The Immortal Restraint Prison.

The Immortal Restraint Prison occupied the highest geographical position in the upper realm and was closest to the heavens.

It belonged to neither the righteous path nor the demonic sects. The Immortal Restraint Prison was established by the laws of heaven and earth, and the conditions for entering were extremely stringent.

At least before Wen Jue was imprisoned, no one knew that such a prison cell existed atop that mountain.

Wen Jue was imprisoned, but it was merely confinement.

Escape, naturally, was possible.

After all, every thousand years, he had important matters to attend to.

As his true form stepped through the gates of the Immortal Restraint Prison, it felt as if the mountains and rivers beneath his feet trembled.

Wen Jue narrowed his eyes. His true form felt far more comfortable.

His spiritual body, no matter how refined, always felt somewhat lacking.

He glanced toward the direction of Immortal-Demon City, musing to himself, I wonder what Qin Zhou is up to now.

Given his temperament, he’s probably alchemizing again? Or… meddling in some elixir business?

Immortal-Demon City and Boundary City lay almost diametrically opposed.

This journey would likely keep him delayed in the secret realm for several days.

He’d find Qin Zhou after it was over.

The thought faded as the white mist dissipated. When one looked again, Wen Jue was nowhere to be seen.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Meanwhile, Qin Zhou—the very person Wen Jue was thinking of—was preparing to enter the secret realm.

Shortly after Lu Er and Lu Qi arrived, the golden pillar of light gradually dissipated. In its place appeared countless barrier stones swirling in the sky above.

The small triangular stones emitted a faint blue glow.

Those around them wore expressions of delight—a sign the secret realm was about to open.

Only Qin Zhou frowned slightly.

Secret realms were called secret precisely because they were cloaked by ancient spells or seals, invisible under ordinary circumstances, only to be discovered by chance at unpredictable times.

They should possess greater randomness. Not like this—appearing once every thousand years at a specific time, even at a specific location.

Moreover, even for a secret realm, it shouldn’t contain this many barrier stones.

Could it be that the master of this secret realm is a spellcaster skilled in deploying barriers?

“I wonder what this year’s secret realm treasure will be…”

Qin Zhou overheard this and, unusually, asked, “Is it different every time?”

“Of course it’s different,” the wandering cultivator immediately raised his voice. Seeing that Qin Zhou was merely at the Golden Core stage, he kindly explained, “Each time the secret realm opens, it brings different treasures. If the contents were always the same, appearing at a specific time and place, it wouldn’t be called a secret realm.”

“It’s precisely because the treasures in the secret realm change each time that so many cultivators come. Even knowing the dangers within, they still venture in. Even if we’re too low-level to compete for the supreme treasures, we can still watch the spectacle and broaden our horizons.”

Qin Zhou remained silent.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this secret realm was off.

He’d traversed countless realms in games and had even visited many real-world secret realms with Lu Yi.

The one before him now—whether it was the golden beams or the floating barrier stones—seemed remarkably similar to those he’d encountered before.

Yet, there lingered an inexplicable sense of unease.

Back in the Boundary City, he’d heard that most cultivators would come to join the spectacle. Qin Zhou had expected to see more Lu-surnamed villagers gathered at the secret realm’s entrance.

Yet as the secret realm prepared to open, Qin Zhou found only Lu Er, Lu Qi, and Xiao Baiyi waiting.

Even those he’d encountered in the lower realms—Lu Shisi hadn’t come, Lu Yi hadn’t come, and neither had Lu Wu nor Baixing.

It seemed everyone except Lu Er and Lu Qi had deliberately avoided this secret realm.

A vague suspicion began to form in Qin Zhou’s mind.

The secret realm opened swiftly. The teleportation gate materialized before them.

The Demon Sect members entered first, followed closely by the Sword Sect and the Righteous Alliance, unwilling to be outdone.

The independent cultivators, eager to join the commotion, surged forward en masse.

