Chapter 106 – News
When the other Spirit Masters heard this, they all became serious and replied, “Yes!”
“Okay, since it’s already quite late, I will announce that the top ten Core Disciples battle will take place tomorrow.” The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader nodded his head. He was about to fly from the jade platform and announce the rules of the top ten competition that was to take place tomorrow.
However, at this time, from a certain direction, the shrill sound of air being split apart sounded as the thick mist around the mountain spread apart to reveal a five-colored strange bird that was dozens of feet in length. Its head seemed like that of a vulture yet its tail feathers were incredibly long and it had a pair of blood red, abnormally large claws.
As soon as the bird appeared, it made a beeline for the mountain and made the disciples who discovered it fall into slight disarray.
“There is no need to panic. This is a Spirit Bird of your Martial Ancestor Yan.” Seeing this odd bird, the Sect Leader was also quite surprised but he immediately shouted angrily at the disciplines who were making a fuss.
His voice boomed across the mountain and the disciples under him calmed down. They then used gazes mixed with fear and respect as they looked at the five-colored strange bird.
Everyone knew that there was an extremely powerful Martial Ancestor in the sect.
However, the Martial Ancestor rarely showed his face in public and even the Spirit Masters in the sect had only seem him a couple of times. Thus, his royal identity in the sect was shrouded with mystery.
In moments, the strange bird arrived above the jade platform. After circling around in the air once, one of it’s originally tightly closed claws loosened. From within the claw, a green jade slit fell out. Afterward, without pausing, it flew back in the direction it came from.
The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader showed some surprise in his face and he beckoned with his hand. Instantly, the jade slit shot into his hand and the Sect Leader immediately put the slit to his forehead.
Moments later, the green jade slit started to flash lights and the surprised look on the Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader flew off, replacing it was an extremely shocked expression.
When the others saw this, they could not help but look at each other in anticipation and surprise.
“Sect Leader, what has happened?” When Chu Qi saw that the Sect Leader had finally moved the jade slit away from his forehead, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Martial Uncle Yan has given his orders. There will be no ranking competition tomorrow. The top ten Core Disciple will immediately go to the Suppressing Dragon Island.” The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader’s face turned dark for a moment before saying words that shocked everyone.
“What? Why would Martial Uncle Yan make such order and have Qian Er and them go to the Suppressing Dragon Island?” Chu Qi asked in extreme surprise.
“Martial Uncle had just received a letter from Master Ming Yu of the Nine Enchantment Mountain. The letter stated that while the two Crystal Level Elders of Heavenly Moon Sect and Hall of Blood were chasing the Demon Dragon, the volcano for the Suppressing Dragon Island erupted and they found the entrance to an unnamed secret realm. The entrance has already decomposed and now only Spirit Apostles can enter. In addition, the Crystal Level Ancestors are doing their best to stop the entrance from completely decomposing and can not hold out for much longer. Thus, Martial Uncle Yan discussed the situation with others and decided to make the Life and Death Trials much earlier. The top ten disciples of each sect will go into the secret realm and depending on how many treasures they get, their ranking will be determined from that. Thus, we don’t have any time to waste and must bring the ten disciples to the Suppressing Dragon Island.” As the Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader spoke more, he became more and more excited until a frenzied heat was in his eyes.
“What? They have found the entrance to an unknown secret realm!”
“How big is the realm?”
“Has anyone entered?”
“Are there any restrictions placed?”
……
Chu Qi, Gui Ru Quan, and the Spirit Master Lei all exclaimed in surprise after hearing the news. However, with their excitement was a hint of fear.
It was no wonder they were like this!
This so called “secret realm” actually was an undiscovered secret space. Portions of it were made from natural elements while the other portions were forcibly created by a person.
Inside the realms created by nature, there might be a few Spirit Ingredients and Spirit Stone type natural treasures. The danger would be comparatively less by a bit for these realms. The other realms that were made made mostly consisted of a few treasures left by formidable ancestors. However, it was also extremely dangerous because it was unknown how many fearsome traps, that could obliterate someone into nothingness, were in place in those realms.
No matter what kind of secret realm it was, if someone were to reap a majority of the rewards in the realm and return, it would bring the entire sect and even a couple more sects, endless profits. Once in the past, there was a small sect that managed to obtain an exceptionally powerful nameless Cultivation Method through luck. From there, its strength underwent rapid growth and, after a few hundred years, it proclaimed itself the hegemony of a few neighboring kingdoms.
Of course, luck and danger existed side by side and in the past. Another time there was a large sect that tried to monopolize a secret realm. They sent their entire sect’s force into the secret realm, but their entire army ultimately perished and they ceased to exist in the cultivation world.
Currently, the amount of secret realms that have been discovered were extremely few; there were even a few entrances to secret realms that appeared for a short while before disappearing without a trace. Some entrances to secret realms were stringent in regards to their method of opening them and the length of time they could be open for. Furthermore, some of the traps in the secret realm were exceptionally mysterious and were not something regular sects could break apart, forcing people to feel hopeless.
However, even if this were the case, every time a new secret realm was discovered, it would bring about a battle-storm of blood.
Myriads of sects would expend a lot of resources for this new secret realm.
