Wait a minute, where is my master?

The phantom of the Che Liang Wood appeared again over Qingmu City.

At this moment, in the hall where the entrance to the Qingmu Secret Realm was located, two Cultivators tasked with guarding silently stood in a corner of the hall, staring dumbfounded at the strange scene in front of them.

Four Taoists who had arrived together were now gathered near the green light screen.

The two women were currently poking at the light screen with their hands.

The Old Dean was walking in circles around the light screen.

Meanwhile, Jin Xu had half of his body inside the green light screen and the other half outside, one of his eyes carrying a thoughtful expression.

His current posture was not split evenly from top to bottom but rather, the left side of his body was inside the light screen, and the right side was outside.

"Young friend, do you really feel no barrier when entering this Secret Realm?"

As the Old Dean walked around to the front, he asked in amazement.

While speaking, he experimentally extended a finger and gently touched the green light screen. Immediately, a strong repulsive force emanated from the screen, forcefully bouncing his finger away.

"No."

The Taoist shook his head, with his dark-colored mask faintly visible in the green light screen.

"Hiss, the rule of the small world forbidding those above Divinity Transformation from entering is still in effect, so how exactly did this Taoist get in?"

The Old Dean, utterly befuddled, looked at the two women beside him who could easily poke their fingers into the light screen and silently thought to himself.

He and Jin Xu had come here late at night with two purposes, the first was to figure out why the Qingmu Secret Realm had suddenly opened, and particularly, how a Taoist with the power above the Divinity Transformation Realm had managed to get inside.

But the more they experimented, the more perplexed they became.

As soon as Jin Xu extended his hand into the light screen, the Secret Realm naturally opened. When he withdrew his hand, the realm closed just as naturally, which was completely illogical.

"You two, what exactly are your cultivation realms?"

The scholarly-looking Old Dean turned his head and inquired of the two guards in the corner.

Although the two could not ascertain his identity, the Dean Qingyun had confirmed that his token was genuine, so they were very obedient at the moment.

"To answer the senior, I am at the Eighth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, and my younger brother is at the Third Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm."

The two, standing in the corner, reported their exact cultivation levels.

"Come here and try if your physical bodies can enter this green light screen."

The Old Dean gestured towards the entrance of the Secret Realm and called them over.

The two obediently stepped forward, extended their hands, and then easily entered the light screen.

"It seems not only people close to this Taoist can enter this abruptly opened Secret Realm; the original rules still apply. If that's the case, then the problem lies with this Taoist."

While the Old Dean was pondering, Jin Xu withdrew half of his body from the light screen, and the phantom of the Che Liang Wood in the city dissipated once again.

"Senior, have your experiments led to any conclusion?"

"There is a conclusion, the Secret Realm is fine, you are the problem."

The scholarly Old Dean, stroking his chin, casually spoke his thoughts aloud.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, aren't you trying to get acquainted with the small world in advance, to plan for finding your master later? You go ahead and take them both in for now."

The second purpose for their visit was for Jin Xu to experience a safe small world to gather some experience for later finding his master, and incidentally to collect Che Liang Wood resin on the way back for Xu Qian to use in alchemy.

"Alright, Senior, then I'll go in first."

The Taoist was very decisive, each time he entered he would hear a voice mentioning four options, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and Jin Xu was very curious about it from the start.

Since the Old Dean had spoken, naturally there was no reason to refuse.

The Taoist pulled the two women with him and stepped boldly into the green light screen, under the night sky of Qingmu City, the phantom of Che Liang Wood appeared once again.

...

In Qingmu City.

People from various Cultivation Forces watched the tree shadows appear and disappear in the sky, looking somewhat bewildered.

They had been persuaded to return in the afternoon, with Mr. Lan assuring them solemnly that the Qingmu Secret Realm would open as usual on the first of September.

But it hadn't even been a whole night, and the Secret Realm had opened again.

And if you're going to open early, why keep opening and closing it!!!

In the night, the phantom of the Che Liang Wood lasted fifteen breaths at its longest, and less than one breath at its shortest.

This fluctuating frequency felt like a beginner of formations trying to set one up for the first time but failing to draw the patterns correctly.

On a certain rooftop, two Body Cultivators of the Golden Core Realm happened to be there enjoying the moonlight, and thus were forced to witness the entire process of the Che Liang Wood phantom rising and falling.

Resting their chins in their hands, they stared blankly at the sky, one of them suddenly said, "How many times has it been now?"

"I haven't kept count, probably the seventh time."

"What do you think, how long will it last this time?"

"I guess ten breaths."

"Okay, I'll guess fifteen breaths."

"Old rules, we still bet one Low Grade Spirit Stone."

"Fine."

However, this time neither of them won.

Because one quarter-hour later, the Che Liang Wood phantom still hadn't dissipated.

"Do you think it's possible that it won't close this time?"

The two Body Cultivators on the rooftop exchanged a puzzled glance, then hurriedly leaped down from the rooftop and rushed to the entrance of the Secret Realm.

Seeing that the phantom was lasting so long, the factions' members in the city also set out again, converging at the entrance of the Secret Realm once more.

Suddenly, the Cultivators in Qingmu City were all on the move again.

As a large group of Cultivators headed toward the blue light screen, two groups moved in the opposite direction; one was the Old Dean in his scholar-like guise. After sending messages to Qingyun and Lan Junyan, he leisurely left the Secret Realm entrance.

His clay figurine avatar couldn't enter anyway, so he might as well scram.

The other group consisted of a boy around eight or nine years old and an orange cat, who at this moment did not follow the crowd towards the entrance of the Secret Realm.

Instead, they stared intently at the hands and feet of the passing Cultivators, seemingly looking to seize the opportunity to catch a few thieves.

...

Inside the Qingmu Secret Realm.

A young Taoist stood on a moss-covered stone platform, surrounded by dense woods and a small river flowing slowly not far away.

Right before him, a blue light orb danced up and down ceaselessly.

This orb was a concentration of pure Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy, although for some unknown reason, it possessed basic spiritual intelligence and could convey messages into his mind.

"Fellow Daoist, please select the difficulty level of the challenge you wish to undertake. The first level of the Qingmu Secret Realm's challenges is divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D, with the difficulty increasing by level. Please choose carefully. Once you successfully pass the challenge, you will receive the protection of the 'Immortality' rule of the first layer of the Secret Realm."

A neutral voice directly appeared in Jin Xu's mind.

The young Taoist didn't rush to answer the question but instead turned his head to look at the two women by his side,

Yu Yaoer and Little White were standing with their eyes tightly closed, one on each side of him. The blue light orb did not appear in front of them.

Their facial expressions alternated between joy and sorrow, as if they were experiencing something in an illusion.

Jin Xu scratched his head in confusion, slightly puzzled.

"This scene is different from what the senior mentioned. Weren't we supposed to come into a white space first?"