CHAPTER 699: FRAGMENT OF THE IMMORTAL REALM

After Blue Dragon was cleaved in two by the black blade, it

After Blue Dragon was cleaved in two by the black blade, it emitted a mournful cry, dissolving into blue smoke that dispersed into the heavens and earth. The two severed halves fell simultaneously to the ground.

"How dare you destroy my Spirit Treasure!"

Elder Zhong from the Celestial Maiden Palace emitted her aura, creating a solemn atmosphere around him. Some Nascent Soul Cultivators who were relatively close couldn't help but step back involuntarily.

Even the two individuals on the elevated platform who hadn't yet determined the winner were affected.

Wang Hong quickly stepped forward, his aura radiating out like an impregnable barrier, blocking Elder Zhong's aura.

"Fellow Daoist Zhong, there's no need to be angry. Victory and defeat are common in warfare, and what's more, Spirit Treasures are merely external possessions. Why bother?"

"You see, five of my magic weapons were damaged successively, yet am I not composed and at ease?" Elder Zhong nearly choked at Wang Hong's words. After all, how many present could claim a Spirit Treasure?

The five magic weapons previously damaged by Jia Liang were even less comparable to Spirit Treasures.

"The preciousness of Spirit Treasures cannot be compared to a few insignificant magic weapons," declared Elder Zhong with a stern expression.

"Fellow Daoist Zhong, you are unaware. The trident that was just severed is a treasured heirloom of my subordinate, containing a shocking secret of their clan. Now that it's broken, this secret may never see the light of day again. To elaborate, our side has suffered even greater losses."

Hearing this, Jia Liang, who was nursing his injuries on the side, twitched his mouth. He had no idea what shocking secret his trident held. As a loose cultivator, he didn't even know if he had any familial heritage. Blown away by Wang Hong's words, he almost believed them himself.

Wang Hong's persuasive speech made everyone present almost believe him earnestly, with even Elder Zhong somewhat convinced.

At that moment, Skinny Monkey swiftly employed his footwork, closing in on the Celestial Maiden Palace Cultivator, simultaneously summoning three large nets, enveloping her from three directions.

Finally, unable to evade, the Celestial Maiden Palace Cultivator was ensnared by one of the nets, before a black blade was pressed against her neck.

"With two victories out of three, Fellow Daoist Zhong, do you have anything else to say?" Wang Hong gestured to halt Skinny Monkey's actions, taking the opportunity to ask.

"My Celestial Maiden Palace is not one to be unable to accept defeat. One month from now, we will send someone to claim Crimson Flame Island!"

With a wave of his hand, Elder Zhong sent a powerful surge of Spiritual Power onto the black blade. With a loud clang, the black blade in Skinny Monkey's hand flew out a considerable distance.

"Let's go!"

Turning around, he waved to several disciples and led them away, still not forgetting to leave a parting remark.

"Fellow Daoist Wang! I hope you have the ability to defend Crimson Flame Island!"

Since the contest had ended, the ceremony for the Soul Transformation Grand Assembly needed to continue, so Wang Hong took the stage to deliver his teachings.

The disciples below listened with rapt attention, and quite a few broke through their cultivation realms on the spot.

The teachings on Soul Transformation lasted for a day. After the teachings concluded, taking advantage of the island's popularity, Qizhou Island held a large-scale trading fair.

Various specialties of Qizhou Island, especially the refined products from the Ministry of Works, were brought out for sale.

Currently, all Spiritual Objects were increasing in value. This trading fair yielded Qizhou Island a considerable amount of Spirit Stones and other resources.

After the fair ended, many cultivators reluctantly left one after another, unwilling to depart from the dense Spiritual Qi of Qizhou Island.

Many cultivators felt that taking an extra breath on Qizhou Island was profitable.

Only four Soul Transformation Cultivators accepted Wang Hong's invitation to stay behind and exchange some cultivation experiences.

As time passed, the four became quite familiar with each other.

Although Wang Hong had previously fought with Bai Wushuang, it was merely for treasures, with no other conflicts besides interests. Moreover, Wang Hong hadn't suffered any losses, and Bai Wushuang hadn't recognized him.

On this day, the five were sipping Spirit Tea and chatting about various matters in the Cultivation World when a cultivator surnamed Qin asked, "Fellow Daoist Wang, the three of us are planning to explore a secret realm in ten years. We'd like to invite you to join us. Are you interested?"

"I wonder which secret realm?" Bai Wushuang seemed intrigued. He had just become a Soul Transformation Cultivator and was currently undergoing experiences outside, so he was quite interested in adventures.

"It's said to be a fragment of the Immortal Realm that accidentally fell into this world. Many Immortal treasures can be found inside," said the cultivator surnamed Qin.

"Wouldn't many people know about such a secret realm? And after so many years of it falling into this world, even if there were good things, they would likely have been taken long ago," Bai Wushuang asked, puzzled. Such secret realms were definitely not secrets, and after so many years, they would have been thoroughly plundered.

"This secret realm has numerous spatial rifts. Every hundred years, there's only one month of comparative safety. Over these years, it hasn't been completely explored. Therefore, despite numerous searches by cultivators, some overlooked treasures can still be found."

