Return from the Secret Realm

The System remained silent for a long time.

Then, it replied in a tone that sounded almost like a sigh: [The strongest Heavenly Tribulation in history will cover an area of at least ten thousand zhang in radius. All living creatures within this range will be regarded as accomplices of the tribulation crosser and will endure the baptism of the Heavenly Tribulation together.]

Wang Hao burst into loud laughter. His laughter echoed within the enclosed grand tent, startling Wei Zhongxian outside so much that he nearly dropped his jade slip.

"Excellent! Truly excellent!" Wang Hao carefully tucked the Martial God Barrier-Breaking Pill back into his sleeve, his eyes flashing with unprecedented madness. "I was originally worried that this pill wouldn't be enough. But now, this single pill will not only allow me to break through to the Martial God realm, but it will also drag three Martial Gods and five Demon Gods into getting struck by lightning with me. This deal is worth it, incredibly worth it."

[Host, allow me to remind you. The Heavenly Tribulation does not distinguish between friend and foe. Your fifteen Void-Riding Realm enforcers and the Eastern Wasteland's top ten Heaven's Chosen—they are also in the Secret Realm. If the Heavenly Tribulation covers a ten-thousand-zhang radius, the portal of light at the Secret Realm's entrance might be affected.]

Wang Hao's smile slightly faded.

He indeed needed to consider this point. The top ten Heaven's Chosen were still in the Secret Realm; if the Heavenly Tribulation affected the entrance, it could trigger unpredictable consequences. Moreover, the fifteen Void-Riding Realm guards he had brought were also on Tianxu Peak, meaning they would be within the blast radius when the tribulation descended.

"System, if I want to have the top ten Heaven's Chosen evacuate the Secret Realm in advance, how long will it take?"

[The Secret Realm's portal of light can only be opened from the outside when the thirty-day period expires. Today is the seventh day; there are twenty-three days left.]

"Then I will wait for twenty-three days." A hint of resolve flashed through Wang Hao's eyes. "Twenty-three days later, the Secret Realm will open, my Heaven's Chosen will come out, and then—"

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

"And then, I will invite eight transcendent beings to watch the fireworks together."

He stood up, walked out of the grand tent, and looked up at the three-zhang-tall portal of light hovering above Tianxu Peak.

Under the moonlight, the portal's glow was slightly dimmer than it had been seven days ago. That was a sign of spiritual energy fluctuations within the Secret Realm, indicating that the Heaven's Chosen inside were fiercely fighting over fortuitous encounters. Wang Hao stood there for a long time before turning and walking toward the Eastern Wasteland camp.

He needed to make new arrangements.

Twenty-three days from now, the moment the Secret Realm opened would be the true turning point of the Kunlun Conference. The Central Continent and the Demon Race thought they were joining hands to set a trap to kill Wang Hao, but little did they know—Wang Hao was also setting a trap.

And Wang Hao's trap was far bigger than theirs.

Over the next twenty-three days, Wang Hao made a series of arrangements. He first secretly sent someone to Jieyin City to deliver a secret letter to Wang Wudi. The letter contained only a single sentence: "Twenty-four days from now, watch for the heavenly lightning, and loot Jieyin City first; our million-strong army cannot return empty-handed."

Then, he began to wander around Tianxu Peak, seemingly unintentionally. Every day, he would "coincidentally" pass by the border between the Demon Race's camp and the Central Continent's camp. He was measuring the distance—he had to ensure that when the Heavenly Tribulation descended, the three Martial Gods and five Demon Gods would all be within a ten-thousand-zhang radius.

He also secretly set up seven concealed array foundations around Tianxu Peak. These array foundations were not meant for defense, but were lightning-attracting arrays—formations capable of guiding the shockwaves of the Heavenly Tribulation in specific directions. He didn't need to focus the full might of the tribulation on his enemies; simply aiming the shockwaves at them would be enough. He himself would be the true core of the Heavenly Tribulation, and he had the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was ranked fifty-sixth among Mystic Artifacts, and its ability was to imprison lightning to use as weapons. No matter how strong the Heavenly Tribulation was, it was still lightning, and as long as it was lightning, it could be absorbed by the pagoda.

This was Wang Hao's true trump card.

On the twenty-eighth day after the Secret Realm opened, the atmosphere on Tianxu Peak grew increasingly tense. According to the conventions of past gatherings, the remaining two days were the most critical moment—the Heaven's Chosen in the Secret Realm would complete their final scrambles during these two days, marking the bloodiest phase. Outside the Secret Realm, the standoff between the three major factions had also reached a breaking point.

The auras of the five Demon Gods were noticeably deeper than before. They were accumulating their strength.

The three Martial Gods—Jiang Canghai, Patriarch Chiyan, and the newly recovered Jiang Cangyun—also began releasing faint, almost imperceptible pressures. The three factions were like three drawn bows, ready to fire at any moment.

But Wang Hao continued to leisurely eat fruits.

