‘That will be enough.’

‘Are you sure Patriarch? We could still take over more of the lost lands?’

‘No, this will do, the more land we have the harder it will be to defend. The spirit stone mines will do nicely and also remember to take any thunderstones that you find.’

‘As you command, Patriarch.’

Zhang Dong closed the connection with Zhang Zhi that was wrapping up their hostile takeover. Most of the Dark Palm Sect’s old lands had been reclaimed by his people. He was not interested in the cities though, what he wanted was access to the secret ground he once visited.

There he hoped to find some help to get him past this coming crisis. If not help then perhaps some answers concerning the true nature of this world that he was in. With the secret ground now being in his own territory and his new status as the Golden Dragon, there was no one to stop him.

“Daddy?”

“Ah sorry, did I space out?”

He looked down, there in his lap was his young daughter. She wasn’t the only person he was with, his son was playing in the courtyard with the new toy robot. It seemed that the youngster wasn’t as scared of him anymore.

“Hmph! You should pay more attention!”

Zhang Xiu puffed out her cheeks while turning her head away from her father. The two were playing some cards, a game that he himself brought into this world. His child was quite smart but even she couldn’t beat someone that was using spirit sense to peek at their cards. That is if he actually used to win but instead, he let the child be victorious instead.

“Haha, daddy was just sad that he lost so much, you’re just too strong Xiu.”

Xiu started smiling brightly after getting praised by her father. The little girl was quite fond of challenging people to various exercises. He didn’t know where she got it from but whenever she lost in anything she would pester the person for a rematch until victory was hers. Thus it was better to surrender unless he wanted to have her cling to his thigh to constantly ask for another go.

“Why don’t you go play with your brother while mommy and daddy talk?”

“Okay!”

The small girl left after Liena spoke up. After the kids were away playing, she posed a question.

“Are you really going to try to enter that secret ground by yourself?”

“I see that word goes around…”

“Did you really think you could hide this from me?”

Zhang Dong gulped as he didn’t really want to tell his wife that he was placing himself at risk. The place he was going was sort of a no man's land. After the Dark Palm Sect discovered it and even after their downfall other sects and clans attempted to claim it.

Even though some of them managed to get past the initial part just like the Zhang Clan did, it was a dead end. Each time when it was finished there would be a giant suction force sucking people through a large gate. Afterward weeks, months, and then years would pass without anyone coming back.

Due to this, the area had been deemed a hazardous zone, no one was allowed to enter it. The sects had lost many nascent soul elders to the strange trap. They were unable to figure out if they were doing something wrong and Zhang Dong had a suspicion that no one besides him could actually get past that locked gate.

“I will be fine, I will just teleport back here if something goes wrong.”

“You didn’t ‘just’ teleport the first time you went missing.”

“Well… that was a bit…”

“Different? So there are places that you can’t just get back from!”

His wife narrowed her eyes at him while he turned his head away. It was true the system he was using wasn’t omnipotent. The place he was going to was built by a previous user that was somehow able to hack it. It wouldn’t be strange if that person knew a way to keep him from teleporting out of there but in Zhang Dong’s mind, the danger was minimal.

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It was that secret ground that set everything in motion. The first cube that he absorbed set him free of the system that was now different. His theory was that he was probably the only person that would be accepted by that immortal abode. The whole place was probably made as a test for his kind. Only people with an altered system would probably be allowed to fully enter it.

“I’m just going to check it out a bit, I’m not going to use the testing ground, I hope to find a side entrance…”

Zhang Dong started to explain himself to Liena. She knew that he wasn’t just a regular cultivator, his old name was also revealed a long time ago/ In his mind the testing ground was just bait to get system holders in. There might be a different entrance that he could go through now.

“Fine, go and leave me and the kids again, we will be just fine!”

“... Don’t be that way my wife, I’m not doing it for selfish reasons, I think the knowledge there could help us through the coming war.”

