Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 312 The Way Out (Part 3)

"Hmm..." The bald, burly man thought for a moment, unsure of what to say.

But before he could speak, Han Yi interrupted, "Brother, this meal is on me today."

As he spoke, he took out a few large silver ingots from his pocket and slapped them on the table.

"Alright, brother, have a seat!" The bald, burly man immediately forgot his earlier displeasure and happily took the silver.

"Oh...you mean, this secret realm needs to be developed by humans?" Han Yi was somewhat surprised. He had heard rumors about secret realms before, but he only thought that there were countless treasures inside, which he could pick up at will.

"Sigh, who can argue with that..." The bald, burly man took a big gulp of wine and said with lingering fear, "The Myriad Flowers Palace claims that the secret realm is open to the public, and you can enter and exit at will as long as you pay for a spot. But the secret realm has never been cleared at all. If we ordinary martial artists go in, we'll just be cannon fodder for the Myriad Flowers Palace!"

This isn't even the most infuriating part. The most hateful thing is that the secret realm is actually divided into inner and outer layers! We independent cultivators can only enter the outer layer! But the disciples of the Myriad Flowers Palace can use keys to enter the inner layer and easily obtain countless rare and precious treasures. How hateful!

"You wouldn't believe it, the first thing I encountered when I went in was a monster—blue-faced, fanged, covered in black fur, breathing fire, and over three zhang tall! Good heavens, if I, Boss Wei, hadn't practiced some kind of light-footed skill and been fast enough to run, you wouldn't be seeing me now."

"Hey, bro, you've actually been to that secret realm?" one of the men asked, skeptical.

"Is this a story you made up, brother?" another man chuckled.

Three zhang (approximately 10 meters) tall would be over ten meters high, and it could breathe fire—wouldn't that be similar to Godzilla? Most people wouldn't believe it.

Han Yi, however, looked solemn. As the saying goes, people speak the truth when they are drunk. This bald, burly man had drunk quite a bit, and although he may have exaggerated a bit, his words sounded sincere, so it seemed that there was something to it.

Snapped!

Just then, the bald man's face turned red, and he slammed his hand on the table.

"You really think I, Old Master Wei, am good at bragging?! Look, look at this! This is the key I used to enter the Myriad Flower Palace secret realm!" He carefully took out a piece of jade-like green jade from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"Look, look!"

“Isn’t this just a piece of junk jade?” a man laughed.

"Bullshit! This is inferior jade?" The bald, burly man's face flushed red.

"Give it to me, let me see." Han Yi took the jade and examined it in his hand. For some reason, he felt that this style, this material... seemed familiar somewhere before?

Suddenly, a thought struck him and he remembered something.

The piece of jade called Azure Glass that we obtained from Luan Biao, the owner of the Azure Scale Sword, seems to be about the same size and material. However, the Azure Glass has countless intricate patterns on it compared to the one in front of us.

At that time, Bi Liuli and two disciples of the Wanhua Palace traveled a great distance from Yunzhou to Pingzhou to search for them.

Could it be...? He thought of a possibility.

But he still said gently, "This piece of jade is indeed quite different; it has something special about it."

He made a few perfunctory remarks and then returned it to the bald, burly man.

"See? You guys don't understand, but there are others who do. That's why I say you two are useless; you just don't have the sense to see things!" Seeing Han Yi speak up in support, the bald, burly man's spirits lifted, and his face beamed with pride.

"Alright, alright, have another drink," Han Yi urged, trying to smooth things over.

"Okay, drink!"

The four of them raised their glasses together and drank.

"By the way, Brother Wei, after listening to you talk for so long, what exactly is this secret realm, and how did it come about?" Han Yi asked curiously.

Judging from their clothing and accents, these three people were clearly locals from Yunzhou and probably knew a lot about these things.

"A secret realm... I..." the bald, burly man slurred, "I've heard that this secret realm... it seems to be formed at the confluence of earth's veins... I don't really know... Anyway, within Yunzhou, only a handful of major powers possess secret realms..."

"Oh...I see." Han Yi seemed thoughtful and didn't press further. This bald, burly man wasn't exactly a master; he wasn't even a martial arts master. It was already quite remarkable that he knew this information.

"Waiter, a bowl of hot and sour hangover soup, please." He turned around and called out to the waiter.

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir." Immediately, the waiter brought over a bowl of steaming, sour and spicy hangover soup.

