Finding accommodations turned out to be simpler than expected.
Quan led them to a quiet inn on the outskirts of Jade Prosperity City and called it good enough. The spirit boat was parked directly on the open ground beside the building. This setup would've caused chaos back in Verdantree City, but here apparently nobody batted an eye.
The server, who had been wiping down tables, noticed them approaching and hurried over.
One look at the group and his demeanor shifted immediately.
Definitely cultivators.
"Please come inside," he said, bowing slightly. "I'll inform the proprietor to arrange premium rooms for you personally..."
Quan waved him off and tossed a small pouch onto the counter. "No need for the fuss. Just give us a few rooms on the top floor. Something quiet, if possible."
"Of course." The server pocketed the payment and wisely stopped trying to make conversation.
In his experience, cultivators tended to be aloof and uninterested in small talk with mortals. It probably came with the territory of being able to fly and shoot fire from their hands, mouths, or even their asses. Well, the last one might not be true. Then again, some of them had such massive sticks up their asses that the idea of spitting fire from there didn't seem all that far-fetched. If they could manage the former, why not the latter?
He led them upstairs, skipping the usual rigmarole about travel documents and identification that normal merchants would need.
They ended up with three rooms on the top floor.
Alexei looked around his assigned quarters and mentally compared them to the inn he had stayed at in Verdantree City. This place was simpler, yet it charged premium prices.
The room assignments were straightforward: Quan and Changgui shared one room, Yan and Mengyao took another, and he was paired with Qingxue.
Yan looked like she wanted to argue for different arrangements, probably something involving everyone cramming into a single room like a cultivator slumber party. But Mengyao quickly guided her toward their assigned quarters before she could say anything.
Alexei appreciated the intervention. The last thing he needed was Yan deciding that communal sleeping arrangements were "more efficient" or some similar nonsense.
Once inside his room, he made a beeline for the bed.
It looked soft and comfortable. After eight days on a spirit boat with nothing but hard wooden benches, it looked like paradise.
He flopped onto it face-first.
The mattress was surprisingly soft, filled with something that yielded under his weight while still offering decent support. It was nothing special by modern standards, but after a week of travel, it felt like a luxury.
"Comfortable?" Qingxue asked, settling into a chair near the window.
"I'm never leaving this bed again. This is my home now." Alexei's voice was muffled by the pillow.
"You'll have to leave eventually. The mystic realm won't explore itself."
"The mystic realm can wait. I'm bonding with this mattress."
She laughed softly. "You're ridiculous."
"I'm just exhausted."
That wasn't entirely accurate. His body didn't feel tired at all, thanks to whatever physics-defying properties came with his Minecraft-based physiology. His mind, however, was a different story. Eight days of sitting with nothing to do but read romance novels had left him mentally drained.
He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "How long until we need to get moving again?"
"Quan wants to brief everyone tomorrow morning. We'll go over the mystic realm details, purchase any last-minute supplies, and then you'll enter the day after."
"So I have about thirty-six hours to prepare for whatever awaits me inside a pocket dimension created by an ancient cultivator."
"That's one way to phrase it."
"Is there a better way?"
"You could think of it as an opportunity for growth and discovery."
"I could... But that would require optimism, which I'm currently too tired to muster."
---
The next morning, all six of them gathered in Qingxue's room for the briefing.
Quan had apparently spent the previous evening collecting information about the Verdant Vine Mystic Realm and now it was time to share.
"First things first," he began, pulling out a hand-drawn map. "The realm is divided into three zones: the outer ring, the middle ring, and the core. The outer ring is relatively safe. You will mostly find low-level spirit beasts and basic spiritual herbs. Nothing there should give you much trouble. The middle ring is more dangerous. The beasts are stronger, the resources are more valuable, and you will start running into other cultivators who may not be friendly."
"And the core?" Changgui asked quietly.
"The core is where the real treasures are. It's also where the pill spirits spawn."
"Pill spirits?"
Quan nodded. "When high-grade spiritual medicines mature, they sometimes develop a form of rudimentary consciousness. They can move, they can fight, and they really don't appreciate being harvested. Think of them as... angry, mobile plants that can kill you."
"Anything else I should know?" Alexei asked with a sigh.
"The realm was created by someone known as the Verdant Vine Sage. He was an ancient medical cultivator who, for reasons unknown, chose to preserve his legacy by building a death trap filled with rare and valuable plants. The spiritual energy within is extremely dense, which is why so many sects send their disciples there to train."
