Chapter 150: Ye Bing's Karmic Tribulation

"Junior Sister Zhao, your divine ability is truly formidable. It doesn't seem to belong to our Ice Demon Palace's teachings."

After the battle, several cultivators gathered around the woman in blue, and a round-faced female cultivator asked with curiosity.

All of them exuded a faint, lingering demonic aura and practiced specialized techniques, instantly marking them as disciples of the demonic path.

The woman in blue who had slaughtered all in her path just moments before was none other than Zhao Mengyuan.

Having already reached the third tier of the Dao Foundation realm, she had gained considerable renown among the inner disciples of the Ice Demon Palace.

A nostalgic look crossed Zhao Mengyuan's face as she replied, "It was a gift from a Senior Brother. Senior Sister Wang, this is not the time to discuss this. We should figure out how to deal with this ancient secret realm instead!"

As it turned out, the Ice Demon Palace possessed a secret technique passed down by Palace Master Ye Bing.

This technique could detect spatial fluctuations within the void and was particularly adept at uncovering hidden spatial fragments or ancient secret realms.

Almost every inner disciple of the Ice Demon Palace practiced this secret art.

This time, Zhao Mengyuan and several fellow disciples had ventured out to search for treasures. On their return journey, they inadvertently stumbled upon a location with abnormal spatial fluctuations.

When they employed their secret technique, it triggered a spatial transformation, causing a colorful vortex to appear in the sky.

The vortex was about ten zhang wide, and according to the ancient texts of the Demon Talisman Sect, it was undoubtedly the entrance to an ancient secret realm.

However, given the strength of Zhao Mengyuan and her companions, they were temporarily unable to break into it.

The colorful vortex contained chaotic void turbulence, and ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators entering it would likely be ground into dust within a split second.

Just as the group was at their wits' end, another group of cultivators from a nearby sea area was attracted to the scene.

Claiming to be cultivators from Profound Mystery Island, and seeing that the Demon Talisman Sect group was small and of similar cultivation levels, they coveted the ancient secret realm entirely for themselves.

Thus, a fierce battle ensued.

In that engagement, Zhao Mengyuan made a stunning debut and shone brilliantly!

The sheer power of the Monument of Town-Sea astonished even herself.

Nearly half of the cultivators from Profound Mystery Island had been battered to death by her bare hands.

As for the last surviving cultivator who claimed to be from the True Purity Sect, Zhao Mengyuan couldn't be bothered with his background and eradicated the root along with the weeds.

Once an enmity was forged, one had to be ruthless and decisive.

The only regret was that one cultivator from Profound Mystery Island managed to escape, leaving behind a hidden danger.

Before long, other cultivators from Profound Mystery Island would likely appear here.

After probing the area a few more times without finding a way into the ancient secret realm, Zhao Mengyuan and the others had no choice but to give up for the moment.

The group cast spells to set up an illusion array, concealing the strange phenomenon of the colorful vortex, and then hurried back to the Demon Talisman Sect to report the situation to their superiors.

***

Three days later.

Within the Ice Demon Palace.

Holding a jade slip and observing the recorded projections within, Ye Bing found her mind captivated by that cluster of colorful vortexes.

Suddenly, a surge of intuition stirred within her heart. She instantly sensed an invisible tribulation fate converging around her, arising from nothingness and rapidly intensifying to a peak.

Her expression shifted slightly. She lowered the jade slip, her beautiful eyes flashing with sudden comprehension.

"The fate tribulation... has finally come."

Human tribulations are easy to pass, but fate tribulations are hard to guard against!

Having waited bitterly for a hundred years and endured all sorts of crises, she had never been able to trigger the fate tribulation hidden in the dark.

Who would have thought that at this very moment, while merely reviewing a clue regarding an ancient secret realm submitted by a disciple, it would provoke her fate tribulation!

The wonders of the world knew no greater marvel than this.

Her heart was a mixture of joy and apprehension, leaving her temporarily unable to ponder the matter of the ancient secret realm.

If she could survive the fate tribulation, her strength would undoubtedly increase drastically.

At that time, wielding the Ten Directions Freezing Demon Path, she would surely be able to take the True Scripture of the Ice Demon as her foundation and carve out a unique path toward the Primordial Spirit realm.