Qin Zhou naturally followed them in.

Passing through the portal felt like stepping into another vast world.

Grasslands and forests stretched out, though the sky was overcast.

Qin Zhou landed precisely in a clearing. Behind him, a waterfall cascaded down, its immense flow plunging into a deep pool. water cascading down from above into the seemingly bottomless pool below.

The surrounding air carried a hint of moisture, fresh yet chilling.

Turning back, the pool was serene and vast. Standing at its edge brought not mental calm, but rather a sense of dread emerging from the stillness.

Too much tranquility often heralds an impending storm.

Qin Zhou clenched his fist.

The portal had randomly teleported him—this came as a genuine surprise.

Random teleportation was one thing, but the complete absence of any living soul nearby was another.

And…

Qin Zhou tilted his head slightly. He could sense something enormous approaching from within the pool. The oppressive aura of spiritual energy was palpable, even through the water.

It seemed his journey had begun with the worst possible luck.

With a thunderous splash, something burst through the water’s surface. The instant Qin Zhou turned his head, his gaze locked with that creature’s—

A massive, cumbersome form broke through the water. Its smooth gray skin covered a body roughly five meters long, supported by thick, heavy limbs. A long, broad horn stood prominently in the center of its large face, while its two ears, set against that massive face, appeared almost dainty and small.

A rhinoceros.

No, it should be called a Divine Rhino Beast.

The Divine Rhino Beast’s appearance was indistinguishable from that of an ordinary rhinoceros.

However, its length and weight were three to four times greater than those of a common rhinoceros. As a colossal spirit beast, the Divine Rhino possessed absolute defensive power.

The one before him, however, measured only about five meters in length—a ‘baby’ among Divine Rhino Beasts.

Yet, as Qin Zhou understood, even a Divine Rhino baby possessed cultivation at least at the Nascent Soul stage or higher.

What was even more uncertain was whether the baby’s mother lurked nearby.

The Divine Rhino baby’s round eyes fixed intently on Qin Zhou.

It seemed to be pondering whether this human cultivator was an intruder trespassing on its territory.

Yet it sensed no threat emanating from Qin Zhou. Was it because this human cultivator’s cultivation base was so low?

Clearly, the divine rhinoceros calf was utterly bewildered by this human cultivator who had suddenly appeared and disrupted its leisurely time.

Qin Zhou calmly retrieved a handful of spirit pills from his Cosmos Bag.

Second-tier rare-grade pills were nothing to a Nascent Soul-stage divine rhinoceros calf, but they were perfectly sufficient as a snack.

“Want some?”

Sure enough, the divine rhinoceros beast’s eyes immediately lit up.

Qin Zhou reflected inwardly that he possessed considerable skill in beast taming.

Leveraging his deep understanding of spirit beasts’ gluttonous nature, Qin Zhou successfully navigated this initial crisis.

The Divine Rhino Beast showed no intention of attacking him.

In fact, because of the snack he offered, it even fetched him a spiritual treasure from the water—a fourth-tier Water-Coalescing Flower.

It was a fair exchange.

The Water Crystal Flower grew in the watery depths. Calling it the ‘Reishi Mushroom’ of the water realm. It was highly nourishing for the qi sea of the dantian. Consuming it before the Golden Core stage or the Nascent Soul stage would make breakthroughs twice as effective with half the effort.

Qin Zhou examined it closely. He discovered this Water Crystal Flower was exceptionally fresh, having grown in this pond for at least several hundred years. It was clearly not something someone had casually tossed into the water.

He had originally assumed the secret realm was artificially created by someone, using ‘supreme treasures’ as a gimmick to lure people in.

Now it seemed the claim that this secret realm contained treasures was indeed true.

This secret realm felt real—so real it didn’t seem deliberately crafted by human hands.

Here were divine rhino beasts and ethereal water pools.

In the distance lay shadowy forests and mountain ranges.

