My Legend Still Exists in the Cultivation World

Chapter 96.1: First Level pt.
2

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The scene was as quiet as a tomb.

After a long time, Wang Yingfeng stepped forward and said, “Sect Leader Jing has powerful methods indeed, but it's useless for you to get hold of so many colored stones.”

“Yes, that’s right.” The others echoed as if they had converged as one and the fight just now was all an illusion.

Jing Yue, “But it’s useful for you guys, and you should need it to leave this floor, right?”

Wang Yingfeng choked.
Everyone's expressions were different, and some even flashed a fierce glint in their eyes as if they wanted to snatch it from him.

Jing Yue feigned ignorance and added, “So, what do you want to exchange it with?”

Qin Yanzhi also naively asked, “We found it, so why should we exchange it with them?”

Jing Yue, “We need to help each other and avoid internal conflict.
Although we are new, we still understand the rules.”

Everyone, “…” Shameless!

Wang Yingfeng took a deep breath.
“In that case, Bluecloud Valley would like to exchange 200,000 spirit stones for four multicolored stones.”

Jing Yue, “It should be more than that, right? Is your Lichen Sword worth this price? Moreover, you’re asking for four stones.
That’s a lot.”

“Don't be arrogant! Do you really think we can't do anything to you?” Luo Chenghai threatened.
“I've put up with you long enough! Don’t push your luck if you know what’s good for you.
Otherwise, if we join forces and besiege you, you might even lose your little lives here, Sect Leader Jing.”

Jing Yue, “Oh.”

Luo Haicheng was furious.
Heat surged through his brain and he struck out at Jing Yue with one palm.
Now that the colorful scaled fish had been caught, he was not afraid to destroy the environment, and the palm strike also carried some spiritual energy.

He and Jing Yue were both in the upper-level Foundation Establishment stage and their strengths were comparable in theory.
He wanted to toss a bait and attract others to kill Jing Yue, but as soon as the palm strike was launched, his wrist went numb.

Luo Haicheng's movement paused and his eyes fell on his wrist.

He saw an extremely thin line of blood.
Then, the palm of his hand fell and blood gushed out.

“Aaarrrgggghhhh!”

Luo Haicheng finally felt the delayed pain and quickly used his spiritual energy to stop the bleeding.
He hunched over and grabbed his wrist, his face instantly turned as white as a zombie, and his eyes were full of fear.

Everyone froze.
They maintained their original posture and expression as if petrified into a bloody and hideous painting.
The palm that lied on the broken ice, as well as the blood that stained the lake, was the most eye-catching detail in the painting.

No, perhaps not the most eye-catching…

Qin Yanzhi held a peach wood sword in his hand, with crimson blood dripping from the blade, sliding down the tip of the sword, forming different shapes.

Wang Yingfeng jolted.
He could see that this person had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage and had the worst cultivation level among these many people, but how come he didn’t even know how the other party made his move?

When did Mini Frostcloud Sect produce such a terrifying person?!

Jing Yue's eyelids also twitched.
He didn't expect that Qin Yanzhi would suddenly hurt someone.
At this moment, the latter was expressionless, with frost hidden in his eyes, like a killing god.

He really deserved to be the top person in each cultivation stage—in the big world, once Qin Yanzhi had entered the Foundation Establishment stage, he had never encountered an opponent in the same realm!

“You!” Pockmarks Yu and another Tiangang disciple drew their weapons.
Although there was a residual shock in their eyes, they would never back down!

“That’s enough!” Xu Fenglan of Tianshui Palace stepped forward and stopped Tiangang Sect.
“It's just a flesh wound.
I'll give you a limb-regenerating pill! Or do you want to waste all your strength on the first level?”

She swept her eyes over several restless Bodhisattva Yu disciples.
These words were addressed to them as well.

Those eager people were startled.
Yes, they didn’t come here to fight and show off.
Just in case, they had already prepared something for exchange.
Now, they were just exchanging it with an unexpected party.

They could only blame Jing Yue for getting all 19 colored stones, making them anxious.

Besides, Jing Yue was not easy to deal with, and his helper was really impenetrable, making it almost impossible to win easily.
If they lost too badly, even if they succeeded in killing Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi, they had to be careful that the disciples of other sects wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.
They were already wary of each other and could fight each other 800 rounds if they had nothing better to do!

Pockmarks Yu exchanged glances with his fellow disciples and withdrew their weapons.
“We’ll give face to Tianshui Palace!”

Xu Fenglan cupped her hands.
“Thank you.”

