“We can slowly test how much you can separate,” Yu Han said. “The marketplace sells things that are too difficult to process at a huge premium. For example, one of the ingredients Niu’er needs for the Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite is a poison from a Bat-Faced Centipede, a type of Gu.”

“A what now?” Li Yao asked with a shrill breath. Fang Zhao took a step back.

“But the poison is actually the centipede’s blood. The seller said they spend about one or two spirit stones to power the formation that can separate this blood from the insect’s flesh. They sell a tiny vial of it for twenty spirit stones! Twenty!”

“That’s after I haggle down,” Huang Niuniu said. “I’m saving us a lot of money.”

“Imagine how much more money we can save. Imagine how much we can make if we find more of these hard-to-refine materials and sell them.” Yu Han got more excited as he spoke. By the end of his speech, he was waving his hands as if making a sales pitch. Fei Rui imitated him atop his helmet.

“But the ring belongs to Fang Zhao,” Huang Niuniu said. “Now that he knows he can do all this—all thanks to Han’er, by the way—would he still hang out with us—”

A mushroom hit Huang Niuniu’s head. Luckily for her, she was wearing the helmet.

“You hit me…” She pointed at Fang Zhao, disbelief in her voice.

“You’re the one questioning my honour.” Fang Zhao stood up, fists clenched. “Let’s fight if you want!”

“I’m Level 2. A puny Level 0 like you can’t beat me!”

Amen, Yu Han prayed. Last words have never been spoken so confidently.

“Take my Bronze Crane Leg!” Fang Zhao roared, kicking out.

“H-Han’er! He’s hitting me again—”

“You deserve it.” Yu Han took no sides.

“Brother Yu opened my eye to the curse of the ring, then helped me figure out how to use the curse in fights,” Fang Zhao said. He wasn’t punching or kicking seriously. “Even now, we adventure to find a way to break through my Level 0 bindings, and it’s all Brother Yu’s idea. His Four Meditations book had the clue. He selflessly shared it with me. He—”

“Not ‘selflessly.’ My Han’er has many ideas, and he’s probably got some schemes to wring you dry!”

“Niu’er, I’m hurt,” Yu Han said.

“I know,” Fang Zhao replied with an uppercut. “He has these greedy merchant eyes when he talks with me, like I’m a bag of spirit stones.”

“Oi,” Yu Han retorted.

The fight had devolved into a shoving match, with Li Yao and Fei Rui cheering them on. Huang Niuniu didn’t use her whip, but tried to slap Fang Zhao mid-speech. She failed.

After a while, they stopped. Not because they were done, but because a bunch of monsters attacked them, probably attracted by the blood.

This time, they got Pure Qi.

For the next couple of miles, they traversed more mountains. The rivers didn’t create valleys that separated mountains like islands. But the mountains were smaller too, more like mounds or hills. The forested earth slowly grew older, with ancient trees towering taller over more bushes and groves, fungus and moss. The canopy covered the sky, and the ground gradually became damp. Not unlike a video game, soon they were in a different biome altogether, although the change wasn’t as sudden as going from one map to another.

“Is this the Second-to-Last Bog?” Huang Niuniu asked. “It looks creepy.” She clung closer to Yu Han.

Mist clung to the ground, weaving between skeletal trees draped in hanging moss. Dark water pooled in shallow depressions, reflecting what little light filtered through the canopy above. The earthy scent of decay mingled with the sharp tang of stagnant water. Even the Coverall helmet couldn’t keep it all out.

Occasional bubbles broke the water’s surface, releasing pockets of trapped gas. Thick-stalked reeds swayed in clumps, while gnarled roots emerged from the murky water like grasping fingers.

The group moved forward. Far away, figures loomed like giants in the mist—hills, even smaller than the ones before. They had to find two hills that looked like twins, with a hidden cenote between.

Every step had to be carefully placed; what looked like solid ground often concealed treacherous mud that could swallow an unwary traveller whole. Tan Ruoxuan had stressed the dangers repeatedly.

From the mud, monsters would attack: snapping turtles, crocodiles, snakes, and human-sized insects.

“It’s hard to imagine that this whole area is part of one big mountain,” Li Yao said.

