Chapter 138 Introduction to the Central Area

The "losing out" group of five is working hard to get rich.

Song Yin squatted on the ground, pulling and digging, her hands never stopping, her eyes turning into the shape of spirit stones.

Gathering spiritual herbs here is no different from picking up top-grade spiritual stones on the ground.

Song Yin didn't take any of the younger, more mature herbs that needed to continue growing; she only took those that were old enough. She swept everything away wherever she went, leaving only the seedlings swaying weakly and helplessly in the wind.

By the time they had searched for most of the most valuable treasures in the area, it was already getting dark.

"It might not be safe tonight. I have a portable cave dwelling, so let's rest there tonight and take stock of today's harvest," Song Yin asked the others.

Shi Heming: "I have no problem."

Shen Yuzhu: "I'm fine with it too."

Han Wuyue nodded in agreement.

Xia Xining: "Of course you can, but where did you get your portable cave dwelling?"

Song Yin released her personal cave dwelling and casually explained, "It was a gift from someone else."

From the outside, it looks like a small house, but inside it's a completely different world with a lot of space.

Xia Xining didn't press for details about who sent it, and said happily, "That's wonderful! Thanks to you, everyone can get a good night's rest today."

Shi Heming took out the array plate he usually made, "I'll set up more arrays around here, so it will be safer at night."

Shen Yuzhu: "I suggest we take turns keeping watch at night. Although we have portable caves, there's no guarantee that someone won't see us and lie in ambush outside, waiting for us to come out to ambush us."

“Yes, a small house suddenly appeared in the open space by the lake. It’s obviously a portable cave dwelling.” Xia Xining looked at the woods behind her. “Why don’t we put the portable cave dwelling in the woods? We can use the trees to cover it up.”

Shi Heming: "We can also use formations and talismans to completely hide the portable cave dwelling, so that the small house cannot be seen from the outside. If anyone gets close, they will be confused by the formation and go far away."

"Everyone's suggestions are good, I'll take them." Song Yin put away her portable cave dwelling and chose a new place to put it down.

Shi Heming set up an array around them, and talismans were pasted on several tree trunks.

Han Wuyue: "I'll take the night watch."

Shen Yuzhu: "Then I'll take over for the second half of the night, and you can keep watch again tomorrow night."

Song Yin: "Okay, thank you both for your hard work tonight."

After the four entered their personal cave dwellings to rest, Han Wuyue looked around, chose a tree to jump up, and leaned against the thick trunk, still holding her natal sword in her arms. Although her eyes were closed, her divine sense was actually constantly being activated.

The formation set up by Shi Heming not only concealed his personal cave dwelling, but also hid Han Wuyue in the tree.

To onlookers, there were only trees and no one in sight.

The sky turned completely dark, the clouds obscured the moonlight, and only some plants and animals emitted fluorescent light.

Three men dressed in black, completely covered from head to toe, emerged from the lake. They wore black masks covering their entire faces and black cloaks.

"Where are those Nascent Soul stage cultivators? They were all here at dawn, how come they've disappeared now?"

"They've probably hidden themselves or left. After all, there's a common knowledge in the cultivation world that the central areas of all secret realms are very dangerous."

"Pfft, that's hilarious. The Nine Heavens Secret Realm is different from other secret realms. The central area is actually the safest, especially the area around the lake."

"Many demonic beasts come out at night. Should we go outside the central area to watch those cultivators fight the demonic beasts at night?"

"Let's go see which unlucky souls have been attacked by monsters."

The three disappeared into the lake as if they had never existed.

When the three appeared, Han Wuyue immediately concealed her divine sense.

"Phew—" Han Wuyue breathed a sigh of relief as the three left.

Since the central area is the safest, they should rest there for the next few days. But who are those three people, and why are they so familiar with the Nine Heavens Secret Realm? Could they have been there before?

In the middle of the night, Shen Yuzhu came out to take over the shift.

"The dark figures Song Yin saw on the lake during the day were real. There were three men in black, completely covered from head to toe, and wearing black masks. They were very familiar with the Nine Heavens Secret Realm. When they were chatting, they said that the central area was the safest, especially the area around the lake. They didn't notice us and went to watch other cultivators fight monsters at night outside the central area." Han Wuyue finished speaking the important information in one breath, and then shut up.

