Chapter 270: Chapter 270: The Mystic Realm Opens

After several rounds of selection, Ye Xuan chose just seventeen people from the hundreds of candidates. In return, these seventeen individuals all paid a hefty price, nearly filling Ye Xuan’s Storage Ring to the brim.

But these Soul Refiners weren’t angry at all; on the contrary, they were delighted.

"Master Ye Xuan, I have a stunningly beautiful daughter back in the kingdom. If you have need of her, I will send her to your residence immediately upon our return."

Some Soul Refiners even offered to send women to Ye Xuan—nieces, cousins, sisters-in-law, you name it. They offered up everyone.

Ye Xuan broke out in a cold sweat listening to them.

With Ye Xuan’s strength and talent, he was destined to thrive in the Thirteen Nations Alliance. If their daughters could get close to Master Ye Xuan, what else would they have to worry about?

The next few days were for the various Soul Refiners to hold their trading sessions. Ye Xuan, however, did not participate. Instead, he stayed quietly in his room, cultivating silently and making preparations.

Since his rebirth, Ye Xuan’s strength had improved rapidly, but he knew that secret realms were often fraught with danger. To remain undefeated, necessary preparations were essential.

In his past life, he’d been to every dangerous place imaginable. He naturally understood the wisdom of taking precautions.

Compared to the jubilation in the Liuyun Kingdom, the other kingdoms were not faring so well.

「Dongsheng Kingdom Encampment.」

All the powerful Soul Refiners qualified to enter the Floating Light Secret Realm were summoned to a secret chamber by Zuo Yi Alliance.

"Everyone, I have only one requirement for you on this trip to the Floating Light Secret Realm: keep a close watch on Ye Xuan from the Liuyun Kingdom. If anyone gets any news of him, you must report it to me and the other elders of the kingdom immediately. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Very good. Everyone, get ready. Ye Fanxing, come here for a moment," Zuo Yi Alliance said indifferently, looking at Ye Fanxing.

"Yes, President."

Ye Fanxing gave a faint smile and didn’t refuse, following Zuo Yi Alliance into an adjacent secret chamber.

"Ye Fanxing, we have you to thank for the Dongsheng Kingdom securing so many spots this time," Zuo Yi Alliance said, staring at Ye Fanxing with a probing look in his eyes.

"President, you flatter me. The Dongsheng Kingdom was able to achieve such a ranking entirely thanks to your able guidance. I only did what I was supposed to do."

Ye Fanxing said with a faint smile playing on his lips.

"What you were supposed to do? Heh." Zuo Yi Alliance gave a faint smile, his gaze profound. "I never expected our Dongsheng Kingdom to have a genius like you. It truly surprised me. If I’m not mistaken, your skill as a Soul Refiner is on par with my own."

"President, you exaggerate. How could my skill possibly compare to yours?" Ye Fanxing said calmly, neither arrogant nor rash.

"Is that so?" A sharp glint flashed in Zuo Yi Alliance’s eyes. "You and I are both intelligent people. I don’t know your origins, nor do I care to. You rendered a great service to the Dongsheng Kingdom in this Floating Light Assembly. Therefore, you may keep fifty percent of your gains from the Floating Light Secret Realm and hand over the other fifty percent. That isn’t an excessive demand, is it?"

"Handing over a portion of our treasures to the kingdom is everyone’s duty. As for what you said earlier, President... I’m afraid I don’t quite understand," Ye Fanxing said, putting on a confused expression.

"Alright, stop acting in front of me. You know perfectly well what I mean. Lastly, a word of advice. I don’t care about your origins or your background. As long as you don’t harm the Dongsheng Kingdom, I won’t press the matter. But if I find out you’ve done anything to endanger the Dongsheng Kingdom, don’t blame me for being merciless."

A vicious glint suddenly flashed in Zuo Yi Alliance’s eyes as he emanated a thick killing intent.

"Alright, you may go."

With a faint wave of his hand, Zuo Yi Alliance dismissed him.

After Ye Fanxing left, two old men emerged from behind a nearby door. They were the other two vice presidents of the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower.

"President, I feel truly uneasy about letting him stay."

"Vice President Li He is right. That man is so young, yet his Soul Refining skill is no less than our own. His background is likely significant. If we keep him, he will inevitably become a liability."

As soon as the two emerged, they spoke with great worry.

A vicious glint flashed in Zuo Yi Alliance’s eyes. He said gravely, "Do you think I don’t know that? But in this Floating Light Assembly, not only has this anomaly Ye Fanxing appeared, but Ye Xuan from the Liuyun Kingdom and Luan Hong from the Wushang Kingdom also have mysterious origins. We cannot act rashly. Besides, keeping Ye Fanxing around is temporarily beneficial for our Dongsheng Kingdom. Our primary objective right now is to capture Ye Xuan of the Liuyun Kingdom. His Blue Star Grass martial soul is of great importance to the Dongsheng Kingdom. We must obtain it."

