Yuan Yin Secret Realm

Nine Swords Venerable took a step and vanished from above Chaos City, appearing at a spacious yet plain residence in a remote area of the city.

The gates of the residence were black as ink.

"Ha ha, it's rare for a friend to visit me."

Amidst the laughter, the pitch-black gates opened on their own. An elderly man with three eyes, dressed in what looked like a coarse linen robe, walked out. He was none other than Kan Deli, the guardian who had sent out fifty-two avatars to protect the Chaos Tablets.

"It's been a long time, so I came to see you." Nine Swords Venerable smiled as well.

The two walked side by side into the residence's reception hall and sat facing each other. The three-eyed elder smiled as he poured fruit wine. "Nine Swords, you wouldn't come here without a reason. Tell me, what is it?"

"Ha ha, then I'll get straight to the point."

Nine Swords Venerable smiled. "A new cosmic secret realm was just discovered. Based on our observations, its level is probably not low."

"Oh?" Kan Deli's eyes lit up.

Cosmic secret realms were special phenomena born during the evolution of the universe. Most might only be the size of stars or planets.

Yet a small number were extraordinarily special. The smallest could rival an entire galaxy, while the largest could even surpass a starfield in size!

The opportunities hidden within these special secret realms were things even Venerables desperately coveted!

"What level of secret realm is it?" Out of caution, Kan Deli asked first.

"Anyone below Venerable level will certainly die!" Nine Swords Venerable said with a faint smile.

"Such a high level?" Kan Deli was greatly surprised.

In ordinary secret realms, World Masters could enter and explore, while immortals would generally encounter little danger.

Yet this secret realm had made even Nine Swords, a high-level Venerable, declare that anyone below Venerable level would certainly die!

In other words, this secret realm posed a considerable threat even to Universe Venerables!

Kan Deli hesitated somewhat. After all, his duty was to guard fifty-two Chaos Tablets.

"It was only discovered recently. We absolutely won't invite anyone we don't trust. I came specifically to invite you this time." Nine Swords Venerable looked at Kan Deli as he spoke.

Whether in strength or other special abilities, Kan Deli far surpassed Nine Swords Venerable. If he agreed, this expedition into the secret realm would definitely be much safer!

"Who do you plan to invite?" Kan Deli did not refuse. Instead, he asked another question.

"Mist Hammer and Annihilation!" Nine Swords Venerable answered.

"Annihilation?" Kan Deli asked doubtfully.

He understood Mist Hammer Venerable. He was a Universe Venerable from the Hong Alliance who had forged a life-and-death friendship with Nine Swords on the Extraterritorial Battlefield before he had fully grown powerful. He was someone relatively trustworthy.

But Kan Deli was somewhat puzzled about this Annihilation.

Annihilation King Su Heng—despite being stationed in Chaos City, Kan Deli knew of his reputation.

But Su Heng had risen to prominence only recently. How had he become connected to Nine Swords?

Moreover, he was currently only recognized as possessing the strength of an elementary Universe Venerable. Why was he worth Nine Swords' invitation?

"Annihilation hadn't used his full strength then. His true strength is only slightly below mine, and like you, he has avatars." Nine Swords Venerable explained, though he did not reveal the specific reason.

Although this secret realm had only just been discovered, it was not located within human territory, but near Demon Race territory.

Furthermore, Nine Swords was not the only one who had discovered it. A Venerable from the Great Axe Fighting Arena had discovered it as well.

For safety's sake, Nine Swords had reported this secret realm to the race long ago.

However, the race certainly could not send a large number of Venerables into Demon Race territory. Besides, according to the descriptions given by Nine Swords and that other Venerable—

The opportunities in this secret realm were at most on the level of a Set of Supreme Treasures. The chance of it nurturing ordinary supreme treasures was extremely small, so it naturally held little attraction for Universe Overlords!

In the end, the race gave Nine Swords and the Venerable from Great Axe several slots, allowing each of them to form an elite Venerable team to explore the secret realm.

This way, they would neither seize the opportunities of the two men nor lose too much of the race's strength.

Not long afterward, Mother Ancestor approached Nine Swords and requested a slot for Annihilation King.

At the same time, Nine Swords Venerable had witnessed Annihilation King's true strength!

"Since you think it's fine, Nine Swords, then it's fine. Call me before you depart." Kan Deli ultimately agreed.

In any case, he would only be sending an avatar to explore. The chances of death were extremely low, so he was not too worried.

"Ha ha ha, good!" Nine Swords Venerable immediately smiled upon hearing this.

Afterward, the two chatted for a few more moments before Nine Swords Venerable left.

He had come to the Initial Universe to settle this batch of geniuses, and there were still matters he needed to handle.

Primal Secret Realm, within Thousand Treasure River.

"After refining one hundred Blood Luo Crystals, my affinity with the laws has increased again. It probably won't take long for me to comprehend every aspect of the Law of Space!"

Inside the cultivation chamber, Su Heng slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

Twenty years in the Initial Universe equaled more than sixty years in the Primal Universe. After all those years, he had finally completely refined the last few Blood Luo Crystals.

This caused the Blood Luo Power within his body to undergo a fundamental leap. At full activation, it could now amplify his genetic level by a full thirty times!

"Nine Swords agreed. We leave in three months?" Su Heng opened the Virtual Universe and clicked on an email sent by Nine Swords Venerable.

They would depart in three months, so he needed to make some preparations as well!

