Chapter 17: The Azure Realm Secret Sanctuary

Before the third spatial teleportation array connecting to the Azure Void Secret Realm, Lin Chuan and his three companions stood in a winding queue, the murmurs of the surrounding warriors blending with the hum of the teleportation array in operation.

When their turn finally came, the gray-robed elder in charge, whose aura was deep and solemn, lifted his eyelids and swept a blade-like gaze over the four of them.

“Registration proof or city entry permit.”

The elder’s hoarse voice brooked no argument.

Lin Chuan calmly produced his Fifth-Rank Guest Appraiser Jade Pendant from the Destiny Pavilion. Zhang Lin and his wife, as well as Wang Tiezhu, each took out their ordinary jade pendants.

The elder took the three pendants; a flash of spiritual light flickered in his palm, instantly imprinting their information into the records. Then he extended his withered hand:

“One thousand spirit stones per person.”

Lin Chuan inwardly winced as he counted out four thousand low-grade spirit stones. With just a little more, one could buy a small house within Destiny City and obtain city residency.

As the spirit stones slipped into the elder’s hand, Lin Chuan distinctly caught a barely perceptible sneer at the corner of the elder’s mouth.

“Stand on the array’s eye.” The elder pointed to the complex array pattern at their feet. “Do not move.”

No sooner had the four stabilized their footing than the array at their feet suddenly blazed with piercing azure light.

Lin Chuan felt a strange force surge from beneath his feet, racing up his spine, and the scenery before his eyes instantly warped.

The blue light gradually faded, and Lin Chuan sensed a solid ground beneath his feet at last. He opened his eyes to behold an unfamiliar realm.

“So this is the Azure Void Secret Realm?”

He murmured softly, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.

The four stood atop a circular platform about thirty feet in diameter, constructed from a certain blue-gray stone and inscribed with intricate runes.

Around the platform, extending thirty feet outward, was a semi-transparent luminous membrane that enveloped the entire teleportation base.

Looking out through the membrane, Lin Chuan gasped inwardly.

Outside, the trees towered astonishingly high, the shortest standing over thirty feet tall. Their trunks were so thick that three or four men would be needed to encircle one. The dense canopy blotted out the sky, allowing only mottled patches of light to filter through. From afar came the occasional deep roar of beasts, shaking the leaves into rustling whispers.

“Stop dawdling! Let’s go!” Zhang Lin tugged Lin Chuan’s sleeve, lowering his voice. “Time is precious.”

Only then did Lin Chuan notice that the teleportation array behind them intermittently pulsed with blue light as groups of cultivators emerged, hastily registering before rushing beyond the membrane.

At the center of the base sat an elder with a profound aura, recording each cultivator’s information as they entered the secret realm.

“Wait.” Lin Chuan summoned Xiao Pang in his mind.

“You said before that entering the secret realm requires at least Martial Respect mastery, so how can I, at only Body Refinement Stage Eight, get in now?”

Xiao Pang’s voice carried a teasing tone. “My dear father, you finally remember to ask?”

“Cut the mystery, tell me now.”

As Lin Chuan followed his companions beyond the membrane, he urged in his mind.

“Do you know why the same secret realm only connects to a few dozen cities, rather than all cities?”

Xiao Pang countered.

Lin Chuan frowned, pondering but finding no answer.

Xiao Pang continued, “Back then, I divided tens of thousands of planets into four grades—Spiritual, Profound, Earth, and Heavenly—based on their size and energy strength.

Small and weak planets were placed by me, through spatial power, into the superficial void layer over the Cangxuan Continent, corresponding to fixed points on the continent. Cities nearby could connect.”

“So this Azure Void Secret Realm…”

“Is essentially just a small planet, no more than tens of thousands of kilometers from Destiny City,” Xiao Pang sneered. “With such a short teleport distance, it’s like taking a carriage ride—you can certainly handle it.”

Lin Chuan suddenly understood. “Then the Earth-grade secret realm…”

“Earth-grade secret realms lie in the deeper void,” Xiao Pang’s voice turned serious. “Teleporting to deep void requires passing through spatial turbulence so fierce it can crush cultivators below Martial Respect stage. That’s why I told you to wait until Earth Martial stage before going—it was no joke.”

A chill ran down Lin Chuan’s spine. He was about to ask more when Wang Tiezhu’s loud voice interrupted.

“Brother Lin, look!” Wang Tiezhu excitedly pointed at a lingzhi mushroom growing at the base of an ancient tree. “This is genuine spirit medicine!”

Lin Chuan looked closely. The lingzhi was dark red all over, with a faint flow of spiritual energy on its surface—indeed a ten-year-old spirit herb.

“Four taels of silver in the bag!” Zhang Lin rubbed his hands eagerly, ready to gather it.

Li Yu pulled her husband back. “Be careful. Such spirit herbs might be guarded by beasts.”

Lin Chuan nodded inwardly; Li Yu was much more cautious than her husband.

He scanned the surroundings, ensuring no danger, then signaled Zhang Lin to collect.

“Fortune smiles upon us!” Wang Tiezhu carefully dug up another spirit herb, grinning broadly. “Just starting out and we’ve found so many treasures—there must be even more inside!”

Lin Chuan said nothing; his attention was drawn to a thicket in the distance where the spiritual energy seemed stronger.

“Xiao Pang, can your soul sense farther?”

“Just barely,” Xiao Pang’s tone was weary. “Three hundred steps southeast there are several twenty-year-old blood ginseng plants. Northwest…”

Following Xiao Pang’s guidance, Lin Chuan discreetly led the group onward.

Two hours later, their packs were filled with various spirit medicines worth at least thirty taels of gold.

“This trip was the right call!” Zhang Lin wiped sweat from his brow, his face glowing with excitement. “This is just the forest outside the teleport base. It’s the passage all warriors take after teleporting here, and even after countless predecessors have harvested it clean, there are still so many spirit herbs. Imagine what treasures lie deeper inside!”

Li Yu, however, looked worried. “Too smooth. It makes me uneasy. The secret realm should be riddled with danger…”

“Sis-in-law, you worry too much,” Wang Tiezhu waved off her concerns carelessly. “We’ve only just left the safe zone; the fierce beasts are deeper inside!”

Lin Chuan was about to respond when his whole body suddenly stiffened. Xiao Pang’s urgent warning exploded in his mind:

“Be careful! Someone’s approaching, and they mean harm!”

Almost simultaneously, five figures burst from the nearby bushes, swiftly surrounding the four.

“Stop right there!”

The leader was a middle-aged man clad in a blue robe, his face stern and eyes sharp as a hawk’s.

Lin Chuan’s pupils contracted. These five emanated profound auras, at least late Profound Martial stage, very likely Profound Martial experts—not opponents they could match.

He quietly observed their formation and weapons, his mind racing for a strategy.

But before he could devise anything, the blue-robed man spoke:

“Pay the ‘entry fee,’ and you may leave the Azure Wood Forest.”