Chapter 66: The Mission to Explore the Secret Realm

Once everyone had left, Lin Xiao finally felt at ease. He pulled out an axe from his storage and handed it to Sun Yigao, and the two of them began diligently chopping down trees.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao heard the system's voice in his mind:

[Ding—Secret Realm Exploration Mission Released: Please find and obtain the Heart of the Green Wilderness Secret Realm. Once obtained, the secret realm will fully belong to your sect, and no one else will be able to forcibly open it.]

Just as Lin Xiao was getting a bit tired of chopping trees, this mission reinvigorated him. He immediately put away his axe and said to Sun Yigao, "Yigao, this secret realm has a Heart. If we can get it, this realm will completely belong to our sect, and no one else will be able to enter."

Sun Yigao chuckled, "Honestly, I wouldn't mind meeting other people here. Otherwise, how would we know what other cultivators are like outside?"

Lin Xiao shrugged. "Those people we met earlier were probably just outer disciples from some small sect."

Now that they had a mission to find something, Lin Xiao decided to change his approach. Instead of picking up everything he came across, he would grab only a few items and store them in his private storage for later identification. If anything turned out to be valuable, he could come back for more. The real priority was finding the Heart of the Secret Realm, which could take who knows how long.

They continued walking, and by nightfall, they hadn't encountered anyone else.

Lin Xiao found this strange. He had heard that two sects send a hundred disciples into this realm each year for training. Yet after a whole day of walking, they'd only met five people. Was this secret realm actually much larger than it seemed?

Perhaps it was vast enough that two hundred people could disappear into it like a drop in the ocean.

Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao found a flat spot and started a fire. They caught some fish from the water and began grilling them.

Sun Yigao took out some salt his mother had packed for him and sprinkled it over the fish as he turned them on the spit.

Watching him deftly manage the cooking, Lin Xiao shook his head and smiled. "Yigao, it's hard to believe that just a month ago, you could barely fetch water properly."

Sun Yigao smiled back. "I think this is the most relaxed I've felt in years. I never imagined I'd be out here, camping in the wild and cooking my own food. It's a far cry from my old life."

He turned the fish a few more times before lying down on the grass, hands behind his head, gazing up at the starry sky. "Growing up, I always carried the weight of so many expectations. As a child, I'd watch the village kids play in the mud, climb trees, and catch fish. On one hand, I found it meaningless, but on the other, I was envious and wanted to join them."

Lin Xiao lay down on the other side of the fire, his hands behind his head as well. "In the grand scheme of things, maybe none of the things we do really matter."

Sun Yigao turned to him. "I didn't expect you to be such a pessimist."

Lin Xiao chuckled. "I'm just someone who enjoys wasting time. All these 'meaningless' things suit me just fine."

Sun Yigao smiled and looked back at the sky. "You're right. Life doesn't need to be filled with meaning. Or maybe just living the way we want is meaning enough."

Lin Xiao turned his head toward him and asked, "When you joined the sect, you said you wanted to cultivate to help others, right?"

Sun Yigao nodded. "The more I read, the more I see the suffering behind the words. As a scholar, you develop a sense of pride and responsibility. I had this naive hope that I could change something, make a difference somehow, even if it's futile in the end."

The fire crackled between them, and the fish slowly turned golden brown. The shadows of the trees swayed in the moonlight, and the calls of night birds added to the tranquil atmosphere.

The night passed quietly, and soon the morning sun rose again.

Lin Xiao went to the river to brush his teeth. Ever since he had learned the Cleansing Technique, he hadn't bathed or brushed his teeth the old-fashioned way. Now, he realized that he'd deprived himself of some of life's simple pleasures. So, he decided to reclaim them, starting with brushing his teeth.

Seeing Lin Xiao doing this, Sun Yigao smiled, joined him by the river, and brushed his teeth as well.

After breakfast, they continued on their journey. Not far ahead, they encountered a large mountain. Entering the mountain, they found a vast valley within.

The valley was lush and vibrant, with grass swaying in the breeze and birds chirping. In the center of the valley lay a massive lake.

Next to the lake was a small, thatched hut that looked weathered but sturdy. Deer drank from the lake's edge, and sunlight streamed down into the valley, making everything glow with a radiant light.

The scene was so beautiful it felt almost unreal, like a dream.

Lin Xiao grew wary. Could this be an illusion? But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find any flaws in the scene.

Sun Yigao remained cautious as well and whispered to Lin Xiao, "Should we go in?"

Lin Xiao nodded. "We're already here, and this is the only place that seems different. We have to check it out."

The two of them walked into the valley.

Once inside, they realized how vast the space was. The lake in the center shimmered in the sunlight, and as Lin Xiao approached, he saw a flash of light beneath the water.

What was that?

He looked again, but the lake seemed calm and clear, with no sign of anything unusual. The water was deep and mysterious.

As Lin Xiao hesitated, wondering if he should dive in to investigate, he heard a soft creak from the thatched hut.

The door was slowly opening outward.

Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao immediately huddled together, their eyes fixed on the doorway.

Since they were standing to the side of the hut, they couldn't see inside.

They cautiously moved toward the front of the hut.

Suddenly, a figure floated out of the doorway.

Yes, floated.

The figure was a translucent old man, hovering in mid-air.

Sun Yigao and Lin Xiao quickly realized this was no ordinary person.

They instinctively backed up several dozen meters, their eyes never leaving the ghostly figure.

The old man floated to the doorway and stopped, not moving any further. Only then did Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao stop retreating.

The old man appeared to be around sixty years old, with long, white eyebrows and a flowing beard. He looked like one of those wise old mentors you might find in a story.

But Lin Xiao didn't let his guard down, and Sun Yigao, who had never encountered anything like this, was even more on edge.

Just as they were both bracing for whatever might come next, the old man spoke.

"My dear disciple... I've been waiting for you for so long..."