Shen Yuzhu: "I thought we were the first to arrive in the central area, but it turns out there were already people here. We just happened to be resting in the safest area today. You worked hard the first half of the night, now leave the rest to me."

Han Wuyue: "Mm."

Outside the central area.

Monsters roam freely, and the secret realm, which is relatively peaceful during the day, becomes extremely dangerous at night. Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation stage monsters can be seen everywhere, and there are also many monsters even more powerful than these.

Elder Pei hid behind a tree, turning back to look at the giant, scaly beast's tail. She held her breath, trying to minimize her presence and prevent any leakage of her spiritual energy.

The mountain-like monster's every step caused the earth to tremble. Even after the monster had gone far away, Elder Pei did not dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Elder Fu transmitted his voice to Elder Pei: "The situation is urgent, Pei Jinyao, how are things on your end?"

Elder Pei also transmitted his voice: "The Tribulation Transcending stage demon beast didn't see me and has now gone far away, heading in Wen Yi's direction. Tell him to retreat from that direction immediately..."

The message reached the back, but Elder Pei fell silent.

Elder Fu continued to transmit his voice, asking, "Elder Pei? Pei Jinyao? Are you still there? Speak!"

The enormous vertical pupils were as tall as a person, only a meter away from Elder Pei.

Elder Pei clearly saw the blinking motion, his back pressed against the rough tree bark, his index and middle fingers joined together, spiritual energy gathering at his fingertips.

The enormous eye blinked again, then moved away from Elder Pei, followed by a burst of flames that shot towards Elder Pei.

Elder Pei appeared on the back of the Wind-Swept Vulture and ordered the beast carrying her to increase its speed.

"Holy crap! That was terrifying!"

To safely avoid the attack, she had to fly elsewhere, and being alone tonight was inevitable.

Elder Pei simultaneously transmitted his voice to the others: "Don't look for me. If you have the chance, head to the central area. We'll meet there."

Within the central area, Shen Yuzhu, who was on night watch, heard a commotion in the distance.

The lights of various spells in the distance looked like fireworks in bloom.

Shen Yuzhu muttered to himself, "It's good that I came out with my junior sister. I wonder how the elders are doing."

Aside from the central area, fierce battles raged throughout the secret realm at night. The commotion attracted new monsters, making it seem like there was no end to them to be killed.

As night passed and dawn broke, the monsters tacitly withdrew.

"Pah!" Uncle Mingzhu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

Despite her injuries, Mingzhu handed out medicine to the others, saying, "Take these quickly to heal your wounds."

A male cultivator from the Wuji Sect said, "Last night was truly unlucky. It's a pity that Junior Brother Li self-destructed. If he had held on until dawn..."

Uncle-Master Mingzhu: "Let's rest for a bit, then we'll start collecting spiritual herbs today."

"Everyone, we're doing alright; at least no one's gotten separated. The group from the Immortal Cloud Sect got separated during last night's battle." Another female cultivator from the Boundless Sect returned and shared the information she had gathered with the more seriously injured.

Elder Pei, who had gotten separated from the group, was now sitting on the back of the demonic beast, cursing and swearing: "I'm so angry! That damned demonic beast chased me all night. If it's so good at chasing, why didn't it just chase me to its death first!"

"Last night was so dangerous, I wonder how those five little brats are doing, tsk!"

The Wind-Swallowing Vulture flies extremely fast. Elder Pei was so focused on escaping last night that he only realized he had entered the central area after he was safe at dawn.

Elder Pei patted the back of the Wind-Sweeping Vulture and ordered, "Do you see the lake in the distance? Land by the lake."

The swift eagle obeyed the command, flapped its wings, and quickly landed on the lakeside.

Elder Pei squatted by the lake, washing the blood off his hands with water.

"Elder Pei?"

Song Yin's voice came from behind him, and Elder Pei thought he was hallucinating.

"Elder Pei, why are you alone? Where are the other elders?"

It wasn't a hallucination.

Elder Pei turned around and saw that Song Yin was dressed neatly from head to toe, showing no signs of being disheveled after the battle.

Elder Pei: "What about the other disciples?"

Song Yin turned to the side and pointed to a place with trees not far away.

Xia Xining was talking to Han Wuyue, Shen Yuzhu was practicing his sword swings as usual in the morning, and Shi Heming was reinforcing the formation.

