Chapter 688: Going Inland to Investigate the Situation
“Take care.”
After completing the transaction, Lin Ziyun personally escorted Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan out of Astral Cloud House.
No dramatic incidents occurred.
As the largest commercial building in Astral Cloud City, Astral Cloud House naturally had its own bottom line and integrity.
Of course.
The most important factor was that both Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan had displayed their late-stage Golden Core aura.
This was sufficient to dispel any evil thoughts the other party might have had.
After all, a mere three million spirit stones were not worth the intervention of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Even a False Nascent Soul cultivator would not act rashly without fully understanding the other party’s background.
In summary, the risk involved in robbing the couple was too great compared to the potential gain.
Astral Cloud House was naturally willing to abide by the rules.
As for Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan, they were even less interested in having any skirmishes in a land they weren’t familiar with.
A few days later.
They boarded a fleet heading to the state of Tlancang in the inland.
Unlike the Nine Essences cultivation world, the entire Astral Origin cultivation world was divided into eight major states.
The scope of each state was comparable to a large region in the Nine Essences cultivation world.
This showed that the Astral Origin cultivation world was undoubtedly much larger than theirs.
Right now, Jiang Chengxuan was heading to the state of Tlancang, which was ranked fifth in the entire Astral Origin cultivation world.
It was home to forces like the Changkong Holy Land and the Wuheng Holy Land, both at the level of Soul Formation.
In the Astral Origin cultivation world, any sect or family with a Soul Formation Heavenly Lord would be called a Holy Land.
Like Changkong Holy Land, Wuheng Holy Land, and so on.
As for why they didn’t choose to fly directly to the inland but opted for a fleet…
There was no special reason; they simply wanted to travel and see the sights along the way.
They also aimed to gather some basic knowledge and information from other people during the journey.
“Dear fellow Daoists, I am Qi Wanlai from Bamboo Pine Island. May I ask if you two are also heading to the state of Tlancang for the Secret Realm of the Hong River?”
Just then, a man in a black and white striped long robe approached Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan with a smile and greeted them with a cupped fist.
Hearing his words, Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan were slightly startled.
They had no idea what the Secret Realm of the Hong River was.
The two didn’t bother to pretend much.
At their level of cultivation and strength, there was no need for such superficial acts.
Their decision to suppress their cultivation to Golden Core was simply to avoid attracting too much attention at the beginning.
However, this did not mean they had to conform to the behaviors typical of the Golden Core cultivators in their actions.
So, the next moment, Shen Ruyan, standing beside Jiang Chengxuan, directly asked,
“Fellow Daoist Qi, may I ask what kind of place the Secret Realm of the Hong River you mentioned is? What is it about?”
“Uh… ?”
Perhaps surprised by Shen Ruyan’s direct manner of speaking, which seemed unguarded as if making it obvious they were from out of town, Qi Wanlai was momentarily taken aback.
He soon showed a wry smile.
“It seems that the two of you came from those places in the north, right? No wonder you don’t know about the Secret Realm of the Hong River.”
Then, he explained the details of the Secret Realm of the Hong River to Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan.
The so-called Secret Realm of the Hong River is a secret realm jointly controlled by the Changkong Holy Land and the Wuheng Holy Land.
It opens once every hundred years, each time for about half a year.
During this period, the number of people entering must reach a certain limit.
Otherwise, the realm will close prematurely.
This is the main reason why these two holy lands allow external cultivators to enter.
“I see.”
Hearing Qi Wanlai’s description of the Secret Realm of the Hong River, Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan nodded in understanding.
“In that case, there must be certain conditions for us to enter the Secret Realm, right?”
“That’s right.”
Qi Wanlai seemed to have adapted to the couple’s way of speaking and nodded in response.
“For external cultivators like us who wish to enter the Secret Realm, we must first submit a Level 4 spiritual item to the two holy lands.
Depending on the rarity of the spiritual item, the duration of your stay in the realm is determined.
Moreover, when you exit the realm, you need to submit thirty percent of any treasures obtained to each of the two holy lands. In other words, you can keep at most forty percent for yourself.”
“That much?”
Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan were somewhat surprised.
“In that case, are there still many who choose to enter the Secret Realm of the Hong River?”
Shen Ruyan was curious.
After all, one has to submit a Level 4 spiritual item just to enter the realm.
Most importantly, exploring such realms often depends on luck.
If you’re lucky, that’s great, but if not, it’s normal to come out empty-handed.
“Of course.”
Qi Wanlai nodded.
“Because within the Secret Realm of the Hong River, there exist items that can aid in forming a Nascent Soul.
Moreover, if you really find such a Nascent Soul item, neither Changkong Holy Land nor Wuheng Holy Land will forcibly snatch it away from you.”