"As a once major world, the Wentian Realm isn't just connected to our Chuyun Realm. Once you enter, besides the chance encounters, there's a high probability of meeting mysterious races from other realms. Fortunately, after the collapse of the Wentian Realm, the Mahayana existences, due to their immense mana, are unable to penetrate the inter-realm barrier to enter. You needn't worry about Mahayana cultivators from other realms meddling in the secret realm," said Daoist Mu again.

"Will individuals from other realms also enter the Wentian Secret Realm at the same time as we do?" asked Swordsman Qing Ping.

"The barriers of the Wentian Realm are sometimes solid, sometimes weak. Every three thousand years is a cycle, and only when the barriers are weak can the passage be smoothly opened for you to enter. The same applies to other realms," Daoist Mu replied.

"Are there any inhabitants of the Wentian Realm left within the Wentian Secret Realm?" asked Sima Changqin.

"According to ancient Mahayana investigations, when the Wentian Realm collapsed, all intelligent life perished, and the Mahayana were not spared. However, mindless demon beasts survived and, after years of cultivation, some have broken through to the seventh level. This could be the greatest challenge you may face on this journey," said Daoist Mu, his expression grave.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed.

"You need not worry too much. The Wentian Secret Realm used to be a complete realm, a boundless space with only a scant few seventh-level demon beasts. The chance of encountering them should be small," Daoist Mu reassured upon seeing their concern.

As they heard this, they felt somewhat relieved, though a hint of nervousness lingered on their faces.

"Traversing between realms is extremely difficult. Although we can ensure your entry into the Wentian Secret Realm, the specific arrival location is not fixed. Whether you can find treasures depends entirely on chance and luck. These are maps of the areas explored by Chuyun Realm cultivators so far; there are thirty-seven regions in total, only two of which are adjacent, while the rest stand alone," Daoist Mu continued.

With that, a gesture of his hand made jade scrolls appear floating in mid-air before everyone.

Yuan Ming received a jade scroll, and upon probing it with his Divine Sense, saw wide areas marked on each map, the smallest exceeding the size of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, revealing the vastness of the Wentian Secret Realm.

"The entrance to this secret realm will remain open for a shorter time than usual, only for one year. It's best not to explore too far, lest you miss the time to return," Daoist Mu further advised.

Afterward, he instructed everyone to step onto the stone platform while he leaped atop an enormous jade pillar.

Instantly, a vibrant green spirit light burst from the jade pillar, surging along the chains towards the high platform.

At the same time, Ancestor Bing Lan made gestures for casting, and frost-white spirit light emerged from the jade pillar, merging into the high platform.

The two streams of spirit light converged, and beneath everyone's feet, tiny runes rose like fireflies, swirling and converging to form a trumpet-shaped vortex.

Suddenly, the surrounding space twisted and tore apart, a thumb-sized black ball appeared in the runic vortex, and with a "bang," it expanded instantly, swallowing the runes and forming a swirling black hole above everyone's heads.

The green and frost-white spirit light climbed upon everyone's bodies via the high platform, paused momentarily, then exploded, illuminating the entire underground hall but was then absorbed by the black hole.

When everything returned to darkness, Yuan Ming and the others had disappeared from the high platform.

Ancestor Bing Lan watched the black hole in mid-air with a trace of worry on his face, saying, "The Demon World starting a war now could be an attempt to use the Wentian Secret Realm as a transit point to bypass the Returning Ruins' defenses and catch us off guard? After all, they have the Three Realms Immortal Boat, capable of easily piercing the realm barrier and deploying troops."

"No need for concern; while the Three Realms Immortal Boat can pierce realm barriers, each breakthrough consumes enormous energy, requiring decades of recharge to be usable again. Furthermore, the Demon World's Three Realms Immortal Boat lacks the World Tree; even if the demon clan can restore its strength, it won't match its former power. The period during which the Wentian Secret Realm is open is too short for them to make consecutive breaches," Daoist Mu shook his head in response.

"In the past battle at the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, the situation was unpredictable. Although Changqin couldn't seize the Three Realms Immortal Boat, fortunately, Yuan Ming turned the tide by capturing the World Tree, otherwise today's situation would have been even more perilous," Ancestor Bing Lan recalled with a sigh.

"Indeed, the failure to retain the Three Realms Immortal Boat remains a hidden threat. I worry that the Demon World will use it to break open the Returning Ruins' realm barrier. Although we have made preparations, whether they will be effective is still unknown," Daoist Mu said, furrowing his brows in concern.

"Compared to the Demon World, our strength is relatively weak, and there's a limit to the means we can employ," Ancestor Bing Lan sighed wistfully.

Daoist Mu remained silent, just slightly raising his head, his gaze penetrating the ink-black hole above the stone platform, as if he could see through endless space into the depths of the secret realm.

...

As the light dawned, everyone felt as if they were in broad daylight, and after a moment of spinning, they appeared in a vast, white world.

Yuan Ming squinted his eyes slightly, surveying the surroundings.

In the midst of heaven and earth, snow danced like cotton, sprawling in all directions, enveloping everything in a shroud of haze.

In the distance, the mountains loomed, towering and mysterious, like giants of ice and snow standing silent.