She turned to Jing Yue.
Seeing that the other party didn’t display any displeasure, she felt that it should be so.
Due to the pill-making competition, she always held respect and affection toward Jing Yue.
In her mind, this sect leader was always so calm and composed as if he would be unmoved even if facing the lightning tribulation (not at all).

Xu Fenglan's attitude was respectful.
“Sect Leader Jing guessed it correctly.
The colored stone is indeed the key to the second floor.
Only with the colored stone can we pass through the purple mist.
If we did it by force, our bodies will be dissolved by the mysterious energy contained in the purple mist.”

“In the past, any sect that doesn’t have enough colored stones will use precious treasures to exchange with others.
My Tianshui Palace has always used the Golden Lotus Elixir in exchange, but…” She smiled bitterly.
“Sect Leader Jing is probably not interested in it.
I wonder what you may ask for.”

Seeing Xu Fenglan’s thoughtfulness, Jing Yue gave her an admiring look.
“Xu-daoyou is too kind.
What I want is just the map of the secret realm drawn by your Tianshui Palace.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the people of the five immortal gates had a change of expressions.
It should be known that not only the layout of the secret realm was drawn on their map, but also the valuable experiences that their predecessors had gained with blood and lives.

Xu Fenglan bluntly refused, “No way, I hope Sect Leader Jing can change the request.”

Jing Yue, “But I’m not interested in anything else.”

Xu Fenglan said anxiously, “Sect Leader Jing, we really can't exchange the map.
Anything but the map!”

Jing Yue still shook his head.
“I just want the map.
If you refuse, I’ll destroy all the remaining 17 colored stones, and Yanzhi and I can leave anytime.”

Xu Fenglan, “You!”

Jing Yue, “Xu-daoyou, don't be anxious.
I can make a vow that I’ll return the map to you after I’ve read it, not to mention that I won’t speak about it to anyone else.”

Xu Fenglan was still torn when she heard someone saying, “We’ll make the exchange.”

“Master Yongqing!” Xu Fenglan looked at a monk in shock.
She never thought that the first to defect would be Cihang Gate!

“Amitabha,” Yongqing folded his hands together.
“Master Jing, our Cihang Gate has a detailed map of the secret realm's first to third levels and would like to exchange it for four colorful stones.
Is that feasible?”

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Jing Yue smiled and said, “Of course.”

Yongqing was very decisive.
He took out the map directly from his arms and gave it to Jing Yue.
Jing Yue was not worried about Yongqing cheating him.
Since Cihang Gate was willing to do the exchange, there must be other immortal sects that would also exchange it.
He only needed to compare it to know whether it was true or not.
Besides, he couldn't rely on the map completely.
He just wanted to change the passive situation of ‘everyone knows but me’.

Jing Yue opened the map and looked at it.
The layout of the first to third floors was drawn in detail with many notes on the situations and precautions he would encounter on each floor.
With that basic knowledge in his mind, he handed over four colorful stones and returned the map to Yongqing.

“Thank you, Master.”

Yongqing smiled faintly, “Thank you, Master Jing.”

Jing Yue guessed that the notes on each map should be different.
The other immortal sects cherished that information and were reluctant to share their experiences.
Perhaps he would have the opportunity to summarize it today.

Thus, he said, “Anyone else wants to exchange? Just the map.”

He turned his eyes and smiled faintly at Wang Yingfeng.

Wang Yingfeng instantly had a huge chill and said stiffly, “Sect Leader Jing, since you already have a copy, why bother with other maps?”

Jing Yue, “Wang-daoyou, I heard that your sect had been on the fourth level.
Can you show that to me?”

Of course Wang Yingfeng was unwilling.
Now that they were the first to take the lead, how could they let others take advantage? Besides, Cihang Gate only had three levels on their map and they exchanged them for 4 stones.
But they had reached the fourth level! If they also exchanged for 4 stones, wouldn't they be making a big loss?

Hmph! He must refuse decisively!

Jing Yue sighed.
“Forget it then, but if you can't even get to the second floor this time, in the next hundred years, you might bump into the disciples of Cihang Gate on the fourth floor by then.”

Wang Yingfeng, “…”

That’s right! If Cihang Gate’s journey went smoothly, they were likely to reach the fourth level.
After a hundred years, what was the point of Bluecloud Valley’s lead? Wang Yingfeng was about to faint with anger.
He didn't expect Jing Yue to be so shameless! Originally, they planned to use Mini Frostcloud Sect to attract some hatred.
But now, there was no need for this.
Everyone in Mini Frostcloud Sect, including that chicken, had a taunting face, and people would hate them wherever they went!

However, people’s mana was so thick that they could withstand it! They were the ones who were constrained instead!

