Chapter 286: A Fishing Net to Catch a Dragon

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: A Fishing Net to Catch a Dragon

"Little Duke, I just saw Chu Fan and that disciple from the Celestial Dao Palace."

By a riverbank in the Secret Realm, Guo Zi’s party had gathered with a group of Sect disciples led by a man named Du Xiuli.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, Du Xiuli spoke to Guo Zi.

"The Secret Realm is only so big. Isn’t it perfectly normal to run into them?" Guo Zi said nonchalantly, his expression blank.

Du Xiuli whispered in his ear, "I only saw the two of them. I didn’t see Wei Mian or His Highness the Imperial Grandson."

"Oh?" Guo Zi looked at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"We followed them for a while," Du Xiuli said. "They were hunting beasts the entire way, but we never saw the other three. I figure they had a falling out with the Imperial Grandson and split up."

"I heard that Chu Fan is wildly arrogant. They say he not only addresses His Highness the Imperial Grandson by name, but has even talked back to you, Little Duke. I think this is our chance."

Guo Zi stared at him, his gaze chilling. "Are you trying to use me?" he said coldly.

Du Xiuli hurriedly replied, "Little Duke, how can you say that? I have no grudge against Chu Fan. If it weren’t for this Secret Realm, I would never have even met him. There’s no reason for me to use you against him. Besides, I know my own limits. How would I dare offend you? In fact, if you want to deal with him, Little Duke, I can lead my men and be the vanguard for you. How about it?"

"Is His Highness really not with him?" Guo Zi asked, his frigid gaze returning to normal.

Du Xiuli nodded. "I’d never crossed paths with him before, but in the month or two leading up to this trip to the Secret Realm, he was all anyone in the Cultivation Sects could talk about. He reached the Divine Separation Realm at such a young age and even broke into the top twenty of the Talent List. It’s only natural he’d be arrogant. Plenty of young geniuses out there are looking for a piece of him. The Talent List is supposed to be for the great young talents of our Central Domain. What right does some barbarian from the Eastern Domain have to be on it?"

Guo Zi’s eyes lit up, and a plan began to form in his mind.

He said, "Chu Fan got into the Secret Realm on the Crown Prince’s authority. He’s been attached to the Imperial Grandson’s hip ever since we arrived. Thinking back on the rumors about the Imperial Grandson’s serious illness, I’d wager there’s a Spirit Medicine in here that can save him. Or perhaps Chu Fan has already used the blood of that White Fox of his to save the Imperial Grandson once. Either way, entry into the Secret Realm was the greatest reward the Crown Prince could have given an Eastern Barbarian like him. The fact that the Imperial Grandson has now left him proves he is no longer of any use."

"Little Duke, your perception is truly sharp. You saw through it all in an instant," Du Xiuli flattered.

Guo Zi waved a dismissive hand. "If that’s the case, let’s teach him a harsh lesson in this Secret Realm. Better yet, let’s get him thrown out. The Hua Xu Secret Realm is a place of fortune for the Hua Xu People. How can we let an outsider reap the rewards? But it’s not convenient for us nobles to participate directly, since he’s here with the Crown Prince’s blessing. You, on the other hand, are a different story. If you’re the ones to handle him, we can smooth things over and speak for you, even if the Crown Prince is displeased later. If we do it ourselves, however, and he gets angry... well, there’ll be no one to defend us. Do you follow me?"

Du Xiuli nodded eagerly. "I understand perfectly. Little Duke, just tell us what to do."

"All of us who were allowed into this Secret Realm have sworn an oath of loyalty to the Royal Family. So, you can go find disciples from other Sects. Tell them about how Chu Fan disrespects the Imperial Grandson and even addresses him by name. Then tell them that Chu Fan has angered the Imperial Grandson and that they’ve gone their separate ways. The Hua Xu Secret Realm holds many opportunities, but these are the treasures of the people of our Central Domain Hua Xu Empire. The opportunities are finite. Every prize that outsider gets is one less for our own people."