Alexei glanced around the room. "Speaking of which, why are we the only ones sending someone in? Shouldn't the whole sect be taking advantage of this?"
"Resources," Qingxue explained. "Sending disciples into the realm requires preparation, equipment, and supplies. The Aureate Summit Sect is small. We can afford to send one person properly equipped, or we could send five people poorly prepared. The former has better odds of success."
Which made sense, even if it was slightly depressing.
"The main dangers," Quan continued, "come from three sources. First, the pill spirits in the core regions. Second, natural hazards such as poisonous plants and unstable terrain. Third, and most importantly, other cultivators."
"Let me guess," Alexei said. "The 'righteous' cultivators will stab me in the back if they think I have something valuable."
"Correct. The mystic realm has rules against killing, but rules only matter if someone can enforce them. Inside, you're on your own."
Changgui, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "If the spiritual energy out here is so thin, how valuable can the resources inside really be?"
It was a fair question, and Quan answered without hesitation. "Secret realms are self-contained spaces. The spiritual energy forms a closed system. What leaks out is only a tiny fraction of what exists within. Inside the Verdant Vine Realm, the concentration is at least ten times higher than normal, even in the outer areas. In the core, it can reach fifty times or more."
Alexei did some mental math. If the leakage was minimal but still noticeable, and the internal concentration was that much higher...
"So basically, everyone's going in there to power-level their cultivation while also looting the place."
"Essentially, yes."
"And how long does the realm stay open?"
"Anywhere from two months to a year. It varies. The entrance will remain accessible, so you can leave whenever you want. But once it closes, it won't open again for another fifty to ninety years."
Which meant this was a limited-time opportunity. No pressure, right?
---
They spent the rest of the day at the Jade Prosperity branch of the Immortal Alliance, making purchases.
The Alliance outpost here was much smaller than the one in Verdantree City. It was little more than a large shop with a storage room in the back. Still, it carried everything they needed.
Alexei bought anything that seemed even remotely useful. Maps of the outer and middle zones, since the core remained unmapped. Anyone who ventured that deep was usually too busy staying alive to record anything. He also picked up a bestiary of common spirit beasts and a botanical guide filled with detailed illustrations of valuable herbs, along with clear warnings about which ones could kill you if handled incorrectly.
Yan used the opportunity to post a new collection request with the Alliance. She requested seeds. Any seeds from plants native to the Verdant Vine Realm, with particular interest in Mystic tier and above. Earth-tier and Heaven-tier seeds would be purchased at premium prices, with no questions asked.
The clerk handling the request showed a hint of surprise at the generous offer, but said nothing. Cultivators often spent their money in unusual ways, and it was not his place to question it. The more they spent, the better it was for him.
---
The morning of the third day, Alexei woke up feeling unusually well-rested.
Qingxue was already awake, sitting by the window and reading. She glanced over as he sat up.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
They met the others downstairs and made their way to the mystic realm entrance as a group.
The entrance was built into the mountain, carved directly into the rock face. A massive archway rose nearly twenty meters high, its surface covered in intricate formations. Spiritual energy seeped out, making the air shimmer.
A steady stream of cultivators moved through it. Some traveled alone, others in groups, all heading inside.
What caught Changgui's attention was the number of younger cultivators.
"Are they all here to train?"
Quan nodded. "The outer zones are relatively safe, and the boost in spiritual energy is significant. Most sects send their Foundation Establishment disciples and anyone below that level to cultivate inside while the realm remains open. It's basically free power-leveling, as Alexei put it."
"Assuming they don't die to a pill spirit or get murdered by a fellow cultivator," Alexei remarked with a faint smile.
"Well, yes. There is that risk."
One group passed by with more than twenty disciples in tow, all wearing matching sect robes. They looked young, nervous, and thoroughly out of their depth.
Alexei watched them disappear through the archway and felt a moment of sympathy.
Then he remembered that he was about to do the same thing, except alone, and the sympathy shifted to self-directed pity.
"For most cultivators in the Eastern Territories, this is the only chance they will ever have to experience spiritual energy at this level," Qingxue said quietly. "That's why so many are willing to take the risk."
Alexei glanced at the archway, then back at the group.
"So basically, I'm walking into an overcrowded death trap full of desperate people who see this as their one shot at advancement, where the plants can murder me, the animals can murder me, and my fellow humans will definitely try to murder me if they think I have loot."
"That's... accurate," Qingxue admitted
"I just wanted to make sure I understood the situation."
He adjusted his gear and started toward the entrance.