"Brother Wei, which are these major powers? This will give us, who have come from afar to learn from them, some reference." Han Yi served Wei Laoda a bowl of hot and sour fish soup.

"Do you even need to choose?" The burly man looked at Han Yi with surprise. "Within Yunzhou, Yuanmiao Sect naturally stands out from the crowd and dominates Yunzhou. If you want to become an apprentice and learn martial arts, Yuanmiao Sect is the best choice."

"I am certainly aware of this matter, but..." Han Yi sighed, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

The bald, burly man seemed to have noticed something as well. Considering the worry on Han Yi's face, which clearly indicated that he had failed the Yuanmiao Sect's assessment, he comforted him, saying, "Yuanmiao Sect is a powerful and influential sect. They only value true geniuses and have strict requirements for recruiting disciples, which is normal."

"So, besides the Yuanmiao Sect, what other major forces are there?" Han Yi asked.

Yuanmiaozong, Yunzhou Prefecture. Yunzhou Prefecture, in addition to being the capital of Yunzhou, also includes a large area, a region formed by the confluence of numerous small towns, counties, and earthen fortresses.

These places alone, even just a small town, are many times larger than the previous Anyan City.

Besides this place, Yunzhou has several other large cities, which are far apart and each occupies several areas.

In terms of area, Yunzhou is about four or five times the size of Pingzhou.

Han Yi refused to believe that such a large territory could be occupied by only one sect, Yuanmiao Sect.

“Other major powers…” The bald, burly man let out a burp.

He took another sip of soup and pondered, "Among the cities of Yunzhou, the Yuanmiao Sect is naturally the number one. Following closely behind are the five major powers. These five powers, in their heyday, were all glorious and top-tier forces..."

Wanhua Palace, Sanshan Sect, Jingtian Manor, Shouyi Temple, Yunzhou Prefecture Army.

These five represent the five major forces in Yunzhou. Although they cannot compare to the top force, Yuanmiao Sect, they are still the strongest forces besides Yuanmiao Sect.

"These five forces are the best choice for most people after they have no hope of entering the Yuanmiao Sect. Among them, the Wanhua Palace, the Three Mountains Sect, and the Jingtian Manor are suitable for becoming disciples and learning martial arts."

The Palace of Myriad Flowers is mostly populated by women, and is renowned for its hidden weapon techniques and agility. If you have enough money, you could give it a try; you might even win the heart of a beauty.

At this point, the bald, burly man chuckled, his expression extremely lewd. Han Yi was speechless and urged him to continue.

"The Three Mountains Sect mainly focuses on training in weapons, such as swords and sabers. However, they require their disciples to have a certain talent in weapons, such as a sense of the blade or the sword."

Jingtian Manor isn't particularly famous. It has all kinds of martial arts, including fist techniques, palm techniques, finger techniques, and weapons, and they're all fairly standard. The manor lord, Zhao Ziyang, is also known for protecting his own and accepting many disciples without any strict requirements; almost anyone can get in.

If none of these options work, then joining the army is your only choice. The local military government accepts all comers, and as long as you can achieve merit, you'll receive good treatment and training. However, military life is quite restrictive, with many rules, so you'll need to be patient.

The bald, burly man didn't change the subject and gave a brief overview of the forces in Yunzhou.

"Wanhua Palace, Sanshan Sect, Jingtian Manor, Yunzhou Prefecture Army..." Han Yi stroked his chin, pondering intently.

Wang Yun had actually told him about these major powers on the way here, but he only mentioned their names briefly and didn't go into as much detail as the bald man had explained.

After all, Wang Yunkai never expected that Han Yi, even with a recommender, would not be able to enter the Yuanmiao Sect, but at the very least, he could enter the outer academy.

The outer court of Yuanmiao Sect was much better than these powerful forces, so he didn't say much to Han Yi.

"Brother Wei, among these forces you mentioned..." Han Yi pondered for a moment, "I wonder which sect has the largest collection of martial arts techniques?"

To maximize the system's ability to deduce martial arts, you need a sufficient amount of 'resources'... namely, all sorts of martial arts techniques!

"Many martial arts skills? What's the use?" The bald, burly man looked at Yihan strangely. "You only need to master one true martial art. What's the use of having many others?"

Fearing that Han Yi might not understand, the bald, burly man continued to explain: "True skill is a martial art that can be cultivated from an ordinary person to a grandmaster. Its effects, power, and amplification far exceed those of ordinary martial arts."

