I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

The flying boat pierced through the clouds and mist, and soon arrived at the vast plain located at the southern end of the silent forest, below the cliff.

The wooden ferry landed steadily at the makeshift ferry crossing.

Standing on the deck and looking down, the view below is unobstructed.

On the plain, the grass is lush and green, and several clear streams meander through it, shimmering in the sunlight.

The terrain here is open and flat. Although the spiritual energy is not very strong, the soil and water conditions are excellent.

If Chuyang City successfully expands here in the future, this place will definitely be an ideal location for establishing a large-scale ranch.

As far as the eye could see, there was no trace of the monster.

Clearly, Chuyang City and Fen Gu City had already cleared this area in advance.

The monster clans that might have originally inhabited this place have been dispersed or eliminated.

Only the faint, muffled roars echoing from the depths of the distant valley reminded the cultivators that this place was not far from the true wilderness.

The most eye-catching area is the region in the center of the plain.

The space presents an unnatural sense of distortion and folding, with an oval portal that is more than ten feet high and whose edges are shimmering with a hazy seven-colored glow.

Inside the portal, light and shadow flowed, as if leading to another world, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

This is the entrance to the Burial Valley secret realm.

"How is it?" Lin Che did not turn his head, but asked the Azure Profound Realm Spirit beside him in his mind.

The Azure Profound Realm Spirit activated its Absolute Concealment Divine Power, making it completely invisible to outsiders; only Lin Che could sense its existence.

At this moment, a strange ripple appeared in his azure eyes, and an invisible sense of perception spread out silently.

Gently touching and analyzing the spatial fluctuations and rhythmic laws emanating from the entrance to the secret realm.

A moment later, the inspection was completed.

The realm spirit's calm and steady thoughts echoed gently in Lin Che's sea of ​​consciousness:

"The spatial structure is stable, the laws are relatively complete, and there is no core hub controlled by humans or a strong repulsive will. Preliminary judgment is that this is an unclaimed secret realm."

"It's good that it's unclaimed." Lin Che thought to himself, feeling slightly relieved.

A possessed secret realm means that the residual will of the realm's owner may exist inside, or even a carefully laid trap, greatly increasing the danger and variables.

While unclaimed secret realms may also pose unknown risks, they lack the layer of "human-caused" hidden dangers.

This aligns better with his plan to explore the environment, search for spirit beast clans, and avoid major conflicts.

As the crowd disembarked from the flying boat, they gathered in a designated safe area about a hundred feet away from the entrance to the secret realm.

The figures of Chuyang City Lord Yan Shuming and several core officials appeared on the temporary platform in front.

At the same time, another group of people also ascended the platform, standing alongside Yan Shuming and others.

This group of people was particularly eye-catching. They were dressed in uniform armor and moved with a solemn and orderly air, which contrasted sharply with the lax cultivators around them.

The leader was a young general with a cold face and eyes like cold stars. He wore an exquisite sky-blue spirit armor engraved with cloud patterns and eagle designs. His aura was refined, indicating that he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The dozen or so soldiers following behind him were all dressed in thick, dark iron armor, revealing only their sharp eyes. Each of them exuded a fierce aura, and the lowest level was late-stage Qi Refining. They were faintly forming a battle formation.

"They must be the garrison of Tingfeng Pass, or rather, Burning Bone City?" Lin Che's gaze swept over them, and he understood.

In the eastern part of the Southern Region, the Fang family was the de facto ruler.

Their ability to command a highly trained army of monks who were completely obedient to them and stationed at strategic border passes speaks volumes about their power.

You should know that there is a cultivation dynasty in Zhongzhou, which borders the Southern Region!

Perhaps it is necessary to have three Nascent Soul stage forces as a shield.

They held back the endless torrent of demonic beasts from the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, preventing them from entering the Central Plains.

This is one of the reasons why the cultivation dynasty that ruled over hundreds of millions of miles in the Central Plains could tacitly allow the Nascent Soul stage forces in the Southern Region to maintain considerable independence.

……

On the high platform, Yan Shuming's gaze swept over the crowd of cultivators below, numbering over a thousand.

He first turned his head slightly to look at the blue-armored general beside him, Fang Chen, the special envoy of Burning Bone City.

Fang Chen nodded calmly, almost imperceptibly.

Upon receiving the signal, Yan Shuming stepped forward, cleared his throat, and released a slight pressure from his Golden Core stage cultivation, quickly silencing the noisy scene.

He spoke loudly to make sure everyone could hear him:

"Fellow Daoists! This 'Valley of Burial Soldiers' secret realm was jointly surveyed and maintained by Chuyang City and Burning Bone Pass, and now the development rights are jointly held by both parties."

Today we are open to all, granting you permission to enter and seek your fortune, but there is only one ironclad rule—

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room: "Anything brought out of the secret realm, whether it be spiritual materials, spiritual medicines, magical artifacts, or ores, or even a carrier for the transmission of cultivation techniques, must pay us half of its total value as an entry fee and management fee when leaving the secret realm!"

