Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Soon, Qin Zhou gathered quite a bit of information about the mystic realm from the inn.

At the very least, the eight hundred spirit stones spent per night weren’t entirely wasted.

When it came to the mystic realm, most cultivators spoke of two things—first, it indeed contained treasures unheard of, but at the same time, it was accompanied by the danger of soul-shattering peril.

Every thousand years, there were always those who survived the mystic realm because they knew when to stop. Despite their warnings, cultivators still scrambled to get their share every millennium, flocking to Boundary City in droves.

Those who came to Boundary City could roughly be divided into three groups: disciples from righteous sects, demonic cultivators from the demonic sects, and independent cultivators hoping to profit from the chaos for some benefits.

The independent cultivators were the first to arrive in Boundary City. Only when the mystic realm was about to open would the major sects and demonic cultivators arrive on the scene.

The righteous path wouldn't tolerate demonic cultivators, and demonic cultivators looked down on the righteous—the two were irreconcilable, clashing the moment they met.

It wasn’t just for the treasures in the mystic realm, but also to expand their territories.

Whichever side suffered casualties would find it easier to claim territory in the future.

Though the Spiritual Energy in the Upper Realm was abundant, its density varied by region. Powerful sects often occupied areas with higher concentrations of Spiritual Energy as their strongholds, while smaller sects, with weaker strength and fewer disciples, had limited choices.

The skirmishes between the righteous and demonic factions over territory were constant.

The competition for treasures in the mystic realm merely provided a pretext for conflict.

Over thousands of years, the mystic realm, recurring unfailingly, gradually evolved into the Grand Stage for the clashes between the righteous and demonic factions.

“I heard that this year, the righteous path has united eighteen major sects to wipe out the demonic sects within the mystic realm.”

“Wiping out the demonic sects won’t be easy... The Sect Master of the demonic sects is incredibly powerful. If they could’ve been wiped out, it would’ve happened long ago. Now, the demonic sects govern their own domains, occupying nearly a third of the land. See anyone daring to challenge them?”

“The Cangyun Sword Sect, as the leader of the righteous path, is truly failing in their duty. Allowing the demonic sects to expand like this will surely lead to the ruin of the cultivation world sooner or later.”

“Honestly, what’s the difference between the righteous and the demonic? Both are just trying to improve their own cultivation. Whether it’s seizing territory or competing in the mystic realm, it’s all the same.”

“That’s not entirely true. The Cangyun Sword Sect has the Cangyun Sword Immortal, and the demonic sects have their Grand Sect Leader. Both are contemporaries. If they truly fought, the cultivation world would indeed be doomed.”

“Who is the Cangyun Sword Immortal? The Grand Sect Leader of the demonic sects can’t possibly defeat him, right?”

Sitting in a corner of the inn’s main hall, Qin Zhou listened to the idle chatter and suddenly found a few names familiar—he seemed to have heard some secrets from Wen Jue.

The Cangyun Sword Immortal of the Cangyun Sword Sect had once had an affair with the Grand Sect Leader of the demonic sects.

They even had a son together.

Qin Zhou thought to himself, *Now that's a real secret.* If this got out, the cultivation world might descend into chaos.

“The Grand Sect Leader of the demonic sects might not be a match for the Cangyun Sword Immortal, but he still has his senior demonic brother!”

“The number one demon on the Celestial Ranking—do you think that’s a joke?”

The words "Celestial Ranking" immediately caught Qin Zhou’s attention.

Of course, he knew what the Celestial Ranking was—it was the power ranking for cultivated characters in the game. And this ranking wasn’t just limited to his small village in the *Myriad Heavens*.

As one of the rare cross-server features in what was essentially a single-player game, the Celestial Ranking was open to all village chiefs from countless small villages.

The opening cycle of the Celestial Arena was synced to real-world time.

The respective villagers, as contestants, would enter a place called the Celestial Arena to battle it out, vying for supremacy. The ultimate victor would claim the top of the Celestial Ranking.

When Qin Zhou was still playing the game, the Lu family of Zhutian Small Village didn’t claim all top hundred spots on the Celestial Ranking, but nearly all of the top ten were his villagers. Lu Yi was the perennial top ranker.