Guo Zi finished with a suggestive eyebrow raise at Du Xiuli.

"Got it. I’m on it."

"Young Hero Du, do you have any interest in military life? For example, leading tens of thousands of troops across the battlefield?" Guo Zi asked suddenly.

Hearing this, Du Xiuli was secretly overjoyed. "Ever since I was young," he said, "I’ve admired the magnificent image of your grandfather, Duke He, leading his grand army of a million men."

"If you handle this matter well, once we’re out of the Secret Realm, I can recommend you to the West Victory Army to start as a General."

Overjoyed, Du Xiuli led his men away.

Once Du Xiuli was gone, Guo Zi said to the others, "Split into teams of two and search for His Highness the Imperial Grandson. If you run into any other nobles, have them join the search as well. Whether you find him or not, gather back here in two days. Tell them it’s my order."

"Brother Guo, what’s happened?"

"Chu Fan and His Highness the Imperial Grandson have gone their separate ways. I’m worried His Highness might be in danger. After all, his Cultivation is the lowest of anyone who entered the Secret Realm this time."

"Brother Guo, if we had known this would happen, we should have taught that bastard Chu Fan a lesson on the very first day we entered the Secret Realm. We could have guarded the Imperial Grandson ourselves," a middle-aged man said.

Guo Zi waved his hand. "There’s no point in saying that now. Besides, we can’t be blamed for this. Just get to it. The sooner we find His Highness, the sooner he’ll be safe."

At that moment, Chu Fan and Yan Ying were gleefully slaughtering their way through a horde of beasts.

The White Fox nestled in Chu Fan’s arms, in particular, had a new tail that had already grown to the same size as its original one, and the tip of a third tail was just starting to poke through.

Of course, Chu Fan had no idea that he was about to become the enemy of the vast majority of people training in the Secret Realm.

Then again, with his current level of Cultivation, he wouldn’t have cared even if he did know.

Never mind that he was now at the Void Realm; even back when he was at the Integration Realm, he wouldn’t have been afraid.

The Inner Lion Seal’s Divine Technique was no joke. And in the worst-case scenario, he could use the Inner Binding Seal’s Invisibility Technique. Who would be able to find him then?

’Integration Realm Tier Eight already? That was fast.’

Of course it was fast. He and Yan Ying were hunting beasts, and the strongest ones they encountered only had the Combat Power of the Integration Realm. As a Void Realm cultivator, he could slay a whole swath of them with a single swing of his Sword. The True Spirit Qi they provided was of little use to him anymore, so the vast majority of it was absorbed by the White Fox and Yan Ying.

Furthermore, after his Cultivation reached the Void Realm, he gained the Skill of Shrinking Inches, which increased his short-distance speed dozens of times over.

Unlike before, when he would have to spend one or two hours traveling to a new location after finishing off a group of beasts, now he could just take Yan Ying’s hand, and in the space of a few breaths, cover a distance that would have previously taken an hour.

Therefore, in just three days, Yan Ying’s Cultivation had advanced from the Integration Realm Early Stage to Tier Eight. This rate of progress was so fast it left even Yan Ying herself in utter shock.

In truth, Chu Fan had discovered the Shrinking Inches Skill unconsciously. Moreover, Shrinking Inches already touched upon the rules of space.

Normally, after reaching the Integration Realm, one would be able to comprehend it upon entry, provided they had a good master to guide them.

However, ever since Chu Fan’s Cultivation reached the Golden Core Realm, he had relied entirely on his own comprehension, with no one to guide him at all.

On top of that, he had only spent a little over half a month in the Integration Realm before advancing to the Void Realm, so for him to comprehend Shrinking Inches now was already quite impressive.

"Want to rest for a bit?" Chu Fan asked Yan Ying.

Yan Ying shook her head and said, "I want to reach Integration Realm Peak as soon as possible, too. Then we can wander around a bit more. Who knows, maybe we’ll stumble upon some great opportunity and I can break through to the Void Realm directly. I don’t want to be left too far behind by you."