This is the standard procedure! If any fellow Daoist is unwilling to accept these conditions, you may withdraw now; there will be no forced stay. The ferry has not yet returned; you may return via the same route!

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd below!

"What?! Half?! That's too cruel!"

"Heh, I should have known better. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Allowing so many people in was clearly a scheme to reap the benefits!"

"Sigh... It's better to be able to keep half of it than not be able to even get in. Elsewhere, this kind of unclaimed secret realm would have been fenced off by major sects long ago; how could it possibly be a place for us rogue cultivators?"

The teams from the Foundation Establishment families appeared much calmer, with their leaders showing no change in expression, clearly having already understood the rules.

As part of the ruling class, they are already accustomed to such "harvesting" methods.

In the world of cultivation, strength and influence are the only true principles.

Only when you have enough power can you participate in the formulation of rules, rather than merely obeying them.

Yan Shuming seemed oblivious to the murmurs below and continued announcing the details:

"To ensure fairness and prevent hoarding, all those entering the secret realm must use our specially made storage bags. No other storage artifacts are permitted!"

Only by using a specially made storage bag can it be ensured that it is connected to the monitoring array at the entrance, thus preventing cultivators from using their own high-level storage magic tools to hide their gains.

This is the key to ensuring that half of the profits can be successfully received.

"The flow of time and space inside the secret realm is slightly different from that outside. This opening will last for about seven days outside."

Seven days from now, the entrance to the secret realm will become unstable and gradually close. You must return before then!

If you remain trapped there, you can only wait for the next opening of the secret realm, but that opening is uncertain and the outcome is unpredictable!

After announcing the core rules, Yan Shuming said no more, stepped aside, and said in a deep voice, "The rules are clear. Those who are interested may now prepare to enter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the large, complex array behind him, which had been temporarily erected to stabilize and monitor the entrance to the secret realm, suddenly lit up with a brilliant spiritual light.

As the array patterns flowed, the secret realm portal, shrouded in seven-colored light, seemed to be further expanded by an invisible force, making the light and shadow inside clearer and emanating a strange suction force and an ancient and desolate aura.

Deputy Mayor Zhang Mo took over the management of specific affairs.

Because the rule of "must use special storage bags" was quite sudden for most independent cultivators, there was a slight commotion at the scene.

Many people carried their own storage bags, which might contain all their belongings, and were now at a loss as to what to do with them.

Chuyang City had anticipated this.

On an open ground not far from the entrance to the secret realm, another array with a wide coverage area has already been activated.

The formation was divided into countless independent small light shield compartments.

Fellow Daoists!

Zhang Mo channeled his magic, his voice echoing in all directions: "Personal belongings and your own storage bag can be stored in this 'Storage Array'."

The formation will generate a unique spirit pattern token for each of you. After leaving the secret realm, you can retrieve the original item with this token. There will be no mistakes or omissions!

"With the joint guarantee of Chuyang City and Burning Bone City, there will be absolutely no problems!"

Although most of the independent cultivators were somewhat hesitant and worried, after weighing the pros and cons, they still chose to trust the credibility of these two local strongmen.

After all, they still need the independent cultivators to continue to operate, trade, and complete tasks in this area.

It would be a terrible loss to ruin one's reputation for the sake of coveting the storage bags of some low-level cultivators.

Of course, if a cultivator unfortunately perishes in the secret realm, their stored items will naturally become ownerless and belong to the administrator.

The calculations involved are self-evident.

A few rogue cultivators, possessing valuable treasures but unable to accept the rules, could only grumble and turn towards the ferry for the return journey, their expensively purchased tokens now worthless.

As for the major Foundation Establishment families, they naturally had already made arrangements.

The tribesmen who came to explore carried only the necessary elixirs, talismans, and weapons.

Valuable belongings and commonly used storage bags were never taken out of the tribe's territory. Now, they only need to travel light and go directly to collect the special storage bags.

With a slight thought, Lin Che silently transferred his storage bag into the Qingxuan Secret Realm.

He followed the crowd and used the officially issued secret realm token to receive a specially made storage bag that was dark blue, cool to the touch, and had simple array patterns engraved on its surface.

With a slight probe of divine sense, one could sense a faint, subtle connection between the bag and the grand monitoring array at the entrance.

This "security check" measure is quite thorough.

Deputy City Chief Zhang Mo, seeing that everyone had finished storing their belongings and that the special storage bags had been distributed, announced loudly once again:

"The auspicious hour has arrived—the exploration of the secret realm officially begins!"

Upon hearing this, the impatient cultivators immediately surged forward like a flood, rushing towards the entrance to the shimmering secret realm!

Shouts and the sound of wind breaking filled the air, everyone fearing that if they were a step too late, the opportunity would be snatched away by someone else.

Lin Che mingled with the crowd, moving forward at a leisurely pace.

As he approached the entrance, the secret realm token in his hand touched the glowing light at the edge of the portal, and the cloud patterns on the token suddenly lit up, resonating with the portal.

The next moment, a gentle yet irresistible spatial force enveloped him.

Light and shadow shift, the universe turns upside down.

His figure vanished from the spot in an instant.