Yang Kai and Li Rong returned along the original path. Seeing him lost in deep thought, Li Rong kept silent, not daring to disturb him, and simply followed a step behind.
Before long, they arrived outside the Nine Peaks once more.
Li Rong suddenly called out softly, "Master, it looks like something's going on with those people below — the ones seeking pills."
"Hm?" Yang Kai snapped out of his reverie and looked down. Sure enough, there was indeed a commotion below. Many warriors who had come to request pills were gathered in small groups of three to five, whispering amongst themselves. Some had even given up waiting entirely and were rushing away from the Nine Peaks.
They looked quite frantic, as though they had made some incredible discovery.
Because the Holy Land had issued a decree that it would not refine pills for anyone over the next ten days, the warriors waiting outside the Nine Peaks had grown rather bored these past few days. However, they couldn't very well abandon their pill-seeking journey and leave over something like this.
Moreover, the number of departing warriors was actually quite large.
Yang Kai frowned, unable to understand why this was happening. He turned and flew down toward the stone pavilion below.
In the pavilion, the two Holy Land Elders — Meng Tianfei and Luo Sheng — had been stationed to maintain order. At the moment, they too were staring at the commotion in complete bewilderment, utterly confused about what was going on.
There was a blur of light, and Yang Kai appeared with Li Rong.
The two elders hurriedly stood and bowed.
"What happened here?" Yang Kai gestured for them to keep their voices down and asked quietly.
"This subordinate doesn't know either. About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn ago, a warrior who'd come to seek pills joined the queue and said something to several people nearby. After that, quite a few of them left," Luo Sheng replied.
"Where is that person?" Yang Kai asked.
"At the very back of the queue." Luo Sheng pointed. Yang Kai looked over and saw a middle-aged man in the Transcendent Realm standing at the tail end of the line. He had a shrewd appearance, his eyes bright and keen. As warriors in the queue continued to leave, he was slowly inching forward. A smug smile hung at the corner of his lips.
"Should I go investigate?" Luo Sheng offered.
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded.
Luo Sheng immediately set off.
A short while later, he returned with an odd expression and reported, "Sacred Master, that fellow says he found an entrance to a Minor Mystic Realm on his way here. All those who left have gone to explore inside it."
"An entrance to a Minor Mystic Realm?" Yang Kai exclaimed in a low voice.
"Mm. His words sounded quite convincing. Doesn't seem like he's lying."
"If he really found an entrance to a Minor Mystic Realm, why didn't he go explore it himself? Instead he came here spreading the news, letting others go instead. If there's anything of value inside, others would get to it first!" Meng Tianfei looked skeptical. "Does this fellow have some ulterior motive?"
"He says his strength is weak and he's all alone, so he doesn't dare enter on his own." Luo Sheng shrugged.
Yang Kai looked thoughtful, his expression growing grave. He gazed in the direction of that person for a good while before speaking. "Did you find out where this Minor Mystic Realm entrance is?"
"About two thousand li from here. To the east!" Luo Sheng pointed.
"Li Rong, let's go take a look as well." Yang Kai immediately stood up.
"Sacred Master, should I notify the Grand Elder and have him accompany you?" Luo Sheng asked.
"No need. We're just going to take a look. And if I'm not mistaken, there's probably nothing of value inside that Minor Mystic Realm." Yang Kai looked quite certain as he and Li Rong departed once more.
When they were out of sight, Yang Kai brought out the Flying Sky Shuttle. It transformed into a streak of cyan light and vanished in an instant.
On the shuttle, Li Rong said, "Master, do you believe what that man said? Entrances to Minor Mystic Realms are always extremely well hidden — they're rarely ever discovered. His story is quite suspicious."
In this world, there existed countless hidden spaces, big and small, known to the world as Minor Mystic Realms. Some Minor Mystic Realms were barren wastelands with nothing in them. Others were inhabited by living creatures. And still others contained ancient ruins brimming with incredible wealth — treasures that, once found, could make one rich enough to rival a nation, ensuring a lifetime of comfort and abundance.
And so, on the Tongxuan Continent, there were warriors who made a living by seeking out Minor Mystic Realms, braving the dangers within to discover treasures.
However, as time passed, undiscovered Minor Mystic Realms grew fewer and fewer. Those with easily found entrances had long since been explored. What remained were the deeply hidden ones.
When that warrior claimed to have found an entrance to a Minor Mystic Realm, suspicion was only natural.
But all things under heaven rush about for the sake of profit, and inevitably, some were swayed by his words, rushing off to the location he'd described to investigate.