Rebirth of a Quasi-Immortal Spirit

95 Enter the Secret Realm

A month or so passed quickly, and the day of the opening of the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm arrived in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning, Gao Zhun was woken up by Ah Zhong, who had disguised himself with a celestial artifact. Her long-awaited day of rest and the moment when she was about to develop a lazy mood were immediately shattered. She could only obediently go with Ah Zhong to the Gao family's martial arts training ground.

Speaking of the battle for the Enlightenment Fruit, it is a major event for Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the entire Immortal Spirit Continent. Since the Gao family and even the entire human cultivation world have not imposed any restrictions on the people entering the secret realm, in theory, even demon cultivators can enter.

However, since the demon cultivators were turned away by the first sect—the Gao family—they naturally had no chance to enter this secret realm. Moreover, this secret realm held no allure for the demon cultivators whatsoever, and even if they were invited, they probably wouldn't come.

It is precisely because there are so many Nascent Soul cultivators participating in the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm that everyone has one or two enemies. Therefore, many people disguise themselves like Ah Zhong to avoid being recognized by their enemies. This is something that no one really cares about, since everyone knows the truth.

In short, this secret realm has very broad requirements for cultivators. As long as you are a Nascent Soul stage cultivator of the human race, you can enter. No matter what your previous identity was, as long as you are on the journey from the Gao family's martial arts arena to the entrance of the secret realm, no one will make things difficult for you. Otherwise, those who disregard the rules are equivalent to disregarding the Gao family, and such a crime is something that no individual cultivator can bear.

Of course, life and death are determined by fate within the secret realm. Whether you kill for revenge, kill for treasure, or kill without cause, as long as you are within the secret realm, it all depends on your ability. Moreover, grudges within the secret realm cannot be carried out outside of it.

Someone of Gao Zhun's status wouldn't be investigated by the Gao family if they died in a secret realm. That's why Gao Zhun made up her mind early on not to snatch the Enlightenment Fruit. She already had a lot of hidden enemies on this continent. Whether it was the Gao family, the Blood Transformation Pavilion, or the cultivators related to the Ancient Treasure Temple, almost everyone wanted to kill her. If she were to recklessly try to compete with these cultivators for the Enlightenment Fruit at this critical moment, then needless to say, she would definitely be the first one to be dealt with.

Gao Family Martial Arts Training Ground

All the Nascent Soul stage cultivators waiting to enter the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm were gathered in this huge square. They were in groups of three or five, and did not strictly follow the positions of family or sect. Instead, they were usually good friends from different backgrounds who had no competitive element in the past, and they had already formed their own teams.

Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong were standing at the edge of the training ground, in an awkward situation where no one paid them any attention, when a familiar voice appeared in their ears.

"You guys are here, meowing~"

"Gu Xinling?" Gao Zhun and A Zhong looked in the direction of the voice and found that there was not only Gu Xinling, but also Xuan Yuan Huanyu, You Ruolan, Wu Ya Qiubai, Yun Mu Ning, An Ge, Qian Yu'er, and even Qin Hanyuan. Gao Zhun couldn't help but take a few more glances at Gu Xinling. When did this fish-loving, meow-loving Gu Xinling have such great power to gather all these people together...

Among the people who came, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu was the closest to Gao Zhun, since they were cousins. So after everyone approached, she represented everyone and explained to Gao Zhun.

“Xiao Zhun, Xin Ling came to us one by one and suggested that we form a team. We come from different families and sects, and we have different skills and knowledge. We each have our own strengths and our cultivation levels are about the same. We can only be considered as average in this square. Forming a team is the best choice. How about you and A Zhong join us? With your Eye of Truth and A Zhong’s top-grade metal-attribute immortal root, I think the danger of this trip will be reduced.”

Xuan Yuan Huan Yu usually gives people the impression of being cold, arrogant and domineering. He has never spoken to anyone in a consultative tone for so long. Fortunately, everyone in the martial arts arena is busy with their own things, so no one pays attention to the dozen or so cultivators in the corner whose highest cultivation level is only at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Hearing Xuan Yuan Huan Yu's suggestion, Gao Zhun couldn't be unmoved. First of all, these people were all people she knew well; they had fought side by side before, and they weren't two-faced. They were all genuine people worth befriending. However, she hadn't forgotten her choice after entering the secret realm, and she couldn't immediately discuss things in detail with them. So, she hesitated and replied, "Cousin, and everyone else, Ah Zhong and I... our goal for this trip isn't the Enlightenment Fruit. If we team up, and we don't travel with you, I'm afraid it will disappoint you, so..."