Upon hearing this, both Wang Hong and Bai Wushuang felt intrigued. After all, who wouldn't be interested in relics from the immortal realm?

However, Wang Hong still had some doubts and asked, "Have the three of you been there before? Also, shouldn't there be many cultivators going there for treasures at that time?"

"To be honest, the three of us did venture there a hundred years ago. At that time, not only cultivators from the Human Clan but also those from the Demon Clan, Demon Race, and Abyss Clan went there for treasures."

"That time, we found an immortal tree with over a dozen immortal fruits hanging from it, one of which was already ripe. We went through numerous dangers to pick that ripe fruit, but unexpectedly, we were discovered by a group of the Demon Race. Unable to resist, we had no choice but to abandon the fruit to save our lives."

"Therefore, this time, we want to invite more fellow cultivators to go with us. I reckon there should still be plenty of fruits on that tree, and this time, there should be at least two ripe ones."

"The next safe entry opportunity will be in ten years. Are you two interested?"

After introducing the secret realm, the three asked.

"I'm willing to go!" Bai Wushuang immediately expressed his willingness, while Wang Hong pondered for a moment. He also wanted to revisit the fragment of the immortal realm, so he agreed as well.

Next, the five agreed on a meeting place and time for ten years later.

The four stayed on Qizhou Island for several more days before bidding farewell and leaving.

During these days, Wang Hong divided a Ten Thousand-Year Spiritual Herb into several portions, exchanging them with several Soul Transformation Cultivators for some Tier Five Spiritual Herbs, which was quite a significant gain.

As he was already at the Soul Transformation cultivation level, occasionally taking out a Ten Thousand-Year Spiritual Herb was no longer something he needed to be overly cautious about.

After the Soul Transformation Grand Assembly, Wang Hong rewarded all those who had made contributions during his years of seclusion.

Over these eighteen years, Qizhou Island had achieved great success in both construction and development, all thanks to the efforts of his subordinates.

Naturally, Wang Hong couldn't be stingy. The rewards he gave were mainly various Pills to enhance cultivation levels.

Although Qizhou Island could now cultivate various Spiritual Herbs, high-tier Spiritual Herbs took a long time to grow and couldn't be used yet. They still needed to be purchased from Fengwu Continent.

The most precious items among the rewards were the Soul Elevation Pills. These were various Spiritual Herbs that he had planted before his seclusion and had matured over the years.

He harvested some of these Spiritual Herbs earlier and refined them into Pills for this occasion, rewarding them to his subordinates.

Even though over a dozen people received Pills this time, only two or three of them would likely successfully advance to the Soul Transformation level.

Advancing to Soul Transformation was different from previous realms, requiring more insights and with a much higher failure rate.

Otherwise, the number of Soul Transformation Cultivators wouldn't be so low, and they would have been ubiquitous long ago.

When Wang Hong was attempting to break through to Soul Transformation, he had failed twice before finally succeeding on his third attempt, relying on the abundance of his Ten Thousand-Year Spiritual Herbs and the ample time in his Space.

During this time, he also took the opportunity to comprehend the Grand Dao Runes on the Jade Tree in his Space.

With ready-made Runes for reference and plenty of time in the Space, he finally grasped a part of the Grand Dao Runes before reaching the Soul Transformation realm.

He also gained some insights into the laws of heaven and earth. However, he had just scratched the surface, and true mastery would require a long period of contemplation.

After distributing over a dozen Soul Elevation Pills, several people immediately began seclusion. Wang Hong hoped that by the time he left for the secret realm, one or two of his subordinates would have advanced to Soul Transformation Cultivators.

"Skinny Monkey, Gu Wei, Yang Tiezhu, since the battle was won by you three, and Jia Liang is ready for seclusion, tomorrow, the three of you will go to Crimson Flame Island to take over."

With the deadline of one month approaching, they needed to dispatch some people to take over and guard the island.

"Your Majesty, how many people should we bring along?" Skinny Monkey asked.

"Bring all the troops under your three commands."

Skinny Monkey commanded the Imperial Dragon Army, while Gu Wei and his spouse commanded a part of the Demon Subduing Army, totaling over thirty thousand soldiers.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Dragon Army is specifically for your protection. How can we take them all away?" Skinny Monkey asked with concern.

"Don't worry. Even if I can't win, escaping won't be a problem for me now."

Crimson Flame Island had a large-sized Fire Spirit Vein and other resource outputs. At least tens of thousands of troops needed to be stationed there for security reasons.

Under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Maiden Palace, only a few people might need to be sent, just to plant a flag, and no one would dare to attack it.

However, under the rule of the Great Chu Immortal Nation, it was different. The island held a vast amount of resources, and with Wang Hong alone as a Soul Transformation Cultivator, it wouldn't be possible for him to guard it at all times. Without a certain strength to station there, it might not be held securely.

With this arrangement, the current manpower and military strength of the Great Chu Immortal Nation were somewhat stretched.

Currently, the total population of the Great Chu Immortal Nation was approximately around one and a half million. Due to the relatively high proportion of mid to high-tier cultivators, the birth rate was not very high.

Coupled with the frequent battles in the Cultivation World, resulting in casualties each time, population growth wasn't very fast.

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