In the blink of an eye, the day of Kaiyuan arrived. Xu Zhengtian led a dozen or so Supreme Elders and several highly cultivated experts at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Refinement, or higher, escorting the hundred Xu disciples who would enter the secret realm as they rode Golden-Beaked Immortal Cranes in a grand procession toward the far north.
That far northern land was where the Linyuan Secret Realm lay.
There were ten Golden-Beaked Immortal Cranes in all, and because this was a major gathering, every one of them had been brought out. Xu Ziqing was only a menial worker with the lowest aptitude and could go solely because of Old He, so he had to remain at the very rear, standing by Old He at the tail of the tenth crane.
Clouds churned beneath them while strong winds buffeted the cranes. Xu Ziqing looked ahead and saw, near the neck of the first crane, the tall and handsome man in billowing purple robes. It was Xu Zifeng. Glancing around again, he saw that Zhuang Wei had not had the chance to come, and neither Xu Zitang nor Xu Ziluo was present.
Xu Ziqing was rather surprised. Xu Zitang had excellent aptitude and strong cultivation, so why had she not come? After another thought, however, he more or less understood. Tian Cheng had openly fought the family head at the Xu residence that day, thoroughly tearing relations apart, and if Xu Zishu’s information was correct, the dispute had been over Xu Zitang. If she truly came, no one could say what might happen to her after she entered the secret realm. In any case, Xu Zifeng was going. If he found anything good, he could simply bring it back for his younger sister.
What Xu Ziqing did not know was that Xu Zifeng had come not only to seek benefits for himself and his sister, but also because Xu Zhengtian had entrusted him with a task. The Tian family was certain to cause trouble inside the secret realm this time, and in order to keep Tian Cheng in check, Xu Zhengtian would have no choice but to remain outside and watch him. Xu Zifeng had therefore been charged by the family head with protecting the exceptionally talented disciples inside the secret realm.
The Golden-Beaked Immortal Cranes were exceedingly swift, and before long they reached the entrance to the secret realm.
Amid the boundless sea of clouds, everyone saw a stone tablet rise into view, several dozen zhang high and several dozen zhang wide. Golden light flickered across its surface amid streaks of auspicious radiance. When the light subsided, five openings appeared in the tablet. Some had jagged edges, others recessed notches, and no two were shaped alike.
Elio’s Notes: The source gives the tablet’s dimensions in zhang (丈). I’ve retained the source unit rather than forcing a modern conversion onto the fantasy setting.
The Xu family had not arrived particularly early. Apart from the position due south of the stone tablet, immortal cranes already circled through the clouds to the east, west, and north, spiritual energy rolling around them in a scene worthy of immortals. These belonged to the Luo, Wei, and Meng families. Curiosity stirred in Xu Ziqing, and he could not help peering over. The people of all three families wore splendid clothing, the men handsome and the women beautiful, each possessing an extraordinary bearing. He secretly admired them.
Four of the five great families had now arrived. Only the Tian family was absent.
An elderly man from the Luo family with a long, flowing beard said, “The auspicious hour is nearly upon us. We should send the Tian family a communication jade token.”
Xu Zhengtian kept his eyes closed and said nothing. He and Tian Cheng were already irreconcilable enemies. Anything involving that man, no matter what it was, was something he had no desire to concern himself with.
The other two family heads said, “Let’s wait another incense stick’s worth of time. If they still haven’t come, we’ll send someone to urge them.”
So they waited that long, and at last the silhouette of a crane appeared in the distance.
The Meng family head gave a cold snort. “Hah. Tian Cheng certainly knows how to put on airs!”
The other two families had no feud with the Tian family, but they were likewise displeased by Tian Cheng’s lateness.
As soon as Tian Cheng arrived, he cupped his hands toward the three families. “My apologies, my apologies. My son is on the verge of a breakthrough, so as his father I had no choice but to guard him during it, which is why I was delayed. Fortunately, the auspicious hour has not yet passed. Otherwise, I truly would not know how to make amends.”