The rewards from the Celestial Arena were incredibly lavish. Many of the premium gear and treasures in Qin Zhou’s storage were obtained from the chests awarded by the Celestial Ranking.

Hearing the term "Celestial Ranking" here suddenly flooded him with memories.

"Senior, what is the Celestial Ranking?" Shen Yun asked quietly.

Qin Zhou glanced at him. "You're not Upper Realm-born?"

"Is this something everyone in the Upper Realm must know?" Shen Yun rubbed his nose. "Maybe I’ve spent too much time in the mountains playing with spirit beasts—I must've been out of touch."

"Not knowing isn't strange," a wandering cultivator suddenly chimed in with a laugh. "The first place on the Celestial Ranking is mostly symbolic. It's a title passed down from thousands of years ago, unique to that Great Demon. As for what the Celestial Ranking really is, few truly understand, and even we only have a vague understanding."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for clearing that up, Senior," Shen Yun replied politely with a smile.

Qin Zhou remained silent.

He had only played the game for eight years, and by the time he logged off, his save file had only progressed about a thousand years. Later, after his college entrance exams, when he tried to log back in, the servers had already closed due to poor management.

He didn’t know how time flowed in the game after he left, but just thinking about it, ten millennia was an unimaginable span.

After all, even Lu Yi had gone from being a disciple of the Cangyun Sword Sect to a wandering cultivator.

The changing of the top rank wasn’t something too hard to accept.

Qin Zhou tried to convince himself of this.

Just then, Qin Zhou heard a wandering cultivator near the entrance shout—

"The secret realm is here!!"

The crowd that had been chatting immediately surged toward the exit.

Shen Yun and Qin Zhou naturally stood up and walked to the door as well.

Several kilometers east of Boundary City, a boiling golden light shot into the sky, and vast spiritual energy rapidly spread outward from the pillar of light.

"Finally, it’s here. I’ll take my leave first, everyone," many said upon seeing this, immediately taking to their clouds or swords to depart ahead of the others.

"It’s here, it’s finally here!"

In an instant, all the wandering cultivators in the inn had rushed out.

Watching as everyone disappeared, leaving only the still stunned Shen Yun and Qin Zhou behind, the innkeeper leisurely poured herself a cup of tea. "So eager to meet their doom."

Shen Yun looked surprised. "To die? Isn’t it early bird gets the worm for the treasures?"

The innkeeper paused, then rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Kid, do you think the secret realm is your family's treasure vault? That the first one in gets to pick and choose?"

Shen Yun scratched his head. "I..."

Well, that made sense. It was said that treasures and dangers coexisted in the secret realm.

"A Golden Core brat like you really shouldn’t go courting death," the innkeeper said, her gaze darkening. "In all the years I’ve kept this inn in Boundary City, counting my ancestors before me... over thousands of years, I’ve never seen anyone walk out of that secret realm alive with a legendary artifact."

"N-not a single one?" Shen Yun stammered.

"Of course, some have obtained treasures. Among them are rare finds, but those legendary ones... greedy folks never make it out alive, and the cautious dare not reach for them." The innkeeper shook her head. "As for the dead, they are beyond counting."

"I'm leaving. Take care." With that, Qin Zhou turned and walked out of the inn.

It finally clicked for Shen Yun—those three words meant Qin Zhou was saying goodbye to him.

"Senior..."

Shen Yun glanced around, hesitated for a moment, then ran after him—only to find Qin Zhou had already vanished.

The senior had vanished.

In Shen Yun’s heart, he had already seen Qin Zhou as his senior who had suppressed his cultivation.

"Little Sparrow, it seems the senior really sees me as a burden and didn’t want to take me along." Shen Yun patted the little wind sparrow’s head. "I should’ve shown him what I’m capable of earlier."

Though only at the Golden Core stage, he actually packed a punch.

"Ah, goodbyes make hellos sweeter. Let’s head to the mystic realm too and take a look. Maybe we can even repay the senior’s kindness for letting us stay."

"Chirp chirp."

"Let’s go."

...

By the time Qin Zhou arrived at the open ground where the golden light of the mystic realm shone, the area was already swarming with people.

Some flew in the sky, others stood on the ground.

