Xu Changqing tucked the Azure Emperor's Legacy Edict into his sleeve. The other two items, along with that wordless book, turned into specks of light and merged back into the glowing orb atop the stone pillar.
He turned toward the slowly opening golden vortex and stepped inside without hesitation.
Light swirled before his eyes. After a brief sensation of weightlessness, the solid feel of earth returned beneath his feet.
Xu Changqing opened his eyes. The dry, scorching wind of the Northern Domain swept yellow sand into his face. The dark-red vortex above his head was still turning, but its edges had begun to blur. Clearly, once someone left, the Secret Realm would gradually begin to contract.
The temporary camp looked exactly as it had when they left.
Li Chuan stood guard beside the entrance, while the three hundred nearby members and disciples remained as usual.
As for the elders of those tribes that had pledged allegiance, they were still kneeling on the ground, muttering under their breaths.
When they saw Xu Changqing emerge first, they trembled even harder. Whether they were afraid or worried about something, no one could tell.
"My lord."
Li Chuan stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Xu Changqing. Only after confirming that he was uninjured did he let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Changqing asked, "How much time has passed?"
Li Chuan answered truthfully, "Less than an hour."
Xu Changqing pondered. "Oh?"
He had thought he would be delayed inside for some time. He had not expected to emerge so quickly.
One hour.
Inside the Secret Realm, he had experienced his Dao Heart shattering and being reforged, his cultivation falling and rising again, a life-and-death battle against his mirror image, and the selection of objects of karma atop the stone platform. Yet outside, only one