Chen Huaian watched Li Qingran enter the Small Secret Realm.
It was a rather strange feeling.
A bit like a father sending his daughter off to school.
As a master, he felt that Li Qingran should step out from under his protection and undergo some trials —— though it wasn’t entirely so, since Sword Pavilion would still be her umbrella of protection, an umbrella he had armed to the teeth. But at the same time, he was still worried that Li Qingran might encounter difficulties she couldn’t handle and get hurt.
It was quite a contradictory feeling.
“Ancestor, what are your plans next? Why don’t you also enter the Large Secret Realm for a journey?”
Su Qinian sidled up to Chen Huaian, grinning.
How could Chen Huaian not know what Su Qinian was thinking?
It was simply because he knew of Chen Huaian’s formidable strength and wanted him to go in as a strong support.
But the Central Continent Secret Realm wasn’t a place where one could enter or leave freely, and the Small Secret Realm would close before the Large Secret Realm. The third clue given by the main storyline was very clear —— when the Secret Realm closed, there might be turmoil, meaning that even if Little Qingran managed to retreat safely from the Central Continent Secret Realm, she might still encounter danger upon exiting.
So he couldn’t enter the Large Secret Realm.
He had to stay outside and wait for Li Qingran to come out, making full preparations.
“This Ancestor won’t go in. This Ancestor has entered the Central Continent Secret Realm countless times in the past. The treasures inside have long lost their appeal to this Ancestor. You all go ahead.”
Su Qinian was slightly disappointed.
If only the Ancestor would also go.
Then as long as they didn’t encounter those three old monsters from the Three Great Sacred Lands, wouldn’t their Sword Pavilion be able to dominate in the Large Secret Realm?
“Ancestor, where do you think those treasures have gathered?” He began probing for information instead.
Chen Huaian remained silent for a moment, his lips twitching slightly.
Damn, he was just annoyed by people who asked questions relentlessly lately.
“What use is it for me to tell you about something that happened over a hundred years ago? Over a hundred years have passed; do you really think those treasures would still be waiting there for you to take?” Chen Huaian rolled his eyes at Su Qinian and closed his eyes to meditate in silence.
He looked entirely like someone who didn’t want to be bothered.
Su Qinian chuckled awkwardly, realizing it too.
That question was indeed a bit too presumptuous.
“Well then, Ancestor, we’ll wait for you outside while we go in first.”
Su Qinian exchanged glances with a few other elders, and then they all stepped onto their flying swords and soared towards the Large Secret Realm.
The resources of Sword Pavilion were scarce, and even the ones bestowed by the Ancestor were only a temporary solution.
As the sect leader, Su Qinian considered the long-term development of the sect.
So dangerous as the Large Secret Realm might be, they still had to venture into it with the elders.
Not long after Su Qinian and the others left, Chen Huaian opened his eyes, sighed with relief, and adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on the dragon chair.
“Finally, peace and quiet…”
At this moment, many people were missing from the training grounds of various sects.
Generally, only one elder or the sect leader remained, guarding a group of Newbie Disciples who didn’t even qualify to enter the Small Secret Realm.
Sword Pavilion was relatively special, as everyone except him had entered the Secret Realm.
Now the restrictions on the small and large bronze doors were gone.
Countless scattered cultivators flew towards the entrance of the Secret Realm, dense like locusts crossing the sky.
“Who says there aren’t many people in the cultivation world? There are plenty here. It’s truly enjoyable to struggle against heaven.”
Chen Huaian sighed, then suddenly furrowed his brows, sat up, and stared below.
Among the countless flying cultivators, a trace of demonic energy suddenly erupted.
A blood-red figure burst through the crowd and swiftly darted into the Small Secret Realm.
The demonic energy was mixed with sharp blade qi, and even from a kilometer away, one could feel the bone-chilling coldness.
This was a Demon Cultivator and a blade expert, with strength surpassing the Golden Core Stage.
His realm was indeed not strong, but his understanding of blade intent absolutely did not fall short compared to those prodigy disciples.
“Early Golden Core Stage… With the protection of those Sword Pavilion disciples, this Demon Cultivator wouldn’t pose any threat to Little Qingran, but…” Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes and looked towards the training grounds of the Three Great Sacred Lands. Unlike sects, the Sacred Lands had deep reserves. Even though many disciples had entered the Secret Realm, there were still quite a few people remaining on the training grounds.
A rough sense revealed that each training ground had over a dozen transformation stage cultivators, and a handful of fusion stage cultivators.
Such formidable strength and lineup, yet a lowly early Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator managed to break into the Small Secret Realm?
It was quite laughable.
Did they consider the Demon Cultivator’s strength too insignificant to worry about, thus staying silent?
Or were they deliberately pretending not to see?
