"Lanhong, early stage of Jin Dan, alchemy practitioner." This was another disciple from Changchun Gate.

The disciple from Juling Gate, wearing a yellow-brown Dao robe, introduced himself as the second one:

"Juling Gate, Shen Yuan, mid-stage of Jin Dan, Law Appearance: Water Moon Bear."

"Juling Gate, Niu Yizui, early stage of Jin Dan, Law Appearance: Seven Treasure Gourd."

"Juling Gate, Li Dian, early stage of Jin Dan, Law Appearance: Crescent Moon Blade."

This time, there were the most disciples from the secret realm of Juling Gate, with about fifty or sixty people, so three Jin Dan stage cultivators were assigned as protectors.

The Iron Bone Gate disciple, who was bare-chested and over two meters tall, said in a low voice, "Iron Bone Gate, Luo Dali, early stage of Jin Dan, body cultivation."

Only Yun Lan was left without an introduction, and everyone's gaze focused on her.

Earlier, when the two Jade Flame Colts shook off the small stones, they were both defending against the stones infused with fifth-grade spirit beast energy and observing the situation of other cultivators, so as to have a rough estimate of their strength before they entered.

Yun Lan was the only one among them who caught the stone with her bare hands. Although she appeared weak afterward, it was still the spirit beast energy of a fifth-grade spirit beast. The fact that she could withstand it without getting injured was enough to show her strength.

"Yun Lan from Tianyan Sect, early stage of Jin Dan, law cultivation."

Everyone tacitly only revealed their cultivation level and general situation to others, without divulging any details.

As Yun Lan had told her two junior brothers before, when they were away from home, they must be cautious of others. Even though they were currently like fleas on the same boat, they still needed to leave themselves a way out.

"What should we do now? Should we go directly to find that kid?" Li Dian asked.

Niu Yizui understood his meaning. "This secret realm doesn't seem to be any different from ordinary ones. He shouldn't encounter any danger in the short term. Perhaps we can first agree on a gathering time and signal, and each explore separately for a while."

Niu Yizui's words made everyone consider it.

If we explore together like before and find something good, we will definitely share it with everyone.

But now, all the gains in the secret realm belong to them personally. If we meet that young man, who knows if he will keep the good things for himself?

From the young man's behavior just now, he is extremely domineering, even the old lady is helpless against him. If they disagree, they might even hold a grudge and settle the score later.

However, Huang Xinyue shattered their illusion with one sentence: "The situation in the secret realm changes in an instant. Can you guarantee that he will be fine during this time? Even if he encounters some trouble, can we be spared?"

Everyone's faces turned ugly.

In order to ensure the safety of the young man, the old lady directly brought them in front of their senior disciples.

The leader of Tianyan Sect at least asked a question, but their senior disciples didn't even say a word, fearing that they would provoke Wu Xing Sect.

At the moment they were captured, they had become abandoned.

To have seven Golden Core stage cultivators protecting a Foundation Establishment stage young man, it was quite a grand scene!

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"Wu Xing Sect is simply too arrogant!" Luo Dali clenched his fists, but he didn't hear anyone agreeing with him.

Yes, Wu Xing Sect is too arrogant, but what can they do?

In the cultivation world, the strong are respected. The old lady is stronger than them, so she can decide their life and death. She dared to take them away in front of their senior disciples, and even their senior disciples didn't dare to say a word.

The other party's background is stronger than theirs. Even if they manage to survive and leave this secret realm, if anything happens to that young man, they can still cause trouble for them, even wiping out their sect.

Now they have at least received a hundred top-grade spirit stones as compensation, which is a fortunate outcome in their misfortune.

"Let's find someone first," Yunlan spoke up. "Do any of you have any methods to find people?"

She had taken out a compass for determining directions earlier, but the compass kept spinning and couldn't determine the direction.

Flying freely in the secret realm was not allowed, as they would become targets for the beasts in the forest.

If they were to separate, it would be troublesome to even meet up again.

The group exchanged glances, and in the end, Lan Hong spoke up, "I have a scent-sniffing mouse that can identify the scent of cultivators. If we can find traces left by that young man, we can follow the scent to find him."

"Good idea!"

"No need to find traces left by that young man," Shen Yuan said. "That young man rode in a carriage with an old woman, and he must have picked up her scent. The old woman gave each of us a bag of spirit stones. Let your scent-sniffing mouse smell the bag she gave you and see if it can find him through her scent."

"I'll give it a try," Lan Hong nodded.

She took out a lotus-colored bag, untied it, and a silver-gray mouse jumped out from inside. It was a spiritual beast pouch.

Then she took out the bag the old woman gave them and let the mouse smell it. The mouse immediately jumped off Lan Hong's hand and onto the ground, sniffing east and west, finally locking onto a direction.

"Found him!"

"We can't waste any more time. Let's hurry and meet up with him."

"Alright!"

However, a sudden change occurred. Just as everyone was channeling their spiritual power to their feet and rushing towards the direction indicated by the mouse, the space in front of Yunlan seemed to ripple like a drop of water falling onto the surface, and the others who were just within reach disappeared.

Yunlan barely stopped her steps, holding the Qinglian Sword in her hand, carefully observing the surrounding environment.

It is impossible for a person to suddenly disappear. Either she unknowingly encountered an illusion, or they triggered a formation.

If it is the former, all that is needed is to see through the flaws of the illusion, and the magic will naturally be broken.

If it is the latter, then it will be troublesome.

The destination of the formation is unknown. If they fall into a dangerous situation, Yunlan rushing in will surely end up like the others. If she stays here, she won't be able to find the young man from the Five Elements Sect on her own.

She needs to first identify the current situation before making a decision.

Blue sky, white clouds, tall trees...sunlight shines through the leaves and falls on the ground covered in fallen leaves.

The texture of the tree bark and leaves nearby is very clear, each with its own uniqueness.

Naturally formed illusions generally aren't dangerous, and it's very simple to see through them, that is, through details.

It often captures the current thoughts in the hearts of those trapped in the illusion, shaping the illusion into what they care about the most at the moment. However, since there isn't someone performing the magic, the details cannot be taken into account.

Those who accidentally fall into the illusion can easily discover the flaws by starting with the details of the surrounding illusion.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this illusion has been brewing in the secret realm for tens of thousands of years, making it stronger than other illusions. Or perhaps the one performing the magic is a hidden monster, making it very difficult to discern.

Since it is impossible to determine whether she is in an illusion based on the details, Yunlan takes the initiative to attack.

It is taboo to attack when the enemy's strength is unknown, but prolonged defense is even worse. If the opponent is waiting for an opportunity to gather strength or set up other traps, waiting is no different from waiting for death.

The sword qi, accompanied by a chilling sensation, cuts through the tree closest to Yunlan. She can clearly smell the unique fragrance of the tree trunk after it breaks, as well as the sap seeping out.

If it is difficult to perfect the details in illusions, then the sense of smell and taste are the easiest methods to see through illusions.

Illusions can affect a person's five senses, whether it's visual, auditory, or tactile, they can easily be imitated. However, it is difficult to fully replicate the senses of smell and taste.

Yun Lan was certain that this was not an illusion, leaving only one possibility: a formation.

She looked at the area that had made everyone else disappear. Perhaps if she cut down all the trees in that area, she might discover something.

However, the formation seemed to sense her thoughts. There was another ripple in the space, and the large tree she had just cut down disappeared, replaced by another intact forest.

She hadn't moved a single step, so if it wasn't her moving, then it must be the forest itself.

There was only one possibility that could cause this situation: qimen dunjia.