Wang Yingfeng spent a long time on psychological construction and finally looked gloomily at his fellow disciples.
The four exchanged glances and experienced the disappointment of “I really can't help it” to the despair of “It seems I should accept my fate”, and they resignedly agreed.

The map of Bluecloud Valley was naturally better than that of Cihang Gate.
Not only did it have the structure of the fourth floor, but the remarks were also more comprehensive, and could be said to be a very detailed strategy.
Jing Yue also found that in some aspects, Bluecloud Valley’s proposed approach was very different from that of Cihang Gate, but it seemed to have no impact on the outcome.

He quickly finished reading it.
When he looked up, he saw Zhao Ying, a disciple of Bodhisattva Yu, also came forward and said.
“Since Sect Leader Jing already has two maps, he must not be interested in our Bodhisattva Yu's maps.
We have a Dream God dual cultivation method.
I wonder if Sect Leader Jing is interested in it?”

Hearing the term dual cultivation again, Qin Yanzhi could not help but be curious and secretly perked up his ears.

Jing Yue, “No.”

Qin Yanzhi, “…”

Zhao Ying said in annoyance, “The Dream God Dual Cultivation Method is no weaker than the Joyous Dual Cultivation Method.
The latter is the core technique of my Bodhisattva Yu and I naturally can't give it to you.
However, I think our sincerity is sufficient, so I don't know what other dissatisfaction Sect Leader Jing has.”

Jing Yue, “I just want the map.”

“We already have one colorful stone and only need two more.
Isn’t it too much to ask for the map in exchange?”

Jing Yue, “It’s up to you.”

Zhao Ying was so angry that he wanted to explode, but he was not in a good position to do so.
Especially Cihang Gate and Bluecloud Valley had already handed in the maps, they pretended to persuade him kindly at this time, “Zhao-daoyou, it's just a map, why are you so stingy?”

Zhao Ying wanted to hit someone when he heard that, but in the end, he could only be ‘generous’ for once.

In this way, Xu Fenglan knew that her persistence was meaningless, so she gave a wry smile and exchanged the map for the colorful stones.

After Jing Yue had seen the four maps and made some references and comparisons, he looked at Luo Haicheng.

Luo Haicheng had just taken the pills from Tianshui Palace.
His palm had not fully grown out and there was a small growth on his wrist.
He looked at Jing Yue with hatred and resentment in his eyes and said roughly, “Let’s exchange it if you want to!”

Pockmarks Yu took the map out and handed it to Jing Yue, but the latter said, “Who said I want your map?”

Seeing that everyone was stunned, Jing Yue added, “I’ve seen four of them and don’t lack the one from Tiangang Sect.”

Pockmarks Yu was angry.
“Then what do you want?”

Jing Yue, “I cultivate in the mountains all year round and don't really know what goodies you have in Tiangang Sect.
Why don't we discuss it and see what is suitable for exchange?”

Wang Yingfeng was a bit upset at first when he saw that Tiangang Sect didn’t have to hand in the map, but after listening to Jing Yue’s words, he understood that Tiangang Sect was about to make a huge loss.
After some comparison, they didn’t seem to lose that much.
After all, only Jing Yue alone had seen the map, so he said briskly, “This proposal is good! Let me see…”

Like pouring a sack of beans, he listed all the treasures of Tiangang Sect, some of which were untold secrets within the sect.
The monks of Cihang Gate also pretended to add in a few words.
Bodhisattva Yu was allied with Tiangang Sect and couldn’t say much, but even they interjected sometimes.
Only the people from Tianshui Palace smiled drily and waited aside, looking very pious.
But in fact, the other three factions had already finished talking about people’s background and they really couldn't think of anything else.

The disciples of Tiangang Sect clenched their fists and Pockmarks Yu was trembling all over.
Seeing the obnoxious look on Jing Yue’s face, he couldn’t wait to rush up and tear him apart.
However, with their current abilities, they probably couldn’t win in a fight, and could only watch as Jing Yue held a Q&A session with the rest.

In the end, Jing Yue selected seven or eight valuable treasures of Tiangang Sect, and all of those that Luo Haicheng and the others could take out at this time.
He said, “Thank you for your generosity.
Mini Frostcloud Sect was founded not long ago and these items will certainly come in handy.”

Pockmarks Yu forced a sentence between his gritted teeth, “You’re welcome.
Sect Leader Jing must keep, it, properly.”

Jing Yue, “Of course.”

Seeing the massive bleeding of Tiangang Sect, the other sects were finally appeased.
The so-called misery comparison was when you see others more miserable than yourself, and you would be embarrassed to lament your misery, as that would be pretentious.