Elder Pei looked at his reflection in the water; his hair was disheveled, his clothes were stained with blood, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Then he looked at his five little rascals, who were full of energy.

Elder Pei: ...

Elder Pei: "When did you arrive here?"

Song Yin: "I arrived yesterday, but was accidentally teleported here."

Elder Pei: "Teleportation?"

“Yes, we followed the elders into the ruins, but we accidentally triggered something like a teleportation array and fell into a mysterious space. After we managed to get out of the space, we went straight to the lake,” Song Yin said, half-truthfully.

Elder Pei: "So it wasn't you who left the group without permission?"

"How could that be!" Song Yin said without batting an eye, "We agreed to stay close to the group before entering the secret realm, how could we have strayed from the group on our own! Elder Pei, you have to believe in the five of us!"

Elder Pei: "Really?" Actually, she already believed it. Last night, she relied on the Wind-Swept Vulture to travel, flying for half the night before finally reaching the central area. Song Yin and the others, however, arrived at the central area earlier than anyone else; only teleportation could achieve that.

I spent all day yesterday cursing those little brats, but it turns out they didn't leave on purpose; I had wrongly accused them.

Elder Pei: "Well... uh... it's good that you're all alright, it's good that you're alright, haha..."

The four people in the distance kept listening to the commotion from Song Yin's side.

Hearing her quickly put the matter of her sneaking away behind her back, Xia Xining secretly gave her a thumbs up.

A feeling of admiration welled up in Han Wuyue's heart; Song Yin really knew how to deceive people.

Although she believed Song Yin's words, Elder Pei still wanted to ask the others. She looked at the other four people and chose Han Wuyue, who was honest and wouldn't lie.

The two senior and junior disciples from Lingpo Peak are known for never lying.

Xia Xining thought to herself: This is bad!

Elder Pei called Han Wuyue to his side and asked, "Song Yin said you were teleported here?"

Han Wuyue's heart tightened. She wanted to lie but couldn't. After a long while, she told the truth: "We fell into an unfamiliar space. I obtained the inheritance of the Ruthless Path inside. After we came out, we were by the lake."

Elder Pei raised his voice: "Inheritance?!"

Damn! A few of the younger ones actually found the inheritance first, while the elders didn't find a single one!

Han Wuyue's words also confirmed that what Song Yin said was true.

Song Yin feigned grievance and said, "Elder Pei, I'm telling the truth. Why don't you believe me? Why do you have to ask others? Is trust between people so fragile?"

Elder Pei: "I believe you! I believe you! It was my fault, don't say anymore."

Now, the inheritance is even more attractive to her. Elder Pei said to Han Wuyue, "Can you tell me about your inheritance?"

“Okay.” Han Wuyue stood beside Elder Pei and explained the matter of inheritance and trials to her.

Seeing this, Song Yin felt relieved and walked to the other side.

Xia Xining transmitted her voice to Song Yin: "You scared me to death just now!"

Song Yin transmitted her voice: "I had already considered that she wouldn't lie, so I only told half the truth. If any elders ask again later, just let her tell the truth."

Xia Xining transmitted her voice: "Brilliant! You're still the best!"

Song Yin: "Next, let's discuss today's actions. If we want other rare and precious materials, we'll have to change locations. If we want to find a legacy, we'll have to circle around the central area, which will be safer. Alternatively, we can leave the central area during the day and return in the evening."

Shi Heming: "Inheritance is indeed very important, but it is also very difficult to find. I don't think it's advisable to waste all your time looking for inheritance. So everyone should just search for the rare and precious materials they need or like, and look for inheritance on the side."

Xia Xining: "Agreed. Now that the central area is safe, we can continue to split up and take action."

Just then, Elder Pei finished his conversation and came over, only to hear Xia Xining say that the central area was safe. "The central area is the most dangerous place in the secret realm. If we're talking about safety, the outer area is safer."

“This time it’s really different…” Shen Yuzhu recounted the events of the night in a few precise words.

To everyone's surprise, Elder Pei's expression changed upon hearing this. "Han Wuyue, you will stay with me. Once the other elders arrive, you will continue to follow us as well."

Han Wuyue: "Hmm?"

Elder Pei: "If nothing unexpected happens, those three are probably the ones vying for the inheritance. You must not let outsiders know that you possess an inheritance."

Han Wuyue: "Okay."

