded deep into their bodies.
No one had expected an attack to come falling from the sky at that moment.
The attacking cultivators had been focused entirely on cracking the turtle shell, leaving their own defenses lax—so they took the full brunt of the hit.
By comparison, because they’d kept their shields up the whole time, the male and female demonic cultivators suffered far less damage from the ambush.
Although the shattering explosion still tore through their previous barrier and sent out a shockwave, the stable spiritual barrier managed to provide some effect during that deadliest wave of attacks, blocking the most lethal blow for them.
The impact, the pain of fragments piercing skin, and the disorientation from spatial teleportation all came at once, throwing the demonic cultivators’ senses into chaos.
For a moment, they even doubted whether it was really their own bodies that had been hurt.
It wasn’t until everything before their eyes separated and reassembled into a scene both familiar and strange that the pain in their bodies became real once more.
“Aaaah!”
Screams immediately spread across the raised platform where the transmission array sat, startling the demonic cultivators who had been watching from nearby.
When they saw the people on the platform, they felt both speechless and quietly relieved.
This secret realm was far too dangerous—it was only the third day, and yet not a single person who came out was whole.
It seemed not wasting their entry qualifications had actually been a stroke of luck.
While the onlookers were still in shock and fear, the Wanhuagu demonic cultivators had already rushed onto the platform and carried the six—some dead, some wounded—off the stage.
Among them, the one in the worst condition was the unlucky demonic cultivator who had been with the pair. He breathed his last right after being carried down—dead on the spot.
Next were the three who had bet on the exit point.
They had taken Hua Jian’s strongest attack head-on, and their current states weren’t much better than the one who’d died.
The bomb fragments embedded in their bodies had already begun to take root and sprout.
If they weren’t treated promptly, it was entirely foreseeable that their blood energy would be drained dry.
Fortunately, Wanhuagu were decent people at heart. In a situation like this, they wouldn’t just watch someone die.
Of course, the treatment fee was inevitably substantial. After all, this was an emergency rescue—the price naturally had to be a bit higher.
After fleecing them for a hefty sum, Wanhuagu hastily carried the three away.
As for the male and female demonic cultivators, who were in relatively decent condition, they were quickly surrounded by the crowd, eagerly questioned about everything that had happened in the secret realm.
Some of the demonic cultivators had a hint of greed flickering in their eyes, probably thinking about killing the two right now and snatching away whatever good treasures they’d acquired.
After all, they’d come out of the secret realm—surely they couldn’t have gotten nothing good, right?
But cowed by Wanhuagu’s fearsome reputation, these demonic cultivators didn’t dare act openly.
They could only suppress their desires for the time being, planning to scheme about it later.
Bombarded with questions until their heads spun, the pair waved their hands repeatedly, wearing expressions of lingering fear. “They’re dead, all dead!”
They briefly recounted their experiences in the secret realm, making the surrounding demonic cultivators suck in cold breaths.
Who would have thought the secret realm was even more terrifying than they’d imagined, with pressure so immense that one could never let their guard down at any moment?
There were ambushes lying in wait at exit points, attacks launched at the final moment without distinguishing friend from foe to wipe everyone out, and even teams outside preparing to clear the entire map…
If not for their good luck, these two probably wouldn’t have seen the sun outside the secret realm.
After this ordeal, these two demonic cultivators would likely develop a physiological fear of secret realms for years to come—especially ones associated with Wanhuagu. They’d steer far, far away from those.
These kinds of games weren’t something ordinary people like them could play. Best leave it to the gifted young geniuses to grind each other down.
They counted themselves lucky. Though their spirit stones and spiritual artifacts were nearly depleted, at least they’d kept their lives and gained some experience.
The demonic cultivators who’d stumbled into this black house game hadn’t just lost money—they’d lost their lives!
Like their poor teammate, and those temporary companions they’d met along the escape route.
Back outside, they’d all been full of ambition, dreaming of making a name for themselves in the secret realm.
Now, they’d become nothing but dry bones within it, soon to vanish completely as the secret realm collapsed.
After listening to the demonic cultivator’s gloomy account, the surrounding cultivators nodded repeatedly. Though they hadn’t experienced it firsthand, the story alone was enough to make one’s heart race.
“Man, good thing we didn’t go in. If we had, who knows if we’d have made it out.” Some demonic cultivators said to their companions in a mixture of fear and relief.
These demonic cultivators, who lacked entry qualifications yet had lingered here after the secret realm began, were all much the same.
Hearing about the horrors inside now actually made them feel less resentful about missing out.
“Say, do you all think anyone else can still make it out?”
At that moment, someone suddenly posed the question, plunging the discussion into silence.
Could anyone still come out?
If the secret realm was really as high-pressure as the two who emerged had described, then the odds of anyone else getting out didn’t seem very high.
That first exit point activation was probably a fluke. The next time someone tried to activate an exit point, it would be far more difficult than the first.
Unless the map was completely cleared of everyone, no one would pull that gate.
At the thought of so many powerful Demonic Spirit Kings dying inside the secret realm, these demonic cultivators couldn’t help but glance at the Wanhuagu cultivators standing nearby.
Could Wanhuagu really just watch all these spirit kings grind each other to death?
Noticing the stares, the Wanhuagu cultivators tilted their heads in confusion, completely unable to understand why these rubberneckers were looking at them.
“If you’ve got nothing to do, move aside. Hey, you two—do you need treatment?”
A young-looking girl stepped out from among the Wanhuagu cultivators, shooing away the crowd, and asked the male and female demonic cultivators.
Their condition was much better than the three who’d been carried off, but they were still injured.
The shrapnel inside them was also diligently taking root, so they still needed Wanhuagu’s help.
“You two got off lighter. I’ll charge you this much.” The girl casually named a somewhat exorbitant price.
The pair hurriedly nodded. They didn’t dare haggle at a time like this.
Having Wanhuagu treat them was far safer than dragging their wounded bodies around looking for some other demonic path healer.
They’d get gouged a bit, but at least their lives would be saved.
“Alright, then come with us.” The girl nodded and had the Wanhuagu cultivators behind her carry the two off to the treatment area.
Only after they’d left did she carefully touch the green leaf earring hanging from her ear and speak softly, “Miss Hua Jian, the targets are in hand.”
‘Well done, Xinrui. Remember to clean up thoroughly. And if you can’t clean it up, then clean up the problem itself.’
“Understood!”