As a result, everyone happily took the colorful stones and walked through the purple mist, laughing and chattering.
The atmosphere was unexpectedly harmonious.

Of course, Tiangang Sect was not included in this.

The sky spun around and the surrounding scenery changed.

Chapter 96.2: Second Level

On the walls of yellow sand, the towering bare rocks looked like frozen waves.
A blood-red sun coiled in the sky, staining the world in front of them with a dark color.

Jing Yue focused his gaze and saw hundreds of caves on every bare rock, like huge beehives.

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According to the four maps, they had entered the second level of the secret realm.
Among these thousands of caves, only 20 would lead to the third level, while the rest of the caves either held treasures or were guarded by ferocious beasts.
But the caves leading to the third level were always moving and changing around.
If lucky enough, one might run into it as soon as they arrived.
If not, they might not even find one among thousands.

Since only a maximum of five people could enter each cave, everyone looked at each other and naturally divided into groups according to their sects.

Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi formed one group.
They could have joined the Tiangang Sect or Bodhisattva Yu that only had three disciples since five people’s combat power was definitely stronger than that of two.

But even if they were willing, the other two were unlikely to agree, especially Tiangang Sect.
If they allowed Mini Frostcloud Sect to follow along, it was estimated that even if they were not killed by ferocious beasts, they would be schemed to death by Jing Yue.

Thus, everyone waved happily and separated.

As soon as Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi entered the cave, they felt that the cave was suddenly sealed off.
They could no longer connect with the outside world as if they had entered a small secret realm.

He already knew at this point that the only way to see the light of day again was to obtain the treasures in the cave or to kill the fierce beasts in it.

In front was a long tunnel, winding to the depths.
The air in the cave was dark and humid, and the mud ground was very smooth like creatures were crawling repeatedly over it.

Jing Yue tried to release his divine consciousness to investigate but recalled that it was ineffective in the caves.
He pushed blue phoenix back, who was trying to get out of his arms.
“I think there are snakes here.
If you don’t want to end up as their food ration, you need to stay quiet.”

Blue phoenix immediately said nervously, “Ji-ji hates snakes! Ji-ji hates dragons first and snakes second.
Jing-jing must kill it quickly!”

Jing Yue signaled to Qin Yanzhi with his eyes and the two of them walked deeper into the cave.

The corridor was a bit narrow but still allowed two people to walk side-by-side.
On the way, Jing Yue picked up some scales.
After careful observation, he could only confirm that it was a snake but not the species.

Blue phoenix flapped its wings in disgust.
“Throw it away quickly! Those are the scales of the Hydra.
It’s ugly and smelly.
The head is heavy and the bottom is light.
It’s also stupid as hell.
Jing-jing, don’t be afraid.”

In terms of identifying beasts, Ji-ji had proven its reliability several times, and it was also correct this time.

When they passed through the tunnel, the cave suddenly opened up, and a hydra curled up in it.
Without Jing Yue having to move a muscle, a sword light flashed across, and nine snake heads were cut off with one strike.

A behemoth was wiped out before it could even react, simply no dignity to speak of.

Jing Yue applauded.
“Yanzhi's sword is really extraordinary.
I think you will be invincible when you reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
I wonder who will win if we fought.”

“I naturally won't lose against others.
If I’m up against Gege,” the corners of Qin Yanzhi's mouth curved.
“I don't want to lose, so I will definitely not fight you.”

“Hmph! Bootlicker!” blue phoenix expressed its disdain.

Meanwhile, the disciples of Tiangang Sect were also walking in the tunnel, which was very long with no end to it.

They cursed Jing Yue as they walked, and Pockmarks Yu said, “Hehe, I see shadows on that Jing fellow’s forehead with dark clouds overhead.
Maybe he will encounter a ghost face spider! When the time comes for him to die in the mouth of the beast, it can also be considered as removing a pest for the cultivation world.”

The other two felt very gratified just imagining the scene! They started describing the scenes they conjured.
The more they thought about it, the more excited they became as if their imagination had become a fact.

While they were talking, Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi entered the second cave.

The cave was very spacious with a ceiling at least 50 or 60 feet high, and the rock walls were covered with mold and cobwebs.

Jing Yue said casually, “Once, a disciple of Bluecloud Valley only found three caves and successfully led to the third floor.
I wonder how our luck will be.”

Qin Yanzhi was about to speak when suddenly, he frowned.

There was a faint stench of corpses in the cave and Jing Yue naturally smelled it too.

Ape Corpse!

