My son is about to break through.

Before stepping into this ancient and mysterious realm, Gu Qingfeng had thought that the rules here might be as restrictive as those in other realms.

It is mainly aimed at the immortal realm, a life level, and is a kind of rejection or test by the master of the secret realm for those who come later at the same level.

However, reality soon gave him a clear answer.

The oppression here is far more equitable than one might imagine.

It doesn't simply test whether you are an immortal celestial being, but rather acts directly on the power itself!
Once your power level exceeds a certain threshold, that will of the rules, like the Heavenly Dao looking down upon ants, will descend instantly.

With a slight thought, Gu Qingfeng attempted to communicate with the ancient bronze axe in his sea of ​​consciousness.

This treasure, bestowed upon me by the Ancient Barbarian Celestial Venerable, is damaged, but its inner power is undoubtedly of an extremely high level.

He wanted to test whether the secret realm's definition of external forces was consistent with its suppression of one's own cultivation.

"Om-"

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the Heaven-Opening Axe seemed to sense its master's will. The axe body trembled slightly, and a dormant, ancient, and domineering aura began to awaken. A faint but extremely powerful radiance of the Great Dao of Power flowed along the edge of the axe blade, as if it could unleash a strike that could tear through the chaos at any moment!
Just as this power was about to be activated and burst forth from the body!
"boom!"

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, seemingly emanating from the entire secret realm itself and originating from the very source of the Great Dao, descended from nothingness without warning and suddenly enveloped Gu Qingfeng.

The pressure was far stronger than the usual suppression he felt when he entered the secret realm. It carried a pure and cold will to erase him, making his hair stand on end and his soul tremble violently. It was as if he was being stared at by an invisible, unimaginably huge primordial beast, and would be crushed by it in the next second.

This feeling is like mortal beings facing divine punishment, like ants looking up at the collapsing sky!
It is a fear stemming from the instinct for survival, a fear of absolute destructive power!
A warning bell rang in Gu Qingfeng's heart. Without hesitation, he severed the connection with the power of the Heaven-Opening Axe and forcefully suppressed the wisp of axe intent that was about to awaken back into the depths of his consciousness.

Almost at the same moment he withdrew, the terrifying, punitive pressure of the rules receded slowly like a tide, as if it had never existed, leaving only a layer of cold sweat seeping down Gu Qingfeng's back and a chill in his heart.

"really……"

Gu Qingfeng's expression turned serious as he fully understood the rules of this place.

"Not only is one's own cultivation power suppressed by the upper limit, but even external objects carried will be warned by the rules of the secret realm if their power level exceeds the critical point, and may even directly trigger an attack from the rules!"

He was almost certain that if he had actually activated that wisp of immortal-level power contained within the Heaven-Opening Axe, even if it was just a tiny bit, what he would have faced next would not have been as simple as a warning of oppressive power.

It is very likely that the power of the Great Dao rules remaining in the secret realm, belonging to that immortal eleventh realm being, was directly used to suppress him.

"The Ancient Barbarian Celestial Venerable stated that this secret realm excludes immortals from entering in person. Now it seems that the essence of its rules is to exclude any existence or manifestation of power that exceeds a certain level."

Gu Qingfeng quickly analyzed the situation.

"The best outcome might be being forcibly expelled from the secret realm by this force of rules."

But more likely, they will perish and be completely destroyed by attacks based on the rules.

He would never be so naive as to think that the secret rules left behind by a supreme immortal would show mercy.

Challenging the rules often means destruction.

Therefore, despite his curiosity, Gu Qingfeng had absolutely no intention of testing the power of the rules or experiencing the force of the attacks himself.

That's tantamount to suicide.

Even a top-tier being like the Ancient Barbarian Heavenly Venerable, who was at the eighth level of immortality, was deeply wary of this secret realm and found it difficult to enter in his true form, which shows how terrifying its residual rules were.

Although he possessed the combat power to defeat someone at the first level of the Immortal Realm, the gap between him and this remnant method, which was suspected to be from an eleventh-level being, was still enormous.

"Without the ability to break through to immortality, and lacking the characteristics of being immortal and indestructible, one must be extremely cautious when acting in such a secret realm."

Gu Qingfeng reminded himself.

However, these extremely strict rules also bring a touch of fairness, or rather, a potential benefit for Gu Qingfeng.

"Since I can't use the Heaven-Opening Axe, and my own strength is suppressed below a certain limit, what about the others?"

A sharp glint flashed in Gu Qingfeng's eyes.

"Even if the immortal gods of the evil god race bestow certain forbidden artifacts or methods containing immortal power upon their top celestial lords, they cannot use them here, unless they want their own people to be killed by the rules of the secret realm first."

What he was most wary of was that the immortal evil god might temporarily attach part of its power or will to the powerful evil god who entered the secret realm through some costly means, or bestow upon them a one-time immortal-level killing treasure.

In that case, no matter how strong he is, he would be in grave danger if he were ambushed or surrounded by a true immortal.

But now, the ironclad rule of the upper limit of power in the secret realm acts like a solid barrier, greatly reducing this worst-case scenario.