Elder Pei felt a mix of emotions—both complex and bitter—as he thought of how he himself had fled for a night while his five disciples had safely spent the night.

On the second day of the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, apart from Song Yin and a few others, everyone else was still slowly making their way towards the central area.

There are two main reasons for the slower pace: either the collection of rare and precious materials has slowed down, or the search for inheritance has slowed down.

Everyone assumed the central area was the most dangerous, and even rushing there as quickly as possible wouldn't guarantee obtaining multiple treasures safely. Therefore, it was better to find more treasures outside the central area and take them with you.

This resulted in many rare and precious materials in the central area going unclaimed, benefiting Song Yin and her group.

Taking advantage of their strengths, Song Yin and her team found many valuable items directly in the central area.

Song Yin remarked with relief, "Luckily, I brought a lot of storage bags."

This advantage was temporary. On the third day after the opening of the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, other people finally arrived at the central area one after another.

Later visitors discovered that there wasn't much of value around the lake, and it wasn't as valuable as the area outside the center.

Elder Fu and his companions arrived late, and by the time they got there, the rare and precious natural treasures around the lake had dwindled even further.

Elder Fu said, "We were still a step too late." He had originally planned to find more rare and precious materials to take out, so that Wanbaolou would earn more spirit stones, but unfortunately there weren't many things in the central area.

Elder Fu thought to himself that it was fortunate that he had found many rare and precious materials outside the central area, but it was a pity that he had missed out on a certain inheritance because he had not passed the test.

The inheritance they had finally found was right in front of them, but they couldn't take it away because they hadn't passed the test. Elder Fu's heart was bleeding!

"Elder Fu? We've been waiting for you for so long!" Elder Pei led Han Wuyue over to greet them.

Elder Fu: "Why is it only Han Wuyue? Where are the other disciples?"

Elder Pei: "They are all safe and sound, and they are looking for all sorts of valuable treasures."

Speaking of this, Elder Fu couldn't help but sigh, "We arrived too late. When we came in, I saw that many ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were gone, and there were only a few hundred-year-old or thousand-year-old spiritual herbs left. We couldn't find many materials for refining weapons either, let alone spiritual fruits and the like."

Elder Pei, whose storage bag was bulging, said, "Hahaha, really? There are probably too many people here. People from the Wuji Sect and the Tiangan Sect have come, and I even saw people from the Immortal Alliance. It won't be long before there are even more people in the central area."

Elder Fu wanted to talk about the matter of inheritance, but when he saw another group of people arrive, he didn't mention it.

Elder Pei pushed Han Wuyue in front of Elder Fu: "Elder Fu, you have the highest cultivation among us, so you must protect Han Wuyue."

Why mention protecting Han Wuyue when no one else was mentioned… Elder Fu quickly realized, “Her!”

Elder Pei nodded, then said to Han Wuyue, "You should stay with Elder Fu for now; he will protect you." Having finished searching for rare and precious materials, she now needed to find some eggs or cubs of exotic beasts to bring back to Spirit Beast Peak.

"Look! Something's happening in the middle of the lake!" someone shouted from the lakeside.

Elder Pei and the others were drawn to the lake and flew to the lakeside to see.

The once calm lake surface changed, and a huge whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake.

Hearing the commotion, Song Yin rushed over with Shi Heming and the others.

Song Yin stopped in mid-air and looked down: "There's something at the bottom of the lake."

Shi Heming noticed Elder Fu and the others, "The other four elders have all arrived."

"We've been by the lake for a long time and haven't seen any changes in the water. Could it be that the people who came later triggered something?" Shen Yuzhu speculated.

As the whirlpool in the center of the lake grew larger and larger, just when everyone thought the whirlpool would not stop, several doors flew out from the whirlpool.

Song Yin: "Another door??"

Is the Nine Heavens Secret Realm deliberately targeting doors? Previously, when they fell into an unknown space, there was only one door in front of them. Now, ten doors have flown directly out from the center of the vortex, each gleaming with golden light, enticing people to enter.

Xia Xining: "When that door was opened before, Han Wuyue obtained the inheritance. Could it be that the ten doors also lead to inheritances?"

Song Yin: "Whether there is inheritance or danger behind the door, no one can say for sure."

Just as many people were struggling with their questions, three cultivators dressed in black appeared in the crowd. They wore black masks and concealed their cultivation levels very well, so no one present could tell how powerful they were.

