Page 113
Shen Duheng pulled him up, meaning: Let's talk about it back at the inn.
The two quickly left the tavern and returned to the inn.
With Shan Heyuan set up a soundproof and anti-peeping array. "Brother Shen, do you think those two's conversation is reliable? Could they be deliberately trying to lure us in?"
"It's unlikely; they probably didn't anticipate someone would be listening to their conversation," Shen Duheng said. "I sent you their chat because it reminded me of something from the past."
Shan Heyuan perked up and immediately asked him to explain in detail.
Shen Duheng said, "When I was still the sect leader of the Sword Reverence Sect, I read a secret story that said there was a fully formed spirit in the West Jing Secret Realm. The people from the Spirit Jade Palace went in to search for it several times but couldn't find it. We also sent people here to investigate, but we couldn't find any relevant information either."
Shan Heyuan asked curiously, "The message from the spies? Do all the major sects plant spies among them?"
"There always needs to be a source of intelligence." Shen Duheng looked at him, as if to say, "Are you still listening or not?"
Shan Heyuan immediately said, "I'm not guessing anymore, please continue."
Shen Duheng: "That's a spirit that has taken shape in a secret realm. Didn't you create a small world? Perhaps coming into contact with this spirit will be beneficial for your understanding of the small world."
Shan Heyuan hadn't expected him to have this idea; he had originally thought he wanted to take her to the Spirit Plant Garden.
Shan Heyuan looked inward at his Dantian, where "sunlight" filled the Dantian and the Spirit Plant were growing very well.
Many of his actions were subconscious; he didn't know the underlying principles or how to develop his Dantian.
Perhaps looking at hidden realms can indeed provide inspiration, or at least offer some reference.
Shan Heyuan agreed, "You're right. I'll send a letter to Jiang Zhi and the others. If we can't get back before school starts, I'll ask him to ask for leave for me."
There are still ten days left, which might not be enough time to go to the secret realm; they might get delayed there.
This was Shan Heyuan's first time encountering a secret realm. "What kind of secret realm is the West Jing Secret Realm?"
Shen Duheng: "I don't know much about it. What's special about it is that it's a secret realm transformed from a dead small world."
Shan Heyuan's eyes brightened slightly. "A dead little world? Does it have any similarities to my Dantian?"
Shen Duheng: "Completely different. I've never heard of anyone's Dantian transforming into a small world. The predecessor of the West Jing Secret Realm originated from a refined storage Law Artifact. Later, the owner of this Law Artifact separated it and refined it together with the world that died in reality to create a sect's private secret realm."
Shan Heyuan exclaimed in amazement, "This method is too amazing! Who refined it?"
"The Spirit Jade Ancestor," Shen Duheng said, "Is the founding ancestor of the Spirit Jade Palace."
"I remember she was a female cultivator? Since it's a secret realm left behind by the founding ancestor of the Spirit Jade Palace, why would it be open to outsiders?"
"The specific reason is unclear, but it might be related to the birth of a 'spirit' in the secret realm? The West Jing Secret Realm has been in their hands for over eight thousand years, and they've already explored most of the areas that needed to be explored. It's not surprising that they're now offering it to cultivators for a fee. They hold the sovereignty, and they can take it back at any time."
After listening to Shen Duheng's explanation, Shan Heyuan became interested in this secret realm.
Shen Duheng had limited information, so while it was still early, they went out to a bookstore and bought books about the West Jing Secret Realm.
The West Jing Secret Realm is ancient and powerful, and there are many books that study it.
When Shan Heyuan was reading the book, the first thing he noticed was the size of the secret realm.
It covers a total area of 6,584 mu, which is more than a hundred times larger than Shan Heyuan's own Dantian Small World.
As a growing secret realm, it wasn't that big when it first started, only one percent of its current size.
Shan Heyuan was very curious; how exactly did it grow to this point?
How did the Spirit Jade Ancestor come up with the idea of combining storage Law Artifact with the real-world dead world?
He read books all night, becoming more and more interested in this secret place.
