Arthur sat behind the counter of the Spirit Tool Pavilion, his posture relaxed as one of his hands rested lightly on the table while the other held a spirit stone between his fingers. The faint glow of the stone dimmed gradually as threads of spiritual energy were drawn into his body, refined, and converted into Aether without any resistance.
At the same time, a scroll lay open before him, and his eyes moved steadily across its contents, absorbing information with the same efficiency he applied to cultivation. To anyone watching, it might have seemed like he was simply reading while idly cultivating, but in truth, he was running countless calculations through his head. He was trying to create a cultivation technique that could allow people who use mana to absorb spiritual energy.
The shop itself had calmed down a bit after the initial days of chaos, with a steady flow of customers moving in and out, examining artifacts, testing weapons, and occasionally negotiating prices. Conversations among the customers turned into background noise that Arthur had long since learned to ignore.
It was within that noise that a particular conversation caught his attention, not because the people were talking loudly, but because of the content itself.
"Have you heard the Violet Heaven Secret Realm is opening next month?" one of the customers said, his voice carrying a mix of excitement and disbelief.
Arthur's attention focused on what they were saying, and the scroll in his hand stopped turning as he listened more carefully. The woman standing beside the man blinked in surprise, clearly caught off guard by the information.
"Has it already been a thousand years?" she asked, her tone was filled with uncertainty. The man nodded, and excitedly told the woman. "Yes, the timing matches. Sects from all over the world are already preparing to enter the secret realm. This time… it's going to be even bigger."
He paused briefly before letting out a quiet sigh, his excitement quickly turning into frustration. "I really wish I could afford a ticket, but… that's not something people like us can easily afford."
The woman placed a hand lightly on his arm, trying to reassure him. "Don't lose hope dear. Last time, didn't some sects hold competitions and give tickets to the winners? Maybe they'll do something similar again."
The man shook his head, his expression turning more resigned. "That only happened because there were leftover spots. This time, with the rise of those new sects, everything will be bought out before anything reaches the public and the possibility of that happening is very low. There won't be anything left to compete for."
The woman was about to respond again to comfort her dao companion when Arthur closed the scroll, stood up from his seat and approached them. The two noticed him immediately and straightened, recognizing him as the owner of the shop.
…
"Excuse me," Arthur said, his tone was neutral yet polite. "If you don't mind me asking, what is this secret realm you were talking about?"
The man blinked, clearly surprised that Arthur was unaware of something so widely known. "Ah… Master Liu," he said quickly.
Arthur had introduced himself as Liu Yang when he opened the shop, as currently he was in disguise due to the bounty on his head.
"I didn't realize you hadn't heard of the Violet Heaven Secret Realm. Please allow me to explain it to you." Arthur gave a slight nod, signaling for him to continue.
The man took a breath before speaking, his tone shifting into something more informative. "The Violet Heaven Secret Realm is one of the oldest and most famous secret realms in this world. It was first discovered nearly fifty thousand years ago, in the year 719815 of the Han calendar. Since then, it has opened exactly forty-nine times. The gate appears every thousand years, without fail."
Arthur listened without interrupting, his attention fully focused now.
"And each time it opens," the man continued, "countless cultivators enter, and those who survive come back with unimaginable gains. Treasures, techniques, inheritances… some even break through bottlenecks that would normally take centuries."
His expression shifted slightly, becoming more serious. "But most never return. The danger inside isn't something ordinary cultivators can handle." He lowered his voice slightly as he added, "There's a legend that once upon a time an Immortal King sealed something inside that realm… something extremely dangerous. There's even a rumor among cultivators on why the gate appears frequently, many believe that whatever the realm is sealing is causing the seal to weaken slowly."
Arthur frowned slightly, while thinking about the contradicting nature of what the man just said. "If that's the case," he asked, "why would people still go there?"
The man let out a short laugh, though there was no humor in it. "Because people don't change. There's a saying, birds die for food and humans die for wealth. No matter how dangerous it is, as long as there's a chance to gain power, people will take it." Arthur nodded slightly, understanding the reasoning immediately. Greed, ambition, and desperation, those were constants across every world he had been to.
"When exactly will this secret realm open and where? " Arthur asked.
The man replied without hesitation. "The gate will appear next month, there's only twelve days remaining. The gate always appears somewhere inside the Desolate Forest. It's the largest and most dangerous forest in this world. No one knows the exact location beforehand, but it always manifests there."
He paused briefly before adding, "If Master Liu wants a ticket, you'll need to buy one from a major organization. That's the only reliable way."
Arthur gave a slight nod. "Thank you for the information." He glanced briefly at the racks before looking back at them. "You can each take one artifact, no need to worry about the cost."
The two of them froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that. Then their expressions lit up with excitement as they bowed repeatedly in gratitude before rushing toward the racks to choose their items.
Arthur returned to the counter, but his thoughts had already shifted to something else. A secret realm that opened every thousand years, filled with resources, inheritances, and unknown dangers, it was exactly the kind of place that could provide what he needed, especially when it came to spirit stones or understanding new energy systems.
More importantly, the mention of an Immortal King's seal intrigued him. That alone made it worth investigating. As for obtaining a ticket, there was no need to consider multiple options, the most efficient path was already clear, the Artifact Refiners Union.
…
That night, after closing the shop, Arthur sat in his room with the token Chen Yuze had given him resting in his palm. At first glance, it appeared simple, a golden piece marked with a hammer and chisel crossing each other, but when he extended his perception deeper into its structure, he discovered something far more intricate.
An array was embedded within it, and not a simple one, but a layered and interconnected system that operated on principles similar to runes yet distinctly different in execution. Instead of relying on mana or Aether, it used spiritual energy as its core, forming a structured network that could transmit signals across distance.
Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed it further, recognizing both its potential and its complexity. This was another system entirely, one that could expand his understanding if studied properly. So, he decided to learn about them and add them to his growing repository of knowledge.
Without delaying further, he injected a small amount of spiritual energy into the token and waited. Within minutes, he sensed a presence appear outside the shop. Arthur disappeared from his room and reappeared at the entrance, causing the man waiting outside to stiffen slightly in surprise before quickly regaining his composure.
"Greetings, Lord Liu," the man said, bowing respectfully. "I am Fu Chengde from the Artifact Refiners Union. How may I assist you?"
Arthur nodded once, getting straight to the point. "I want to buy a ticket to the Violet Heaven Secret Realm, can you tell me how much that would cost?"
Fu Chengde didn't hesitate and replied. "A standard ticket costs one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, but as you are a member of our organization, you can purchase it for eighty thousand."
Arthur raised a brow slightly, noting how quickly the benefits of his decision were already showing. Without wasting time, he took out a spatial ring containing exactly eighty thousand spirit stones and handed it over.
Fu Chengde accepted it, transferred the contents to his own, and returned the ring. "Would you like the ticket delivered immediately, or would you prefer it in the morning?" he asked.
Arthur replied, "Tomorrow is fine."
Fu Chengde nodded in acknowledgment, but before he could say anything further, Arthur vanished from the spot, leaving behind no trace of movement or energy fluctuation.
Fu Chengde stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space where Arthur had been just seconds ago. A flicker of shock crossed his face before it was replaced by something more serious.
He exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening as he processed what he had just witnessed. This was not normal, not for someone of Arthur's apparent cultivation level. Turning away, he muttered under his breath, "I need to report this to the Chief."
***
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