Qin Zhou closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

He could sense that the spiritual energy here was even denser than that of the upper realm, nurturing countless spiritual plants and beasts.

Of course, opening only once every thousand years meant no cultivators drained its resources. The spiritual energy easily sustained all the mountain’s spiritual creatures and beasts.

Just as Qin Zhou breathed in the fresh air, preparing to consider his next steps,

A flash of light suddenly flickered through his mind.

Qin Zhou snapped his eyes open.

This was…

A sense.

Qin Zhou closed his eyes again. Sure enough, the light reappeared in his mind, as if guiding him toward his next destination.

Qin Zhou knew exactly what this was.

It was his forging hammer.

Divine artifacts recognize their masters, and his forging hammer was a top-tier divine artifact.

Though he’d only ever used it in games, the instant that light appeared, Qin Zhou realized it was the artifact spirit of the forging hammer calling to him.

His forging hammer was actually here in this secret realm!

And it had reacted to his arrival.

Qin Zhou’s gaze sharpened.

Next, he would head east.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

At the same time, throughout the entire secret realm, the cultivators were instantly teleported to different locations the moment they entered.

Some materialized in dense forests, immediately pursued by spirit beasts.

Others appeared in river channels, instantly soaked to the bone.

Still others plummeted straight down cliffs. Had they not swiftly activated their flying artifacts, they would have broken limbs.

In short, each faced a unique ordeal.

If the secret realm could be mapped, they would appear as a dense cluster of tiny red dots scattered across every corner of the map.

Of course, if treasure locations were marked on that map, one would notice the red dot representing Qin Zhou rapidly advancing toward the treasure’s direction.

Moving similarly but noticeably slower was Xuan Yiling, who had collected a significant amount of spirit stones from the Righteous Alliance.

She had left spiritual energy markers along her path; if the Righteous Alliance members discovered them, they would naturally head in her direction.

Meanwhile, the Righteous Alliance members were gradually converging through the markers she had left.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The Sword Sect members weren’t far behind. With the assistance of the Thousand Machinery Divine Sect, they could easily foresee certain futures, avoiding nearly all preventable dangers.

However, their forces were scattered and temporarily unable to regroup.

The Demon Sect also had many members. But the Demon Sect saw little need for gathering. Unlike the righteous cultivators who favored group dynamics, demon cultivators revered freedom and martial prowess above all. Rather than trailing behind their Sect Master or Supreme Patriarch, watching idly, they preferred seeking their own opportunities. If one truly found a supreme treasure first… well, perhaps even the throne in the Demon Sect’s main hall might see a new occupant. How utterly delightful.

What if a demon cultivator and a righteous cultivator crossed paths?

A fight would inevitably erupt.

The strong reign supreme. Winning meant plundering the spoils—what’s not to like?

This secret realm held more than just supreme treasures to claim.

The spirit beasts, spiritual materials, and even every cultivator’s Cosmos Bag counted as treasures.

Of course, their every move was being watched by one person.

Wen Jue floated in the sky, dozens of meters above the clouds, silently observing the situation below. The demon cultivators were as greedy and reckless as ever.

After watching for only a moment, he withdrew his gaze.

Before entering the Immortal Restraint Prison, he had tossed Qin Zhou’s hammer into the secret realm.

Qin Zhou needed to forge the hammer to cast a furnace for Lu Wu and his disciples. Before the secret realm ended, Wen Jue had to retrieve the hammer so he could return it to Qin Zhou when they went to the Immortal-Demon City.

With that thought, Wen Jue turned and headed toward the place where he had hidden the hammer.

Completely unaware, as he watched these people from above, someone on the ground silently tracked his movements.

Seeing him vanish, a finger swiftly formed a seal.

Spiritual energy instantly transformed into hundreds of paper cranes, soaring from their fingertips and swiftly dispersing in all directions across the secret realm.

The demonic fiend had appeared.

The plan could now begin.