Behind him, Changgui lowered his voice. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
Mengyao hesitated. "I think so?"
---
"Two thousand low-grade spirit stones! Twenty Core Formation experts will escort you to the inheritance zones! Cultivate safely until the realm closes!"
"Ancient artifacts fresh from the Verdant Vine! Get them while they last!"
"Unknown seed for sale! Any alchemists interested?"
"Healing pills! Spirit-replenishing pills! Resurrection pills!"
The closer they got to the mystic realm entrance, the louder and more chaotic the surroundings became.
Beyond the usual merchants calling out their wares, rough-looking cultivators sat on the ground with stalls, their goods spread across dirty cloth. Broken weapons, cracked talismans, and strange chunks of metal lay in uneven piles.
A cultivator selling seeds briefly caught Yan's attention. She paused and examined them from a distance, then shook her head and moved on.
"Dead," she muttered. "No life force left in it at all."
Qingxue glanced at the seed, then at the hopeful expression on the seller's face, and felt a pang of sympathy. But business was business. There was no point buying worthless goods.
Alexei, meanwhile, was eyeing the piles of scrap metal.
I could probably salvage something from that.
He approached one of the sellers and asked about prices. The numbers the man quoted made Alexei's eye twitch.
"Never mind. I'll find my own scrap inside the realm. Thanks anyway."
The seller shrugged, clearly used to rejection.
They continued walking until they reached the entrance.
Qingxue stopped and turned to face Alexei. "This is as far as we can go. From here, you're on your own."
"I know."
"Do you want to take Snowdrift with you?" She gestured to the small fox cradled in her arms. The creature looked up at Alexei with bright, curious eyes.
Alexei reached out and scratched behind the fox's ears. It chirped contentedly.
"Better if Snowdrift stays with you," he said after a moment. "I don't think I can protect her properly inside."
He pulled a small pouch from his pack and handed it to Qingxue. Inside were several pieces of candy.
"When you get bored."
Qingxue's expression softened. "Thank you."
"Well then. I should—"
"Wait."
Yan's hand shot out and grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him to a stop.
Alexei sighed. "What?"
"Where is mine?"
Alexei stared at her. "Are you serious right now?"
"Yes?"
He pulled out another piece and handed it over. Yan accepted it with a satisfied nod, then finally released him.
"Now you can go."
Alexei shook his head, adjusted his gear, and joined the steady stream of cultivators heading through the archway.
Behind him, Qingxue watched until he disappeared into the passage. Then she turned away.
Yan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on. Let's explore the city. I haven't been here in over five hundred years. Things have probably changed."
Qingxue hesitated, glancing back one more time.
"He'll be fine," Yan said quietly. "He's tougher than he looks."
"I know. It's just..." Qingxue trailed off, unable to put the unease into words.
"You worry, which is natural. But worrying won't help him. Come. I'll distract you. Jade Prosperity has excellent bookstores, and you've been running low on reading material."
That got Qingxue's attention. "Really?"
"Would I lie about books?"
Finally, Qingxue allowed herself to be led away, though she couldn't quite shake the feeling that she should have said more.
---
Alexei walked through the entrance tunnel.
His silver-white hair drew a few looks. Some passing cultivators glanced twice, surprised by the unusual color, but most kept moving, too focused on their own affairs to care about one more newcomer.
The tunnel stretched on for what felt like kilometers.
For a moment, he considered taking out the Pale Sky Blade and flying through. He quickly dismissed the idea. Sword flight was allowed in the tunnel, but only at reasonable speeds. The way he usually flew would likely send half the people here sprawling.
That would leave a terrible first impression.
So he walked.
And walked.
And kept walking.
"This is taking forever," he muttered, pulling up his inventory screen just to pass the time. "Who designed a tunnel this long? What's the point? Is it supposed to build dramatic tension or something?"
"The length is intentional," a voice beside him said. "It gives the realm's formations time to scan each person entering."
He glanced over.
A middle-aged cultivator had fallen into step beside him.
"The formations won't allow anyone above a certain cultivation level to pass," the man continued. "It keeps powerful cultivators from sweeping through and taking everything."
"Mm."
Why is this guy talking to me? Alexei thought. I'm clearly not interested in conversation. Normal people would take the hint.
"I'm Che, by the way," the man said. "An independent cultivator. I've been coming to this realm for... about three openings now. What about you?"
Three openings... That meant this guy had been doing this for at least 150 years, possibly as long as 270 depending on the intervals.
"Alexei," he said after a brief pause.
