Chapter 363: Ghost Mist Valley

***

On the surface, the Nanya Plains was an ordinary grassland, but it was a place where the concept of night itself did not exist.

Although the exact reason had not been revealed, the sun was always floating in the sky, and because of that, it was extremely hot.

Of course, the word ‘hot’ was a slight understatement.

It was an expression applicable only to high-ranking cultivators with strong physical bodies.

It was not simply a hot level; it was so hot that steel would melt in a matter of seconds.

Since even a decent furnace could not compare, it was a region where ordinary living creatures could not even survive.

‘To think grass grows in a place like this…’

Seeing the green grass densely covering the plains, admiration naturally burst forth.

Although they looked like ordinary weeds at a glance, each and every one was a spiritual herb reaching at least Rank 3.

‘If I had come here during my Golden Core days, I would have been incredibly happy.’

It would have taken hundreds of years just to travel here from the nearest city, but he would have considered it fully worth the effort.

At any rate, comparing the surrounding terrain with the map in his head, he continued forward.

How much time had passed?

He arrived at the location where the secret realm informed by the Myriad Spirits Merchant Guild was situated,

and he was able to discover over a hundred cultivators who were diligently moving about and installing something.

‘Who are they?’

First of all, there was no way it was the Heavenly Law Palace.

He had roughly grasped their speed over the past five years. It would take at least a month for the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace to arrive here.

‘Are they cultivators dispatched by the Myriad Spirits Merchant Guild?’

The one with the highest realm was also at the Void Refinement stage, and they were wearing outfits engraved with the words ‘Myriad Spirits’.

Wondering what they were doing in such a remote place, he observed them and saw that they were tilling the ground with dharma spells and then installing formations.

‘It is a transmission array. Are they trying to establish a base here?’

It seemed they were preparing in advance, since the secret realm would open sixty-three years later.

Just as he was pondering, he approached a middle-aged woman who appeared to be the person in charge, and startled, she immediately bowed her waist.

“Greetings, Senior Jin.”

“Do you know me?”

“Yes. I received instructions to serve you politely if I were to meet Senior Jin.”

Recognising him as soon as she saw him, it seemed the Myriad Spirits Merchant Guild had distributed his portrait or something.

“I see. More than that, it looks like you are installing a transmission array. Are you trying to establish a base here?”

“Yes. Since various Seniors will gather after a few years, we intend to build at least a simple cave dwelling.”

“Hmm… There is a high possibility that havoc will break out here before long, so if it is not urgent, how about returning later?”

Her shoulders flinching slightly, she immediately bowed her head.

“Understood. Thank you for letting me know in advance.”

She might have been curious about the detailed reason, but she complied obediently without asking back.

Leaving behind the woman who gathered her subordinates and left in a hurry, he focused on inspecting the secret realm.

Crackle!

He unfolded the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye with all his might.

He inspected the secret realm beyond the void, and he felt a chilly wind brush past his spine.

It was like entering a deep valley.

‘Cold… Is it a secret realm related to ice?’

Estimating the level of the chill faintly felt, he could tell it was energy of the Unity stage.

Naturally, he was pleased. It was clear evidence of a Unity stage-level secret realm.

Smiling slightly, he honed his senses again.

While observing the restriction blocking the secret realm, he pondered where and how it would be best to pierce it.

***

The Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace frowned.

Having managed to clean up the devastated headquarters, they resumed their pursuit, but Jin So-myeong’s movements were strange.

“I wondered where he was going… so the Nanya Plains was the destination.”

Just when they thought he was gradually heading toward the outskirts of the Xuanhuang Realm, he had arrived in the uncharted lands before they knew it.

“Do you know why Jin So-myeong came here? He wouldn’t be thinking of hiding in the uncharted lands.”

At the muscular giant’s muttering, a Dao Sovereign who was examining a map replied,

“It seems the Ghost Mist Valley is his destination.”

“Ghost Mist Valley?”

“It is a secret realm we also discovered recently. Some time ago, Jin So-myeong offered the Dao Integration Pill and searched for information about secret realms, and its location was revealed then.”

“Hmm… That is troublesome. Then it would not have been adjusted yet.”

In fact, most secret realms revealed to the public were those whose inspections had already finished.

It was structured so that knowledge that would cause trouble if disclosed or Heaven-Defying Treasures were all removed first, and then only the remaining things were made public.

Since the Ghost Mist Valley was a secret realm they had also discovered recently, the cleanup had not finished yet.

This meant that no one knew what kind of treasures were hidden inside.

“Was the force governing this region the Law-Decreeing Palace?”

“Yes. They are probably cleaning up the Ghost Mist Valley around this time.”

