Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sweeping Through All Obstacles

While Gu Xiaopang was bickering with the old man who called himself the Supreme Sovereign, outside the secret realm, several peak masters sat together, the fragrance of tea wafting through the air.

“I wonder what surprises this batch of disciples will bring after a month in the secret realm,” mused one.

“Rest assured, Master. This group of disciples is stronger than any before; their fortunes are sure to surpass the previous generations as well,” another replied.

“Indeed. Especially the top ten seeds—their progress in this training will surely be remarkable,” added a third.

Inside the secret realm at this moment, shadows of people and beasts moved in a restless dance.

Deep in the barren desert, some disciples burrowed through the sand, searching in all directions; others fought sand beasts, occasionally victorious, sometimes outmatched—separated from each other by thousands of miles.

Across the vast ocean, dozens of disciples plunged in like bait, instantly attracting countless sea beasts that surged and darted toward them.

On towering peaks of spiritual plants, nature’s might soared to the skies. Birds took flight in sudden bursts; some disciples hid among the trees using wood-based techniques, while others borrowed the power of wood to fight.

“Though I’ve advanced continuously and my combat strength has grown, there’s still no sign of the inheritance. Might it be inside the Earthfire Essence?”

“It is there, but with your paltry skills, you’re hardly worthy of such a legacy.”

Gu Xiaopang was once again left speechless, sweating in embarrassment.

Barely ten days had passed since the journey into the secret realm began. Having set out anew, Gu Xiaopang flitted tirelessly through forests and over the land, slaying countless spirit beasts and birds with casual ease, gathering piles of spiritual herbs and fruits.

“Elder?” he called.

“Call me Master.”

“Elder!”

“Since you’re borrowing my power, help me locate the Earth Essence, Wood Essence, Water Essence… Where are they?”

“Call me Master.”

“Elder!”

“Fine, Master!”

“You brat! Now that’s more like it. Back in my day… countless people knelt and begged to become my disciples, and I couldn’t even be bothered to spare them a glance…”

“Stop reminiscing, old man! Let’s focus on what matters!”

“You little rascal, listening to your Master’s teachings isn’t important?”

Under Elder Qin’s guidance, Gu Xiaopang finally arrived at the outskirts of the barren desert. He had intended to charge straight across using borrowed strength, but Elder Qin stopped him in time, explaining that since this was a trial within the secret realm, inheriting a legacy was only part of the purpose; the tempering of the trial itself was just as important.

Finding wisdom in these words, Gu Xiaopang heeded his advice. He channeled the power of Earth Spirit, dove into the sand, and—guided again by Elder Qin—headed straight for the packs of Foundation Establishment sand scorpions lurking in remote corners and deep recesses.

“Let’s see how I deal with you all!” he shouted, drawing his treasured rhinoceros horn weapon and plunging into battle against more than a dozen sand scorpions at once.

These sand scorpions, each over two meters long and shaped somewhat like a lute, were covered in armor as hard as refined steel, their shells dotted with grainy protrusions. Their tails arched high, the venomous stingers vibrating at high frequency as they lashed out at the unwelcome intruder.

Had there been only one or two, Gu Xiaopang could have handled them with ease. But now, surrounded by over a dozen, he was truly hard-pressed.

A dozen stingers struck fiercely toward him. Gu Xiaopang released his true energy, instantly burrowing underground, reappearing beneath one scorpion’s belly. Empowered by his true energy, the rhinoceros horn pierced the creature’s abdomen without hesitation and was yanked out just as quickly. Agonized howls shook the air, while foul, earth-brown slime sprayed everywhere, corroding the surrounding sand into smoking black pits.

In the instant after he landed this blow and vanished again, the other scorpion tails stabbed down in unison, blasting the earth apart and leaving a crater several meters deep.

With his life hanging by a thread, Gu Xiaopang was hyper-alert, pushing his spiritual sense to the limit, monitoring every movement within dozens of meters for the scorpions’ attacks.

Dodging and counterattacking, he managed to slay the eighth sand scorpion, but not before a nearby scorpion’s tail jabbed him hard. Luckily, he raised the rhinoceros horn in time to block, but the impact still made him cough up blood. The supposedly indestructible horn now bore a puncture from the stinger.

Within a single nest, the sand scorpions—male and female, big and small—coexisted peacefully and rarely fought one another. They were, however, fiercely territorial; if they encountered scorpions from another nest, savage infighting would ensue.

Silently cursing Elder Qin’s lack of scruples, Gu Xiaopang was grateful that he hadn’t charged headlong into a larger cluster of these creatures.

When all the scorpions lay dead, their bellies pierced and their howls fading, Gu Xiaopang himself bore over twenty wounds, each seeping corrosive smoke.

He gasped, catching his breath amid the pile of corpses, stabilizing the wild currents of true energy in his body.

He didn’t even bother to extract the inner cores from the dead scorpions. Instead, he skinned all the bodies, strung them together, and dragged the whole grisly chain to his next battlefield, stirring up clouds of dust as he went.

Sweeping through one nest after another, the string of sand scorpions grew ever longer, trailing behind him like a dragon winding through the desert.

After two days of relentless battles, Gu Xiaopang finally reached the heart of the desert, where he was immediately greeted by the sight of a massive Core Formation-stage sand scorpion being besieged by dozens of disciples…