It was recorded on the map that among all the ferocious beasts that the predecessors encountered on the second floor, the top three were ghost face spider, ape corpse, and prison wolf.

Suddenly, a gust of wind with a stench hit.
Jing Yue turned his head and saw a dark figure grabbing Qin Yanzhi from behind.

Qin Yanzhi swiped his long sword while stepping sideways in evasion, almost slashing the black shadow.
The black shadow didn’t stop and rushed forward due to the momentum, passing by Qin Yanzhi.
At this moment, Qin Yanzhi suddenly changed his sword to the other hand and made a backward stab.
The shadow screamed and a big hole appeared at the waist.

When the black shadow stopped, Jing Yue finally saw that the other party looked like an ape, with a large head and long arms, yellow skin wrapped around the bones, and a body smelling like a corpse.
He covered his nose and mouth and said, “Yanzhi, be careful of the corpse venom.”

As soon as he said that, the ape corpse spewed out green mist from its mouth, angrily hammering towards Qin Yanzhi.

Qin Yanzhi directly met the blows.
With a light tap of his toes, his body flew into the air.
He made a forward flip, rendered his body in an inverted position, and with his hands holding the sword, he stabbed straight down on the ape corpse’s head!

The ape corpse tried to dodge but the sword intent seemed to permeate the surroundings.
It was forced to be trapped in a square inch of the ground and could only raise its hand to block the attack.
With a sound like sawing wood, the right arm of the ape corpse was cut off from the elbow.

The ape corpse howled in pain.
In a blink of an eye, the fallen forearm broke apart into five pieces and all stood up again, turning into five small zombies, and all pounced on Qin Yanzhi.

On the side, Jing Yue looked at this scene with his arms folded.
He nodded when he saw this.
“Sure enough, it’s a body-splitting technique.
It seems that the ape corpse has reached the strength of absolute-level Foundation Establishment stage.”

He saw blue phoenix poking its head out and said, “Ji-ji, it’s time to show your prowess.
Let’s see if your leaf blade can hit the small zombies.”

Blue phoenix’s beady eyes lit up immediately.
“Ji-ji can do it!”

Qin Yanzhi, who was fighting hard, heard two chirps and became nervous subconsciously.
He was worried that the blue phoenix’s accuracy was too poor to distinguish friend from foe.

Reality proved that he had underestimated blue phoenix.
Ji-ji blew out a total of five leaf blades, and each piece accurately hit the small zombies… but there was not much use.
The little zombies paused momentarily before changing direction and charged toward Jing Yue instead.

Blue phoenix was so frightened that it plunged into Jing Yue's arms, making him laugh aloud with amusement.
With a flick of his sleeves, several small zombies were frozen into ice sculptures.

Jing Yue, “Okay, it’s all taken care of.”

Blue phoenix poked its head out a little, showing only its small eyes, and saw the few frozen little zombies.
It shivered again before flying out from Jing Yue’s arms boldly.
First, it observed the little zombies from a distance, before jumping up to them.
It stretched out a claw and kicked it before pouncing back into Jing Yue’s arms, saying bitterly, “Hmph, Ji-ji will kick you to death!”

Jing Yue, “…”

While blue phoenix was showing off, Qin Yanzhi was still fighting fiercely.
At this time, the body of the ape corpse was already riddled with more than a dozen large and small holes, distributed in an artistic fashion.
When Qin Yanzhi cut off the right foot of the ape corpse with another strike of his sword, the body of the ape corpse swayed and knelt on the ground.

Rawr!

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With a roar, the mutilated arms of the ape corpse shook.
The body turned dark green and quickly grew bigger.
When it stood up staggeringly again, it was already four or five feet tall.

Although it was missing one foot, it still stood firm.
It lifted the injured leg and stomped on Qin Yanzhi.
Qin Yanzhi stepped back and inadvertently inhaled the smell of that foot while dodging.
His face suddenly turned pale and almost retched.

He became angry and didn’t want to mess around with the ape corpse any longer.
With a flip, he jumped onto the knee of the ape corpse.
The ape corpse raised its claws to grab him.
Qin Yanzhi spun around, twisted the other arm, and broke it.

Then, Qin Yanzhi jumped on its shoulder, and then leaped up to the top of the head, lifted the sword upside down, “Stab!”

The wooden sword penetrated through the head of the ape corpse and pierced the opponent's body at the speed of lightning.
The ape corpse split into two and collapsed with a bang.

Qin Yanzhi jumped down from the air but stumbled when he landed.
Jing Yue quickly stepped forward to support him.
“What's wrong? Did you inhale the corpse venom?”

