Su Xiaojiu and Hong Shan, as if by prior arrangement, exchanged glances upon their return, then simultaneously walked to the table, picked up the playing cards they had previously placed face down, and continued their game.
This particular game of cards had been ongoing for a week.
The time after their return was Saturday night. An Chen didn't have tutoring classes, and he didn't have to attend school the next day, so he decided to stay longer at Ye Xinning's house with Su Xiaojiu.
The two briefly exchanged information, then watched Su Xiaojiu and Hong Shan play cards.
Actually, there wasn't much information to exchange, as everything that could be discussed had already been said on the tongshen jade talisman.
It was mainly about the Qingfeng Secret Realm.
"Has your master ever mentioned the Qingfeng Secret Realm to you?"
An Chen hadn't had time to discuss this with Ye Xinning on the tongshen jade talisman because after he learned Su Xiaojiu was going to the Qingfeng Secret Realm, he had been diligently Cultivating and simply hadn't thought to ask Ye Xinning about it.
"Qingfeng Secret Realm? What's that?"
Ye Xinning was startled, then looked at Hong Shan beside her.
"It's a small Secret Realm of the Qingfeng Sect, but the entrance seems to be in Qingfeng City. However, it's still controlled by the Qingfeng Sect, so it's quite famous. But it's just a basic Secret Realm, exclusive to the Qi Refinement Stage. Those with higher Realms can't enter, similar to your world. The difference is that even if I suppress my Realm, I can't enter; the Law there has a stronger influence."
Hong Shan said without turning his head, while playing cards.
"Ha! I won!"
At this moment, Su Xiaojiu cleared her cards with a 'plane with wings' and made a scissor gesture.
Hong Shan's expression immediately darkened.
"The Qingfeng Secret Realm will open during the next Transmigration. You're going, right?"
Hong Shan looked at Su Xiaojiu.
"Of course! An Chen, you're going too, right?"
An Chen nodded.
"I should be going."
"I'm going too."
Ye Xinning stared at Hong Shan, enunciating each word.
"Go, go, go, you can all go. It's just a matter of buying a spot, not difficult."
Hong Shan agreed, and only then did Ye Xinning feel relieved.
"But your strength is a bit weak. I'm a little worried about you going in, Disciple..."
However, after a few seconds, Hong Shan realized.
He had just agreed wholeheartedly because he didn't want to face Ye Xinning's death glare, but then he thought about it again and became a little worried.
"Those who enter that kind of Secret Realm are at least Refining Qi Sixth Level, and those at Qi Refining Tenth Level and above are abundant. They all go for the good things in the Secret Realm. No one cares about killing and robbing in the Secret Realm. I'm afraid you..."
Although the Secret Realm belongs to the Qingfeng Sect, the Qingfeng Sect has no control whatsoever inside the Secret Realm.
After all, there's a Realm limit inside, and many people can reach this limit. Even if the Qingfeng Sect's Sect Leader and Grand Elder of the Soul Transformation Stage are stationed outside, they can't control those inside.
What happens inside cannot be seen by those outside. Only when the Secret Realm opens and the people inside bring out the news can those outside know what happened.
In previous years, incidents of Qingfeng Sect Disciples being killed in the Secret Realm were not uncommon.
However, precisely because of this, after each Secret Realm ends, the Qingfeng Sect will temporarily control the crowd exiting the Secret Realm for a period, inquiring about the situation of their own Disciples. If someone truly laid a malicious hand on a Qingfeng Sect Disciple, Zhao Qingfeng and Qin Chuan would not show mercy.
But if an entire team was silenced, then the culprit would not be found.
This is how it is for the Qingfeng Sect; for Loose Cultivators who buy spots to enter, there is even less protection, and if they have no backing, no one cares if they die inside.
If Ye Xinning were to go in, he, as her master, couldn't help her.
"Isn't An Chen inside? I'll just go find him. He'll definitely have fellow Disciples from the Qingfeng Sect with him. In the Qingfeng Sect's Secret Realm, the Qingfeng Sect's team should be the safest."
But at this moment, An Chen, on the contrary, poured a basin of cold water on her.
"Actually, I plan to leave the main group of the Qingfeng Sect. Being with a group of fellow Disciples makes it a bit inconvenient to move around."
"That's all unnecessary!"
Hong Shan suddenly spoke up.
"Don't talk about teams. You can't form teams once you're inside. There's only one entrance to the Secret Realm, but you'll be teleported to different places. Usually, it's only in the middle to Late Stages that teams of Sects and Loose Cultivators can be formed. But sometimes, even at the very end, some lone Cultivators can't find the main group."
But An Chen suddenly felt that this was good.
Still one reason.
Too many wolves, too little meat, hard to share. But if he was alone, then everything he encountered would be his.
However, safety issues certainly deserved attention.
"I remember the tongshen jade talisman has a shared positioning function, doesn't it? Couldn't we just use that?"
"No, there's no Tong Shen Hall in the Secret Realm to provide you with the Tong Shen Network. The tongshen jade talisman can't be used, my silly Disciple."
"Is there any way for us to locate each other within the Secret Realm?"
Hong Shan smiled slightly.
"Of course there is."
He took out several small, pebble-like stones from his qiankun bag. Their surfaces were smooth, but the stones were milky white and slightly transparent.
He threw one to An Chen, another to Su Xiaojiu, and finally handed the last one to Ye Xinning.
"Using these, you can sense each other's direction and distance."
An Chen held the stone, and two directions naturally appeared in his mind, pointing towards Ye Xinning and Su Xiaojiu respectively. The sensation of these two directions was very strong, probably because the two were right in front of him.
An Chen stood up and walked around the room, creating a little distance.
That sense of direction weakened slightly, almost imperceptibly.
In other words, this positioning stone does not precisely pinpoint distance; it only gives a general direction and a vague distance within that direction.
He could only judge whether the other person was far or near him.
But that was enough.
"Some large Sects should issue these to each of their Disciples. As long as you carry it in your qiankun bag, others holding a positioning stone will be able to sense your presence."
Large Sects would have them, but small Sects like the Qingfeng Sect might not.
"Good stuff," An Chen exclaimed.
Although there were limitations, this positioning stone was still very useful.
"Could what I give you be bad stuff?"
Hong Shan smiled, pulled An Chen to his side, patted the table, and then pushed the chair on the other side under An Chen's bottom, making him sit down.
"Come, let's play cards together. It's not much fun with just two people. Three people playing 'Fight the Landlord' is more fun. Disciple, do you want to play?"
Ye Xinning naturally didn't want to play.
Saying that, he leaned into An Chen's ear and whispered:
"Kid, help me out. Su De's daughter is too damn annoying!"