CHAPTER 67: HEAVEN PIERCING PAGODA

As they drew closer to the towering pagoda, two familiar figures came into view—Gao Fei and Wei Zhen.

"You three are finally here," Gao Fei said with his usual goofy grin.

Tian Lei nodded. "Looks like you two have good hauls."

"Yeah, fortunately we spawned together and worked our way up the trials," Gao Fei said proudly.

"Only three hours left for Pagoda to open now," Wei Zhen added with a small shake of his head. "But it’s good we all made it here before the pagoda opens. This is when other sects start springing ambushes on anyone carrying a large number of tokens."

Sure enough, the base of the pagoda was swarming with disciples from every major sect in the secret realm. Some groups matched their number—five members each—while others had fewer or more, their sizes reflecting their sect’s rank.

King-grade sects were typically allotted five entries into the secret realm. Those of lower grade had fewer slots, while the highest-ranking sects were granted more.

"Let’s remain at the edges," Tian Lei advised quietly. "If we’re unlucky, more than one sect might try to gang up on us."

They all nodded, shifting toward a less crowded spot while a few curious eyes followed their movements.

Soon, a group dressed in gold-and-white robes approached. The air around them carried a faint divine pressure, marking them as members of the Golden Heaven Palace—a renowned all-female sect.

"Well, hello, fellow disciples," their leader greeted with a faint smile. She was a striking beauty with sleek black hair and an air of quiet authority.

Tian Lei merely glanced at her, while Xiao Rou leaned closer to whisper, "She’s the palace leader, and the Golden Heaven Palace sect master’s direct disciple. Her reputation’s... not exactly friendly to men."

Tian Lei gave no reply, his gaze fixed entirely on the looming pagoda ahead. Xiao Rou, however, offered the palace leader a courteous nod—though she didn’t miss the faint flicker of irritation in the woman’s eyes at being ignored so completely.

The leader chose not to pursue the slight. Instead, she and her entourage took their place some distance away, their attention alternating between the pagoda’s sealed gates and the people gathered around it.

Yet, while her eyes wandered, they inevitably returned to Tian Lei. Something about him was... odd. Most men in his position would at least sneak a glance at her—if not more—but he didn’t so much as acknowledge her presence.

"Who is he?" she murmured to Xiao Rou, her voice low enough to be drowned by the murmurs of the crowd.

"Just like you, he’s our sect master’s direct disciple," Xiao Rou replied evenly.

The leader—Feng Qin—visibly stilled at the name. She had heard many tales of Mu Qinxue’s peerless beauty, often compared to the first blush of sunrise spilling across a distant horizon. That a man could stand before her and remain utterly unmoved was... remarkable.

"How is he so unaffected?" she pressed.

Xiao Rou’s lips curved faintly. "His physique is equally powerful. He can restrain her charm, it have no effect on him."

Feng Qin gave a small nod, but the glimmer in her eyes betrayed the truth—her curiosity toward Tian Lei had only grown sharper. What sort of man could resist a woman whose beauty was said to topple Empires?

But she kept her thoughts to herself, turning her focus back to the pagoda—this was far more important than idle speculation.

Hours crawled by until, at last, a deep rumble rolled through the air. The heavy gates of the pagoda shuddered and began to part, stone grinding against stone. No one moved at first; wary eyes flicked from rival to rival, each party waiting for another to make the first move.

Finally, a group stepped forward. Their robes bore the unmistakable insignia of a Sacred Land—its prestige made plain by the ten people in their group. As they advanced, another faction emerged from the opposite side.

Tian Lei’s brow furrowed slightly. There were only two Sacred Lands under the empire’s banner, and both had come.

The first was the Radiant Sun Sacred Land, the orthodox pillar of martial virtue and light.

The second—drawing a ripple of unease through the crowd—was the Holy Devil Sacred Land.

Unlike its counterpart, the Holy Devil Sacred Land walked the shadowed path, reviled and whispered about in disgust. Its sects were infamous for their unorthodox, taboo practices—refining corpses into puppets, bending wills with mind-controlling arts, and, most abhorrently, using human captives as so-called "furnaces" to fuel their cultivation.

"Those devil bastards are here too..." Xiao Rou muttered under her breath. Meng Shen quickly tried to stop her but it was too late.

