Chapter 172: Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain!

In a marshland over eight thousand li outside Xuanguang City.

This place was covered in swamps, with greenish-gray miasma constantly drifting among some of the forests.

Even during broad daylight, sunlight could not penetrate this place.

And now it was exactly midnight, making it appear especially eerie and ghostly!

Gu Fan held the sensing jade pendant in his hand, looked up at the moon that had blurred beyond visibility in the sky, and muttered to himself:

"Looks like from here onward, it's already the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain. If what the Qiao Family people said is true, this Secret Realm is the very place where the Three Families plotted to kill the Qiao Family Old Ancestor."

"Only, the Qiao Family Old Ancestor was too powerful. Not only did he survive, he even retreated with the remaining family members into the depths of the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain..."

Gu Fan looked at the increasingly dense miasma in the distance, feeling a bit of a headache.

Miasma itself wasn't fatal, but it constantly affected one’s condition.

It was like a negative battle buff in a game, continuously reducing all your attributes.

Gu Fan thought for a moment and tried using Mysterious Power to protect himself.

But the moment the miasma came into contact with the Mysterious Power, it surged forward instead, as if it were attracted to it.

He immediately reversed the Mysterious Power and drew out a wisp of Spiritual Power that he could barely mobilize from his Qi Sea.

As he had expected, all the miasma fled like avoiding venomous snakes and scorpions, quickly dispersing from around him.

"Completely crazy about Mysterious Power. That’s why the Qiao Family said that within the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain, it's best to avoid fighting if possible—because the fluctuations from using Mysterious Power in combat will also attract countless miasma..."

"Spiritual Power is referred to as Degenerate Energy in this world, so the miasma stays away..."

Gu Fan chuckled. This was quite an interesting discovery.

He then took out a Spirit Stone and noticed that the miasma showed no fear at its appearance.

This led to a clear conclusion: the Spiritual Energy within Spirit Stones or Yuan Crystal Stones, unless actively drawn out, had no effect on the miasma.

This was also why no one over the years had discovered that Degenerate Energy could repel miasma.

Because no one could draw out Degenerate Energy directly from Spirit Stones or Yuan Crystal Stones.

Thinking of this, Gu Fan held a Yuan Crystal Stone, maintaining the consumption of his Spiritual Power while continuing to venture deeper inside.

Having discovered the effect of Spiritual Power, he now felt increasingly confident.

As long as the miasma remained present, any enemies he encountered would be affected.

In fact, if he dragged things out long enough, he might even be able to take on opponents at the Solar Radiance Realm.

After all, in the miasma, he could remain immune.

Meanwhile, inside one of the caves within the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain.

The area was thick with miasma, damp, and occasionally saw the appearance of strange beasts.

Within the cave, seven or eight people were currently resting.

Each of them bore injuries to varying degrees. The most seriously wounded had already lost an arm and looked utterly despondent.

Just then, a disciple rushed into the cave from outside.

"Old Ancestor, the other side hasn’t pursued us for now. We can take a moment to rest here."

The old man addressed as Old Ancestor slowly opened his eyes, a hint of melancholy flashing within them.

It had been over five days since he had used a secret technique to contact the Qiao Family’s inner circle.

He already knew that the situation at the Qiao Residence was far from optimistic—they were surrounded by the Three Families and could only enter, not leave.

It was clear this method was meant to force them to come out.

"Old Ancestor, we can’t keep going like this. If they catch up to us again, we’ll be forced into the core region of the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain. At that point, we won’t need the Three Families to exterminate us. The strange beasts inside alone are enough to wipe us all out!"

The Qiao Family Head spoke in a heavy tone about their current predicament, clearly very worried about the next course of action.

Everyone, after hearing the Qiao Family Head’s analysis, turned to look at the Qiao Family Old Ancestor in the center.

At this moment, every decision made by the Qiao Family Old Ancestor determined whether they could continue to live a little longer.

The Qiao Family Old Ancestor also knew that his current role was not merely as the sole Solar Radiance Realm mighty one.

More importantly, he was now serving as the spiritual pillar for everyone.

Once he fell, no one would be able to walk out alive.

And now...

The Qiao Family Old Ancestor assessed his own condition.

His physical body was moderately injured, and the invasion of miasma into his body had already affected his strength. Compared to his peak state, he could only exert seventy to eighty percent of his power.

However, the Solar Radiance Realm experts from the other Three Families were in the same situation—miasma spared no one.

Among the four Solar Radiance Realm Old Ancestors from the four families, his strength was considered the strongest.

Even he had been so severely affected. It was likely that the other three, under the influence of the miasma, could at best maintain sixty to seventy percent of their power.

Yet even so, when faced with the siege of three people, all he could do was flee with all his might.

Once entangled, his death would only be a matter of time.

Thinking of this, the Qiao Family Old Ancestor's gaze grew slightly solemn.

"We must not venture further into the depths of White Luo Mountain. Otherwise, let alone you all, even I won't be able to withstand the increasingly dense miasma."

Everyone nodded. Even now, their strength had been greatly reduced due to the miasma’s invasion.

If they went any deeper, combined with the attacks of strange beasts, there would be no way to survive.

"Right now, there’s only one way we might escape. But whether we live, and how many survive—all will depend on fate!"

The Qiao Family Head’s expression stiffened upon hearing these words.

He had thought of a certain possibility, and his tone turned urgent:

"Old Ancestor, you mean..."

"That’s right. White Clear Pool!"

Upon hearing this, everyone except the Old Ancestor and the Family Head looked at each other in confusion.

"White Clear Pool? What place is that?"

"Unclear, Old Ancestor, this..."

At this moment, the Qiao Family Head raised his hand, cutting off everyone's questions.

"Old Ancestor, do we really have to go that far?"

"Shaoyang, unless absolutely necessary, I would never take such a gamble. But tell me—do you think we still have another chance?"

"Even if I can escape the siege of the three enemies, what about all of you?"

The Qiao Family Head fell silent for a moment.

"Perhaps the Old Ancestor could leave alone. As for our lives and deaths..."

"Nonsense! The Qiao Family is not mine alone. Your generation is the main force of the Qiao Family moving forward. If all of you fall here, the Qiao Family will have no successors, and a gap will form between the old and new generations!"

"Even if I, a Solar Radiance Realm, can barely keep the Qiao Family from destruction, it would only be temporary. Eventually, it would still fall into ruin. Rather than slowly withering away, we should gamble everything now. If we succeed, the Qiao Family will weather this crisis. If we fail, at most we’ve lost a few more years of lingering survival!"

After speaking, the Qiao Family Old Ancestor paused, then glanced around at the people beside him.

"Tell them about it—the situation at White Clear Pool!"

Seeing this, the Qiao Family Head stopped hesitating and turned to explain to the others who were still unaware:

"White Clear Pool is a tunnel that the Old Ancestor and I accidentally discovered during our exploration of the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain. At the bottom of the pool lies an underground river leading to the outside world. If we can successfully enter the main current of that underground river, we can ride the flow straight out to Heqing Lake, which is six hundred li away from the Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain. That way, we can leave the Secret Realm without anyone knowing."

"Even if the forces of the Three Families turn the entire Secret Realm of White Luo Mountain upside down, they won’t know we’ve already left."

"We might even be able to launch a surprise counterattack and strike directly at Xuanguang City, destroying their stronghold!"

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

There really was such a passage. But in the next instant, they realized there must be hidden risks—otherwise, the Old Ancestor could have led them there long ago. Why wait until now?

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