Chen Huaian shook his head, feeling his nerves were a bit too sensitive. He guessed that after the Secret Realm was fully open, these Sacred Land cultivators would chat or cultivate on their own grounds, who would care about who entered the Secret Realm?
It was just him, “the father watching his daughter go to school,” worrying unnecessarily.
However, Chen Huaian didn’t know.
Right when he refused to enter the Large Secret Realm,
Li Qingran’s survival rate in the main quest suddenly rose from 99.999% to 100%…
…
Inside the Central Continent Secret Realm.
It was as if a shattered jade cup hung suspended in the sky.
Ruined walls, floating islands, black iron veins.
Reflecting different seasons.
There were islands covered in snow and wind, dense forests, miles of yellow sand… and also abysses filled with surging magma intersecting and floating.
Ancient steles eroded by streams formed honeycomb-like holes, ancient symbols flickering and emitting mist.
A hundred meters away, black pine forests were turning into golden sand and disappearing with the gale winds.
Occasionally, huge animal shadows could be seen drifting like fish through the cracks, their tail fins sweeping across the sky, scattering fiery meteors that fell into the Yin-Yang Twin Moon Pond which would never merge.
Yue Qianchi stood in front of the Twin Moon Pond and immediately sent out a gathering signal to summon the Sword Pavilion disciples.
This Twin Moon Pond could be considered a landmark scenery in the Secret Realm. Every year, whenever they entered the Secret Realm, their Sword Pavilion would gather here.
Once the disciples of Sword Pavilion gathered, Yue Qianchi, Xu An, Duan Feng, and other direct disciples quickly counted the number of people.
After confirming that no disciple was lost, Yue Qianchi pulled Li Qingran to her side first.
She stood on a rock, and her Xuanwu Sword crashed into the ground with a loud sound as she sternly said: “Still the old rules, groups of five, act according to the resource list required by each peak! Remember, unless necessary, do not engage in battle with ancient remains! Finding resources is the secondary goal; the primary goal is for everyone to return home alive together!”
“Yes!” All the disciples responded.
Yue Qianchi pulled Li Qingran’s hand and walked to the side, smiling:
“Come, Junior Sister, let’s directly find the Medicine King Valley ruins. Senior Sister knows the approximate location. Let them handle the collection of the sect’s resources.”
“Senior Sister, I can go myself. You, with your great strength, should stay…”
“Stay? Stay for what?” Yue Qianchi rolled her eyes, hands on her hips, and hugged Li Qingran’s thin shoulders, teasingly saying: “With your cultivation less than Golden Core, you’d better obediently stay tied to this Senior Sister’s waistband!”
“I…” Li Qingran blushed deeply.
Laughter erupted from the surrounding Sword Pavilion disciples.
“Junior Sister Qingran, you should follow Senior Sister.” Xu An grinned and said, “Are you doubting the skills of Senior Brother Duan Feng, the top disciple of Heartless Cliff? Hmm?” He patted Senior Brother Duan Feng’s shoulder beside him.
Duan Feng’s face turned dark, but he didn’t refute, merely nodding to Li Qingran.
“Xu An Junior Brother speaks correctly. Having Senior Brother Duan Feng is like gaining wings to a tiger and fins to a fish!”
Zhen He sat on a tree branch, lazily waving a folding fan.
Whenever he teased Duan Feng, he was always on the same side as Xu An.
Seeing this, Li Qingran stopped declining, hiding her gratitude in her heart, and quietly nodded.
…
Yue Qianchi held Li Qingran’s hand and headed north. Flying was prohibited within the Secret Realm, so they could only walk.
Li Qingran looked at her senior sister’s flowing hair swaying in the wind,
feeling as if the light falling from the sky had been carefully filtered by someone, gently spreading warmth on her face.
The warmth from her senior sister’s palm was transmitted to her left hand.
Li Qingran’s right hand unconsciously tightened around the sword hilt.
It seemed that the sharpest sword was never meant to sever anything.
Rather, it was to protect the warmth in her palm from the wind and snow, forming an uncollapsible dome.
“I will protect my master, protect everything…”
Li Qingran silently told herself.
…
In a small forest near the Yin-Yang Ponds.
A girl with a demon blade hanging at her waist looked extremely disgruntled.
Hiding in the bushes, only one eye peeking out, observing the Sword Pavilion disciples dividing into teams.
“Alright, I’ve managed to get in… But why am I teleported here to Sword Pavilion? They mustn’t discover me…”
The demon blade trembled, emitting a cackling laughter.
【With so many delicious Sword Pavilion disciples, why not kill them all and use their sword intent to refine your blade intent? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?】
“Hmph, shut up!”
The girl coldly snorted and stomped on the demon blade lying on the ground.
“Be quiet. If they find us, I’ll throw you out first!”
The demon blade quivered once.
And then fell silent.
Even as a demon blade, it didn’t want to fall into the hands of these sword cultivators.
