On the way, Yang Hong deliberately shouted for help repeatedly to the cultivators he encountered.
It was normal for a "mortal" to seek help from cultivators.
He traveled during the day, drank spring water when thirsty, and ate fruit when hungry.
Yang Hong was not an idiot. Although he could distinguish between ordinary fruits and spiritual fruits, spiritual fruits were not something mortals could eat.
Therefore, he would carefully select ordinary fruits that had no spiritual energy.
At night, Yang Hong would climb tall trees to rest.
Although he was not afraid of being attacked by demonic beasts, Yang Hong still had to put on a good show.
He had to be a mortal!
After twelve days of trekking, Yang Hong finally arrived at [Desolate City].
"Wuwuwu~~"
Upon seeing the city walls of Desolate City, Yang Hong immediately fell to his knees and wailed loudly.
"Hahaha~ I'm here~ I'm here~ I'm finally here."
"I've finally arrived at Desolate City in my mortal body!"
Yang Hong's arrival attracted the attention of many cultivators, including Song Yuzhi and the others who had been waiting for him near the city gate.
He also noticed that several people were showing excitement, which was why he let out the last sentence, to remind them that he was currently a mortal.
Hearing Yang Hong's words, Song Yuzhi and the others also reacted and stopped their approach.
"Mortal? Are you really a mortal?"
A familiar voice sounded in Yang Hong's ear. He looked up and saw
it was Gui Ruolin, whom he had almost killed two months ago. What a coincidence!
"Fairy, I am a mortal. Mortal Yang Hong greets all the fairies and immortal masters."
Yang Hong deliberately tidied his dirty clothes and, with great demeanor, cupped his hands and bowed to the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Qian Yuan Sword Sect.
"You're quite interesting. A mortal with no cultivation, and yet you're still alive. It's truly unbelievable."
Although Gui Ruolin had been reprimanded by Xi Miaohua, she was still as willful and capricious as ever.
As she spoke, she flashed in front of Yang Hong and placed her jade-like hands directly on his shoulders.
Sharp true qi surged wildly within Yang Hong's body.
"Ugh~ Ah~ Oh~"
Yang Hong felt annoyed but still cooperated by screaming out in pain.
This scene was witnessed by Song Yuzhi and the others, who were burning with rage. Wang Xifeng quietly asked Song Yuzhi,
"Eldest Sister, should we kill that bitch!"
"No, we know the Prince's cultivation level. But his expression clearly indicates he's faking it.
We mustn't ruin the Prince's plan."
Song Yuzhi held Wang Xifeng's hand, urging her to calm down.
All of them knew Yang Hong was faking it, yet they still felt angry.
"Let's go. As long as we know the Prince is safe, it's enough.
The Prince surely has his own plans."
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Ten Foundation Establishment cultivators slowly retreated back into Desolate City.
"A mortal! Truly unbelievable."
Amidst Yang Hong's intermittent groans, Gui Ruolin carefully examined him.
She was one hundred percent certain that Yang Hong was a mortal.
"A mortal? How is that possible?"
She Wan Hua walked over then, taking Gui Ruolin's place. She grabbed Yang Hong's shoulder and also began to probe his body with her true qi.
She Wan Hua looked even more heroic and resolute, and her true qi was sharper, but her movements were very gentle.
The sharp true qi entered Yang Hong's body and circulated smoothly, not only without harming his meridians but also healing the slight injuries caused by Gui Ruolin.
This surprised Yang Hong a little, and he developed a slightly favorable impression of She Wan Hua.
"He's truly a mortal, how is this possible.
Ruolin, go find Senior Brother Ding Qixing of the Heavenly Secret Sect and ask him to come and take a look."
She Wan Hua's expression turned serious, and she quickly instructed her junior sister to find someone.
"Senior Sister, do we really need to find Senior Brother Ding?"
Gui Ruolin was stunned for a moment, then looked at Yang Hong before asking in confusion.
"Of course!
