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Lu Ye was certain he hadn’t seen the Divine Opportunity Column when he visited the quartermaster department earlier. That was how he knew that Pang Dahai was telling the truth. The Divine Opportunity Column had appeared after they solved the crisis plaguing the Myriad Beasts Domain.
From time to time, a Jiu Zhou cultivator would touch the Divine Opportunity Column and teleport away from the Hidden Realm. To most Jiu Zhou cultivators, there was no point lingering in a Hidden Realm after most of the rewards had been divvied. Rather than wasting their time here, they would rather test their luck back at the Cloud River Battlefield.
The Cloud River Realm was the cultivation realm where the cultivators of Jiu Zhou swiftly increased their cultivation level. Barring exceptional opportunities like this Hidden Realm, indulging in any distractions would only serve to delay their growth.
Of course, there were exceptions such as Fellow Cultivator Yu. Since he dabbled in the Way of Beast Taming, he had good reason to believe that staying in this Hidden Realm even after the crisis was over would be beneficial to his cultivation.
Lu Ye messaged Xia Qianqian and informed her the location of the Divine Opportunity Column. She quickly responded saying that they were on the way. While waiting, Lu Ye hid in a secluded corner so as to avoid the traffic.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes settling on his back and turned. It was then he saw an old man with a goatee smiling at him from behind a table. When their eyes met, the old man gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
Lu Ye frowned immediately. [How did he see me?]
While his concealment technique looked similar to that of a ghost cultivator’s, it wasn’t actually the same thing. The reason he could turn invisible was because of Glyph: Invisibility. On the other hand, ghost cultivators could turn invisible because of their exclusive techniques.
Strictly speaking, his concealment technique was actually inferior to the ghost cultivator’s, albeit only slightly. He was just a dabbler in this Way after all.
Even so, the old man should not have been able to see through his disguise so easily.
“Feel free to cancel your concealment technique, Fellow Cultivator Ye. This place is now watched by the Heavens, and only Jiu Zhou cultivators can come in. The cultivators of Myriad Beasts Domain would never be able to discover this place, much less come in,” The old man said suddenly.
This was the first time Lu Ye heard about such a thing. What surprised him even more was the fact that the old man came from Jiu Zhou.
He had met the old man the first time he came to the quartermaster department with the three women. At the time, he thought that he was a Myriad Beasts Domain cultivator. Clearly, he was mistaken.
There was one more thing that concerned him, and that was the fact the old man had addressed him by his surname. Lu Ye did not know him, but he clearly knew Lu Ye.
He considered his options for a bit before removing Invisibility. While keeping a hand on his saber, he sauntered up to the old man and asked, “You know who I am?”
The old man stroked his beard smilingly. “It would be hard not to when even the alley walls are covered in your portrait, Fellow Cultivator Ye!”
“How did you see through my concealment?”
Out of all the surprises the old man had dished out, this was the one that concerned Lu Ye the most. He had always thought that his concealment technique was pretty good, but if it was just a delusion of his, then he would have to reconsider his measures in this area altogether.
The old man said enigmatically, “That’s not all I can see, Fellow Cultivator Ye. I can see something else as well.”
“What do you mean?”
The old man looked up as if there was something above Lu Ye’s head before saying seriously, “I have met countless people in my life, Fellow Cultivator Ye, and I can tell you with certainty that I have only met one man whose destiny matches yours!”
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. “You’re versed in Destiny Glimpse, sir?”
Destiny Glimpse was a rare secret technique in Jiu Zhou. In fact, it was so rare that most people thought that it only existed in legends. For obvious reasons, Lu Ye never thought that he would encounter someone with the legendary technique in this Hidden Realm.
He did not think that the old man was lying to him either. It was a fact that his luck had been incredible since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. Even if he assumed that the old man wasn’t telling the whole truth, it was clear that he could see something.
“Oh yes. On that note, I have a warning to impart. Your luck is exceptional, but I also see a purple energy mixed within it. I would urge you to be careful. Also, you have been too lucky as of late. Be warned that you may encounter some troubles and lose something in the near future.”
“And what am I going to lose, exactly?”
“That depends on what you have, fellow cultivator.”
Lu Ye stared at the old man for a moment. He was sure he would be more convinced if the old man would just drop his ambiguous way of speaking and almost pretentious demeanor.
“You said you saw a man whose destiny matches mine. Can you tell me who he is?”
The old man’s expression turned meaningful. “His surname is Feng, and he hails from the Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou. Do you know him, fellow cultivator?”
At this point, Lu Ye strongly suspected that the old man knew exactly who he was. There was no way he would bring up his first senior brother otherwise. That said, Lu Ye was more concerned with the fact that the old man had met his first senior brother before.
“Loosen your shoulders, Fellow Cultivator Ye. I’m just making small talk with you.” The old man stroked his beard again. “My post requires me to stay here for an extended period of time, you see. This is one of the few ways I have to stave off boredom. And don’t worry. I am a neutral party.”
The obvious dawned upon him. “You’re a member of the Divine Trade Association?”
“Exactly!”
He had been wondering why a Jiu Zhou cultivator would be allowed to guard the quartermaster department. Now it all made sense. The Divine Trade Association was a very special organization that shared a business relationship with both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was also a perfectly neutral party, which was why its members were allowed to supervise the quartermaster department. It would be unfair to either faction otherwise.
