"Welcome to Bright Needle City, Seniors from the Dragon Essence Temple. Are you heading to the Northern Continent for the Mystic Realm?" The worker there immediately recognized their identity and even their destination at a glance since he was warned beforehand.
"Yes, we are." Long Yijun nodded his head.
Sometime later, after paying the worker the bill in spirit stones, Long Yijun and the others walked through the teleportation device.
"Are you okay?" Yuan asked Meixiu after noticing the discomfort on her face.
"Yes… Just a little dizzy." Meixiu said.
"That's what happens when mortals use teleportation devices. Don't worry, it's nothing serious and will go away after some time." Elder Shan said to them.
A few moments later, they returned to the skies on their flying treasure.
"We'll arrive at the location in three hours." Long Yijun said to them in the air.
"By the way, I have been wondering, but how many sects will be participating in the Mystic Realm?" Yuan suddenly asked them.
"Well, it's different every time, but there will always be over 100 sects." Elder Shan said, and she continued, "And out of these sects, only 100 of them will enter the sect ranking and become an elite sect, and our Dragon Essence Temple ranked 7th during the last Mystic Realm."
"If I remember correctly, the slots for each sect are distributed depending on their previous results. How will new sects obtain these spots if they didn't participate previously?" Yuan then asked.
"In the case that a new sect wants to participate in the Mystic Realm, there are a few ways they can obtain a slot, whether it be earning them through important events or even straight-up buying them with money, which most of them do. Of course, they can only obtain one slot maximum no matter how they obtained it."
"Over 100 sects, huh? That's a lot of people. What benefits does being an elite sect bring besides recognition?" Yuan then asked.
"Nothing, really. However, recognition and fame are the most important factors for sects since that's what attracts new disciples. Even though the difference between rank 7 and rank 6 may not seem very much in your eyes, it's actually very vast, especially since that might be the deciding factor for someone looking for a new sect."
"I see…" Yuan nodded.
About an hour later, their scenery suddenly changed drastically, going from a world rich with trees and greenery to a barren world that barely had any healthy-looking trees, and the further they went, the more desolate the place looked.
"Where are we?" Yuan couldn't help but ask, feeling an ominous feeling coming from this place.
"This is the 'Desolate Land', a unique place that takes up one-third of the entire Northern Continent." Elder Shan explained.
"Did something happen in this place that caused this atmosphere?" Yuan continued to ask.
"Legend has it that a fight had occurred in this place."
"A fight…?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
Elder Shan nodded, "That's right. Not a war— a fight between two cultivators."
"Good lord… two people caused this? Is that even possible?" Yuan's eyes widened with surprise.
"Yes, but this happened in the ancient times when there were no restrictions between each of the heavens and Immortals were free to roam from heaven to heaven with little to no effort. Perhaps what happened in this place is the reason the mighty Heavens placed the restrictions on us in the first place— at least if the legend was true."
"Is that so…" Yuan mumbled before turning to watch the scenery again.
Although there was nothing to see, the barren world itself was a spectacle for Yuan, who has never seen such a view before.
A few more hours later, Long Yijun said to them, "We're almost there. Prepare yourselves."
"W-What is that thing in the distance?" Yuan suddenly asked, his voice sounding a little shocked.
Meixiu narrowed her eyes, and she could see some sort of chasm in the distance, almost like a pair of gates opened slightly.
"That's the gates to the Mystic Realm. Quite big, right?" Elder Shan chuckled at his reaction.
"Big is an understatement, Senior Shan. That thing is massive! Is that a treasure? How did they move that thing? Or has it always been there?" Yuan expressed his awe.
"Yes, it's a treasure, and no, they cannot move it." Elder Shan explained.
A few minutes later, the already large gates appeared even larger, making anyone who was in its presence feel like mere ants.
"We're here." Long Yijun said about ten minutes later.
Once they stopped flying in the air, Yuan and everyone else looked down at the area, and to their surprise, there were houses built on the ground along with some camps and a couple of hundred people.
"We're landing." Long Yijun said before descending his flying treasure.
Yuan and the others could feel numerous gazes suddenly directed in their direction.
"Ignore them." Elder Xuan said.
Once they landed, Long Yijun retrieved his flying treasure which turned into a toy-like object that resembled a dragon. He then pulled out another toy-like object from his spatial ring, which resembled a house this time.
Long Yijun poured his spiritual energy into this toy house before throwing it at the empty lot in front of them.
Poof!
The palm-sized toy house suddenly expanded until it was the size of a real building, leaving Yuan speechless and Meixiu full of surprise.
"Quickly, go inside." Long Yijun said to them in a hasty voice, sounding as though they were in immediate danger.
Yuan and the other didn't dare to linger and immediately went inside this building that was already filled with decoration.
However, while the disciples went inside, Long Yijun and the sect elders remained standing outside while facing a certain direction, almost like they were waiting for something.
And a few seconds later, they could see many figures approaching their direction, all of them emitting powerful auras belonging to Spirit Masters with even one of them being a mighty Spirit Grandmaster!