Chapter 350: Earthquake and Changes
Fifteen years passed in the blink of an eye.
In that time, Jiang Yue refined a natal weapon in the shape of a pipa.
The pipa’s birth rank was the middle grade of the profound rank, and he named it ’Fuyue’.
After he left seclusion, they didn’t leave the trading area.
Instead, they continued to open their stall and eventually; they found the treasures they needed to advance to the ninth level of the origin tempering realm.
After fifteen years, Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen were now at the peak of the ninth level of the origin tempering realm.
"It’s time for us to leave this place." Jiang Yue said and looked at his Taoist companion.
They had been at the peak of the ninth level of the origin tempering realm for more than two years.
After a lot of hard work, their cultivation was stable, and they wanted to find opportunities to break through to the core formation realm.
"There are still fifteen years before the close of the secret realm. We should be able to break through before we leave the secret realm." Yu Nianzhen said.
"Azhen, do you think..." Jiang Yue started and then frowned.
"Do you feel that?" He asked instead.
"Mmmm." Yu Nianzhen nodded and also frowned.
He took Jiang Yue’s hand and pulled him out of the ancient palace.
On instinct, Jiang Yue collected the palace, and both stood in the vacant space.
"Why is there an earthquake?" Jiang Yue asked and looked around.
Aside from them, other cultivators had also exited their portable spaces and were also looking around.
"What is happening?" One of the cultivators asked.
Unfortunately, no one knew the answer.
"The earthquake seems to be far away. What we feel are the aftershocks." Jiang Yue analysed, and Yu Nianzhen agreed.
"Could it be the same as the Thousand Herbs Garden? Will the secret realm close early?" He continued, feeling a little depressed.
Jiang Yue didn’t want to leave the Nine Treasures secret realm just yet.
Compared to the outside world, the secret realm was a better place to break through.
"Let’s wait and see." Yu Nianzhen said and tightened his hand around Jiang Yue.
At that, Jiang Yue nodded and squeezed his husband’s hand.
A moment later, another earthquake swept the secret realm.
This time, the aftershocks were stronger and several cultivators uncontrollably took a few steps back.
In this way, the earthquakes continued for half a day.
When the last one ended, the sky changed and a golden glow radiated from a distance.
"Has a rare treasure appeared?" Someone exclaimed, and everyone felt a little excited.
"It has to be a treasure." Another commented, and most others agreed.
While some cultivators were talking, others had already flown towards the golden light.
"We should also go." Jiang Yue suggested.
"Let’s go." Yu Nianzhen agreed.
After all, a treasure that could affect the secret realm for half a day was bound to be extraordinary.
Considering that, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue didn’t want to miss it, so they began to fly towards the light.
However, before they flew for one hundred metres, the secret realm began to shake again.
"Is it another earthquake?" Jiang Yue asked as both landed on the ground.
"It feels a little different." Yu Nianzhen observed.
"The earth isn’t actually shaking." He continued, and Jiang Yue immediately noticed it.
While the two were confused, a gigantic hand fell from the sky and rushed towards them.
"Be careful." Yu Nianzhen reacted quickly and pushed Jiang Yue to the side.
At the same time, both released their weapons and prepared to attack the giant hand.
However, all was in vain.
As the hand fell, both felt like they were rooted to the ground.
They couldn’t move a muscle and could only watch as the hand captured them.
A moment later, they were submerged in darkness, and when they could see again, their location had changed.
"Are you okay?" Yu Nianzhen asked anxiously.
"I am fine." Jiang Yue answered and looked around.
"There are others here." Jiang Yue observed, and both stood up.
From a casual glance, they were in a plain.
Other than them, there were several thousand others, but everyone seemed confused; as if they didn’t quite know how they got there.
"Azhen, look at that." Jiang Yue said and urgently grabbed the swordsman’s arm.
"What..." Yu Nianzhen started but stopped midsentence.
On one side of the plain was a blessed land that radiated a golden light.
