Under the proprietress's guidance, the group headed straight for the Void Crossing. Once outside, Yang Kai summoned his Lotus Fall, which transformed into a giant lotus blossom. Several dozen people surged into it, the lotus spun, and it shot off at full speed.
They weren't the only ones departing from the Void Crossing—many others were setting out as well.
A steady stream of flying artifacts of every shape and design burst into a kaleidoscope of colors, stretching endlessly in a grand procession.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue in amazement. "All these people are heading to the Blood Demon Secret Realm?"
Old Bai stood beside him, grinning. "Of course. What else would they be doing? Every time the Blood Demon Secret Realm opens, it's an event that sweeps across the entire Three Thousand Worlds. Who wouldn't want a share of the prize? That's a pocket world left behind by an Eighth-Grade Open Heaven cultivator. If someone could inherit the Blood Demon Divine Lord's legacy—tsk, tsk, tsk—they'd shoot straight to the top."
Yang Kai looked around, somewhat dazed. Just the flying artifacts he could see numbered in the dozens, if not hundreds, and there were countless more beyond his line of sight.
From Thousand Bird Star City alone, there were probably over a thousand people. What about the entire Thousand Bird Domain? The entire Three Thousand Worlds?
With so many people flooding in all at once, what good could they possibly find? He could just imagine entering the Blood Demon Secret Realm only to find it packed wall to wall with people.
Old Bai patted him on the shoulder and laughed. "Don't worry. Don't let the numbers fool you—not everyone who sets out will actually get in. A few tens of thousands at most."
"Why is that?" Yang Kai looked at him, puzzled. "Are there requirements to enter the Blood Demon Secret Realm?"
"Not exactly requirements, well... How should I put it—let the proprietress explain."
Just then, the proprietress waved her hand and sent dozens of streaks of light shooting toward the group. Everyone reached out and caught theirs, only to discover they were jade slips.
"The jade slips contain information about the Blood Demon Secret Realm," the proprietress said. "Read them carefully. I've also included copies of the map I acquired at the Danxia Auction House. It's not comprehensive, but it should be useful to some degree—it might even save your lives at a critical moment."
At her words, everyone immediately focused their minds and began examining the jade slips in their hands.
Yang Kai took one and looked through it as well.
The proprietress had clearly prepared these specifically for their group. She knew they had absolutely no knowledge of the Blood Demon Secret Realm and would be completely blind once they entered. But with this intelligence, things would be different.
The Blood Demon Secret Realm opened once every two hundred years, and each time, tens of thousands of people entered. Though many perished inside, some always returned safely and brought back intelligence. That wasn't unusual.
None of this was particularly secret information. The major grotto-heavens and blessed lands typically had records of it—they simply didn't broadcast it publicly.
The First Inn was in the intelligence business, so gathering such material was effortless.
According to the jade slips, the Blood Demon Divine Lord had been skilled in the Blood Path and the Way of Beast Taming during his lifetime. As a result, his Blood Demon Secret Realm contained many Blood Beasts—all creatures he had cultivated in life. They were similar to ordinary demon beasts in some ways, yet distinctly different, with bizarre abilities and ferocious strength. Over the years, more than half of all cultivators who entered the Blood Demon Secret Realm had died under the claws of these Blood Beasts.
The most powerful Blood Beasts were comparable to Lower-Grade Open Heaven cultivators—creatures everyone would flee at the mere sight of. After all, the Blood Demon Secret Realm's restrictions only allowed those below the Open Heaven Realm to enter. A Blood Beast with Lower-Grade Open Heaven strength was virtually invincible in that environment.
The Blood Beasts were ferocious, but killing them brought rewards.
Because the Blood Beasts had been cultivated by the Blood Demon Divine Lord, they differed from ordinary demon beasts. Their inner cores tended to have very singular, very pure attributes, making them perfectly usable as cultivation resources.
By grade, the Blood Beasts there ranged from Grade One all the way to Grade Seven. Killing beasts of different grades could yield cultivation resources of corresponding grades.
Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
If he could find and slay a Grade Seven demon beast inside the Blood Demon Secret Realm, he might be able to obtain Metal-element and Yin-element resources! No wonder the proprietress had called the Blood Demon Secret Realm an opportunity.
But a Grade Seven demon beast, no matter how singular its inner core's attribute, would wield tremendous power—after all, it was Grade Seven.
Just like the Magnetic Divine Gourd in his hands—its Sixth-Grade Magnetic Divine Light, though singular in attribute, was devastatingly effective against Lower-Grade Open Heaven cultivators. If Sixth-Grade was already that powerful, what about Seventh-Grade? A Seventh-Grade Blood Beast would absolutely be comparable to a Lower-Grade Open Heaven cultivator, or perhaps even exceed one.
He wondered if there were any Eighth-Grade Blood Beasts inside. After all, the Blood Demon Divine Lord had been an Eighth-Grade Open Heaven cultivator himself—it wouldn't be strange if he could raise Eighth-Grade Blood Beasts. And the Blood Demon Divine Lord had been dead for so many years; the Blood Beasts living inside might well have continued to grow.