Chapter 130: The Secret Realm Opens
"Senior Brother Wang, someone's looking for you outside."
At dawn, just as Wang Baole finished a day's cultivation, a disciple from the External Affairs Institute came to find him.
Wang Baole cupped his fists. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for passing on the message."
"No need. It's just part of my duties," the disciple said with a cheerful smile.
Wang Baole didn't delay, nor did he notify anyone. He walked alone toward the camp's main gate.
From a distance, he spotted a familiar figure—it was none other than Wang Yulin.
He approached and asked calmly, "You came."
Wang Yulin was stunned for a moment. "You knew I would?"
"I guessed. Because you only ever believe what you see."
Wang Baole's tone was indifferent, as if stating something utterly ordinary.
But that tone and demeanor made Wang Yulin extremely uncomfortable. She asked with dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you tell the truth?"
Wang Baole smiled. "Even if I did, you wouldn't have believed me—would you?"
"I…"
Wang Yulin was momentarily speechless, unable to find a rebuttal. She snapped angrily, "You… you weren't like this before."
"Yes, I've changed."
Wang Baole said plainly, "You're right. We're not from the same world. And that engagement was something the ancestor forced upon us. After this secret realm trial, I'll speak to the ancestor and request to dissolve the engagement."
"You… you're breaking off the engagement with me?"
Wang Yulin stared at Wang Baole in disbelief. She hadn't come today to cancel the engagement. She just wanted to regain some of her pride. She never expected to be struck head-on like this.
Wang Baole looked serious. "Isn't this what you've always wanted? Why are you regretting it now that I agreed?"
The more Wang Yulin thought about it, the angrier she became. She blurted out, "You ungrateful traitor! If it weren't for the Wang family, you would've starved to death on the streets!"
Wang Baole chuckled and said slowly, "I said I'm breaking off the engagement with you, not with the Wang family. From beginning to end, I've owed the Wang family—not you, Wang Yulin. The Wang family has many daughters. It doesn't matter who I marry—it makes no difference to them.
Besides, whether it's a useless live-in son-in-law or a heaven-blessed son-in-law, the ancestor and the family know which to choose."
His words completely shattered Wang Yulin's mental defenses. She staggered back several steps, the light fading from her eyes as she turned and left in a daze.
Watching her retreating figure, Wang Baole felt the resentment and frustration that had built up for years ease by half in that moment.
…
Time passed quickly, and the day of the Taixu Secret Realm's opening arrived.
That morning, before setting out, Chu Feng gathered all four of his disciples.
"Are you all ready?"
"We are!" they answered in unison.
"Good. Then let's move out."
Xiao Chen suddenly interjected, "Master, wait! We haven't gone over our code names yet. We should at least reveal our disguises before going in—otherwise we might accidentally hurt each other."
Chu Feng laughed. "You rascal, you've really refined this whole alternate-identity routine. Go ahead—show your disguises."
Xiao Chen's storage ring flashed, and a black cloak draped over him. "Black-Robed God of Slaughter."
Cao Youqian followed with a black hooded mantle. "Then I'll be the Black-Robed Madman."
Qin Qin donned a white cloak and wore a white mask. "White-Clad Zither Demon."
Wang Baole blinked. "Senior Brother, Senior Sister… you all seem weirdly experienced at this."
Cao Youqian laughed. "Master always says we should travel with extra identities outside, or we'll attract too much attention. What about yours, Little Fatty?"
Wang Baole looked helpless. "I only prepared a mask."
As he spoke, he took out a pig-head mask from his storage pouch.
Pffft...
Cao Youqian couldn't help but laugh. "Junior Brother Wang, how could you use such a silly mask?"
Chu Feng rubbed his temples, then took out a black robe and a mask bearing the Dayan Holy Land's design from his storage pouch and handed them over.
"Make do with these. And if you see your senior sister, don't forget the passphrase. Otherwise, she might accidentally hurt you."
"Thank you, Master," Wang Baole replied with a grin, taking the robe and mask.
Before long, everyone came up with a passphrase:
"Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger!"
"Pagoda suppresses the River Demon!"
Watching this from the side, Marquis Yishan was visibly stunned. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
"Move out!!!"
King Hengjiang didn't waste time with chatter. Once all institutes had reported in, he waved his hand, leading the disciples toward the valley where the Taixu Secret Realm was located.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, over a hundred disciples from Wendao Academy arrived at the outer valley.
Though they were few in number, every person radiated powerful aura. Especially King Hengjiang—just standing there made others instinctively want to look up in awe.
Soon, all the cultivators from the Ten Holy Lands gathered at the edge of the valley.
Aside from Wendao Academy and Dayan Holy Land, the others included: Taiqing Holy Land, Divine Sword Holy Land, Northern Abyss Sacred Dynasty, Nine Nether Holy Land, Heartless Palace, Blood God Sect, Misty Holy Land, and Great Thunder Sound Temple.
The representatives of the Ten Holy Lands greeted each other briefly once they assembled.
An old monk from the Great Thunder Sound Temple spoke up, "Everyone, the time has come. Let us begin."
"Very well."
The others responded in unison, then each retrieved an ancient-looking key from their storage rings.
Infusing their keys with spiritual power, the ten keys lit up, casting beams of light that shot into the sky and converged to form a massive array above.
Light from the array descended and shone into the valley below.
There, a giant glowing portal emerged.
Chu Feng instinctively probed the portal with his divine sense, but all he could perceive was endless darkness.
At the edge of that darkness lay an ancient, desolate, and destructive aura.
He vaguely sensed that the spiritual energy and laws on the other side of the gate were different from those of their current world.
But soon, his divine sense was met with a repelling force. Something in the darkness was pushing him out.
Chu Feng didn't press further and simply withdrew his divine sense.
Once the portal opened—
The representatives of the Ten Holy Lands asked, "Whose turn is it to enter first this time?"
The old monk answered, "Amitābha. It is now Great Thunder Sound Temple's turn."
The other leaders nodded in agreement. "Then your disciples may enter first."
"Amitābha. Disciples, step into the Taixu Secret Realm without delay."
"At the Master's command!"
A group of bald disciples walked solemnly into the glowing portal.
Moments later, Wendao Academy's disciples also began to enter the secret realm.
Chu Feng watched their figures vanish into the portal and thought to himself:
'Let's see what surprises you little brats have for me this time… I'm truly looking forward to it.'
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