Chapter 177 - 173: Entering the Secret Realm
Two days later, Li Yuan handed over the last batch of Spirit-Refining Talismans and set off with Captain Wang’s team.
Unlike usual, Li Yuan now had a storage pouch, which he had bought for several dozen Spirit Stones.
The team consisted of eight people.
Captain Wang led the way with Wang Lu by his side. Behind them were four Cultivators from the guard squad.
Li Yuan and another guard, a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator, walked at the very back.
The entrance to the Secret Realm wasn’t far from the settlement—just about two hundred steps north along a dirt path.
The entrance was a stone gate set into the side of a mountain, about two zhang tall. Its frame was covered in dense, intricate runes, so ancient that most had become blurred and indistinct.
Within the gate was a curtain of grayish-white light, like a thin mist frozen solid in the doorway, obscuring the view of what lay inside.
A disciple of the Primordial Yang Sect stood on each side of the stone gate, responsible for collecting entrance fees and maintaining order.
Captain Wang walked up to the gate, took a stack of Spirit Stones from his robes, and handed it over. The Primordial Yang Sect disciple counted them, then nodded for them to pass.
"We’ll go our separate ways once inside." Captain Wang stopped before the gate, turned, and said to the group.
"The Secret Realm’s teleportation is random, so we’ll all end up in different locations after entering. It’s normal if we can’t find each other. Just do your own thing, and we’ll meet back at the settlement when we come out in a few days."
He took several thumb-sized, grayish-white stones from a cloth pouch at his waist and gave one to each person.
Li Yuan took the stone. It was cool to the touch, and faint fluctuations of Spiritual Power slowly circulated across its surface.
"These are Teleportation Stones. You can buy them for extra Spirit Stones."
Captain Wang said.
"Once you’re inside, hold it in your hand. Don’t put it in your storage pouch. After six hours, the stone will be fully charged, and you can activate it to teleport out of the Secret Realm."
"If you lose or break the stone, don’t panic. The Secret Realm itself has a time limit. It will automatically eject everyone after three days."
"But it’s best not to lose it," Wang Lu added. "When you’re in danger, there’s a big difference between six hours and three days."
Li Yuan tucked the Teleportation Stone into a hidden pocket on the inside of his sleeve and tied it securely with a strip of cloth.
Captain Wang said no more. He turned and walked into the curtain of light. His figure vanished the moment it entered the grayish-white mist, as if swallowed whole.
The others followed one by one.
Li Yuan was the last to step into the curtain of light.
Grayish-white light completely filled his vision, and the ground beneath his feet disappeared. His body felt as if it were being held up by an invisible hand, suspended for a moment.
Then gravity returned, and his feet touched solid ground.
The curtain of light dissipated.
Li Yuan opened his eyes.
Before him was a dense forest.
The trees were tall and massive, with dark gray trunks and thick canopies that blotted out the sky. Only scattered patches of light filtered down through the leaves.
The ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves, soft and silent to step on. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth, mixed with a faint, musty odor of decay.
The Spiritual Qi concentration was a notch higher than outside, at least thirty percent denser than in the forests near Qinghe Marketplace.
There was no sign of anyone else around.
’Captain Wang was right. The teleportation was random, and the eight of us were scattered to different locations.’
[Spatial Perception (Green) permanency condition met]
[Permanentize?]
With a thought, Li Yuan permanentized the storage pouch.
[Spatial Perception (Green) has become a permanent entry.]
’The storage pouch was empty. I tested it before; it can’t be "equipped" if it has items inside.’
’After equipping the Spatial Perception entry, the specific change was vague. I could only feel that the space around me seemed a little "deeper."’
After taking a few steps, Li Yuan took a moment to assess his surroundings.
His Aura Imprint didn’t pick up any familiar auras, and his Concealed Presence Detection didn’t sense any malice.
Within a radius of about two hundred zhang, there were only a few faint life signs, probably from small creatures like insects and snakes.
Li Yuan lowered his presence to a minimal level, using Concealment to suppress the outward signs of his cultivation, and started walking north.
’I don’t have a clear sense of direction, but Captain Wang mentioned that the Li family’s Cultivators are active in the northern region of the Secret Realm. The terrain there is higher, the Spiritual Qi is denser, and the Demon Beasts are stronger.’
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the forest terrain began to rise, and the space between the trees gradually widened.
The aura of a Demon Beast emanated from ahead and to his right.
’Tier One Middle Grade, not very fast, and it’s approaching.’
Li Yuan didn’t break his stride. With his right hand hanging at his side, he began gathering Spiritual Power in his palm.
A few breaths later, a grayish-black Demon Beast burst out from the bushes.
It was shaped like a wolf but had a larger head, a protruding snout, and exposed fangs. Its ears were long and pointed, and a row of hard spikes ran down its spine.
’An Iron Spike Wolf. Tier One Middle Grade. Highly aggressive, but with average speed.’
The moment the Iron Spike Wolf saw Li Yuan, the hard spikes on its back bristled. It let out a low roar and lunged, kicking off with its hind legs.
Li Yuan sidestepped and raised his right palm.
’Fireball Technique.’
A Fireball formed in an instant and struck the Iron Spike Wolf’s abdomen at close range.
BOOM.
The Demon Beast’s body flipped through the air and slammed into a tree trunk three zhang away, cracking off a large piece of bark. The Iron Spike Wolf struggled for a moment; a patch of fur on its abdomen was scorched, and its internal organs had been seared by the intense heat. Soon, it lay still.
Li Yuan walked over and harvested the Iron Spike Wolf’s fangs, along with the few better-quality spikes from its back. Most of the hide was burnt, so it wasn’t worth taking.
He continued north.
After walking for another hour, he found a few medicinal herbs along the way.
A cluster of Cyan Glow Grass grew in a rock crevice by a stream, its leaves emitting a faint, light-green fluorescence. The quality was average. Beside it were two other medicinal herbs he didn’t recognize. They had long, narrow leaves, thick rhizomes, and a fresh, bitter scent.
Li Yuan pulled the herbs up by the roots and stored them away. ’They aren’t very valuable, but I can still trade them for a few Spirit Stones back outside.’