I Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] - Chapter 60

Mo Xiao and her group encountered no danger until they reached the palace gate. Conversely, apart from the slightly higher concentration of spiritual energy, the area was a barren expanse of snow—no spiritual herbs, no demonic beasts, and no useful materials.

“Why is the palace gate open?” Yun He paused, a little confused. “Did someone already come here?”

“Possibly,” Yun Yu was the first to take a few steps inside, observing the palace hall. “There’s nothing inside. It seems someone took everything before.”

“It was completely swept clean? How many storage artifacts did the person who came here bring?” Zuo Wuyi lamented. The main hall looked overly desolate now; nothing was left except for a few pillars and some glowing small orbs.

“Be careful. We don’t know if those people have left yet,” Yun Yu didn’t lower her guard. The safer the surroundings were, the stranger she felt, worried that this was the calm before the storm.

“Eldest Senior Sister, there seems to be a mechanism here,” Yun He said, placing her hand on one of the pillars and rotating it.

Following Yun He’s action, the wall on the left began to move, revealing a dark, black passage.

“The pillar on my side seems to have one too,” Zuo Wuyi observed the pillar in front of her. She rotated a certain part of the relief, just like Yun He, and a corresponding dark, black passage appeared in the wall on the right.

“There are a total of four pillars here,” Zuo Wuyi reminded them.

Yun Yu and Mo Xiao exchanged glances, each choosing a pillar and rotating the switch. Soon, two more dark, black passages appeared.

“Eldest Senior Sister, there are four of us, and exactly four passages here. I feel like this is meant for us to separate?” Yun He rubbed her chin, walking up to the nearest passage to examine it.

“Perhaps it’s a coincidence. If a hundred people came, there probably wouldn’t be a hundred passages,” Zuo Wuyi said. She didn’t sense any danger from the passages before her.

Yun Yu nodded. “Then let’s still stick together. Let’s choose one passage first and see what’s inside.”

Her idea was simple: as long as the four of them acted together, the chances of complete withdrawal would be much higher, even if they encountered danger.

As for which passage would yield the most rewards, that was not within Yun Yu’s consideration. She only hoped that she and her Junior Sisters would be safe.

After a brief discussion, Yun Yu chose to enter the passage she had opened. She would lead the way and scout the situation first.

“Okay, if there’s anything wrong with the situation inside, Senior Sister, you must come out,” Mo Xiao urged. “Don’t stay too long.”

Yun Yu nodded. As before, she first extended her spiritual sword into the passage. After sensing no danger, she tentatively stepped into the black passage.

As Yun Yu’s entire body entered the passage, she was hit by a spiritual energy that was even richer than in the main hall, causing her to involuntarily let out a breath of turbid air.

“Junior Sisters, it’s very sa—” Just as Yun Yu was about to turn back to tell Mo Xiao and the others the situation, the originally dark cave entrance instantly disappeared, leaving no trace.

Yun Yu frowned and immediately thrust her sword toward where the entrance had been.

“Nothing at all?” Seeing her attack strike the ground, Yun Yu’s eyebrows furrowed tighter.

Did she walk into a trap?

That didn’t seem right either. If only the entrance and exit disappeared, she would be fine even if she stayed in a place with such concentrated spiritual energy for a dozen or twenty years.

At the same time, Mo Xiao, guarding the door, also noticed something amiss. She drew her sword almost the moment the entrance disappeared. But she was still a step too late. Her sword only struck the solid wall, creating a series of sparks.

“The entrance disappeared?” Yun He first stepped forward and knocked on the wall, then ran to the pillar and repeated her previous action.

Unfortunately, Yun He’s actions were futile. No matter how she fiddled with the reliefs on the pillar, the passage did not reappear.

“Senior Sister, what should we do? Eldest Senior Sister is alone now,” Yun He looked at Mo Xiao anxiously.

“The owner of the palace probably wants us each to choose a passage,” Mo Xiao said, looking behind her. “The main door has closed again. We either wait here or choose a passage.”

“Based on our earlier deduction, the extreme northern region is likely a trial ground. If so, the passages might not necessarily contain fatal danger,” Mo Xiao stated.

“You mean we should each choose a path?” Zuo Wuyi asked.

Mo Xiao nodded. “Given the current situation, it seems that way. If we stay here, we probably won’t escape. If we run into other cultivators who entered, our situation won’t be good.”

Saying this, Mo Xiao took out several defensive artifacts and divided them equally between Zuo Wuyi and Yun He. “If you can’t find a way out, just wait in a safe place. I will take you out.”

