Chapter 126: The Entrance Opens

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Seeing that Shui Bing was about to leave without making a move, Zhou Qi called toward the sky, “Fellow Daoist, you appeared in Xiluo City a few days ago and have now shown up at Fuxian Harbor. Could you tell me which place is truly the site where the entrance to the Saint’s Secret Realm will open?”

Shui Bing paused briefly in the sky but did not answer. She continued walking at an unhurried pace until she vanished over the horizon.

“She’s already gone. Stop staring, or your eyes will fall out. So this is your type, huh? You should have said so earlier. I can do it too,” Huang Qianqian said unhappily from the side.

“Senior, stop fooling around. This woman is very likely my enemy,” Zhou Qi said gravely.

“Your enemy after meeting for the first time? You’re joking, right? I didn’t even see you two exchange blows.”

“We are natural enemies, like water and fire.” Zhou Qi did not elaborate.

Zhou Qi called out to True Lord Tianxuan in his heart, but received no response. He had already come into contact with Shui Bing just now, so there was no need for further confirmation. She was certainly a bearer of a fragment of the True Lord’s soul. Otherwise, the True Lord would not have been so cautious.

It seemed that his brotherly bond with Huangfu Xiu was about to undergo another change. Even if he was unwilling to deal with Shui Bing, Shui Bing would never give up on dealing with him. After all, the fragment of the soul she possessed also wished to become whole again.

It seemed that Shui Bing would be another formidable enemy on this journey into the secret realm. The only question was whether she had already discovered the truth. If the fragment of her soul was still one-tenth of the whole, while the True Lord’s soul on his side was one-fifth, then his side should have the advantage in perception.

“Senior, let’s return to Xiluo City. With that woman here, I’m afraid this place isn’t safe. If the Saint’s Secret Realm opens here, we’ll have to rely on your speed,” Zhou Qi said solemnly. This place was too close to the Xianxia Sect. If he remained here, the other side would have far too many ways to deal with him.

This was different from his grudge against Daofan. Daofan merely wanted to obtain the Saintly Medicine Immortal Mansion and did not care whether he could take Zhou Qi’s life. But when facing a bearer of True Lord Tianxuan’s soul, the outcome was destined to be a struggle to the death.

Seeing how serious he was, Huang Qianqian did not bargain. She imitated Shui Bing’s voice and gave a soft hum.

Zhou Qi decided to arm himself once more during the remaining time. The Immortal-Slaying Sword was inconvenient to use, so he would go to the auction house and buy another mid-grade spiritual artifact. Since he was now wealthy, it was also necessary to properly arm the employees of the Zhou clan. Although he did not have many high-level combatants, he had a large number of employees. If he released a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators wielding mid-grade spiritual artifacts, they might even be able to contend with Golden Core cultivators.

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The atmosphere at the Xiluo City auction house was even more feverish than usual. Every ordinary spiritual artifact and pill was being sold for an astronomical price. The cultivators all wanted to turn their spirit stones into combat strength while there was still time. If they died later, a mountain of spirit stones would only benefit their enemies.

Zhou Qi also released Little Ye and Little Yan. If he bid alone, he might once again become the focus of the entire auction. Having the three of them bid had another advantage: it made bargaining easier. If Huang Qianqian were not so unreliable, Zhou Qi would have brought her in as well. As for the other second-level Foundation Establishment cultivators, Zhou Qi had no intention of releasing them. The more items second-level Foundation Establishment cultivators bought, the more trouble they would attract.

“Golden Phoenix Saber, a mid-grade spiritual artifact. The starting bid is ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one thousand,” the beautiful auctioneer announced.

The moment she finished speaking, Little Ye bid, “Fifteen thousand.”

The other cultivators were stunned. Who bid like that? Were they so wealthy that they had lost their minds?

“Twenty thousand,” Little Yan called out.

The others were utterly bewildered. Was the Golden Phoenix Saber especially valuable? Aside from being a mid-grade spiritual artifact, it possessed no unusual abilities. How could there be more than one fool?