I'd heard people say before that this true skill could eventually generate true qi, creating the martial arts of a grandmaster, hence the name "true skill".

These five families are considered the foremost under the Yuanmiao Sect because each possesses its own unique and powerful martial arts techniques, capable of producing grandmasters.

"Brother Wei, I understand what you mean, but I've loved reading since I was a child, and I want to see the profound and unique martial arts techniques researched by various martial arts masters. So, I want to find a sect with the largest collection of martial arts manuals to learn from," Han Yi asked sincerely.

He had naturally heard about the difference between genuine skill and ordinary martial arts from Wang Yunkai.

True skill is a powerful martial art that encompasses all aspects of martial arts, including fist techniques, leg techniques, and body techniques. It is also a martial art that can strengthen one's strength three times, eventually reaching a subtle level.

True skill is also the guarantee that a martial artist can maintain the purity of their internal energy and blood, and the unity of their essence and blood.

The reason Wang Yunkai wanted Han Yi to come to Yuanmiao Sect was to help him remove the turbid blood in his body, return to his innate primordial blood, and start cultivating a true skill again.

Unfortunately, this path was blocked, and Han Yi had to find another way.

"This..." The bald, burly man was stunned. He had lived for so long and had never heard of anyone having such a strange hobby.

But as strange as it was, he still thought about it seriously: "If we're talking about which force in Yunzhou has the most martial arts manuals... then there's only one place..."

Which faction?

"Jingtian Manor!"

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Evening, in the inn, in the top-tier room. By the window, Han Yi sat in front of a simple map, taking advantage of the afterglow of the setting sun, picking it up and putting it down, sketching and drawing on it.

Under the setting sun, the street was bathed in a crimson glow. Peddlers, peddlers, and merchants, as well as small vendors, martial arts students, and caravan traders, flowed through the wide streets of Qingjiang Town like a river.

With the suppression of the Yuanmiao Sect, one of the top powers in Yunzhou, this place is arguably one of the safest places in the world. It boasts a thriving commerce far surpassing Anyan City, and an incredibly stable livelihood and system.

Everyone's face held something that people from other places didn't have. It was the spirit of striving, the future, life, or perhaps a beautiful hope.

As the sun set, the light became increasingly slanted, and Han Yi's shadow inside the room grew longer and thinner.

After a long while, he finally sat down, looked at the map on the table, and remained silent.

The map was a free gift from the bald, burly man, Boss Wei, before he left. Six black circles drawn with charcoal pencil caught the eye on the map.

In the very center is Yuanmiaozong.

Seated in the surrounding corners were the five major forces.

Wanhua Palace, Sanshan Sect, Jingtian Manor, Shouyi Temple, Yunzhou Prefecture Army.

In particular, the area from Qingjiang Town to Jingtianzhuang is marked in red.

Wow!

On the street, vendors were stir-frying hot dishes, putting ingredients into the pan while the oil was still hot.

The strong, spicy aroma wafted in from outside the window, startling Han Yi from his thoughts.

He got up and looked out the window.

Below the window, a bustling night market street appeared, with vendors loudly hawking their wares. Young women, hesitant to eat too much and unable to resist the enticing aromas, lingered. In a nearby corner, several wealthy young men, dressed in fine clothes, swayed their heads and scrutinized the women passing by. They even made comments about the women in the Yunzhou dialect.

Looking further into the distance, the entire towering Qingjiang Mountain was shrouded in a thick twilight, indistinct and dark, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

In the dim light, one could only make out the three large, bright red characters high above: Yuanmiao Sect.

pat.

Han Yi folded up the window supports, gently closed the window frame, and stopped looking.

He turned around, put away the map, blew out the oil lamp, and went back to bed.

Yuanmiaozong…

He refused to believe that he couldn't find a place to stay in this vast Yunzhou!

Three days later, in the outskirts of Huayang City.

quack!

The carriage wheels whirred and creaked, the black hubs squeezing against the wood, and small stones would occasionally be crushed and sent flying as the wheels rolled over the bumpy dirt road.

The wheels spun countless times, and the people on board endured countless bumps, before finally coming to a stop.

"Guest, we have arrived at Jingtian Manor. Please get out of the car."

The sound of the carriage drifted through the curtains into the carriage, somewhat muffled.