214: Chapter 214 The Mysterious Realm of Xuanhuang

"I have also been to the Southern Wilderness in the past, wanting to visit Qingxi in the Nine Hills." Venerable Hantian's brow furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a trace of heaviness that was hard to detect.

"But when I arrived at the mountain gate of the Nine Hills, I discovered that the entire Nine Hills was shrouded in an extremely ancient Restriction. I have never seen any trace of that Restriction's power in any of the fox clan's Cultivation Techniques; that power contained an extremely obscure fluctuation of tribulation qi. Although I do not cultivate the Dao of tribulation qi, having lived for hundreds of thousands of years, I would absolutely never mistake the aura of tribulation qi."

"Fellow Daoist, you said just now that the Jiuqiu Fox Clan appeared at the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony. If they truly can freely enter and exit the mountain gate, then it means there is a problem with that Restriction."

"Either it was broken from the outside, or it was undone from the inside, but regardless of which scenario it is, it does not seem to be the work of the fox clan themselves."

Jiang Changge did not reply immediately after hearing this.

The Jiuqiu Fox Clan had been secluded from the world for ten thousand years, plagued by tribulation qi, and the point in time when Zangtian vanished without a trace seemed to faintly coincide with the time when the Nine Hills sealed its mountain.

There were never so many coincidences in this world; behind every seemingly unrelated event of the past, there was often a hidden thread that had never surfaced.

Jiang Changge did not delve deeper into the topic of the Zangtian Holy Land, temporarily putting aside his clues regarding the tribulation qi and the fox clan.

It was not that he did not care, but rather that the information he currently possessed was too scarce. Instead of making baseless speculations, it was better to wait for the person behind the scenes to show themselves.

As long as Kunlun was in the Southern Wilderness, no force could stir up any trouble. He still had this level of confidence.

He set down his teacup and steered the conversation in another direction.

"Fellow Daoist Hantian, how much do you know about the various Secret Realms and ruins of the Xuanhuang World?"

Hearing this, the solemnity on Venerable Hantian's face dissipated slightly, replaced by a knowing smile.

He had traveled the Mortal World and traversed the mountains and rivers of the Five Regions. When it came to understanding the various Secret Realms and ruins of the Xuanhuang World, there was probably not a second person in the world today who knew them better than he did.

Jiang Changge's question happened to touch upon his area of greatest expertise.

"You have asked the right person, Fellow Daoist," Venerable Hantian said as he stroked his beard, a hint of self-satisfaction in his tone.

"My greatest pleasure during these years of living in seclusion among the common folk has been to travel around and look about. Within the Five Regions, as long as a Secret Realm or ruin has even a bit of fame, I dare not say I have been to all of them, but I at least know about seventy to eighty percent of them."

He raised his hand and lightly brushed the stone table, and a ray of spiritual light surged from his fingertip, condensing into a light screen above the tabletop.

Within the light screen, a rough map of the Xuanhuang World slowly unfolded, with mountains, rivers, cities, and passes all outlined in spiritual light, clear and distinct.

"First, let's talk about the Southern Wilderness," Venerable Hantian said, reaching out to point to the southernmost tip of the map.

"The Southern Wilderness has the thinnest Spiritual Qi among the Five Regions, so the number of Secret Realms and ruins is also relatively small, but they are not nonexistent. Since you hail from the Southern Wilderness, Fellow Daoist, you should know of the Purple Bamboo Forest. That was the dojo of the ancient Immortal Zizhu, opening once every hundred years, and is considered one of the top Secret Realms in the Southern Wilderness."

"Other than that, there are also several ancient ruins buried in the mountains of the Eastern Southern Wilderness, though most have been eroded beyond recognition by time, and their value is limited."

"However, in the southwest, there is a place called the Myriad Poisons Swamp. It is rumored to be the place where an ancient Immortal of the Poison Dao fell. Deep within the swamp lies his Immortal Cave, which contains not only his Poison Dao Legacy, but also a top-grade Heaven Rank Magical Artifact called the Myriad Poisons Cauldron. However, the swamp is filled with poisonous miasma, and even Tribulation Transcenders dare not venture deep into it lightly, so to this day, no one has been able to retrieve it."

