The Seal of the Secret Realm

"There is no special reason; it is simply that this mission is safe enough, and I do not wish to take any risks."

Lu Yu said with a smile, showing no signs of embarrassment.

The others said nothing after hearing this.

If he preferred stability, what could they say?

Chen Xuan glanced at Lu Yu a few times.

Was there really no special reason?

He himself had joined this mission with ulterior motives, so he inevitably overthought things.

Moreover, Wu Xun had also mentioned that generally, no one was willing to take this mission.

If he hadn't received the Purple Qi Comes from the East from Li Junmo and promised to help him search for the Heavenly Dao Qi, he wouldn't have joined this mission either.

Of course, it was possible he was just overthinking; even if no one wanted to take it, there would always be someone who eventually would.

However, when out and about, it is better to be cautious.

Chen Xuan mentally instructed the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame to keep an eye on the others.

The Flying Boat traveled at extreme speed, and the group arrived at the Green Spirit Sect that very day.

As the Flying Boat descended, the Sect Master of the Green Spirit Sect and several elders came out to welcome Chen Xuan and his companions.

Although this patrol mission was something no one in the Cloud Sea Sect wanted to take, once they accepted it and arrived at one of the three Heavenly Dao Secret Realms, the branch sect responsible for guarding the secret realm had to treat them as honored guests.

The Sect Master of the Green Spirit Sect was a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, yet he had personally come to welcome these few Dao Foundation disciples.

"Welcome, everyone."

Sect Master Bai of the Green Spirit Sect looked at them and said with a smile.

"Sect Master Bai."

The group politely cupped their hands in greeting.

Although this Sect Master Bai belonged to a branch sect, he was still a Purple Mansion cultivator.

Back in the Cloud Sea Sect, they would have to address him as Martial Uncle or Elder.

"Young friends, are you in a hurry to begin the patrol? If not, why not rest for a while?"

Sect Master Bai looked at them with a smile.

The group looked toward Wu Xun.

Wu Xun cupped his hands and said, "Sect Master Bai, we are on a mission, so we should head to the secret realm to patrol first."

"Very well, very well. Please, young friends."

Sect Master Bai nodded and gestured with his hand.

Among the crowd was Bai Wei, who was currently staring at Chen Xuan.

She was already aware of Chen Xuan's Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

She had not expected Chen Xuan to be so lucky as to obtain the Heavenly Dao Qi and complete a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

As a Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, who wouldn't want a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment? She was no exception.

It was just that she had always felt there was no hope for it.

Therefore, looking at Chen Xuan now, she felt mostly envy.

Chen Xuan noticed Bai Wei's gaze and simply looked over, nodding slightly.

A short while later, Sect Master Bai escorted Chen Xuan and the others to the main hall at the entrance of the Green Spirit Secret Realm.

Whether it was Chen Xuan or Wu Xun and the others, they had all been here before.

What disciple of the Cloud Sea Sect hadn't visited the three Heavenly Dao Secret Realms?

Perhaps Chen Xuan had only ever been to the Green Spirit, and he truly hadn't been to the other two.

After all, he had found the Heavenly Dao Qi on his very first trip.

"Sect Master Bai, we shall head in now."

Wu Xun looked at Sect Master Bai once more.

"Very well. If you young friends have any trivial matters within the secret realm, feel free to command the disciples of the Green Spirit Sect."

Sect Master Bai nodded in response.

Wu Xun and the other six then entered the secret realm one after another.

Holding their warrants to enter the secret realm, they did not separate, but were instead all teleported to the very center of the secret realm.

Wu Xun began to issue orders: "We will split into four groups. I will take one, and the six of you will divide into three groups to patrol and inspect the four cardinal directions."

"Junior Brother Chen, you have only recently reached Foundation Establishment, so I must warn you: whether you see spiritual treasures or common weeds, you are not to take a single blade of grass from this secret realm."

