207: Entering the Realm

Just as Xiao Shi's two conflicting thoughts were clashing,

Suddenly,

He thought of the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] beside him!

"If my main body doesn't go, but I manipulate this corpse to go instead... would that work?"

Xiao Shi's eyes suddenly lit up.

As long as his main body didn't go,

Then there would be no issue of his identity being exposed.

Even if he encountered a crisis he couldn't handle, he wouldn't have to worry about the risk of death; at most, he would lose this corpse.

No matter what, his own life would not be endangered.

This was quite a good method.

But he soon thought of another difficult problem.

Currently, those going to fight for the fragment of the celestial compass were all powerful experts with cultivation in the Middle Three Realms.

Even if he manipulated this corpse to go, there was still a huge gap in strength and cultivation compared to those experts.

He simply wouldn't be able to compete with them.

He would only lose this corpse for nothing.

It was meaningless.

If he was going to compete for the fragment of the celestial compass, he at least had to see some hope and have the ability to compete.

If there was no hope at all and he was just going to die for nothing, that would be too foolish.

Xiao Shi fell into deep thought.

In terms of strength and cultivation, he could not compare to those experts no matter what.

His only unique advantage...

Lay in his identity!

The identity of the Hall Master of Tianji Hall!

"Among those competing for the fragment of the celestial compass, there must be members of Tianji Hall like Wu Muzhen. If I have them assist me in the competition, would there be hope?"

Thoughts flashed through Xiao Shi's mind.

He was very clear.

These Tianji Hall members were actually a force to be reckoned with. Although there might be some with ulterior motives among them, at least they wouldn't show it on the surface.

If used properly,

He might be able to turn these Tianji Hall members into sharp blades in his hand and use them to seize the fragment of the celestial compass.

Xiao Shi thought for a moment.

He decided to first find Wu Muzhen to understand the situation before making a decision.

Immediately,

Xiao Shi took out the heavens secret mask. After putting it on, the surrounding space instantly distorted, and his Soul was pulled directly from his body by the black mask.

Merging into the mask!

In the next second, he appeared out of thin air within the massive Tianji Hall.

With a thought from Xiao Shi,

He teleported directly to the Heavenly Secret City outside.

Sensing Wu Muzhen's location, he appeared before him.

Since Wu Muzhen had not yet entered Heavenly Secret City,

He remained in his statue form.

After Xiao Shi sent out a summons to him,

Not long after,

The statue in front of him rapidly transformed into the pot-bellied, somewhat plump Wu Muzhen.

"Hall Master! I finally see you!"

Upon seeing Xiao Shi, Wu Muzhen hurriedly and joyfully paid his respects.

These past few days, he had been constantly worried about Xiao Shi.

Yet he had been unable to contact this Hall Master.

Now, he had finally met him.

"Have you gone to the competition site for the fragment of the celestial compass?"

Xiao Shi asked directly, getting straight to the point.

"Yes!"

Wu Muzhen nodded.

The moment he received the news, he had rushed over and entered the Boundary Gate.

"Tell me about the situation on your side."

Xiao Shi said in a deep voice.

He only knew that the competition for the fragment of the celestial compass was in a world inside a gate, but he knew nothing about the situation inside.

"From initial observations, this place seems to be a legendary Realm, specifically one related to the Physical Body. Currently, everyone who enters has their cultivation disappear! It seems that in this place, only physical strength can exist, and all other powers cannot be used here..."

Wu Muzhen's words gave Xiao Shi a jolt.

This was the first time he had heard of a so-called Realm. He hadn't expected such a peculiar place to exist in the world.

"You mean... everyone who enters only retains their physical strength, and all other powers are unusable?"

Xiao Shi asked.

"Correct."

Wu Muzhen nodded.

"The level of a Realm is very high. With my current cultivation, I am far from being able to come into contact with one, so my understanding of Realms is very limited..."

"I only know that many different Realms exist in the world. For instance, in a Fire Realm, only fire-related powers can be used, and all other powers are unusable..."

"This place should be a Physical Body Realm!"

Xiao Shi's eyes immediately gleamed.

This situation was undoubtedly favorable for him.

In a situation where only physical strength could be used, he wouldn't have much of a disadvantage in cultivation inside!

Although there were likely Body Refining practitioners among those experts,

There certainly wouldn't be many.