Qin Yanzhi leaned on Jing Yue and nodded feebly, “Ge, I'm dizzy.”

Jing Yue hurried to help him disperse the corpse poison with spiritual energy but Qin Yanzhi grabbed his hand.
“It’s okay.
Just let me lean on you for a while.”

Jing Yue, “…”

He realized that Qin Yanzhi's old problem of being a clingy person had struck again, and was being completely shameless, but… for the sake of the other party's good performance, let’s not expose it, okay?

Seeing that Jing Yue didn't push him away, Qin Yanzhi quickly cocked the corner of his mouth and resumed a weak state.

Only blue phoenix muttered unhappily, “What a scheming boy…”

Meanwhile, in a cave very close to them, the disciples of Bodhisattva Yu were excitedly putting away the two small porcelain bottles on the shelf.
Zhao Ying said ecstatically, “It's clear marrow jasper dew.
I didn't expect that we could bump into it!”

Another disciple also looked happy, “600 years ago, Tianshui Palace also got a bottle.
I heard that Sect Leader Kushui relied on this dew to prolong her life for 200 years and finally formed a golden core with the aid of the Golden Lotus Elixir.”

The remaining disciple said, “They only have one bottle, but we have two.
Even if we don’t get anything else later, with these two bottles of dew, it’s worth it!”

Zhao Ying said angrily, “What do you mean we won’t get anything else? Do you know how to talk?”

The disciple said nervously, “Zhao-shixiong, don't be angry, that's not what I meant.” He changed the topic abruptly.
“I wonder how the other sects are doing.
I don't think anyone will be luckier than us.”

He was absolutely right.
At this time, Bluecloud Valley was surrounded by poisonous bats, while Tianshui Palace faced a rare beast, and both sides fell into a desperate battle.

The monks of Cihang Gate just wrapped up.
They encountered several plant spirits that were quite easy to take care of.
The main point was that the carcasses of those plant spirits were first-class medicinal materials.
Yongming squatted down, recited Amitabha, and carefully put the carcasses into the Qiankun bag.

As for Tiangang Sect, when they reached the end of the tunnel, they found nothing in the cave.
The three of them were at a loss and could only turn back in confusion.
However, not long after they turned back, they saw that the way ahead had been blocked, and on top of the dense cobwebs, spiders with human faces stared at them greedily.

“G-ghost face spiders?”

Just as the Tiangang Sect was in despair, Jing Yue and his gang arrived at the third cave.
Once they entered, they faced a rock wall.

The wall was smooth with some incomplete writings on it.
Jing Yue stared at it intently and recited softly, “Ask where the tavern is, the shepherd boy points to Apricot Blossom Village.”

“I know! Ji-ji knows this!” blue phoenix immediately said.
“This is a work by poet Du Mu…”

It swayed its head and was about to recite the poem when Jing Yue said with joy, “Found it! Looks like we're lucky.”

Ji-ji was dumbfounded.
It turned out that the third level was an illusionary realm, and these verses were clues to the contents of the illusion.
As long as the cave with the verses was found, participants could be directly transported to the third level of the secret realm.

Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi looked at each other and placed their palms on the rock wall according to the map.

Then, the rock wall opened.

Jin County was a county in the southeast of the Great Zhao Kingdom.
It was called Jin County because the county was located next to the Jin River.

In the early morning, a thin layer of smoky mist shrouded the water surface of the Jin River.
At the far horizon where the water and sky met, a merchant ship slowly approached and docked at the pier before long.

An old man dressed in a short robe got off the ship carrying a bag, followed by two young men in their twenties behind him.
The two young men were none other than Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi, who were still in a state of ignorance at this time.

Just now, after they entered the rock wall that suddenly cracked open, they inexplicably appeared on the ship.
Just as they were about to communicate, an old man found them, saying that they had arrived in Jin County, and asked the two young masters to disembark.

Young masters? It seemed that they had a new identity in the illusory realm.

Jing Yue only knew that the third level was an illusionary realm, but the exact changes were unspecified.
After all, the verses recorded on several maps were never repeated.
In other words, the illusions experienced by everyone in the past were different.

At this time, the old man came forward again, handed the bag to the two of them, and said in a guilty tone, “Eldest young master, little young master, this one can only send you here.
Although Madam is no longer alive, her spirit in heaven will surely watch over you.
You must pull yourselves together!”

What the heck? Don’t understand! To save the trouble, Jing Yue simply hypnotized the old man.

Although he was not good at hypnosis, it was easy to compel a mortal with no cultivation.
Seeing the old man’s eyes started to go slack, he asked, “Who are you and who are we? Why are we here?”

