Chapter 957: First Arrival in Sacred Realm

At the entrance to Maolu Villa, Guan Fangyi turned to face everyone. "All right, they're gone. Everyone go back."

The crowd gradually dispersed, all of them in low spirits. It was as though they had lost their backbone. With the future uncertain, everyone seemed somewhat distracted and unsettled.

Back inside the courtyard, Guan Fangyi looked up and saw Yuan Gang standing on the upper floor of a pavilion, gazing into the distance as he watched them leave.

As for Yuan Gang, Guan Fangyi had asked Niu Youdao what should be done. Feng Guan'er remained a hidden concern.

Niu Youdao had said to leave Yuan Gang alone. Let Yuan Gang make his own choice and walk his own road. If Niu Youdao truly did not return, there would be no one here capable of controlling Yuan Gang anyway. That had already been proven.

There was nothing else to be done. They could hardly tie Yuan Gang up.

Afterward, Guan Fangyi immediately followed Niu Youdao's arrangements and began preparing to send Shang Shuqing back to Nanzhou.

Shang Shuqing did not want to return, but the matter was not hers to decide. Guan Fangyi enforced the decision, and Shang Shuqing had no ability to resist. Just like that, she was sent away.

For the time being, Zijin Cave and the Maolu Annex remained at peace with one another...

Over the vast sea, a bright moon rose.

Ridges and peaks rolled across an island. In the central region stood a brilliantly illuminated ring of buildings, their circular construction lit by lanterns hanging from pavilions, terraces, and towers.

At the center of this fortress-like ring of structures lay a broad open space. There, a huge bowl-shaped shimmer hung inverted over the ground, forming a transparent hemisphere of rippling light. From time to time, someone stepped inside and vanished into the rippling void; at other moments, people appeared out of thin air from within it. With people constantly entering and leaving, waves of empty light rippled without cease.

This place was called Sacred Island and was under the direct control of Misty Pavilion.

The huge, transparent hemisphere of rippling light at its center was the so-called Sacred Gate, the necessary passage for entering and leaving Sacred Realm—and the only passage.

Niu Youdao and the others descended from the sky aboard flying mounts, only to be stopped outside the fortress-like perimeter. No matter which great sect one belonged to, no one was permitted inside without authorization.

They had arrived nearly a full day early. The permitted entry time had not yet come, so they could only camp outdoors beyond the ring of buildings. No one here cared who they were or intended to offer them hospitality. They would have to fend for themselves.

Ordinarily, outsiders were not permitted onto Sacred Island at all. This occasion counted as an exception, but even so, everyone underwent inspection and identity verification.

"I don't see anyone else. Looks like we arrived first." Gong Lince glanced around as he spoke.

Niu Youdao looked around as well. "Sect Leader, you personally honored this place with your presence, yet they actually expect you to sleep out in the wilderness. They truly don't give you any face at all. Is this how one treats guests? I'll go reason with them." With that, he turned and started away.

Gong Lince nearly jumped in fright. He hurried forward, grabbed Niu Youdao by the arm, and warned him gravely, "Niu Youdao, don't cause trouble."

He practically dragged Niu Youdao back by force, then warned him over and over again that he absolutely must not act recklessly here.

Niu Youdao readily agreed to everything. Yet his behavior just now left Gong Lince inexplicably uneasy. Combined with the many outrageous things Niu Youdao had done inside Zijin Cave, it made Gong Lince deeply worried about the coming Sacred Realm tempering. If Niu Youdao ran wild inside Sacred Realm, Zijin Cave might be dragged into disaster by this man.

Gong Lince gradually began regretting the whole thing. Sacred Realm could have chosen anyone from Zijin Cave. Why did it have to choose this unreasonable, troublemaking bastard? It was enough to make one's heart ache.

There was nothing he could do. All Gong Lince could do now was repeatedly urge Niu Youdao to behave. At the very least, surely the man would not make trouble for his own life?

