The next day.
Early in the morning, the young representatives of various forces flocked to the entrance of the Secret Realm in the Chu Kingdom, each securing their position, quietly waiting for the Secret Realm to open.
"I heard that the Wu Family Head's only daughter in the Central Domain has died, and the culprit is this year's Dragon Head Leader. Wu Xiongfei is on his way here. Do you think the Dragon Head Leader can survive?!"
"He should be able to survive for a while. After all, the Secret Realm is about to open, and the Wu Family Head is rushing here in a hurry, definitely won't make it in time. Plus, the Dragon Head Leader has a Key, so he should be able to hide in the Secret Realm for a while."
"I heard that Wu Zhiyuan, the nephew of the Wu Family Head, who is designated as the next Wu Family Head, said yesterday that he would block the Dragon Head Leader outside the Secret Realm and won't let him in."
"If that's the case, then the Dragon Head Leader is really in trouble."
During the waiting time for the Secret Realm to open, those who already had the Secret Realm Key casually chatted away while leisurely waiting.
Meanwhile, some people looked around with eyes holding a hint of killing intent, vigilantly observing those standing on the outermost perimeter.
These people were not only members of the Wu Family searching for Mu Jinyu's whereabouts to avenge Wu Yumeng,
but also those who hadn't gotten a Key early on, preparing to seize it when those holding the Key try to enter the Secret Realm upon its opening.
This group originally wouldn't consider Mu Jinyu as a target, since they absolutely couldn't afford to provoke the Heavenly Palace.
But after Mu Jinyu decisively killed Wu Yumeng with one sword yesterday, they turned their sights on Mu Jinyu.
Should they manage to kill Mu Jinyu during the chaos, they would gain favor with the Wu Family, acquire the Key to enter the Secret Realm to compete for the Hedao Fruit, and not incur the wrath of the Heavenly Palace—it's an opportunity not to be missed.
Of course, it's only those with the strength who consider themselves not inferior to monsters like Mu Jinyu who dare to target him.
The majority, in fact, still don't dare to provoke Mu Jinyu. Even now, in his state akin to a stray, he is not someone ordinary people can bully.
As long as the forces behind them don't have a powerful figure in the Unity Realm Stage and are not confident in killing Mu Jinyu with a single strike, allowing him to leave alive would surely spell huge disaster for their forces.
"If that guy dares to show up here today, I'll crush him alive with one hand to comfort my cousin Yumeng's spirit in heaven!"
At this moment, a young man, occupying a good spot, seemed to hear the discussions and spoke with a sinister expression.
The crowd turned to look at the young man, displaying various emotions—mockery, admiration, expectation...
This young man was none other than Wu Zhiyuan, the top candidate for the next Wu Family Head.
At the age of sixty-three, he had been at the Peak Ninth Layer of the Fanxu Realm for ten years.
He was an unparalleled monster, no less than Ji Changxin, but since he was over sixty years old, he couldn't participate in the Hidden Dragon Conference.
After hearing the news of the Hedao Fruit, he decided to come here in person, aiming to pick several Hedao Fruits to help himself and some other Wu Family members stuck at the Peak Ninth Layer of the Fanxu Realm breakthrough to the Unity Realm Stage.
Wu Yumeng, who was only in the Eighth Level of the Fanxu Realm and was highly favored by the Wu Family, wanted to follow along but was naturally refused by everyone.
In the end, Wu Yumeng decided to sneak over to play, leading to yesterday's tragedy.
Therefore, upon learning the news, Wu Zhiyuan was very remorseful and self-blaming. If his cousin had followed him, how could he have allowed such a thing to happen?
This morning, he arrived early at the Secret Realm entrance to block Mu Jinyu, determined to kill him if he dares to come, avenging his cousin!
As time slowly passed, under the expectant and excited eyes of the crowd, the entrance of the Secret Realm finally trembled slightly, allowing those with a Key to enter.
"That guy didn't come!"
"He probably left the Chu Kingdom!"
"It's also a wise choice. With his talent, even without the Hedao Fruit, he's destined to breakthrough to the Hedao Phase, just a few years later. But now the Wu Family is determined to kill him, and it's hard to withstand their fury; he might as well endure it for a while, and when he advances to the Hedao Phase, he can reverse the situation and even the Wu Family can't do anything to him!"
"Ah, what a pity, no good show to watch..."
Seeing the Secret Realm open and not spotting Mu Jinyu, the crowd couldn't help but feel disappointed and sighed.
Then, some people, considering that while many stayed outside the Secret Realm awaiting Mu Jinyu and the Wu Family's clash, thought they might as well seize the opportunity to enter the Secret Realm first and see if they have a chance to grab the Hedao Fruit.
Therefore, some people, tired of waiting with Wu Zhiyuan, stood up and pressed their Key onto the Stele, and then the light screen appeared, swallowing them inside.
Seeing someone make the first move, others feared falling behind and began hurriedly using their Keys, pressing them onto the Stele to enter the Secret Realm.
Seeing this, Wu Zhiyuan's eyes flashed as he hesitated whether to continue waiting outside the Secret Realm for Mu Jinyu to appear.
Then he thought about it: Anyway, it's only half a day's time, and even if these people go in first, they probably won't have the chance to get the Hedao Fruit. By then, Uncle Wu Xiongfei will arrive, and the revenge can be left to him.
So, he continued standing guard at the entrance, his eyes vigilantly sweeping over those heading to the Stele to enter the Secret Realm.
He had to keep an eye out in case Mu Jinyu had disguised himself to sneak in.
"Kill!"
At this moment, a thunderous shout of "kill" erupted from a distance, and soon intense fighting broke out among many people.
The reason for this was the appearance of some loose cultivators holding Keys, attempting to enter the Secret Realm, and naturally attracting those ready to rob them.
"Things sure are chaotic, but at least I'm not too late."
About three hundred meters away from the Secret Realm entrance in the small forest, Mu Jinyu arrived with Wen Rou, Jian Ruyan, and a disguised Zhuo Yue.
He naturally wouldn't choose to avoid the sharp edge, avoiding the fight for the Hedao Fruit.
Originally, he planned to come alone without bringing Wen Rou and the others, but since many assassins showed up to kill him, he feared dangers might arise for Wen Rou and the others after he left, with no good arrangements for their safety. Consequently, he decided to bring them along.
Upon arriving, he saw a group in a fierce struggle for Keys to the Secret Realm, which made him feel the grim reality of it all.
"He's here!"
As Mu Jinyu let out a soft sigh, a group of people fighting suddenly recognized him, and someone couldn't help exclaiming in shock.
"Kill!"
Some forces with connections to the Wu Family saw Mu Jinyu appear, and their eyes flashed with killing intent. They immediately took action without hesitation, forcing their way towards Jian Ruyan, Wen Rou, and Zhuo Yue.
They aimed to make Mu Jinyu scrupulous about causing harm to the others, eventually perishing under their siege.
They couldn't help but sneer in their hearts, thinking that even having offended the Wu Family and having no place in the world, he still dared to bring three useless people over. Did he think this was a leisurely outing?
"Tsk!"
Mu Jinyu flicked his fingers, shooting out strands of Sword Light, instantly killing the group attacking him under his sword.
Afterward, Mu Jinyu extended his hand and summoned two Keys from the bodies of the dead.
They had just killed two loose cultivators to snatch the Keys, already preparing to enter the Secret Realm, but upon seeing Mu Jinyu, they couldn't resist trying to get an extra Key so their subordinates could enter the Secret Realm too.
Unfortunately, due to this unnecessary greed, not only did they hand over the keys they had just robbed to Mu Jinyu, but they also forfeited their lives too.