The old man immediately explained the causes and consequences in great detail.

It turned out that he was originally a servant of the Wanchun Distillery in Jiangnan.
Wanchun Distillery was an imperial merchant and all liquor produced was supplied to and consumed by the royal family, and could be considered a large business.
As for Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi’s current identities, they were the eldest son of the Wan family, Wan Jing, second son Wan Qin, and their father was the family head of Wanchun Distillery – Wan Changpeng.

When Wan Changpeng was young, the Wan family was just a winemaking workshop.
Wan Changpeng's father was very ambitious.
In order to get a precious wine recipe, he arranged a marriage for Wan Changpeng.

That family's surname was Chen.
The ancestors once brewed wine for the former royal family, but with the establishment of the new dynasty, the Chen family gradually declined.
The old master of the Chen family had not remarried since the death of his wife and only had one daughter.
Wan Changpeng’s father thought that if the Chen family’s recipe was to be passed down, it would definitely be handed over to the daughter.
If the Chen family married into the Wan family, wouldn’t the Wan family benefit from it?

Sure enough, things turned out that way.
There were several precious wine recipes in Madam Chen's dowry.
The Wan family relied on these recipes to brew new wine and in just twenty years, the Wanchun Distillery became famous all over the world.
One of the wine recipes was renamed Wanchun wine by the Wan family, which the royal family fortunately took a fancy to.
The Wan family transformed into a royal merchant and became more wealthy and powerful.

Although the Wan family’s outcome today was not entirely dependent on the Chen family, they deserved credit for it.
However, not only was Wan Changpeng not grateful, but he kept guarding against the Chen family.
After his father passed away, he colluded with the officials behind the scenes, made up a false charge to arrest the old master of the Chen family, forcing him to reveal if there were any other wine recipes in the Chen family.
Old master Chen couldn’t stand the shock and eventually died in prison.

After old master Chen died, the last remaining value of the Chen family was gone, and Wan Changpeng exposed his ugly face.
In order to help his beloved concubine to the top, he even forced Madam Chen to step down.

Madam Chen was heartbroken.
After marrying into the Wan family, she had been a good wife and mother, and abided by the rules.
She didn’t know that the gentle husband and harmonious family were all false pretenses.
She wanted to save it at first, but then, she learned the truth about Father Chen's death from the concubine.

Madam Chen was devastated.
In a fit of rage, she took Wan family to court and killed herself by hitting her head on the wall outside the courthouse.

Madam Chen's unpredictable behavior caused huge trouble to the Wan family.
Wan Changpeng went around looking for connections, spent a lot of money to get rid of the disaster, and even slandered the Chen family before this matter came to an end.

Although they suffered heavy losses, the Wan family somehow retained the name as the imperial merchant.
Wan Changpeng even retaliated by driving Madam Chen's two sons away and promoted the concubine as the official wife, and continued living his wealthy life.

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As for Wan Jing and Wan Qin, they were sent back to Madam Chen's hometown in Jin County, resulting in this scene at hand.

Jing Yue frowned when he heard this and inexplicably felt an extra layer of cause and effect added to him.
Moreover, the spiritual energy of his body was also sealed and he was no different from an ordinary mortal.

He glanced at Qin Yanzhi and the other party nodded slightly.

It seemed that the inability to use spells was a restriction imposed on them by the illusionary realm.
Jing Yue was not surprised by this.
The maps had mentioned that the illusionary realm would have different constraints depending on the level of the realm.

Now that the spiritual energy was sealed, the old servant's hypnotism was also naturally released.
He nagged quite a lot before taking a birdcage out of nowhere with a little blue chicken inside.
At this time, it was grabbing onto the iron cage with its wings, lying on the edge of the cage, tears falling in the wind.

Jing Yue, “…”

Old servant, “Eldest young master, this one is incompetent and can’t help you much, but you love this bird the most and I took the liberty to bring it with me.”

Jing Yue, “…”

Old servant, “Now, the two young masters can only go to the Apricot Blossom Village to stay for a while.
I once heard the madam mention that there is still an ancestral house of the Chen family in the village.” He looked at them compassionately.
“In a few days, when the master's anger has subsided and everything has calmed down, I’ll return to pick up the two young masters.”

The old servant comforted the two of them before saying goodbye solemnly, sighing as he went back to the boat.

Jing Yue looked at the other party's back, as well as the crowd walking to and fro the dock, and couldn't help but recall an illusion he had encountered in the Tianzhu grand formation.

At that time, he possessed a young man named Charles, and the illusion was only the size of a city.