The long night dragged on. Niu Youdao, however, kept sighing and lamenting, speaking of life, death, and what would happen after he was gone.

Gong Lince, in turn, repeatedly tried to reassure him, telling him not to worry, saying he would help look after things and would wait for Niu Youdao to return safely.

If a man died, what would there still be to worry about? Niu Youdao seemed to be getting increasingly trapped in his own thoughts, and Gong Lince ended up spending nearly the entire night trying to talk him around.

At daybreak the next morning, the cultivators from the State of Jin arrived. Taishu Feihua, Sect Leader of Qiyun Sect, personally led them in.

As before, the moment they arrived, Misty Pavilion personnel verified their identities. After the checks were completed, they were forbidden from wandering around Sacred Island and ordered to gather in a designated area. Naturally, that designated area was near where Niu Youdao's group had already settled.

The moment the earlier arrivals and later arrivals met, Taishu Feihua's gaze immediately locked onto Niu Youdao, murderous hostility glaring from his eyes.

At first, Qiyun Sect truly had not understood what its people had encountered inside the Tiandu Secret Realm. But far too many people had participated in the destruction of Jin's cultivators. The more people involved, the easier it was for information to leak. With Qiyun Sect investigating at full strength, how could it still not know the truth by now?

Qiyun Sect had already learned whose hands had killed the group led by Taishu Shanyue, and the mastermind behind it all had been Niu Youdao. Unfortunately, by the time the truth became clear, the chief culprit had already hidden himself inside Zijin Cave like a turtle pulling its head into its shell.

There were, of course, still matters they had never managed to uncover. The three Supreme Elders sent to plunder the Zhao imperial palace had vanished without explanation. No matter whether Qiyun Sect or the State of Jin sent spies to investigate, no one had ever managed to learn what had happened. The mystery had become a knot in Taishu Feihua's heart.

The moment Niu Youdao saw Taishu Feihua's expression, he understood. Qiyun Sect must have uncovered what happened inside the Tiandu Secret Realm.

But Taishu Feihua could not threaten him here, and a hostile stare could hardly frighten him. This was Sacred Island. Give Taishu Feihua a hundred times his current courage and he still would not dare act recklessly against Niu Youdao here.

Gong Lince also noticed something unusual and leaned toward Niu Youdao to reassure him. "Don't worry. He doesn't dare cause trouble here."

After that, people from the great sects arrived one after another. As expected, Niu Youdao's old acquaintance Quan Taifeng, an Elder of Lingxiao Pavilion, appeared among them.

Du Yunsang, Guan Fangyi's former lover, arrived as well, leading the people of Tianxing Sect.

Whether intentionally or not, Niu Youdao noticed that as soon as Du Yunsang's gaze found Zijin Cave's group, his eyes immediately began searching. When he found Niu Youdao, that searching gaze paused on him for a moment before quickly shifting away.

Niu Youdao shook his head inwardly. The past might have gone with the wind, but in the end it had still left something behind in this man's heart. Some things could not be forgotten.

Someone among the arrivals from Myriad Beasts Sect also drew a couple more looks from Niu Youdao. Elder Chao Jing of Myriad Beasts Sect was another unlucky bastard who had been selected to enter Sacred Realm.

Originally, Niu Youdao had told Chao Jing to send a trustworthy disciple to participate. Who could have known Sacred Realm would suddenly change the arrangements? Chao Jing held considerable standing within Myriad Beasts Sect, so he had probably been burdened by his own reputation and named personally.

Chao Jing's gaze quickly found Niu Youdao as well. Their eyes met and lingered briefly. Chao Jing had questions he wanted Niu Youdao to answer, but under so many watching eyes, it was inconvenient to make direct contact, and they were not allowed to wander around here anyway. After thinking it over, he decided that since both of them would be entering Sacred Realm, there ought to be opportunities to meet later. For now, he suppressed the impulse.

Taishu Feihua sharply caught the exchange of glances between the two men, and his heart tightened. It seemed Shao Pingbo's suspicions had not been without basis. There truly might be something between these two men.