Upon crossing the last living root bridge, they had actually gone from one ‘mountain’ to another. This ‘mountain’ was more like a plateau or mesa. It constituted the several hundred square miles of the Second-to-Last Bog and more. The small hills they had seen were nothing more than tiny protrusions on this huge plateau’s back. And this plateau, like all others mountains, was separated from the others of the Inverted Mountains Hidden Realm by river valleys. The valleys would drain every few days, and the danger levels on the mountains would rise. They would have to quickly head to the dried-up valleys or find shelter. A few days after that, the water would rise again, and they would have to come back to the plateau once more.

So repeated the cycle of the Inverted Mountains.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

In the area around the Realm Crossing Passageway—this Second-to-last Bog for example—the dangers didn’t rise exponentially at the transition of each cycle.

The deeper into the Hidden Realm people went, the more mysterious and unpredictable the cycles would get, until they reached a point where the danger was the highest. After that, the dangers would lower again. There would usually mean another large access point to the Hidden Realm was present.

It was possible to bypass these ultra-dangerous areas to make trails to the other access points. That was how the Sect had connected with the Bloodless Hand Temple, an Orthodox Sect of the same Great Xia Dynasty. One more powerful than the Stormy Reef Sect. It was situated inland, further west of the Lower Bounds Province. The other notable Sect with an access point nearby was the Ten Thousand Poisonous Thunder Sect. They were old enemies of the Stormy Reef Sect, demonic in nature and part of the neighbouring country.

Both Sects had a kill-on-sight order.

Big Sects like the Bloodless Hand Temple, Ten Thousand Poisonous Thunder Sect, and the Stormy Reef Sect each owned multiple access points. Some were natural and large, like the Realm Crossing Passageways, permanent without needing external resources to stabilise. Some smaller access points were permanent like this too. But others were artificial.

These artificial access points were originally smaller, temporary ones. Types that appeared and disappeared, connecting the Hidden Realm to the realm world for brief moments. Monsters and Primals used these temporary access points to cross between the realms too, resulting in surprise beast hordes. Some of these smaller access points were later made permanent, according to the records in the Night Alchemist’s Yard archives.

There were other access points owned by smaller Sects in the area too, all connected to this vast Inverted Mountains Hidden Realm. Most were from the Great Xia Dynasty, but some were from foreign lands. Heck, according to Fang Zhao, the Stormy Reef Sect was technically located outside the sphere of the Great Xia Dynasty’s control. It was apparently a Traditional Sect that had been independent for millennia, but for some reason, they had been trying to incorporate themselves into the Great Xia Dynasty’s sphere of influence for the past few generations.

More so with the current Sect master.

“It’s probably because the Ten Thousand Poisonous Thunder Sect is demonic, and the Great Xia Dynasty does not allow demonic Cultivation,” Fang Zhao said. “The other side has been getting rowdier, and clashes between them and the Great Xia Sects are increasing.”

“What’s the name of the neighbouring nation?” Yu Han asked.

“The Boundless Hegemonic Empire,” Fang Zhao said.

“Could they be more on the nose?” Yu Han sighed. These names.

“They were far larger before, but an epoch-shattering war caused it to splinter into smaller nations,” Fang Zhao said. “Grandfather said that their Emperors are foolish yet powerful, openly colluding with demonic practitioners. They used to have some small Orthodox Sects before, but they had either left or were destroyed. Results can’t be ignored, and the Boundless Hegemonic Empire has reconquered many of its renegade offspring. If the battle with the Orthodox Alliance didn’t halt their progress, they would have probably swallowed up the whole southeast of the continent.”

“Can’t the Orthodox Alliance kill them all?” Huang Niuniu asked. “These Boundless Hegemonic Empire people sound mean.”

“They could, probably. The Orthodox Alliance is the strongest force in our world.” Fang Zhao hesitated. “I don’t know the details, but Grandfather once said that if they weren’t tied up against worse foes, no major demonic Sects could exist. They would sweep them clean, but they just can’t be distracted.”

“That sounds ominous,” Yu Han said. “What worse foes?”

“I don’t know. I shouldn’t know,” Fang Zhao shrugged. “I don’t know why.”

