northernbook Chapter 159 Little Dark Room
Chapter 159 Little Dark Room
Somewhere, in a small, dark room.
Four furtive figures huddled around an oil lamp, the dim light casting their faces in a ghostly glow.
An ancient parchment scroll was unfurled, its ancient records having been revised many times, some of which were no longer legible.
This is the map of the secret realm we're going to next, called Little Spirit Valley. Although it's called a valley, it's actually an area nestled between one or two mountains. The sheer size, steepness, and altitude of these two mountains make this place, which can be described as a long, narrow plain, worthy of being called a "valley."
At the end of the valley lies a large lake with some small islands, but these areas are still marked as unexplored.
At the edge of the map, some unnamed islands were clearly marked, but there wasn't time to explore them.
Zhong Ming pointed to these areas and said, "The opening of the secret realm is time-limited. The entrance and exit opened by spiritual power will only last for one month. If we want to get here, it means we need to walk at least 100 kilometers every day, avoid or cross all the monsters, and then have enough combat power to fight the enemies on the unknown island."
Xuan Jing ran his chubby fingers along the map near the entrance and said in a sinister tone, "This area is now a completely controlled planting zone, but considering the purpose of this training for new recruits, will they release some spirit beasts to interfere with us?"
"You're overthinking it." Chen Dahai was the most qualified to speak on these matters. "Raising a spirit beast is very expensive. For a high-ranking sect, simply scattering some beast-attracting incense is more cost-effective. Besides..."
Developing within a secret realm is a very troublesome matter, because there are some unknown factors inside. As a certain powerful figure said, the Dao within a secret realm is very unique, quite different from the outside world. If cultivators practice haphazardly inside, breaking through a minor realm is fine—for a Qi Refining cultivator, it just means an increase in spiritual energy—but if they break through a major realm…
The two paths are different. Once back outside, falling in cultivation level is considered good; some people were directly struck by lightning and killed.
The first-level secret realm we're going to this time has a very special path for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the outside world enters it, they will be attacked by the Heavenly Tribulation within the secret realm. Therefore, the highest level of the Inspector is only the ninth level of Qi Refining.
If you stay inside, it won't be any better. The path to the secret realm is incomplete, and staying inside will not only lead to certain death, but will also be fraught with danger.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the secret realm is guarded by spiritual puppets and is opened at fixed intervals so that professionals can enter to harvest the crops. This time is no exception.
The harvesters and veteran supervisors will scatter the harvested produce into the secret realm together. Only after everything is ready can the new recruits enter.
Zhong Ming pointed to the mountains on both sides, clearly eager to get started. "If we're ahead this time, the first thing we need to do is compete for the legacy of our predecessors. Hopefully, they won't have cleared it all out."
"Of course not. It takes manpower to clean up, and sending people out would also be dangerous." Xuan Jing took out a piece of meat from somewhere, casually sealed it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"At that time, I think we can pretend to be corpses and ambush those who come later."
At this moment, Yue Kaishan asked a question in a deep voice, "Brother Chen is in a wheelchair, how can we be faster than the others?"
"This brings us to some tricks."
Zhong Ming and Xuan Jing plotted something counterintuitive, which was...
Who says wheelchairs can't go racing?
Bricks fly with great force!
As long as the spiritual energy provides enough power, the wheelchair can reach speeds that defy the heavens.
Zhong Ming pointed to a "broad road" on the map. This was a road in the plantation, usually used by large vehicles. It was very flat, but the plantation workers would press it to make it very smooth when they returned.
Several cylindrical metal objects had appeared on Chen Dahai's wheelchair. These were the kind of things that could be used to speed up a car if you put a mid-grade spirit stone inside. They were gifts from Matt.
After making a fortune from the pills, Matt decided to go all in and team up with Zhong Ming's team from the inside.
Some people outside know that they are both teams led by Xueyan, but most of the rumors are that the two teams are at odds and the competition is very fierce.
Why? Because Xueyan is beautiful!
Zhong Ming slammed his hand on the map, pressing his large hand on the very center of the map, and said in a powerful voice, "No matter what, the moment those people think we have an exclusive map, we must keep moving forward, forward, break through the encirclement as quickly as possible, and turn the encirclement situation into a situation where the enemy is chasing us and we are in the dark."
"Understood." Xuan Jing shook his storage bag, which was already full of beast-attracting incense of all kinds. When the time came, they would apply the deodorizer and, at worst, some beast-repelling incense. They could scatter the beast-attracting incense on the road like it was free, and eventually a beast tide would come to my aid.
"So, the problem now is the ship and how to deal with the underwater monsters."
"Perhaps it's not a big problem. The nearest island to the shore is only a few hundred feet away. If we grit our teeth, we can fly there directly. There's a kind of bird there called the Red Heron, which is the main force of cheap manned flying monsters. If we can tame a few of them there, we won't have to worry about anything else."
The group had made thorough preparations for this. While the new recruits were busy snapping up pills, talismans, and array plates, the food and beast-taming artifacts that pleased the demon beasts were either completely ignored or practically deserted.
After all, the living and the dead both have the same points.
The small dark room was occasionally filled with clanging and knocking sounds and cackling laughter.
.....
The next day, it was cloudy with a light breeze. The birds scattered from the sky, and a flock of crows flew away after a few angry caws.
On the magnificent Sky Pier, a huge flying ship was poised to set sail. Its hull was as green as glass, tens of feet wide and hundreds of feet long, and it could carry an entire army at once.
The group boarded the flying boat to the secret realm in an orderly fashion. This was the first mission without an instructor. Xueyan stood below the dock, stretched, and ignored her new recruits, heading to the tavern to grab a seat.
Damn, all the instructors are on vacation, and that tavern is in such prime location.
Zhong Ming and Matt glared at each other fiercely, as if they could see fire burning in each other's eyes.
Nanyangzi couldn't see the firelight because he couldn't see his eyes at all.
He held his head high, exuding an arrogance that seemed to say, "Go play with my servants, you're not even worthy of my attention."
He walked through the middle of Matt's group, unaware that he wasn't even worthy of being a fish in the basket.