"Alexei," Che repeated. "That's an unusual name for the Eastern Territories. Foreign origin?"
"You could say that. It's a boring story."
"I doubt that." Che's tone was light. "First time in the Verdant Vine?"
"What gave it away?"
"The way you were checking your spatial storage earlier. Most veterans pack light. They know what's worth carrying and what isn't."
Alexei hadn't been checking his spatial storage. He had been looking at his Minecraft inventory screen, which was completely invisible to everyone else.
Which meant Che was either guessing, or he had been watching him for long enough before approaching to notice the hand gestures that went with navigating menus.
"I'm just cautious."
"Oh, I agree completely. Caution keeps you alive." Che nodded. "Especially for someone entering alone. Are you planning to stick to the outer rings? Or push deeper?"
"Depends on what I find."
"I see." Che paused, then added, "Though if you're going deeper, you might want to avoid the southeastern quadrant of the middle ring. There's a group from the Crimson Hawk Sect camping there. They've gotten aggressive about 'their' territory."
"I appreciate the tip. I'll keep it in mind."
"I'm just trying to help a fellow independent cultivator." Che's tone was warm.
Alexei said nothing.
Che didn't seem bothered by the silence. "Word of advice, since you seem like someone who values practical information: don't trust anyone completely inside. Even people who seem friendly." The smile turned slightly self-deprecating. "Present company included. Resources make cultivators do strange things."
"I've noticed," Alexei said dryly.
"Also, avoid the core zones unless you're confident in your abilities. The pill spirits there are no joke. I've seen cultivators get shredded because they underestimated them."
"I'll be careful."
Che nodded approvingly. "You seem like a smart young man. That'll serve you well."
They walked in silence for a while. Alexei counted his steps, waiting to see what Che would try next.
"So," Che said eventually, "what's your main goal inside? Everyone has one. Pills? Herbs? Artifacts? Spirit stones?"
"Entertainment," Alexei replied. "Everything else is secondary."
Che laughed. "You really are cautious, aren't you? Fair enough. I shouldn't pry."
"What about you?" Alexei asked, turning the question back on him. "You've been through three openings. You must have a system by now."
"Oh, you know how it is." Che waved vaguely. "Gather what I can, trade what I don't need. Make enough to live comfortably until the next opening."
That was the most non-answer Alexei had ever heard.
"You know, if you're interested in trading information or resources once we're inside, I wouldn't be opposed to a mutually beneficial arrangement. I know the realm well, and you seem like someone who processes information efficiently."
"I'll think about it," Alexei said, which was cultivator-speak for 'absolutely not, but I'm being polite.'
"Fair enough." Che didn't push. "Well, this is my stop."
They had reached a wider section of the tunnel with branching side passages. Che gestured toward one of them.
"My group is waiting down there. Good luck inside, Alexei."
"Thanks. You too."
Che gave a small wave and disappeared into the side passage.
Alexei kept walking, maintaining the same pace.
Your group is waiting? Down a side tunnel? Why weren't you walking in together? Did you leave them, walk back through the entrance, and then come in again just to intercept me specifically?
Because that was the only way the timeline made sense.
Which meant Che had either:
A) Noticed Alexei at the entrance and decided he was interesting enough to approach.
B) Been specifically looking for someone matching Alexei's description.
C) Was approaching every solo cultivator as part of some larger scheme.
None of those options were comforting.
He kept walking until the density of people around him thinned out, then found a quiet alcove off to the side.
He summoned the Pale Sky Blade, stepped onto it, and shot forward at full speed.
The few cultivators still in the tunnel caught a brief glimpse of a blur before the wind hit them. Papers went flying. Someone's hat blew clean off their head.
By the time they recovered, Alexei was already long gone.
---
The Verdant Vine Mystic Realm itself was surprisingly ordinary.
There was a sky overhead, clouds drifting across it. Mountains rose in the distance, and rivers wound through wide valleys. If not for the noticeably higher concentration of spiritual energy, Alexei could have believed this was just another stretch of wilderness.
It made sense when he thought about it. This place had once been part of the normal world, nothing more than a piece of land that an ancient cultivator had carved out and sealed away for his own use.
The entire realm was a closed system, where enemies would reappear over time and resources could be harvested again and again without ever truly running out. It gave the impression of design rather than natural growth, as though the land itself had been structured into a dungeon.
In this place, the role of enemies was filled by the pill spirits.
According to the briefing Quan had given, pill spirits formed naturally in the core regions of the realm. They were born from the residual energy constantly emanating from the corpse of the Verdant Vine Sage himself.