Every day, he ate a different kind of fruit. Today it was the Kunlun Fire Spirit Fruit, tomorrow it would be the Eastern Wasteland Sweet Peach, and the day after would be the Southern Border Gu Lychee. Elder Wugu could only shake his head as he watched—was this Emperor truly unafraid of death, or was he just careless to the extreme?

The answer was revealed on the thirtieth day.

At the Hour of the Dragon, the four ancient characters on the Kunlun stone stele lit up once more. Sixteen sect masters formed hand seals simultaneously, and the three-zhang-tall portal of light slowly expanded to ten zhang, reopening the exit to the Secret Realm. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the portal, waiting for the return of the first batch of Heaven's Chosen.

Wang Hao stood in the Eastern Wasteland's seating area, his palm already tightly gripping the Martial God Barrier-Breaking Pill that flowed with nine colors.

My top ten Heaven's Chosen, you must come out alive.

And then, I will show you a good show and let you see what the strongest Heaven's Chosen truly looks like.

The moment the portal of light fully opened, the entirety of Tianxu Peak became so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

The thirty thousand observing cultivators held their breath, the sixteen sect masters stood up before the stone stele, the five Demon Gods opened their eyes simultaneously, and the gazes of the three Martial Gods cut toward the portal like blades. Two hundred and forty Heaven's Chosen had entered the Secret Realm; just how many would be able to walk out after thirty days was the question on everyone's mind.

The first to walk out of the portal was the Holy Son of the Central Continent's Ten Thousand Swords Holy Land.

His white clothes were torn to shreds, and his left arm was severed at the elbow, the stump wrapped in makeshift cloth bandages with bloodstains that had already dried into a dark brown. On his face was a claw mark extending from his temple to his chin, so deep that the bone was visible, completely ruining what was once a handsome face. He still gripped a sword in his right hand, but the blade was densely covered in chips, making it look more like a saw than a sword.

He stumbled out of the portal of light. The moment he saw Jiang Tianchen, his lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He simply fell to his knees and fainted.

Jiang Tianchen's face instantly turned a livid iron-green.

This Holy Son of the Ten Thousand Swords Holy Land possessed cultivation at the first level of the Void-Riding Realm, easily ranking within the top ten of the two hundred and forty Heaven's Chosen who had entered the Secret Realm. For him to be injured to such an extent, just what exactly had happened inside the Secret Realm?

The second, the third, the fourth... The Central Continent's Heaven's Chosen walked out of the portal one after another. Everyone was injured. Some were missing arms, some had lost an eye, some had their chests pierced through, and some had their backs clawed to shreds. Out of the two hundred Heaven's Chosen from the Central Continent, only sixty-seven ultimately walked out of the portal, and every last one of them was wounded.

The rest of the Heaven's Chosen from the Ten Thousand Swords Holy Land had been completely wiped out; only this one-armed Holy Son had made it out alive.

Out of the fifteen Heaven's Chosen from the Chixiao Holy Land, three came out.

Out of the twenty Heaven's Chosen from the Tianque Holy Land, eight came out, including Jiang Taixuan. He was slightly better off than the others, with only a bloody scratch on his right cheek, but his expression was as gloomy as if he had swallowed a fly.

Following them were the Heaven's Chosen of the Four Regions.

Five out of ten prodigies from the Southern Border emerged, six out of ten from the Western Frontier, and four out of ten from the Northern Region. Such survival rates were considered normal compared to previous Kunlun Secret Realm expeditions. However, when the people of the Middle State saw the prodigies from the Southern Border looking full of energy, with some even wearing smiles, everyone had the same question—why?

Why were the losses of the four regions' prodigies so small?

Next was the Demon Race.

Out of the ten demon prodigies, seven walked out. The leader, Cang Ming, still wore his black robes, but there were over a dozen sword marks on them, and the dragon horns on his forehead were snapped off by a small section. His expression was no longer as arrogant as it was thirty days ago; instead, it carried a touch of hardened coldness. The six demon prodigies behind him were all injured. One of the feather race prodigies had half of their wing sliced off, leaving a shocking, gruesome wound.

The last to emerge were the ten great prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland.

When the ten of them filed out, the entire crowd was stunned.

It wasn't because they were heavily injured—quite the opposite, it was because they were too intact. Xiao Chen walked at the forefront. There was a bit of dust on his robes, but there wasn't a single injury on his entire body. The heavy ruler on his back didn't even show signs of being unsheathed; there were only a few shallow scratches on the scabbard.

Ye Guyun followed behind, his white clothes impeccably clean. He held the Hanyuan Sword in his arms, his face still maintaining that unapproachable, icy demeanor. But there was a trace of unconcealable exhaustion in his eyes, as if he had just recovered from a massive mental drain.

Lu Chenzhou walked third. His robes were stained with a few spots of dark red filth, but his face was rosy and his spirit was vigorous. He even wore a subtle, knowing smile.