The person who established this Secret Realm was, at most, an Integration stage cultivator. Given the concentration of spiritual energy here, she could start assaulting the Spirit Transformation stage within ten years. By then, with her Dao of the Sword perfected, fighting an Integration stage cultivator would not be impossible.

“Okay, I understand.” Zuo Wuyi wasn’t overly worried. If this Secret Realm was truly aiming for their lives, they wouldn’t have encountered nothing along the way.

Yun He sternly put away the items. “I understand. Senior Sister and Junior Sister, both of you be careful. We’ll meet outside the Secret Realm when the time comes.”

After saying that, Yun He chose a passage first. The moment she entered, the passage also disappeared.

“Mo Xiao, you don’t need to worry about me. I have my trump cards,” Before Mo Xiao could say anything, Zuo Wuyi spoke first. “If you can’t manage, just wait for me where you are. At worst, you’ll just cultivate for a few decades, and I’ll come fish you out.”

After speaking, Zuo Wuyi said no more. She gave Mo Xiao a big hug, bit a mark on her neck, and then turned around resolutely and entered the passage.

Mo Xiao touched her neck, smiled helplessly, and then walked into the last remaining passage.

The moment she was swallowed by the darkness, Mo Xiao felt the rich spiritual energy. The Nascent Soul in her dantian instantly became active, greedily consuming the surrounding spiritual energy.

Suppressing the somewhat restless Nascent Soul, Mo Xiao immediately began to fly on her sword, heading toward the source of the spiritual energy.

Because the surrounding spiritual energy was extremely rich, and the speed at which Mo Xiao absorbed spiritual energy was higher than the spiritual energy consumed by her sword flight, she had no reservations, flying forward at maximum speed.

After half an hour, Mo Xiao arrived at the source of the spiritual energy. What greeted her eyes was an extremely massive tree standing in the snow-capped mountains.

“I have waited so many years. Finally, someone has arrived,” Almost the moment Mo Xiao landed, the large tree spoke.

Mo Xiao wasn’t very surprised. She asked, “Are you the owner of this Secret Realm?”

“Yes and no. I am merely the owner of one-fourth of the Secret Realm,” the tree said, a hint of pleasure in its voice. “Over the years, many people have entered the first and second layers of the Secret Realm, but you are only the second to enter the third layer and find me.”

“Who was the first one?” Mo Xiao asked.

“The first one, well, he didn’t pass my test. I erased his memory and sent him out,” the tree said. “I can offer you two choices now. One is to cultivate here for a hundred years, then leave.”

“And the other?” Mo Xiao asked.

“The other is to defeat me and obtain all the spiritual herbs in the Secret Realm,” the tree replied.

Mo Xiao found it strange. “Spiritual herbs? Isn’t this Secret Realm for an Integration stage sword cultivator? Why do I get spiritual herbs if I defeat you?”

“Didn’t you see my original form? I am an ancient tree spirit. What else would I give you if not spiritual herbs?” The ancient tree complained. It seemed it hadn’t spoken for too many years and started chattering endlessly after catching Mo Xiao.

To obtain more information about the Secret Realm, Mo Xiao simply sat down cross-legged and started chatting with the ancient tree spirit.

From the ancient tree spirit, Mo Xiao learned the general structure of the Secret Realm. It was somewhat similar to their previous guess: they had already entered the Secret Realm the moment they stepped into the extreme northern region.

Both the scheduled snowstorms and the so-called inns that sheltered cultivators were part of the Secret Realm. The inns needed spirit stones to operate, so they charged high fees to passing cultivators.

The inn in the absolute center of the extreme northern region was different. It had been there since the beginning and did not require spirit stones to operate, so it only charged a token amount.

“Actually, you were already in the second layer of the Secret Realm shortly after leaving the inn. As long as cultivators are willing to approach the center, they will have a chance to encounter the so-called entrance,” the ancient tree spirit was very patient, directly telling Mo Xiao the situation.

“The third layer of the Secret Realm is mainly composed of four sections. I and three other demonic beasts are responsible for managing them. If you successfully defeat us, besides receiving the corresponding reward, you also have a chance to touch the core item.”

“The inheritance,” After hearing so much from the ancient tree spirit, Mo Xiao also understood the situation. Unless they were tricked and killed by other cultivators, as long as they followed the rules, they would mostly only encounter frights, not danger, in the Secret Realm.

“Right, so what is your choice?” the ancient tree spirit asked.

“Ten years from now, I will challenge you,” Mo Xiao answered without hesitation.

The ancient tree spirit agreed readily. “Good. Ten years. I will wait for you then!”