"The President is wise." Both of them nodded.

"Li He, I want the two of you to investigate Ye Fanxing’s origins thoroughly. Remember, don’t tip him off. Inform me immediately if you find anything. No matter what power he comes from, if he takes any action that endangers our Dongsheng Kingdom, we must eliminate him, root and stem."

Zuo Yi Alliance said, his killing intent palpable.

It wasn’t just the Dongsheng Kingdom; the other kingdoms had also taken note of the extraordinary performances of Luan Hong and the others.

As leaders of their respective nations’ Soul Master Towers, how could they not be intelligent? They saw things with perfect clarity and knew that the appearance of people like Luan Hong was highly unusual.

However, the attention of the vast majority was focused on Ye Xuan.

The Blue Star Grass martial soul that Ye Xuan had condensed during the assembly had deeply shocked everyone. They saw the immense potential it held, and each began to plot in secret.

「Three days passed in a flash, and the day the Floating Light Secret Realm was to open arrived.」

Early that morning, everyone gathered in the valley.

The sun rose high in the sky. Around ten in the morning, a brilliant, rosy glow suddenly rose from the valley ahead. Streaks of flowing light, like ribbons of seven colors, appeared out of thin air and swirled through the air.

"The Floating Light Secret Realm is about to open."

A stir went through the crowd.

"Everyone, quiet down. Most of you already know the rules for the Floating Light Secret Realm, but I must repeat a few things. The Floating Light Secret Realm is impossibly vast. In over a hundred years, the experts of our Thirteen Nations Alliance have entered more than a dozen times, yet we have failed to explore it completely. That should tell you how immense it is."

"The secret realm will be open for one month. Your entry point will be random. Once the month is up, everyone will be automatically teleported out. Additionally, there are rainbow-colored teleportation formations within the Floating Light Secret Realm. If you encounter danger, do not hesitate to enter the nearest one, and you will be transported out."

"A final piece of advice. While the Floating Light Secret Realm is a paradise for Soul Refiners, filled with rare treasures, the dangers within are also immense. On average, a quarter of all entrants perish inside. At its worst, that number has been as high as one-third. Therefore, I hope you all will act with caution and not be reckless."

"Alright, enough talk. The secret realm will open in half an hour. Please wait patiently with your respective kingdom’s group."

During the speech, Ye Xuan stared intently at the rainbow light before him, a sharp glint suddenly flashing in his eyes.

’I know these so-called secret realms better than anyone. They’re basically small, pocket dimensions left behind by powerful experts or even entire sects from ancient or primordial times.’

Their formation remains a mystery to this day.

Secret realms were also graded, and their level determined the quality of their treasures and the degree of danger within.

The reason Ye Xuan was drawn to this Floating Light Secret Realm was because treasures considered exceptional even on a continental scale had appeared here before.

Now, seeing the way the realm was opening, his attention was immediately captured.

There are many ways to determine a secret realm’s level. The crudest method is to observe its opening.

Because every secret realm is an independent pocket dimension, the more powerful it is, the more seamlessly it is integrated into the fabric of space, and the lower the probability of it being discovered.

This Floating Light Secret Realm had appeared without any warning. The faint, rainbow-colored light didn’t cause much of a commotion, and it didn’t seem like anything special.

’But a closer look reveals its flawless integration with the void. Even I can’t spot the slightest disharmony. Clearly, this is a mid-level secret realm at the very least, if not higher.’

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Xuan turned his head and was surprised to see a look of excitement in Luan Hong’s eyes as well.

He was taken aback. ’Could it be that Luan Hong can also tell how powerful this secret realm is?’

Just then, as if sensing Ye Xuan’s gaze, Luan Hong suddenly turned to look. Upon seeing it was Ye Xuan, a cold, cruel smile touched his lips.

Faintly, Ye Xuan could feel several powerful streams of killing intent swirling around him.

He discreetly extended his senses to trace them. Most of the killing intent originated from the Fire Crow Kingdom and the Dongsheng Kingdom. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He sneered inwardly, but his expression remained impassive as he continued to observe the scene before him.

The rainbow light grew more and more intense. Suddenly, a path of white light shot out from the depths of the radiance, landing in the valley.

"Attention! The passage to the Floating Light Secret Realm has opened! Do not resist as you enter, lest there be an accident."

An authoritative reminder rang in everyone’s ears.

The next moment—

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Streaks of light shot out from the valley. Some of the Soul Refiners at the front, unable to wait, rushed into the passage.

"Ye Xuan, you must be careful inside!"

Yun Aoxue stood beside Ye Xuan, reminding him softly.

Nodding, Ye Xuan said, "Teacher Yun, you be careful too."

As soon as he finished speaking, with a RUMBLE, the white path of light became even clearer and spread out in all directions.

"Let’s go!"

Ye Xuan followed the crowd into the path of light and vanished in an instant.