"We can travel together," Chu Feng said.
"Heh heh, great. I like a guy with your personality."
With that, Xiao Yueyue sat down next to Chu Feng and said with a grin, "I was a bit rude earlier. Don't hold it against me, okay?"
Now that she knew who Chu Feng was, Xiao Yueyue's attitude toward him had clearly improved quite a bit.
"Though honestly, you can't really blame me — your eyesight is just bad. I'm obviously a girl. You really couldn't tell?"
She asked this with a completely straight face.
Chu Feng gave Xiao Yueyue another careful look. "I don't mean any offense, but it really is hard to tell."
"How typical. You men are all the same — you only judge by appearance." Xiao Yueyue pouted with lips so exaggeratedly thick they resembled a catfish's, though she wasn't genuinely angry.
"Uh…" Chu Feng didn't quite know how to respond, because it really wasn't a matter of judging by appearance. It was simply that Xiao Yueyue's feminine features were far too subtle.
"Miss Xiao, could you tell me about the Nine Heavens Secret Realm now?" Chu Feng asked.
"Chu Feng, you really don't know about the Nine Heavens Secret Realm? You're not messing with me, are you?" Xiao Yueyue didn't quite believe that Chu Feng was ignorant of it.
"I really don't," Chu Feng confirmed.
"If that's the case, then you've come to the right person. I know more about the Nine Heavens Secret Realm than most."
With that, Xiao Yueyue began to explain what she knew about the Nine Heavens Secret Realm.
It turned out that the Nine Heavens Secret Realm was a mysterious site discovered at the very beginning of the current era.
The Nine Heavens Secret Realm appeared to be a product of the Primordial Era, but powerhouses from the Ancient Era had also ventured inside.
As such, traces of the Ancient Era could be found within.
To enter the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, one had to possess Mental Power. If you weren't a Spirit World Master, no amount of cultivation would let you inside.
Even at the dawn of this era, when the martial cultivation world was brimming with experts, none of them could do a thing about the Nine Heavens Secret Realm.
This meant that the Nine Heavens Secret Realm was a place with extraordinarily powerful barrier forces — otherwise, such restrictions would be impossible.
At the same time, the Nine Heavens Secret Realm remained, to this day, a place that had never been fully deciphered.
It was one of the most enigmatic ruins in the entire vast martial cultivation world.
The reason was that within the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, there were not only countless deadly traps, but also terrifying creatures.
Those creatures were similar to Fierce Beasts — devoid of intelligence, driven purely by primal aggression, yet possessing extraordinary power.
However, the Nine Heavens Secret Realm had two ends: an entrance and an exit.
Those who entered through the entrance would encounter multiple paths. These paths broadly fell into two categories.
One type could only be traversed by the older generation.
The other type could only be traversed by the younger generation.
So far, only one path through the Nine Heavens Secret Realm had ever been completed — and it was a path walked by someone of the younger generation.
That person was Jie Ranqing.
"Even though Jie Ranqing successfully made it out of the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, she paid a devastating price. Of the ten thousand-plus junior members of the Seven Realms Sacred Temple who entered with her, only a dozen or so made it out alive."
"And among those survivors, aside from Jie Ranqing herself who remained unharmed, every one of them was either crippled for life or driven permanently insane."
"So in reality, only Jie Ranqing walked out unscathed."
"But even that was the best outcome imaginable."
"Before Jie Ranqing, throughout the long span of history, every major power had sent both veteran experts and youthful prodigies to explore the Nine Heavens Secret Realm."
"But aside from those who fled midway, none ever returned."
"Jie Ranqing was the only person to ever emerge from the exit."
"The Nine Heavens Secret Realm is, in other words, a dead end."
"This time, the Seven Realms Sacred Temple won't even allow us to give up halfway — we'll have to press on to the very end."
"Now do you understand why everyone is so terrified?" Xiao Yueyue asked, watching Chu Feng with a smile.
"Because going in means certain death," Chu Feng said.
"Exactly." Xiao Yueyue nodded.
"Then why aren't you afraid?" Chu Feng asked.
"Afraid? Who wouldn't be? But being afraid doesn't help."
"Besides, the Seven Realms Sacred Temple actually has a point."