He was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Since he had already apologized, the others were not going to hound him over it. Xu Ziqing noticed a man standing behind him, his entire body shining with spiritual light. It was Tian Liang. Because he made no attempt to conceal his cultivation, the pressure he exerted on cultivators as weak as Xu Ziqing was tremendous.
At that very moment, the auspicious hour arrived, and golden light burst from the five pitch-black openings, sweeping wildly in every direction.
The Meng family head barked, “Present the swords!”
The other four family heads raised their hands with him, and a beam of white light burst from each palm, shooting straight toward one of the openings.
In the blink of an eye, the jade swords met the openings, and the golden light on the stone tablet blazed even brighter. Anyone it swept across felt a burning pain. Old He summoned a magical artifact that covered both himself and Xu Ziqing, blocking all the golden light outside. Around them, everyone else also brought out magical artifacts, brilliant colors surging and flashing in a magnificent display.
Xu Ziqing stared without blinking. Suddenly, the stone tablet swelled several times larger and exploded, shattering into five pieces that flew separately into the hands of the five family heads.
After the tablet shattered, a black point abruptly appeared in the empty space behind it. It turned into a vortex, growing larger and larger as tremendous winds poured from it. The family heads shouted together, “Hah!”
The five fragments of the stone tablet flared brilliantly, forming an enormous dome of light that hovered in front of them. The cultivators and disciples who were to enter the secret realm used various techniques to pass into the dome. Xu Ziqing had no method of his own and was still worrying over what to do when Old He grabbed his arm. His body suddenly became light, and a moment later his feet landed on something solid.
Xu Ziqing opened his eyes and realized that what lay beneath his feet was the bottom of the light dome. Strangely enough, he had felt no resistance when entering it, yet when he reached out to touch the wall from inside, it felt incomparably solid. Before he could think further, the dome rose again and plunged straight into the vortex.
*
A wave of dizziness swept over him, as though he had been jolted countless times over, before everything finally stopped. Xu Ziqing had only just regained his senses when the light dome broke apart in midair, instantly flinging everyone out!
As a mere first-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, Xu Ziqing could only force all his spiritual power into protecting his body, yet the impact of hitting the ground still left him aching badly. Cultivators had indeed stepped onto the immortal path, but Xu Ziqing stood at its very lowest rung. Even though he had opened [□□] acupoints, his body was still far from strong enough.
Elio’s Notes: The authoritative raw contains the literal gap “□□” in this sentence. I’ve preserved it rather than guessing at the missing characters.
Looking around, he found that Old He had long since been thrown who knew where. There was no one nearby at all. Beneath him was soft ground covered in fine, fuzzy grass, lush and green.
The fragrance of flowers filled the air, accompanied by the melodious calls of birds. Around the edges stood many ancient trees several zhang tall, their trunks twisted and gnarled. Farther away, several mountain peaks stretched across the horizon, steep and majestic. A deep breath left all seven of his apertures feeling clear and fresh.
Elio’s Notes: The “seven apertures” are the traditional count of the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and mouth. The source uses the expression literally here, so I’ve preserved the image instead of flattening it into “the senses.”
What dense spiritual energy! If this truly is the secret realm, then it really is beautiful.
Xu Ziqing stood, brushed the dust from the hem of his robe, and looked around. Old He was nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone else. Had they been separated? Or had something gone wrong?
After thinking it over repeatedly without reaching any certainty, Xu Ziqing slowly chose a path and began walking forward, one hand lightly brushing his sleeve. Old He had believed that as long as Xu Ziqing stayed with him inside the secret realm, he would be able to look after him properly, but he had still worried that something unexpected might happen. He had therefore given Xu Ziqing four or five of the talismans he had on hand to use for protection.
