Chapter 204: Great Harvest, News of the Spirit Realm

Chapter 204: Great Harvest, News of the Spirit Realm

In the canyon, snow swirled as a three-zhao tall golden diminutive giant fought ferociously against a snow bear. In mere moments, the bear was sent flying by a powerful blow.

Ziyun, watching from a distance, was left stunned.

Had Meng Chong transformed into a fierce little giant?

What kind of martial technique was this? What secret art was he using? She had never heard of anything like it!

The giant bear now seemed insignificant in comparison to Meng Chong's newfound power.

The bear roared and lunged, biting down on Meng Chong's arm, only to find its teeth unable to leave a mark. Instead, it nearly broke its own teeth.

"Die!" Meng Chong punched the bear's head.

Just then, that oppressive force reappeared and surged towards him with intense ferocity, as if it wanted to pierce into his mind like a sharp knife.

"Hmph!" Meng Chong snorted coldly, and as his Wind and Thunder True Intent surged, the Dominating Blade Intent swept through his entire body.

In that moment, the vibration his master had emitted when performing the God Annihilation Blade appeared in his mind.

As the oppressive force and vibration continued to assault him, he gradually began to comprehend, as if he had gained insight into the nature of the God Annihilation Blade.

At this moment, intertwined with the canyon's icy cold, an overwhelmingly dominant blade intent and the Wind and Thunder True Intent emerged. Meng Chong's eyes lit up with a sudden realization.

He felt as if he had achieved enlightenment, yet he also felt like he was just a step away.

As the oppressive force weakened and the invisible vibration began to fade, Meng Chong caused his Wind and Thunder True Intent to weaken as well, as if he could barely withstand the impact.

The blade intent also became more subtle.

Boom! In that instant, the oppressive force and vibration intensified.

Meng Chong continued to comprehend, but his face showed signs of struggling, as if he was barely holding on.

At a certain point, the vibration of the God Annihilation Blade became clear in his mind—a bone-chilling cold intertwined with this vibration and merged with the overwhelmingly dominant blade intent.

This blade seemed capable of invading one's consciousness and annihilating their spirit!

"I shall name it the God Extermination Slash!" Meng Chong's eyes widened as he snarled, "No matter what you are, I will annihilate you today. I've killed one before, and I won't hesitate to do it again!"

He lifted his hand, and the treasure blade that had flown far away seemed to be summoned back, falling into Meng Chong's grasp.

"If I don't want to give up my blade, no one can take it from me. What are you, anyway? Since you want to fight in your beast form, I'll oblige you!"

With the blade in his hand, an overwhelmingly dominant blade intent that seemed capable of suppressing the world erupted. The oppressive force and vibration suddenly retreated as if they had been frightened.

"Can you hide from me?" Meng Chong looked at the snow bear's corpse, sensing that the oppressive force and vibration had been hiding within it, as if they had been residing in the bear's physical body.

"Die!" He slashed down with his blade.

The snow bear's corpse remained intact, but an icy-cold and overwhelmingly dominant blade intent, sharp and fierce, as if containing the might of thunder, penetrated into the bear's body.

God Extermination Slash!

Puh!

The oppressive force was instantly annihilated, and the vibration dissipated. Faintly, Meng Chong saw a ripple appearing on the giant bear's corpse, undulating and constantly shattering under the might of the God Extermination Slash.

And within the outline of this ripple was the shape of a person.

"Finally, liberation... The Jade Token is in the storage bag..."

A sigh filled with relief and freedom echoed.

Puh!

Everything returned to calm.

Meng Chong stood there, blade in hand, staring at the snow bear's corpse, silent for a long while.

Ziyun jogged over, her eyes falling on Meng Chong, who still resembled a small giant, but was now completely naked. Her jade-like face flushed.

"Meng Chong, you're so muscular!"

She approached him, her small hands reaching out as if to touch him.

Meng Chong's expression changed, and he quickly dispelled the golden body transformation, returning to his true form. However, he felt awkward as his clothes had been shredded, leaving him naked.

"Do you have any clothes? Lend me something to wear," Meng Chong said, his face darkening as he looked at Ziyun's outstretched hands.

Ziyun's face fell, and she pulled out a pink shirt from her storage bag. "I only have this one that might fit you. It's made from Cloud Realm silkworms, so even if you transform into a small giant again, it won't tear."

Meng Chong grabbed the shirt and put it on without caring that it was a woman's garment.

"When we return, I'll go to the Celestial Treasure Pavilion and buy myself a set of clothes made from Cloud Realm silkworms!" he thought to himself.

