Secret Realm

Biodata

Background / History

The Dao Origin Sect’s Secret Realm has existed since the sect’s founding. It is a special space carved from an Earth Vein, though Elder Zhou did not know precisely how it had been created. Such a realm requires a rare main Earth Vein formed by the convergence of one hundred veins. Its Earth Vein continually nurtures Secret Realm Origin Power, a resource capable of determining a sect’s future strength. 381 388

The realm is one of the Dao Origin Sect’s fundamental pillars and is treated as a secret inheritance. Its resources also underpin the fortunes of Dao Origin City’s aristocratic families, whose prosperity over the following decades can depend on their gains from a single opening. The families possess secret grounds for storing Secret Realm Origin Power, rather than true Secret Realms capable of producing it. 340 342

Secret realms situated around the same main Earth Vein may connect when they open at roughly the same time. The Dao Origin Sect’s realm resonated with and merged into the Divine Shaman Royal Court’s secret realm, bringing the factions of Jiangnan and Jiangbei into direct conflict over their combined resources. Yu Xiangtian identified the connected side as Golden Court Snow Mountain by examining the Secret Realm Gate. 380 381

The fusion made the expedition’s resource pool exceptionally large: the merged realm contained roughly twice the resources of an ordinary Secret Realm, while the territory secured by Lin Tian’s group was nearly equivalent to one entire ordinary realm. 473 486

After the expedition, the merged realms dimmed and separated. Openings are infrequent: Lin Tian understood that the realm might not open again for fifty or sixty years. 491 519

Power Progression

Nature and Mechanics

Formation and Interior

• The realm is a special space within an Earth Vein, rather than an ordinary location in the outside world. 381
• Its entrance manifests as an archaic, rune-covered stone door that releases exceptionally dense Earth Vein Origin Power. 450
• Entering the door’s light vortex leads to an otherworldly space containing ancient stone roads, a star-filled sky, and an immense sphere of light enclosing the outline of a continent. 451
• Resource points include Secret Realm Origin Power Springs and Secret Realm Origin Crystals. 462 477
• At the spring found by Lin Tian, Origin Power was sufficiently concentrated to form a pool of liquid glowing with a blue halo. 461
• Collecting an Origin Crystal can produce pillars of radiance visible throughout the realm, though later collections did not necessarily repeat the phenomenon. 474
• Maps compiled from earlier expeditions record resource points, but a merger can change the terrain and make those maps imperfect guides. 446
• The True Essence Realm team and the team below the True Essence Realm operated in separate regions of the merged realm. Lin Tian’s control of his team’s region therefore did not end the fighting in the True Essence Realm region. 486 490
• The realm’s location within an enormous Earth Vein makes it particularly suitable for True Scriptures that draw on Earth Vein Origin Power. Lin Tian recognized this advantage while preparing for the expedition. 390

Entry Restrictions and Rules

• Only cultivators under one hundred years old and no higher than the True Essence Realm may enter a mortal-world Secret Realm. 424
• The Three Great Royal Courts altered the entry rules so that entrants landed at random locations rather than arriving together, forcing most participants to operate alone. 447 448
• The Secret Realm Gate can impose additional rules, but its opportunities to do so are limited. Dao Origin Sect Master Yu Xiangtian declined to spend the sect’s remaining opportunities on this expedition. 448
• Entrants are sent in batches from a platform linked to the realm through a halo matrix. 453
• Cultivators who used their Tokens to withdraw could no longer participate in that expedition. 456
• The Royal Court faction used Gu insects to assemble rapidly after randomized entry, as well as tracking methods to locate opponents. These preparations helped it exploit the altered entry rules. 459 465 475

Teleportation Tokens

• Each entrant receives a Teleportation Token that can teleport them out of the realm when activated. 453
• A Token shatters if its holder dies, allowing the factions outside to track casualties without identifying the victim. 453 488
• Tokens cease functioning when the Secret Realm closes; anyone still inside afterward cannot leave. 488

Resources

Secret Realm Origin Power

Secret Realm Origin Power is nurtured by the Earth Vein and is a core cultivation resource for sects and great families. When two Secret Realms merge, the Origin Power from both converges, making its distribution the central cause of conflict. The quantity produced varies between openings, complicating attempts to divide a merged realm’s resources evenly. 381

