Inside the Secret Realm.
Mu Jinyu was pale as death, covered in blood, with only the upper half of his torso remaining, lying in a wasteland littered with rubble.
He bit back the excruciating pain, refusing to pass out, but felt like his body was on the verge of exploding into a mess of blood and flesh.
His two legs, not having made it through the curtain of light, were severed when Wu Xiongfei's pressure forced him into the spatial passage ahead of time, cutting his body in half right there and then.
The agony was truly unspeakable.
Mu Jinyu had never experienced such pain.
Throughout his battles, he'd suffered many wounds and even turned into a bloodied figure with cracks all over his body during a fight against Ye Wushuang on Yinlong Mountain.
But he had never suffered the horror of losing a limb.
Especially since, when the spatial passage was pressured by Wu Xiongfei, things became extremely unstable within. Chaotic turbulence surged, and if not for the Bi Fang Cauldron protecting his remaining upper body, he might have perished inside, torn to shreds by the tumult.
Fortunately, he realized the situation was dire and quickly operated the "Green Emperor's Wood Emperor Art", using Life Source Energy to protect his body, and after his physical body shattered, he was able to reconstruct himself swiftly, otherwise, he would not have survived.
"Wu Family, if I don't die today, one day I will visit your Wu Family for a proper reckoning…"
Mu Jinyu's consciousness was somewhat foggy, yet he was still gritting his teeth in his heart.
Afterward, he mustered all the spirit he could, avoiding falling into unconsciousness, as he feared he'd truly perish, fervently operating the Profound Skill to heal his injuries with Life Source Energy.
After an unknown passage of time, Mu Jinyu felt his wounds had improved significantly, even if he passed out, he wouldn't be in danger anymore. His head slumped as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
Before descending into darkness, a strange thought crossed his mind.
'How odd, why haven't I heard Wen Rou and the others?'
Time eluded him.
Mu Jinyu finally awoke faintly, eyes vacant, his face deadly pale, his spirit looking extremely depleted and feeble.
But he no longer appeared as he did when he first arrived here, on the brink of death, with an aura of death approaching.
"I'm not dead…"
Mu Jinyu finally recalled what had happened not long ago.
He faced a formidable superpower at the later stage of the Hedao Realm and survived by sheer luck under their furious onslaught…
"Wu Family…"
Mu Jinyu's gaze barely regained a bit of spirit, he muttered lowly, a glint of coldness passing through his eyes, yet he didn't utter any harsh words, merely etched the Wu Family's enormous debt into his memory.
He had no prior dealings with the Wu Family, had no grievances against them, but the Wu Family's heavenly maiden Wu Yumeng was arrogant and venomous, purposefully hinting they carried a Secret Realm Key, enticing others to attack them, a heart wrought with malice.
He uncovered her vile intentions, yet she feigned innocence, pretending not to understand his allegations.
In indignation, he slew her in a burst of impulse, yet he felt justified.
Yet, the Wu Family disregarded the reasons behind their enmity, pursuing him relentlessly.
This enmity, Mu Jinyu remembered well.
Then, suppressing jumbled thoughts and murderous intent, Mu Jinyu lowered his head to inspect the area below his waist.
Where his gaze fell was a barren wasteland.
His legs were gone.
When treating his injuries earlier, Mu Jinyu had only forced his Life Source Energy to heal life-threatening injuries to prevent dying a senseless death during his coma. He had neither the Life Source Energy nor the stamina to reconstruct his severed legs.
"Let's start with regenerating the limbs..."
Mu Jinyu felt extremely weak, as he retrieved numerous elixirs from his storage bag and consumed them, feeling slightly better.
He then officially operated the Life Source Energy, aiming to regenerate his severed legs.
Mu Jinyu had experience with limb regeneration, having healed two individuals before, a Great Elder of the Heavenly Sword Faction and Zhuo Yue.
Yet he never imagined the day when he would need to heal himself.
After more than a Shichen went by.
Mu Jinyu at last witnessed his limbs regenerate.
However, this also caused his pale complexion to turn even paler.
Mu Jinyu got back on his feet, attempting a few steps, finding no particular discomfort.
After all, he wasn't someone who had been bedridden for decades, that reconstructing his legs would make him forget how to walk.
Then, Mu Jinyu turned his gaze around, but did not see Wen Rou, Jian Ruyan, or Zhuo Yue nearby.
"They're not here..."
Mu Jinyu's Divine Sense was still sharp, after probing around, he found out the three of them had never been around.
This meant that they hadn't regrouped after entering the Secret Realm.
Mu Jinyu could now understand why no one came to care for him while he was in such misery.
"No, wait, I remember Zhuo Yue saying that after entering the Secret Realm, we would gather in one spot, not be randomly transmitted and separated."
Mu Jinyu then furrowed his brows, muttering in bewilderment.
There are generally two types of transmission passages into the Secret Realm, one wherein regardless of the number of entrants, everyone gathers in the same location.
The other transmits randomly, where two people entering hand in hand might find themselves separately transmitted to various spots within the Secret Realm.
This particular Secret Realm holding the Hedao Fruit, as Zhuo Yue claimed, supposedly had a passage that doesn't transmit entrants randomly, ensuring everyone gathers in one place.
Yet now, he found himself alone, apart from everyone else.
"Did I really enter the Secret Realm?"
Mu Jinyu suddenly felt uncertain.
Since his upper body entered the curtain of light then, there was still time before he would enter the Secret Realm.
But due to Wu Xiongfei's pressure, the transmission accelerated significantly, which also caused his legs to be severed across different spaces.
Likewise, after entering the spatial passage, it was extraordinarily unstable, nearly causing his demise in the void.
Hence, he wasn't sure if he had truly entered the Secret Realm, or had been transmitted somewhere within the Kunlun Ruins.
"No matter what, let's explore the vicinity first!"
Mu Jinyu put away the slightly dimmed Bi Fang Cauldron, storing it within his Dantian, using Life Source Energy to nurture it, before attempting to fly across the deserted land, in search of people to ascertain his location.
Yet he found himself unable to fly.
"There's a flight prohibition here?!"
Mu Jinyu's expression shifted slightly.
He hadn't heard of any flying prohibitions within the Secret Realm?
Taking this into account, the possibility of him being in a different part of the Kunlun Ruins seemed larger.
Of course, it could also be sheer misfortune that brought him to the most dangerous locale within the Secret Realm.
Therefore, what many perceived as a straightforward territory to navigate, became fraught with peril for him, unable even to fly.
"Better set out and explore."
Mu Jinyu's expression turned solemn as he cautiously walked out of the wasteland.
Along the way, he indeed discovered several highly perilous and concealed restrictions, ones that even someone like Wu Qiyuan or Ji Ran in the False Merged Path Realm could end up dying in if carelessly stepped upon.
And Mu Jinyu's proficiency in forbidden formations was commendable, allowing him to cautiously evade these prohibitions and safely depart the wasteland.