Dawnsource Secret Realm

The entire Everlasting Mountains stretched over five hundred li from east to west, and spanned roughly two hundred li from north to south.

More than a hundred thousand square li of land fell under Heaven Sect's jurisdiction.

The Dawnsource Secret Realm was considered part of Heaven Sect's inner territory, still far from its borders.

Disciples continually entered and exited this secret realm.

A large portion of them were outer sect disciples, seeking to gamble for a sliver of fortune.

As for inner sect disciples, aside from Dong Lin and others of exceptional talent who had been discovered by the sect early on,

most of the rest only joined the inner sect after successfully reaching Foundation Establishment.

Thus, they generally went to higher-tier secret realms for training. Only a small number of inner sect disciples who lacked confidence in their own strength, or who had accepted tasks related to the Dawnsource Secret Realm, came here.

The five found an open patch of ground beside the secret realm's entrance.

"Let's introduce ourselves first. I cultivate sword arts, and I can handle close-range entanglements.

"In battle, circumstances change in a thousand ways. For now, we'll simply divide our roles according to the attributes of our cultivation techniques."

As the core of the team, Gu Chen was the first to introduce himself.

"Tao Yan. I mainly cultivate water arts. I can handle control and burst damage."

Tao Yan spoke first.

"Zhao Shuheng. I cultivate wind and earth elements, also mainly focused on control. I can provide support and defense."

Holding a folding fan and dressed like a scholar, Zhao Shuheng said with a smile.

"Baili Tianming, body cultivator, peak Body Tempering Realm.

"Leave close-quarters brawling to me. Even against some second-tier great demons, I can trade blows with them."

Baili Tianming smiled honestly, spreading his arms to reveal a body packed with bulging muscles, brimming with raw power.

"Dong Lin. I excel in Lightning Arts. I can provide long-range damage."

"The team Old Gu put together is pretty well balanced. Feels like we could pick some half-step second-tier demon beasts to sharpen our skills on."

"Brother Dong's Lightning Arts are anything but ordinary. I imagine all of you saw that last time.

"I specifically brought him in to fill the gap in our team's damage output.

"Let's start by finding some late first-tier beasts to practice on. Tianming and Old Zhao are experienced.

"Brother Dong and Junior Sister Tao haven't fought many spell battles."

"Alright, time waits for no one. Let's go." Baili Tianming bumped his fists together twice, looking eagerly toward the secret realm.

The secret realm's entrance differed from the smooth spatial transition of a teleportation array.

There was a slight jolt as it transported them into midair, several meters above the ground within the secret realm.

For cultivators, this height was still manageable.

As long as one possessed some movement technique, one would generally not fall flat on the ground.

Using the barely initiated Pine-Wind Treading Snow, Dong Lin adjusted his position in midair. Then, with a light step through the air using Moon-Embracing Step,

he landed steadily on the ground.

The others each had their own methods of dealing with it.

The most violent of them all was body cultivator Baili Tianming, who simply crashed heavily into the ground,

smashing that patch of earth several centimeters downward.

They had arrived at the secret realm's entrance and exit. A little over a hundred meters away stood the exit, along with a small marketplace for trading goods.

It had been jointly established by disciples who frequently entered and left the secret realm, making it convenient to replenish supplies before exploration and sell resources they did not need afterward.

A little farther away, the sect had established a station to monitor the secret realm and prevent any unexpected incidents.

"This is a rough map of the secret realm. Take a look first."

Gu Chen handed two leather maps he had prepared in advance to Dong Lin and Tao Yan, who had only just arrived.

"Brother Dong, Junior Sister Tao, get a general understanding first.

"The Dawnsource Secret Realm is a medium-sized secret realm. The sect's predecessors once conducted detailed measurements along every boundary of the realm.

"Overall, it is an irregular square, stretching three thousand li north to south and two thousand li east to west."

"It's this much larger than the territory under the mountain gate's control? And there are directions inside a secret realm?" Dong Lin asked in confusion.

"That's right. Secret realms are attached to the main world, and their magnetic fields correspond with that of the main world. The sect has records of this.

"However, the secret realm is separated from the main world by a thick spatial barrier. Even the patriarchs find it difficult to open a new teleportation passage that can remain stable for long.

"So one can generally only enter and leave through this secret realm's original entrance and exit.

"The entrance and exit are located in the center of the secret realm, which is rather convenient.

"The Dawnsource Secret Realm is roughly divided into three areas. To the east lies a vast forest, containing countless spirit beasts.

"Our competition later will likely designate an area within this forest.

"Heaven Sect named it the Woodland Wilderness. The west is roughly divided into two areas.

"To the north is Medicine King Valley, a vast cluster of mountains with an enormous valley nestled within it, where spirit herbs carpet the ground.

"It was once said that a half-immortal-tier spirit herb had appeared there, though it was later plucked away by the patriarchs.

"The fourth-tier great demon guarding it was also slain.

"Now, only some first-tier and second-tier spirit beasts remain in Medicine King Valley.

"To the southwest is Pearl Pool, a vast lake. It was named after the precious spirit pearls within it,

"which are nurtured by Darkwater Spirit Clams at the bottom of the lake.

"They are the main ingredient in many types of medicinal pills.

"Ground into powder and steeped as tea, they provide a remarkably good boost to spiritual awareness.

"Second-tier spirit clams have a chance of nurturing Mystic Spirit Pearls,

"which are several times larger than ordinary spirit pearls and can assist in cultivating spiritual awareness.

"Their effects were simply too exceptional, so after discovering them, the sect organized a large-scale capture and harvesting operation.

"After several years of gathering,

"the number of spirit pearls at the lake bottom is now far below what it once was.

"That is the secret realm's general layout. The one thing to remember is not to approach the boundaries whenever possible.

"The space at the boundaries is unstable.

"Our cultivation is too shallow; if we encounter a spatial storm, we will be unable to deal with it.

"The depth of this secret realm is unknown, but a great cultivator who specialized in earth-attribute techniques once investigated it.

"He went down one hundred li without reaching the boundary. The sky, on the other hand, was much easier to survey; the boundary is reached after ascending roughly one hundred li.

"The boundary of the sky forms a semicircle, and the entire secret realm has a round heaven and square earth structure.

"As for whether the true underground is round or square, no one knows. Above the nine heavens, there are fierce winds mixed with spatial fissures.

"Of course, we currently lack the ability to reach that place."

"The secret realm's boundaries are the finest cultivation ground for comprehending the power of space.

"Once I reach Foundation Establishment Perfection, I must find a place here to settle down."

Zhao Shuheng opened his paper fan, fanned himself twice, and spoke softly.

"The space here is still somewhat chaotic. It would be better to study spatial runes instead."

Gu Chen advised him.

"That is a matter for the future. We can talk about it then."

Zhao Shuheng closed his fan and gave Gu Chen a faint smile, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

"Alright, let's head deeper into the forest. The spirit beasts around the outskirts are too weak; there's no need to waste too much time."

As Baili Tianming spoke, he casually scooped up a low-grade first-tier Swift Spirit Rabbit from the ground,

cleaned it up in no time, then took out a sheet of oil paper, wrapped it up, and placed it in his storage ring.

"Brother Tianming looks like a true old gourmand. You handle ingredients with real efficiency."

Gu Chen said with a smile.

"Just a little hobby. Let's go, let's go."

The group rose and moved swiftly toward the southeast of the secret realm.