• Also described as Secret Realm Essence, it is a higher-grade form of Earth Vein Origin Power. It can directly improve cultivation without harmful side effects and enhance the quality of True Qi, True Gang, and True Essence. 342 388
• Great families store it in specially maintained secret grounds. These grounds cannot produce their own supply and depend on resources obtained through the Dao Origin Sect’s Secret Realm. 342
• It must be absorbed directly into the body; absorption speed varies greatly between individuals. 364
• Absorption and refinement are separate processes. After absorbing a supply, Lin Tian could allow his body to refine it while he practiced other techniques. 363 368
• Without an appropriate container, it rapidly dissipates into the environment. 363
• Energy Storage Crystals contain internal array patterns that allow them to absorb nearby Origin Power automatically. 462
• Lin Tian used the Law Formless level of his Formless Combat Technique to seize and control Secret Realm Origin Power. 466
• Team leaders may receive an additional share of Origin Power after leaving the realm. 425
• Following the expedition, Lin Tian found that his officially allocated share was forty percent, rather than the fifty percent Elder Zhou had previously told him to expect. He later transferred one-tenth of his Origin Power to Murong Yun under their agreement. 496 502
• Its usefulness continued after Lin Tian reached the True Essence Realm. A later improvement in his Demon-Subduing Golden Body substantially increased his refinement speed, advancing his expected schedule for successive True Essence temperings. 557
• Lin Tian subsequently used Secret Realm Origin Power alongside Skyflame Marrow Crystal and Earth Vein Origin Power to accelerate his cultivation. 601

Secret Realm Origin Crystals

Secret Realm Origin Crystals are rarer and more valuable than ordinary Origin Power. They form through the further condensation and gathering of Secret Realm Origin Power, and their effects are at least several times greater. They can aid a cultivator’s breakthrough to the True Essence Realm without harmful side effects, including harm from repeated failed attempts within a short period, and can help a sect produce new True Essence Realm experts. 388 477

• The Sword Heaven Upper Sect joined the expedition partly because it had detected that the Dao Origin Sect’s realm would produce a large quantity of Origin Crystals. 429
• The Sword Heaven Upper Sect possessed a limited method for locating the crystals, while Lin Tian used a superior Compass capable of searching across the realm. 484
• The Sword Heaven Upper Sect had previously possessed a treasure for tracking Origin Crystals, but it had been stolen before this expedition. 429
• Lin Tian used the power of forty or fifty Origin Crystals in a concealed cave to carry out his True Scripture tempering during the expedition. 476
• Lin Tian’s group ultimately collected more than one hundred Origin Crystals for Dao Origin Sect’s share alone. 486 487
• Lin Tian also retained a private collection of 125 Origin Crystals, more than the number he submitted to the sect. 492
• Lin Tian later delivered the Compass and the Origin Crystals required for Hua Chengming’s commission. Hua Chengming then asked whether he had additional crystals. 519
• The Compass’s usefulness is tied to the realm’s rare openings; Hua Chengming later offered it to Lin Tian in exchange for ten Origin Crystals. 519

Story Role / Major Arcs

Secret-Realm Merger

The Secret Realm’s abnormal activity foreshadowed its opening, but the disturbance was revealed to be a connection with the Divine Shaman Royal Court’s realm rather than an ordinary opening. The merger guaranteed a conflict over combined resources, especially given the longstanding hostility between Jiangnan and Jiangbei. 339 380 381

Before the opening, news of the realm’s activity prompted urgent meetings among Dao Origin City’s aristocratic families. Yu Xiangtian tolerated the New Faction elders’ involvement while recognizing that their clans had supplied resources that helped bring the opening forward. However, he refused their later attempts to gain authority over the distribution of the expedition’s Origin Power. 340 391

The Murong Family regarded the expedition as both an opportunity and a threat to its standing among the Millennial Clans. Murong Yun chose to invest in Lin Tian by giving him his own opportunity to cultivate in the family’s secret ground, sacrificing a chance to treat his injuries in the hope of securing the family’s future resources. 340 342

The Divine Shaman Royal Court invited the Divine Martial and Divine Shepherd Royal Courts to share its expedition. In return, it sought reciprocal access to their secret realms when those opened. This proposed arrangement extended beyond the immediate merger and was viewed by an elder as a possible step toward consolidating the region’s resources. 415