At least inside the secret realm, what everyone can rely on is their normal strength after it has been suppressed.

"In this way, as long as I don't actively kill myself and trigger the rules, my advantage will actually be greater."

Gu Qingfeng had absolute confidence in his combat strength below the Immortal level.

Even with his strength suppressed, he is still one of the beings standing at the pinnacle of permitted power.

Having figured this out, Gu Qingfeng felt reassured.

As long as he is not facing an unreasonable, overwhelming force of immortality, he is confident in dealing with any challenge and is also capable of escaping unfavorable circumstances.

Right now, the most important thing is to find Gu Xiu.

He didn't delay any longer, calmed his mind, and carefully sensed the faint yet clear throbbing that originated from the depths of his blood.

After a moment, Gu Qingfeng pinpointed a general location.

He looked up into the depths of that strange star composed of countless halos of the Great Dao, and his figure flickered, transforming into a dim stream of light that blended into the environment and was almost imperceptible, as he sped off in the direction he sensed.

Although its speed is not as terrifying as when it is unleashed at full power due to the suppression of the rules, it is still far beyond that of an ordinary Celestial Venerable.

……

Another part of the secret realm is completely different from the starry sky region where Gu Qingfeng is located.

This is a desolate continent suspended in chaos.

A strange and enormous "blood" circle forever hangs in the sky, radiating a dark red and ominous light, staining the entire world with a layer of oppressive, dim red and dark colors.

The land was barren, the mountains twisted like the spines of monsters, the rivers dried up or flowed with viscous, dark liquid, and the air was filled with a faint smell of decay and blood, as well as an eerie Taoist aura that made people uneasy.

In the shady corner of a desolate rocky mountain on this continent, a figure staggered against the mountain wall and slowly slid down to the ground.

It was Gu Xiu.

At this moment, his situation was extremely bad.

The once magnificent prince's robes were now tattered and covered in dust and dried, blackened bloodstains.

On the exposed skin, several deep wounds that reveal the bone can be seen. The edges of the wounds have an unnatural purplish-black color. The flesh is writhing slightly, but it is not a sign of healing. Instead, it seems to be slowly eroded and decayed by some invisible force.

His face was as pale as paper, his breathing was erratic and disordered, and cold sweat kept seeping from his forehead, only to be evaporated by the disordered energy within his body.

"Cough cough..."

Gu Xiu couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood mixed with black threads, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"This time... I'm afraid we're really going to fail here."

His thoughts returned to the moment he first entered the secret realm.

As Gu Xuan and Gu Xuan passed through the entrance to the secret realm, they seemed to be affected by some kind of spatial disturbance, and the two were actually teleported to different places.

When he regained his senses, he found himself all alone, having fallen into this eerie and oppressive Blood Moon Continent.

At first, he tried to find Gu Xuan, or find a way to leave this continent.

But he soon discovered that the edge of this continent was shrouded by an invisible barrier with an extremely powerful Daoist aura.

Gu Xiu tried several times, even using some kind of barrier-breaking talisman, but the barrier was stronger than he had imagined. Even with his cultivation as a Fourth Tribulation Celestial Venerable, he couldn't budge it in the slightest. Helpless, he could only explore the interior of the continent, hoping to find another way out or some valuable clues.

However, this continent seemed to be a forgotten, cursed land, devoid of life, with only endless desolation and death.

Just as he relaxed his guard slightly, the attack came without warning.

The attacker was not a living being, but an ancient corpse that had perished countless years ago, long since completely decayed, yet had been brought to life by some strange power.

It has no reason, only the most instinctive desire for the flesh and blood of living beings and the urge to kill. However, its strength in life was obviously extremely terrifying. Even after death, when it transformed into this strange being, its remaining combat power was still terrifying.

Gu Xiu used every trick in the book, but he was still no match for his opponent.

Finally, at the critical moment when he was about to be torn apart by that eerie ancient corpse, he had no choice but to activate the drop of essence blood bestowed upon him by Gu Qingfeng.

The power of his essence and blood erupted, instantly killing him.

Gu Xiu was thus able to catch his breath, but at a heavy price.

The power of essence and blood was consumed, and the trump card for survival was used once.

More importantly, the sinister and corrosive energy carried by the strange ancient corpse's attack, a strange Daoist aura that seemed capable of eroding the very essence of life, had already invaded his wounds, spreading like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone.

Gu Xiu mobilized all his power and even took the precious healing medicine he carried with him, but he could only barely suppress the strange Daoist aura near the wound and slow its spread, but he was unable to get rid of it at all.

He could clearly feel that his vitality was being slowly and steadily eroded by this Daoist energy.

If this continues, without any external enemies, he will gradually burn out in agony.

And this is not the scariest thing.

Gu Xiu leaned against the mountain wall, his divine sense scanning the dim surroundings like a startled bird.

He had a strong intuition that the strange ancient corpse he had killed was not the only inhabitant of this Blood Moon Continent.

Such eerie places often harbor even more unimaginable horrors.

Given his current severely injured state and the corrosion caused by the strange Daoist aura, if he were to encounter another similar being, there would be absolutely no chance of survival.

"Truly... a mission cut short before it even began."

