Chapter 408 - 199: Crossing the Boundary Sea to the East (Part 3)
Chapter 408: Chapter 199: Crossing the Boundary Sea to the East (Part 3)
’Back then, they were all at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. I wonder if they’ve successfully achieved Core Formation by now.’
"In truth, those three families are merely the powers you see on the surface."
Master Yu Cha slammed a hand on the table. "I have a very good friend who’s also a Daoist. He told me that the Three Great Clans of the Jingkong Sea were actually propped up by none other than the True Monarch of the Treasure Tower."
Golden Core Cultivators are called Daoists, while only Nascent Soul Cultivators can be called True Monarchs.
"The True Monarch of the Treasure Tower?"
Xiao Chen was intrigued. "And what’s this True Monarch’s story?"
"You’ve asked the right person."
Master Yu Cha puffed out his chest. "I made it my business to ask around about him. That True Monarch of the Treasure Tower is a truly incredible figure."
"Have you heard of the Vast Sea Secret Realm?"
Xiao Chen shook his head. "I haven’t."
’This is one I’ve genuinely never heard of.’
"Then I’d better start by telling you about this Secret Realm."
Master Yu Cha traced a line on the table with his finger. "If you head out from the Jingkong Sea, you have the Black Rock Sea to the north and Ten Thousand Immortals Island to the south."
"Cross the Black Rock Sea and travel five hundred thousand li, and you’ll reach the Black Rock Fishery. Go another one million li east, and you’ll be at the Cloud Pool Sea."
"And right next to the Cloud Pool Sea is the renowned Feidu Sea."
’The Feidu Sea?’
Xiao Chen mentally noted the location. It was one of the key points on his journey to the Eastern Domain.
"During the Ancient Times, the Demon Dao was also present in the Eastern Domain. The largest of them, the Yin Fiend Immortal Sect, had its main gates established right here."
"From the Feidu Sea, continue east for about seven hundred thousand li, and you’ll find the Vast Sea Secret Realm."
Master Yu Cha paused for effect. "It’s also known as the Vast Sea Realm."
"They say the Vast Sea Secret Realm is boundless, open to any Cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm or below, and it holds innumerable treasures."
"Most importantly, it also has entrances in the Western Domain and the Northern Domain."
’Something like that exists?’
Xiao Chen asked curiously, "So does that mean you can travel directly to the other two domains through the Secret Realm?"
’If that’s the case, I’ll definitely have to find a chance to visit the Vast Sea Secret Realm one day.’
"No, you can’t."
Master Yu Cha shook his head. "There’s a very powerful Restriction within the Secret Realm. You can only leave through the same entrance you came in."
"What’s more, the entrances don’t open at fixed times, and the opening schedules for the Three Domains aren’t synchronized."
"The current estimates put the interval at a minimum of one year and a maximum of three. Each time an entrance opens, it only stays open for a brief seven days."
"If you want to go exploring for treasure, you generally have to wait until the next time the entrance opens to get out."
"Because of this Restriction, staying inside the Vast Sea Secret Realm becomes extremely dangerous."
"You have to watch out for Tribulation Cultivators ganging up on people, and you also have to be wary of attacks from the Cultivators of the other two domains."
’It does sound very dangerous.’
Xiao Chen thought for a moment and immediately understood the crux of the matter. When Cultivators from different domains encountered each other, there was nothing to hold them back.
Since you couldn’t chase them through their entrance, it meant that even someone with a powerful background couldn’t seek revenge. It was a situation with virtually no consequences.
’These rules practically encourage them to hunt each other!’
The Storage Bags and Storage Rings of Cultivators from other domains became just another type of treasure to be found in the Secret Realm.
.
Master Yu Cha waited a moment, allowing Xiao Chen to ponder the implications.
Then, his tone shifted. "And that True Monarch of the Treasure Tower... he is one of the few top-tier Cultivators who can remain in the Secret Realm to cultivate year-round."
"In the past, various powers compiled dozens of different ranking lists, trying to catalog every Cultivator from the Three Domains who had ever appeared in the Vast Sea Secret Realm."
"But no matter which list you look at, the True Monarch of the Treasure Tower is always ranked securely in the top ten."
Now Xiao Chen understood completely.
In the Eastern Domain, aside from the reclusive Tier Five masters who are as elusive as dragons, the True Monarch of the Treasure Tower must be at the very apex of power.
"So, when you get to the Eastern Domain, whatever you do, do not provoke the Three Great Clans."
Master Yu Cha advised, "If you get into any sort of conflict, just bear it. Concede if you have to."
"Otherwise, if you manage to provoke the True Monarch of the Treasure Tower, ten lives wouldn’t be enough for you to lose."
"I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. I’m only sharing this because we’re both Cultivators from the Southern Domain. I wouldn’t tell this to just anyone."
’Of course, he spends most of his time on this ship, so he hardly ever meets any outsiders anyway.’
’Besides the Golden Dawn Sect Cultivators he liaises with, he probably has no one to tell even if he wanted to.’
"Thank you for the warning, Yu Cha."
Xiao Chen cupped his hands in thanks. "I’ll keep that in mind."
’Truthfully, I’m different from other Golden Core Cultivators. I’m just passing through the Jingkong Sea; my main goal is the Hundred Herbs Secret Realm.’
’But regardless of whether I’ll ever need this information, his intentions are good, and I should be grateful.’
’With this warning, I’ll just have to keep a low profile in the Jingkong Sea.’
It wasn’t as if Xiao Chen was a troublemaker to begin with. As long as others didn’t go looking for trouble with him, he certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to offend anyone.
Under normal circumstances, he shouldn’t have any dealings with the Three Great Clans.
Two months slipped by amidst such idle chatter.
Xiao Chen, for his part, had gained a much more detailed understanding of the Eastern Domain.
While the details of Master Yu Cha’s stories couldn’t be fully trusted, the general information about local customs and culture was surely genuine.
"KABOOM!"
A furious clap of thunder exploded. Standing by the window, Xiao Chen saw oppressive black clouds stretching for thousands of miles. A fierce gale howled as monstrous waves churned the sea.
Gazing further into the distance, one could see pillars of purple lightning, thousands of li away, relentlessly striking down from the sky and crashing into the sea.
Every so often, a flash of red light would tear across the sky, followed shortly by another thunderous explosion, painting a truly apocalyptic scene.
And yet, Xiao Chen was already getting used to it.
Anyone would become desensitized after watching it for half a month straight.
At first, he had been astonished, wondering if they had encountered some sort of natural disaster.