Chapter 535: The Thousand-Layer Secret Realm

Qian Die Mountains.

At the northernmost edge of Tianji Domain, the mountains are perpetually shrouded in mist, their miasma lethally toxic—only those who have reached the Primordial Realm can withstand it.

At this moment, two figures, one large and one small, vanished into the mountain mist, moving swiftly.

“The Qian Die Forbidden Zone—stop here, intruders!”

Half an hour later, a solemn voice rang out. Lin Chen and Yin Yue halted, watching as two young men emerged from the mist.

The two men glanced at Lin Chen briefly, ignoring him even though he shared their Primordial Third Realm; but when they saw Yin Yue—especially her silver hair—their gaze lingered longer.

“Are you of the Yue Po clan’s royal bloodline?”

“I am Yin Yue, princess of the current Yue Po clan.”

Upon hearing her identity, the two young men’s wariness vanished, replaced by smiles.

“If it’s the Yue Po princess, please follow us.”

The two young men led the way. Lin Chen and Yin Yue exchanged a glance, then followed closely behind.

Lin Chen’s spiritual sense remained extended; within the mist, he sensed distinct spatial fluctuations—the mountains were guarded by an array.

Yet Lin Chen was not overly surprised. Yin Yue had clearly explained their purpose before coming here.

They had come to the Qian Die Mountains to retrieve a supreme treasure of the Yue Po clan.

Only by obtaining this artifact could Yin Yue hope to quell the rebellion within her clan.

But the artifact was not easily acquired—that was precisely why Yin Yue had sought out Lin Chen.

…

…

Half an hour later.

The surrounding mist suddenly vanished. Lin Chen’s gaze was immediately drawn to the clouds ahead.

Cloud layers varying in thickness and height were normal—but here, the clouds stacked upon one another, a thousand layers deep…

The name Qian Die Mountains derived from this very sight.

Beneath the clouds lay a vast plain, dotted with various structures. Seeing these simple dwellings, Lin Chen thought of primitive tribes.

This place resembled a settlement inhabited by a primitive tribal group.

Yet Lin Chen dared not underestimate this “tribe.” According to Yin Yue, the inhabitants were the Shang Clan, another ancient remnant race.

The Shang Clan was famed for array crafting; over half the arrays studied by all array masters in the Yan Emperor Dynasty originated from them.

In terms of array crafting alone, no one could rival the Shang Clan.

Of course, while the Shang Clan was renowned for arrays, that did not mean they were weak in other areas. Their “weakness” was only relative to array mastery. An ancient remnant race that had endured for so long possessed depth equal to any supreme sect.

Yet the reason ancient remnant races remained obscure within the Yan Emperor Dynasty, Lin Chen learned from Yin Yue, was this:

Their population was tiny.

Compared to a supreme sect, which could number tens of thousands of disciples and hundreds of thousands of affiliated warriors, no ancient remnant race exceeded three thousand members.

It wasn’t that they refused to grow their numbers—they deliberately limited them to preserve their bloodline advantages.

Each ancient remnant race possessed unique bloodline abilities, but the more people there were, the more diluted the bloodline became. Three thousand was the absolute limit.

You cannot have both fish and bear’s paw!

This was Lin Chen’s assessment, formed from what Yin Yue had told him.

Preserving their bloodline granted ancient remnant race members a starting point comparable to the prodigies of supreme sects.

Lin Chen could judge this from the two young men before him.

They appeared to be around thirty, yet had already reached the Primordial Third Realm. His own third senior brother, a direct disciple and unquestionably a sect prodigy, had yet to enter the Primordial Third Realm—this was the gap.

“Gentlemen, please wait a moment.”

The two young men led Lin Chen and Yin Yue to a courtyard atop higher ground. One entered, then quickly returned: “The two of you, the Second Elder requests your presence.”

Inside the courtyard stood an elderly man with white hair.

“Your humble servant Yin Yue greets the Second Elder.”

“Your Highness, no need for such formality.”

The elder smiled, his gaze fixed on Yin Yue: “Princess Yin Yue, you’ve come for the treasure your clan stored in the secret realm, correct?”

“Yes. To be frank, rebellion has erupted in my clan. I’ve come here to retrieve the treasure and quell the uprising.”

Yin Yue did not conceal it—this could not be hidden. Though ancient remnant races rarely interacted with the outside world, they maintained contact among themselves. Such a major event within her clan could not have escaped the Shang Clan’s knowledge.

“The treasure of your clan is kept within the secret realm. Any direct descendant of your royal bloodline, or anyone bearing the token, may enter the secret realm to retrieve it—that was the pact made between your Yue Po ancestors and ours.”