Wu Yang had traveled for hours, covering almost a hundred kilometers from the rendezvous point with Lin Xiaoqing, Wu Li, and Wu Feng.

His only concern is that they were on the other side of the Secret Realm, and he had to walk to the Central Region alone.

"I may be a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, but that doesn't mean much in this Secret Realm." He thought to himself. "There are 55 cultivators who have been suppressed to the perfection stage of Core Formation, not to mention another 15 or so who are also at that level."

He felt a chill in his heart. "This is not good…" He whispered.

As the incense stick burned to ashes, he heard a rumbling sound that shook the earth. It was as if a mountain was moving towards him with great speed.

Wu Yang tensed up and scanned his surroundings with his eyes and his Divine Sense. He could sense a powerful aura within 500 meters of him, but he couldn't see anything.

He waited for a while, but the sound faded away. "Was it just an earth quake?"

He shrugged and resumed his journey.

He didn't notice the faint crack on the ground behind him.

Boom! Boom!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the crack widened and a huge scorpion shot out of it like a cannonball.

It was a terrifying sight, with its black armor, red eyes, and venomous weapons. It opened its jaws and revealed its fangs, ready to tear him apart. It was so fast that he barely had time to blink!

This was the Venomous Claw Scorpion, a Demonic Beast that could inject lethal poison with its claws and stinger. Its stinger was especially fearsome, as it could pierce through any defense and cause excruciating pain and paralysis.

"Damn it! I was too careless for a moment, and this Demonic Beast seized the opportunity!" Wu Yang cursed.

He swiftly drew his Sealed Flame Sword and poured his Formless Fire Qi into it to parry the Demonic Beast's attack.

After parrying, he swung his sword at the Venomous Claw Scorpion's head with a technique called Flaming Sword Strike. It was a middle Earth Grade technique that he had mastered to the Greater Success. It could unleash a fiery slash that could incinerate anything in its way!

The Venomous Claw Scorpion barely dodged the flaming slash and counterattacked with its pincers. It aimed at Wu Yang's arms, hoping to disarm him.

Wu Yang parried the pincers with his sword, but he felt a tremendous force that almost made him lose his grip. He thought to himself, "This thing is too strong! No wonder I didn't encounter any other Demonic Beasts on my way. They were all scared of it!"

He backed away and used another technique called Blazing Sun Sword Style. It was a sword style that could emit a blast of fire that resembled a sun. He aimed at the scorpion's tail, hoping to cut off its stinger.

The Venomous Claw Scorpion felt the threat and whipped its tail to block the fire blast. It caused a shockwave that blew away the dust and rocks.

The two opponents glared at each other, ready for another round.

"Hey, buddy, can't we talk this out? You know I'm not the only one in this Secret Realm, right? There are other cultivators who are much stronger and tastier than me," Wu Yang tried to reason with it.

But the Venomous Claw Scorpion didn't understand a word, and it attacked again.

"Fine, have it your way. But don't blame me if you get burned!" Wu Yang said as he prepared to channel the Crimson Blaze Dao Mark.

"Hmph! Let's see if you can handle this strike!" Wu Yang taunted.

"Flaming Sword Strike!" Wu Yang roared as he unleashed his Crimson Blaze Dao Mark.

A magnificent and ancient character emerged above Wu Yang's head, embodying the core of his Fire Dao. The Crimson Blaze Dao Mark boosted his Flaming Sword Strike, making it more fierce and explosive.

He hurled his attack at the Venomous Claw Scorpion's head. The scorpion attempted to escape it, but the flaming slash was too swift and broad. It engulfed the Venomous Claw Scorpion and incinerated it in a flash.

The scene was shocking. Wu Yang had defeated a powerful Demonic Beast with a single strike!

Wu Yang went and retrieved the Demonic Core, since it was very precious. He also gathered other materials from the Venomous Claw Scorpion, such as its claws and stinger, which were not destroyed by his fire. The rest of its body was highly damaged by his technique.

"This Venomous Claw Scorpion could have killed ordinary late stage Core Formation cultivators. I'm lucky I avoided its claws and stinger," Wu Yang said to himself.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

After an hour, he finally left the Venomous Claw Scorpion's territory, which was a barren wasteland.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he reached a more hospitable area with some vegetation and water sources.

He saw a few figures in the distance and he became alert. Their leader was a burly man with muscles that bulged under his robe. He had a square face and a thick beard.

The group also spotted Wu Yang and they approached him with friendly smiles.

Liang Kuangshi, the group's leader laughed heartily and said, "Junior Brother! What a pleasant surprise to see you here. I'm glad you are safe and sound!"

Wu Yang felt a bit awkward since he wasn't really part of the Iron Fist Sect, but he also said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Liang. I'm sure Senior Brother didn't encounter any trouble facing the Demonic Beasts in this Secret Realm."

Bai Xiongdi said excitedly, "Of course not! Our Boss is the best! He killed a Mirage Snake King with just his fists!"

Wu Yang was shocked. The Mirage Snake King was an extremely powerful Demonic Beast, and usually only Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could defeat it.

The Mirage Snake King was a king among the Third Tier Demonic Beasts, making it very difficult to defeat for Core Formation Realm cultivators.

After reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, it became too easy to slaughter Third Tier Demonic Beasts. Nascent Soul Realm experts aren't that interested in Third Tier Demonic Beasts.

Demonic Beasts were divided into seven tiers, where First Tier was the weakest and Seventh Tier was the strongest. The First Tier corresponded to the Qi Condensation Realm, the Second Tier to the Foundation Building Realm, and so on.

