The scene before them was a riot of colors.
This was the portal to the Upper Realm. Faint, shimmering light coalesced around the two, warding off the spatial turbulence of the journey. They held each other’s hands tightly, dispelling the faint unease in their hearts.
Everything in the Upper Realm was unknown.
Suddenly, a strange sound, like a swarm of bees, echoed in their ears. The vibrant points of light before them began to twist and surge. A system prompt sounded in Jiang Huai’s ear.
[Host has encountered spatial turbulence. To ensure host safety, a spatial rift will be torn open to temporarily shelter the host in the nearest Corrupt Secret Realm of the Upper Realm.]
Before Jiang Huai could inquire, a milky white radiance flickered around them. In an instant, the five-colored lights twisted into a vortex. When he regained his senses, they suddenly found themselves on a desolate land.
A trace of bewilderment flashed in Jiang Zhi’s eyes, and another system prompt sounded in Jiang Huai’s ear.
[The host’s current location is the Star Soul Domain Corrupt Secret Realm. The Corrupt Secret Realm will automatically close in three days, after which the host and Jiang Ning will be sent to the Star Soul Domain.]
[There are many dangers within the Corrupt Secret Realm. The Corrupt Secret Realm Illustrated Guide has been transmitted to the host’s mind. Please find a safe place to reside as soon as possible.]
The system prompts in his ear ceased for the moment, and Jiang Huai began to survey his surroundings. They seemed to have been teleported to a wasteland. The sky here was blood-red, and the air was filled with a faint rusty smell and a fishy smell. A red moon hung overhead, casting its crimson light upon the entire world.
In the sky, several Bone Dragons were flying. Not far away, Humanoid creatures covered in various horns were devouring a colossal Canine creature. Jiang Huai quickly grabbed Jiang Zhi’s hand. “Let’s go, find a safer place first.”
The system’s guide had already been thoroughly absorbed into his mind. He recognized the flying Bone Dragons and the horned Corrupters, both indicating that they were deep within the Corrupt Secret Realm. Thus, he hurriedly fled towards the edge. Jiang Zhi said nothing, merely letting him lead her obediently. The sound of the wind whistled past their ears as they traversed the wasteland and blood lakes, finally arriving at a thorny mountain forest filled with red flowers, where Jiang Huai finally stopped.
They had exerted their spiritual energy to their limits, traveling for more than half an hour. Fortunately, the hunting time in the Corrupt Secret Realm had passed for the day, and the Corrupt creatures they encountered showed no intent to attack. Jiang Huai observed their surroundings, confirming that this was the least dangerous area, the Red Thorn Mountain Forest, within the Corrupt Secret Realm. Only then did he finally sigh in relief. He began searching for a suitable cave with Jiang Zhi. After confirming that no Corrupt creatures inhabited the cave, they settled in temporarily. He then began to explain to Jiang Zhi.
“The spatial teleportation to the Upper Realm encountered spatial turbulence, so we were temporarily transported here. This is the Corrupt Secret Realm, one of the most common secret realms in the Upper Realm. Most of them were left behind when the Corrupt Evil God descended fifty thousand years ago. Most Corrupt creatures are mindless beings, only knowing killing and brutality. Whenever the red moon is brightest, it is their time for slaughter and violence. This secret realm will be open for three days. After three days, we will be expelled and sent to the Star Soul Domain of the Upper Realm.”
A general map and guide to the Upper Realm also appeared in Jiang Huai’s mind.
[The Upper Realm is divided into three domains and one realm: the Star Soul Domain, the Moon Soul Domain, the Corrupted Domain, and the Ancestral Dao Origin Realm. The Star Soul Domain and Moon Soul Domain are controlled by families inheriting the Star God and Moon God respectively. The Corrupted Domain is ruled by the Divine Emperor’s rebellious eldest disciple, while the Ancestral Dao Origin Realm is the Divine Emperor’s territory.]
[Upon arriving in the Upper Realm, all cultivation bottlenecks will be removed. After reaching the Saint realm, there are five more realms: Divine Body, Divine Soul, Divine Spirit, Divine King, and the sole Divine Emperor of this era, who occupies a realm by herself.]
He quickly shared this information with Jiang Zhi. Jiang Zhi sat quietly in the cave, listening. After Jiang Huai finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you want to ask why I know this?”
Surprisingly, Jiang Zhi shook her head. “It’s not important. I believe what you say.”
So Jiang Huai didn’t explain further. The system had never forbidden him from revealing its existence, but Jiang Huai didn’t know how to explain it to Jiang Zhi. However, Jiang Zhi seemed entirely uncurious, as if she already knew something about him.
“In the Corrupt Secret Realm, the Corrupt creatures that live there differ depending on the region. In this Red Thorn Mountain Forest, there are only creatures like Corrupt Red Snakes, Corrupt Flood Dragons, and Corrupt Red Deer. Their lowest cultivation levels are comparable to the fifth level of the Ninth Realm, so it’s safer for us to stay here for these three days.”
At this point, a hint of bitterness appeared on Jiang Huai’s face.
No matter how powerful he was in the Lower Realm, he had to tread carefully in the Upper Realm. Even the safest place in this secret realm was inhabited by creatures above the fifth level of the Ninth Realm. Not to mention the Red Moon Wasteland where they had just landed. Those horned Corrupt followers were at the Divine Soul realm, and the Bone Dragons flying in the sky were even at the Half-step Divine Spirit realm.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” Jiang Zhi nodded gently.