Lu Ye’s hostility diminished slightly after learning that the old man was a member of the Divine Trade Association. He took a moment to organize his thoughts before asking, “You said that the Heavens are watching over this place. What do you mean by that, exactly?”
The old man explained patiently, “There are many Hidden Realms with a ‘quartermaster department’ like this one. It is a place where Jiu Zhou cultivators can exchange their Battle Points for resources. For obvious reasons, it would not be a good idea for the natives to discover this anomaly, so a kind of sensory barrier is enacted around it. A native will never notice the quartermaster department even though it’s right in front of them. It’s as if this place doesn’t exist at all.
“On a related note, the reason I can see through your disguise isn’t because I’m particularly exceptional in this type of art, but because the Heavens have bestowed upon me a special authority so to speak. It is so that I can perform my guard duties properly.”
“Does that include your Destiny Glimpse?”
“Oh no. That one is all me.”
Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement and fell silent again. A few seconds later, he said, “Someone told me that everything we’ve experienced in this world is something that has happened in the past. Is it true?”
“What if it is? What if it isn’t?”
“I just want to know the truth. To satisfy my curiosity so to speak.”
The old man looked out of the hall for a long time before answering, “Do you know how many times this Hidden Realm has appeared in the Cloud River Battlefield, fellow cultivator?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Myriad Beasts Domain has opened seven times to the cultivators of the Cloud River Battlefield before this, but no one has ever succeeded in solving the root of the problem until now. I can tell you now that all seven instances have ended with the destruction of Bilandia and the extinction of humanity! That is why I offer you and your companions my thanks, Fellow Cultivator Ye. You have saved me from having to witness hell in this Cultivation World an eighth time.”
The old man smiled when he noticed Lu Ye’s stunned look. “It is exactly what you think, fellow cultivator. The Myriad Beasts Domain is reset every time it is destroyed, and it is opened on the Cloud River Battlefield once more.”
“Is it the doing of the Heavens?”
“The Heavens are omnipotent!”
“But… take the Spirit Beasts we killed and the Mutant Cores we extracted from their bodies for example. How do you explain them if it is all fake?”
The Mutant Cores he extracted were still lying in his storage space. No matter how powerful the Heavens were, they couldn’t possibly revive the dead, could they?
“What you see is not necessarily real. But of course, what you get is definitely real.”
“Why would the Heavens do this? Is it really just to hone the cultivators of Jiu Zhou?”
“Who could say? I would not dare to fathom the Heavens’ will.”
There was nothing Lu Ye could say to that.
“Since we’ve eliminated the root of the problem, will this Hidden Realm reset and appear at the Cloud River Battlefield as if nothing had changed?”
“That is unlikely. In my opinion, the Myriad Beasts Domain will continue along this timeline forevermore. It will become an attraction to countless Beast Tamers as well.”
The Myriad Beasts Domain had reached heights Jiu Zhou had not seen in the Way of Beast Taming. Once the word was spread, it was only natural that Beast Tamers like Fellow Cultivator Yu would seek out the Hidden Realm in hopes of refining their Way of Beast Taming.
“Of course, it is equally possible that this Hidden Realm will disappear forever,” the old man added.
Suddenly, he looked out of the hall and said, “Your friends have arrived, fellow cultivator.”
Lu Ye followed his gaze and saw nothing at first. However, it wasn’t long before his companions appeared out of thin air. It would seem that everyone except Lu Ye knew that it was safe to reveal themselves in this safe zone.
Zhou Hai walked up to the old man and tossed his identity pass on the table. “I would like to exchange all my Battle Points for Amulets, thank you.”
The old man nodded smilingly before doing as he said. It wasn’t long before everyone did the same thing.
Lu Ye also exchanged his Battle Points for Amulets even though Pang Dahai had told him that Battle Points could be saved for future use. Right now, his first priority was improving his cultivation. Everything else was secondary until he was strong enough to consider them.
As exceptional as he was, he was a bottom feeder for as long as he remained in the Second-Order.
He currently had almost thirty thousand Battle Points. He decided to exchange them all for one Gold Amulet, two Purple Amulets, one Blue Amulet, one Green Amulet, and two White Amulets.
He was left with only fifty-six Battle Points when the transaction was complete.
He could’ve exchanged the remaining Battle Points for some Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones, but of course he refrained from doing so.
It wasn’t easy to earn Battle Points. As far as he knew, they could only be earned in some Hidden Realms. With that in mind, how could he possibly waste them on Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones?
To Cloud River Realm cultivators, Battle Points should always be spent on Amulets.
Usually, the only way to get an Amulet was to win them in auctions or happen upon them by accident. Both things required a tremendous amount of luck. On the other hand, they could purchase Amulets anytime and anywhere as long as they had enough Battle Points.
It was clear from the looks on everyone’s faces that this was a rewarding journey. Now, it was truly time to leave this Hidden Realm.
Zhou Hai was the first to walk up to the Divine Opportunity Column and press his hand on the pillar. A second later, he was gone just like that. Pang Dahai and Xia Qianqian were right behind him.
The Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivator was the fourth to leave, while Kitty Shen and Lu Ye last. It wasn’t because they were acting modest, but because they would randomly appear within fifty kilometers from the entrance to the Hidden Realm. Naturally, it was wiser to allow their stronger companions to leave first.
When he was ready, Lu Ye walked up to the Divine Opportunity Column and willed himself to exit the Hidden Realm. The next moment, he found himself standing in the middle of the wilderness.
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