Liena puffed up her cheeks in a similar fashion to her daughter which made Zhang Dong chuckle. While he knew where she was coming from, it had to be done. The mysteries buried in that strange place could help them through this coming event and this might be also the last time he would be able to examine it. When the war started there might not be space to maneuver, it could be even destroyed during the fighting.

“Fine, but you better contact me regularly!”

Finally, his wife gave in as she knew that there was no way to stop him from going. But he would certainly not put himself at risk there. The situation was not so dire for him to grasp at straws yet. He was strong enough to battle with the toughest nascent soul masters on the continent already. His cultivation was constantly increasing and with more spirit stones coming over, he would only continue to progress.

Thus after having a moment with his wife and kids he set out to the place where it all started. To his knowledge, the secret ground was later named the ghostly immortal’s abode. It was rumored to have been created by a long-dead cultivator and everyone that tried to venture past the gates had never returned.

Time was of the essence so he used up the last of his spirit points to teleport to Zhang Zhi’s location. Thankfully his most trusted retainer had been tasked with securing spirit stones for him.

“Zhang Zhi greets the Patriarch!”

While the samurai was not surprised by him just popping out of the blue, the other sect members were. The moment they saw their silver-haired leader they dropped their heads. Not everyone was used to seeing him but Zhang Dong had already gotten used to how much he was revered in his own sect.

“At ease, I think you have some spirit stones for me?”

Zhang Zhi nodded while handing him a spatial ring. Inside there were many large and small spirit stones along with thunderstones that were just crystallized lightning energy. With these in his position, he could finally resume nourishing his cores. After absorbing so much holy energy and soul energy he was only missing lightning to make a small jump.

“I will be entering the secret ground myself, make sure that I’m not bothered by anyone.”

“T-this…”

Instead of a resounding ‘Yes Patriarch.’ he received a lukewarm response. Zhang Zhi apparently didn’t agree with this plan and he knew why.

“You don’t need to worry, I’m not going to be taking any tests that this immortal’s abode offers, I’m just going to see if I can find a side entrance, if I can’t find anything I’ll just return.”

“As you wish.”

It was clear that Zhang Zhi was opposed to letting him just wander in there on his own. But the other cultivators would just get in the way. Then if he found a side entrance, he wasn’t sure how the abode would react to non-system users like his sect members. They might find themselves whisked away like all the other nascent soul masters before them.

After taking the spatial ring he made his way towards the secret ground. Even before entering it he could feel the presence of a formation here. It had been created to keep lower leveled cultivators out but for him it was childsplay.

Soon he ended up at the exact location where his old clan ship arrived. Zhang Dong stopped for a moment as the memory had been imprinted in his brain. On one side he remembered his now-wife Liena sticking out her tongue at him. Then in another location was Huo Qiang that was surrounded by women and alcohol.

“Time really does fly, I didn't think I would be returning here.”

In all honesty, Zhang Dong would rather spend his time with his family than be out adventuring. If it wasn’t for the impending doom he would just be homemaking toys for his son while trying to catch up.

“Before this all started I never thought I would have my own kids… I guess some good came from this strange world…”

He shook his head to snap out of it. This was not the time to reminisce about his old life that he hardly remembered. The old him from earth wasn’t there anymore, his new persona of Zhang Dong had since taken over while Matt was now a distant memory.

‘Bob, be sure to scan the area for any potential entry points.’

‘Affirmative.’

While getting closer he took out some of the spirit stones from the spatial ring he received. Soon they turned to dust as he absorbed them for more spirit points. With his reserves replenished he would now be able to teleport back to Zhang Zhi if there were any problems.

“Still looks as gloomy as I remember…”

He passed through the entrance, the place was deserted. It was clear that no one had enough courage to make another trip. But with his knowledge and the help of his little AI partner he was sure that there was something he could find here.

‘Hidden entrance point found, forwarding data to the map.’

No sooner did he enter the abode that he received a message from Bob. His system map was marked by him instantly, it seemed that there really was a way to enter for him. Now it remained to be seen, was there something there to help him or would this be a dead end.