Which was morbid when you thought about it too hard.
These pill spirits had strong territorial instincts. They claimed areas around valuable spiritual plants and defended them aggressively. Sometimes they fought each other, absorbing the loser's energy to grow stronger.
And here was the interesting part: killing a pill spirit had a small chance of producing something called a "pill spirit essence."
From what Alexei understood, these essences were wildly unstable pills formed when a pill spirit consumed multiple spiritual plants and refined them inside its body through some kind of natural alchemical process. The resulting pill contained a random mishmash of medicinal properties.
If you could somehow purify the essence and remove all the conflicting properties, you would be left with an extremely potent cultivation aid.
The problem was that doing so required either being Nascent Soul realm or higher, or being a specialized medical cultivator with extensive knowledge of spiritual medicine.
For everyone else, consuming a pill spirit essence was basically gambling with your internal organs.
Alexei mulled that over as he flew above the forest canopy, scanning the landscape below.
Then his thoughts shifted to the furnace mechanics.
"Wait a second..."
Pill spirit essences were nothing more than crude pills, made by throwing ingredients together without proper refinement.
A grin spread across his face.
It was probably not an appropriate expression.
But he didn't care.
He pulled out the map he had purchased from the Jade Prosperity Immortal Alliance and studied it.
"This is bullshit," he muttered.
The "map" was barely more than a few vague lines sketched across an otherwise blank sheet of paper. There was no scale and landmarks. Only a handful of squiggly lines, which might have been rivers, roads, or just the mapmaker's drunken attempt at calligraphy.
He stuffed the useless parchment back into his robes and pulled out a compass instead.
According to Quan, the core region of the Verdant Vine Mystic Realm lay somewhere to the east.
His plan was simple. He would fly east, follow any crowds he came across, and eventually find the so-called inheritance sites people kept talking about.
It was not a sophisticated plan. But sophisticated plans required reliable information, and he had none.
So he would fly east, improvise along the way, and hope for the best.
---
Three days of flying later, Alexei had to admit his crude strategy was working surprisingly well.
Most of the cultivators he encountered were heading in the same direction. A few flew the other way, likely having already taken what they wanted, but the majority moved in a loose aerial stream toward the core.
He even passed a few small spirit boats along the way.
One spirit boat in particular caught his attention. Its construction was luxurious, with intricate formations carved into the hull. It likely belonged to a wealthy sect or merchant family.
As he approached it from behind, a window on the vessel's side opened.
A girl leaned out, staring directly at him.
Alexei blinked.
She blinked back.
For a moment, they just looked at each other. Then recognition hit.
"Oh. It's you."
The girl looked surprised and confused. He vaguely remembered her from Verdantree City.
"You're... alone?" she called out.
"Obviously."
The girl's expression shifted through several emotions in rapid succession.
"Are you being chased?" she asked suddenly.
Alexei glanced over his shoulder. There were no pursuers in sight, but that meant little.
"Kind of. It's complicated. I shouldn't stick around. I don't want to drag you into anything."
He pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and tossed it through the open window. She caught it reflexively.
"Stay safe," he said, then accelerated.
The Pale Sky Blade shot forward, leaving the spirit boat behind.
----------
[POV: Li Yan'er]
Yan'er stood at the window of her family's spirit boat, holding a piece of candy and trying to process what she had just witnessed.
She examined the candy he had given her: mundane confection, nothing special, probably bought from some street vendor.
The gesture was strange.
He said he was being chased.
She leaned farther out the window, scanning the sky behind them. There was nothing yet, but that meant little.
If someone was chasing a cultivator who could move that fast, they weren't someone to take lightly.
"That can't be right," she muttered to herself.
She had seen him back in Verdantree City with that woman. She had assumed he was some kind of sheltered young master, protected by powerful elders.
But he was here.
And he could fly faster than most Foundation Establishment cultivators she knew.
She extended her spiritual sense, trying to gauge his cultivation level from the residual energy he had left behind.
The result was strange. It felt as though he was only at the Body Tempering stage, perhaps early Qi Refining at most.
But that made no sense. Someone at Qi Refining couldn't fly at that speed. Their meridians would never withstand the strain. Even with a flying artifact, one would need to be at least at Foundation Establishment, possibly even Core Formation depending on its quality.
Unless...
"His sword," she realized.
The flying sword had to be a Heaven-tier treasure. Or perhaps something even higher. Only a weapon with powerful formations could compensate for such a weak cultivation base.
But where would someone that young get a Heaven-tier treasure?
