Song Yichun smiled and said, "If you ask what our sect's secret realm has, I really can't say. You should ask what our sect's secret realm *doesn't* have."
Chu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "What a boastful tone."
Song Yichun said, "I never exaggerate. I always speak the truth. The secret realm is another small world, so naturally it encompasses everything."
"Heavenly treasures, rare birds, and exotic beasts?"
"Naturally, we have them."
"Divine weapons?"
"We have those too."
"Elixirs?"
"We have those too."
"Miraculous skills and unique techniques?"
"We have those too."
"...You have everything?" Chu Zhiyuan asked in surprise, "Aren't elixirs refined?"
"There are many grotto-heavens and ruins, so naturally there are elixirs and divine weapons there."
"After more than a thousand years, it hasn't been completely explored?"
"The size of the secret realm is beyond the prince's imagination. Moreover, the secret realm is constantly changing. Don't say a thousand years, even ten thousand years wouldn't be enough to explore it completely."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "In that case, isn't this secret realm extremely terrifying? It can instantly destroy everyone, regardless of their cultivation level."
He suddenly felt his hair stand on end.
There are miraculous skill inheritances and grotto-heavens.
That means there are cultivators, and cultivators with extremely high cultivation. But there are no living ones.
Could it be a great tribulation of heaven and earth, just like the extinction of the dinosaurs in his previous life? Under the great tribulation, no one could escape unscathed.
Will this great tribulation of heaven and earth happen again?
If such a great tribulation were to occur while in the secret realm, even a Grandmaster would probably not be able to escape, right?
"The prince is overthinking it." The two smiled and shook their heads.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "It seems that you two know some inside information. I'm all ears."
"The reason there are no living people in the secret realm is because of the changes in heaven and earth. The Qi of heaven and earth has mutated, making it unsuitable for long-term living."
"The air has mutated?"
"Even a Grandmaster has a limit of one month before needing to return to recover for a few days."
"...Fascinating," Chu Zhiyuan said slowly.
This is indeed a great tribulation of heaven and earth. The heaven and earth have mutated, making it no longer suitable for human habitation, but it is a paradise for animals and plants.
"Will the secret realm continue to change?" Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Will it continue to grow larger?"
Song Yichun said, "The range of the secret realm is constantly increasing, and many mountains and forests will change. Originally, there were no grotto-heavens, but later there were grotto-heavens. Originally, there were grotto-heavens, but later there might not be grotto-heavens... In short, the secret realm is wonderfully unpredictable."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
This is indeed wonderful, but the records of the Four Great Grotto-Heavens and the Four Great Secret Realms are extremely scarce, circulating only among Grandmasters. Knowing about them is useless below the Grandmaster level; one cannot enter.
Song Yichun smiled and said, "Does the prince want to take a tour of our sect's secret realm?"
"Isn't it too far?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.
Song Yichun shook his head and said, "It's only a thousand miles. Isn't that not far for the prince?"
Chu Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows.
He realized that the distance between the Four Great Demonic Sects and Yujing was not far. Inviting Moon Palace was a thousand miles away, and so was Carefree Sect. What about the other two sects? Were the Nine Li Divine Sect and the Eternal Spirit Divine Sect also a thousand miles away?
Could they be like the Four Symbols Formation, all a thousand miles away from Yujing?
Chu Zhiyuan asked directly, "Are the Eternal Spirit Divine Sect and the Nine Li Divine Sect also a thousand miles away from Yujing?"
"That's right," the two nodded.
Chu Zhiyuan increasingly felt that the relationship between the imperial court and the Four Great Sects was complicated. This was clearly a defensive posture.
Song Yichun smiled and said, "If the prince wants to go, we can inform them and you can go directly."
Chu Zhiyuan thought for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "We'll talk about it later."
The two revealed disappointed expressions.
Chu Zhiyuan's heart stirred.
It seemed that these two were ordered to invite him to the Carefree Sect's secret realm.
He never considered that the Carefree Sect would harm him. The Carefree Sect didn't have the guts and would try their best to protect him. Going to the Carefree Sect should be safe.
Moreover, with the Celestial Dragon Divine Steed, no one could ambush him. It was indeed extremely tempting.
But the current him could no longer rely on external objects, but rather had to rely on persistent effort. Moreover, the emperor probably didn't want to see him leaning towards the Four Great Sects.
He couldn't listen to Consort Rou's opinions entirely, but he couldn't completely ignore them either.
"Does the prince think that our sect relies on poison, and that all we depend on is poisonous skills?"
"Isn't that right?"
"That's actually a misunderstanding of the world. Our sect's poisonous skills are only one aspect, and not the strongest."
"The strongest is...?"
"Naturally, it's martial arts," Li Yilong said in a deep voice. "The world misunderstands our sect too much."
"It's actually martial arts?"
"Our Four Great Sects originally started with martial arts. How could we possibly establish ourselves with poisonous skills?" Song Yichun smiled and said, "Our sect's supreme martial art is the Carefree Scripture of the Distant Dao."
"Is it also a poison scripture?"
"The Carefree Powder was named based on our sect's supreme cultivation method, but it was misunderstood as a poisonous skill."
"So outrageous?" Chu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Doesn't anyone know?"
Song Yichun pursed his lips and smiled, "It's rumored that our sect's poison is invisible and undetectable, killing people invisibly, and our sect's martial arts are also invisible and undetectable, killing people invisibly."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Aren't you going to explain it?"
"Explain to whom?" Song Yichun said, "Explain to those who want to kill us, or explain to irrelevant people? Moreover, why should our sect's actions need to be explained to others?"
Chu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Good Carefree Sect... Has the Holy Maiden of Inviting Moon Palace arrived?"
"The Holy Maiden is already in our sect," Song Yichun smiled and said, "If the prince wants to see the princess consort, you can still meet her if you go now."
Chu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "If I go, she'll leave, right?"
The beautiful face of Xiao Ruoling and her charming smile appeared in his mind. A longing welled up in his heart.
"The Holy Maiden will naturally stay for a few days, and may also enter the secret realm to explore."
"She can also enter the secret realm?"
"The Four Great Sects are of one mind, so it's very common for the Holy Maiden to enter our sect's secret realm."
"Forget it," Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile.
He was very tempted, but he restrained his impulse.
The Carefree Sect wouldn't harm him, but he had to be on guard. Sometimes, harm might not be a direct attack, but rather many subtle methods. The current him shouldn't accept any party too early, and should be more cautious.
He first needed to find out the details of the Carefree Sect.
"Ma Daren, show me the information about the Carefree Sect."
"Yes."
"Huh—?" Chu Zhiyuan looked at Ma Tianhe.
He originally thought that Ma Tianhe would show a troubled expression, but he didn't expect Ma Tianhe to agree so readily, which was really abnormal.
Ma Tianhe lowered his voice, "Your Highness, in fact, our Surveillance Department knows very little about the Four Great Demonic Sects. Our Surveillance Department has no right to investigate. We only collect some fragmented information. There is someone else who truly knows the Four Great Sects."
Chu Zhiyuan's spirits lifted, "There is someone specifically responsible for investigating the Four Great Sects?"
Ma Tianhe looked left and right, and slowly nodded.
Chu Zhiyuan stared at him with burning eyes.
Ma Tianhe made a mouth shape, but didn't make a sound. Chu Zhiyuan immediately understood and frowned at him.
Ma Tianhe slowly nodded, his expression determined and serious. Chu Zhiyuan pondered.
He didn't expect that the one secretly monitoring the Four Great Sects was actually Chu Qingfeng, his thirteenth uncle, Chu Qingfeng.
