Ancient Secrets of the Continent

After all, Qingyun Sect's Pill Refining placed extremely high demands on talent and medicinal herbs, making it difficult to promote within a clan. And it was far too powerful—much more valuable than Tang San's Hidden Weapons.

Once it was discovered, even God Kings would be unable to sit still. After all, the pills refined could have an enormous effect on God Kings and even Creation Gods, greatly altering the current balance of the God Realm.

"Alright! No problem. However, my clan has lived in seclusion for fifteen thousand years, so I can only tell you about what came before. Let me start with myself!"

Naturally, Huangfu Ruiyao would not reveal her clan's core secrets. But when it came to the secrets of other Hidden Clans, she laid everything bare.

"I come from the Huangfu Family. We are indeed a Hidden Force, and our clan's martial soul is the Five Elements Qilin. I am seventeen this year and possess Innate Full Soul Power. My father is level 95, and I have two uncles, one at level 92 and the other at level 91. Our ancestor created her own god position thirty thousand years ago and became a Rank 1 God: the Five Elements Qilin Sword God!"

"Our divine ancestor left behind two Secret Realms, one large and one small, for her descendants to take refuge in and as sites of inheritance. The smaller Secret Realm is the one we visited today, while the larger one is where my clan currently resides."

"A barrier surrounds the large Secret Realm. Once someone enters, they cannot leave freely. Every ten years, a crack opens in the barrier, allowing no more than ten people below level 50 to leave, after which they are randomly teleported away together. Those below level 60 may enter, but they can only remain outside for ten days. Once that time is exceeded, they will be forcibly returned."

"To break open the barrier and enter or leave freely, one must rely on a divine artifact left behind by our ancestor. (P.S. Breaking open the barrier here does not mean damaging it. It is more like a key that can freely open and close the barrier.)

The divine artifact must be refined through a secret clan technique, and it takes several decades before it can be used.

Originally, the clan possessed two divine artifacts. One had already been refined and was carried by the clan head at all times. The other remained untouched within the small Secret Realm as a spare key."

"Our divine ancestor's plans had always been correct. The barrier was meant to prevent enemy invasions, allowing the clan to unite in the face of external crises and summon the courage to fight with their backs against the wall."

"But for all the calculations in the world, no one expected the clan to fall into internal conflict and collapse from within. Fifteen thousand years ago, the clan split into two branches. They fought year after year and ultimately both sides suffered devastating losses. The refined divine artifact was shattered, and the Treasure Map that opened the small Secret Realm was lost. In the end, they were ambushed by outsiders and wiped out entirely. Only a small number of clansmen escaped by hiding inside the Secret Realm."

"In order to leave, the clan sent people out to search every ten years. After more than ten thousand years, it was only found again now."

"I was injured not long ago because I was teleported into the residence of a Titled Douluo. I sensed the presence of treasures, became greedy, and began searching for them, hoping to take something that might heal my mother.

"Because of that, I failed to leave in time. Before I could even obtain the treasure, I was discovered and pursued by a Titled Douluo. The five people from my clan who came out with me all died. I truly deserve death!" Huangfu Ruiyao lowered her head in guilt.

"By the way, do you know who that group of Titled Douluo were? He lived in a cave with a very deep lake inside. His beard and hair were both green, and his martial soul was a snake."

"Ah! The Titled Douluo you encountered should have been Dugu Bo. His title is Poison, and his Soul Power is level 91. But in a few years, his Soul Power may rise quite quickly."

Zhuang Xingyu was stunned. Was the world really that small?

Could it be that Huangfu Ruiyao had taken the blame for him?

That wasn't quite right.

After all, if Huangfu Ruiyao had not given in to greed, if she had not lingered to search for treasures and had left in time, there would have been no casualties. Besides, the random teleportation function of their barrier was rather treacherous.

But Huangfu Ruiyao had searched for treasures to save her mother. Filial piety came first among all virtues, so her actions could not exactly be called wrong.

When Dugu Bo saw that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was gone, he would not have listened to explanations in his rage upon seeing strangers suddenly appear in his residence. So, this matter was somewhat connected to Zhuang Xingyu after all.

But if Zhuang Xingyu had not taken the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, would Huangfu Ruiyao, upon seeing it, have been able to resist the temptation and leave in time?

And everyone knew what kind of personality Dugu Bo had. Would he be in a good mood upon seeing strangers suddenly appear in his residence and discover his secret treasure ground? Would he have let six Soul Ancestors leave?

So regardless of whether Zhuang Xingyu had taken the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Huangfu Ruiyao and the others would have been hunted by Dugu Bo.

But if Zhuang Xingyu had not taken the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Huangfu Ruiyao and Zhuang Xingyu would never have met. Huangfu Ruiyao would not have recovered her clan's divine artifact, nor would she have obtained pills to treat her mother.

Ah! Zhuang Xingyu had completely confused himself.

Zhuang Xingyu thought to himself, Forget it. I won't think about it anymore. I won't get involved in this matter. It really doesn't have much to do with me, so I'll just let nature take its course!

Huangfu Ruiyao paused, then continued after regaining her composure. "The Hidden Clans know a little about one another. Aside from our Huangfu Family, there is another Hidden Clan: the Dongfang Family. Their martial soul is the Xuanba Cauldron. It seems they currently have one level 95 expert and one level 91 expert."

"The Dongfang Family has no Secret Realm. They live in a massive, uninhabited valley in the eastern part of the continent. It is shrouded in mist all year round. They call it the Natural Smoke Formation, and outsiders cannot enter. But as far as I know, they have recently been considering reentering the world."

"The reason for their seclusion seems to be the refinement of something, though I do not know exactly what. Among their younger generation, there is someone with talent comparable to mine."

"As for the Ancient Secrets of the Continent, they do indeed exist. In ancient times, the cultivation system of Douluo Continent was not Soul Ring cultivation. Before it, there had been two other cultivation systems."

"One was Body Refining Cultivation, which involved tempering the body, consuming demonic beasts, and gradually strengthening oneself. The other was Soul Tool Civilization, which involved using external objects to arm oneself."

"These two systems developed side by side at the time. Later, someone comprehended the Soul Ring Cultivation System from them. People discovered that Soul Ring cultivation was easier and faster, so through survival of the fittest, the other two cultivation systems were gradually abandoned. There was no conspiracy or anything like that."

Zhuang Xingyu sighed. "I think those two cultivation systems were actually quite powerful as well. After all, the drawbacks of the Soul Ring Cultivation System have already emerged: there are not enough soul beasts. The best approach would be for all three cultivation systems to develop side by side and complement one another. Only when a hundred schools flourish can everyone on Douluo Continent become like dragons."

Huangfu Ruiyao took out paper and a pen from her Storage Ring. "Those two cultivation systems have already been lost, but my clan has recorded some valuable information and clues. I'll write them down for you later."

"We've known each other for quite some time now. Aren't you going to tell me your true identity?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Xingyu took out a jar of fine wine and a brazier, warmed the wine, and handed Huangfu Ruiyao a cup.

"Haha, of course I'll tell you. You've told me so many secrets, so naturally I should tell you about the current state of the continent as well. Tonight, let's boil wine and discuss heroes!"

(There will not be too many original settings, just a little—only adding a few people.)

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