This time, the entrance to the new secret realm was collapsing which meant there was no way any sect would be able to monopolize the realm. If it were the other way around, the Heavenly Moon Sect and Blood River Hall wouldn’t have informed Barbarian Ghost Sect and the other sects; instead, they would have quietly explored the realm on their own.
“Fellow Juniors, I’m not too sure of what they’re asking for. Master Yan only briefly outlined the situation. Currently, for contingency sake, he has already gone to Suppressing Dragon Island ahead of time. Therefore, tomorrow morning, I will personally bring this Large Competition’s top ten disciples there. Senior Huang, Junior Zhang, the two of you should be quite knowledgeable about Formation Traps so you will accompany me tomorrow. The rest of you Martial Brothers should stay and defend the sect and quietly wait for news. I am merely following Master Yan’s instructions so each of you should perform your own task properly. In the short amount of time that follows, you absolutely must not leak this affair to others.” The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader let out a bitter laugh in reply before hastily giving instructions.
“Yes, Sect Leader. The two of us will immediately go back and prepare. We will definitely not miss such an important even.” After hearing the instructions, Spirit Master Huang and the middle-aged Spirit Master Zhang, were naturally excited as they replied.
Chu Qi, Spirit Master Lin, and the others were somewhat unwilling to let such an opportunity go, but after hearing the Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader bring up Master Yan’s magnanimous name, they could only helplessly listen to the instructions.
At this time, the Barbarian Ghost Sect “eader flew off the jade stage and announced in a loud voice at the disciples, “The ten great disciples of this Large Competition have already been determined, respectively they are Yang Qian, Feng Chan… Bai Chongtian, and Lei Zhen. However, due to a certain reason, the challenging battles among the ten great disciples will temporarily be postponed. Moreover, starting tomorrow, the sect will transiently close its doors for a month. During this period of time, unless one has received a sect order, he or she is not allowed to leave the sect. Violators will immediately be expelled from the sect. Okay, aside from Yang Qian and the other top ten disciples, the others can return to their dwellings first.”
After listening to the announcement, the thousands of Barbarian Ghost Sect disciples below were all gobsmacked and baffled. Nonetheless, after the Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader’s strict gaze swept over them, they didn’t dare express even the slightest dissent.
After the ensuing departure of everyone from the stone mountain, soon the peak of the mountain only contained Liu Ming and the ten disciples. Most of them had faces full of confusion as they looked at each other.
“You all don’t need to be so shocked. There is naturally a reason why I asked you to stay behind. The situation is like this: Your Master Yan…” The Barbarian Ghost Sect leader slowly described the general outline of the secret realm and the shifting of the Life and Death Trials to an earlier date to them.
Liu Ming and the others were naturally dumbstruck when they heard this.
“Since the situation happened so suddenly, there fundamentally isn’t enough time to let you continue the challenging battles. You must make your way to the secret realm entrance as fast as possible. In the secret realm, you and the other sects’ disciples will proceed with the Life and Death Trials that should technically happen in a year. The achievement of the trials this time will also determine your ranking on the Lunar Monument. When we arrive there, Master Yan will explain the concrete rules. What you must do now is go back and properly preserve your energy. Tomorrow morning, we will leave together. As long as the sect reaps hefty rewards during this Life and Death Trial in the secret realm, you will definitely be heavily rewarded. Another thing is this information is currently a secret so you may not divulge it to anyone else.” The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader was extremely serious as he spoke.
After Liu Ming and the others finished listening, they all had flashes of understanding. Although, they were each thinking different things, they naturally bowed and expressed their approval.
The Barbarian Ghost Sect Leader nodded his head before immediately turning around and flying back to the jade platform where he continued to discuss the secret realm situation with the other Spirit Masters.
The top ten disciples proceeded to successively depart the stone mountain.
Half a minute later, Liu Ming had returned to his dwelling and he began pondering the situation regarding the secret realm.
The appearance of such an event truly surpassed his expectations.
He had originally thought that he could slowly spend the next year cultivating before participating in the exceptionally dangerous Life and Death Trials. It had never occurred to him that the trials would unexpectedly be shifted earlier; moreover, it would take place in a secret realm that could hold unknown disasters as well as fortunes.
Within the secret realm, Cultivation Methods were most likely secondary. Even more important was a person’s ability to sense and deal with dangerous situations. If this genuinely was the case, then the years on Savage Island, where he experienced life and death fights, would put him in a slightly stronger position in this aspect.
As Liu Ming thought of the few cultivators in records who obtained heavenly treasures in the secret realm and proceeded to have their cultivation improve by leaps and bounds, his heart couldn’t help but palpitate.
Although the various treasures obtained in the secret realm would be handed over to the sect as per convention, as long as one kept a small portion, he or she would most likely be able to exchange it for materials to become a Spirit Master.
As for the potential life-threatening dangers in the secret realm, he himself had experienced an unknown number of situations where his life hung by a thread. Thus, he didn’t care too much about this matter.
“Seeking riches in the midst of danger” and “The more one is afraid of death, the faster he or she will die”; these were things that he was more clear about than anyone since his childhood.
Large risks were something he was indifferent about. He only had to look at the benefits he could potentially garner and determine if it was worth risking his life.
Liu Ming silently pondered awhile and ultimately didn’t find any reason to evade the Life and Death Trials this time. Instantly, his expression relaxed and he closed his eyes. He began to wordlessly recover the Fa Li lost during the Large Competition.