Talismans were always highly useful in the hands of cultivators who had stepped onto the immortal path. Although Xu Ziqing still could not use spirit talismans, among the three kinds commonly used by Qi Refinement cultivators, yellow, red, and green talismans, green talismans were quite rare. Old He had nevertheless given him one, along with three red talismans of the next lower grade. If he was careful, he could still make use of them.
Because spiritual energy was abundant inside the secret realm, spiritual herbs were plentiful as well. As Xu Ziqing walked, he identified them one after another and found that he recognized quite a few. His memorization of the herb guides had not been wasted after all. Unfortunately, he had no proper tools with him and could not harvest them, so he had no choice but to leave them untouched.
Although there was no one in sight, Xu Ziqing remained exceedingly cautious. Beautiful as the secret realm was, for a lone cultivator at only the first layer of Qi Refinement, it was probably also extremely dangerous.
Just as he thought this, a rank gust suddenly swept in from behind his ear. Xu Ziqing’s pupils contracted, and he twisted aside in a diving dodge. Sure enough, a pool of black liquid struck the place where he had just been standing, hissing as it ate away a wide patch of ground as though a splash of sulfuric acid had been poured over it. What was that?! Xu Ziqing sucked in a sharp breath, hurriedly retreated another two steps, and immediately swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Another mass of black liquid came spraying toward him. Xu Ziqing darted right again and followed its path with his eyes. On a dead branch jutting from an ancient tree, a patterned snake as thick as a child’s arm was coiled, its scales mottled with color and its tongue flicking with a hiss. Seeing that Xu Ziqing had noticed it, the snake opened its mouth and spat another stream of black liquid. Only then did Xu Ziqing realize it was the snake’s venom. If even a drop touched his body, he would end up just like the corroded patch of grass!
Xu Ziqing’s expression turned guarded. He possessed very little spiritual power at present and had opened only a few acupoints, so he was no match for this strange snake. The creature looked almost lazy as it turned its head toward him, a trace of disdain in its eyes. Xu Ziqing was startled again. The snake actually seemed to possess some intelligence. As expected of a creature from the secret realm, it absolutely could not be underestimated.
Not knowing what other abilities the strange snake might possess, Xu Ziqing slipped his fingers into his sleeve and gripped a red talisman, ready to send it flying at the first sign of trouble. He faced the snake for a moment, but it did not move. Xu Ziqing slowly backed away, tightening his grip all the while.
After retreating about four or five meters, the snake suddenly reared up and lunged forward!
Xu Ziqing was just about to release the red talisman when the snake abruptly froze in place, its mouth still gaping wide to reveal four extremely long hooked fangs.
“Second Brother, what do you think of my Immobilization Art?” A clear young voice rang out. “That’s a Mottled Demon Snake. Watch me catch it and dig out its inner core so Second Brother can refine medicine with it!”
Another voice answered, somewhat more mature and full of indulgence. “Fifth Brother, your Immobilization Art has already reached about eighty percent mastery. This Mottled Demon Snake has around a hundred years of cultivation, so its inner core should be quite useful. Then this elder brother thanks Fifth Brother for such a fine gift.”
Xu Ziqing’s fright finally eased somewhat. Looking up, he saw two people approaching side by side. One appeared quite young, while the other was tall and slender. Both were unfamiliar faces.
He was just about to thank them when the youth waved impatiently. “Why are you still standing around? My brother and I are about to kill this snake and cut out its core. Your spiritual power is so weak, so hurry up and leave!”
Xu Ziqing knew that these two had saved his life, even if they had not done so deliberately, and he had benefited all the same. The youth’s words were unpleasant, but they were complete strangers to him, and the two had just hunted down a demon creature and were about to claim their spoils. If he truly stayed behind, he would be the one behaving improperly. He therefore bowed slightly in thanks and immediately turned to leave.
After this encounter, Xu Ziqing became even more wary of the secret realm, and every movement he made grew more cautious.