Chapter 153: Arrival at the Valley, the Secret Realm Opens

After flying for most of the day, the group finally arrived above a mountain valley.

Five forces were already in the valley, each with its own camp.

“Are more people coming? Haven’t all five of our factions already arrived?”

Wan Rongyang, the Fifth Elder of Tianyuan Sect, murmured with mild curiosity.

Wan Rongyang, Peak Master of Immortal Beast Peak, was leading this time. The Great Elder did not want to leave the sect, the Second Elder was in seclusion, and every other Elder had a reason not to come. In the end, it fell to him.

“Hm? Qin Xiao?”

Wan Rongyang was surprised when he recognized the arrivals. Why was Qin Xiao here?

Wan Rongyang had mixed feelings about Qin Xiao’s departure, but could do nothing; Qin Xiao had simply gone. If Qin Xiao had returned for a vote, he had intended to vote for him.

The flying sword went straight to the association’s camp without stopping.

“So that’s it. The boy really can find a way. He got entry slots from the Immortal Dao Merchant Association.”

Seeing Qin Xiao land in the merchant association’s territory, Wan Rongyang understood the situation.

As soon as Qin Xiao’s party landed, the association’s leader came to meet them.

“Elder Zeng, how is it that you are leading the team?”

Recognizing the newcomer, Ling Ruoxue hurried forward.

He was no merchant branch’s general manager, but a Ling Family Elder named Zeng Tai, at middle Body Integration. He had come from the Ling Family.

“Young Miss, you weren’t interested in these realms before. What made you want to go this time?”

Zeng Tai could only sigh. Usually the supervisor or steward of the nearest merchant branch led the party. This time, he had been called from the branch because the Young Miss was entering the realm, and he had to bring her treasures.

“I wasn’t, but they say Spirit Medicine Valley is much less dangerous. I thought I’d give it a try. What, does Father object? I sold two slots for him. Isn’t he satisfied?”

Ling Ruoxue guessed her father was refusing to let her enter and had sent Elder Zeng to bring her home.

“You misunderstand, Young Miss. The President has not refused. He sent me to bring you a few things.”

With that, Zeng Tai retrieved several defensive Dharma Treasures from his storage bag.

“These are all High Grade Dharma Treasures. Take them all, or I won’t be able to answer to the President.”

Zeng Tai gestured toward the artifacts.

“That’s more like it.”

Ling Ruoxue put all the treasures away. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.

“Ah, let me introduce you. This is Qin Xiao, and the other is his disciple.”

Ling Ruoxue introduced Qin Xiao and Yun Man to the association’s people, but did not give Yun Man’s name. Yun Man was also wearing a veil.

“So you are Qin Xiao. All Qingzhou has heard your name lately.”

After sizing up Qin Xiao for a moment, Zeng Tai nodded.

He could see Qin Xiao had no cultivation, but had heard of his strange body refinement. He did not look down on him.

Yun Man behind Qin Xiao caught his attention. She was young, yet at late Nascent Soul. He had heard that Qin Xiao’s disciple was even more extraordinary than her master, but seeing her still filled him with admiration.

“You’re too kind, Senior.”

Qin Xiao hurried to reply when Elder Zeng addressed him.

“Will you act on your own or come with our association? You’re strong, but it is your first time inside. Now you have left the Tianyuan Sect, they probably won’t give you information about the realm. Traveling with us could save you a lot of wrong turns.”

Zeng Tai asked Qin Xiao.

The association already had late Nascent Soul disciples, but more powerful fighters were always welcome.

“Then thank you, Senior.”

Qin Xiao accepted. He had no information about the valley. He had tried to buy it from Ling Ruoxue, but she refused to sell; the other forces were even less likely to share theirs.

Having sold two slots, with Ling Ruoxue also joining, the association had brought only seventeen disciples. Its third-place finish had earned it twenty slots.

Many people saw Qin Xiao’s group arrive, but none did anything.

The night passed quietly. None of Qin Xiao’s disciples visited him. With the elders of every sect present, there was little they could do. They would have to wait until they entered the realm.

When morning arrived, the various groups gathered near the entrance of the secret realm.

It was called the secret realm’s entrance, but was merely the entrance to a valley.

The valley seemed small and unremarkable. Perhaps it would change only when the secret realm opened.

Like the Abyss Secret Realm, this was just an ordinary valley while closed. Countless people had searched it and found nothing.

Lin Shimeng again led the Tianyuan Sect’s disciples, and Gong Yuankui led those of the Pure Yang Sect. A new disciple led the Mysterious Yin Sect, with Su Lin behind. The association’s leader was a Ling Family genius, while Tianyi City’s was Fang Xiuxian.

Fang Xiuxian had not returned to Tianyi City since his master Chen Shunyi took him away. He had come here directly. The senior leading the Tianyi City party was Ding Xiu, an early Nascent Soul captain of the Imperial Guards. The four Chen Family disciples he brought were only at Golden Core.

Tianyi City had no depth to its strength. Fang Xiuxian alone had raised its standing; its meager showing could not be helped. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.

“I’ll leave them in your care, Deputy City Lord.”

With a helpless expression, Ding Xiu could only entrust the four disciples to Fang Xiuxian.

The other teams’ Elders were at least at Soul Formation, some even at Body Integration. An early Nascent Soul Imperial Guard captain leading a party here was an embarrassment. He was nothing beside them; even their disciples were stronger than he was.

“No trouble. Since they are Senior Brother Chen’s juniors, I will look after them.”

Fang Xiuxian had given up targeting Qin Xiao. He was here to explore the realm. Qin Xiao had advanced too quickly for him to beat now. Yun Man was at late Nascent Soul too, and Qin Xiao was with the association. He was not foolish enough to invite trouble.

“I thought it was a shame we couldn’t explore together, Brother Qin. But you’ve managed to sneak into the association’s team! Now we can go together after all.”

Gong Yuankui did not care whether his Elders objected. He had wanted to talk to Qin Xiao yesterday, but discussions about entering the realm had kept him away. Meeting him now, he naturally came over to chat.

“Brother Kui, what do you mean, ‘sneak in’? I bought my entry slots.”

Knowing Gong Yuankui’s straightforward disposition, Qin Xiao offered a helpless explanation.

“Purchased it? You can do that? Haha, Brother Qin really always finds a way.”

Learning that Qin Xiao had bought his way in, Gong Yuankui burst into hearty laughter.

“You beat me and won thirty slots, but still had to buy your own? Brother Qin, I don’t mean anything by it. I just thought of that and couldn’t help myself. Hahaha!”

Gong Yuankui did not care if Qin Xiao’s expression was darkening. Something about it struck him as funny, and he could not stop.

Qin Xiao could not laugh. He wanted to cry. If he had known it would end like this, why had he worked so hard? At forty million a slot, he had given the Tianyuan Sect two hundred million for nothing. No—without him, they might not have won any slots. That was 1.2 billion!

“All right, I’ll stop. Cheer up, Brother Qin. The realm is about to open, so I’ll go back. Hahaha!”

Seeing Qin Xiao’s dark expression, Gong Yuankui hurried to take his leave. He still laughed as he went.

“Young Miss Ling, do you think this is funny? Gong Yuankui laughs at the strangest things. What is there to laugh at? It isn’t funny at all.”

Qin Xiao was exasperated as he spoke to Ling Ruoxue.

“The secret realm is opening.”

Before Ling Ruoxue could offer a reply, a shout rang out from the crowd.

A green vortex suddenly appeared at the entrance.