Chapter 344: Chapter 342: Battle in the Secret Realm (Part 2) There was a message sent by a paper crane, and other Corpse-Driving Sect disciples near the Ancient Cultivator’s Secret Realm gathered at the location of the spirit vein, waiting anxiously yet excitedly. The importance of a spirit vein to a sect is self-evident. The large amount of spirit stones contained beneath it, if collected into the sect’s heartland, can enhance the concentration of spiritual qi in the mountain range where the sect is located. The chain effect this brings is that all cultivators in the sect will speed up in their cultivation, increasing the possibility of breaking through late-stage Qi Refining and even the Foundation Establishment Stage, thereby strengthening the overall sect’s power... Not to mention, the spirit vein could also house treasures like Earth Vein Spirit Marrow and Stone Milk. On the first day, cultivators from other sects came within five miles of the spirit vein but soon left. On the second day, no cultivators from other sects came by. The Ancient Cultivator’s Secret Realm is vast, no less than two or three large cities in the outside world. Everyone’s mood was high; if they could just hold out for another day, the array could be completely established, thereby declaring that this spirit vein was occupied by the Corpse-Driving Sect. On the third day, at noon. A group of men and women wearing fire-red Taoist robes appeared near the hill, each with a fanatical gleam in their eyes. "There’s actually a new spirit vein here!" "Judging by the quality, this spirit vein is of no low grade." "The formation by these kids from the Corpse-Driving Sect is nearly complete; we absolutely must not let them succeed!" Cultivators from the Red Sun Sect discovered the spirit vein and summoned a large number of disciples to launch an attack. Among them, a tall, powerful man came forward and said with a smile: "Fellow practitioners of the Corpse-Driving Sect, since we’ve discovered it, you could dismantle your formation and leave, and we won’t attack. After all, as allies against the demon clan of Cyan Wolf Ridge, we don’t want things to get too ugly." Upon hearing this, a female cultivator surnamed Li stepped forward and shouted sternly: "Tang Tianchi, if you want to fight, then let’s fight! When has our Corpse-Driving Sect ever been afraid! You think you can seize the spirit vein without shedding blood? Do you take us for fools?" "Hmph, you stubborn woman, asking for trouble." The lead male cultivator from the Red Sun Sect appeared angry. "In that case, slaughter them all!" As soon as he finished speaking, both sides immediately reacted. Colored talisman paper shot towards the opposite camp, transforming into fireballs, wind blades, qi arrows, poison... ’Fireworks’ ignited within each camp. ’Bang! Bang! Bang!’ ’Boom! Boom! Boom!’ "Ah!!" "Kill them!" In an instant, the disciples of the Red Sun Sect and the Corpse-Driving Sect were locked in combat! Due to the wild bombardment with talismans, many were injured at the very start. This made the remaining ones look more ferocious, their killing intent growing heavier. "Ghost Shoulder Slap!" The female cultivator surnamed Li was incredibly fierce, continuously forming seals with her hands. A ferocious dark and semi-transparent giant hand appeared in the void ahead, surrounded by rolling black mist. The giant hand shattered the fire shield in front of a Red Sun Sect disciple, then slapped onto him, collapsing his entire body into a pile of black ash in an instant. "Yin Wind!" Another male cultivator surnamed Zhou unleashed his spiritual power, summoning a large mass of gray yin wind with a ’wuwuwu’ sound. Within the wind, white bubbles rolled continuously, accompanied by black, withered arms stretching out from time to time. The yin wind blew onto two Red Sun Sect disciples, making their expressions dull, and the next moment they turned into two bone skeletons. Yet another peak Qi Refining male cultivator commanded his Copper Corpse to charge aggressively. The Copper Corpse’s silhouette turned into a phantom, almost indiscernible by the naked eye. Suddenly, it appeared before an enemy disciple, its right hand forming a claw and swiftly snatching the opponent’s head right off! However, despite the fierce prowess of the female cultivator surnamed Li, the male cultivator surnamed Zhou, and others, due to their extremely high cultivation, they were just one step away from Foundation Establishment. Throughout the battle, the Corpse-Driving Sect remained at a definite disadvantage. No other reason, but the elemental attribute was restrained. In the initial stages of cultivation, the Yin Element is tightly restrained by the Fire Element. A Corpse-Driving Sect cultivator summoned a barrage of Yin Qi Arrows to