“Does Jin So-myeong have the ability to breach the restriction of the Ghost Mist Valley?”

“Would it not be right to assume he does?”

Currently, the Ghost Mist Valley was blocked by a restriction and could not be entered or exited. They had to wait sixty-three years for the restriction to weaken.

However, recalling the abilities Jin So-myeong had shown, they could not make an easy judgment.

A brief silence passed, and,

the blue-haired woman, Yeon Mok-ah, let out a sigh.

“It cannot be helped. I will bear the cost of damaging my vital energy.”

“Will you be alright?”

“Although a bit of my lifespan will be consumed… it is better than losing Jin So-myeong like this.”

If the Heavenly Law Palace could not deal with Jin So-myeong, their superiors would step forward, and that was by no means a good thing. Not to anyone.

If even their superiors failed to perform the mission properly…

a disastrous event would befall all living beings residing on this earth.

Letting out a sigh, she stretched her arm forward, and a dark red drop of blood formed at the tip of her index finger.

Hum…!

The drop of blood floating into the air spread in concentric circles and resonated with the worldly energy.

The blood, which turned like red threads, drew intricate patterns, and surprisingly, an ultra-large transmission array was formed in the void.

Sss.

The moment a bizarre noise echoed,

the transmission array fixed in the void emitted a brilliant light, and,

Swoosh!

the scenery flipped.

A distance that would take ten days even if a Unity stage Dao Sovereign flew with all their might was narrowed in an instant.

“Fhew.”

Yeon Mok-ah, whose complexion grew slightly pale, consumed a medicinal pill to replenish her vital energy, and after catching her breath, she summoned the transmission array once more.

***

At the same time,

Jin So-myeong, who was searching for the weakest part to pierce the secret realm’s restriction, froze.

Should he say the back of his head felt itchy?

Having a bad feeling about something, it seemed like trouble was bound to brew in a major way if this continued.

‘Could the Heavenly Law Palace have arrived already?’

He had estimated it would take at least a month to travel here.

It seemed his calculation was wrong.

Setting aside the tension creeping up,

he focused on pulling up his senses.

Truth be told, the current situation was not a major problem.

If he unfolded the Infinite Void Formless Robe with all his might, it was fully possible to conceal his presence and run away.

While thoroughly plundering the treasury of the Heavenly Law Palace, he had obtained numerous treasures, and among them, there were many spiritual items related to concealment.

Where had all the hundreds of spiritual items been used?

Naturally, they were used to strengthen the Infinite Void Formless Robe.

Was that all? He had even poured in more than 500 trillion of the Supreme Great Ability.

If he properly utilized the Infinite Void Formless Robe that had developed by one stage, he could pull himself out as much as he wanted even in the current situation.

Although he could avoid it as much as he wanted if he chose to, he did not want to give up the secret realm in front of him.

‘Let’s just enter now.’

Simultaneously with his decision, he forgot all idle thoughts.

Staring at the weakest spot among the gaps he found while observing the secret realm, he gripped the hilt of his sword.

Shring…

He focused solely on one thing, the sharp energy flowing along the blade.

The moment he was certain all his senses and nerves had gathered into a single point,

Bang!

he unfolded the Blood Wings.

The divine ability, Blood Wings, which had helped him fight and defeat countless powerful enemies.

He advanced the divine ability, which was engraved at an instinctive level due to being used countless times, into the next stage.

The moment he guided the overbearing energy flowing along the meridians, the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, to his heart,

……………!

the limit held by the energy rose infinitely.

Ah.

The Blood Wings unfolded in a calm state, rather than in battle, was different.

It was like taking one step after another very slowly toward death.

It was not an explosion that popped and ended in an instant, but felt like watching a chilly blade slowly approaching.

Rumble!

The energy amplified through the heart raced along the meridians, and the aftermath alone vaporized the meridians.

He gritted his teeth.

As if a wild beast that had gone berserk was running amok, he forcibly controlled the energy that tried to burst in all directions and guided it to his spleen.

A split second.

The destructive power contained in the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration was amplified by one more stage.

Amidst the dizzying vertigo that made his mind turn blank,

the energy amplified through the spleen broke through his lungs, kidneys, and liver in succession…

and with the fierce energy stirring inside his body, he struck down with his sword.

Clang!

Staring at the shaking restriction, he quickly activated the Rank 7 Boundary-Breaking Talisman.

Woosh!

The moment purple energy surged from the talisman that burned up in an instant,

he poured in 15 trillion of his Supreme Great Ability to strengthen the talisman’s power.

