Chapter 2835: Who Is Faster

A majestic peak, covered in abundant vegetation. Exotic flowers and plants bloomed everywhere, and verdant trees provided ample shade.

At the foot of the mountain stood four men and one woman, their expressions solemn. Leading them was a powerfully built young man, nine feet tall, dressed in golden robes.

The golden-robed youth was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with large hands and feet, emitting a strong menacing aura.

Liao Yunpeng, a key lineage member cultivated by the Liao family, possessed a late-stage Void Refinement cultivation. He was a body cultivator, and the other four were all at the mid-stage Void Refinement realm.

The area above the mountainside was enveloped in an azure mist, obscuring the view of the summit.

A half-zhang wide azure stone staircase extended from the foot of the mountain into the azure mist. The surface of the steps was covered in azure moss.

Liao Yunpeng's spiritual sense probed into the azure mist, but a mysterious force began to absorb it. He quickly cut off his spiritual sense, realizing his spiritual sea would be drained otherwise.

"It can absorb spiritual sense? There must be something good here," Liao Yunpeng said in a deep voice. "We've found several medicinal herb gardens, but others got to them first. I hope we can find something valuable this time." They had entered the secret realm and so far found over a dozen medicinal herbs more than ten thousand years old and killed multiple sixth-tier demonic beasts, but their harvest wasn't particularly large.

They had pursued a sixth-tier demonic beast to this location and unexpectedly discovered its unusual properties.

Liao Yunpeng flicked his right hand, and a black light shot out, landing on the ground. It was a giant ape covered in golden fur, baring its fangs – a low-grade sixth-tier Golden-backed Ape, known for its thick skin and toughness, making it highly resilient and strong in combat.

The Golden-backed Ape strode towards the azure stone staircase. After only a few steps, a loud thunderclap echoed from high above, and an azure lightning spear, as thick as a wrist, descended from the sky, striking towards the ape.

The Golden-backed Ape struck the azure lightning spear with its right fist, shattering it to pieces.

It continued walking up the mountain at a moderate pace. Streaks of azure lightning struck down, each one thicker and more powerful than the last.

After the Golden-backed Ape had walked over a hundred steps, its body was covered in numerous bloodstains and scorched black, emitting a burnt smell. Its pace slowed considerably.

"Gravity Restriction! Lightning Restriction!" Liao Yunpeng's expression darkened. A low-grade sixth-tier Golden-backed Ape was too weak; it would be impossible for it to reach the summit.

Just then, several streaks of light flew from a distance, stopping above the peak shortly after. It was Wang Yingjie and his group. Wang Lihe looked a bit pale, his injuries not yet fully healed.

"Wang family cultivators!" Liao Yunpeng's face fell, and he became fully vigilant, quickly summoning the Golden-backed Ape back.

Wang Qingxiao frowned slightly upon seeing Liao Yunpeng and the other four cultivators.

"You hold them back; I'll go get the treasure," Liao Yunpeng transmitted to his kin.

The four cultivators of his clan, all at mid-stage Void Refinement, would have no problem holding back the Wang family cultivators for a while.

A brilliant golden light erupted from Liao Yunpeng's body as he quickly walked up the mountain.

"You keep an eye on them. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid direct conflict with them. I'll go get the treasure," Wang Qingxiao instructed. He then flew down to the foot of the mountain and began walking up the steps.

According to the map, this was a very important location, likely the control hub of the secret realm. It might contain rare medicinal herbs or materials, and at the very least, there would surely be Spirit Gathering Divine Crystals. Relying solely on Spirit Gathering Stones, the formation would have long ceased to function.

As Wang Qingxiao's feet touched the azure stone steps, a powerful gravity descended from above. He felt as heavy as a million catties.

The closer Wang Qingxiao got to the summit, the stronger the gravity became. This wasn't the most troublesome part; streaks of azure lightning struck from high above, their number and size increasing, and their power strengthening, the closer he got to the summit.

Liao Yunpeng held a golden, shimmering precious umbrella above his head. Countless profound runes could be seen on the umbrella's surface, emanating astonishing spiritual energy. It was clearly a low-grade Transcendent Spirit Treasure.

Numerous thick azure lightning bolts struck the golden precious umbrella, causing it to gently sway. Liao Yunpeng's pace slowed down as the gravity grew stronger closer to the summit.

Wang Qingxiao walked past him, looking relaxed.

