43 Entering the Hidden Realm
43. Entering the Hidden Realm
[AN: Forgive any mistakes, and please point them out if any]
[AN: Shoutout to @DaoistwOqXyh]
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Today was the day when the gates to the hidden realm would open and the southern side of the Qiangpai continent was bustling with crowd.
Alaric and his master were also in the crowd and were waiting to enter the hidden realm, the opening of the gates were at random intervals. No one knew when would a gate open and when would it close.
The lucky people would be able to enter first and reap maximum rewards if they were strong enough to protect what they managed to earn, the unlucky people would lose their treasures or worse die inside the hidden realm. This was the basic understanding of everyone who wanted to enter the hidden realm had, some were desperate while others greedy.
On the south-eastern side of the continent, people could be spotted randomly. No one knew where the gates would open, so they randomly chose a place relying on their luck. The Heavenly Demon and Alaric were standing at the corner of a cliff, the other side was a sea. This place was picked by his master, it was purely based on instinct, or so he said.
Alaric spread his senses and discovered many cultivators near them, once inside the hidden realm, the amount of strength they could exclude would decrease, making them weaker. They would not be able to go all out, as the hidden realm would suppress their cultivation level. So the higher their cultivation in the outside world, the lesser the suppression would be.
'Soon...' Alaric thought to himself as he felt a change in the atmosphere, the Qi around the space was compressing into a single spot as it was becoming denser. From the corner of his eye, Alaric saw his master smirking, he sensed the weird change too.
*Swoosh* *Crackle* *Crackle*
Slowly but surely a portal like thing appeared in front of the pair, without any hesitation they both jumped off the cliff to reach the gate.
Both of the heavenly demons were the first ones to enter the most awaited hidden realm.
***
(Inside the Hidden Realm)
'Well…that was simple' Alaric was almost suspicious at how simple it was for them to enter the hidden realm. The intervals of the opening of the gate were random, that was the reason people were present everywhere, and no major organization was controlling the entrances. Even if anyone wanted to control the gates they would have to compete with almost everyone who have come to reap the rewards of the hidden realm.
Sure enough, he could see the restrictions of the hidden realm apply as he felt his strength decrease. The same was with his master, he visually gave out a frown, never did he feel this week after attaining the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.
By the looks of it, they seemed to be the first ones to enter the hidden realm, Alaric once again praised his monstrous master's instincts inside his mind as he looked around to check the place.
The hidden realm appeared to be a grassy plain with lots of magical beasts and plants, to a normal person a simple plant here would be worth a lot. Alaric observed with his All-Seeing Eyes and realized a different kind of energy was enveloping the entire hidden realm, as a protective barrier. And there were some red energy sparks in the air and some plants and magical beasts, it appeared out of place.
'Nano, give me my stats'
[Command received]
[conducting scan…scan successful]
[Status :
Name : Wan Xiu
Race : Human
Cultivation : Nascent Soul (Peak Level) --> (Middle Level)
Age : 26 years
Physique : 121.02 --> 102.91
Mentality : 142.53
Spiritual Power : 139.93 --> 110.72
Energy : Qi
]
'Ooof..no wonder I feel weaker, but it is still in the triple digits at least' Alaric let out a sigh of relief in his mind and observed his master's expression.
The Heavenly Demon was aware of Alaric's line of sight, he remained expressionless. Obviously, even if both of them knew they were weakened, it was not his nature to reveal it.
'No matter how good of a job you do in hiding your expression, I have a hidden weapon up my sleeve old bastard...'
'Nano, give me his stats..' Alaric commanded Nano while looking at his master in the eye.
[Command received]
[conducting scan…scan successful]
[Status :
Name : --(Heavenly Demon)
Race : Human
Cultivation : Nascent Soul (Peak Level) --> (Lower Level)
Age : 835 years
Physique : 117.9 --> 93.81
Mentality : 102.4 --> 100.00
Spiritual Power : 108.1 --> 81.22
Energy : Qi
]
Alaric's Chaotic Mind was responsible in controlling Wan Xiu's body, hence the effect of hidden realm would not apply. But that was not true for the heavenly demon, his mentality took a hit too, but not so much that it would be concerning to him.
"From here on, we part ways my disciple" the Heavenly Demon spoke without breaking the eye contact. Alaric expected this, bringing him into the hidden realm was only to get him more experience in the ways of the world. They did nothing but spend time with each other enjoying the master disciple relationship they had.
"I have taught you all that needs to be taught, I know you will surpass me in the near future my disciple. Remember my last teaching..."
"Demonic cult is not where the people are, The cult is where the 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 is!" Alaric felt cold shivers as his master spoke these words with full conviction and confidence. His eyes were absolutely honest and radiating strong pride. The heavenly demon noticed the change in expression of his successor and disappeared into the shadows with a smirk which Alaric always hated watching. But today, he surprisingly found it interesting in his master's face.