Chapter 244: Chapter 243: The Great Secret Realm Actually Opened
The very moment the anomaly appeared in the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm, Grandmaster Zhu Weiyi of North Border City received a notification. He immediately led a group toward North Ice Valley, the entrance to the Great Secret Realm.
Accompanying him were elders from several major Human Race factions—the experts who had escorted their own young prodigies into the Great Secret Realm, all led by Grandmasters.
Since the Great Secret Realm opened, their teams had been temporarily residing in North Border City. They would periodically send men to stand guard at the North Ice Valley entrance, ready to notify their leading Grandmasters at the first sign of any activity to prevent any mishaps.
The rules of each Secret Realm vary, and they weren’t sure how the Enlightenment Fruit was contested within the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm. After all, there was a Realm restriction; not even those at the Grandmaster Realm could spy on it in the slightest.
But now, three months later, dark clouds suddenly gathered above North Ice Valley, spreading in a spiral pattern. They churned like a black vortex, a truly astonishing sight.
’Is the Great Secret Realm about to open?’
While in flight, Zhu Weiyi’s brow furrowed. Worry was etched into the deep wrinkles of his face, which was mottled with dark spots.
Back when the peerless prodigies entered the Great Secret Realm, the entrance had closed, and no activity could be sensed since. Now that an anomaly had occurred, it was almost certain that the Great Secret Realm was about to open.
’But why is the commotion so huge?’
’Even the Blizzard summoned by the Three Great Demon Clans of the North Wilderness during their siege of North Border City hadn’t brewed with such intensity.’
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With a few loud impacts, he, a few Dharma Realm experts, and one Grandmaster landed like black meteorites on a peak in North Ice Valley. A great wind billowed, whipping at their fur-lined collars.
The other factions that had already arrived turned to look, their faces filled with astonishment. ’Zhu Weiyi actually left North Border City?’
Ever since the battle of North Border City ended, Zhu Weiyi had not once stepped outside the city. Even when the Great Secret Realm opened, he was not the one to see the prodigies off.
Everyone had been speculating about the severity of his injuries. Some even suspected he was already dead and that the news had simply been suppressed.
After all, for one person to fight three Demon Kings of the same level and also suffer a sneak attack from the Sang Island Demon Race—the injuries couldn’t possibly be light. No one expected him to actually show up again now.
’It makes sense. The situation in the Xia Country’s heartland is already dire, practically on the brink of collapse. The last battle of North Border City was so brutal that they couldn’t spare many experts at or above the Grandmaster realm to reinforce North Border City.’
’In recent months, they even had to send students back to defend the Northwest Province. If Zhu Weiyi didn’t make an appearance, those with ulterior motives might have started to act on them...’
So thought the Cardinal of the Western Church, his meaningful gaze falling upon Zhu Weiyi. Casually, he mused, ’His presence is impressive enough, but I wonder how much longer he has to live.’
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Following a few more loud thuds, experts from the major factions landed in North Ice Valley one after another. They were basically split into two sides: one was the Demon Race, the other, the Human Race.
However, some of the Human Race factions seemed to be leaning more toward the Demon Race...
RUMBLE—
A peal of thunder that shook the valley interrupted everyone’s speculation. Suddenly, the world turned as bright as day, as if daylight had abruptly descended upon the night.
With it came the tearing of the vortex of dark clouds in the sky, which seemed to be forming a black hole-like space.
This was different from any previous Secret Realm opening. The entrance was visible to the naked eye, and a terrifying ancient aura gushed out from within it, while the Soul Ice Spirit Charm of the Northern Wilderness poured back in as if it were free!
A two-way exchange!
’The entrance to the Secret Realm is actually visible to the naked eye?’ Zhu Weiyi wondered for a moment. Suddenly, his graying eyebrows twitched and his murky eyes widened. ’It seems the Realm restriction is gone.’
