Although they had lulled the enemy into a false sense of security and gained the upper hand, using the power of the formation and the thunder pearl, it was still astonishing for someone in the Qi Refining stage to so swiftly cross realms and counter-kill a mid-stage and a perfected-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Her combat prowess was undeniably impressive.

She had to admit, in a fight, she was no match for Zhang Yiyi, even with all her treasures.

It was no wonder monsters like Jiang Heng and Qiao Chu were so eager to take Zhang Yiyi as their disciple. After all, big monsters naturally favored little monsters.

As for the man in purple, he probably couldn't believe, even in death, that a peak stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like him could be so easily killed by a mere Qi Refining stage female cultivator.

If he had known earlier, he surely wouldn't have attacked them.

But alas, this world has everything except for foresight.

"No way, I used up an advanced protective array and a thunder pearl, which were costly. Considering our seamless cooperation, a fifty-fifty split is more than fair."

Zhang Yiyi laughed as she followed her cousin, her mood already fully recovered.

Once they died, the masks on those three people's faces automatically fell off, revealing their true faces. Even their body shapes had changed significantly. The items were indeed great, but unfortunately, they couldn't be reused and were now worthless.

"Two of them were indeed rogue cultivators, but who would've thought a disciple of Tianya Sect would collude with rogue cultivators to rob and kill?"

Zhang Tongtong immediately recognized the man in purple as someone from the Tianya Sect. It seemed Tianya Sect had truly fallen, with even the direct disciples of such a prestigious sect engaging in such disgraceful and shameless acts.

"They probably realized they couldn't take anything from the secret realm, and the chances of seizing an immortal artifact were too slim, so they weren't willing to risk everything and end up with nothing."

Zhang Yiyi pointed to the many storage bags on the bodies and said seriously, "Look, isn't this the fastest way to get rich?"

"Too bad it all ended up benefiting us in the end."

Zhang Tongtong shamelessly began looting the storage bags from the three bodies, smiling more radiantly as she did. "Those who kill will always be killed. We're just doing justice on behalf of the heavens!"

Zhang Yiyi had no objections and watched her cousin happily loot the items, completely ignoring the pain in her spiritual consciousness as she waited for her share of the spoils.

"Take half of these for yourself."

Zhang Tongtong didn't intend to be greedy and let Zhang Yiyi take half of the storage bags.

As for what was inside, neither of them knew yet. Whether it was good or bad would depend on luck.

"Ha, not bad. This must be the magic treasure they used to injure my spiritual consciousness."

Zhang Tongtong casually glanced through the storage bags she got and pulled out a small sheepskin drum for inspection.

It was indeed a spiritual artifact, but due to the secret realm's suppression and the user's limited cultivation, its effect during the earlier attack had been significantly reduced.

Spiritual artifacts related to the soul were rare. Just this one artifact alone was worth more than all the other items those three had combined.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yiyi couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

Her luck really turned to dust when facing the female lead!

"We shouldn't stay here too long. Let's pack up and leave quickly."

After burning the three corpses to ashes, Zhang Yiyi's slight frustration quickly dissipated.

Zhang Tongtong, having gotten her prize, didn't tease her anymore. However, due to the injury to her spiritual consciousness, she could only walk alongside Zhang Yiyi for now.

After walking for a short while, she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yiyi asked, while also vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

"Wait."

Zhang Tongtong didn't have time to explain and quickly patted her beast pouch. In an instant, a three-eyed little beast, resembling a hamster, leaped out.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."

The little creature called out a few times to Zhang Tongtong, then without waiting for any response, turned and dashed down a small path to the left.

"Follow it!"

Zhang Tongtong called out and immediately chased after the small beast without hesitation.

"..."

Zhang Yiyi didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but marvel once more in her heart.

As expected, the female lead was indeed the female lead—she even had a treasure-seeking beast. The setup was truly high-end.

However, since they couldn't take any of the items from the secret realm, she wondered what treasure this little beast had sensed. Would it all end up being for nothing?

The two of them remained silent as they followed the treasure-seeking beast through twists and turns until they finally arrived in front of a very well-hidden cave.

The entrance to the cave was small, and it was naturally concealed by a formation. Without the treasure-seeking beast leading them, they never would have found this place.

The little treasure-seeking beast chirped a few more times, then darted into the cave.

After exchanging a glance, Zhang Tongtong and Zhang Yiyi didn't hesitate and followed it inside.

"My heavens, are these all Divine Soul Stones?"

Upon seeing the situation inside the cave, Zhang Tongtong's face immediately lit up with joy. "So many, and such large ones! This is a top-grade Divine Soul Stone mine."

Zhang Yiyi was equally shocked by what she saw. A palm-sized Divine Soul Stone could fetch a sky-high price outside, but here they were, growing like ordinary rocks all over the place.

"Don't get too excited yet. No matter how many Divine Soul Stones there are, they're useless. Everything in the secret realm is real, but we can only look at them, not take them."

After a moment, Zhang Yiyi calmed down and poured cold water on Zhang Tongtong's enthusiasm.

Zhang Tongtong's smile froze, and then, unwilling to give up, she tried to store a few Divine Soul Stones in her storage bag. But the result was heartbreaking—within two breaths, the stones returned to their original places.

For a moment, she felt like she was sitting on a treasure mountain but starving to death, watching helplessly. It was an agonizing feeling, worse than not knowing about the treasure in the first place.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Zhang Tongtong took a deep breath and smiled again. After a while, she said to Zhang Yiyi, "Even though we can't take them, the stones are real. I can directly absorb the energy from the Divine Soul Stones to repair and even strengthen my spiritual consciousness."

If she couldn't take the stones, she would absorb as much energy as possible. With so many top-quality Divine Soul Stones here, her injured spiritual consciousness would soon recover, and she'd gain tremendous benefits.

"As expected of your treasure-seeking beast, even the benefits don't extend to me."

Zhang Yiyi sighed helplessly, looking at the treasure-seeking beast affectionately nuzzling Zhang Tongtong's palm. Once again, she felt a bitter sense of envy.

She hadn't yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and without a spiritual consciousness, she couldn't absorb the Divine Soul Stone's energy. The secret realm seemed to favor some and mistreat others.

Seeing this, Zhang Tongtong couldn't help but laugh heartily without any sympathy.

A moment later, she finally calmed down and said, "This place seems safe. I plan to stay here for a few days to absorb as much of the Divine Soul Stone's energy as possible. If you can't wait, you can go ahead and continue searching for the immortal artifact."