The blessed land was enclosed in a bubble which was translucent enough to reveal the scene inside.
"There are so many spiritual pools." Jiang Yue said excitedly.
"This Nine Treasures secret realm is truly surprising."
"It is." Yu Nianzhen agreed.
They previously came across a medicinal hot spring and reaped a lot of benefits from it.
Although they had yet to enter the blessed land, Yu Nianzhen could already tell that the spiritual pools were of higher quality than the previous hot spring.
"XiaoYue, this could be the chance we are waiting for." Yu Nianzhen said, and Jiang Yue nodded.
"A lot of qi is required to break through to the core formation realm. A spiritual pool is exactly what we need."
"Azhen, let’s look for the others and go in together."
After more than thirty years, Jiang Yue couldn’t wait to see Yang Xu, Bing Lan, Xuan Ke, and Li Futian.
"Do you think everyone has reached the peak of the ninth level?" He asked.
"Probably." Yu Nianzhen said.
Unlike he and Jiang Yue, the others only needed one treasure for every level. If they didn’t slack, they probably broke through to the ninth level earlier than Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen.
"It would be good if they broke through." Jiang Yue said.
[The Tree of Life has matured a lot. If master refines a few leaves, he should be able to break through to the nascent soul realm.] Yu Nianzhen transmitted.
[That’s good news.] Jiang Yue said and then frowned.
[After reaching the peak of the nascent soul realm, we will have no way to break through. We should try to find a way when we exit the secret realm.]
[There are many secret and forbidden places in the Cangxing world. Let’s try to explore them when we have time.]
[Okay.]
As the two talked, they walked around the plain to find their companions.
However, they didn’t find their friends but found several acquaintances.
"The strength of those in our generation has improved a lot. Most have already reached the ninth level of the origin tempering realm." Jiang Yue observed.
"There are many treasures in the secret realm. Not to mention the time tower."
"Without the time tower, we probably wouldn’t be at the ninth level."
"We may not be the favourites of heaven, but we are lucky enough." Jiang Yue said, and both chuckled.
"Brother Jiang, Brother Yu, I am here." A voice shouted, and both turned around.
"Brother Xuan." Jiang Yue called excitedly and smiled at Xuan Ke.
"Brother Xuan." Yu Nianzhen also called.
"Brothers, your cultivation has also reached the peak of the ninth level." The monk stated as he walked towards them.
"Have you been well these years?" Jiang Yue asked.
"I was thrown to a land of lightning when I left the time tower. What about the two of you? Were you thrown to the same place?"
"Azhen was thrown to a mountain of gold source stones, and I was thrown to a place of the water element. We met later and have been in the trading area for the last fifteen years."
"What about Brother Li and the two seniors?"
"We haven’t met them yet." Jiang Yue said, and the three grouped up to find the others.
Another cup of tea later, the three found Yang Xu and Bing Lan.
As expected, Bing Lan was already at the peak of the ninth level, but Yang Xu’s cultivation was still suppressed at the peak of the origin tempering realm.
However, his aura was more than five times stronger than when he first entered the secret realm.
From this, one could tell that he replaced some of his origin treasures with more powerful ones.
"Master, Mistress." Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue called.
"Senior Yang, Senior Bing." Xuan Ke called.
"Have you encountered any troubles?" Yang Xu asked as he took a good look at them.
"No troubles at all." Jiang Yue assured.
"I also didn’t get into any trouble." Xuan Ke said.
"What about master and mistress?" Yu Nianzhen queried.
"Nothing we couldn’t handle." Yang Xu said but didn’t go into details.
"Let’s continue to look for Brother Li." Jiang Yue suggested, and the others agreed.
However, before they could take a few steps, a giant hand appeared and dropped someone in front of them.
"Brother Li?" Xuan Ke questioned as they looked at the dishevelled person.
"Let’s catch up later." Li Futian said and pointed to the blessed land.
In confusion, the others turned around and saw a screen floating in front of the translucent barrier.
