"Fang Yun, for the foreseeable future, you will live here and focus on your cultivation. No one will come to disturb you. You’re also free to wander around our Purple Mist Sect, just stay away from any areas guarded by Inner Sect Disciples."

Fang Yun nodded in understanding, then asked,

"Senior Ruan, I’d like to ask, when will we be heading to the Secret Realm, the ’Land of No Master’?"

"Around the tenth day of the ninth month. I’ll come find you the day before we depart."

Fang Yun made a mental note of the date. There were still just over twenty days until the tenth of the ninth month, so it was still quite a while away.

The two entered the temporary cave residence, chatting as they went.

Ruan Hanfan took a map from his sleeve and handed it to Fang Yun.

"This is a rough map of the Secret Realm, the ’Land of No Master.’ Take a look."

Fang Yun took the map and immediately unfolded it. He saw that several areas on it were blank.

In total, the blank areas made up about a third of the entire map.

Without a doubt, this map had been filled in by generations of Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Purple Mist Sect who had entered the "Land of No Master" and explored it.

It was likely that the Purple Mist Sect’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators had also attempted to explore the remaining blank areas. However, those who ventured in were lost to the Secret Realm, never to return, and thus were unable to add to the map.

Many places on the map were marked with danger levels. There were three levels: low, medium, and high.

Ruan Hanfan pointed to a spot on the unfurled map and said,

"This is the place where you can get the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid."

It was a medium-danger area.

After pointing out the location, Ruan Hanfan immediately began to explain.

"This place is guarded by several Second Tier Peak Mirror Beasts. As long as your concealment techniques are good enough to fool them, this place might not even count as a low-danger area for you."

Fang Yun immediately asked,

"Senior Ruan, I want to know, what are Mirror Beasts? Are they a type of Demon Beast? Do they use Demon Power like Demon Beasts?"

This was information Fang Yun was keen to learn.

It was quite important to him.

"Mirror Beasts are not Demon Beasts. Their source of power is the Secret Realm, the ’Land of No Master’."

Power derived from a Secret Realm... This immediately reminded Fang Yun of the energy bodies from the previous Trial Secret Realm. This was not good news for him.

Killing energy bodies didn’t grant him any Talent Points.

Ruan Hanfan looked at the thoughtful Fang Yun and, as if he’d realized something, said, "Fang Yun, you’re not getting any ideas about the Mirror Beasts, are you?"

"If you kill a Mirror Beast, its core, the Mirror Stone, is indeed a decent Artifact Refining material from what I understand. But it’s not worth the risk."

’Aside from being powerful, Fang Yun is also an Artifact Refiner,’ Ruan Hanfan thought. ’His initial question about whether Mirror Beasts were a type of Demon Beast makes it very likely that he’s already sizing them up.’

’In the "Land of No Master," things like this are of the lowest value and a pain to acquire. Whether or not he can obtain the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid is the real priority for this trip.’

"I understand."

Fang Yun agreed verbally, but he thought otherwise.

’Killing a Mirror Beast yields a Mirror Stone. Although I don’t know the specific use of Mirror Stones in Artifact Refining, none of the books I’ve read on refining materials mention them.’

’But this characteristic of the Mirror Beasts makes it highly likely that killing them will grant Combat Talent Points.’

’After all, killing a Peak of Foundation Establishment Demon provides a base of 510,000 Talent Points. If these Second Tier Peak Mirror Beasts can also provide that many, it would be a huge windfall!’

’A large number of Talent Points would greatly accelerate upgrading my Combat Talent to seven stars, which in turn would lead to a further increase in my strength.’

"Senior Ruan, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"After I obtain the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid, if I acquire other Spiritual Objects in the ’Land of No Master,’ how should I handle them?" Fang Yun needed to ask these questions carefully to avoid problems later.

"If you have the ability to obtain other Spiritual Objects, you can handle them yourself." As Ruan Hanfan said this, and just as Fang Yun was about to thank him, his expression turned serious. "The ’Land of No Master’ is extremely dangerous. The threats come not only from within the Secret Realm itself but also from Demons, Blood Demons, and Ghost Cultivators. My advice is to find a place to hide after you get the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid and wait there until your time in the Secret Realm is over."

