Chapter 373: Land of White Bones
Drifting aimlessly, three months went by.
The paper boat finally reached a desolate place. As far as the eye could see, there was only a boundless expanse of gray and white.
Below, common folk were sparse and scattered; even Demon Beasts were a rare sight.
"This is a salt flat."
Yuan Chu spoke up. "We’re almost there."
Sure enough, after traveling less than half a day deeper into the salt flat, the paper boats began to stop one after another.
Shang Wunian, with a flick of his red robes, leaped from his paper boat. He and several other elders began to survey the area.
They were from the Jinyu lineage, and this sort of exploratory work was their specialty.
After so many days on the boats, everyone disembarked. Stepping onto solid ground, they all felt a great sense of relief.
As they walked, the coarse salt underfoot crunched with a constant CRACKLE.
Leaning on Gong Gui for support, Xiong Xin met up with Bai Mo.
The moment they met, Bai Mo noticed something was different.
"Huh? Brother Gong, where are all your gold and jade?"
Gong Gui shook his head.
"My Dharma Protector ordered me not to be conspicuous on this trip. With my current fate, I can’t handle such a great blessing."
"So, I’ve put away all those worldly treasures for now. I have to keep a low profile on this journey."
Being too conspicuous wasn’t a good thing. The Dharma Protector he served—that enormous Money Turtle—had been noticed by an elder of the Xuandao Sect precisely because it didn’t know restraint.
If it hadn’t been captured and brought into the sect, his Dharma Protector would still be roaming free in some river, for all he knew.
With the three from the Divine Dao Sect here, Bai Mo was saved the trouble of having to dig for information.
"So, what’s the plan?"
"We wait for the elders to find the entrance to the Secret Realm, then we go in to seek our fortunes," Yuan Chu answered first.
Xiong Xin looked startled and uncertain.
"I think I see a blurry door... The elders of the Jinyu lineage are about to reach it."
"Hm?"
The other three were all stunned.
"They found it!" Xiong Xin exclaimed, his eyes narrowed to slits.
As he spoke, Shang Wunian had already lit a stick of incense, its smoke snaking and spiraling into the air.
"I ask you all to lend me a hand! Do not fail the years of offerings from Divine Dao Mountain!"
WHOOSH!
"URGH!"
In broad daylight, the smoke began to reveal the forms of things unseen.
"Here we come..."
A large, furry hand joined with other arms. As they strained together, a misty portal was torn open.
The tear in reality was a hazy gray, obscuring whatever lay within.
At the same time, the salt flat beneath their feet began to tremble without end.
Grains of salt danced wildly on the ground.
They were all accomplished Cultivators, so no one worried about the ground collapsing. They simply stood rooted to the spot, waiting patiently.
The wait lasted nearly ten minutes before the tremors finally subsided.
The long incense stick that Shang Wunian had lit burned down to its end, and the assisting Dharma Protectors and spirit generals vanished.
"Let’s go."
His great red robes billowed as he stepped through the portal.
Behind him, several elders of the Jinyu lineage gave a wry chuckle and turned to instruct their disciples.
"Keep your eyes peeled!"
With that, they followed him in.
The main group followed close behind. A few disciples at the very rear made a gesture, and the paper boats all trembled, shrinking to the size of their palms and falling into their hands.
The disciples tucked them into their robes and walked into the portal as well.
A moment later, the portal sealed shut and vanished.
A few streaks of light shot across the horizon, landing where the group had just been.
"What happened here?"
"There was an astonishing aura just now..."
"Could a rare treasure have appeared?"
These newcomers lingered for a long time, but seeing no signs of anything unusual, they searched the area several times before finally departing to look elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Bai Mo had passed through a fog so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, and entered the ancestral land of the giants.
The thunderous sound of water filled his ears. When he came to his senses, he found himself before a boundless land of white bones, one that seemed even vaster than the salt flat outside.