The obvious answer: family inheritance.
That would explain the woman too. She was a guardian assigned to protect a valuable heir until they grew strong enough to defend themselves.
Yan'er looked down at the candy in her hand again.
Having returned to the past with all her memories intact, she knew where opportunities would appear, which cultivators would rise, and which sects would flourish or fall.
She had come to this mystic realm specifically because she remembered an event from her first life: in the final days before the realm closed, a super-grade pill spirit essence would appear in the core region. It was a legendary treasure formed from Heaven-tier spiritual fruits and Earth-tier herbs, capable of awakening spirit bodies or even saint bodies.
In her previous life, the cultivator who found it hadn't recognized its value. They sold it for twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones.
When it resurfaced years later, after people realized what it was, the price had climbed to seven hundred thousand medium-grade spirit stones.
She had emptied her family's coffers to bring one hundred fifty thousand medium-grade spirit stones on this trip. Her plan was simple: camp at the exit of the core region and buy every single pill spirit essence that emerged in those final days.
One of them would be the legendary pill. She was certain. But now, watching that young man disappear into the distance...
"I never heard of anyone like him in my previous life," she whispered.
A cultivator that young, with access to Heaven-tier treasures...
She had known of every major power, rising star, and hidden genius.
But none of them matched Alexei's description.
Which meant either he died young in her previous timeline, or something had changed between this life and the last.
The thought was unsettling.
What else has changed?
---
[POV: Alexei]
Alexei had been flying for three straight days, and he was starting to form some opinions about the people in this realm.
Specifically, a lot of them were assholes.
On the first day alone, five different cultivators had tried to rob him. Different groups, different tactics, but the same basic idea. He was alone, he looked young, and they thought they could take his things.
He had defended himself.
The Thorns enchantment on his armor did all the work. Anyone who struck him took damage in return, scaled to the force of their attack. The harder they hit, the worse it hurt.
All of them died from their own blows.
He felt bad for about thirty seconds. Then he remembered they had tried to kill him for his belongings, and the feeling passed.
As for why he wore armor in the first place, that lesson came early. After his first hostile encounter, he realized it didn't matter whether he displayed valuable artifacts or not. Most cultivators would attack regardless, especially because of spatial artifacts.
Nearly everyone carried one, and they could be hidden. Just because a cultivator showed nothing of value didn't mean they had nothing. More often than not, their treasures were simply stored away.
So people attacked first and asked questions later, targeting anyone who looked like easy prey.
And Alexei, traveling alone, fit that role perfectly.
But the problem started with the fifth group.
Their leader had been some arrogant prick who introduced himself as the "Holy Son of the Radiant Peak Sect" or something equally pretentious. The guy had been Foundation Establishment, and apparently thought that gave him the right to demand Alexei hand over all his possessions.
Killing a sect's Holy Son was no small matter, so Alexei had intended to avoid trouble. Unfortunately, Holy Son Douchebag took offense at his armor and chose to attack.
The Thorns enchantment activated. The reflected damage hit him. He died instantly, his body crumpling mid-air and falling into the forest below.
His followers rushed in right after him. They met the same end.
Alexei dealt with the bodies using lava. When he was done, nothing remained.
That should have been the end of it.
Instead, things only became more complicated.
He had no idea how the Radiant Peak Sect traced it back to him. Technically speaking, the Holy Son had killed himself. But explanations meant nothing. His followers hadn't come to reason. They attacked on sight.
Within hours, more than thirty cultivators from the Radiant Peak Sect had converged on his location, all of them screaming about vengeance and justice and bringing him before their sect master for judgment.
They had been chasing him for two days straight.
At first, Alexei thought he could just outfly them. The Pale Sky Blade was faster than anything they had.
But the pursuit was relentless. They worked in shifts, some flying while others rested on spirit boats, rotating to maintain constant pressure.
And they had adapted to his tactics.
After the first few pursuers died to Thorns damage, the rest figured out the pattern: don't attack directly. Use formations and binding treasures to immobilize him, then capture him alive for interrogation.
Which was smart, tactically speaking. Also extremely annoying.
Alexei had no good counter to formations. His best option was to avoid getting caught in the first place, which meant staying ahead of the pursuit.
But that was getting harder.
The spiritual energy density in this realm was high enough that cultivators could fly indefinitely without exhausting themselves. And while his sword was fast, it wasn't fast enough to completely lose a coordinated group of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
They were closing in.
I need to deal with them all at once, Alexei thought. I can't keep running if I want to explore this place.