Chapter 620 - 616: The Tang Secret Realm Again
Chapter 620: Chapter 616: The Tang Secret Realm Again
Fang Han’s brow furrowed slightly. His gaze fell upon the cluster of buildings as he asked,
"What place is this?"
Han Lin and the others followed his gaze, their faces showing some confusion. It was clear they didn’t know either.
However, the old man who had been sitting with his eyes closed slowly opened them. His eyes swept over the buildings, and his aged voice sounded,
"This is the old site of the Longevity Sect."
Fang Han was slightly taken aback and looked at the old man.
The old man didn’t continue. Bai Yan picked up the conversation, his voice tinged with a hint of lament as he gazed at the silent, dead cluster of buildings under the sun.
"The Longevity Sect was an Overlord-level Influence two hundred years ago."
Fang Han’s heart trembled slightly.
’My guess was right. This place was indeed the headquarters of an extremely powerful influence.’
’I just don’t know why it was abandoned. Could it have been destroyed by another power?’
Bai Yan continued,
"According to the Sect’s historical records, the Longevity Sect was incredibly powerful back then, boasting more than ten Great Grandmaster powerhouses. Their influence spread across the ten surrounding counties, and they were ranked among the very top of the Overlord-level Influences."
"More than ten Great Grandmasters?"
Fang Han’s pupils contracted slightly.
A Grandmaster Powerhouse was already an existence so powerful one could only look up to them in awe. A Great Grandmaster was an existence one couldn’t even dare to look up to.
For an influence to possess more than ten Great Grandmasters... the sheer might was almost unimaginable.
"How could such a power...?"
He didn’t finish, but his meaning was perfectly clear.
Bai Yan fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"No one knows. Two hundred years ago, the Longevity Sect vanished overnight."
"The entire Sect, with its over one hundred thousand people—including more than ten Great Grandmasters, over a hundred Grandmasters, and tens of thousands of disciples and Stewards—all disappeared."
"No signs of a fight?"
Fang Han’s frown deepened.
"None."
Bai Yan’s voice was low.
"Later, other influences discovered the Longevity Sect’s mountain gates were empty and sent people to investigate. They found all the buildings within the Sect perfectly intact. The only thing missing was the people. Not a single person was left."
He paused, a rare trace of gravity flashing in his calm eyes.
"It was as if everyone had received some kind of order and evacuated in a hurry."
Fang Han was silent.
His gaze returned to the cluster of buildings, silent under the sun.
The towering pagodas were still imposing, the sprawling halls still magnificent, yet they exuded an indescribable eeriness and desolation.
’More than ten Great Grandmasters, over a hundred Grandmasters, tens of thousands of disciples... a force of this magnitude could never have been annihilated without leaving any trace of a battle.’
’But if they evacuated voluntarily, where did they go?’
"What happened after?"
Fang Han withdrew his gaze and looked at Bai Yan.
"Afterward, many influences tried to track down the Longevity Sect."
Bai Yan said.
"After all, for such a powerful Sect to vanish without a trace was too frightening. But no matter how much they investigated, they found nothing."
"It was as if the people of the Longevity Sect had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trail behind."
A behemoth capable of dominating ten surrounding counties couldn’t possibly relocate to another place and remain unknown. And yet, it had simply vanished so bizarrely.
"The incident caused quite a stir back then. All the major powers had their theories, but opinions were divided, and no conclusion was ever reached. As time went on, it slowly became a cold case."
The old man picked up the thread.
"When I was young, I also came here to investigate. There were indeed no signs of a fight. The tens of thousands of people in the Longevity Sect seemed to have vanished into thin air."
A brief silence fell over the carriage.
Fang Han watched the cluster of buildings recede into the distance, his heart anything but calm.
’An Overlord-level Influence with more than ten Great Grandmasters, vanishing without a trace overnight.’
’No matter how you look at it, the whole affair is unspeakably strange.’
’What kind of power could force an Overlord-level Influence to evacuate its entire Sect?’
’Or, what kind of power could render more than ten Great Grandmasters unable to even put up a fight?’
’Either possibility is enough to make one’s blood run cold.’
The caravan of giant elephants continued onward. The silent cluster of buildings gradually retreated into the distance, eventually disappearing over the horizon.
Fang Han withdrew his gaze, temporarily burying this mystery deep in his heart.
...
「Several days later.」
The caravan of giant elephants passed through a series of rolling hills, and the silhouette of a massive, imposing city appeared on the horizon.
The city walls were towering, built entirely from a type of blue-gray stone that glinted with a heavy luster in the morning light.
Banners snapped in the wind atop the walls, and the vague figures of armored soldiers could be seen on patrol.
"We’ve arrived at Celestial Essence City."
Bai Yan’s voice sounded from within the carriage.
Fang Han looked through the carriage window, his gaze lingering on the city for a moment.
’Celestial Essence City, the Commandery City of Celestial Essence County. A megalopolis that grew around the Overlord-level Influence, the Celestial Essence Sect.’
The caravan of giant elephants passed through the city gates and proceeded along the wide main road.
The streets were lined with shops, and pedestrians were as numerous as threads in a tapestry. A wave of bustling noise washed over them.