In the distance, a murky river flowed, its surface covered in a carpet of white bones, all being washed away toward some unknown destination.
It gave one a unique feeling of desolate majesty.
WHOOSH! EEEEEE!!
A fierce gale suddenly swept past, carrying with it all sorts of sharp, strange noises that grated on the soul like the cries of ghosts.
Everyone present was a Cultivator of some standing, yet none of them could even open their eyes against the onslaught.
The gale blew for a full fifteen minutes before it suddenly died down.
Everyone was shaken and uncertain. Then, an elder of the Jinyu lineage spoke.
"Well, they’ve made their greeting. Does this count as tacit permission for us to be here?"
Shang Wunian gave a slight nod.
Only then did the crowd come back to their senses.
A youth, still covered in grime and dried blood, was the first to cup his fist and speak. "Many thanks for bringing me along on this journey! I will surely repay this debt one day!" With that, he strode away.
The other outsiders also began to bid their farewells, departing in twos and threes, some alone, others in larger groups.
Eventually, even those who were a bit dazed and slow to react felt too awkward to remain. They, too, picked a random direction and walked off.
They had arrived. The rest was up to individual destiny.
"Xiong Xin, how are you doing!?"
A low cry from Yuan Chu drew Bai Mo’s attention.
He saw Xiong Xin’s face was deathly pale, his lips trembling. He could barely stand, looking even worse than he had upon arrival.
His strange condition naturally drew the attention of the others.
Shang Wunian strode over.
"What is it?"
Yuan Chu quickly replied, "Xiong Xin was caught in that gust of wind. He’s not well; he seems to have grown even weaker."
"And another thing—back outside, he was the one who saw the portal at the entrance..."
Shang Wunian pondered for a moment before taking out a thumb-sized, brownish-yellow Pill.
"Have him take this."
Yuan Chu stuffed the Pill into Xiong Xin’s mouth.
Seeing some color return to Xiong Xin’s face and his breathing steady, Shang Wunian said nonchalantly,
"The deathly aura here is dense. That gust of wind just now stole a great deal of his life force, which led to this."
"But the fact that he could see the portal from the outside suggests his time is short. Be extra careful on this trip, and listen to your Dharma Protector."
With that, he paid them no more mind and went to speak with the elders of the Jinyu lineage.
But Yuan Chu and the others felt their hearts clench.
Xiong Xin’s lips trembled even more violently.
"I... I’m just a little injured! I can eat, I can drink... and I’m going to die?"
"Didn’t that physician say it was nothing serious? That damn quack!!"
Gong Gui quickly tried to comfort him.
"Relax. Didn’t you see how unconcerned Junior Martial Uncle Shang looked?"
"That’s proof enough that your Dharma Protector can save you. Just relax."
Bai Mo also took out a bright, yellowish-red Pill.
"This is a Pill I refined in my spare time to protect one’s life force. Brother Xiong, take it for now."
"It’s a shame the conditions here are so poor, or I could have made you something even better, Brother."
Xiong Xin had already taken Shang Wunian’s Pill and was feeling much better, warmth returning to his limbs.
Still, he hastily accepted Bai Mo’s Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Do you have any more?"
Bai Mo took out a few more, which Xiong Xin carefully put away.
By now, Shang Wunian had finished speaking with the elders of the Jinyu lineage.
"All of you, spread out. Whoever finds the giants’ cremation ground, send a signal. We will come at once."
’This Secret Realm is vast; not all of it is the giants’ domain.’
’From his words, Bai Mo guessed that this so-called ’cremation ground’ must be the core of the Secret Realm.’
The disciples accepted their orders and began to depart.
Bai Mo, however, remained where he was, along with Yuan Chu and the other two.
"Well? What are your Dharma Protector’s instructions?"
Xiong Xin held his breath and focused, tilting his head as if listening for a moment before declaring solemnly, "Southwest!"
"Get me over there, quick! I haven’t even found a wife yet! I can’t just kick the bucket like this!"