’With Fang Yun’s concealment techniques, if he can successfully obtain the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid from that group of Mirror Beasts and then truly commits to hiding, he’ll be in basically no danger.’

Therefore, Ruan Hanfan strongly advised Fang Yun to do just that, as it would make the most of his particular skills.

Fang Yun gave a compliant nod in response to Ruan Hanfan’s advice.

’I’ll decide my actual course of action based on the situation on the ground.’

"Senior, what if I can fill in some parts of the map?" Fang Yun gestured to the blank parts of the map.

Ruan Hanfan understood immediately that Fang Yun was asking about rewards.

’Come to think of it, Fang Yun’s skills are indeed quite suitable for exploring these uncharted areas.’

"I still advise you to hide after getting the Celestial Spring Clear Liquid. But if you really can fill in more of the map, the Purple Mist Sect has Cultivation Techniques, Secret Techniques, and Magical Treasures for you to choose from." As for the rewards, Ruan Hanfan only gave a rough outline.

At this point, he added with special emphasis,

"Aside from us, the other Nascent Soul Influences of the Evil Demons and Crooked Paths already have complete maps of the ’Land of No Master’."

This also served to illustrate the danger of the unknown regions.

The enemy knew what was in the unknown areas, while they did not. If they went in rashly and ran into them, they would likely be at a great disadvantage from the very beginning.

Of the seven great Nascent Soul Level influences.

The Demons, Ghost Cultivators, and Blood Demons each had two Nascent Soul Level sects backing them. For the Purple Mist Sect, which stood alone without allies, managing to explore and map two-thirds of the "Land of No Master" was no small feat.

There were conflicts between all the various cultivation paths.

But the loathing they had for each other was nothing compared to their hatred for Cultivators who used Spiritual Power.

If the overall strength of Spiritual Power Cultivators wasn’t so weak, these Evil Demons and Crooked Paths would have likely teamed up to deal with them long ago.

Fang Yun asked many more questions about the Secret Realm, the "Land of No Master."

Ruan Hanfan was able to answer almost all of his questions.

"Senior, I have no more questions." Having asked everything he should, Fang Yun held back the questions he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

’Here in the Purple Mist Sect, it’s better to be on my best behavior and not leave a bad impression.’

"Then I’ll be going."

From the entrance of the temporary cave residence, Fang Yun watched Ruan Hanfan depart.

Fang Yun planned to devote the following days to his cultivation.

Although Ruan Hanfan had said he could go anywhere in the Purple Mist Sect that wasn’t guarded by Inner Sect Disciples, Fang Yun felt no need to wander around aimlessly.

It was better to just focus quietly on his cultivation.

Swallowing an Upper Grade Primordial Spirit Pill, Fang Yun quickly began to refine and absorb it.

「The beginning of the ninth month arrived.」

Since arriving at the Purple Mist Sect, Fang Yun hadn’t gone out once, staying inside his temporary cave residence the entire time.

From killing the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon and several at the Qi Refining Stage last month, he had accumulated 1.6 million Talent Points.

After spending the points on his Combat Talent, he had progressed more than one percent closer to the seven-star level.

KNOCK KNOCK—

Fang Yun, who was in the middle of cultivating, heard a knock at the door.

’According to Senior Ruan, he wasn’t supposed to come find me again until the eighth or ninth of the ninth month.’

’It’s only the third of the ninth month now. It’s still far too early.’

Fang Yun took out the Token Ruan Hanfan had given him and used it to open the stone door of the cave residence.

The person who entered was not Senior Ruan as Fang Yun had expected, but a petite and impish-looking young woman.

"You’re Fang Yun, right?"

’She doesn’t look very old, but she possesses the cultivation of the Peak of Foundation Establishment.’

’Even considering this is the Purple Mist Sect, this impish young woman has to be at least fifty years old.’

"I am. And you are...?"