Ancient Secret Realm?
Zhang Kui was taken aback, then a trace of regret appeared in his eyes.
Since he first heard this name, he has inquired in detail about the various legends surrounding the Ancient Secret Realm.
This world is very strange, the ancients long ago deduced from the sunrise, sunset, the great rivers flowing eastward, and the stars in the sky that they were on a star.
But history has always been shrouded in mystery.
Before the Qian Dynasty, there were three dynasties: the Qi Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty, and the Yu Dynasty, all of which spanned thousands of years. There are no records further back, but ancient relics over ten thousand years old are everywhere to be seen.
People generally believe that in ancient times, there was a sage dynasty, with great talents everywhere, and everything modern people know is merely borrowed from their wisdom. The admiration for the ancient is strong, and literary discussions often quote ancient sages.
If this were the previous life, it would surely be a decaying and declining civilization, but this is a cultivation world, and those mysterious ancient civilizations really did exist.
The Ancient Secret Realm is proof.
Unfortunately, the Ancient Secret Realm forms its own space, where not only are there numerous dangers but even its excavation can only be completed by forces at the national level.
More importantly, even if one manages to find an Ancient Artifact with great difficulty, it might end up being a useless object they can't utilize.
Thinking of that huge terrifying monster hand, Zhang Kui shook his head helplessly.
"Senior, my abilities are weak, I'm afraid I can't go."
Claiming to be uninterested would be a lie, but he was very self-aware, and besides, the Earth Demon Skill was fundamental; there was no need to take risks for material possessions.
"Hahaha..."
Elder Huayan laughed and said, "There's no need to worry about safety; with the old Daoist watching over you, there's no problem. Only after seeing the vast sea can one realize the drift of clouds; the wonders of the Ancient Secret Realm are not something ordinary people can imagine."
"However, if you don't want to take risks, that's fine too. The old Daoist will give you pills..."
"Wait!"
Zhang Kui quickly stopped him, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, "May I ask Senior a question?"
Elder Huayan smiled, "Speak."
Zhang Kui frowned, "We are neither kin nor acquaintance, why do you take such care of me?"
Elder Huayan was taken aback, then shook his head with a sigh:
"Some things, you'll come to know in the future. It's not easy for our human race to survive, and any cultivator with the potential to become a National Guardian True Man, we old geezers do our best to protect."
So that's how it is...
Zhang Kui thought for a moment, cupped his hands solemnly and said:
"Then I shall trouble you, Senior."
Elder Huayan laughed heartily,
"Then it's settled. Gather your things, we'll set off in a couple of days."
...
The night was deep, and the slanted moon hung over the hill.
In a chaotic burial ground southwest of Qingzhou, wild grass grew in abundance, tombs piled up, as the night wind swept through the clustered trees, making howling noises like ghost cries and wolf howls, with a few clusters of ghost fire drifting with the wind.
Qin Yi's face was ashen, like a night owl darting among the treetops, his hair disheveled, the previously exquisite plain robe now in tatters.
With a swoosh, he landed from the treetop, only to see a large, dark coffin resting in the center of a clearing, surrounded by heaps of white bones, with ghostly flames flickering hauntingly.
Qin Yi gritted his teeth, bent down, and cupped his hands in a loud voice:
"I am Qin Yi, sent by my stepmother, the Nine-Child Ghost Witch, to seek an audience with the Blood Corpse King."
Seeing no response from the coffin, he bent even lower, "In truth, I have important matters to discuss, I apologize for the intrusion, and hope the Corpse King will forgive me."
After a while, the gigantic black coffin lid suddenly flew open with a bang, and a massive figure rose up, floating gently to the ground as if weightless.
Qin Yi, still bent over, felt as if his blood and energy were about to burst out of his body, but he dared not lift his head.
As a scent of blood hit his face, he felt a large scale-armored hand around his neck, and resignedly closed his eyes.
The scale-armored hand hesitated, then suddenly disappeared, and Qin Yi let out a sigh of relief.
"Why... seek me..."
A dry, hoarse voice came from the front.
Qin Yi slowly raised his head, his heart tightened.
He saw the Blood Corpse King sitting on the coffin, wearing an unknown beast skin robe, his entire body wrapped in a bloated shell resembling layers of corpse nails, with a row of tusks in his mouth and eyes glowing blood-red.