Wanyan Gu, Su Lie, and the rest of the prodigies walked out in turn. Ten people. Not a single one missing, not a single one injured.

The gazes of the thirty thousand spectating cultivators were all fixed upon them. There was amazement, jealousy, and disbelief, but mostly, there was an eerie silence. On what grounds? Why did the prodigies of the Middle State and the Demon Race suffer such heavy casualties, while the ten great prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland returned completely unscathed?

Jiang Tianchen's face was no longer just ashen; it was black. He stared dead at Xiao Chen, his voice squeezing through his teeth: "Xiao Chen, what exactly happened in the Secret Realm? Why did the Eastern Wasteland prodigies suffer zero casualties?"

Xiao Chen cupped his sword and bowed, his tone flat: "To answer Sect Leader Jiang: The Secret Realm is indeed fraught with extreme danger, filled with ancient restrictions, traps, and eerie creatures. But we, the prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland, strictly followed His Majesty's teachings—do not be greedy, do not rob, do not advance recklessly, quit while you're ahead, and retreat when encountering danger. Therefore, our losses were minimal."

The moment these words came out, the prodigies of the Middle State and the Demon Race almost spat blood.

Not greedy, not robbing, not advancing recklessly? You Eastern Wasteland prodigies robbed harder than anyone else! Quit while you're ahead? What you took were the storage rings off our bodies! Retreat when encountering danger? Before you retreated, you added traps at the entrances of the danger zones, causing the people behind you to get blown up the moment they went in!

But no one dared to say these words out loud. Because it was very difficult to find hard evidence in broad daylight for things that happened inside the Secret Realm. Furthermore, the rule of the Secret Realm was that life and death were up to fate; seeking revenge outside the Secret Realm violated the rules of the Kunlun Gathering.

Suppressing his anger, Jiang Tianchen turned to the Middle State prodigies and began to question them for details one by one.

At this time, Wang Hao had already walked up to the ten great prodigies. His gaze swept over the ten of them, the smile on his lips growing increasingly distinct.

"You're back?"

Xiao Chen cupped his fists: "Your Majesty, we have successfully completed our mission."

"How was the harvest?"

Xiao Chen took a storage ring from his sleeve and offered it with both hands. "Everything obtained in the Secret Realm is right here. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Wang Hao took the storage ring and sent his divine sense into it. Then, his eyelid twitched, and his smile froze on his face.

The space inside the storage ring was a full hundred square zhang, and right now it was stuffed to the brim. Over twenty Heaven-tier divine weapons, over three hundred bottles of various panaceas and spirit pills, over a hundred jade slips containing cultivation methods, and mountains of rare divine materials. The most eye-catching among them were three fist-sized "Dao Source Stones." Those were the life essence left behind after the fall of Martial God Realm experts, providing immense help for breaking through to the Martial God Realm. In the outside world, the value of a single Dao Source Stone was enough to buy a city. And there were three of them in here.

"This is—" Wang Hao lowered his voice, "Where did you guys get all this?"

Xiao Chen said solemnly: "We upheld Your Majesty's teachings in the Secret Realm, valuing harmony and never actively robbing others. These items were all voluntarily given to us by the prodigies of the Middle State and the Demon Race."

"Voluntarily given?"

"Yes." Xiao Chen's expression was incredibly sincere. "They were heavily injured in the Secret Realm. We happened to be passing by and provided necessary medical assistance and personal protection services. As a token of gratitude, they voluntarily gifted a portion of their wealth to us."

Wang Hao fell silent for a moment. "Xiao Chen, you learned from me for thirty days, and the word you learned best is 'voluntary'."

"Your Majesty teaches well."

Wang Hao then looked at Lu Chenzhou. "Chenzhou, what about you?"

Lu Chenzhou let out a cheeky laugh and pulled three storage rings from his robes. "Your Majesty, I had good luck and picked up some junk."

Wang Hao took a look. Junk, my ass. The three storage rings were filled with all sorts of rare materials. There were over forty stalks of Heaven-tier spirit herbs alone, as well as two talisman treasures that could only be refined by the Martial God Realm.

"Where did these come from?"

"Picked them off dead people," Lu Chenzhou said self-righteously. "The people from the Middle State and the Demon Race fought each other, and both sides suffered heavy losses. I just happened to be passing by. I originally wanted to save them, but they had already stopped breathing. Your Majesty taught me—make the best use of everything, and let everyone use their talents. Dead people can't use storage rings, so I'm helping them use them."

Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction and turned to Ye Guyun. Before Wang Hao could even speak, Ye Guyun pulled a cloth bag from his robes and tossed it over.

"One Heaven-tier high-grade Dao Pill, can increase lifespan by three hundred years. It was the most valuable thing in the Secret Realm, located in the deepest part of the central cave dwelling. The people from the Middle State and the Demon Race were all fighting for it. I got there first, so I took it."

The tone he used when saying this was like he was talking about eating a bowl of noodles today, lacking even the slightest hint of showing off.