Everyone stared curiously at Little Ye. He looked troubled, as though extremely reluctant, raising his hand halfway before lowering it again.

“Twenty thousand, once! Twenty thousand, twice! Twenty thousand, three times! Sold! Congratulations to this cultivator on obtaining the mid-grade spiritual artifact, the Golden Phoenix Saber.”

What was going on? The auctioneer wondered inwardly. There had been only two bidders. A few days ago, mid-grade spiritual artifacts had been driven up to thirty thousand each.

The other cultivators could not help feeling secretly delighted. It seemed these people were not very powerful and probably had only enough money to buy a single mid-grade spiritual artifact.

The two repeated the same tactic and successfully purchased several more mid-grade spiritual artifacts. Boss Zhou had instructed them that, so long as an item was a mid-grade spiritual artifact, they should obtain it whenever possible. Price was no concern.

Since Little Ye and Little Yan were spending their employer’s spirit stones, they naturally wanted to obtain the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. The idea of bargaining had come from the two of them. After successfully purchasing eight mid-grade spiritual artifacts, they stopped speaking. Each had bought four. It might not sound like much, but the entire auction contained only a dozen or so mid-grade spiritual artifacts. After all, such artifacts were not common goods. The unusually large number available this time had been arranged to meet market demand.

Zhou Qi also made several bids, purchasing dozens of Black Dragon demon cores and the demon cores of Heart-Seeking Phantom Wolves, as well as a large quantity of medicinal herbs.

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After leaving the auction house, Zhou Qi rented a secluded cave residence in Xiluo City and began closed-door cultivation, waiting quietly for the Saint’s Secret Realm to open.

Over the past twenty days, the Holy Maiden of the Xianxia Sect had appeared in Xiluo City from time to time, only to show up at Fuxian Harbor again soon afterward. She made each appearance with great fanfare, leaving the rogue cultivators completely unable to determine the truth. Many cultivators secretly followed Shui Bing, hoping to identify the location where the Saint’s Secret Realm would open by observing her movements.

But the Holy Maiden of the Xianxia Sect was far too fond of causing confusion, leaving even these clever cultivators utterly dumbfounded.

Zhou Qi refined many more Bewildering Immortal Arrays and produced a considerable number of Vitality Restoration Pills. On a sudden impulse, he added a trace of the Ancient Dragon’s blood essence to one batch. The vitality within the pills became even denser, and their effects were likely far superior to those of ordinary Vitality Restoration Pills.

Zhou Qi did not refine many of them. He intended to refine the Ancient Dragon’s blood essence himself once his strength was sufficient, so he could not afford to waste too much of it.

Zhou Qi chose an ordinary long sword as his weapon and temporarily concealed the Immortal-Slaying Sword. If he was going to disguise himself, everything had to appear as ordinary as possible. He sensed that he might encounter many familiar faces upon entering the secret realm. Wherever possible, he wanted to avoid conflict and focus on obtaining the sword immortal’s inheritance.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye. All cultivators below the early Golden Core stage suddenly sensed that the entrance to the Saint’s Secret Realm had opened. Within that sensation was an image of a place that was neither Xiluo City nor Fuxian Harbor. It was actually somewhere else within the territory controlled by the Xianxia Sect.

Zhou Qi did not know where the place was, so he hurried outside to ask the other cultivators. They were all reduced to tears when they learned the answer: it was Jiaogu City.

Jiaogu City lay to the north of the Xianxia Sect’s territory. It was an abandoned ancient city and one of the ancient battlefields.

The cultivators could not help cursing the two mighty figures who had made the original prediction, as well as Shui Bing, the Holy Maiden of the Xianxia Sect. For all they knew, those two mighty figures who had made the prediction might also be members of the Xianxia Sect.

The entrance to the Saint’s Secret Realm would remain open for only one day. Even riding at full speed, the cultivators could not possibly reach it in time. All they could do was angrily curse these great powers for being utterly inhuman.

After learning the location of Jiaogu City, Zhou Qi mounted Huang Qianqian and hurried toward it at full speed.