Chapter 8: Gathering

The timid girl spoke softly, “I counted the people. When we entered, there were thirty-eight of us. Now there are forty-two people here. Senior Brother Du and his group went in before us, and there were only four of them. Added together, that’s exactly forty-two. So, everyone who went into the secret realm was thrown out.”

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivator raked his fingers through his hair. “In all my life, I’ve never seen a secret realm like this. We had just gone in, hadn’t even gotten a good look, and then everyone was tossed right out. So is it letting us in or not?”

Hearing his complaint, the Qi Refining disciple beside him nodded quickly. “Exactly! This is just too strange. We’ve entered quite a few secret realms these past years, but we’ve never seen one where everyone gets thrown out immediately and completely unscathed.”

Standing not far from them, Qin Chengming saw the expressions on their faces and covered his mouth, quietly stifling a laugh. A wave of mischievous delight welled up in his heart. Was he really turning wicked now? To actually feel happy at other people’s frustration?

But however pleased he was, he still couldn’t let them back inside. After all, everything in there was now his. He couldn’t allow this lot in to ruin things further.

Soon, an elder named Yu Xia called the group over to question them. Qin Chengming remained where he was, unmoving. Yu Xia was at the early Nascent Soul stage, her spiritual sense likely quite sharp. He hadn’t fully recovered yet; it wouldn’t do to be discovered by getting too close. Besides, he was still completely in the dark about the situation outside. Best to stay hidden and get a sense of things before acting.

As for what had happened, apart from Du’s group of four who had stayed inside a bit longer, the rest who entered after them had barely set foot in the secret realm before being ejected. None of them had gotten a clear look inside—at most, a few with sharp eyes had glimpsed a barren wasteland. In such circumstances, no matter how many tricks Elder Yu Xia had up her sleeve, she wouldn’t get any useful answers.

With nothing to be gained, the large group soon made their way home. Qin Chengming had intended to follow them to gather more information, but suddenly noticed another large group approaching from the distance.

Worried there might be powerful cultivators among them, Qin Chengming retreated further, hiding behind a massive boulder.

The newcomers soon arrived. Judging by their attire, they were clearly not from the same sect. A male cultivator in pure white robes with a blue sash looked around and said, “There was definitely a disturbance here just now. How is it that nothing remains? Could someone have beaten us to it?”

A female cultivator in red circled the area, agreeing, “I felt the commotion too. It was so significant that either a secret realm had emerged or a treasure had appeared. I suppose Jing’an Sect and Mingxia Sect noticed it too, which is why they followed us here.”

A woman in blue rolled her eyes. “With such a big disturbance, anyone would have noticed! This isn’t the territory of your Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Why would we of Jing’an Sect need to follow you? You’re just a second-rate sect, so don’t act like you’re leading the way!”

“You...” The red-robed woman was about to flare up when the man in white stopped her with a raised hand.

“Everyone, my junior sister meant no offense. She’s young and speaks without thinking. If she’s said anything inappropriate, I hope you’ll forgive her.” He finished with a courteous bow to those behind him. Outwardly, he was perfectly polite, but who could say what he thought inside?

After his bow, seeing that the tension had eased, he smiled. “Everyone must have felt the disturbance here. This area is basically a no-man’s-land, though if you had to assign it, it’d be under the jurisdiction of the Ocean Dominion Sect. None of us here belong to that sect, nor is there any rule about who claims treasures found here. So, how about we rely on our own abilities? Whoever finds something keeps it—no settling scores afterward, so the harmony between sects remains intact. What do you all think?”

Since his proposal was fair, the woman in blue nodded. “Senior Brother He’s suggestion is indeed fair. Jing’an Sect agrees.”

One by one, others stepped forward from the crowd.

“Mingxia Sect agrees as well!”

“The Wan’an Immortal Alliance agrees!”

“We... agree too!”

...

Senior Brother He from the white-robed group smiled faintly. “Since everyone agrees, let’s split up and each choose a direction. If fortune favors you, be grateful; if not, accept your luck. Let’s see whose fate is best!”

As Senior Brother He smiled, the woman in blue was momentarily dazed. It was only when her companion nudged her that she snapped out of it.

Watching the retreating figures of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, she shyly tugged at a fellow disciple. “Senior Sister Yin, don’t you think Senior Brother He looked especially handsome just now? That little smile when he looked my way—oh, it’s just too much!”

Her companion rolled her eyes. “Junior Sister Xu, are you alright in the head? He was smiling at everyone, not just you! If Master knew you were swooning over a man from another sect, she’d kill you.”

The woman in blue giggled, covering her face. “Oh, I was just looking, not swooning! If only Senior Brother He were part of our sect—so handsome! Every quality he has is exactly what I like.”

Her fellow disciples all rolled their eyes, nearly out of their heads. Just looking? Not swooning? Who was she trying to fool?

Handsome as Senior Brother He was, he was far from the top tier—merely average at best. In their Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Elder Qin was the truly handsome one, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura that fulfilled nearly every woman’s fantasy of an ideal man. As long as he kept silent, he could dazzle anyone into a trance. But the moment he opened his mouth, he managed to offend everyone. If not for his formidable strength, he’d have been beaten to death long ago.

Having all met Elder Qin, these sisters were now immune to the charms of men like Senior Brother He or Senior Brother Li. Only Junior Sister Xu, who’d joined later and missed that gathering, would be so eager over someone so middling.

A few of her sisters looked at her with sympathetic eyes. Seeing her still swooning, gazing after the Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s retreating figures, Senior Sister Yin finally nudged her. “Xu, stop staring! They’re already gone. No matter how long you look, he’s not coming back. Come on, if we don’t hurry, someone else will snatch up all the treasures and our trip will be wasted!”

“That’s right! We need to move quickly—who knows how far the others have gone by now...” the others chimed in.

No matter how reluctant Xu was, in the end, she was dragged off by her sisters to join the search for treasures.

But whether you had many people or few, how could you find a treasure that didn’t exist in the first place?