"The Jade Token you're looking for is in the storage bag. I'm not sure if the storage bag is on the bear or not," Ziyun said.

Meng Chong walked up to the snow bear's corpse and began searching.

"Did you find your storage bag here?"

"That's right!"

Ziyun nodded.

Meng Chong understood. Ziyun's storage bag had been left behind by one of the powerful experts who had participated in the siege against the Demon Lord.

His heart stirred with excitement. After all, there had been more than one expert involved in the siege, and each of them might have had their own storage bag. That could mean several bags to discover!

Of course, there was also a possibility that some of the storage bags had been destroyed during the intense battle.

Meng Chong searched the snow bear's corpse but couldn't find a storage bag, so they continued deeper into the canyon.

The further they ventured, the more terrifying the remnants of past battles became. Huge craters and deep ravines bore witness to the ferocity of the ancient conflict.

Meng Chong thought about the sigh he had heard. What kind of powerful expert could have left behind such a lingering consciousness?

Moreover, it had taken residence within the snow bear's body.

As they went deeper, they encountered more spiritual herbs, with sixth-grade spirit herbs being the most common, and occasionally, they even found fifth-grade ones.

In a large pit ahead, there was no snow, only a layer of solid ice covering the ground. Beneath the ice, they could see a corpse that had been cleaved in two.

Meng Chong punched out, shattering the ice, and frowned at the withered corpse.

It was as if all the essence and blood had been thoroughly drained from the body with a single strike.

The face was so mutilated that its features were unrecognizable.

Beneath the tattered clothing, a small gray bag, resembling a toad, was revealed!

A storage bag!

Meng Chong's heart leaped with joy. He took the bag, opened it, and found that it didn't contain much—just a few bottles and jars, several spirit crystals, and a jade token.

"What a pity!"

Meng Chong sighed inwardly. These experts who had come to besiege the Demon Lord clearly knew that their chances of survival were slim, so they hadn't brought any precious items with them.

There were only some medicinal pills and spirit crystals.

He took out the jade token and handed it to Ziyun, asking, "Is this the jade token you're looking for?"

Ziyun took a look and shook her head. "This isn't the one I'm looking for. You can keep it. It might come in handy when we enter the Spirit Realm Gate."

Meng Chong took back the jade token and hung the storage bag at his waist.

They continued their journey deeper into the canyon.

Along the way, they came across several completely shattered corpses, so withered and broken that even their storage bags seemed to have been destroyed.

Meng Chong secretly lamented the waste.

Finally, they stumbled upon another corpse, seemingly that of a woman.

"This person died quite miserably!"

Meng Chong exclaimed, his tongue involuntarily sticking out. The corpse had been sliced open from below, eviscerating the person. It seemed that whoever had made this strike had done so intentionally.

He took the storage bag from the corpse, opened it, and found another jade token, along with bottles, jars, and several spirit crystals, but nothing else.

It seemed that these experts' weapons had also been destroyed in the battle.

"What a great harvest!"

Meng Chong was thrilled.

This trip had been more than worth it—two storage bags, and these experts' bags were of a higher quality, made from the rare Mountain-Swallowing Toads.

The space inside was larger, enough to even accommodate the snow bear's body.

"Considering the value of the storage bags, I won't ask for any other compensation."

Meng Chong grinned at Ziyun.

"Then I must thank you profusely!"

Ziyun's smile was bright and happy.

By the time they reached the end of the canyon, Meng Chong had acquired a total of three storage bags.

He marveled at his good fortune. In the Inner Realm, where storage bags were incredibly precious, he had managed to obtain three of them, making them seem less rare.

At the canyon's end, a corpse was pinned to the wall with a cone embedded in its head. Its pale purple robe stood out vividly.

Ziyun jogged over, knelt before the corpse, and knocked her head on the ground a few times in respect. Then she began searching the body and found a storage bag.

Inside was a purple jade token.

"I found it!"

Ziyun was elated and carefully put away the storage bag.

She then handed the previous storage bag to Meng Chong, saying, "Meng Chong, thank you so much. If it weren't for you escorting me, I wouldn't have been able to come here so soon.

"This is the reward I promised you. It contains spirit herbs and spirit tickets."

Meng Chong accepted the bag without hesitation and looked at the purple-robed corpse, asking, "Is this your ancestor?"

Ziyun shook her head. "No, but he left behind some things. With his jade token, I can enter the Spirit Realm Gate without any restrictions.

"Meng Chong, let's go in together when the time comes."

Meng Chong shook his head. "Let's talk about that later. You seem to know quite a bit about the Spirit Realm Gate."