At this moment, she seemed a little distracted, not because they had entered the Corrupt Secret Realm, but because she was still contemplating what she had said to Jiang Huai earlier: that once they reached the Upper Realm, they would owe each other nothing. Did that still count? And what were Jiang Huai’s thoughts at this moment?
But when she looked into his eyes, she didn’t know how to ask.
The cave was not large. Although cramped, it was safe enough. They sat on a bluestone. Jiang Huai used the Azure Water Green Vine Divine Art to create some vines, covering the cave entrance with them. Soon, the green vines he created were also turned red by the rules of the Corrupt Secret Realm, and the life force within them was gradually devoured.
Jiang Huai traced Daoist magic with his fingertips, pinching a small spiritual cicada. He attached a trace of spiritual sense to the cicada and sent it out of the cave. He began to cautiously observe everything in the Red Thorn Mountain Forest.
Many Corrupt Red Snakes inhabited the Red Thorn Mountain Forest. Most of them were coiled around red thorn trees, resting. Their scales were entirely blood-red, intertwined with circles of black patterns, giving them a sinister appearance.
At this moment, Jiang Huai had no interest in exploring the secret realm for secret treasures. It was as if he had just left the新手村 (newbie village) and been thrown into a late-game dungeon. He wasn’t foolish enough to get himself killed.
He began to digest the Upper Realm guide that had appeared in his mind, gradually gaining a shallow understanding of the Upper Realm’s history.
At the beginning of the Upper Realm’s chaos, there were cultivators. The most outstanding cultivators among all the races were the former Star God and Moon God. Until fifty thousand years ago, the Corrupt Evil God suddenly locked onto this world. Its true form descended. The Star God and Moon God used all their strength to kill it, perishing themselves in the process. Their bloodline was passed down through generations.
Their inheritors became the rulers of the Star Soul Domain and Moon Soul Domain. The third domain was originally a no-man’s-land called the Great Desolate Domain. Until a cultivator, relying on the inheritance left by the Corrupt Evil God, founded the Corrupt religion. Thus, the Great Desolate Domain was officially renamed the Corrupted Domain.
The appearance of the Divine Emperor was twenty thousand years ago. She was like an embodiment of the Heavenly Way Will, from an unknown ordinary cultivator to the Divine Emperor, it took her only a thousand years. A thousand years later, she alone occupied the Ancestral Dao Origin Realm and became its Realm Lord.
After the Divine Emperor officially became an emperor, she had two disciples. The eldest disciple rebelled ten thousand years ago. She went to the Corrupted Domain, killed the ruler of the Corrupted Domain, and accepted the inheritance of the Corrupted Domain, becoming the new Emperor of the Corrupted Domain.
The Divine Emperor was in seclusion for extended periods, while her second disciple, Ning Yuzhu, traveled the world as her proxy.
Jiang Huai suddenly recalled that he seemed to have seen that second disciple of the Divine Emperor, named Ning Yuzhu, in his Tribulation of Inner Demon. She was an unparalleled fairy with a cold and aloof demeanor. Who was the person in his Tribulation of Inner Demon back then?
The chaotic clues couldn’t be pieced together. He could only ponder it slowly in his heart while simultaneously using his spiritual cicada to cautiously observe the area around the cave. After confirming that everything was safe, he finally sighed in relief and leaned against the stone wall of the cave.
He looked back at Jiang Zhi beside him and then softly asked, “You said you wanted to find your Master in the Upper Realm. What is your Master’s name? Shall we go find your Master first when the time comes?”
Jiang Zhi was suddenly startled, then looked back at him. “And you?”
“My goal in the Upper Realm is to see the Divine Emperor, but that goal seems a bit distant. I’ll have to plan long-term. It’s better to help you find your Master first.”
Jiang Zhi was silent for a moment, then whispered, “My Master said that when I reach the Upper Realm, her envoy will come to meet me. But we are still in this Corrupt Secret Realm now, so we should wait until we get out.”
“That’s good,” Jiang Huai felt a little more at ease and then asked, “Now that we’re in the Upper Realm, tell me what kind of person your Master is.”
“You’ll know later,” Jiang Zhi replied softly.
“Can’t you reveal anything at all?”
“She’s a woman who likes to manipulate people’s destinies… and is particularly biased, selfish, scheming, and erratic,” Jiang Zhi said word by word. As she spoke, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
Jiang Huai scratched his head, not understanding what her smile represented, but he could only stop asking. He leaned beside Jiang Zhi. “And then, after meeting your Master?”
Jiang Zhi fell silent, lowering her head slightly. After a while, she softly replied, “I don’t know.”
She truly didn’t know.
Her goal was only to help Jiang Huai reach the Upper Realm. That was the meaning of her Master saving her back then. She was Jiang Huai’s guide, his torchbearer. But now that Jiang Huai had reached his destination, she no longer knew where she should go.
Jiang Ning had promised her eternal life and supreme authority… but these were never things she craved. She feared the eternal, lonely life and the sense of emptiness that authority could bring.
Her own meaning had faded the moment Jiang Huai reached the Upper Realm. Now, she no longer knew what she was living for.
