“Da Wei! Look at this!”

I watched with a smile as Yin Lingxi showed a shining jewel she picked up from the stream that we were on the banks of.

The jewel was not something special, just a simple ruby, and yet, the joy on Lingxi’s face made it special.

Ever since we decided to take it easy, this is how we have been spending our days. Wandering from one picturesque place to another, relaxing, playing around, and then moving on to explore even more.

All in all, it felt like a fun vacation for both of us.

Right now, we are on the banks of a large stream passing through a thick forest, filled to the brim with spiritual fish and some resources that might be interesting for a rogue cultivator but were nothing worth mentioning for most people.

“Come here and help me find some more!”

“Why? They are just mortal gems.”

“I want to make a necklace for Da Ling with these gems.”

I raised an eyebrow at those words.

“You know how to craft jewelry?”

Yin Lingxi gave me a smug look at those words.

“Of course I do. I also know how to weave, forge, and make artifacts. Didn’t I tell you about that when we first met?”

I chuckled at those words and got into the water alongside her.

“To be fair, I was more focused on getting away from you back then and did not concentrate much on your words.”

“was I really that scary to you?”

“It's not that you were scary, it's just that I don’t like getting involved with people who feel like trouble.”

She pouted for a bit before throwing herself on my back.

“Well, too bad, you can’t escape from me now.”

Once again, my emotions were thrown into turmoil at her actions but I managed to suppress them before laughing a bit and gently letting her down.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, my empress.”

Soon, thanks to our combined effort, we had a sizable pile of various types of gems in our hands.

‘Why are there so many gems in this stream? And why are they polished gems at that?’

‘Don’t question it, David. Secret Realms never make sense since they are created based on the last thoughts, personality, desires, and various other aspects of a Cultivator.’

‘I know that, but I never thought the bizarre factor would be this exaggerated.’

‘Hmph, you haven’t seen anything yet. The Secret realm that is controlled by the Barbarian Clans in the south is the very definition of bizarre. You want to go explore that place after this?’

‘No thanks! I can’t even imagine what kind of madness that place houses for you of all people to call it bizarre.’

Yin Lingxi hummed an unfamiliar tune as she took out various tools and got to work on using a few rubies and pearls from the spiritual oysters that we found in the stream.

She methodically chiseled, shaped, and then punched holes through the materials with her Qi and carefully used Qi conductive metal chains to connect the pearls and rubies into a necklace.

It barely took her minutes to make something that looked like it came out of the hands of a master jewelsmith, showing her practice and prowess in the art.

Her proud smile as she kept it away in her space ring made me smile as well.

Returning to my spot on the banks, I continued doing what I was before she called me over.

Fishing in the river for our dinner.

As I sat calmly with my fishing pole and a spear made from low-grade materials to serve as a harpoon for larger fish or other things that I could hunt, Yin Lingxi plopped beside me and started working on the other gems, probably working on turning them into jewelry as well.

“How long do you think this realm will stay open for?”

At her question, I shrugged.

“I don’t know. While most of the secret realms have a set time where they open and close, this one and most high-level ones don’t have a set timeframe aside from the time at which they open. Sometimes, they might only be open for a few days at most, sometimes, they stay open for years on end. It is simply not possible to predict these things.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Then, how about exploring deeper into this place?”

“We could, but if we are not close to the entrance when we receive the warning of the entrance’s destabilization, we will be stranded in this realm until the realm opens again in a couple of years.”

“….it might not be that bad.”

Oi, don’t let your feelings guide your actions, dear empress of mine.

“Anyways, if you really want to explore, how about we go East?”

“Why that particular direction?”

“No particular reason.”

‘Wow, you have really mastered the art of lying with a straight face. I am very proud of you.’

‘Shut it! I don’t like lying to her but how do I explain to her that the pearl I inherited from my mother, which is probably a peerless treasure, is reacting to something deep within this realm?’

‘Like you just did, of course.’

‘Yeah, right. As if she would believe me?’

‘Why not? It is not really surprising for someone of her status to have seen and learned about powerful treasured in history. She might even be able to help us identify the origin of this pearl.’

‘….Point, but still, my answer is no. I will not involve her in whatever headache having this pearl and the knowledge of its existence would bring us. We are already doomed from the beginning, but I refuse to involve my loved ones in trouble willingly.’

‘Truly, sometimes, it feels like I am talking to a naïve child. But, like I said before, this is your life, so do whatever you want.’

Yin Lingxi gave me a confused look before shrugging her shoulders.

“Sure. Let's do that.”

Once again, my emotions stirred as happiness dominated my mind at the unconditional trust she displayed in such a way. And yet, guilt gnawed at my consciousness as I realized that I was abusing that trust by not being truthful to her about my intentions, even if it was for her own good.