Among the ten members of the Holy Devil Sacred Land, one of them had heard her—a young man with a face far too calm for his age, his lifeless eyes locking onto her like a predator marking prey. He shifted his gaze, as he scanned her body up and down which irked Tian Lei as he saw his expression as it remined him of Xiao Feng.

Tian Lei didn’t know this man personally, but the look in his eyes was unmistakable. It was the same twisted gleam he had once seen on the face of the Grandson of the Heavenly Sword sect’s Grand Elder—right before he had spoken about Yuyan. Tian Lei’s expression remained composed, but inside, he was already restraining himself.

The boy took a step toward Xiao Rou. His lips curled slightly, not in a smile, but in something colder—something that promised harm.

Xiao Rou’s heart pounded, her bravado vanishing. "I... I’m sorry," she stammered.

Meng Shen sighed, stepping forward. In an instant, Gao Ge and Wei Zhen moved as well, their auras flaring.

"Move back," Meng Shen said, voice dropping to a lethal chill. "Or all of you will die here."

The boy froze, then glanced over his shoulder. The others from the Holy Devil Sacred Land began to stir.

A mocking laugh cut through the tension.

"Ahahaha... a mere King-grade sect dares tell us to back off? Hahahaha!"

The voice dripped with arrogance—Thyela, a disciple of the Holy Devil Sacred Land, stepped forward.

"What did you just say about our sacred land?" he demanded, eyes narrowing at Xiao Rou.

"I... I’m sorry," she stammered.

He tilted his head mockingly. "I didn’t hear you."

The humiliation in his tone made Meng Shen’s fists tighten, but no one moved. They couldn’t. This was the Holy Devil Sacred Land—a very powerful sect with better techniques than them, and they had ten disciples here while Tian Lei’s group had only five. Both in quantity and quality, they were at a disadvantage.

Xiao Rou drew in a trembling breath, ready to repeat herself—

SLAP!

A loud crack rang out, but it wasn’t Xiao Rou who was struck.

Thyela staggered back, his cheek red and swelling, the air still humming from the force of the blow.

"You stink. Move back," Tian Lei said flatly, lowering his hand.

The Holy Devil Sacred Land disciples erupted in fury.

"Kill him!" one snarled, stepping forward—

"Hell Breath."

Tian Lei’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

A strange, pitch-black mist poured from his mouth, curling across the ground and winding between the enemy disciples before they could react.

"Aaaghhh—w-what’s... my... eyes... missing—!?"

"My... meridians...!"

"M-my hands... I can’t... move...!"

One by one, the Holy Devil disciples froze in place, bodies trembling as the black mist coiled tighter around them.

The crowd watching from a distance went utterly silent. Moments ago, they had expected to see the Azure Feather Sect humiliated—yet in a single move, Tian Lei had reversed the situation completely.

The mist seemed to eat away at the disciples’ skin, their robes fraying and flesh blistering as if corroded by some invisible acid. Screams and choked sobs filled the air.

Even the Azure Feather Sect’s own members stared in disbelief.

"Let’s go," Tian Lei said simply, stepping past the writhing enemies. Without sparing them another glance, he reached for the storage ring of a collapsed Holy Devil disciple. The man, still screaming in agony, could do nothing to resist.

Those nearby instinctively backed away, unwilling to test the reach of that black mist.

"Hell Breath... what kind of art is that?" someone whispered.

"Azure Feather Sect... aren’t they supposed to be a righteous sect? That art feels... sinister."

A few of the Holy Devil Sacred Land disciples, now little more than trembling heaps on the ground, clutched at ruined limbs and shrieked in terror. No one dared step forward.

After taking all their tokens, Tian Lei stepped over the fallen challengers and continued toward the Pagoda. No one dared to block his path. Though they were not from a Sacred Land, the pressure they exuded was even greater than one.

"Hey, wait for us! We’re allies!" Feng Qin called as the Golden Heaven Palace disciples hurried after them into the Pagoda gate.

Tian Lei said nothing. When the Holy Devil Sect had been about to strike earlier, both the Azure Feather Sect and the Golden Heaven Palace had stood ready to fight together.

Now, thanks to Tian Lei’s overwhelming strength, both sects entered the Pagoda without a single ambush—an impossible feat for anyone short of a Sacred Land. The King-grade sect like them would normally face countless attacks, yet Tian Lei had made this possible with a single move.