67: Visitors from a foreign land

The old man looked at the Second Prince with relief, accepted the order with a bow, and instructed his entourage to deliver the message.

As soon as the news broke, the area outside the Secret Realm became bustling. Unexpectedly, the Loose Cultivators, who should have fled from such a situation, stayed behind against all norms and spontaneously formed a marketplace on the open ground not far from the entrance.

"Gold Coins! Gold Coins! Anyone buying Gold Coins? 50,000 for 100 Spirit Stones, no bargaining!"

"Crosses! Freshly made crosses! Check the attributes and name your price. Anyone interested?" A middle-aged Loose Cultivator shouted while holding a self-made sign listing the equipment's attributes.

"Selling Gold Coins? How many do you have?" the Second Prince, dressed in luxurious attire, stepped forward and asked.

"Hehe, not many right now, less than 150,000. If you need more, our team can go farm them; you just need to leave a deposit." The man realized a big customer had arrived the moment he saw the Second Prince's clothes.

At the cave entrance on the back mountain cliff, Spiritual Void Master and the other three, along with the Grand Elder and Elder Yang, watched the Buddhist beads left by Old Monk Dehai hanging at the entrance, emitting a golden Buddhist light.

"Monk, take back your beads first; let's go inside and take a look," Spiritual Void Master said.

Everyone entered the cave and saw that the Teleportation Array in the center of the altar had already been activated. They stepped forward to test it, only to find that no matter how they attacked, the Teleportation Array continued to operate, leaving them somewhat helpless.

"Do you think blowing up this cave and sealing it would stop the things from the other side from coming through?" Elder Yang suggested.

"It would only treat the symptoms, not the cause," Old Monk Dehai shook his head and said.

"Then what should we do? Are we just supposed to wait for the Demonic Cult from the other side to attack?" Spiritual Void Master frowned.

Just as the group was at their wits' end, the Teleportation Array suddenly flashed with light; clearly, something was coming through.

Everyone immediately went on alert, drawing their weapons and standing ready for battle.

A dozen figures of varying heights suddenly appeared from the array, and they clearly weren't ordinary humans!

Jian Wenxuan immediately swung the wenyuan sword, and a massive Sword Qi, laced with boundless spiritual power, crushed toward them.

With a "Buzz~~", a massive blue light barrier rose, enveloping the dozen or so people. The Sword Qi struck the barrier, sending out ripples like water, yet the people inside were completely unharmed.

"Impressive! Witness my Heaven-Shattering Sword Slash!" Jian Wenxuan roared. Spiritual power surged frantically into his sword, and the terrifying sword intent stacked layer upon layer. Had he not feared destroying the cave and intentionally reduced the power, the might of this strike could have stacked even further.

"Stop!" Seeing the people appearing inside the Teleportation Array, Spiritual Void Master quickly intervened.

Although Jian Wenxuan was puzzled, he stopped in time and withdrew the stacked sword intent.

When he looked closer, he also said in surprise, "Not Demonic Path Cultivators?"

At that moment, a man in a red robe inside the Teleportation Array also put away his staff, and the blue light barrier instantly vanished.

A blonde young girl looked over the crowd, stepped out of the Teleportation Array, bowed, and said, "I am Meilin, the Saintess of the Church of Light from the West Border. May I ask where this is?"

The Grand Elder spoke up, "This is the South Border Spirit Realm Sect of the Canglan Continent."

"South Border? The Demon Lord's subordinates actually managed to break through the barrier between the West Border and the Canglan Continent!" Meilin looked surprised. She turned to the people behind her and asked, "See? Did our Church of Light ever lie to you?"

A stunningly beautiful, tall woman with pointed ears stepped forward and asked curiously, "You are the practitioners of the South Border?"

Spiritual Void Master's body trembled slightly as he stepped forward and asked the woman, "You are of the Elf Clan, right? Do you happen to know an elf named Elder?"

