"Junior Brother, stop thinking about Jianmu for now. You'll see it sooner or later. Wutun City is one of the largest cities in the entire Great Hua Secret Realm. So many people come and go here—it's a rare lively spot. Why not have a good look around?"
Seeing Chen Cuo deep in thought, Chuiyunzi spoke up.
Chen Cuo set his thoughts aside for the moment and asked with a smile, "From what you're saying, Senior Brother, are there many cities like this in the Secret Realm of the Human World?"
"There used to be ten, but three fell into ruin because their populations dwindled."
Chuiyunzi nodded and began to explain. "At first, wars were frequent outside, and deviant cultivators were using wicked arts to sacrifice ordinary people. Our forebears saw how much suffering there was in the world, so they brought great numbers of ordinary people into the Secret Realm and set aside ten places to grow and store grain. As people gathered, those places gradually became ten cities. But after the Secret Realm closed, the population dwindled. These days, there may not even be two hundred thousand people in the whole realm, so every city is in decline..."
At that, he gestured around them and changed tack. "Wutun City may look quiet to you, but it's already one of the liveliest places in the Secret Realm. The other six are quieter still."
Chen Cuo was not surprised. The Great Hua Secret Realm might be vast, but cut off from the world as it was, its population could hardly compare with the outside. With too few people, problems were bound to follow, most visibly in Desolation of fields and decaying cities.
Chuiyunzi was still speaking when his expression suddenly changed.
Qiongfa Zi and Xi Ran looked much the same.
Xi