Gu Xiu chuckled to himself, his eyes filled with resentment and regret.

"I thought it was an opportunity for immortality, but I never expected it to be a deadly trap."

Who could have imagined that such a bizarre area would exist within this Immortal Realm?

He paused, his gaze fixed on the unchanging blood moon deep within the continent, as if it could pierce through space: "I just hope my second brother is lucky and hasn't been teleported to this godforsaken place, or at least doesn't follow the clues to find his way here."

Gu Xiu understood Gu Xuan's personality; if Gu Xuan discovered that he had gone missing, he would definitely search for him at all costs.

But under these circumstances, Gu Xuan's arrival would only result in adding another corpse, and nothing else.

The two brothers are evenly matched in strength; if he can't solve a problem, Gu Xuan's arrival would be futile.

At this moment, Gu Xiu would rather perish alone than implicate his brother.

Despite his resentment, the harsh reality made him realize that without a miracle, he would probably remain forever on this desolate continent illuminated by the blood moon.

Just as Gu Xiu was experiencing intense emotions and struggling to suppress the strange Daoist energy within his body—

A sudden change occurred!

Above the sky, the dark red blood moon, which seemed to hang eternally, dimmed for a moment without warning!
It wasn't that it was blocked by clouds, but rather that the light it emitted suddenly dimmed, as if it had been absorbed by something!

The light across the entire Blood Moon Continent became even dimmer and more eerie, as if it had instantly plunged from dusk into midnight.

At the same time, an aura that was even colder and purer than when they encountered the strange ancient corpse before, carrying a strong sense of death and ominousness, erupted from the depths of the desolate mountains like a volcanic eruption, sweeping in all directions!
"Om-!"

Gu Xiu felt as if struck by lightning; the hairs on his body stood on end, and a chilling cold that penetrated to his very bones, as if freezing even his soul, instantly overwhelmed him.

He felt his blood flow slowing down, his qi circulation becoming extremely sluggish, and even his thoughts seemed to be frozen.

The source of this aura posed a far greater threat to him than the previous eerie ancient corpse.

"not good!"

Gu Xiu was terrified, and his instinct for survival overwhelmed everything.

Without a second thought, he used all the strength he could muster at that moment to push off the mountain wall and simultaneously used his movement technique to dart to the side like a startled rabbit, trying to get away from the source of this terrifying aura—the desolate mountain behind him!
Just as his figure left the spot!
“Rumble——!!!”

The desolate mountain, which he had been leaning against and was tens of meters high, suddenly began to shake violently, and countless spiderweb-like blood-red cracks appeared on its surface.

Immediately afterwards, to Gu Xiu's utter astonishment, an incredibly thick, almost tangible, dark red beam of light descended from the blood moon in the sky and struck the mountaintop with pinpoint accuracy.

Amidst the blood-red light, an object slowly appeared and descended.

That was a coffin!
A coffin, its entire body a dark, blood-red color, as if cast from congealed blood, its surface covered with distorted, pained human face reliefs and unrecognizable ancient runes!

The coffin exuded an intense, almost impenetrable aura of death and resentment, as well as an ominous, almost maddening Daoist charm.

Its appearance made the space within a hundred miles seem to freeze and become several times heavier, and the air was filled with a sweet and nauseating smell of blood.

The moment Gu Xiu saw the blood-red coffin, his heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, almost stopping its beating!

A primal fear, originating from the deepest recesses of his being, overwhelmed him like a chilling tsunami.

At this moment, Gu Xiu had only one thought in his mind.

escape!
Use every means to escape!
The farther away from here, the better!
We absolutely cannot stay!

However, the blood-red coffin did not give him any chance.

"Click..."

A soft yet clear sound resonated in the soul, and the coffin lid slowly slid back a crack.

Thick, inky black energy mixed with dark red blood light surged out from the cracks.

Immediately afterwards, the coffin lid burst open with a loud crash!

A figure slowly sat up from the coffin.

It was also a corpse, but it was more intact than the ancient corpse Gu Xiu had encountered before.

Its body was emaciated, and its skin was a deathly grayish-white color, clinging tightly to the bones, with many parts rotting, revealing the blackish-yellow bones underneath.

What's most unsettling is that its entire body is covered with dense, mold-like white hairs, which sway slightly in the blood moonlight, exuding a chilling and ominous aura.

It slowly turned its head, and where its eyes should have been, two eerie green flames suddenly lit up, like will-o'-the-wisps, burning faintly in the dim world, locking onto Gu Xiu, who stood frozen not far away.

That gaze was devoid of reason and emotion, containing only the purest and most primal greed—a yearning for vibrant life.

"Shout!"

Then, the other party let out a roar, and its figure disappeared from the coffin in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, Gu Xiu instinctively made a dodging motion, but he was always a step too slow.

A sharp pain shot through him. He saw that a piece of flesh had disappeared from his left shoulder, leaving a black wound that emitted a putrid stench.

Then look at that eerie white-haired creature; its withered hand is now clutching a piece of flesh, which it's putting in its mouth and chewing. Its eerie green eyes are fixed on Gu Xiu as if he were a delectable meal. (End of Chapter)