Chapter 527: Chapter 527

The Vital Dragon was well aware of its predicament. It couldn’t change anything; it could only hope that what the others claimed was true—that taming it was merely for relocating it to a better place.

Rather than leaving the Secret Realm, boiling a massive cauldron, and throwing it in to be cooked.

"Where are you all from?" the Vital Dragon asked.

By now, it still didn’t know the backgrounds of its counterparts. This was a dangerous signal. Asking for clarity might afford it a bit of relief—even if they were lying, at least it could feel somewhat at ease for the moment, couldn’t it?

Lin Fan replied, "Northern Desolation Domain."

Qin Yang said, "Northern Desolation Domain."

Xiang Fei said, "I’m a local here."

The Vital Dragon, having shrunk down to a smaller size, appeared calm yet constantly observed the three, hoping they were as trustworthy as they claimed—friendly without ulterior motives.

What they said earlier had better be true.

Lin Fan noticed the Vital Dragon’s lingering skepticism toward them and spoke with a faint smile, "Don’t worry, like I said before, we harbor no ill intent towards you. We just want to bring you to a different place."

"If you stay here and get discovered by three Immortal Monarchs, even if we don’t take you away, your existence alone guarantees that they won’t leave you alone."

The Vital Dragon nodded slightly; what they said was true.

It recognized the tragedy of its existence. If it were a formidable powerhouse, things wouldn’t be so bad. But with its current cultivation, the situation was already awkward.

A few more Immortal Monarchs showing up could easily reduce it to nothing.

And if it encountered powerhouses above the level of Immortal Monarchs, there would be no point in putting up a fight—it would get suppressed on the spot.

Beyond the Secret Realm.

Lin Fan glanced around, wanting to check on the Immortals they had stripped moments ago to see if they were still around.

Looking around, he couldn’t tell where they’d run off to. Earlier, he had thought they might muster reinforcements for retaliation, but judging by the current situation, it seemed he had overthought things.

It wasn’t as if there were that many powerhouses around.

Most of the time, what you saw were loosely assembled groups of relatively weak individuals forming small cliques.

"Brother Lin, are we leaving the West Plain Desert now?" Xiang Fei inquired. He didn’t particularly area; there were painful memories here. Staying in a place laden with heartache only brought emotional turmoil. If possible, he wanted to leave.

Away from the chaos and trouble.

Anywhere else—Eastern Sea, Southern Ridge—would do.

Lin Fan pondered for a brief moment before responding, "No rush for now. Since we’re already here, leaving empty-handed would feel like a loss. I’m planning to devise a scheme to lure some Immortals into the Secret Realm and make a decent profit from them."

Qin Yang, intrigued by the Secret Realm, chimed in, "I’ve been thinking the same. But it’s kind of tricky—the weaker Immortals aren’t worth our time, and the stronger ones... well, good luck finding them. Those prodigies wouldn’t even bother with an ordinary Secret Realm. Even if it appeared right in front of them, they might not go in."

"Sigh, perhaps someone willing to bait them with a Holy Weapon could attract a wave of prodigies to enter."

"But the downside is that Holy Weapons are just as likely to draw in a bunch of ancient figures who never die."

"We might not be able to handle that."

Ever since discovering that the Secret Realm could absorb the mana of Immortals and enhance itself, Qin Yang had been obsessively plotting ways to ascend rapidly and achieve an explosive boost in strength.

However, after racking his brain, he still found the difficulty to be rather high.

"We’ll take it slow."

Lin Fan thought Qin Yang’s idea had merit—using a Holy Weapon to attract strong contenders could work. But if it ended up drawing in Immortal Emperors or ancient Immortal Kings, things would quickly spiral out of control.

Turning fantasies into reality was never that straightforward.

A single misstep could mean total disaster.

They arrived at a city—decent-sized for a place in the West Plain Desert, teeming with Immortals. Their purpose for visiting was to swap Immortal Stones for elixirs or treasures.

They also wanted to gauge the situation.

If they encountered many powerhouses or four to five gathered prodigies, they would undoubtedly activate a Secret Realm nearby to draw in the crowd. As the saying goes, you’ve got to spend money to make money. Lin Fan was willing to offer treasures that tugged at the hearts of others, provided it brought the right people inside.

Even if he wanted to, there weren’t many powerhouses around.

Walking down the city streets. Follow current novels on novel·fire.net

He observed the passing Immortals.

Not a single one stood out.

Their cultivation levels ranged mostly between Earth Immortal and Heavenly Immortal Realm, and those who had reached Golden Immortal Realm were few and far between.

The only Supreme Immortal he spotted was an elderly man rushing by with a group of disciples, seemingly just adventuring through the area.

These Immortals weren’t worth using the Secret Realm on.

After all, activating the realm did come with its costs.

They roamed the city and Lin Fan carefully assessed the situation. While there were indeed powerhouses present, most were seasoned veterans, shrewd and cunning. If forced to clash within the Secret Realm, the treasure bait would have to be extraordinary; even then, it was questionable whether they could contend with the Vital Dragon.

Faced with the Vital Dragon, there wasn’t even a guarantee they would engage—it seemed more likely they’d hightail it out of there.

"Let’s stop looking around. This city isn’t worth our time. Let’s move on and try someplace else," Lin Fan remarked, visibly disappointed at the lack of desirable targets. "Before we leave, though, let’s find a spot for a meal."