But now, what he saw was reality.

Qin Zhou could hardly find any cultivators at a similar level to himself. Glancing around, all he saw were those whose cultivation he couldn’t gauge just from their spiritual energy—at least late Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage.

Most present were independent cultivators, with hardly any organized groups. Occasionally, a few acquaintances might team up in twos or threes.

Independent cultivators, free from sect obligations, arrived the earliest.

But arriving early was useless. From the information he’d gathered over the past two days, while independent cultivators were numerous in the Upper Realm, they were disorganized as scattered sand.

When it came to competing for the legendary treasures of the mystic realm, only the powerful sects or demon sects had the qualifications.

"The demon sect has arrived!"

"The Sword Sect is here too!"

Two shouts hit Qin Zhou’s ears at once.

He raised his gaze.

Two factions descended like divine battalions from the east and west, landing in formation.

On the Sword Sect’s side, the Sovereign stood at the forefront, arms folded behind him.

Behind him, disciples dressed uniformly in white robes accented with ink-black stood in neat rows, swords strapped to their backs, their expressions solemn and imposing. Their aura alone was crushing.

The Demon Sect's Master was no less formidable.

Surrounded by Nascent Soul experts, the Demon Sect's Master sat atop a mythical beast carriage, flanked by his entourage. You could almost hear the derisive sneers of the demon cultivators, dripping with contempt for the orthodox sects. A faint "tch" echoed through the air as their disdain became palpable.

The Sword Sect Sovereign stood at the forefront, while the Demon Sect Sovereign was surrounded in the center. Such positioning seemed to highlight the differences between the righteous factions and the Demon Sect.

The Sword Sect was the leader of the righteous factions. One drawn sword made all sects bow.

The Demon Sect, however, revered strength above all, and its Sovereign had held his position firmly for thousands of years.

"The mystic realm hasn’t even opened yet, and the Demon Sect Sovereign has already come in person!"

"Same goes for the Sword Sect, no?"

A light chuckle suddenly came from the beast-pulled carriage of the Demon Sect.

"The Sword Sect arrived just as quickly. But how strange—why are you all alone here? Did the righteous alliance forget to send you an invitation this year?"

The Sword Sect disciples fell silent.

Clearly, this silence was not so simple.

In the past, as the leader of the righteous factions, the Sword Sect had naturally been the righteous alliance’s undisputed leader.

But this time, things seemed different.

The Sword Sect had not arrived alongside the other righteous sects.

"The righteous alliance includes all who uphold righteousness in their hearts," the Sword Sect Sovereign said calmly, unshaken by Lu Xiao’s taunts.

Though his expression remained composed, the Sovereign’s calm masked unease.

Lu Xiao was surrounded by elite guards, yet he still hadn’t caught sight of his junior brother, Jiang Huan.

It had been some time since he last received word from Jiang Huan. He feared the worst, but now it seemed likely that...

"Well said!" Lu Xiao applauded. "I wholeheartedly agree with the Sovereign’s words."

The demon cultivators mindlessly echoed him.

The Sovereign’s word was law—no questions asked.

"Lu Xiao! Are you mocking us?" A hotheaded Sword Sect disciple snapped.

Lu Xiao: ?

He’d agreed! Where was the insult?

"Ignore him," the Sword Sect Sovereign said, his expression darkening.

If Lu Xiao had killed Jiang Huan, he would spare no effort today to take Lu Xiao’s life and avenge his junior brother.

"How magnanimous of the Sovereign," Lu Xiao said, oozing sincerity.

Qin Zhou watched from the sidelines.

One detail nagged at him.

The Demon Sect Sovereign—his surname was Lu?

*Lu Xiao.* Qin Zhou silently repeated the name, when a buried secret surfaced—

The Azure Cloud Sword Immortal of the Cangyun Sword Sect had a fling with the Grand Sect Leader of the Demon Sect in his early years.

They had a son.

Hmm, and the kid's surname was Lu.

Moments later, Qin Zhou heard someone nearby say—

"Look, the people from the Righteous Alliance have arrived too."

He looked up and saw a large contingent flying in from the distance, all landing in this open space.

They wore different styles of clothing, but each radiated an extraordinary presence.