Dao Origin Sect allied with the Sword Heaven Upper Sect to counter the Three Great Royal Courts, whose numerical advantage threatened to overwhelm the Dao Origin Sect’s expedition forces. 424 426

The Sword Heaven Upper Sect’s participation also reflected its longstanding enmity with the Divine Martial Royal Court. During an earlier Secret Realm expedition, nearly all of its entrants had died in conflict with that court, leaving a generational gap that required substantial resources to repair. Its advance detection of abundant Origin Crystals offered an opportunity to recover those losses. 426 429

Opening and Initial Conflict

After the entrance activated, Dao Origin Sect, Sword Heaven Upper Sect, and Royal Court cultivators entered through the realm’s gate. The Royal Courts used the randomized landings, rapid assembly methods, and tracking techniques to ambush Upper Sect entrants. 449 450 453 454

Mu Chunfeng’s early entry with elite True Essence Realm cultivators broke the initial deadlock, inflicting severe losses on the Royal Courts and allowing the Upper Sect faction to establish a foothold. 454 455 456

In one major clash, the Royal Court faction lost twenty-five cultivators and had thirty withdraw, while the Upper Sect faction lost five and had ten withdraw. Mu Chunfeng killed more than half of the Royal Court cultivators slain in that battle. The result established a temporary balance in which both sides were wary of further large-scale fighting. 456 457

Lin Tian’s Deterrence Campaign

Lin Tian entered alone to deter the Royal Courts and secure time for his faction to gather resources. He used an Origin Power Spring as a base, deliberately allowed enemies to report his location, and drew nearly forty Royal Court Gang Realm geniuses into an attempted encirclement. 457 462 465 467

The Royal Court forces were defeated and driven from Lin Tian’s section of the Secret Realm. His victories enabled Dao Origin Sect and Sword Heaven Upper Sect disciples to enter, gather resources, and seek protection under his influence. 473 474 485

Despite his earlier victories, the newly arrived Royal Court disciples did not abandon their ambitions to seize the realm’s resources. While He Qingwu and many allied disciples sought Lin Tian’s protection, the Royal Court faction initially prioritized gathering resources before renewing attacks. Lin Tian meanwhile searched privately for Origin Crystals and secluded himself to perform True Scripture tempering. 474 475 476

The wider discovery of Origin Crystals intensified the struggle in both teams’ regions. With Lin Tian temporarily absent, the allied disciples faced a renewed Royal Court encirclement and feared that they would have to abandon their harvest. 477 478

After further conflict over the Origin Crystals, Lin Tian killed the Royal Court faction’s leading geniuses. Ye Wandao then led the allied disciples against its remaining forces, who were killed or escaped through their Tokens; no Royal Court member remained in that part of the realm. 477 482 483

Resource Allocation and Departure

After expelling the Royal Court faction, Lin Tian divided the remaining resources between the allied sects: seventy percent for Dao Origin Sect and thirty percent for Sword Heaven Upper Sect. 484 485

The allied disciples completed a thorough search of their controlled territory and departed through their Tokens. As the realm began to dim, the remaining entrants faced permanent confinement if they did not leave before closure. 486 488

The True Essence Realm teams continued fighting over resources for three more days before teleporting out, many of them badly wounded. Their contested region had not been searched as thoroughly as the territory cleared by Lin Tian’s group. Once they returned, the merged realms fully dimmed and separated, and the opposing factions passed back through their respective entrances. 489 491

Mu Chunfeng emerged covered in blood and was initially astonished that Lin Tian had returned uninjured. After Elder Zhou explained the younger team’s victories and harvest, the allied disciples recognized that Lin Tian’s intervention had spared them a similarly disastrous outcome. 490

Post-Expedition Influence

Reports carried back by the participating aristocratic families made Lin Tian’s expulsion of the Royal Court faction a major topic throughout Dao Origin City. The families were particularly concerned with the quantity of resources he could retain, rather than merely the strength he had displayed. The Murong Family’s agreement to receive ten percent of his gains consequently became especially significant. 495

The harvest continued to support Lin Tian’s cultivation long after the realm closed. He retained enough Origin Power to regard ordinary cultivation resources as comparatively unimportant, and later improvements to his physique increased the speed at which he could refine his remaining supply. 521 557

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