After all, Body Refining had never been mainstream in the Star Luo Territory.

He might even be one of the strong ones inside!

This way,

Xiao Shi felt that as long as he manipulated the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] to go, there was still hope of seizing the fragment of the celestial compass from within.

At the same time, he didn't have to worry about endangering his own life.

The worst-case scenario would be losing this corpse.

He continued to gather more information from Wu Muzhen.

However, since Wu Muzhen had also only recently entered,

His understanding of the situation inside was limited.

He kept trying to persuade Xiao Shi to remain rational and that there was no need to go in and take risks.

After all, this was clearly a trap.

Even if one got their hands on the fragment of the celestial compass, they wouldn't be able to take it away.

"That is indeed a problem..."

Xiao Shi also realized that taking the fragment of the celestial compass away would be a major challenge.

The person who had put forward the fragment of the celestial compass clearly wanted to use it to bait him out.

When he came out from inside, the other party would inevitably move to capture him; they wouldn't just watch him walk away with the fragment of the celestial compass.

And given his strength and cultivation on the outside, it would be effortless for those people to capture him.

"Since the tianji plate is a supreme treasure of our Tianji Hall, it should be possible to store it directly into Tianji Hall..."

Xiao Shi pondered.

If he could directly store the fragment of the celestial compass into Tianji Hall, it would be easy to handle.

He would only need to put it into Tianji Hall immediately after obtaining it.

He believed that while he was manipulating the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] with his consciousness, he would be able to enter Tianji Hall.

However, this might require him to have the corpse wear the heavens secret mask on its face.

But this involved another problem.

If the corpse took the heavens secret mask over there, how would he bring it back?

After all, according to his envisioned scenario,

This corpse likely wouldn't be coming back.

If the heavens secret mask was lost, he would never be able to enter Tianji Hall again.

Therefore, he definitely couldn't let the corpse take the heavens secret mask.

"If my main body wears the heavens secret mask, will the consciousness and Soul within the corpse also enter Tianji Hall?"

Xiao Shi had a hypothesis.

Tianji Hall was entered in a Soul form, after all.

He believed the Soul in the corpse should also enter Tianji Hall at the same time.

Xiao Shi felt he needed to test it out.

That day,

He manipulated the corpse and arrived at another city at the foot of the Extreme Fire Sect's mountain.

He put a considerable distance between the corpse and his main body.

Xiao Shi first controlled his main body to put on the heavens secret mask and enter Tianji Hall.

Instantly, the consciousness and Soul in the corpse also entered Tianji Hall simultaneously.

In this state,

The entire corpse directly assumed a form without consciousness or Soul.

It was completely just a corpse.

This verification confirmed for Xiao Shi that even without taking the heavens secret mask over there, he could still enter Tianji Hall.

This way,

As long as the corpse got its hands on the fragment of the celestial compass, it could be placed directly into Tianji Hall!

Afterward, he could retrieve the fragment of the celestial compass from Tianji Hall through his main body.

However, he had to be prepared to lose this corpse.

It was equivalent to using this corpse to exchange for the fragment of the celestial compass.

Although it was a bit of a pity,

In terms of the value of the two, it was definitely a profit.

After all, the value of the fragment of the celestial compass far exceeded what this corpse could compare to.

Furthermore,

Once this corpse was destroyed, his Soul would surely suffer a heavy blow.

His Soul was now essentially split into two parts.

One part was with his main body, and the other part was within the corpse.

If the corpse was destroyed, this part of his Soul would also cease to exist.

But as long as he didn't die, it was fine.

He could slowly find ways to heal injuries to his Soul.

After a comprehensive analysis and judgment,

Xiao Shi felt that the idea of using the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] to strive for the fragment of the celestial compass was highly feasible.

Even though it was a blatant trap,

His main body would not be going.

Even if someone noticed he was the Hall Master of Tianji Hall, all they would see was a corpse.

They would have no way of knowing who his true identity was!

Most importantly,

This corpse itself belonged to a powerful Body Refining clan, which would give him a significant advantage in the Physical Body Realm.

At the same time, he could have Tianji Hall members like Wu Muzhen assist him.

He believed there was a good chance of getting his hands on the fragment of the celestial compass.

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi began to ponder which items he needed to bring along.

Although the heavens secret mask couldn't be taken by the corpse,

Other items were still very necessary.