"Elder Elder? You actually know our Elder Elder?" The elf looked at Spiritual Void Master in surprise.

Seeing the elf's reaction, it was clear she knew Elder. Spiritual Void Master's body shook slightly as he asked, "Has she... has she been doing well all these years?"

Before the elf could answer, a man who looked like a barrel walked out from behind her. He was only as tall as a normal person's thigh but was covered in muscles and had a messy beard.

"Quit the chatter! Now that we've confirmed it, let's get down to business!" the dwarf said in a gravelly voice.

"That's right. Isn't this a Demon Race Teleportation Array? Why did you come out of it?" Jian Wenxuan also stepped forward to ask.

Meilin quickly recounted how the Demon Lord had been resurrected and then resealed by the Pope. With a heavy expression, she continued, "We joined forces with the Elf Clan and the Dwarf Clan to resist the attacks of the Dark Church of Darkness, the Demon Lord's followers, and finally found this Teleportation Array."

"The Allied Forces of the Three Races are currently fighting with all their might against the Dark Church of Darkness's offensive. We came through the Teleportation Array ahead of time to notify you—be prepared! In one year, the Demon Lord will awaken, and an army will surely descend upon you!" Meilin said.

Hearing this, the group immediately became tense. The Green Plum Spirit Child asked with a solemn expression, "What is the enemy's current strength?"

"The Demon Lord is still sealed, but the Dark Church of Darkness has somehow bred a host of disgusting monsters. Their individual strength isn't high, but their numbers are massive. They have been constantly harassing us. The experts of the Dark Church of Darkness have already breached our last sanctuary, the Holy City of Light, and are guarding the place where the Demon Lord is sealed," Meilin said truthfully.

The elf also spoke up, "Indeed. Although those Demonic Creatures aren't hard to deal with, their numbers are overwhelming. We won't be able to hold out for much longer."

"How many people are left in your Allied Forces?" Old Monk Dehai asked with a frown.

"Forget the Allied Forces; even counting the women, children, and non-combatant civilians, there are fewer than 500,000 of us left," the dwarf said after taking a swig from his flask.

Once this was said, everyone understood the West Border's current situation; it was clearly in a state of total collapse.

"Very well. Come with me to rest for a bit, and we will discuss this matter," Spiritual Void Master said with a sigh.

After settling the dozen or so people, the group began to deliberate again.

"It seems we have one year at most. The Demonic Cult will definitely attack, and by then, our South Border will be in danger!" Spiritual Void Master said.

"No matter what, this news must be spread immediately to request reinforcements from the experts of the other borders. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold!" Jian Wenxuan said.

"Alright, I'll send messages to the other borders right away so they can prepare early." The Grand Elder immediately stood up and left.

"What about the West Border? Are we just going to watch them all be wiped out?" Spiritual Void Master asked again.

"No! Heaven has the virtue of loving life; how can we just sit by and do nothing?" Old Monk Dehai immediately stood up in emotional opposition.

"Fine. Let the people of the West Border abandon their resistance and teleport to the South Border first. We can counterattack once the Demon Lord is defeated. With the foundations of our Four Sects, it shouldn't be a problem," Green Plum said.

Old Monk Dehai looked at Green Plum in surprise and nodded with a smile. "I didn't expect that you, a demoness, would actually have such a kind heart."

Upon hearing this, Green Plum looked at Dehai with deep affection and said, "Who do you think I'm doing this for?"

"This..." Dehai was caught off guard, his old face turning slightly red.

At that moment, the System's notification sounded in Lin Chuan's mind:

[Ding! Detected a large number of potential customers about to appear near the Secret Realm.]

[Now issuing Side Quest: All Who Come Are Guests.]

[Quest Content: Try to win over potential customers and earn your first pot of gold from them.]

[Quest Requirement: Earn 100,000 Spirit Stones from the new trial-takers.]

[Quest Rewards: Unlock Tournament Hosting and Planning Rights, unlock Sub-professional System, and unlock new items at Seria's shop.]