They chose a table by the window, offering a clear view of the passing Immortals outside. Everything appeared calm and serene.

Xiang Fei had made no effort to conceal his identity, adopting an attitude of indifference. What was the worst anyone could do—kill him outright? He didn’t care.

The nearby diners engaged in idle conversation.

"Hey, have you heard about the Wang Family recruiting powerhouses for a dangerous location to harvest an Immortal Elixir?"

"Yeah, I heard the rewards are substantial."

"It’s worth considering, but the risks are enormous. High rewards don’t mean much if you can’t survive to claim them. That place is notorious for being exceptionally treacherous."

Lin Fan’s keen hearing picked up on the chatter. Upon catching wind of such intriguing news, his ears perked up surreptitiously.

Now that sounded fun. Lin Fan was on the hunt for treasures, and if this presented a chance for considerable profit, he was more than willing to take it.

"Fellow Immortal friends, the Wang Family you’re speaking of—is it the Wang Family from this area?" Lin Fan inquired.

The Immortal at the neighboring table glanced at Lin Fan and his companions.

A burly man with a full beard replied, "Indeed, it’s the Wang Family right here. Are you four interested in their recruitment?"

"I’d advise against it; that place is perilous—nine deaths for every chance at survival."

Lin Fan chuckled, "I’m only gathering information. But I’ve heard the place is extremely dangerous; what exactly makes it so? What’s the story behind it?"

The bearded man was quite forthright, "Not hiding anything, my friend—this is all second-hand information. That location is said to be a fragment of a Forbidden Land from the Immortal Realm, split off into a smaller Forbidden Zone. It’s full of hazards, with numerous restrictive formations. One careless step and you fall into one of these traps—there’s really no hope for survival."

Lin Fan smiled helplessly. The man had spoken with such earnest seriousness, yet Lin Fan couldn’t help but feel it sounded like a lot of talk and little substance.

Nevertheless, he didn’t press further.

Asking about such dangerous terrain from someone clearly weaker than himself—what was he even thinking? The man hadn’t been inside before. Word of mouth was a dangerous phenomenon; a trivial matter could snowball into the apocalypse. Just imagining that made Lin Fan shudder.

They paid the bill and left the tavern.

Xiang Fei asked, "Brother Lin, are we truly going to the Wang Family?"

"Yes, and how do you feel about it?" Lin Fan asked in turn. This was Xiang Fei’s turf—the West Plain Desert—so his perspective mattered.

If Xiang Fei stated that venturing there would undoubtedly spell doom for their current cultivation levels, Lin Fan wouldn’t hesitate to call it quits.

Xiang Fei mulled briefly before saying, "I don’t hold strong opinions on this but feel like there might be more to this situation than meets the eye. The Wang Family has deep roots here—they’re definitely capable. Yet, the fact that they’re openly seeking strong hands puzzles me."

Qin Yang added, "Brother Xiang makes a good point—his reasoning is solid. But we could always take a peek first. If things seem off, we leave. It’s not that big of a deal."

To keep the Secret Realm functioning properly, Qin Yang was willing to take risks.

Having separated from the Immortal Venerable Family and now hunted by his own clan, Qin Yang felt deeply helpless. If he wished to gloriously return one day, he needed significant strength growth.

Reaching Immortal King level? That wasn’t enough. At minimum, he needed Immortal Emperor status.

Optimistically, he’d aspire to become an Immortal Venerable. That way, even his father would have to treat him with respect.

Understand this—an Immortal Venerable cannot be humiliated.

If you dare offend me,

I’ll crush you with my aura.

Lin Fan patted Qin Yang on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Good, good! I didn’t realize you’d matured . It seems leaving your family and being hunted has really helped you grow."

Qin Yang gave Lin Fan an odd look and replied, "Brother Lin, what you said really isn’t sitting well with me. My newfound stability has absolutely nothing to do with my departure from the family."

"In all seriousness, you’ve completely misunderstood who I really am. If you understood the true me, you’d realize I’m nothing like you imagine."

As he spoke, Qin Yang tilted his chin upward with a smug expression.

Looking quite pleased with himself.

Xiang Fei shook his head. Perhaps he felt exasperated by Qin Yang’s antics—or maybe he thought having such a friend was life’s greatest tragedy.

"Don’t get cocky; I give you a little praise and you start putting on airs." Lin Fan smacked Qin Yang on the head, scolding him.

Qin Yang genuinely appreciated Lin Fan’s kindness.

Ever since that incident, he had utterly come to regard Lin Fan as his brother through life and death.

"Hey, what’s up with hitting people’s heads?" Qin Yang grumbled, scratching his scalp while fixing his disheveled hair with irritation. Still, he forgave Lin Fan—being extraordinary wasn’t always met with admiration.

The Wang Family’s grounds came into view.

To their surprise, the gates were crowded with many Immortals. It turned out it wasn’t just Lin Fan’s group interested in investigating the Wang Family; there were plenty of others keen to accept their recruitment.

Even the elder Lin Fan had seen earlier was present.

Initially, he had thought the man was merely leading his disciples on an expedition.

Now it seemed clear—he was bringing his disciples along for side gigs. It was somewhat amusing.

Qin Yang sighed, "Alas, humans die for wealth, birds for food. Imagine—I, Qin Yang, directly descended from Immortal Venerable bloodlines, now find myself stooping to participate in something ."