Su Heng rose to his feet and left the cultivation chamber.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

The remaining geniuses from this batch had all entered the Four Secret Realms as well.

On this day, inside a restaurant at the Virtual Universe Company headquarters.

Nine Swords Venerable spoke to the alien beside him with a broad smile. "Mist Hammer, after tens of thousands of epochs, I never expected you and I would fight side by side again!"

"Ha ha ha, Nine Swords, you've made quite a name for yourself in the universe these days!" Mist Hammer Venerable came from a powerful race, but his reputation was far inferior to Nine Swords Venerable's.

"By the way, haven't the other two arrived yet?" After chatting for a while, Mist Hammer Venerable asked doubtfully.

As an alien Venerable, he faced considerable restrictions while staying at the Virtual Universe Company headquarters. It made him feel rather constrained, so he wanted to head for the secret realm as soon as possible!

"Soon." Nine Swords Venerable shook his head. He had sent both of them emails long ago.

Tap, tap.

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded. Nine Swords and Mist Hammer both turned to look.

A white-robed figure and a three-eyed elder walked in, chatting and laughing together.

"Kan Deli, Annihilation!" Nine Swords stood and greeted them with a smile.

"Nine Swords Venerable." Su Heng nodded and smiled.

"Why are you still calling me Venerable? Annihilation, you've long since reached our level. Just call me Nine Swords!" Nine Swords Venerable said with a laugh.

"Ha ha ha, Annihilation, you should call him Nine Swords. Otherwise, wouldn't we all have to call you Annihilation King?" Kan Deli said with a smile from the side.

Venerable, King-level, and Marquis-level were merely forms of address.

"Alright, this is Mist Hammer Venerable of the Wusha Race. Everyone can just call him Mist Hammer. Like me, he possesses the strength of a high-level Universe Venerable!"

After joking for a moment, Nine Swords introduced Mist Hammer Venerable to the two of them.

Although he had mentioned it in the emails, this was still the first time the three had met in person.

"The guardian of Chaos City and Annihilation King—both of your names are extremely famous even within my race!"

Mist Hammer Venerable smiled as he spoke to them.

Kan Deli was renowned for his tremendous strength and troublesome avatar technique, while Su Heng was known for his powerful talent and legendary late-blooming rise!

"Mist Hammer Venerable's great name is also quite famous on the Extraterritorial Battlefield." Su Heng smiled faintly and politely returned the compliment.

Kan Deli was about to say something as well, but Nine Swords Venerable interrupted him.

"Alright, alright, let's stop praising each other. This secret realm expedition isn't exactly safe!"

Nine Swords Venerable spoke somewhat helplessly, then had Su Heng and Kan Deli sit down to discuss the secret realm expedition together.

At the mention of the secret realm, the other three also grew much more serious.

"This secret realm is called the Yuan Yin Secret Realm. It is roughly the size of a high-level galaxy, and it is filled with spatial storms, as well as Ancient Beasts and native Demon Race inhabitants living within it!"

Nine Swords Venerable briefly explained some information about the secret realm. This was what he had learned while probing its outer regions.

As for the specifics, he did not know much either.

"Does 'anyone below immortal level will certainly die' refer to the chaotic space inside?" Kan Deli asked.

If the space was chaotic, it would indeed pose a massive threat to immortals. Even King-level Invincibles might not be able to endure for long.

After all, even if a King-level Invincible had profound comprehension of the Law of Space, they still could not compare to a Venerable who had completely comprehended the Law of Space.

That was a fundamental difference!

"Yes and no." Nine Swords Venerable shook his head.

"The chaotic space is near the entrance. If a peak King-level expert has a secret treasure to protect them, they still have a good chance of entering.

But after entering, they will pass through shattered spatial passages and arrive in a mountain range stretching five hundred light-years!

The weakest Ancient Beasts and other lifeforms living in that mountain range are at the World Master level, and there are even Venerable-level Ancient Beasts among them!

Iron Halberd and I encountered an Ancient Beast comparable to a high-level Venerable in those mountains!"

Nine Swords Venerable's expression darkened. Clearly, he and that Great Axe Fighting Arena Venerable had suffered at the hands of that Ancient Beast.

Ancient Beasts were actually a collective term for beast-like creatures within secret realms that did not belong to any race. They were similar to Special Lifeforms, possessing considerable intelligence, and some even had innate secret techniques!

Their life gene levels were generally higher than those of humans, and combined with the cosmic wonders within secret realms, Ancient Beasts were usually extremely powerful!

"Can we only enter through that passage?" Mist Hammer Venerable asked.

"Yes, there is only that one entrance!" Nine Swords Venerable nodded.

Upon hearing this, Su Heng frowned slightly.

It possessed the combat power of a high-level Venerable, so why had it not left the secret realm?

Lifeforms within secret realms had a difficult time becoming Universe Venerables!

Even Nine Swords, a high-level Venerable, could pass through the shattered spatial passage. Naturally, the Ancient Beast could do the same. Why had it not left?

Could this secret realm be more complicated than it seemed?

In the original story, Nine Swords had brought Kan Deli into the secret realm, yet they had not obtained many treasures. Had they retreated because they recognized the danger?

Su Heng's thoughts raced wildly.

This is an extended chapter version. There will only be this one chapter today. I'm stuck on the plot and have a headache, and I haven't slept well these past few days. Fortunately, it should be over in another day or two, and then I can get some proper rest.