I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

The night wind was biting, and the green leaf boat silently glided across the sky.

Chen Qing sat cross-legged in the boat, his spiritual sense spreading out as he vigilantly surveyed everything around him. Although he had traveled the road from Dark Moon Valley to Lin Yuan County no less than five times and could find his way back with his eyes closed, he never let his guard down on any trip.

The world of cultivation has never been a peaceful place.

Cultivators who have been robbed, demonic beasts, fellow cultivators with ulterior motives... who knows what you'll encounter next?

Fortunately, we will be back at Half Moon Lake in less than two hours.

Thinking of the clear blue water, the small building, and the three spirit beasts, Qingtian, Danyu, and Yinyue, Chen Qing felt more at ease.

"Once the blue carp is ready for market and we have the spirit stones, we'll go buy the Soul-Splitting Nail."

Chen Qing thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

However, just as he was pondering this, a beam of green light suddenly shot up from the northwest, turning half of the night sky a ghastly green!

Chen Qing suddenly turned his head.

In the northwest sky, a crack was slowly tearing open in the void, like an invisible giant hand ripping the heavens apart from within, revealing a pale green light within. The light was so dense it was almost tangible, flowing out of the crack like liquid and spreading through the air, forming visible ripples of spiritual energy.

At the same time, a tyrannical and violent aura, completely different from that of the Canglan Domain, swept in from that direction, like a whirlwind, causing the forests below to rustle and countless birds to take flight and scatter in all directions.

Chen Qing silently estimated the location, and his heart sank.

To the northwest lies the border between Lin Yuan County and the neighboring Zhen Yuan County, and it's extremely close to the Blood Spirit Abyss. From his vantage point, the rift appears to be at least four or five hundred miles away, yet the fluctuations of its aura are so clear they seem almost within reach.

"A secret realm!"

Chen Qing murmured two words, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.

Mystery!

The interdimensional entrances that began to appear frequently in the Canglan Domain tens of thousands of years ago are a two-way mirror connecting to an unknown and terrifying world. They are the source of cultivators' hope to defy fate and change their destiny, as well as the source of annihilation!

Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, and information about the secret realm flashed through his mind.

The secret realms are divided into five levels according to their level of danger. Level one corresponds to Qi Refining cultivators, level two corresponds to Foundation Establishment cultivators, and so on.

The corresponding void rifts are all different colors—first-tier is pale green, second-tier is dark blue, third-tier is dark purple, fourth-tier is scarlet, and fifth-tier is pitch black.

Chen Qing maneuvered the Green Leaf Boat upwards, gaining a wider field of vision.

The crack continued to slowly widen, the pale green light growing ever brighter, as if something was struggling to break free from within. The space around the crack subtly distorted, even the moonlight was refracted into eerie arcs.

"A first-tier secret realm..."

Chen Qing murmured to himself, but his gaze never left the crack.

Secret realms erupt daily in the Canglan Domain, but the Canglan Domain is simply too vast—the righteous path, the demonic path, and the northern demon race, the three forces together occupy less than half of the territory.

Among these, although Lingyun Sect occupies more than 6,000 li, and nearly 7,000 li including the border areas, this area seems very large. However, for a sect with many Nascent Soul cultivators, it is actually not very large, and is even a bit small.

The main reason lies in the secret realm!

The secret realm is equivalent to another vast world. The secret realms within the Lingyun Sect are also considered an additional sphere of influence for the sect. They produce a lot of resources, but they also require a lot of manpower. This makes it impossible for the Lingyun Sect to expand its sphere of influence to the surrounding Canglan Domain.

In addition to the righteous path, the demonic path, and the demon race, there are many other miscellaneous and small-scale forces in many regions, which also occupy a considerable amount of territory.

Therefore, although the secret realms were erupting every day, when it came to Chen Qing's Lin Yuan County—

He hasn't encountered one in the past two years.

On the contrary, a secret realm had broken out in a county in the neighboring state of Ming when he first arrived, but it had been closed six months ago.

He had inquired about the situation beforehand. It was said that the secret realm was also a first-tier secret realm. Disciples who went in obtained many good things, but many cultivators also died, including quite a few disciples of the Lingyun Sect.

"What luck..."

Chen Qing gave a wry smile, his gaze falling once again on the pale green crack.

The crack was still widening, and the pale green light was growing stronger. Dark shadows could be vaguely seen surging within the crack, as if something was about to burst out.

Although that location is extremely close to Blood Spirit Abyss, it still belongs to the territory of Lin Yuan County.

I never expected to run into him again just before I was about to leave office after not seeing him for two years. I'm incredibly lucky.

Chen Qing took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

He was the garrison commander of Linyuan County.

Even though he's leaving in two months, he still is!

The sect sent you to guard a region, and when something goes wrong, you just pack up and leave. What kind of talk is that?

Moreover, Yunzhou is currently overseen by a Golden Core True Monarch, and True Monarch Lu from Xuanzhen Peak recently arrived from the south and is certainly still in Yunzhou City.

With him around, the first-tier secret realm won't cause any major trouble.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing felt somewhat at ease.

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a talisman that shone with golden light—one of the three specially made communication talismans given to him by Zhang Yanshu.

As spiritual energy was infused, the talisman shone brightly with golden light. Chen Qing leaned closer and said in a deep voice:

"Uncle-Master Zhang, a first-tier secret realm has been discovered at the border of Lin Yuan County and Zhen Yuan County, near the Blood Spirit Abyss. A void rift has appeared. Disciple Chen Qing is heading there to investigate."

After saying that, the talisman transformed into a golden light and disappeared into the night sky.

Chen Qing glanced at the pale green crack again, pondered for a moment, and then released Qingtian from the spirit beast pouch.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Qingtian looked around warily as soon as he came out, his three golden hairs swaying in the night breeze. "I'm watching Guan Yu pass five passes and slay six generals!"

"Stop looking," Chen Qing said in a deep voice. "A secret realm has appeared in the northwest, a first-level one."

Qingtian was taken aback and followed Chen Qing's gaze. He saw that the pale green crack in the sky was still slowly widening, and that domineering aura could be clearly felt even from hundreds of miles away.

"A secret realm?" Qingtian's thoughts were filled with excitement. "I've never seen what a secret realm looks like before!"

"I've seen it now," Chen Qing said calmly, then released Dan Yu from his spirit beast pouch.

Dan Yu appeared and landed on the bow of the Azure Leaf Boat, her slender neck slightly raised. Her clear, cold eyes gazed at the distant crack. After a moment of silence, she uttered a simple thought:

"Danger."

"I know." Chen Qing nodded, "but that location is within the territory of Linyuan County, and as the garrison commander, I must go and take a look."

Dan Yu didn't say anything more, but just tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the crack, his wings gently folded, ready to strike at any moment.

Chen Qing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not release Yin Yue.

Silver Moon is only a low-grade first-level cultivator. If anything were to happen, her cultivation level would be insufficient, and she would have to be distracted protecting her. Leaving her in the spirit beast pouch would be the safest option.

"Walk."

Chen Qing took a deep breath, maneuvered the Green Leaf Boat to change direction, and quickly disappeared into the northwest horizon.

Meanwhile, the pale green crack in the northwest continued to widen, like a slowly opening eye, coldly watching the world.

[Please vote, readers! I'll be updating more frequently after the new book launch period!]