Liao Yunpeng's expression changed, filled with shock. He had immersed himself in medicinal baths since childhood, tempered his physical body, and consumed many spirit elixirs and wondrous medicines for body tempering, making his physical body quite powerful. How could a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator's physical body be even stronger than his? It was simply unbelievable.

Wang Qingxiao wore a treasure that concealed his aura, so Liao Yunpeng couldn't discern his true identity. He could never have guessed that Wang Qingxiao's true form was a flood dragon.

Before long, Wang Qingxiao reached the mountainside. A brilliant white light erupted from his body as he approached the azure mist.

Seeing this, Liao Yunpeng grew anxious, unwilling to be left behind by Wang Qingxiao. He quickly chanted a spell, and a brilliant golden light burst from his body. The pressure eased, and he quickened his pace.

Dense azure lightning struck from high above. When the azure lightning touched the white light, it quickly froze, turning into white ice spears.

The azure lightning grew more numerous, quickly tearing the white light to shreds. Wang Qingxiao's body erupted with countless white dragon scales. The azure lightning struck the white dragon scales, but Wang Qingxiao remained unharmed.

"A half-demon?" Liao Yunpeng was slightly startled. He hadn't detected any demonic aura, so his first reaction was that the other party was a half-demon. True Monarch Thunder Dragon of the Myriad Spirit Sect was also a half-demon, who had cultivated all the way to the Integration Stage and guarded a frontier city.

Wang Qingxiao strode into the azure mist, disappearing from Liao Yunpeng's sight.

Liao Yunpeng lifted his foot and continued walking up the mountain, but his speed was far inferior to Wang Qingxiao's. Dense azure lightning continuously struck the golden precious umbrella, causing its spiritual light to dim.

Wang Yingjie and the others looked towards the mountain, their expressions solemn.

Seeing Wang Qingxiao, the latecomer, surpass them and enter the azure mist first, Wang Yingjie and his group were overjoyed. The Liao family disciples were shocked, knowing how powerful Liao Yunpeng's physical body was.

Before long, a deafening dragon roar echoed from the summit. The Liao family disciples suddenly realized that he must be a half-demon with flood dragon bloodline, which explained his powerful physical body.

At the summit sat a vast bluestone plaza. On the plaza stood a magnificent palace, with a plaque inscribed with the three golden characters "Northern Nether Palace" above its main entrance.

The main gate was open, and Wang Qingxiao was nowhere to be seen.

Liao Yunpeng arrived at the summit, panting heavily and covered in cuts and bloodstains. The restrictions were too strong; he had to activate a secret technique to reach this point.

As soon as he stepped onto the bluestone plaza, a loud thunderclap echoed from high above. An azure lightning bolt, three feet in diameter, descended from the sky, heading straight for Liao Yunpeng. Simultaneously, a powerful gravity surged from the ground, making it impossible for him to dodge. He could only endure the attack.

Liao Yunpeng dared not be careless and quickly conjured a golden shield, holding it in front of him.

Inside the Northern Nether Palace, it was spacious and well-lit. To the left was an azure corridor, at the end of which were three separate stone chambers. The door to the first stone chamber was open, revealing a silver formation. In the center of the formation was a Spirit Gathering Divine Crystal, surrounded by thousands of uniformly sized grooves. Most of these grooves contained grayish-white stones, which were spirit stones that had exhausted their spiritual energy, along with eighteen Spirit Gathering Stones.

In the second stone chamber, Wang Qingxiao looked at five golden wooden chests, filled with a large quantity of materials.

"Xuan Jade Crystal, Silver Adamant Crystal, Cold Gold Divine Sand... Nine-Element Stone."

Wang Qingxiao's expression was excited. There were over sixty sets of Dharma Idol materials alone, of various types, and many artifact refining materials. The most precious artifact refining material was undoubtedly the Nine-Element Stone.

The Wang family had been collecting materials to build a Flying Spirit Platform, and most other materials were nearly complete, lacking only the Nine-Element Stone and Seven-Star Jade.

There were plenty of Nine-Element Stones here, enough to construct a Flying Spirit Platform.

Wang Qingxiao showed no politeness and took them all. It wouldn't be too late to tally them after leaving the secret realm.

He blasted open the door to the third stone chamber, and a terrifying high temperature rushed out, followed by a palm-sized red bird flying out.