Great Shu Dynasty, Taoist Temple:
Feng Heng was sitting cross-legged on a black and white futon. In his hand was an invitation letter from Ji Su. Suddenly, the swastika tattoo on his body lit up, then a short hair middle-aged man appeared: it was his teacher.
"What are you going to do?" asked Shi Fuyu.
"Honestly speaking, I have no desire or interest in this so-called Secret Realm," responded Feng Heng while pondering. "However, I fear that on the unlikely scenario that something extraordinary was in fact inside, the other Contemporary Dao Childs will acquire it through the people they have infiltrated in this world."
Recently, Feng Heng has managed to track down a few of the spies that his competitors in the sect infiltrated in this world, however, he still did not manage to catch any of them. So, he placed a lot of his focus on tracking them.
"On top of that, soon, I will have to worry about the Great Zhou Dynasty's attack. After they conquer the Great Wu, there is a very good chance that they will attack us next."
Shi Fuyu nodded and he could guess this result based on his disciple's temperament, and the plans he had previously made. So, he said, "In that case, I will go check out the Secret Realm myself."
Feng Heng was a little shocked, then he immediately asked, "Master, will you be alright?"
"Disciple, you do not need to worry about me. My Primordial Spirit has not only stabilized, but I have also recovered some of my strength. Although I cannot personally take action because of all the True Monarchs observing this trial, I can still sneak into the Secret Realm without anyone noticing."
Feng Heng then nodded after hearing this, then he agreed to Ji Su's invitation.
Great Xia Dynasty, Imperial Palace.
Wang Wei was reading a letter that contained all the signatures of all the remaining power of this trial. The letter asked him to allow these factions to send elite troops to enter the Secret Realm and compete fairly in the Secret Realm without interference.
Of course Wang Wei knew that this was essentially a threat, but he did not care about this. He smiled to himself, then muttered, "It should be about time."
A month later, a visitor came to see Wang Wei in the palace throne room: it was Patriarch Zheng Yong.
Unlike the previous time he saw him, Wang Wei noticed that he was more haggard and listless, like his mind has been restless or on edge for a long period of time. More importantly, he seemed to be injured.
"Minister Zheng Yong has seen his majesty."
"You may rise. Patriarch Zheng, what brought you to see me today?"
Immediately after hearing this, Zheng Yong knelt on the ground, placed his forehead on the floor and said, "I beg his majesty to save the Zheng Clan."
"Oh, did something happen to your clan? Right under this Monarch's nose?"
As a matter of fact, Wang Wei knew exactly what happened to the Zheng Clan and the reason that their patriarch had come to see him.
With the news that a Secret Realm was discovered by the Zheng Clan, many people have investigated and discovered the entrance of the Secret Room. Unfortunately, the token to enter the Secret Realm was still in the hands of Zheng Yong.
As such, the people interested in the Secret Realm started to observe every move and action of the Zheng Clan. At first these people were patient and cautious due to fear of Wang We intervening.
However, when they realized that no one said or investigated their actions, they became extremely bold. They tried every means to either infiltrate the Zheng Clan Manor or get any information about the token from the different family members.
However, recently, the actions of these people started to escalate. They kidnapped important family member of the Zheng Clan to torture information out of them or asking to exchange the Secret Realm Token with these captured people's lives.
And last night, someone directly attacked the Zheng Clan Manor, resulting in Patriarch Zheng Yong's injury.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yong secretly clenched his hand when he heard the question. Of course he knew that his majesty was aware of all the chaos that is happening in the capital. If he did not purposely allow it, how could these foreigners act so blatantly and arrogant?
However, Zheng Yong did not show it in his face as he knew that he was the one asking for help. So, while still kowtowing, he said:
"Due to the fact that the news of the Zheng Clan's Secret Realm leaking, there have been countless atrocities done against our clan. So, I ask your majesty my Zheng Clan--after all, we are also people of Great Xia. We are also your people, we also pay taxes just like everyone of the dynasty."
Wang Wei smiled, then placed his right hand on his chin before saying, "What you say is indeed true. You are indeed my people. However, from what I remember, a month ago you personally told me that your clan did not discover a Secret Realm?"
"According to the Dynasty's Law, you and your entire clan can be annihilated for lying to this Monarch."
Zheng Yong did get up from the ground and immediately replied:
"Your majesty, this minister did not lie. This Secret Realm has been part of the Zheng Clan's Inheritance for countless generations. As such, we did not discover it nor is there any secret of longevity inside. This is the reason that the minister said that these rumors were false."
"Hehe," said Wang Wei with an interesting smile on his face. "Even when the situation has aggravated to this level, you still want to quibble and play word choice with me."
Zheng Yong slightly raised his head and looked directly at Wang Wei. He pondered for a brief second, clenched his teeth and opened his mouth to say something. However, he was stopped by a motion of Wang Wei.
"I don't have the patience to watch you try to finesse your way out of this situation."
After saying this, he threw a letter to Zheng Yong, which contained the demand of all the factions of the world to have access to the Secret Realm.
After reading the letter, Zheng Yong's face became extremely ugly. According to his plan, he would share the Secret Realm with the royal family in exchange for them to prevent other people from intervening.
However, based on the current situation, he is afraid that things will be out of control again.
"Your majesty, your meaning…"
"Provide each faction with a certain amount of spots, then set a date for three months later when all the people can enter the Secret Realm."
Zheng Yong started to ponder rapidly. This situation is not totally bad for their Zheng Clan as they are already aware of what to expect inside the Secret Realm. As long as they can get a few of the wealth or pills inside, it is enough for them to survive until his majesty leaves the world.
Additionally, Zheng Yong believes that most of the Heaven Chosens disdained those Earth Pills inside the Secret Realm and are probably after the golden book. As such, the only people that their Zheng Clans have to be wary about are the people of the Savior Coalition.
What's more, he knew that all these people attending the Secret Realm will most likely compete with each other, however, his Zheng Clan can still form an alliance with the Leng and Chang clan to combine their forces together.
Zheng Yong can actually accept this result. Compared with the worst result imagined by him in which his majesty just killed all the people of his clan and took the entrance token from him, he could still accept this final result.
As such, Patriarch Zheng Yong accepted Wang Wei's preposition and he left the Imperial Palace with satisfaction.
Following which, the Royal Guards of the Great Xia started to arrest or kill anyone who dared to act with impudence in the Capital, thus providing the Zheng Clan with breathing room.
Of course, the attacks against them did not stop. They just became a lot more restrained and underhanded.
The same day, Wang Wei sent a letter to all the Heaven Chosen, accepting their proposition and setting the date for the opening of the Secret Realm three months later.
Just like that, three months passed quickly. During these past three months, the entire world was quiet. All the wars stopped and everyone was waiting for the day of opening.
As a result, countless people traveled to the Great Xia Dynasty, thus boosting trade and tourism. The dynasty's economy boomed rapidly in the past three months.
When the day of opening arrived, countless elite soldiers dressed in different armors stood in front of Snow Tiger Mountain, which is the place where the entrance of the Secret Realm was located.
These people came from all over the world, and they were considered the elites of elites in the respected dynasty.
After a few hours of waiting, the alliance composed of three families of Zheng, Leng, Chang, arrived, signaling that the time for the opening was rapidly approaching.