Zhang Yiyi gave Mo Yan a baffled look, wondering if something was wrong with him.

How did checking the camp become "running around"? If there were truly such great dangers that they couldn't wander around, the Third Elder would have warned them early on. It wasn't Mo Yan's place to question things here.

Moreover, she didn't believe Mo Yan was the type of person to genuinely care about fellow disciples without some ulterior motive.

Was this him venting his anger?

In that instant, Zhang Yiyi considered many possibilities, but none of them made her feel any more favorable toward Mo Yan.

Disliking him, she simply ignored him, neither replying nor acknowledging him. Instead, she walked over to the Third Elder to ask if there were any new instructions or arrangements.

The atmosphere grew even more awkward.

Mo Yan's face turned dark immediately, clearly not expecting Zhang Yiyi to publicly ignore and embarrass him.

The Third Elder, however, was a wise man. Seeing this, he chose not to intervene in this inexplicable conflict between the younger generation. He pretended as though nothing had happened.

Both were personal disciples of True Saints in the Grand Ascension Stage and as a Nascent Soul elder, it wasn't his place to favor anyone. His responsibility was only to oversee this trip to the secret realm, so there was no need to meddle in such trivial matters.

"Yiyi, now that you're back, you can listen along as well, so I won't have to repeat myself to you later."

He continued as if nothing had happened: "This time, the largest sects have sent up to six disciples, and the smallest, like our Yunxian Sect, has three. In total, 100 disciples from 18 sects will enter the secret realm. Keep in mind, that about one-fifth of these participants are itinerant cultivators temporarily hired by various sects to help snatch the immortal weapon. These people are far more dangerous than the sect disciples, and most incidents of murder and treasure-stealing happen because of them. Be on guard and don't let your guard down."

"Why would they agree to let itinerant cultivators take up the slots meant for sect disciples?" Zhang Tongtong was confused, finding the arrangement chaotic.

Each sect qualified to send disciples was allotted six slots for entry into the secret realm, and how many disciples they chose to send was up to them. How could itinerant cultivators be allowed to take up those spots?

"This isn't really an issue. Since there's nothing valuable in the secret realm aside from the possible appearance of the immortal weapon—no herbs or other treasures—those sects unwilling to risk their top disciples often hire itinerant cultivators at high prices to help. It's mutually agreed upon and within the rules, so no one can say anything," the Third Elder patiently explained. "Whether an immortal weapon is brought out is easily checked, with so many sects watching closely. It can't be hidden or faked. Weaker sects would rather pay itinerant cultivators to retrieve the immortal weapon than risk their prized disciples. After all, the chance of obtaining the weapon is slim, but the risk of death is high."

"You still have the choice to decide whether to enter or not. Once you're in the secret realm, the sect's primary requirement is for you to prioritize your lives. The immortal weapon is left to fate. Understood?"

The Third Elder's final words represented the Yunxian Sect's overall attitude. They had no interest in hiring itinerant cultivators and valued their disciples' lives above all else.

This was the stance and principle of a grand sect, a baseline for those in the Yunxian Sect.

After hearing this, no one said another word. Since they had already come this far, there was no backing out now.

It was clear, however, that these well-off disciples from the grand sects would need to be extra cautious around the itinerant cultivators in the secret realm, each harboring their own ambitions.

After all, those itinerant cultivators hired by some sects to help fight for the immortal weapon were certainly not weak. Whether intentional or not, murder and treasure-stealing inside the secret realm could never be predicted.

Once inside, everyone's fate was in their own hands, and even the grand sects couldn't say anything.

Five days later, the Luoxian River secret realm appeared earlier than expected.

For the first time, Zhang Yiyi saw the rolling clouds cascading down like a waterfall from the sky, a vast and majestic sight that left people in awe.

Each participant received a token. Once the 18 sects jointly opened the secret realm, these tokens would transport them inside.

After half a month, once the secret realm's time limit expired, regardless of where they were within, as long as they were still alive, the tokens would automatically transport them out. Even if the token holder had already died, the token would return on its own. This was why, in all the years, despite so many dying in the secret realm, none of the 108 tokens from the 18 sects had ever gone missing.

Zhang Yiyi instinctively glanced toward the Lishan Sect's group and immediately noticed Yuan Ying, who was always dazzlingly beautiful and alluring.

In the cultivation world, there were no unattractive women, and most had an otherworldly appearance with an ethereal aura. Each breakthrough was like a transformation, reshaping both the skin and temperament.

Yuan Ying's striking, worldly beauty was rare. She looked less like a celestial being and more like a seductive enchantress, which made many people dislike her kind of beauty.

Although Yuan Ying had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, she still retained much of her original appearance and temperament, a clear sign of her strong personality as the sect's senior disciple.

Sensing Zhang Yiyi's gaze, Yuan Ying looked back and smiled charmingly, her smile bright and captivating like sunlight.

"Hmph!"

Before Zhang Yiyi could respond, Mo Yan beside her snorted coldly and said with a harsh tone, "Don't go associating with just anyone, or you won't even know how you end up dead."

"Just anyone? That's Lishan's senior disciple."

Zhang Yiyi could no longer tolerate Mo Yan's strange attitude and coldly retorted, "Is Senior Brother Mo dissatisfied with me, or does he have an issue with his fiancée?"

"Junior Sister Zhang, you misunderstand. I was merely offering friendly advice, not singling anyone out."

Mo Yan's eyes darkened, but he still refrained from confronting Zhang Yiyi publicly. Holding back his displeasure, he took a step back and said, "But as for my personal matters, I ask that Junior Sister not meddle."

Since she knew Yuan Ying was his fiancée, it was clear Zhang Yiyi must have said something to Yuan Ying a few days ago, which led to Yuan Ying suddenly turning against him.

He had never liked this engagement, but for the sake of his family, he had to maintain it for now. Yet, Yuan Ying seemed completely oblivious to this and kept trying to meddle in every aspect of his life.

"Has Senior Brother Mo misunderstood something? That day, Senior Sister merely saw me wearing Yunxian Sect's uniform and came over to introduce herself. She only asked if Senior Brother Mo was also coming."

With the secret realm about to open, Zhang Yiyi didn't want to escalate things with Mo Yan. Regardless of what he thought, since he had shown weakness, she explained, "That's all we talked about. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Hearing this and seeing her calm demeanor, Mo Yan began to think he might have misunderstood Zhang Yiyi after all.

After a moment, he nodded, accepting her explanation, though he didn't bother to apologize.

Zhang Yiyi disdained Mo Yan's attitude but couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

Soon after, the secret realm officially opened. With a flash of silver light, all those holding tokens were instantly transported inside.