Amidst gasps of surprise, the three flew toward the ten gates and entered different gates.

"who are they?"

"Hiding from head to toe, it seems they don't want us to know their identity."

"They've all gone inside, should we go in too?"

"Let's take another look."

Apart from the three people who went in at the beginning, the rest of them remained silent.

Song Yin observed, “There are ten doors, and the patterns on every two doors are the same. There are sword images and pen images. From left to right, they are sword, flag, cauldron, pen, and fire. Perhaps they are related to what is behind the doors.”

Should we go in? But ten doors are too obvious; they all look like traps. Should we not go in? But what if there really is a legacy behind those doors?

Song Yin: "Friends, here's the question: should we go in or not?"

Xia Xining: "If only there were a diviner who could tell our fortunes, with the guidance of Heaven, we could know good or bad luck in advance."

Song Yin touched the jade pendant given to her by her grandmaster: "It's a pity we're not divination cultivators... How about this, I'll just go through one of the doors at random and test it out for everyone?"

"No," Shi Heming and Shen Yuzhu said at the same time.

"How about we go through the same door?" Song Yin's expression gradually hardened. "Let's give it a try, just in case."

Perhaps the opportunity is right behind the door; it would be such a pity to miss it because of timidity.

Xia Xining casually pointed: "Then let's choose the rightmost door, what do you guys think?"

"This is it."

The four of them decisively flew towards the rightmost door.

The speed at which they agreed suggests that they all had some intention of going in.

"More people have gone in; it's four people entering through the same door," said the monk by the lake.

"I think I saw Song Yin inside."

"Song Yin? Song Yin has already gone in, should we go in too?"

Elder Pei: "Ahhh! How did they get in?!" He then grabbed Han Wuyue's shoulder, "Don't do what they did."

Han Wuyue knew the importance of the inheritance she possessed, "Understood."

Elder Fu flew in after them, saying, "I'll go help them."

Elder Pei: "Uncle Fu Ji! Why did you go in without saying a word!"

Elder Cang said, "He's a money-grubber. It's perfectly normal for him to go in; he probably wants to gamble on what's behind the door." He then asked the other elders, "Are you going?"

Elder Feng was more cautious: "Let's take another look."

Elder Wen: "Me too."

Elder Pei touched her storage bag; she had already received enough. "I won't go in." It would be too much of a loss if she were to fall in.

With one person taking the lead, many others are itching to follow suit.

At this moment, a female cultivator from the Immortal Alliance flew towards the door with the pen pattern.

Someone else went in.

People's thinking began to change. They were no longer thinking about the unknown dangers behind the door, but whether they would suffer if they didn't go in.

So more people went in, and more and more people went in.

...

After Song Yin and the others entered through the rightmost door, everyone was forced to separate.

"Shi Heming?"

"Xia Xining?"

When the two didn't respond, Song Yin went to call Shen Yuzhu, "Senior Brother?"

Unfortunately, there was no response.

Behind the door was not the previous passage, but a blue sky, white clouds, green grass, and a bamboo grove next to the thatched house.

Song Yin turned around, but the door behind her had already disappeared.

Behind the thatched house were large fields of farmland, where various kinds of magical herbs were planted.

Song Yin walked to the edge of the field and reached out to touch the leaves. "It's real, not an illusion..."

She found them all in the fields of spiritual herbs in the central area, and they were quite old.

The thatched hut should be where the field keeper lived. Song Yin walked up to the thatched hut and knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock.

Is anyone there?

The thatched hut creaked open, but no one was inside.

The door wasn't locked, and Song Yin knocked lightly, opening it.

The interior layout is very simple, with just a square table and a wooden bed; there is no furniture such as a desk, cabinet, or flower stand.

The square table had no carved patterns; it was plain and ordinary, covered with a thick layer of dust.

"well."

A sigh suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The interior of the room then changed.

A young girl, holding a book in her hand, lay on a wooden bed flipping through it. "I followed the steps in the book to plant vegetables, but why won't they sprout?"

A real person? No, this seems to be an illusion.

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Author's Note: Elder Fu and the other three: It's a pity we arrived too late; all the good stuff has been looted. [Chin resting on hand]

Elder Pei, whose storage bag was overflowing: [Very incompetent]

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[Empty bowl]