"Senior Brother Liang is indeed amazing. I didn't realize that there was such a big gap between Inner Disciples and Core Disciples," Wu Yang said sincerely.

Liang Kuangshi smiled modestly and didn't boast. He looked at Wu Yang's aura and he could tell that he had just fought a battle. "Junior Brother, what kind of Demonic Beast did you encounter?"

Wu Yang felt a bit embarrassed. He thought he had concealed his traces well, but he was easily exposed by Liang Kuangshi. "I met a Venomous Claw Scorpion, a late stage Third Tier Demonic Beast."

Liang Kuangshi was slightly impressed. "Junior Brother also has tier-surpassing strength! That's impressive."

Wu Yang shook his head and tried to be humble. "It was mostly luck."

Bai Xiongdi said, "Junior Brother Wu Yang, we also saw your brother, Wu Feng, fighting a Demonic Beast on the nearby plains. He effortlessly killed a Swift Shadow Leopard, which is very hard to deal with."

Wu Yang was surprised to hear that Wu Feng was close by, but he was also astonished by his combat prowess. He wondered, "Is Wu Feng also a Child of Providence? But what kind of providence does he have?"

Wu Yang asked, "Why didn't he join your group?"

Bai Xiongdi shrugged. "I don't know. He said he had to meet up with you and the others."

Wu Yang nodded and asked curiously, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you guys staying near the border? The good stuff should be in the Central Region."

Liang Kuangshi answered. "The special inheritances in the Central Region will only open later, after the nine Great Ocean Realm inheritances have been claimed."

"There are five Great Ocean Realm inheritances that correspond to the Five Elements, and four Great Ocean Realm inheritances that correspond to the Four Divine Beasts."

"There are three types of special inheritances in the Central Region. One is related to the Five Elements, and the other is related to the Four Divine Beasts. As for the last one, we have no clue what it is."

Wu Yang nodded. "Has anyone claimed any of the nine Great Ocean Realm inheritances yet?"

Liang Kuangshi shook his head and said, "Not yet, but some Soul Palace Realm inheritances have been taken. That's how we learned more about the situation in the Secret Realm."

"Can I join you guys on your journey?"

Liang Kuangshi smiled and said, "Of course! Junior Brother seems like a righteous and honest person. I like these kinds of people the most!"

Wu Yang sighed inwardly and thought, "This Liang Kuangshi will probably become Wu Li's sworn brother soon. His character is very upright."

Wu Yang decided to trust them more.

"Where are we heading to?"

Bai Xiongdi said, "Boss sensed a strong aura from the East, and we decided to investigate. It might be a Great Ocean Realm inheritance."

"Then let's hurry up, before someone else takes it."

The other five people in the group agreed and increased their speed.

They ran through a forest for an hour, and they finally saw two huge doors in front of them. Each door had intricate patterns on it that glowed with different colors.

The left door was a fiery red color and had flame patterns on it. It gave off a sense of danger and beauty at the same time. It was as big as a small hill, about 50 meters across.

The right door was a snowy white color and had a tiger's head on it. The tiger's head looked very majestic and fierce, and made one feel a cold shiver down their spine. It was also as big as a small hill, about 50 meters across.

"Wow! There are two inheritances here?" Liang Kuangshi exclaimed.

"It looks like it. Let's hurry up, the doors haven't opened yet. There are also some other people around them," Wu Yang said.

As Wu Yang got closer to the doors, he saw a familiar figure among the crowd and he was surprised. "Big Brother!"

Wu Feng saw him too and came over with a smile. "Younger Brother, I'm glad you are safe. You know how dangerous this place is. Even late stage Core Formation cultivators can die here. And perfection stage Core Formation cultivators are not much safer either!"

Wu Yang didn't know Wu Feng very well, but he wanted to have a deep connection with him. He might be a Child of Providence, and his personality couldn't be worse than Wu Li, right?

Liang Kuangshi greeted Wu Feng politely. "Hello. We didn't get a chance to talk before, but I hope you don't have any misunderstanding with us. The Iron Fist Sect has no ill will towards you or your sect."

Wu Feng smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. But Senior Brother, I'm not from any sect."

Liang Kuangshi was shocked by this revelation. "What? You are not from the Extreme Jade Sword Sect?"

Wu Feng nodded and smiled.

Wu Yang quickly asked, "Brother, what are these two inheritances about?"

Wu Feng explained briefly, "The left door with the fire patterns is for the Fire Element inheritance, and the right door with the tiger head is for the White Tiger Divine Beast inheritance."

"Everyone, decide which inheritance you want to enter. Choose carefully, because the inheritance has to match your Dao."

The others also agreed. They respected Wu Feng, even though his cultivation was only at the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm, because he was very strong.

Bai Xiongdi and the other members of the Iron Fist Sect's group stayed behind, because they also wanted to test their luck in the White Tiger Divine Beast Trial, even though their Boss was going in.

After a stick of incense burned, loud noises could be heard as the doors to the inheritances opened at the same time.

Bang! Bang!

The doors trembled as dazzling Dao patterns flew in the air.

Above the left door, a fiery sun appeared, radiating heat and light.

Above the right door, a white tiger emerged, roaring at the sky.

The members of the Iron Fist Sect's group entered the White Tiger Divine Beast Trial, while Wu Yang headed towards the Fire Element Trial.

Wu Feng glanced at Wu Yang with a cold and sinister look. He followed him into the Fire Element Trial.