“The Sect Master is trying to turn our Sect into an Orthodox one, right?” Huang Niuniu asked. “They’re trying to become better parts of the Great Xia Dynasty?”

Fang Zhao nodded. “That’s why the sect has seen far more direct noble scions and external recruits from the Divine Xia Capital and other provinces in recent generations. Enough so that the external noble scions have secured themselves important sect positions. It is a process of integration into the Great Xia Dynasty’s sphere of influence. Before, only a minute number mortals, noble and commoners alike, from two of the Prefectural Kingdoms of the Lower Bounds Province were even welcomed. This intermingling is something the Great Xia Dynasty and the Orthodox Alliance encourages. Of course, some Sects claim they want to turn Orthodox, but their real goal is to just join the alliance and reap rewards. Not that the Orthodox Alliance is dumb enough to fall for that.”

“What are the two original Prefectural Kingdoms?” Yu Han asked.

“One is the Storm Canyon Prefectural Kingdom of the Storm Canyon Qu Clan,” Fang Zhao said. “The other has turned into a barren land during the ware between the Orthodox Alliance and the Boundless Hegemonic Empire. They say the Ten Thousand Poisonous Thunder Sect and of the the Boundless Hegemons polluted the land, water, and spiritual energy. The leyline is near ruined.”

“What is it called?” Yu Han said. The White Lotus Sima Clan being so deeply trenched in the sect did not bode well for him.

“The Bonefall Flats, a Prefectural Kingdom no longer, The Azurefall Shu Family long absorbed back into their parent clan in the sect,” Fang Zhao said. “It’s merely a prefecture now, with few inhabitants. Exiles and nomads, outcasts and the forgotten. It’s located just north and east of the Sunken Mountains Peninsula. It’s the part of Great Xia Dynasty that was closest to the sect. A great trade partner in the past. Its demise to malicious mechanisms was what prompted the sect positioned itself inside the Great Xia Dynasty and Orthodox Alliance’s influence.”

Huang Niuniu jumped when a bubble of rot and stink broke by her feet. She took a few more steps, asking, “Are they really that different? Our Traditional Sects and these Orthodox ones?”

“Far stricter internal doctrines. I’ve never heard of an Orthodox Sect disciple scheming against their fellow Sect members,” Fang Zhao said. “What Gong Muhua did and what Sima Yan wants to do would have severe consequences. The seniors are caringly responsible, the juniors respectful without subterfuge. I’ve been to the premises of the August Light Immortal Sword Sect once, the strongest Orthodox Sect in the Great Xia Dynasty. It was like… they were true siblings.”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Huang Niuniu said. Yu Han couldn’t help but agree.

“I know, right?” Fang Zhao said. “It’s like a different world. Both my former fiancée and former best friend have gone there. And if not for this cursed ring…” There was a deep melancholy in his voice. “They’re both probably in the late Foundation Building Realms now. Maybe even early Core Formation.”

“That fast?” Li Yao whistled.

“This talent would be considered average in the August Light Immortal Sword Sect.” Fang Zhao shook his head as if denying reality. “They only recruit around twenty to thirty disciples each year. Each nothing less than a prodigy.”

“Were you too?” Yu Han probed. “What’s your talent?”

“I have a binding vow not to say,” Fang Zhao replied.

So that’s why you’ve been oddly evasive about it.

They had walked almost a few miles into the bog. The little sky they could see through the dense canopy had changed colour. Green and violet now took up the majority of the iridescent hues of the heavens.

“If your former fiancée would be considered average with that kind of talent,” Li Yao said, “what were the most talented disciples like?”

“The most talented disciples…” Fang Zhao said. “A month for Body Tempering. Three for Qi Gathering. Foundation Building in one year. Core Formation in five. They’d usually enter when they’re around 12 or 13 years old. And even among the most talented, there are outliers. I know of two that had entered the Sect at 16, and then rose past Level 31 before 18.”

Yu Han nearly stumbled. “That’s not funny,” he said through gritted teeth. “Three major realms in two years? They have to be cheating!”

“If you’re not cheating,” Fang Zhao let out a sigh, “are you even trying?”