As a Grandmaster, his perception was naturally clearer. He had immediately noticed something was wrong with the Secret Realm’s entrance. Moreover, no one had come out of it yet; he couldn’t detect any sign of Jiang Qiu or Tang Guang.
’Do we have to go in to find them?’
’Are they trapped in danger?’
The thought had barely crossed his mind when a wild Gale erupted. A Great Demon at the Demon Marshal level led its team and charged directly into the vortex overhead, their auras vanishing in an instant as they were swallowed up without a hint of hesitation.
’The Kunlun Demon Clan!’
CRACK—
Zhu Weiyi clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned red, his icy gaze locked on the vortex above as if he wanted to hunt down the auras that had just entered. However, with experts from numerous factions present, he took a deep breath and suppressed the trembling in his chest.
’Their king is the reincarnation of an Ancient Demon Emperor. He might have passed down some secret information. This Great Secret Realm is definitely no ordinary Secret Realm. It seems I can’t hesitate any longer.’
Realizing this, Zhu Weiyi led his team as the second group to charge into the vortex and enter the Great Secret Realm.
Seeing that two teams had already gone in to scout the situation, the leaders of the remaining major factions also entered the Great Secret Realm one after another.
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Weiyi found himself beneath a stretch of dark clouds, hovering in mid-air. A colossal pressure descended from above, preventing him from rising any higher, but his altitude was just right, allowing him to overlook a vast expanse of the landscape.
But the most captivating sight was the Northern Boundary Mountain, as dazzling as a torch. It towered majestically, exuding a powerful aura. The churning, crimson magma within seemed to coalesce into a massive eye, faintly revealing the shape of a golden, vertical pupil.
’How could this Great Secret Realm look like this? Such a powerful sense of oppression.’
Zhu Weiyi’s pupils widened, his heart beating uncontrollably fast. ’Something’s wrong... This Great Secret Realm has no Spirit Charm!’
Struck by this sudden realization, his heart skipped a beat, and he began to reach out with his senses for Jiang Qiu’s aura.
As a Grandmaster who had comprehended a Domain, his Perception Power was astonishing. However, scanning a Secret Realm that could be dozens of times larger than the Northern Wilderness was surely impossible.
Trying to find Jiang Qiu by ordinary means would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Fortunately, Jiang Qiu had once wielded the [Domain Disc] that he had poured his heart into crafting. His body had been tinged with its special domain aura, which was directly linked to the soul, allowing them to resonate with each other.
But after carefully sensing for it, he couldn’t detect any trace of Jiang Qiu’s aura at all.
’Something’s wrong. This shouldn’t be.’
Denying the result to himself, Zhu Weiyi continued trying to sense for Jiang Qiu.
In this bizarre Secret Realm devoid of Spirit Charm, it was hard to imagine what Jiang Qiu had been through. The Spirit Charm he had stored in his body upon entering the Secret Realm wouldn’t have been nearly enough to sustain him through several battles between prodigies of the same realm.
At this thought, his heart clenched.
Right now, the Kunlun Demon Clan was powerful, Sang Island was frequently invading the coasts, and the Xia Country’s situation was precarious. They could not afford to lose another peerless genius who had the potential to become a Grandmaster!
「At that very moment.」
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!—
The bodies of seven Chosen Ones shot through the dark clouds, their momentum screeching to a halt as they broke through the air. They instantly captured the attention of all the factions’ teams. ’They’re all still alive?’
’Wait, some people are missing.’
While surprised that experts stronger than the Dharma Realm had appeared in the Northern Boundary, the various Chosen Ones found the experts from their own factions. Tang Guang also quickly returned to Zhu Weiyi’s group, eager to speak and ready to describe the extraordinary nature of the Northern Boundary.
But unexpectedly, Zhu Weiyi questioned him first: "Tang Guang, why are you alone? Where is Jiang Qiu?"
"!!!"
The color drained from Tang Guang’s face.
’That’s right... where is Jiang Qiu?’
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