His finger moved upward, landing on the location of the Central Plains: "The Central Plains is the most prosperous region of the Xuanhuang World, and its abundance of Secret Realms and ruins is far beyond what the Southern Wilderness can compare to."

"The most famous is naturally the Xuanhuang Fortress, which opens once every thousand years. The Heavenly Dao personally hands down its decree, and the Prodigies of the Five Regions enter with keys to compete for the xuanhuang command flag."

"But apart from the Xuanhuang Fortress, there are also several places in the Central Plains that cannot be underestimated. For example, the Sword Tomb on Heavenly Sword Mountain, which is a Holy Land of the ancient Sword Cultivator lineage. Buried within are countless famous ancient swords, each possessing its own unique Sword Intent Legacy."

"It is said that deep within the Sword Tomb, there is also an Immortal Sword, personally forged by the founding Ancestral Master of the Sword Cultivators, with a grade far exceeding the Heaven Rank, though no one has ever been able to pull it out."

"There is also the Starry Sea, which is an inland sea located in the northern part of the Central Plains. Deep on the seabed lies the ruins of the ancient Star Sect, which hides the Star Sect's supreme Cultivation Technique, the 'Zhou Heaven Star Art', as well as a treasure called the Star Compass, which is said to be able to deduce heavenly secrets and predict the future."

"However, the depths of the Starry Sea are guarded by ancient Restrictions, and to enter the ruins, one must first break through that layer of Restrictions."

"The most famous place in the Western Regions is the Buddhist Holy Land, the Great Leiyin Temple, but the Great Leiyin Temple itself is a Secret Realm. Within the temple is a nine-layered Buddhist pagoda, each layer containing the sarira and Buddhist teachings of Buddhist mighty figures, making it a priceless treasure for Buddhist Cultivators."

"There is also a place in the Western Regions called the Endless Sand Sea, and buried deep within the sand sea is an ancient city buried by wind and sand since ancient times, named Loulan. The ancient city of Loulan hides countless ancient treasures, but it is also occupied by a large number of ancient Vicious Beasts eroded by Devilish Qi, making it extremely dangerous."

"The Northern Border," his finger moved toward the north.

"The most famous Secret Realm of the Northern Border is the Extreme Cold Ice Abyss, which is a bottomless glacial rift located in the far north of the Northern Border, rumored to have been left behind when two mighty figures battled in ancient times."

"Deep within the ice abyss lies the remnants of their Immortal Dao Origin after their fall, which is a supreme treasure for Cultivators Undergoing Tribulation, but the cold qi within the ice abyss is difficult for even Body Integration Stage Cultivators to resist, not to mention the ancient Restrictions and unknown Vicious Beasts deep within the ice abyss."

"In addition, there is also a snow-capped mountain in the Northern Border named Tianzhu, which is rumored to be one of the passages to the Immortal Realm during the primeval era, but it was sealed by the Heavenly Dao long ago, and now only half of the mountain remains standing above the sea of clouds."

"The East Sea," his finger landed on the far east. "The most mysterious place in the East Sea is undoubtedly Fish Dragon Bay, which is the oldest among the three major undersea Secret Realms of the East Sea, requiring a hanhai token to enter."

"There is also a place on the seabed of the East Sea called the Dragon Ruins, rumored to be the ancestral land of the primeval Dragon Clan, where countless dragon bones and legacies are buried. However, the Dragon Ruins is now closely guarded by the East Sea Dragon Clan, making it very difficult for outsiders to approach."

"Additionally, there is an Immortal island named Penglai, where a Red Dust Immortal is said to reside, though I have never met this person, only sensing that there is indeed an Immortal's aura."

Having said this, Venerable Hantian picked up his teacup to take a sip, moistening his throat before continuing, "After the Xuanhuang Fortress opens, it usually triggers a tide of Spiritual Qi."