Chapter 64: Entering the Secret Realm

Lin Xiao noticed that next to the sect uniform in his private inventory, a description had appeared:

[Lingxian Sect Uniform: Beginner-level defensive artifact, provides a certain degree of protection.]

Indeed, the sect uniform was a defensive artifact.

Lin Xiao was quite satisfied. He called out to everyone nearby, "Hey, everyone, listen up! I've got something to tell you!"

Hearing his shout, everyone gathered around.

"What's up, Lin Xiao?" someone asked.

Lin Xiao pulled out the sect uniform and explained, "These clothes we're wearing are actually defensive artifacts!"

Jiang Youfu scratched the back of his head, confused. "Lin Xiao, what's a defensive artifact?"

Lin Xiao realized that apart from cultivation and spells, they knew very little about the world of cultivation. So, he explained the concept of defensive artifacts to them.

After enjoying a delicious meal of fragrant spiritual rice, everyone felt refreshed and followed Lin Xiao to the large stone marking the entrance to the Green Wilderness Secret Realm.

Lin Dayou and Sun Dizhu also joined them.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao received the packed rations from their families. Lin Xiao then took the green jade token, which served as the key to the secret realm, and placed it into the groove on the large stone.

Immediately, the air next to the stone seemed to tear open, revealing a passage. The passage was filled with green light, and from the outside, they couldn't see what lay inside.

Sun Yigao was about to step in when Lin Xiao pulled him back.

Lin Xiao tied their robes together with a knot, albeit a messy one, but it seemed secure. Satisfied, he said, "This way, we won't end up in different places if we're teleported separately."

He then took the lead and stepped into the passage. Sun Yigao, caught off guard, was pulled along behind him.

As soon as they entered, they felt a powerful force pulling them deeper into the passage. They floated through the air, surrounded by blinding white light, causing them to instinctively close their eyes.

However, it wasn't long before they felt solid ground beneath their feet again.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves surrounded by dense vegetation, with plants so thick and tall that they were almost enveloped.

The two were pressed tightly together, with hardly any room to move their limbs. Their wrists glowed, and the light faded to reveal a red string wrapped around them.

This red string was the key to exiting the secret realm. Only they could see and break it. If they snapped the string, they would be teleported back out.

Surveying the area, Lin Xiao realized that these were just ordinary plants, albeit unusually lush and tall. He found a slightly less dense spot and pushed through, creating a small gap.

"Yigao, let's go this way," he said, squeezing through the gap, with Sun Yigao following closely behind.

They pushed through the thick vegetation for nearly fifteen minutes before finally emerging into an area where the trees stood tall, but the underbrush was sparse and no taller than half a person. By then, their clothes were tattered from the branches.

Lin Xiao glanced at his torn clothes and thought, I'm definitely getting scolded by my dad when I get home. He pulled out his sect uniform and changed out of his now nearly shredded outfit.

Sun Yigao did the same.

Now dressed in their sect uniforms, the two young men, with their refined appearances and flowing white robes, looked every bit like disciples from a prestigious sect.

After changing, they turned to look at where they had emerged. The vegetation grew denser the farther back they looked, reaching up into the clouds, a sea of green.

Sun Yigao remarked, "Good thing we weren't teleported further back."

Lin Xiao nodded in agreement. Otherwise, they might have been stuck inside until nightfall, forced to spend the night in there.

They continued forward. The secret realm was hot and humid, with the surrounding vegetation trapping the heat. An ordinary person might have been overwhelmed by the heat after a short time, but with Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao both at the seventh and eighth levels of Qi Refining, they could tolerate the temperature.

Around noon, they finally came across a small river. The water was crystal clear, and the banks were lined with clusters of small purple flowers that resembled daisies.

Sun Yigao knelt by the river to splash his face with water. While they could tolerate the heat, it still felt refreshing to cool down.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao plucked one of the purple flowers and stored it in his private inventory. He used the Item Identification function on it.

[Ringthorn Chrysanthemum: A perennial flower with blood-circulation and bruise-healing properties, an excellent material for making elixirs.]

Seeing the words "making elixirs," Lin Xiao immediately began gathering the flowers, storing them in his inventory. Sun Yigao quickly joined in to help.

However, they were careful not to overharvest, leaving plenty behind. After all, they held the key to this secret realm and could return whenever they needed more.

Once they finished gathering, they drank some water from the river, ate a bit of their rations, and continued on their way. They had no particular destination, so they just picked a direction and started walking.

Before long, they entered a dense forest. The trees here were tall but not very thick, with trunks that even a small child could wrap their arms around. The branches were sparse, and the trunks grew straight and tall, reaching for the sky.

As soon as Lin Xiao entered the forest, he started eyeing the trees, wondering if he should chop them down and take them with him. The wood was perfect for building materials—straight and sturdy.

It was hard not to take advantage of having a private inventory with virtually unlimited capacity.

Lin Xiao shared his idea of cutting down the trees with Sun Yigao, who nodded in agreement. Lin Xiao was about to pull out two axes from his inventory when suddenly, they heard the sounds of a battle in the distance.