Chapter 382

Chapter 382: The Secret Realm Opens

Many Disciples below did not respond, but their eyes shone with the spirit of battle.

The spots available in this secret realm were not easily obtained; they had fought hard for them, as it even related to their future realm advancement.

As disciples from the He Dao Sect, they were the elite of their sect.

Moreover, now that they were here, who would consider withdrawing?

Peak Master Xing nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you do not move forward, you will retreat. Without the courage to face crisis and a loss of bravery, one’s accomplishments will be limited.

However, at this moment, Ji Yang showed signs of hesitation.

Could he still withdraw? No one had told him that before.

Could it be that he didn’t have to go? This secret realm certainly didn’t seem safe; after all, it was just two mines, and there were plenty of mines outside. Plus, his realm in the secret realm was not exactly unstoppable, so the risk was still quite high.

Thinking this way, Ji Yang’s feet couldn’t help but shift slightly.

Above, Peak Master Xing noticed Ji Yang’s hesitant expression and saw him about to speak. Without hesitation, Peak Master Xing declared:

"Well, since no one is withdrawing, it will be as it is. I wish you all a safe return."

As soon as he finished speaking, Peak Master Xing vanished from everyone’s sight.

He certainly wouldn’t give Ji Yang the chance to voice his concerns. Before their departure, Peak Master Ye had already communicated with him, asking him to keep an eye on Ji Yang.

After all, Ji Yang was Peak Master Ye’s favored disciple, and with Peak Master Ye’s personal instructions, Peak Master Xing naturally agreed without question.

He didn’t expect that Peak Master Ye’s meaning of "looking after" was different from his understanding.

He was only to ensure that Ji Yang didn’t run away during the journey and didn’t need to concern himself with anything else; he could handle things normally.

Peak Master Xing had initially been puzzled, not understanding Peak Master Ye’s intentions.

But upon noticing Ji Yang’s hesitation, he finally grasped that this kid genuinely wanted to flee.

Fortunately, he was quicker, leaving Ji Yang no opportunity to speak.

With Peak Master Xing’s sudden disappearance, the words Ji Yang had wanted to say were swallowed back down.

He was still contemplating, so why not give him a little time?

Forget it; if he had to go, then he would go. With his strength, although he wasn’t among the strongest, Ji Yang had a certain degree of confidence. Besides, he was just going in to mine; what danger could that bring?

Half a joss stick of incense passed in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, many cultivators in the square also showed confusion, and someone asked the person next to him:

“Senior brother, why don’t I see the entrance to the secret realm?”

Shouldn’t there be a grand entrance when a secret realm opens? Why was there no sign at all?

Could it be that these Peak Masters had miscalculated the time?

Looking around, all the Peak Masters had vanished from the square, leaving only the disciples behind, which increased many people’s confusion.

"You’ll see the entrance soon," replied the nearby senior brother with a smile.

As everyone quietly waited, Ji Yang suddenly turned his gaze to the ground.

The once flat square suddenly emitted a bright light, and then everyone felt the ground disappear beneath their feet, causing them to fall downwards in an instant.

Faced with this sudden feeling of falling, some cultivators cried out in surprise and quickly flew upwards.

But when these cultivators saw that some high-level cultivators in the late Void Refinement stage not only did not soar into the air but instead charged downwards, they quickly understood.

So this was the entrance to the secret realm, which made them feel somewhat embarrassed, and they quickly followed suit, plummeting downward.

At that moment, the square dissolved in a burst of light, transforming into a huge white Whirlpool.

Countless cultivators surged into it, their figures slowly disappearing from sight.

As the ground changed, Ji Yang had already noticed.

Although he realized that the entrance to the secret realm lay below, Ji Yang did not rush to enter.

After observing many cultivators successfully enter the secret realm, Ji Yang no longer hesitated and flew down, diving into the Whirlpool.

Once inside the Whirlpool, a world of white surrounded him, resembling a dream.

Before Ji Yang could spread his primordial spirit energy to take a closer look, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

When Ji Yang looked up again, he found himself in an unfamiliar land.

What met his eyes was a grey expanse, with damp soil underfoot and only a few black stones scattered about. There were no sun or stars, just a faint glow shining down from the sky.

Darkness—this was Ji Yang’s first impression.

The rather oppressive environment caused Ji Yang to furrow his brow.

However, upon sensing the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth around him, Ji Yang was surprised.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the secret realm was twice that of ordinary places outside, and according to the description in the previous booklet, this area should only be the lower layer of the secret realm.

If it were the middle or upper layers of the secret realm, the spiritual energy concentration would reach several times or even dozens of times greater.

Such dense spiritual energy was one of the reasons many cultivators entered this secret realm; even if they didn’t find the essence of the Way, cultivating inside for two months would yield far better results than outside.

After confirming that there was no danger nearby, Ji Yang’s gaze turned toward a black stone not far away, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

This stone seemed unusual; he wondered if it was some kind of high-quality ore and decided to try mining it with his iron pick.

Without hesitation, Ji Yang walked slowly towards the black stone, his iron pick already in hand.

Just as Ji Yang got closer, two beams of white light suddenly appeared beside him.

The sudden white light caused Ji Yang to stiffen, his expression becoming cautious.

This secret realm had many unexplored areas, and unknown dangers could easily arise. Although Ji Yang was bold due to his skills, he knew to be on guard; he didn’t believe he could act recklessly in this Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong.

However, when Ji Yang saw the figures wrapped in the two beams of white light, his wariness slowly faded.

These were not threats but rather other cultivators who had entered the secret realm behind him, merely coincidentally appearing in the same place.

This time, there were over ten sects entering the secret realm, with a combined total of several hundred cultivators, but that number was not too large.

He also didn’t know if these two were lucky or if the secret realm was not as vast as he had imagined.

After realizing that both of them were at the Spirit Transformation Stage, Ji Yang paid them no more mind and continued towards his target, the black stone.

As the white light dissipated, the two people inside quickly regained their composure.

After the two regained their senses, their first action was to summon their treasures and extend their primordial spirit energy to observe their surroundings.

Upon sensing each other’s presence, both displayed a vigilant expression.

These two belonged to different sects; one was a disciple from the Xuantian Sect, and the other was a disciple from the Four Symbols Sect!

Outside the secret realm, this could be tolerated, but now, without any elders from their sects to support them, and as rivals in the Cultivation World, they naturally would not coexist peacefully!

Even if they didn’t take the initiative to attack, they had to remain cautious of the other’s actions.

There was no reasoning between cultivators.