Chapter 167: Sky Empire Arrives!
The outside of the pagoda had changed a bit from before as a group of people at the Foundation Establishment Realm along with a few in the Core Formation Realm had arrived and were preparing to enter the pagoda.
This was not something odd as the gate leading into the secret realm had already been open for a few hours and those close by would have rushed over the moment they felt the change in the qi between heaven and earth.
"I wonder when the people from the Black Rose Sect will arrive..." Narrowing his eyes slightly upon remembering the Black Rose Sect, Xuan Hao felt that it would be best if he and Chi Hu left the areas close to the entrance and made their way into the deeper regions before anyone who might recognise him arrived.
"Where should we go to next? Follow the road or try to see if we can find something by going deeper into the ancient forest?" Stopping as they made it outside the pagoda, Chi Hu asked as he observed the surrounding crowd of people beginning to make their way over towards the pagoda.
"I think we should head deeper into the ancient forest; this road seems to just lead in a circle around the entrance to the secret realm and the chances of the other places already having been visited by others is extremely high!"
"That is true and with all the people at the Foundation Establishment Realm and Core Formation Realm nearby entering and flooding the area close to the entrance, the chances of us finding anything useful in the areas connected to the road is close to zero..." Nodding his head in agreement with what Xuan Hao said, Chi Hu looked over at the excited expression on the group of people coming over as they seemed to not pay any attention to anything outside the giant ancient pagoda in front of them.
With this, Xuan Hao and Chi Hu both turned around and made their way deeper into the ancient forest of the secret realm, unaware that this action might have ended up saving their life.
...
"So, a secret realm really did appear here... Guess I am the first person to arrive."
Outside the entrance to the secret realm, a person dressed like a wanderer appeared in the air above the secret realm. Holding a simple wooden staff in one hand, he observed the entrance of the secret realm for a moment before looking away with a smile at the corner of his lips.
"This is a definitely a high-level secret realm! How lucky I am to be passing through this place just when it appears! I might have a chance of strengthen my domain and reach a higher realm!" Feeling a rush of excitement rush through him, the wanderer put away his wooden staff as he suddenly stopped and thought about something.
"This is the Sky Empires territory, and they would definitely be among the first to reach this area... If I enter, I might end up falling out with the Sky Empire in the future..." This was something that even caused the wanderer to stop for a moment.
Offending the Sky Empire was not something an ordinary Domain Lord like himself could just afford to do, even if there was a chance for him to increase his strength.
"Ah, who cares if I offend the Sky Empire! My lifespan is already reaching its end and if I don't breakthrough soon, I will die in another hundred or so years anyway..." After coming to this conclusion, the wanderer did not hesitate for a moment longer before he entered the secret realm.
By this point, the Black Rose Sect had already made their way over to the secret realm and allowed for a few of their Nascent Soul Realm Experts to enter.
After this, nothing out of the ordinary happened as days slowly began to pass and the different sects inside the Heavenly Sky Kingdom began to learn about the appearance of a secret realm.
The Flying Sword Sect, Spring Flower Sect and Raging Flame Sect all decided not to join in, while only the Seven Fates Sect allowed for some of their Nascent Soul Realm Experts to go over and explore the secret Realm.
It had to be known that the Heavenly Sky Kingdom was still at war with the Azure Sky Kingdom and none of the sects wanted to weaken themselves by sending out some of their Nascent Soul Realm Experts to a place where they might very well lose their life.
Like this, the area outside of the entrance had become more populous as several thousand cultivators from weaker sects or just wandering cultivators happening to pass by had gathered together to form groups to enter the secret realm and explore it.
By now, a small market had appeared in front of the entrance where cultivators bought and sold things they managed to find inside the secret realm. From demon beast remains to different cultivation techniques and mantras.
This peaceful environment continued on, but nothing was meant to last forever as, a terrifying aura suddenly descended from above.
"Leave this area immediately or face the consequences!" A cold and oppressive voice shook the surroundings and caused the cultivators on the ground to look up with a shocked expression as they saw something they would never be able to forget.
Above them, a large ship floated with the banner of the Sky Empire proudly swaying in the wind.
The person who called out before was standing in the air a few meters away from the floating ship as he coldly looked down on the crowd below.
The world shook under the pressure excluded by the figure floating above was too much as the people below felt their bodies become heavy as their knees folded beneath them, forcing them to kneel on the ground.
"General... If you supress all of them like that, they won't be able to leave..." An old voice could be heard from inside the floating ship as the person floating above smiled awkwardly before retracting his aura. Allowing for the people below to finally move again, as they quickly left the area surrounding the entrance of the secret realm.