Shaking my head, I got back to fishing as Lingxi quietly sat by my side and worked on whatever she was doing, eventually leaning against my back with hers as she continued working.

----------------------------------------

Far to the East of the continent, in a hidden valley covered in Qi-rich fog that is gathered artificially with formations, a man swiftly walked up the stairs of a grand palace.

While the palace was clearly visible to the naked eye, any cultivator would have great difficulty spotting it through their senses due to the various formations used in its construction that blended it with its surroundings. This, combined with the various formations that subtly distracted any cultivator that was not permitted to enter it, made it so that no cultivator would pay it any mind even if they accidentally spotted it.

The same method was also used to hide the large population of this place and the town they lived in that surrounded this massive palace.

As the man arrived at the top of the stairs, the two guards who were in the Nascent Soul Realm bowed to the man and opened the doors swiftly.

“”We Greet the Master””

“Enough with the formalities. Is she out of her seclusion??”

The guards looked surprised at the urgency displayed by their master, but their experience with the man made them regain their composure quickly.

“Yes, Master Huxing. The Ancestor has recently come out of seclusion.”

With that confirmation, Huxing Longwei, the Master of the Hidden Heavens Holy Land, rushed into the palace without any thoughts, much to the bewilderment of the guards as they had known their master for many centuries now and knew that he was not the kind of man to throw aside formality as he did just now.

Deep within the palace, Huxing Longwei swiftly arrived at the massive doors that separated the general area of the palace where the Master of the Holy Land and the rest of the upper echelon worked from the Qi-rich residences built within for their various ancestors for their seclusion.

Instinctually, he wanted to smash open the door and rush in directly, but his discipline and fear managed to reign in his urgency as he bowed and called out with his voice amplified with Qi.

“Longwei is here to meet Mother.”

As those words echoed, the doors silently opened, permitting Huxing Longwei entry.

Once again, the Master of the Holy Land quickly rushed in and navigated the large maze of houses before arriving at the residence that he was very familiar with.

As he flung the door open and rushed in, he spotted a beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes that reflected great wisdom and power. Due to the way cultivation worked, the woman did not look any older than thirty despite being centuries old.

“Mother! I-“

“Longwei. Do not forget your manners.”

The calm voice of the woman forced Huxing Longwei to immediately clam up in fear and respect before he bowed deeply and formally greeted his mother, just like he was taught from a young age centuries ago.

“…Longwei greets Mother.”

“Hmm, good. Now, what brings you here? You usually don’t visit me unless you have a problem and expect me to solve it.”

The slightly accusatory tone in her words made the man smile wryly.

‘I want to visit you more often as well, but the way you treat me compared to how you treated sister is way too scary, I don’t dare be my usual self in front of me, yet I can’t control my attitude. You really can’t blame me for this!!’

Shaking his head to get rid of those depressing thoughts, he quickly assumed his persona as the Master of the Holy Land and got to the point.

“I just received a message from the Elders in the Ancestor Halls, we have picked up a reaction from the Bead-”

“Huxing Longwei. Do not joke about this topic.”

The sudden explosion of his mother, Huxing Lianhua’s, cultivation caused the man to nearly crash to his knees but he held on through sheer will.

“I-I am not joking! We really did receive a reaction from the Bead, I confirmed it myself! Furthermore, the reaction shows that it has already bound itself to its user. You know what that means!”

“….it means that he is still alive, somewhere out there.”

“Correct!”

Huxing Lianhua suddenly stood up from her cross-legged position and released her full cultivation, the peak of the Void Refinement realm, and spoke with a voice that echoed throughout the holy land.

“Huxing Longwei, Master of the Hidden Heavens Holy Land, I, as one of the Ancestors of the Holy Land, hereby order you. Send out all of our scouting teams. Call back anyone who is still out on the Continent, whether they are on the frontlines of the South, exploring the icy caverns of the North, or the thunderous mountains of the West, I want all of them to join the search. I want my Grandson and I authorize you to mobilize all the resources of our Holy Land at once!”

Huxing Longwei did not say anything and bowed before swiftly shooting out of the house, letting the woman sit back down and stare with melancholy and excitement at the ring she wore.

“Soon, little Liuyue, I will find him soon. I failed to keep my promise to you back then, but now, another opportunity has arisen and I will not fail it this time, my precious daughter.”

Slowly closing her eyes and remising on times long past, the woman slipped back into her meditation and closed out the world around her, keeping her senses alert just enough to catch any news that her son would send her.

In the outside world, the rest of the Holy Lands and the Barbarian Clans shook in awe and fear as, for the first time in a few thousand years, the Hidden Heavens Holy Land mobilized its forces in full.