Qin Yi was inwardly distressed, but dared not let it show on his face, cupping his hands he said:
"The situation in Qingzhou now, I'm sure the Corpse King knows, the Astronomical Bureau is searching with full force, Eunuch Liu has been executed, and your men in Wushan City have probably lost contact."
Whoosh~
The Blood Corpse King exhaled a puff of white smoke, slowly extended his right claw, "Too much... chatter..."
"Wait!"
Qin Yi was nearly scared witless, hurriedly bowed,
"My stepmother, the Nine-Child Ghost Witch, sent me to contact local demons and ghost kings, and the evil giants, to form an alliance, and after finding the Reincarnated, share the cultivation skill."
The Blood Corpse King paused, then after a while, made a dry sound.
"Good..."
Qin Yi was overjoyed, immediately cupped his hands,
"In that case, please have the Corpse King participate in the alliance meeting at the Qin Mountain Ancient Path in half a month, I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first."
With that said, he turned and darted away, swiftly fleeing the chaotic burial ground, only relaxing after having left it behind.
He glanced back at the desolate mountain, showing bitterness on his face.
Originally thinking he had caught hold of a strong backer, he didn't expect to be used as a cultivation partner by the Nine-Child Ghost Witch, replenished every night to the point of death being preferable.
Now tasked with seeking out these terrifying demons one by one, a wrong step could cost his life.
"Endure for now to achieve the bigger plan, once I have the cultivation skill, all of you must die!"
Thinking thus, a glint of ruthlessness flashed in Qin Yi's eyes as he turned and disappeared into the night...
...
The autumn day was approaching, the sky was high and the clouds were light.
Zhang Kui took a sip from his wine gourd and looked at the distant Ting Mountain.
After the collapse of the Yin Cave, the white mist that previously encircled the mountain forest had disappeared. Now, the green mountain was lush and imposing, truly a place of great feng shui.
Unfortunately, it was already heavily surrounded by military forces and sealed off, forcing the people of Black Water City to seek another place for burial.
At the foot of the mountain, numerous white-robed, feather-crowned Daoists were swiftly moving, their figures flickering, holding strange magical artifacts, seemingly searching for something.
Overhead, Elder Huayan was riding his great crane, soaring slowly, observing the ground below.
Zhang Kui finally understood why the excavation of the Ancient Secret Realm was difficult and could only be undertaken by great forces.
According to Elder Huayan, the Ancient Secret Realm had its own space and was usually inconspicuous, only revealing its presence through strange phenomena.
And now that the location was known, it required over a hundred Enlightenment Stage cultivators to form the Array of Yin Yang Breaking the Sky in order to open the entrance.
Time passed by the minute, approaching noon before he knew it, and Zhang Kui couldn't help but frown. Did it really take that long just to open a gate?
Just then, a white-robed Daoist suddenly stopped, thrusting a cone-shaped magical artifact into the ground.
Zhang Kui's pupils shrank; he could distinctly see the air ripple like waves, spreading outward.
Bang!
Another Daoist pierced the ground with the magical artifact.
It was like a chain reaction; more and more Daoists stopped, their cone-shaped strange magical artifacts beginning to vibrate ominously.
When everyone had stopped, these artifacts formed a strong resonance, as if the entire surrounding space was rumbling along with it.
The ground roared, small scattered pebbles bounced continuously, with some even floating into the air.
Hum!
A vast sound echoed in Zhang Kui's mind, as a dim blue speck of light at the foot of Ting Mountain gradually expanded, forming a circular light gate over five meters tall.
The Sky-breaking Array should have succeeded.
Yet Zhang Kui didn't rush forward, because the white-robed Daoists began setting up various obscure arrays in front of the light gate.
Each of them appeared as if facing a formidable enemy, seemingly preparing against something...
Elder Huayan also landed with his crane, observing solemnly for a while before walking slowly into the light gate.
After an undetermined length of time, his figure reappeared, nodding towards everyone.
"It's ready, come in."
Zhang Kui swallowed his saliva, and with several white-robed Daoists, followed Elder Huayan into the light gate.
It felt like passing through a layer of viscous air, the surroundings suddenly darkened, and Zhang Kui couldn't help but gape.
Before him lay a scene of collapsed buildings, with enormous stone men lying every which way on the ground, each tens of meters long, worn and ancient, covered in moss that glowed faintly green, with what seemed like menacing black shadows crawling among them.
Those stone men, they looked just like Weng Zhong…