In fact, the moment Chao Jing appeared, Taishu Feihua had already been watching them closely.

Before coming here, Shao Pingbo had learned the Sacred Realm roster and gone to Emperor Taishu Xiong of Jin, asking him to warn those entering Sacred Realm from Jin to remain wary. That was why Taishu Feihua had been paying attention.

After noticing the abnormality, Taishu Feihua called over the Elder participating this time and quietly warned him. There was no evidence proving anything, but caution was still necessary.

When the demons and monsters from the Four Seas arrived, the corner of Niu Youdao's mouth curled into a smile.

Hong Gaitian, Fuhua, Duan Wuchang, and Lang Jingkong were all present without exception. Every one of these unlucky bastards would be entering Sacred Realm this time. The four differed from the Elders sent by the various states to the Tiandu Secret Realm. Because the Four Seas were weaker, those sent to the Tiandu Secret Realm had all been among the Four Seas' most capable prominent figures. The fact that these four had now been personally named by Sacred Realm was plainly another case of being burdened by their reputations.

The five sworn siblings did not approach and greet one another, but from across the distance they made faces and exchanged looks. It was impossible to tell whether they were pleased to see each other or laughing at the fact that bad luck had thrown them together yet again.

Misty Pavilion plainly attached great importance to this event. After all, it would take place inside Sacred Realm, where the nine supreme experts beneath Heaven resided. They dared not allow anything to go wrong. The various sects all had their grudges against one another, and Misty Pavilion feared some accidental conflict might erupt, so each faction was assigned its own designated area and forbidden from wandering around. Everyone was ordered to remain within their own zone.

Even Yucang and Yuwen Yan, who had traveled with Zijin Cave, were separated from them. Kunlin Shu also left Niu Youdao and went over to Tianhuo Sect's side.

Once they arrived here, the various sects were kept some distance apart, and there was almost no interaction between them.

They waited all the way until dusk before Misty Pavilion finally began allowing people through. Those participating in the Sacred Realm tempering were ordered into the fortress-like complex, which also meant the tempering had officially begun.

The Sect Leaders of the various factions gave their disciples their final instructions and farewells.

At the entrance, Misty Pavilion personnel once again verified the participants' identities, allowing them through one by one after confirmation.

At this checkpoint, all the preparations the various sects had made went to waste. Apart from the clothes they wore, those participating in the Sacred Realm tempering were forbidden from bringing anything else inside. Money, weapons, talismans—none of it was permitted.

There was no helping it. Niu Youdao had no choice but to give up the treasured sword he was accustomed to carrying. He also returned the talisman Gong Lince had given him, asking Gong Lince to take both back.

Leading the two Zijin Cave disciples, he entered the massive complex and looked around curiously along the way. Even the Sect Leaders of the various factions had never had the chance to come inside and see this place. Since they had the opportunity, they naturally wanted to look around carefully. Later, they would be expected to write down what they had seen and heard in Zijin Miscellany.

"Don't stop! Keep moving forward! Straight ahead!" a Misty Pavilion member shouted.

When they reached the huge bowl-shaped field of rippling light at the center of the fortress, they were still forced to keep moving. Personnel watched them throughout the route. The participants entered one after another and vanished into the shimmer.

When Niu Youdao emerged from the rippling light, the pressure around his body suddenly disappeared. The scenery was different. Here, it seemed to be morning.

He looked around and discovered that he was now standing inside a basin. Here too stood an enormous inverted bowl of rippling light.

Everyone had suddenly arrived in another world and could not help stopping to look around, only for someone to shout immediately, "Don't stop! Up the mountain!"

They flew to the mountains along the rim of the basin. Looking outward, they saw strange and beautiful peaks rising one after another through mountains of cloud and seas of mist. The sight was magnificent.

Under the guidance of Misty Pavilion personnel, everyone flew down from the mountain, glided above the sea of clouds, and reached the summit of another nearby peak.

[End of Chapter 957]