attack from all directions. The opponent also sent a Palm Heart Lotus into the air, transforming into countless fiery petals that blocked the Yin Qi Arrows one by one. Numerous remaining petals even pushed towards the cultivator, causing a frantic reaction. Another unleashed invisible Bone-Eroding Needles, only to be nullified by a Red Sun Shield made of flames, unable to cause any harm. Then, in a counterattack, an Earth Fire Pillar rose, turning them to ashes! A cultivator remote-controlled an Iron Corpse, attempting a close-range assassination. But unexpectedly, an incredibly fast Fire Sparrow flew over. Easily breaking through the Yin Light Shield, it turned him into a flaming figure, running and screaming in agony! If not for the Corpse-Driving Sect’s pre-prepared formations, which trapped or killed some Red Sun Sect disciples, hindering their attack momentum, the situation might have already been a one-sided slaughter. But even so, the Corpse-Driving Sect disciples were still being forced to retreat continuously. Their original array plates had been mostly destroyed by the opponent, and they could officially declare the failure of the array setup. "Hahaha, weak, truly too weak. Of all sects, you Corpse-Driving Sect chose to confront our Red Sun Sect?" "With Qiu Shaojie absent, it’s nothing but a bunch of weaklings!" "Exterminate them all here, leaving the younger generation of Corpse-Driving Sect shattered and greatly weakened!" With the upper hand, the Red Sun Sect disciples laughed boisterously, their momentum growing more arrogant. In contrast, the Corpse-Driving Sect was suffering heavy casualties, their morale low, relying on a few experts to hold the line. At this rate, once the weaker ones all perished, the experts would likely face death as well. "I’ll fight you to the end!" At this moment, an ordinary-looking Qi Cultivation seventh-layer Corpse-Driving Sect disciple suddenly showed a resolute look in his eyes. The next moment, black lines on his remote-controlled Iron Corpse rapidly flowed, and the Iron Corpse’s body turned red and began to swell quickly. ’Boom!’ Then, it flew beside a Red Sun Sect disciple and self-detonated! "Ah!" That Red Sun Sect disciple was at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, a stage higher, plus the elemental advantage that restrained him completely. But caught off guard by the unexpected self-detonation of the enemy’s lifebound corpse, he ended up without a trace of his body! The Qi Cultivation seventh-layer Corpse-Driving Sect disciple, after his lifebound corpse self-detonated, bled from seven orifices, his breathing exceedingly weak. With a flame falling on him from the side, he quickly turned to ashes. Nonetheless, his resolute self-detonation left the Red Sun Sect shocked and hesitant to press harder. Thus, the Corpse-Driving Sect disciples fought while retreating, and after paying a painful price, finally managed to withdraw some of their numbers. This battle cost the Corpse-Driving Sect the lives of more than a dozen true disciples, shaking the entire sect! The sect’s higher-ups discussed it overnight, directly multiplying the rewards for the Ancient Cultivator’s Secret Realm exploration. ’Ancient Cultivator’s Secret Realm exploration, competing with Red Sun Sect and True Blood Sect, searching for Cultivator’s Cave Mansions, spirit veins, Cold Sun Grass... This task is rather dangerous, limited to late-stage Qi Refining cultivators; all participants will receive an initial reward of one hundred contribution points, five Yin Wind Talismans, and five Fire Extinguishing Talismans... Any participant who successfully occupies a spirit vein will be rewarded with one thousand contribution points, with priority allocation for Foundation Establishment Pills in the future...’ Just by signing up for this task, you receive part of the reward, which is rarely seen in the history of the Corpse-Driving Sect. Moreover, if one can capture a spirit vein, they even get priority access to Foundation Establishment Pills. Apparently, whether it’s the immense benefits within the Ancient Cultivator’s Secret Realm, or due to long-standing conflicts and hatred, the Corpse-Driving Sect has decided to confront them head-on! As soon as the task was announced, the late-stage Qi Refining disciples were exhilarated. Even some experts who initially did not want to participate began to stir. After all, the allure of Foundation Establishment Pills is simply too great. Inner Sect Disciples also paid close attention to the development of events. However, all this temporarily has nothing to do with Lou Yi, who is at the second layer of Qi Cultivation. He had just completed the ’Blood Feeding Spirit Transformation Technique’ and obtained a new axe, preparing to test its power outside the sect. ...