99: Chapter 98 Yuan Zhenzi's Invitation

The Spirit Stones were gone.

Truly, there wasn't a single bit left.

Inside the naxu ring, there were less than one hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones remaining, and that even included some that weren't fully absorbed when building a nest for Jiu Jiu back then.

Yun Ming was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

Fine then.

It's just Spirit Stones; it's not like I haven't been poor before.

At worst, I'll just refine a couple more batches of Medicinal Pill; I can always earn them back.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

Sunlight spilled in, and the Spirit Medicine in the courtyard was growing quite well.

Jiu Jiu flew back from who knows where, landed on his shoulder, and rubbed against his face.

"Master, have you finished your seclusion?"

That young, tender voice rang out in his mind, carrying a hint of joy.

Yun Ming rubbed its little head and smiled, "Yes, I've finished your seclusion."

"Master, on the first night of your seclusion, someone delivered a Jade Slip."

"A Jade Slip?"

"Mm-hmm!" Jiu Jiu nodded its little head, "It was just placed on the stone steps at the entrance. But there was a layer of Restriction on it, and I couldn't open it."

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Someone came on the very night he began his seclusion? Who could that be?

He walked quickly to the entrance of his Immortal Cave, looked down, and sure enough, a Jade Slip was lying quietly on the stone steps.

The Jade Slip was entirely azure-green, with a faint layer of spiritual light flowing across its surface—that was the trace of a Restriction.

Yun Ming bent down to pick it up and examined it carefully.

The Restriction wasn't weak, but it wasn't too strong either.

He probed with his Divine Sense and discovered it was some kind of Seal that isolated investigation; as long as it was forcibly broken, the contents inside would be revealed.

Who could have left it?

Yao Chenzi? Su Mubai? It was normal for them to leave a Jade Slip if they came looking for him, but there was no need to add a layer of Restriction.

Then only one person remained.

Yuan Zhenzi.

Yun Ming's gaze tightened slightly. He didn't break the Restriction immediately, but instead returned to his room, settled Jiu Jiu, and sat cross-legged in the Quiet Room before finally channeling his Divine Sense to slowly wear down that layer of Restriction.

The Restriction wasn't too complicated, but it still took about the time of one incense stick to break.

Yun Ming was speechless; what kind of content required such a troublesome Restriction?

He probed with his Divine Sense, but the result was that there were only two sentences in the Jade Slip:

"The Secret Realm will collapse in one year. After you finish your seclusion, we shall conspire together on a major matter; come quickly."

Just those two short sentences, nothing else.

Yun Ming's brow furrowed tightly.

The Secret Realm will collapse?

He had been in seclusion for five months, which meant there were only seven months left?

A wave of anxiety surged into his heart.

Seven months, not long, but not short either.

If what Yuan Zhenzi said was true, he must act as soon as possible.

But what if it was fake?

Yun Ming took a deep breath, suppressing that impatience.

He didn't know how credible Yuan Zhenzi's words were.

Furthermore, he didn't actually have Nascent Soul cultivation; if it was a trap, he might just end up dying there if he went.

And he wouldn't know where he would Rebirth to next time, and he would have to find his way back all over again.

Cannot rush.

Yun Ming closed his eyes and calculated silently.

The most important thing right now was still to refine the map of mountains and rivers first.

That was a Small World, after all. If he could fit the entire Teleportation Formation inside, even if Yuan Zhenzi turned hostile later, he could still rely on himself to teleport away.

Right, refine the map of mountains and rivers first.

Yun Ming opened his eyes, his gaze firm.

One month, he would strive to succeed in refining it within one month.

In the following days, Yun Ming did not leave his home, refining that supreme treasure day and night.

But the map of mountains and rivers was harder to refine than he had imagined.

The scroll looked like it was only about a foot long, but when his Divine Sense probed inside, what he faced was a hundred-thousand-mile expanse of heaven and earth.

Mountains, rivers, vegetation, and living beings all needed to be imprinted with his Divine Sense one by one, establishing a connection with each one.

The feeling was like trying to measure the entire world inch by inch with a single thread.

Dull, tedious, and extremely draining on the mind.

Every day, apart from necessary rest, Yun Ming devoted all his time to it.

Jiu Jiu would occasionally come in to check, and seeing him in such a focused state, it wouldn't disturb him, quietly exiting to continue patrolling the Spirit Medicine garden.