"We entered this realm under official mandate, and our belongings have already been tagged. If we leave with any untagged items, our tokens will automatically record the discrepancy, and there will be no escaping punishment once we return to the Cloud Sea Sect."

Fearing that Chen Xuan might not fully grasp the sect's capabilities, Wu Xun took the time to elaborate.

Since the sect dared to send disciples to patrol without fearing they would pilfer items, they naturally had precautions in place.

Unless one intended to snatch something and flee, never to return to the Cloud Sea Sect and instead live a life of hiding, it was best not to touch anything.

The Heavenly Dao Secret Realm certainly contained treasures, but they were not valuable enough to warrant betraying the sect.

Even the Heavenly Dao Qi was not worth that price.

Cloud Sea Sect disciples knew how to weigh the pros and cons.

It was precisely because there was no real profit to be made that so few people accepted this mission.

If the task weren't genuinely easy, it likely would have gone unclaimed, and forcing disciples to participate would have surely sparked resentment.

"I understand, Senior Brother."

Chen Xuan nodded slightly in response.

Wu Xun quickly finished organizing the groups, and Chen Xuan was paired with Lu Yu.

Chen Xuan said nothing; in any case, the Purple Imperial Dragon Flame was constantly keeping watch for him.

As long as Lu Yu's true intentions did not interfere with him, it was fine.

After all, he had his own agenda for coming to the secret realm.

The groups soon began to move in their separate directions.

Wu Xun and the others headed toward three of the directions.

Only Chen Xuan and Lu Yu remained in the area.

"Senior Sister Lu, let us begin our patrol as well."

Chen Xuan said.

"Very well."

The two spoke as they headed toward the final remaining direction.

Both scanned the secret realm, appearing to be diligently performing their patrol duties.

In reality, Chen Xuan was already using his Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique to track the traces of Heavenly Dao Qi.

As for Lu Yu, she seemed to be genuinely patrolling.

However, through the Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique, he discovered something amiss.

Lu Yu was covertly and slowly absorbing the spiritual energy of the secret realm.

Absorbing spiritual energy was nothing unusual, but doing it in such a secretive manner definitely meant something was up.

Yet, Chen Xuan truly did not know what she was aiming for.

Did the spiritual energy within the secret realm have some special use?

Although Chen Xuan did not know its purpose, he understood that Lu Yu, like him, had her own motives for taking on this patrol mission.

Moreover, where there is an anomaly, there is a demon...

Regardless of Lu Yu's goal, her current actions did not violate any sect regulations.

The same was true for what he was doing at this moment.

The sect only forbade them from taking items; it said nothing about searching for things, nor did it forbid absorbing the spiritual energy of the realm.

And so, the two continued on, patrolling while attending to their own affairs, without disturbing one another.

Over the next few days.

The two had already inspected their assigned area and found no demonic beasts above the second rank.

At the same time, Chen Xuan had already used the Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique to uncover information regarding the Heavenly Dao Qi.

Chen Xuan had determined the location and time for the next appearance of Heavenly Dao Qi within the Green Spirit Secret Realm.

However... the wait was quite long.

It would take another five years for the next wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi to appear in the Green Spirit Secret Realm.

He could only record the location and time for now and check the situation in the other two secret realms.

Perhaps the Heavenly Dao Qi in the other two realms would appear sooner.

Furthermore, Chen Xuan had never stopped keeping an eye on Lu Yu.

After Chen Xuan located the Heavenly Dao Qi via the Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique, he had been observing Lu Yu.

Then, through the Heaven-Observing Divine Eye, the Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique revealed that the spiritual energy Lu Yu absorbed was not being refined for herself, but was instead being condensed into a mark within her body.

Upon seeing the mark, Chen Xuan immediately recalled reading about it in a book while researching the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm at the Library Pavilion on Cloud Sea Peak.

This mark was known as the Secret Realm Seal, which could be forged into a special token.

The token was largely symbolic in nature.

Such items were typically used as tokens of identity that could not be easily forged.