"Hmph, I told you Gao Zhun would refuse, didn't I? Xiao Ning, a bet's a bet, right? How dare you question my invincible intuition! But, Xiao Ning probably really wants to lose to me, after all, the stakes are..." Before Gao Zhun could finish speaking, Wu Yaqiu interrupted...

Fortunately, fortunes change. Before Wu Yaqiu could finish speaking, Yun Muning silenced her. From Gao Zhun's perspective, it seemed that the relationship between the two had regressed to what it was like back in Yongcheng, as if another layer of paper had been added between them. Even so, it was still a painful display of affection for a certain single person, making their heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys ache.

Well, anyway, betting and stuff like that is just something young couples do.

"Your goal isn't the Enlightenment Fruit? Then what is it, meow? Besides the Enlightenment Fruit, the only other things in the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm are us cultivators who were put in..." At this point, Gu Xinling's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Could it be that Gao Zhun, your goal in the secret realm is to kill and plunder? Or to assassinate your enemies? Or perhaps, you're going there for a blind date, meow~"

Gao Zhun sighed, "Girl, you have quite the imagination. I'm already deeply impressed by the first two points, but how did you come up with the third one?"

Gao Zhun's devastated expression was met with Gu Xinling's puzzled look. You Ruolan, the peacemaker, had no choice but to step in and say, "Gao Zhun, Xinling is just childish. But since you have your own things to do, how about this, Xinling, give one of the improved communication jade discs to Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong. This communication jade disc is only useful in the secret realm. It can show the location of the other people holding the jade disc. It's a method that Xinling came up with so that everyone can gather together after being randomly teleported. After all, the secret realm is still too dangerous. Gao Zhun, you can join us first, and we can all understand the details inside before we separate."

Seeing You Ruolan's sincere gaze and the expectation in Xuan Yuan Huanyu and the others' eyes, Gao Zhun knew that it was useless to say anything. She couldn't fight city hall, and even with A Zhong, she was outnumbered and outmatched. At this moment, she could only obey.

However, she thought about it for a while. It seemed that jade discs like Gu Xinling's would rarely be effective in the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm. Gu Xinling must have put a lot of thought into it beforehand. If that was the case, apart from them, perhaps not many of the others who had formed teams on this training ground would be able to gather together smoothly. In that case, the uncertainty and danger in the secret realm would greatly increase. If that was the case, it would be good to take the jade disc. She might be able to lure these people away and not steal the Enlightenment Fruit, but instead go with her to do something big.

Thinking this, Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong took the communication jade disc specially made by Gu Xinling and hung it on their waists.

Now, with only an hour left before the secret realm opens, the crowd is gradually becoming denser. There are quite a few cultivators like Gao Zhun who have communication jade discs hanging from their waists, but it is unknown how many of them will still be able to use them once they enter the secret realm.

An hour passed quickly for Gao Zhun and the others as they chatted back and forth. Without anyone giving directions, they spontaneously headed towards the forbidden area behind the Gao family's mountain, which was the entrance to the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm.

Normally, as cultivators, it would only take a blink of an eye to travel from the Gao family's martial arts arena to the Gao family's secret mountain back mountain by flying on a sword. However, today was a special day. Every time the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm opened, the Gao family would prohibit flying. Therefore, everyone was walking on foot. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they saw the place where the glow of the sunset was blooming in the distance.

"This is the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm?" Gao Zhun blinked, his gaze fixed on the rising radiance. The entrance to this secret realm opened to a radiant expanse of light, and there was quite a bit of moisture inside.

As expected, Qin Hanyuan continued, "Earlier, I read the notes and insights of the seniors who entered the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm in the sect's library. It mentioned that this secret realm is an ocean that is difficult to reach by flying. There are many islands in the ocean, but less than one in ten actually contain Enlightenment Fruits. Cultivators who enter the secret realm will be randomly teleported to an island. If they are lucky, there may be an Enlightenment Fruit on that island. If they are unlucky, they will not be able to find an island with an Enlightenment Fruit in the three months of this secret realm and will be teleported out."

“Ocean…island…Enlightenment Fruit…” Gao Zhun stroked his chin, as if he had thought of something. Not all islands have Enlightenment Fruit, so why do those islands not have it, and why do those that do have it?

Suddenly, Gao Zhun smiled as she touched the communication jade disc hanging from her waist. She really had to thank this thing. At least, if none of them had been teleported to the same island, she might have had to travel all over these islands. The more she traveled, the more helpful it would be for data collection. In that case, she might actually be able to get that matter done.

By going through Xu Yudie's route, she could avoid many detours. Thinking of this, Gao Zhun smiled even more broadly. (166 Reading Network)