Wait a minute, where is my master?

The sudden opening of the Qingmu Secret Realm left all the factions within the city dumbfounded.

Those who were too far from Qing State and hadn't yet arrived in the city received messages from family and friends about the opening of the Secret Realm, leaving them completely stupefied.

The agreement was that the Secret Realm would open on the first of September. Now it was only the twenty-third of August, and yet the Secret Realm had opened early?!

Could it be that the Secret Realm was secretly becoming competitive?

The entrance to the Qingmu Secret Realm.

The white-faced scholar version of the Old Dean stood there dumbstruck, looking at the cyan-green light screen before him, his expression one of astonishment. The two cultivators who were responsible for guarding the entrance to the Secret Realm were also frozen in place.

"What's going on, that white-faced scholar presented the Qingmu Academy's Dean Token, saying he was taking this young Taoist in for a visit, but how did the young Taoist suddenly enter?"

The two guards were initially dazed for a moment, but then quickly took out their Communication Jade Tokens, frantically sending messages to Lan Junyan and the City Lord.

"The Secret Realm has opened early due to a mysterious young Taoist. He also has an accomplice, a white-faced scholar who somehow stole the Dean's Token. They are currently lingering at the entrance to the Secret Realm. I urge Mr. Lan to bring people quickly!"

"City Lord, something big has happened. The Qingmu Secret Realm has opened early. Please dispatch the city guards to maintain order at this location immediately!"

Having sent the messages, the two guards quickly positioned themselves tightly in front of the cyan light screen, putting a barrier between the Old Dean and the entrance to the Secret Realm.

This action made the white-faced scholar version of the Old Dean feel somewhat amused and bemused, and his shock dissipated substantially.

However, he understood the guards' actions. Usually, there would be a vetting process before entering the Qingmu Secret Realm, and with its sudden opening, the guards were worried that demon cultivators might take the opportunity to enter.

But the guards' move was truly superfluous. The rules of the Qingmu Secret Realm allow those below Divinity Transformation to enter, and as the Old Dean's mud puppet avatar was connected in cultivation to his real body, even if he wanted to enter, he could not.

"Hiss, something's not right. If those below Divinity Transformation can enter, then how did Jin Xu, this young Taoist, manage to go in so smoothly? He hasn't reached the Divinity Transformation Realm yet!"

The Old Dean stood there, having already forgotten why the Qingmu Secret Realm had opened. Instead, he started to ponder the young Taoist's realm issue.

...

Just a while ago at the Immortal Food Restaurant on the second floor, Jin Xu had asked the Old Dean about how exactly the various unnamed small worlds were formed.

Because the Qingmu Secret Realm was right there, and strictly speaking, it also counted as a small world.

Therefore, the Old Dean, in the spirit of combining teaching with fun, directly took the young Taoist there for a simple explanation.

At the time, he was speaking earnestly, explaining that these kinds of small worlds were based on certain heavenly treasures or universal spiritual objects, and that they would form unique heaven and earth rules.

He saw Jin Xu curiously approaching the cyan light screen.

Seeing this, the Old Dean assured the young Taoist, saying that until the time comes, according to the rules of the Secret Realm world, the entrance won't...

Before he finished speaking, he saw the young Taoist naturally walk inside.

Then the Qingmu Secret Realm opened...

The Old Dean stood in place, lost in thought, while his real body also sent the news of the Secret Realm's early opening to his disciple Qingyun.

The two cultivators responsible for guarding were watching him nervously.

Fearing that he might make any sudden movements.

Although one had already slipped in unexpectedly, that was caught off guard; if another slipped in right under their watch, they would be seen as having failed their duty afterwards.

"Why isn't this scholar moving?"

"I don't know, but it's best if he doesn't. If he doesn't move, neither will we. It will be easier once Mr. Lan or the City Lord arrives."

The two guards communicated quietly with each other using voice transmission.

Their guarding job was initially a leisurely one, considered more for show.

After all, the Secret Realm couldn't open until the appointed time, and it's impossible to defy natural laws. Moreover, with the entrance of the Secret Realm located within Qingmu City, powerful cultivators with sufficient cultivation to cause trouble typically would not provoke Qingmu Academy, one of the Four Great Immortal Sects. Even if the less experienced youngsters attacked, the entrance couldn't be damaged in the slightest.

Who would have expected such a bizarre incident today?

The two were still communicating when suddenly, they heard a gentle voice from behind them.

"Gentlemen, could you please step aside?"

At the same time, a palm gently patted the midpoint of their shoulders.

Upon hearing the sound and feeling the touch, the two of them, like startled kittens, leaped away from each other in a panic and turned their heads to look toward the source of the noise.

In front of the green light screen, the little Taoist who had just gone in was half-sticking out, peering at the outside.

"You… you…"

The two stammered for a while but didn't manage to say anything.

The Old Dean saw the little Taoist come back and had many questions he wanted to ask.

However, Jin Xu did not give the Old Dean the opportunity to speak.

"Senior, there's some trouble with my two demon pets, I need to go check on them first. We can talk when I get back," he said.

Seeing that no one was blocking the way in front of the light screen anymore, the little Taoist walked out, and with a flash, he shot out.

He had indeed managed to enter successfully before and had even gone a little deeper.

However, just before he entered, he happened to receive a communication from Yu Yaoer.

So after weighing his options, Jin Xu came back out.

As he left, the phantom of the great tree above Qingmu City slowly dissipated.

The Old Dean quickly took a few steps forward, dodged the guards blocking his way, and reached out to examine the entrance to the Secret Realm, only to discover that the Qingmu Secret Realm had closed again.

"Hiss, could it be that the Secret Realm is broken?" the Old Dean mused quietly to himself in his scholarly appearance.

...

On the various streets of Qingmu City.

The number of cultivators hurrying towards the entrance was extremely large.

With the phantom of a large tree appearing in the sky above Qingmu City, all the cultivators who had participated in the Secret Realm before knew that this was the sign of the Qingmu Secret Realm opening, so they all called their friends to go check it out together.

However, flying was prohibited within the city, so they could only walk or take horse-drawn carriages.

This slowed them down somewhat.

Before they managed to arrive, the cultivators from the various Immortal Sects found that the phantom that had suddenly appeared vanished just as quickly.

The speed of its disappearance was almost like the ephemeral blooming of an evening flower.

"Master, the phantom of the Che Liang Wood has disappeared. Shall we still go to the entrance of the Secret Realm?"

On the street, a young sword cultivator with fiery red eyebrows stood in front of a carriage and asked the Zhu Yangzi inside.

They had originally planned to go to the north of the city to take care of some business but had changed their plans in a hurry when the Qingmu Secret Realm opened.

"Go," Zhu Yangzi replied decisively, just as swift in small matters as ever.

"Yes, Master." The sword cultivator with fiery red eyebrows saluted toward the carriage window and then called out loudly to the front, "Dabao, let's go, the master says we continue on."

"Eh, alright, Junior Master," Fatty Zhao answered cheerily, apologized to a cultivator in front of him, and ran towards the carriage. Zhao Dabao had just gone to gather information when the phantom vanished suddenly, speaking with a cultivator dressed in a Confucian robe ahead of him.

However, although the man was dressed in a Confucian robe, he had no real connection to Qingmu Academy, so Zhao Dabao's efforts to gather information were virtually fruitless.

But he did make a new friend.

A moment later.

Most of the cultivators on the street made the same decision as Zhu Yangzi.

The cultivators began to converge towards the entrance of the Qingmu Secret Realm again like ants to sugar.

...

In a secluded alleyway of Qingmu City.

Jin Xu had cornered the little boy who was planning to leave and his orange cat.