The next day, before Shen Duheng could ask, he took the initiative and said, "Let's go to this secret realm; we can definitely earn back our investment of 10,000 Spirit Stone."
Shen Duheng agreed, "Do you want to go in this afternoon, or tomorrow?"
"This afternoon, let's explore as much as we can. We've already prepared our supplies, so we don't need to buy anything else."
The West Jing Secret Realm is not far from where they are currently living.
They had lunch in the city before flying there on their swords.
Outside the West Jing Secret Realm, Spirit Jade Palace has built a ticket booth; you need to buy a ticket to enter.
When Shan Heyuan went to buy tickets, he always had the illusion that he was strolling in a park.
This hidden place does indeed resemble a forest park.
Once inside, they were greeted by vast stretches of forest.
Fu Province itself is arid, with most of its terrain consisting of grasslands, Gobi deserts, and deserts, with few mountains and even fewer forests.
West Jing Secret Realm resembles a vast mountain forest.
The terrain, landforms, vegetation, and climate here are vastly different from those outside.
After Shan Heyuan came in, he had the illusion that they were no longer in Fu Province.
The lush greenery is indeed soothing, and the moist air is exceptionally refreshing.
Shan Heyuan took a few deep breaths. "Where are we going now?"
The West Jing Secret Realm may look large, but it's not that big for cultivators.
Logically, if a cultivator stays here for a few more days, they can use their Divine Sense to completely scan this secret realm.
However, even after being open for over a thousand years, it has maintained its mystery because this secret realm is accompanied by an illusion.
Moreover, the secret realm is imbued with spirits, and its terrain, landforms, and vegetation can change at any time.
This added considerable trouble to the cultivators' exploration.
Shen Duheng checked the direction. "We'll go from the ground, first to the northwest, make a big circle, then circle southeast. There's fog down there, be careful."
Shan Heyuan nodded quickly.
In the lush green forest, the two walked along a narrow path.
For the first few minutes, Shan Heyuan looked around with great interest, but he soon realized something was wrong.
There wasn't a third person in this secret realm besides them!
Shen Duheng could tell what Shan Heyuan was thinking just by looking at his expression, "The mist is separating people."
"Is part of what we're seeing an illusion?"
"No. Illusions can't hide from my senses. I'm more inclined to believe that the secret realm separates people, preventing them from seeing each other. Try to sense this secret realm and see if you can discern anything?"
"Okay." Shan Heyuan turned his head and looked around, then suddenly asked, "Will Spirit Jade Palace be monitoring this secret realm?"
"There's nothing here. It's possible the Realm Spirit senses something."
"Then I'll use my Divine Sense to explore. Let's avoid the side paths and go straight into the forest."
The forest is full of plants, a small portion of which are Spirit Plant.
The problem is that these Spirit Plant are of too low quality, most of them are only at the first or second level of Qi Refining, so no one picks them.
Shan Heyuan walked past the Spirit Plant without showing any interest.
As he walked, Shan Heyuan noticed something mysterious. "The five elements in this secret realm are relatively weak, and it doesn't seem to contain any mysteries of the Heavenly Dao."
The main world outside contains the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao, and his Dantian Small World also contains the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao, but the West Jing Secret Realm contains none at all.
It appears very prosperous, yet in some ways it is strangely empty.
Any cultivator who studies this area can tell at a glance that it is not the main world outside.
Shan Heyuan pondered this, he suddenly said to Shen Duheng, "Isn't its situation similar to those dead worlds?"
He remembered that the first time he came into contact with the concept of the "dead world" was when the sky of Yongli City broke, Spiritual Power leaked out, the Heavenly Dao was severed, and it could no longer nurture living beings, so the city died.
The biggest difference between this secret realm and that dead city is that, although the Heavenly Dao has been severed, it still possesses Spiritual Power.
It's possible that this Spiritual Power emanates from an artificially implanted Spirit Stone, and that Spirit Jade Dao Ancestor refined it into a closed little world to prevent the Spiritual Power from leaking out, which is why it still has vitality.