Chapter 2421: Wind Abyss Valley Disciples

Besides the three of them, everyone else was hiding in the Doukou Garden, and the Doukou Garden was buried among the demon blood. This was done by using demonic power and blood to conceal its existence, which could greatly reduce the chance of being detected by the Earth Mother's avatar—

Expertise lies in specialization. For foreign intruders, the Earth Mother is far less keen than the Qingtu Great Ghost.

Indeed, this vat of demon blood was sent to the core area of the Secret Realm, namely the location of the Wind Dew Golden Lotus!

Only now was it exposed.

The three leapt out of the Doukou Garden, of course having prepared for battle.

This Secret Realm had not been probed beforehand, and no one knew what the interior was really like. He Lingchuan and the others, upon emerging, faced a significant possibility of directly confronting the Earth Mother/Shangguan Biao.

But for now, everything was peaceful, with nothing happening.

Two people carried the blood vat, walking up the mountain path. The forest was very lush, appearing much like reality at first glance, yet the trees on both sides of the path were clearly pruned, neat and orderly, not messy.

Zhu Xiuer, hidden beneath the collar of their clothes, suddenly warned: "Someone ahead."

He Lingchuan and Mingke Xianren also sensed it, slipped into the woods, and continued upward.

After climbing over a hundred stone steps, they saw a back view:

A person was pruning roadside trees, swinging a sickle in hand, carrying a basket on their back, never lifting their head the whole time.

Mingke Xianren indicated with their eyes:

Is this the one?

Didn't they say before that the captured bird demon mentioned someone tending the medicinal fields in Duzhi Mountain?

He Lingchuan pointed at this person's feet and shook his head.

No shackles on the feet, not like it.

Shackles like that—surely they can't be easily removed? Otherwise, what's the point of putting them on?

The two did not startle him and continued up the mountain.

Here, the terrain is exactly the same as outside—Duzhi Mountain is still that Duzhi Mountain—but the real Duzhi Mountain is a desolate wilderness, while the Duzhi Mountain in the Secret Realm is, as the bird demon said, entirely covered in lush, colorful medicinal fields!

This entire mountain is a terraced field, planted with spiritual herbs, some of which have become sentient and can run around, chasing and playing with each other like children and young beasts.

The group passed through a field of wild lettuce. Seeing human feet stepping over, the wild lettuce at the edge knew to retract into the ground, only to pop back up after they walked away, with two radish leaves still atop its head.

If there's anything special, it's that the soil of these medicinal fields on Duzhi Mountain faintly carries a bluish tint. Not like outside, where it's either red earth, yellow earth, or black earth.

Along this path, they actually saw two more gardeners—one pruning trees, the other moving heavy objects, their skin darkened by sun exposure.

Mingke Xianren noticed that they too had cultivation, but it was very weak.

Then, four or five people came down the mountain road, wearing blue robes, chatting and laughing.

"Senior Brother Xu, in this year's Medicinal Fair of Floating Green City, you again helped Junior Uncle Li take first place—did Junior Uncle Li reward you handsomely?"

That Senior Brother Xu looked about thirty, was surrounded by others with hands clasped behind his back, and upon hearing this, his expression turned solemn:

"Junior Uncle Li's skills are transcendent, surpassing all heroes—winning the championship is only natural. I merely contributed a little effort, not even enough to be called 'adding flowers to brocade,' at most just a bit of pollen. What qualifications do I have to claim credit before Junior Uncle Li?"

The others gave thumbs up: "Ah, Senior Brother Xu's enlightenment is too high—we far fall short."

"Senior Brother Xu is modest and capable—no wonder Junior Uncle Li favors him so."

Senior Brother Xu shook his head: "Actually, Junior Uncle Li treats all disciples equally, just stricter with some newcomers—but that's for their own good, to prevent laziness and foolishness from hindering their future."

Several people echoed: "Yes, yes, Junior Uncle Li has a broad mind—those lowly later-generation disciples could never comprehend his painstaking efforts."

Another added: "By the way, I heard the case of medicinal herbs leaking from Duzhi Mountain has already been solved? Senior Brother Xu, have you heard any wind of it?"

"Of course." Senior Brother Xu nodded, "I also know who did it."

"Ah, who is that shameless thing?"

"The sect hasn't passed judgment yet, so I can't leak secrets. All I can say is, he usually appears honest, solitary, and upright—I never thought he'd do something harmful to the sect! Sigh, one may know a person's face but not their heart."

As they spoke, they passed by the edge of the woods where He Lingchuan and the others were hiding, and soon walked away.

Zhu Xiuer sighed: "Are these disciples of the Wind Abyss Valley? Their speech is sour and stilted, affected and pretentious—just hearing it makes me want to vomit!"

He Lingchuan laughed: "This Senior Brother Xu is merely afraid that one careless word might reach his superiors' ears. His level is nothing more than beginner rank—you should go see the officialdom of Bekka and Mu State, where there are plenty of experts."

The disciples flattered Senior Brother Xu, and Senior Brother Xu flattered Junior Uncle Li.

Does this sect really appear so harmonious?

Zhu Xiuer spat: "No wonder my sister... I never thought of joining those people's states—just hearing how they speak, I can't stand it!"

Mingke Xianren furrowed their brows: "Is this sentence a bit incoherent? But the spider demon doesn't like reading, so sometimes they speak without paying attention."

He Lingchuan chuckled: Zhu Xiuer almost let the cat out of the bag.

However, speaking of the atmosphere of 'superiors honored, inferiors praised, flattery and fawning,' among the sects I've seen, Wind Abyss Valley takes the cake.

"It's surprising that there are people in this Secret Realm, unlike the other Secret Realms we know of in Jade Capital City—this trip might have come at the right time." Mingke Xianren whispered, "The existence of such a Secret Realm mostly stems from an inability to let go of the past. I don't know if this Secret Realm is a certain obsession of Shangguan Biao."

He Lingchuan's eyes shifted slightly: "Why not just ask?"

"Huh?"

"You see, this vat of demon blood is used to irrigate the Wind Dew Golden Lotus." He took out the blood vat from his storage ring, "True Person Minghui also said this golden lotus came from Wind Abyss Valley, and after the Earth Mother's destruction in Wind Abyss Valley, he retrieved this lotus. That is, the period this Secret Realm represents is likely when the Wind Dew Golden Lotus was still growing in Duzhi Mountain."

These disciples coming and going, with someone even maintaining the mountain paths and trimming flowers and grasses, shows that Wind Abyss Valley in this historical era had not yet fallen.

Mingke Xianren's mind worked quickly, and upon hearing this, suddenly realized: "Ah, the Wind Dew Golden Lotus was originally a treasure grown in Shangguan Biao's household, and Liu Yisheng also said he was once demoted to Duzhi Mountain to do menial work. Could it be that we've entered this period's Secret Realm?"

"Very likely." He Lingchuan thought it through, "You see, this Secret Realm has people moving about—it's not empty and desolate—so we know Shangguan Biao invested the most resources and effort here, meaning he should personally be in charge. That is, whether we seek Shangguan Biao or not, he likely already knows we're here—so we might as well be open and aboveboard."

All our caution and care along the way were for finding this Secret Realm. Now that we've successfully entered, when it's time to let go and act freely, we must do so.

"That's the reasoning." Mingke Xianren looked left and right, "I always feel a prickling sensation on my back, as if something is secretly spying on us with ill intent."