They emerged on the outskirts of a vast plain.
An endless expanse of emerald grassland stretched before them, each blade swaying in the wind like waves rolling across a quiet ocean. The sky above was wide and bright, and spirit birds circled lazily at high altitude, their cries carried on the clean, crisp air.
They paused for a moment to steady themselves, then took a deep breath.
This region lay far from cities, sects, and trade routes. The air felt quieter and far more untamed. Only cultivators with clear intentions or specific goals ever ventured into a place like this.
Ahead of them lay the road they would follow for months. Their journey would cut through valleys, small mountain chains, rivers, and stretches of wilderness that grew increasingly dangerous the farther they travelled.
Yu Lianxue had warned them earlier. "From here onward, we move by land. The destination lies hidden deep within remote territory."
And so, their long journey continued.
Time drifted at a quiet, steady pace.
Days slipped into weeks. Weeks stretched into months.
The four of them crossed vast stretches of uninhabited land. Spirit beasts appeared from time to time—wolves crackling with lightning along their fur, boars as large as carriages, serpents hidden beneath sun-warmed stones. None posed a true threat anymore, yet every encounter sharpened their coordination and combat rhythm.
They avoided needless fights, hunted when necessary, and spent their nights cultivating beneath unfamiliar constellations.
Sometimes they passed through small towns or isolated trading posts, stopping only long enough to replenish water and dried spirit food. News was rare in places like these. Bit by bit, the traces of civilisation vanished, leaving only the horizon and the endless landscape.
The farther they travelled, the more primal the world felt. Trees grew thicker and older. Rivers thundered with wild force. The sky stretched so high and clear it seemed capable of swallowing mountain peaks.
It was a journey that tested patience, endurance, and discipline. None of them faltered.
Four months after leaving the sect, the map Yu Lianxue carried finally aligned with the terrain around them.
They stood before a rocky mountain slope that appeared utterly unremarkable. There were no traces of formations, no carvings and no aura of danger.
Only a small, shadowed cave mouth waited in silence.
The air around it felt completely ordinary.
Quiet. Harmless. Easy to overlook.
Without the map in their hands, they would never have guessed that anything of significance lay within.
The four stepped inside.
The passage ahead was little more than a narrow stone corridor, tight enough that Jìn Bǎo had to hunch as he walked. Dust drifted down with each step. Nothing about the cave appeared the least bit unusual.
Yet Yu Lianxue and Yu Lianyan traded a quiet, knowing glance.
They moved to the centre of the chamber.
Their hands rose.
Their cosmic souls stirred, one exhaling cold, the other heat. Frost and flame lotus patterns shimmered faintly around their wrists.
Then—
Their fingers traced ancient sigils in the air.
Something unseen shifted.
The cave vibrated as if roused from a long sleep. Lines of runes, previously invisible, surged to life across the stone walls, glowing with a steady pulse.
Chu Feng felt the atmosphere thicken around him, layers of illusion peeling away like mist.
A heartbeat later—
A sharp crack rang through the cave.
Crack—
Crack—Crack—
Restrictions collapsed one after another, dissolving into streams of energy that swirled around the cave like dispersing smoke.
Then, for a fleeting moment—
A pillar of soft, radiant light burst outward, washing over and engulfing them in its glow.
It lasted only a breath.
But when it faded, the stone floor beneath them had vanished. The air shifted, and the world around them transformed completely.
Chu Feng blinked once.
The cave was gone.
The air was no longer still and dry; it was crisp, carrying a strange, ancient resonance.
The ground beneath his feet felt unfamiliar. The light above has an ethereal glow.
They had left the cave and stepped into a place entirely unlike the world they knew.
A hidden land, a realm sealed away from the outside world for who knew how long.
The secret realm had accepted them.
The world inside the secret realm was nothing like the one outside.
Mist rolled slowly across a landscape untouched by time, drifting around ancient trees whose trunks glowed faintly with spiritual veins. The sky above remained in an eternal dawn, painted in soft gold that never darkened. The air carried a calm, ancient resonance—old, but not hostile.
The four of them took cautious steps forward, yet found little immediate danger. The realm felt quiet, almost reverent.
As they ventured deeper, the scenery opened into wide plains lined with silver-green grass. A faint herbal fragrance drifted in the air. The twins were the first to notice clusters of spirit flora scattered among the fields.
Chu Feng knelt, gently brushing aside leaves to reveal a blooming stalk of Moondew Orchid, its petals shimmering with a soft blue glow. Further ahead, Jìn Bǎo pointed out a patch of Frost-Root Ganoderma growing directly from a chilled stone. Yu Lianyan discovered Scarlet Ember Ginseng, its tips glowing like burning embers.
They harvested carefully and efficiently, taking only mature plants and avoiding unnecessary disturbance to the spiritual field. Their pouches and rings grew heavy with herbs that would have been worth fortunes outside the realm.
Yet the absence of guardians or beasts felt unsettling.
The fields were too quiet, and harvesting also felt too easy.
They pressed onward until the world shifted once more.
What had first appeared as mountain-sized shadows now took the definite shape of an ancient palace complex, sprawling across the valley like a sleeping giant. Broken pillars jutted upward like the bones of a long-forgotten era. Crumbling walls, etched with faded runes, marked the outer boundary. Towering gates loomed above them, closed, silent, and sealed by ancient restrictions.
They approached with caution, unaware that far away, deep within a hidden stone hall, several figures were rising to their feet.
A few moments ago, at the very instant the four had stepped into the realm, a ripple spread across a scrying mirror.