The snow beneath his feet was thick and hard, crunching underfoot with every step.

Despite the harsh environment, this icy realm was filled with exceedingly rich spiritual energy, nearly ten times denser than Evergreen Island.

Yuan Ming took a deep breath, feeling a cool sensation flowing into his lungs, accompanied by an indescribable comfort.

"Heavens, there's a Qianlan Ice Lotus here!" A voice exclaimed, shattering the silence, and everyone turned toward the sound.

Not far off, a ghostly blue ice lake came into view.

On its surface, clusters of blue ice crystals shaped like lotus flowers swayed gracefully, blanketed in icy blue flames, seemingly spirits of ice and snow.

Upon seeing this, a gleam of joy flickered in everyone's eyes.

This Qianlan Ice Lotus is a sixth-level spiritual material, exceptionally precious for cultivators who practice Frost Divine Abilities.

They all moved swiftly toward the ice lake, preparing to collect these spiritual objects.

Yuan Ming, however, did not join them.

He soared into the air, his gaze sweeping around as he carefully investigated the surrounding terrain.

Referring to the map in his hand, he could not find any markings for this area.

Musing for a moment, Yuan Ming's main soul entered the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space and asked, "Senior Kong, do you know where the Fire Origin Spiritual Object needed for refining the Enlightenment Pill is located?"

"How would I know?" Senior Kong shook his head.

Yuan Ming shook his head helplessly, not too disappointed.

He was just trying his luck; after all, if Senior Kong knew, he could save a Vow Power Pill.

He sighed and had to go to the golden hall to ask the gray statue for the location of the Fire Origin Spiritual Object.

"Five hundred Vow Power Pills." The gray statue's voice was cold and mechanical, stating the condition.

Yuan Ming was well prepared; he immediately took out the Vow Power Pills and handed them to the statue.

Over the years of dealings with this statue, Yuan Ming had gradually figured out the standard of Vow Power Pills demanded by the gray statue, generally according to the difficulty level of the matter requested and the causal relationship involved, roughly divided into simple, medium, and difficult three levels.

Among them, a simple question requires dozens of Vow Power Pills, a medium question requires hundreds, and a difficult question requires thousands.

Yuan Ming intentionally accumulated Vow Power Pills over the years, and now he had more than thirty thousand, more than enough for casual use.

Moments later, a gray light appeared in the statue's palm, transforming into a gray talisman that floated toward Yuan Ming.

With a twist of his wrist, the talisman appeared in his palm.

He raised his wrist for a closer look, seeing a faint red light emerge on the talisman, condensing into a small arrow pointing in a direction.

Just then, a faint buzzing sound suddenly arose, coming from far to near.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a group of blue light dots flying from the other side of the lake, shuttling through the frozen lake surface air, carrying a layer of white cold air as they surged toward this side.

Seeing the situation, everyone quickly summoned their Protective Spiritual Treasures to guard against any mishaps.

Yuan Ming's gaze was sharp, fixed on the blue light dots in the wind and snow, as they grew larger and revealed their plump, silkworm-like form.

These insects were pale blue all over, emanating a faint glow, with two pairs of nearly transparent wings, their flying speed exceptionally swift.

Before the blue flying silkworms approached, they all spewed blue silk threads like spinning yarn, wrapping toward the crowd.

As soon as the silk threads touched them, everyone sensed something wrong; an extremely cold aura immediately seeped in, spreading over the light shield formed by the Protective Spiritual Treasures.

Among them, several people's Protective Spiritual Treasures began to make "cracking" sounds as hexagonal snowflake ice crystals started forming and expanding, the cold air pressing in.

Young Master Que Yue saw the frost gradually covering the white Jade at his waist, his face instantly falling, and immediately waved his hand, a brilliant light swept across like a blade.

In mid-air, a series of "crackling" sounds rang out, the blue silk threads were severed, and hundreds of blue flying silkworms fell.

However, as the silkworms' bodies burst open, their blue blood splattered out, caught by the strong wind, staining the snowflakes and turning them into icy blue colors, sweeping toward them.

These snowflakes now became as sharp as knives, cutting through everyone's Protective Treasure Light, able to penetrate by an inch, and the extremely cold aura contained within seeped into their bodies, making their hearts feel cold.

"Don't mess around, there's no point in dealing with these insects here." At this moment, Puppet Immortal's voice rang out.

"Indeed, rather than wasting time here, it's better to leave quickly," Sima Changqin promptly said.

"That was my intention, but as disciples of Bright Moon Palace, we are accustomed to moving together, so we won't be accompanying you all," Xizhuang Yuan replied with a smile.

"Then let's go our separate ways." Swordsman Qing Ping nodded in agreement.

Everyone had no objections, and the entire team quickly split into six teams.

The three giant sects of Heavenly Saint Academy formed each team, the cultivators from Evergreen Island formed another team, while Puppet Immortal and Yuan Ming were rather special, each leading their entourage, forming independent teams.

Seeing more and more blue flying silkworms rushing in, everyone immediately moved to leave.

Just then, Yuan Ming suddenly stopped the disciples from Bright Moon Palace and said, "Xi Ying cannot go with you."

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