After entering the Secret Realm, all three of them noticed that something was wrong because they immediately realized that they could fly in the air. According to the information previously received, the Zheng Clan Ancestor flew over to the inner part of the Secret Realm.
However, now things seemed to be different, thus making their previous plans useless. However, despite the sudden change, the three of them did not stop their movement and still proceeded to where the pills and inheritance was.
However, as soon as these ancestors took a few more steps, countless puppets started attacking them, so they fought back with their immense strength.
Unfortunately, the strength of these puppets were not to be underestimated. More importantly, there are too many of them.
"I thought you said that the first wave of puppets were quite easy to get through?" asked the Leng Clan Ancestor.
"It’s supposed to be. Previously, a Divine Altar Realm cultivator managed to pass through this wave easily and reached the inner layer," responded the Zheng Clan Ancestor.
"This can only mean one thing," said the Chang Clan Ancestor. "After the last visit, all the formations of the Secret Realm were fully activated."
The two nodded after hearing this, however, this did not change their current situation. Even with using all their powerful spells and attacks, they can only destroy a few puppets.
What’s even worse was the fact that after a puppet is destroyed, the remains will instantly vanish from the ground. Then after a few minutes, a brand new puppet will appear from the previous remains.
The only way to prevent such a thing from happening is to destroy the core of the puppets. Unfortunately, these puppets seemed to be designed with the ability to constantly move their cores around, making it very difficult to locate.
"Should we use our Dao Flame?" asked one of the ancestors. However, no one answered him. If it was the past, all of them might agree to do so.
However, they have learned from the Extraterrestrial Demons that using their Dao Flame or Good Fortune Flame is akin to ruining their future. As one of the highest realms of this world, these ancestors only care about two things: their family and pursuing higher realms.
Unfortunately, they care more about their own strength than their clans. As such, they will not sacrifice their futures for their families.
"How about we use the strength of our family elites to slowly clear out these puppets? With more people, the process should be simpler," said the Zheng Clan Ancestor.
A suggestion that solicited the approval of all the others. Immediately afterwards, the three of them rushed out of the Secret Realm. The Zheng Clan Ancestor flew towards the capital, while the other two flew in different directions.
After secretly returning to the Zheng Clan Manor, the Zheng Ancestor explained the entire situation to Patriarch Zheng Yong.
"Ancestor, is there really no other way?" asked Zheng Yong, however his ancestor just shook her head.
"But, it was already very difficult and risky to allow three of you to secretly enter the Secret Realm under the nose of his majesty Wang Wei. So, how are we supposed to move so many of our elites? Especially when we already told his majesty that we did not have any other secret strength hiding?"
The Zheng Clan Ancestor sighed after hearing this and said, "Patriarch, I’m afraid that you will have to wait until his majesty leaves this world before our clans can enjoy the benefit of this Secret Realm."
Zheng Yong’s face became ugly after hearing this. Then, he started thinking about other possible solutions, however, he realized that all of them contained great risks and could end up with their clans being discovered by the royal family. As such, he also sighed and agreed with his ancestor.
Just like that, more than a month passed by. Although Patriarch Zheng Yong agreed to take things slowly regarding the Secret Realm, he did not stop thinking about other ideas.
Suddenly, his main servant rushed into his study room and said while breathing rapidly, "Patriarch, terrible news. The news about the Secret Realm has been leaked!"
"What!" exclaimed Zheng Yong. "How is that possible? How do you know the news has been leaked?"
"There is a rumor circulating in the capital that the Zheng Clan has discovered a Secret Realm that holds the secret of longevity."
Zheng Yong’s face became ugly after hearing this, however, the servant was not over. "Furthermore, after investigation, I have discovered that this rumor has spread far beyond the Great Xia territory."
"How far has the rumor spread?"
"A-a-a-according to the clan’ secret agents, the rumor has already reached the Central Region."
Patriarch Zheng Yong immediately slapped his servant, sending him flying away and crashing into the walls. Then, he looked at him with a terrifying killing intent.
"There are only a few people that know about the Secret Realm. The other patriarch signed a Soul Contract and would not dare to say anything. Our families’ ancestors were also bound by the contracts, which left only me and you who could leak the information."
"I know that I did not mention it to anyone, so, Shuang Hui, do you have something you have to say to me?"
"Patriarch, I swear to Heaven that I did not mention a single word to anyone. My family have served the Zheng Clan for countless generations and I have grown up with you, please do not doubt my loyalty."
Zheng Yong took a deep breath and replied still full of killing intent:
"It is because of your years of service that I did not immediately kill. So, if you directly confessed who you told the news, then, I promised to make your death as quick as possible."
Shuang Hui kowtowed on the ground and said, "Patriarch, if I was the one who leaked the news, do you think I would still be standing in front of you? However, it does not matter what I say. If killing me can prove my loyalty to the Zheng Clan, then I will gladly accept my death."
Zheng Yong took a deep breath after hearing this to calm down himself. He realized that his servant was right. If he leaked the information about the Secret Realm, he would have done it for a price. Thus, Shuang Hui should have long run away with his reward after selling the news.
Then, Zheng Yong started thinking that maybe the leak came from the first person who discovered the Secret Realm. Maybe he told someone else before he was disposed of.
Despite this, Zheng Yong still regretted that he did not immediately kill his main servant after receiving the news a month ago. However, now, it was too late. To be precise, it was useless.
Even if Zheng Yong discovered where the leak came from, there is nothing he can do since the news had already spread so far and wide.
Realizing this, Zheng Yong’s killing intent was gone. Then, he started thinking about counter-measures. Now that the information has been leaked, he needed to take precautions to ensure the safety of his clan.
The best course of action is to run away from the Great Xia capital--since it was at the foot of the Emperor--and run away. The Zheng Family have been living in this land even before the Dong Royal Family created the Eastern Rain Kingdom.
So, they have created many secret paths in case their family encountered a disaster and needed to escape as quickly as possible. Although in the past few years, the Fate Shadow Guards have discovered a few of them, not all of them were found.
As long as Zheng Yong moved fast enough and took a few descendants from the Main Branch and secretly left, there will be hope for the Zheng Clan.
Additionally, the token to enter the Secret Realm is still in Zheng Yong’s hands. As long as he can hide for long enough for all these Extraterrestrial Demons to finish their trial and leave this world, his Zheng clan can still rise again.
As for what would happen to the other clan members that are left behind, Zheng Yong figured that some people might capture them in order to track the groups that escape.
However, the most likely scenario is that most of them will be killed. Although Zheng Yong was sad about this outcome, he knew that necessary sacrifice is required to survive the current ordeal.
After making a plan, Zheng Yong decided to execute this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, before he even had time to give his order, another servant rushed into his study.
"Patriarch, there is a eunuch outside with an edict summoning you to the Palace. A-a-a-and the Royal Guards have surrounded our manor, preventing anyone from entering and leaving beside you."
Zheng Yong’s face became ugly as he realized that he was too late to react. After sighing, he rearranged his clothes to look more presentable before heading outside to receive the edict.
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