But the illusion he was in today was much larger and their physical bodies had been transported into it.
Even the identities in the illusion seemed to have been specially prepared for them, one named Jing, and the other named Qin, which just fitted their original surnames.
There were also some changes in appearance, making them look more ordinary.

Even blue phoenix was included in this illusion.

What surprised him even more was that the illusion realm could control cause and effect.
He thought about it and said, “I suspect that the Six Wheel Secret Realm is actually a rootless secret realm.”

Qin Yanzhi, “What is a rootless secret realm?”

Jing Yue, “The rootless secret realm is the creation of heaven and earth, also considered a small realm in the void universe.
Because it could form laws of its own, it can continuously repair and recycle itself, and can also create things, people, create illusory worlds, and even control cause and effect.”

Qin Yanzhi nodded thoughtfully, “In that case, do we have to solve the karma of the two brothers before we can leave?”

Jing Yue, “Most likely.
I just don’t know what their cause and effect are.”

After returning to Jing Yue’s hands, blue phoenix grew bold again.
At this time, it leaned back on a wooden branch in the cage, cocked its legs, and said, “Hmph, of course, we need to seek revenge on the slag scum and slap the face of the Wan family.
Then, we seek justice for the Chen family, bring the Chen family’s wine recipes to glory, embark on the journey to the pinnacle of life, and marry the fair rich maiden…”

Jing Yue, “…”

Although this was in line with Ji-ji’s normal trope, why the hell did he inexplicably feel that it should be done this way? However…

“Marry the fair rich maiden?”

Blue phoenix changed the high-and-mighty posture and jumped in panic, “No, no, Jing-jing! These mortal women are not worthy of you, don't marry them! You should be looking at fairies!”

Jing Yue, “… Oh.”

Since blue phoenix had pointed out the general direction and Jing Yue couldn't find a point to refute, he didn’t think too much about it.
With the baggage in hand, he and Qin Yanzhi headed to Apricot Blossom Village.
It just so happened that the poem on the rock wall also had the words ‘Apricot Blossom Village’, which corresponded to the clue.

Upon inquiry, Apricot Blossom Village was quite far away from Jin County.
Fortunately, there was some silver in the baggage, so they rented an ox cart.

It was around the time of the Tomb-sweeping Festival and spring rain lingered in the sky, moistening the earth.

Eight hours later, they arrived at Apricot Blossom Village.

Two people and a phoenix stood in front of the dilapidated house, looked at the cobwebs all over the rotten wood and bricks, and all they could think of was the word ‘miserable’.

Although they still had their Qiankun bag with them, without any spiritual energy in this realm, they couldn’t use the cleaning talisman.
They had to borrow some tools from the neighbors and were busy until the evening before they managed to clean up the courtyard, living room, and inner room.

Qin Yanzhi looked at the sky and said, “Ge, it's late.
Let's wash up and go to bed.”

Jing Yue, “Why sleep? Aren’t you going to practice?”

Qin Yanzhi, “How to practice without spiritual energy?”

Jing Yue, “You can practice with your sword in the yard.”

Qin Yanzhi, “If you practice your sword in the courtyard and the village people notice it, wouldn't it arouse suspicion if it reaches the ears of the Wan family? I think neither Wan Jing nor Wan Qin knows martial arts.”

Jing Yue thought about it.
That’s right, they couldn’t crush the persona, so he nodded, “Let’s wash up and sleep then.”

There was only one bed in the inner room and of course, the two would sleep together.

As soon as Jing Yue lied down flat, Qin Yanzhi climbed up, propped up on his side, and stared down at Jing Yue.
“Ge, we haven't slept together for a long time.
When I was a child, you’d always hold me and sleep until dawn.”

Jing Yue closed his eyes and mercilessly said, “Not really, I’d go to practice as soon as you fell asleep.”

Qin Yanzhi's expression faltered.
“But I see you still hugging me every day when I woke up.”

Jing Yue, “I told Ji-ji to keep an eye on you.
As soon as you were about to wake up, I’d hurry to hold you.
Otherwise, I’m afraid you’d cause a scene.”

Qin Yanzhi, “…”

Jing Yue, “Speaking of which, where’s Ji-ji?”

Qin Yanzhi paused suspiciously and said lightly, “I don’t know, maybe it’s loitering outside.”

After saying this, he lay down and quickly closed his eyes.

Jing Yue pondered.
Ji-ji loved to eavesdrop and there was no danger in the village.
It was probably looking for something new, so he didn’t bother about it anymore.

A night without dreams.
Nearing dawn, a miserable scream suddenly rang in his divine consciousness and awakened Jing Yue.