Lu Xuan merely nodded slightly, his eyes calm and unruffled, his indifferent gaze directly meeting Xia Xuanyi’s eyes, with an invisible pressure spreading like a tidal wave.

"Speak!"

Lu Xuan’s voice was deep and powerful, filled with an undeniable authority, as if he were asking a question, yet also issuing a command that allowed no refusal.

Half an hour later.

Lu Xuan’s figure suddenly appeared hundreds of miles away, right at a secret realm entrance.

As for what happened during his six months of seclusion, Lu Xuan had learned from the mouths of the two royal members.

"The Hell Serpent, that cursed creature, has returned."

"And as for that so-called Monster Emperor, it must be the bird-shaped monster beast that ambushed me that day."

"Hmph!"

"I hadn’t even settled the score with them, and yet they came looking for me."

Thinking of his current predicament, Lu Xuan felt extremely stifled.

The mysterious elder from the Spirit Ruins, a Monster Emperor at the Earth Venerable Realm, and those old fellows with grudges against him.

It seemed that almost everyone was searching for his whereabouts.

"In three months, let me see your abilities."

"But for now, let’s first settle some scores."

Thinking of this, a cold smile tugged at the corners of Lu Xuan’s mouth as he plunged into the light gate of the secret realm without hesitation.

In an instant, heaven and earth turned upside down, and before Lu Xuan’s eyes was a dark dense forest, the scent of decaying leaves mixed with the smell of blood came rushing toward him.

"Huh?"

"Someone is here?"

"Why doesn’t he have the guiding light of the secret realm on him!"

The moment Lu Xuan appeared, more than ten fierce auras simultaneously locked onto him.

On the open ground ahead, dozens of martial artists wearing azure-patterned dark robes stood in a line.

Around them were piles of monster beast corpses, some of which were still oozing blood.

The leader, with the menacing Luo Family emblem embroidered on his chest, glared over with a fierce expression.

"Get out!"

"From now on, this secret realm is the territory of the Luo Family."

"You...."

"It’s... it’s you!"

"Lu...."

The speaking Luo Family cultivator’s face suddenly twisted, his pupils contracting sharply to the size of a needle’s tip.

He staggered back two steps, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, as if he were witnessing something terrifying.

"It’s...it’s you!"

The fear on the Luo Family cultivator’s face instantly turned into a flattering, forced smile more unsightly than crying, as he repeatedly bowed.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice carried a deliberate fawning tone: "Oh, it’s Mr. Lu, the Director!"

"I didn’t recognize Mount Tai, please forgive me..."

However—

Beneath his lowered sleeve, a hand clutched tightly onto a strange token, seemingly trying to convey the news of Lu Xuan’s appearance.

But the next moment—

"Puff!"

His wrist suddenly exploded into a mist of blood, and the magical token was utterly consumed by a wisp of black-gold flame!

Lu Xuan looked at him with a half-smile, the black-gold flame flickering in his eyes as if it could see through all disguises.

The Luo Family cultivator let out a violent scream, his face turning ashen.

He finally understood that in the face of absolute power,

all petty actions were futile!

The black-gold flames spread from beneath Lu Xuan’s feet, instantly transforming into a vast sea of fire.

"Spare me!"

"Help me..."

"Mr. Lu, spare me!"

"Lu Xuan, my Luo Family ancestors will never let you go."

As the flames spread, space distorted and fractured, and the fleeing Luo Family cultivators let out piercing screams.

Soon, all the living beings within the secret realm were reduced to wisps of blue smoke under the sea of fire.

Amid the black-gold sea of fire, only Lu Xuan stood with his arms crossed.

The black-gold flames swirled around Lu Xuan, not only leaving him unharmed but behaving submissively like loyal subjects.