A month passed.

Less than thirty percent of the map of mountains and rivers had been refined.

Yun Ming was helpless and could only continue.

During this period while he was in seclusion refining it, the Cangxuan Immortal Sect suddenly became lively.

First, the Sect summoned all Elders above the Golden Core stage for a meeting that lasted several days.

No one knew the specific content, but when those Elders who attended the meeting came out, their expressions were varied—some grave, some excited, some thoughtful.

Immediately after, news began to circulate in the Outer Sect.

"I heard the Sect is about to open that biggest Secret Realm!"

"Which Secret Realm?"

"The one that hasn't been opened for over a hundred years—the Lingze Cave-Heaven!"

"Really? That's a legendary place! It's said that Heaven And Earth Treasure are everywhere inside!"

"Of course it's true! My cousin works in the Inner Sect and heard it from an Elder with his own ears. And this time, when it opens, everything obtained belongs to oneself; there's no need to hand it over to the Sect!"

"Everything belongs to oneself? Then what are we waiting for!"

Similar conversations were taking place everywhere.

The Outer Sect was in an uproar, and the Inner Sect was also in an uproar.

Countless Disciples ran to tell each other; some began preparing Medicinal Pill and Magical Artifacts, some went around asking for news about the Secret Realm, and others were already forming teams, preparing to enter together when the time came.

Various rumors were also flying everywhere.

Some said the Sect might have more Golden Core cultivators about to have a Breakthrough, and opening the Secret Realm was to give them a chance to gain experience.

Some said several Inner Sect Senior Brothers had made rapid progress and had already touched the threshold of Golden Core, and this Secret Realm was prepared for them.

Others said an Elder was about to have a Breakthrough to Nascent Soul, and the Old Ancestor had already obtained a Xuan Ying Pill, so opening the Secret Realm was to protect the Dao for that Elder.

Opinions were divided, and no one could agree.

More than ten days later, the meeting finally ended.

The news was officially announced—the Lingze Cave-Heaven was about to open for a period of six months.

All Disciples at the Golden Core stage and below could enter, and all Heaven And Earth Treasure obtained would belong to the individual.

Once the news came out, the entire Sect was in an uproar.

Meanwhile, Yun Ming was completely unaware of all this.

He was still in the Quiet Room, refining the map of mountains and rivers day and night without stopping.

His Divine Sense imprinted the mountains and rivers of that world time and time again, leaving his mark in that desolate world over and over.

That world gradually established a connection with him, from strange to familiar, from resisting to accepting.

The second month passed, and sixty percent was refined.

The third month passed, and finally—

It was done.

Yun Ming opened his eyes, his eyes full of fatigue, but he couldn't hide that trace of excitement.

The map of mountains and rivers hung before him, its entire body flowing with azure light, and there was now a faint, almost imperceptible connection between it and him.

That was the bond between a Lifebound Treasure and its master, connected in heart and mind, as responsive as an arm and a finger.

With a thought, his whole person instantly disappeared from the Quiet Room.

The next instant, he was already in a vast, desolate world.

The sky was gray and white, with no sun and no moon.

Beneath his feet were endless mountains and rivers, and in the distance were continuous peaks.

A hundred-thousand-mile expanse of heaven and earth was all beneath his feet.

Inside the map of mountains and rivers.

Yun Ming stood on a mountain peak, overlooking this world that belonged to him.

Although desolate, and although the Law was incomplete, this was his world, his heaven and earth.

He took a deep breath, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Three months.

Faster than he had imagined.

With another thought, he appeared back in the Quiet Room.

The map of mountains and rivers turned into a streak of azure light, entered his brow, and hung in the center of his Sea of Consciousness.

Yun Ming stood up and pushed the door open to go out.

The sunlight was blinding, and he squinted slightly.

Jiu Jiu flew over from the side of the Spirit Medicine garden and landed on his shoulder: "Master, you've finally come out! It's very lively outside!"

Yun Ming was startled: "Lively?"

"Mm-hmm!" Jiu Jiu nodded its little head, "The Sect opened a big Secret Realm, and many people have gone in! It's said it will be open for six months! But there should only be four months left now."

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Secret Realm?

He suddenly remembered the words in Yuan Zhenzi's Jade Slip—the Secret Realm will collapse in one year.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?