Regardless of success or failure, she would at least have qualified to challenge the Primordial Spirit boundary.

When that day came, the only obstacle standing before her would be the heavenly tribulations themselves!

"I wonder what is so unusual about this ancient secret realm that it could trigger my fate tribulation?"

Ye Bing muttered to herself.

According to what those disciples reported, a Profound Mystery Island disciple had escaped that day, and someone connected to an elder of the True Purity Sect had perished.

At worst, it would merely provoke a few Golden Core cultivators from Profound Mystery Island and the True Purity Sect to make a move.

Ye Bing did not take it to heart.

Whether it was Profound Mystery Island or the True Purity Sect, apart from figures like island masters, sect masters, and deputy sect masters, she was confident in fighting any other Golden Core expert.

She merely needed to remain cautious and avoid falling into any schemes laid by Profound Mystery Island.

After all, Profound Mystery Island was an alliance of rogue cultivators from the East China Sea. While rogue cultivators might lack powerful heritage techniques, they were quite accomplished in all sorts of bizarre and endless secret arts.

As for those sword cultivators from the True Purity Sect, a tall, imposing figure in grey robes instantly flashed through Ye Bing's mind.

To deal with a sword cultivator, one still needed another sword cultivator.

With this thought, she immediately summoned an immortal servant and instructed, "Go to the Demon-Consuming Palace and invite Elder Pang Yue over, saying I have an urgent matter to discuss."

The immortal servant acknowledged the order and departed.

Left alone, Ye Bing fell into deep contemplation.

***

Profound Mystery Island.

Inside a certain cave dwelling.

A middle-aged man looked at the disciple kneeling on the ground, tapping his fingers lightly against a stone table to produce crisp, echoing sounds.

Profound Mystery Island was an alliance of rogue cultivators, governed by an Elder Council composed of nine cultivators in the mid-to-late Golden Core stages.

The Elder Council elected one person as the Island Master to handle the daily affairs of the island.

In the event of major and difficult decisions, the Elder Council would still have the final say.

Profound Mystery Island gathered countless rogue cultivators from the East China Sea, among whom there was no shortage of Golden Core and Dao Foundation experts!

This middle-aged man was a senior Golden Core master who had joined Profound Mystery Island three hundred years ago.

Having been stuck in the mid-Golden Core stage for many years with little hope of a breakthrough, he had brought his disciple along to join Profound Mystery Island as a guest elder, utilizing the island's resources to cultivate his divine abilities and train his disciples.

On this day, his disciple had returned severely injured, bringing along an astonishing piece of news.

A new ancient secret realm had appeared!

The middle-aged man stroked his beard and asked in a deep voice, "Are you saying that the disciples of the Demon Talisman Sect killed Yang Wujiu's nephew?"

"Every word this disciple spoke is the absolute truth!"

The disciple said hurriedly.

The middle-aged man smiled faintly and said, "To my knowledge, he was not Yang Wujiu's nephew."

The disciple froze, looking at his master with a puzzled expression.

His master was a man of vast connections with many friends among the righteous path. Yang Wujiu, the Dragon-Transforming Sword of the True Purity Sect, was one of them.

A strange light flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes as he leisurely stated, "He was Yang Wujiu's biological son..."

"I wonder whom the Demon Talisman Sect will send to contend for this ancient secret realm this time."

The disciple speculated, "The Demon Talisman Sect cultivators have always looked down on our Profound Mystery Island. This time, at most, one of their deputy palace masters will take action... Matters like this aren't worth a palace master stepping out personally."

The middle-aged man nodded. "Therefore, we must find a way to make Yang Wujiu enter the fray. The grievance of a murdered son should be enough to move him!"

Delighted, the disciple said, "Senior Yang Wujiu is a senior master of the late Golden Core stage. With him stepping forward, we will surely make the Demon Talisman Sect suffer a massive loss!"

"Indeed, this is leveraging external force!"

The middle-aged man stood up and instructed, "Take my letter immediately, board the teleportation array to the True Purity Sect, and recount what happened that day directly to Yang Wujiu."

"This disciple understands."

The disciple bowed deeply and replied.