Regarding Medicinal Pills,

There was no need to bring the [Blood Radiance Skill Seizing Pill].

The main function of this pill was to plunder a Cultivation Technique from a Blood Martial Realm target.

The enemies he would be facing this time would likely not be in the Blood Martial Realm.

Naturally, he wouldn't be able to plunder their techniques.

The [Blood Luck Pill], however, could be brought along.

Perhaps this pill could play a crucial role inside.

The [body healing fluid] could also be brought.

Even though this corpse itself had a certain self-healing ability,

If the injuries were too severe, it would still require medicinal treatment.

It just so happened that [body healing fluid] specialized in treating physical injuries, making it quite suitable.

Besides Medicinal Pills,

The [Cursed Scarecrow] could also be brought along.

This item could transfer incoming attacks to the scarecrow when facing an assault.

He believed it would be useful.

As for other items,

Items like the [Chaotic Blood Source], [blood-attaching grass seed], [energy-devouring pearl], and [Blood Shadow Sky Bow] were basically targeted at the Blood Martial Realm, so there was naturally no need to bring them over.

At the same time, Xiao Shi certainly wouldn't let the corpse take the two pieces of Martial Emperor Regalia he had.

After all, he was already prepared to discard this corpse this time.

These powerful trump cards on him definitely couldn't be taken away.

When everything was ready,

Xiao Shi's main body remained in the city at the foot of the Extreme Fire Sect's mountain, while the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] quickly rushed toward the Northern Plains of Tian Dou Province.

By now, the news that the fragment of the celestial compass was located in the Northern Plains had spread throughout Tian Dou Province; it was no secret.

However, very few of Tian Dou Province's local Martial Artists got involved.

During this time, they had all been living in fear, dominated by these external experts.

They were very clear about the gap between themselves and these external experts.

Even for a supreme treasure like the fragment of the celestial compass... they didn't dare to compete with these external experts.

When the [corpse of a dong kui clansman] manipulated by Xiao Shi arrived at the Northern Plains,

Five days had already passed.

Although many of Tian Dou Province's local Martial Artists didn't participate, there were still many people arriving here in an endless stream every day to step into the Boundary Gate.

The [corpse of a dong kui clansman] manipulated by Xiao Shi was currently wearing a large black cloak that covered its entire body.

It was impossible to tell that it was a corpse.

From a distance, he could clearly see

That there were many people on this plain.

Most of these people were from other provinces of the Star Luo Territory.

When they heard the news of the fragment of the celestial compass appearing, they had all rushed over.

They were all very tempted by the fragment of the celestial compass.

Xiao Shi stood inconspicuously in the crowd.

He moved silently along with the crowd.

He soon arrived before the massive, mountain-like green Boundary Gate ahead.

Xiao Shi didn't hesitate at all.

With a movement of his body,

He stepped directly into the gate.

His figure was like sinking underwater, vanishing from the gate in an instant.

Xiao Shi only felt the scenery before his eyes ripple.

It took about two seconds to go from blurred to clear.

Immediately after, he found himself in a vast world.

This was a lush primeval forest.

Beneath his feet was ground covered in dead branches and decaying leaves, and the dry, warm air was mixed with the scent of rotting wood.

"This place... is the Realm?"

Xiao Shi looked around.

Because the level of a Realm was too high, let alone him, even experts like Wu Muzhen couldn't come into contact with them.

Therefore, his understanding of Realms was extremely limited.

He only knew that cultivation would disappear here, and only physical strength could exist, with all other powers being unusable... However, this corpse itself was a pure Body Refining practitioner, so Xiao Shi didn't feel any loss of power.

He carefully observed his surroundings.

He felt that this Realm was very different from the valley under Lieyin City or the Extreme Fire Sect's Forbidden Ground, which were worlds isolated by Seals.

The feeling it gave him now... was as if this were an independent world!

It possessed independent rules belonging to this place.

The fact that only physical strength could exist was one such rule of this place.

According to the information he had previously gathered from Wu Muzhen, this Realm was extremely vast.

After Wu Muzhen entered, he hadn't even encountered a single person.

Finding the fragment of the celestial compass in such a large world was clearly not going to be easy.

However, Xiao Shi figured that since the celestial compass was a supreme treasure of their Tianji Hall, he might be able to sense it!