The purple energy that swirled and gathered transformed like a massive spear, and,

Crack!

with a streak of afterimage, it pierced the void.

The restriction shook as if about to collapse, but he realized it was still insufficient.

Unfolding a simplified Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture, he thrust out a second sword,

Crack!

and a faint hairline crack formed centered on the tip of the sword.

In the split second he discovered that faint gap, smaller than a speck of dust,

space fluctuated right behind his back.

He intuited that the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace had arrived, but he ignored it.

He charged toward the thread-like gap he had barely created.

Trusting in the Infinite Void Formless Robe, he threw his body toward the hairline crack, which was smaller than a speck.

And so, in the end,

Swoosh!

with a sense of liberation, the surrounding scenery changed completely.

Just until a moment ago it had been a green grassland, but before he knew it, a massive mountain range composed of steep mountains filled his vision.

The vanishing of the suffocating, fierce heat was a bonus.

Seeing the mountain range soaring high as if spears were thrust upside down, a smile naturally formed on his face.

He had succeeded.

He had entered the secret realm, an unknown land where countless fortuitous opportunities lay scattered.

Imagining what secrets were hidden here, his heart throbbed.

‘Fhew.’

Calming his boiling emotions, he first revived his ruined meridians while unfolding the Blood Wings.

It was not particularly difficult.

A considerable amount of energy from the recovery pill, the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill, was currently stored in his Chaos Origin Wheel.

Pulling out the energy containing the medicinal effect and guiding it to his meridians, the meridians that had not even left a trace were reconstructed in an instant.

For reference, the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill had been made using the fruit of the Golden Blood Wood obtained before fighting Yu Cheon.

Originally, the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill was a highly precious pill, to the extent of being called another life.

Naturally, it was a treasure that had to be consumed very, very carefully…

but to him, who possessed all kinds of divine abilities, it was an irrelevant story.

Over the past five years, he had raised the Golden Blood Wood using the fruit as a seed, and the fruit of the Golden Blood Wood had already multiplied to hundreds.

Since he could mass-produce the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill as much as he wanted, there was absolutely no need to save them.

Munch!

He swallowed three Heaven-Turning Reviving Pills in one bite.

After replenishing the energy consumed while reconstructing his meridians,

he unfolded the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye and examined his surroundings.

Since he had arrived in an unfamiliar environment, grasping the situation was the first priority.

Moreover, since this place was a secret realm, he did not know what dangers might be lurking.

Looking around at the surroundings that appeared like any ordinary mountain range, he narrowed his eyes.

When observed from outside the secret realm, a chilly coldness had been felt, but once inside, it was not cold at all.

‘My divine sense cannot exert its strength properly either.’

Something he felt as soon as he entered the secret realm was that his divine sense could not stretch out properly.

Originally, it should be normal to inspect a radius of 60,000 kilometers, but here he could only inspect about 100 kilometers.

Was it due to the restriction unique to the secret realm?

That could be, but the feeling was slightly different.

How should he express this strange feeling…?

Pondering while tracing his senses, he realized faintly.

That it was because of something existing in the atmosphere.

The density of something that was too faint to even perceive was incredibly high, giving him the feeling that his divine sense could not function properly.

To put it in a slightly different expression,

it was similar to a situation where one tried to force an inspection deep underground. Densely packed formless obstacles interfered with his divine sense.

He roughly got the hang of it, but he could not know exactly what caused this phenomenon.

‘Is it because the worldly energy is too dense?’

In terms of spiritual veins, it was a Rank 7 top-grade.

Although it did not cross the wall of Rank 8, it was safe to consider it the best at the Unity stage level.

‘At any rate, it is a good thing for me.’

It is a perfect place to cultivate.

The dense worldly energy alone allowed him to accumulate dharma power three or four times faster than outside.

And also, this place was good for fighting multiple enemies.

If his divine sense was restricted, his senses would inevitably become dull as well.

Since it meant the environment was advantageous for conducting guerrilla warfare, it was also suitable as a battlefield.

Just as he nodded and scanned his surroundings,

he discovered something suspicious in the worldly energy filling the atmosphere.

‘This… seems to be traces of using escape techniques.’

The flow of spiritual energy was rough.

It was far from a natural state, which meant someone had used dharma spells here recently.

Although it was a trace too faint to easily notice, it could not escape the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye.

Judging by the faintly felt energy, they seemed to be Unity stage cultivators, and they were not just one or two people.

‘Is it about ten people?’

Are they natives living in the secret realm?

Or, they could be cultivators who had forcibly breached the restriction and entered just like him.

‘I must check it out.’

Concealing his presence with the Infinite Void Formless Robe, he followed the traces.