Fang Han withdrew his gaze, looked toward Bai Yan and the old man, and cupped his hands in a fist. "I have imposed on you all for many days on this journey, and I am deeply grateful. I shall take my leave of you today."
Bai Yan was slightly taken aback.
"Brother Fang, won’t you join us as a guest at the Celestial Essence Sect for a few days?"
"Thank you for the kind offer."
Fang Han shook his head slightly.
"I have some personal matters to attend to and cannot afford any delays."
Seeing that he was determined to leave, Bai Yan didn’t press him further. A hint of regret appeared in his clear, cold eyes, and he nodded.
"In that case, take care, Brother Fang."
Fang Han once again cupped his hands toward the old man and the three First-Grade Elders, then gave a slight nod to Han Lin, Xu Qing, and the others. With a flicker of his body, he lightly tapped his toes on the giant elephant’s back. Like a willow catkin swept up by the wind, he floated gracefully down.
When he landed on the street, the soles of his boots didn’t stir a speck of dust.
He got his bearings, turned, and walked away. His moon-white robes fluttered gently in the morning breeze as he quickly disappeared into the street’s bustling crowd.
After leaving Celestial Essence City, Fang Han activated his Wind God Step. His figure transformed into a streak of faint cyan light, speeding toward Wangxi County.
The fields and woods on either side of the official road flew backward, and the wind howled in his ears.
Celestial Essence County bordered Wangxi County. At his current speed, it took Fang Han only two days to cross into Wangxi County’s territory.
Having been here once before, Fang Han was on familiar ground. In just one day, he found the Treasure Storage.
It was a valley located on the northern shore of a natural lake.
Ancient trees soared into the sky within the valley, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun.
Walking straight to the deepest part of the valley, he came to a cliff face covered in vines and moss.
It looked no different from an ordinary cliff, but Fang Han, who was not here for the first time, knew that this cliff face was a mechanism. Behind it lay the Treasure Storage.
Fang Han approached the cliff, pushed aside the hanging vines, and revealed the stone wall behind them.
He searched the stone wall carefully and soon found an inconspicuous indentation near the bottom-right corner.
The indentation was merely a slight groove in the rock; one would never notice it without looking for it deliberately.
He placed his finger on the indentation and pressed lightly.
HUMMM—
The cliff face trembled slightly, emitting a low, rumbling sound.
The moss and vines clinging to it rustled and fell away as spiderweb-like cracks spread across the stone surface.
The massive cliff face, like a giant door pushed by an invisible hand, began to sink downward.
When the rumbling ceased and the dust settled, a wide passageway appeared before him.
Fang Han stepped inside. Behind him, the cliff face rose again, sealing the entrance seamlessly.
Fang Han remained calm and continued forward.
The passage was long, winding its way downward. Luminous Pearls embedded in the walls emitted a cool, everlasting glow.
The soles of his boots tapped against the stone slabs, the low sound of his footsteps echoing faintly in the empty passage.
After walking for a while, Fang Han’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
He stopped and crouched down.
In the accumulated dust on the passage floor, there were footprints that hadn’t been there before.
’Left within the last month or two...’
Fang Han’s brow furrowed slightly.
’These footprints aren’t from the same set as the ones I found last year when I first came.’
’Those earlier footprints are now covered by a thin layer of new dust, but these ones have sharp edges and clear outlines.’
’That person came again.’
’Or rather, someone else entered this place a month or two ago.’
Fang Han stood up, his expression hardening slightly.
’There’s more than one copy of the map; I knew that already.’
’Last year, I found a skeleton in the Secret Realm, and beside it was another Treasure Map.’
’There’s nothing of value in the Treasure Storage itself. Only the Secret Realm is attractive enough.’
’The fact that this person visited again a month or two ago means they likely have a map to enter the Secret Realm, just like me.’
Fang Han was silent for a moment, suppressed his thoughts, and quickened his pace.
A short while later, the passage suddenly opened up, and he once again entered the enormous underground cavern hall.
The hall was vast and empty, its walls built of greyish-white stone. The ceiling was inlaid with even larger Luminous Pearls than those in the passage, their cool light brightly illuminating the entire hall.
Without lingering, Fang Han walked straight toward the far wall of the hall.
The Treasure Map in his robes began to emit a warm, bright golden light. One by one, golden runes on the wall lit up, as if long-slumbering stars were being awakened.
The wall rippled like water. A gentle yet powerful suction force emerged, pulling his body forward.
A dizzying, world-spinning sensation overcame him.
’This is bad!’
When he opened his eyes again, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
A terrifying aura, as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea—a Grandmaster Level presence—was right on top of him!
SWOOSH!
Without a second thought, he instantly pushed his Perfection-level Wind God Step to its absolute limit.
Like a willow catkin swept up by a gale, he retreated diagonally backward in the nick of time.
BOOM—!
A giant claw covered in ink-black scales, carrying a devastatingly destructive power, slammed down on the spot where Fang Han had just been standing.
The ground exploded on impact, sending soil and shattered rock flying in all directions as spiderweb-like cracks spread out frantically.
The shockwave slammed into Fang Han’s chest. He let out a muffled grunt, his body flying backward uncontrollably.
He twisted his body mid-air, fiercely stomped his toes against the trunk of an ancient tree, and used the force to launch himself sideways.