You've seen the dangers of the Hong Tong Secret Realm. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators suffered heavy casualties.
The fact that he, a mortal, is still alive is the biggest issue."
She Wan Hua's expression grew more serious as she spoke.
This made Gui Ruolin take it seriously too. She turned and quickly ran into Desolate City.
Two quarters of an hour later, a large group of Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded Yang Hong.
They all looked at him as if he were a monster.
Ding Qixing of the Heavenly Secret Sect also personally probed Yang Hong's body, his brows furrowed.
"Let's walk a few steps outside, I'll use a secret Heavenly Secret technique to uncover this kid's background."
With that, Ding Qixing, without waiting for Yang Hong's consent, pulled him away from Desolate City.
After walking two miles, the group stopped. Ding Qixing immediately cast the Heavenly Secret technique.
"Heavenly Secret Insight Technique~"
A silver beam of light, as brilliant as starlight, shot out from a silver mirror and enveloped Yang Hong.
Yang Hong immediately felt as if he were being stripped naked and examined. He quickly suppressed his aura, drawing his various energies back to his dantian and sea of consciousness.
"Hmm~ You are truly a mortal!
But, what is with all this merit? Who exactly are you?"
Upon seeing the figure enveloped in golden light of merit in the silver mirror, Ding Qixing's eyes nearly popped out.
"Merit? Mortals have merit too?"
Other disciples of the Heavenly Secret Sect also crowded over curiously.
"Holy crap! It's really merit, and so much of it."
"Gulp~ Gulp~"
A group of Heavenly Secret Sect disciples swallowed in unison.
Even disciples from other immortal sects, after peeking, swallowed their saliva,
their gazes towards Yang Hong like he was a supreme delicacy.
Only Ding Qixing's expression turned thoughtful.
"You~ You must be that prince from the Sui Dynasty, right?"
"Yes, I am Yang Hong, the Sixth Prince of Great Sui."
"As expected. If it's you, it's indeed not that easy to die.
Everyone, disperse. This person has great karma; it's not something we can meddle with."
Ding Qixing glanced at Yang Hong, as if to engrave his face in his memory.
Then he turned to the other cultivators, shook his head, and left.
They didn't even ask about Yang Hong's previous experiences and turned to leave.
On the surface, Yang Hong appeared stunned and fearful, but inwardly he heaved a huge sigh of relief.
He had passed the first hurdle.
Upon entering Desolate City, Yang Hong casually found a corner and lay down to rest.
At this moment, he dared not be high-profile.
Even when Song Yuzhi and the others tried to approach, Yang Hong dissuaded them. The secret realm was about to close, and he had to be extremely careful.
During this time, he deliberately "accidentally" exposed a storage bag,
which was then, as expected, snatched away by several rogue cultivators.
Moreover, these rogue cultivators searched Yang Hong from head to toe.
In the end, Yang Hong's 5 storage bags and 8 spiritual fruits were all robbed,
even a piece of mortal jade pendant was taken.
Song Yuzhi and the others gritted their teeth and wanted to kill those rogue cultivators, but Yang Hong dissuaded them again.
This was part of his plan. If these rogue cultivators didn't rob him,
it would be difficult for him to conceal his gains after leaving the secret realm.
These robbed items were insignificant. The truly valuable treasures were hidden by him,
but he needed to create some camouflage for safety.
In Yang Hong's spiritual sense, he clearly saw Tian Rujin and the other two from the Carefree Pavilion watching Yang Hong being robbed the entire time.
Yang Hong even suspected that the items on him would eventually fall into the hands of the three of them.
In the following days, Yang Hong became even more low-key. Apart from carefully searching for water and fruit to fill his stomach every day, he dared not leave that corner.
Time passed quickly. At noon on August fifth,
with the sun high in the sky, a white beam of light flashed.
All cultivators in the Hong Tong Secret Realm who were in the three designated areas vanished.
The Hong Tong Secret Realm closed.