Within this ice plain secret realm, there were also over a dozen cultivators with very ordinary appearances and an extremely low presence. Grouped in threes and fours, they were searching for something throughout the realm.
They paid no mind to the surrounding resources. They passed by many resource-rich areas without even a glance, solely holding the precise compasses in their hands to search everywhere.
These people were the map-making staff dispatched by the Yuanling City branch of Wanwantong, entering various secret realms near Yuanling City to chart maps.
Essentially, cultivators who had been in the cultivation world for a long time, regardless of their cultivation level, knew of their existence as long as they had entered secret realms. Furthermore, because they did not compete for resources, other cultivators wouldn't cause trouble for them upon seeing them.
After all, there was no conflict of interest, and everyone would still need to buy map information from them in the future.
At this time, one of the squads of these Wanwantong cultivators arrived near a towering snow mountain. They stopped at the foot of the mountain, raising the compasses in their hands with solemn expressions to survey the snow mountain for something.
This squad consisted of three people. Their clothing and facial features were extremely ordinary, the kind of people who would go completely unnoticed if thrown into a crowd.
"This is it. This should be the entrance to this grey spot," Liang Zhonghuai put away his compass, pointed at an empty space in front of him, and nodded to the other two.
Hearing this, one of them nodded and said:
"Then let's not delay. Let's make preparations and go in quickly. Who knows if the remaining ten days or so will be enough for us to map out this grey spot."
In their map exploration team, unexplored areas were generally referred to as grey spots.
Therefore, after the three of them set up some formations with specific functions designed for their map team near this snow mountain, they played rock-paper-scissors to leave one person outside to stand guard, while the remaining two would be responsible for going in to investigate.
After all, grey spots were full of unknowns, making it a dangerous task. Although the rewards for successfully exploring a grey spot were generous, one had to be alive to spend them. Thus, generally speaking, if a grey spot was actually found, people were not very willing to enter.
However, Wanwantong's map exploration team also had a rule regarding this: if a member entered secret realms ten consecutive times without discovering a grey spot, or twenty consecutive times without entering a grey spot, it would be considered slacking off, resulting in immediate dismissal.
Additionally, eighty percent of their past remuneration and various rewards would be reclaimed.
The trio at the foot of the snow mountain had detected a grey spot, which the compass would record. They could receive a reward based on this upon their return, so all three were quite happy. But the thought that detecting a grey spot meant they had to enter it...
Rock-paper-scissors was Liang Zhonghuai's weak point, and unsurprisingly, he lost.
The other person who lost alongside him was a man named Yu Guang.
The only companion who won was named Tong Hua.
Contentedly, Tong Hua took a tent out of his storage bag and pitched it on the ground. He started a fire in front of the tent, and then, under the watchful eyes of Liang Zhonghuai and Yu Guang, he actually pulled out a jug of Pinhui Spirit Wine from Xianxiang Pavilion and placed it on the fire to warm it up!
"Ah~ Amidst the heavy snow, I am the only one warming a jug of wine in this vast white world. How beautiful, how beautiful—" He sat at the entrance of the tent, seemingly oblivious to the two, his eyes slightly closed in admiration. Only then did he look at the two resentment-filled men and feigned surprise:
"Eh? You guys haven't left yet? Hurry up and go, hurry up and go. I'll save a cup of wine for each of you, no need to be polite."
Seeing him acting so smugly, the two of them really wanted to pin him to the ground and beat him up right then and there.
After joking around, Tong Hua withdrew the playful look on his face and said seriously to Liang Zhonghuai and Yu Guang:
"Pay attention, you two. If anything happens, your own safety must come first. I will be waiting here for your good news."
The three had worked together for many years and shared similar temperaments, so their relationship was quite good.
Jokes aside, they naturally all hoped to successfully complete the mission and return.
The two agreed.
They then turned and walked to the entrance point just detected by the compass, and took a step inside.
Unexpectedly, just as they stepped one foot in, they suddenly felt a massive suction force that instantly pulled them both inside.
Seeing this from behind, Tong Hua furrowed his brows tightly.
He glanced at the formations the three of them had just set up nearby, feeling a bit worried in his heart.
These were formations issued by the headquarters. It was said that they were Transposition Formations personally crafted by the eldest disciple of the Eighth Spirit Venerable. They had always worked well, so there shouldn't be any problems this time, right?
Hopefully, everything goes smoothly with this mission...
On the other side, Lin Xiao was braving the heavy snow, struggling to find a path on the snow mountain.
Why was it a struggle?
Because when they reached a small sunken flatland halfway up the snow mountain, whenever he walked barely a few dozen meters, Liao Pantu would immediately stop him, saying he went the wrong way.
Then he would make him change direction.
As a result, after he changed direction and walked another few dozen meters, Liao Pantu would say he went the wrong way again.
After being tossed about like this for seven or eight times, Lin Xiao couldn't help but ask:
"Senior, what exactly is going on?"
Inside the Soul Nourishing Pendant, Liao Pantu's brows were tightly locked. He could feel that he was not far from his soul body, but there was indeed nowhere to enter here. Moreover, Lin Xiao had been wandering around here for half the day without bumping into any entrance.
He thought for a moment before speaking:
"It seems there might be a hidden space in this secret realm. My soul body should be inside it, and this hidden space isn't far from us, but its entrance isn't open here."
"Then what do we do now?"
Just as Lin Xiao asked the question, he saw a translucent hand stretch out from his chest, holding an exquisite emerald-green jade magpie and handing it to him.
"Try using this."
"What is this?" Lin Xiao took it and examined the object curiously in his hand.
"This item is called the Soul Chasing Magpie. It can track the whereabouts of a soul body. If the entrance to that hidden space is currently open, it can find its way there based on my soul mark."
"If you had this thing, why didn't you just use it to find the location of your soul body directly? Why did you have to wait until you heard the name of the secret realm to remember?"
Liao Pantu grumbled:
"If it were really possible, do you think I wouldn't want to? Would I need you to tell me? This Soul Chasing Magpie cannot track a soul body across spatial barriers with different rules; it can only be used within the same spatial barrier."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao thought for a moment and said:
"You think that the hidden space within this secret realm, even if separated, is still considered to be within the same spatial barrier, so this Soul Chasing Magpie is worth a try?"
Seeing that he figured it out himself, saving him the explanation, Liao Pantu replied with gratification:
"Exactly. I have already placed a wisp of my soul mark into this Soul Chasing Magpie. Just inject your spiritual energy into it and let it fly."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