Ziyun smiled. "I happened to obtain some information by chance. There's a small booklet in the storage bag I gave you. After you read it, you'll understand some of the secrets."

Meng Chong raised his hand and punched, creating a large pit in the ground with a single blow.

"Meng Chong, you're such a nice person!"

Ziyun jumped up excitedly, stretching out her arms as if to hug his neck. Meng Chong grabbed her and tossed her towards the purple-robed corpse.

"Hmph!"

Ziyun huffed and dragged the corpse over, placing it into the pit to be buried.

Meng Chong observed the canyon, and the more he looked, the more he felt that there was something special about this place, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly made it so unique.

And so, this trip came to an end.

What a great harvest!

"Let's go!"

Ziyun said as she finished burying the body.

The two retraced their steps out of the canyon and returned to where the snow bear's body lay. Meng Chong took out a storage bag, channeled his true essence into it, opened the bag's mouth, and stuffed the bear's corpse inside.

Even the huge snow bear's body fit into the storage bag, and the bag remained small, only slightly bulging from the additional contents.

Meng Chong couldn't help but marvel at the convenience of the storage bag, an essential item for any cultivator traveling through the martial world.

He also picked up the long spear, the only remaining weapon from the Demon-Hunting battlefield.

Just as they stepped out of the canyon, a sudden buzz filled the air, and a ripple seemed to emanate from the side of the canyon.

Meng Chong furrowed his brows and looked over. A peak seemed to be covered by a layer of water, with ripples distorting and warping the image, making the peak appear as if it were about to vanish.

"What is that?"

"It might be... the Spirit Realm Gate opening."

Ziyun's expression changed as she spoke.

Then she murmured, "But that's impossible. The Spirit Realm Gate shouldn't be opening now!"

"What happens when the Spirit Realm Gate opens?"

Meng Chong asked as he opened the storage bag that Ziyun had given him and took out the small booklet.

"The Spirit Realm is rumored to be the origin of martial arts in the Inner Realm, the true world of martial cultivation. The Inner Realm is just a barren land in comparison. The Spirit Realm Gate is the gateway between the two realms.

"Only when the Spirit Realm Gate opens can one enter the Spirit Realm, and only the strong from the Spirit Realm can enter the Inner Realm.

"The Inner Realm cannot open the Spirit Realm Gate; it can only be opened from the Spirit Realm. The Demon Lord, for example, escaped from the Spirit Realm and fled to the Inner Realm."

Ziyun explained with a solemn expression.

Meanwhile, Meng Chong had already opened the booklet and begun reading.

This booklet had been left behind by a powerful cultivator who had once entered the Inner Realm from the Spirit Realm. It seemed to be a legacy intended for the purple-robed corpse in the canyon.

Ziyun had obtained it by chance.

The booklet described the canyon, provided a brief introduction to the Demon-Hunting War, and included some information about the Spirit Realm, including the function of the jade tokens.

The more Meng Chong read, the more serious his expression became, and a sense of awe began to grow within him.

The Inner Realm was too small; the Spirit Realm was the true vast martial world.

"The Spirit Realm!"

Meng Chong looked towards the rippling peak, his heart stirred with excitement. "I won't leave just yet. I want to see what kind of powerful beings emerge from the Spirit Realm Gate.

"Is it true, as this booklet says, that any strong cultivator from the Spirit Realm can come to the Inner Realm and dominate without opposition?

"Are they truly so high and mighty, looking down on the people of the Inner Realm as if they were mere servants or beasts?"

According to the booklet, anyone from the Inner Realm who entered the Spirit Realm would be immediately captured and enslaved, or treated like animals. In the eyes of the major powers in the Spirit Realm, the people of the Inner Realm were no better than pigs and dogs!

Even the peak masters of the Inner Realm, those who stood at the very top of the martial hierarchy, would be subjected to humiliation and subjugation upon entering the Spirit Realm.

Naturally, those who entered the Spirit Realm would often be killed in large numbers, leaving the survivors to endure a life of indignity.

Only those who held a jade token would be treated as humans. If they possessed exceptional talent, they might be taken in by the Spirit Realm faction that corresponded to their token and become a member of that group.

Before the Demon Lord's incident, jade tokens were highly coveted treasures among the strong cultivators of the Inner Realm.

Now, almost no one knew about them anymore.

This was the reason Ziyun had come to retrieve a jade token.

The existence of the Spirit Realm Gate was a closely guarded secret in the Inner Realm, known only to a select few. After the Demon Lord's affair, the cultivators from the Spirit Realm had erased all records of the gate's existence.

This was the reason why most of the current peak masters in the Inner Realm were unaware of the Spirit Realm Gate.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end