CHAPTER 63: IMMORTAL SECRET REALM II

They moved in sequence, one by one, pressing their realm tokens against the gate’s surface. The carved runes flared, pulling each cultivator in like a drop of ink sinking into water. Each disappearance left the air slightly colder.

When it was Tian Lei’s turn, he didn’t look at the envoy, nor at the shimmering surface of the gate. His gaze drifted toward Xiao Feng—still wearing that thin veneer of mockery—before he stepped forward, lips twitching into something halfway between a smirk and a death warrant.

The gate swallowed him whole.

Inside, the Secret Realm unfolded in full, intoxicating detail—a wilderness of spiraling cliffs, hanging forests, and a sky split by rivers of light. Yet there was no time to marvel. The trial had already been assigned.

Trial Directive: Hunt and slay one Spirit Awakening Realm—First Stage—beast.

The words burned themselves into Tian Lei’s vision before fading, leaving only the rustle of unseen creatures in the distance.

"Perfect," Tian Lei murmured, a thin blade of amusement cutting through his tone. "A warm-up."

Without waiting for the others, he vanished into the treeline, moving like a shadow given purpose.

The Immortal Secret Realm was no passive sanctuary—it was a living adjudicator, an ever-shifting crucible forged by the will of an ancient or rather the fallen Immortl power. Here, nothing happened by chance. The moment a cultivator stepped through the realm gate, their fate intertwined with the realm’s Trial Mandate.

Each entrant was bound by a personal directive—slay, survive, endure, or conquer—and only upon fulfilling it would the realm acknowledge them. Completion was rewarded with Trial Tokens, shimmering discs of condensed immortal authority. These were not mere currency; they were keys to progression.

The mechanics were as ruthless as they were simple:

Complete the trial, gain a token.

After completing last one you get to claim another challenge, more perilous than the last.

Repeat until your strength—or your life—ran dry.

The tokens themselves were more than a scorecard. Once a cultivator held enough, they could journey to the heart of the realm—a towering mountain wreathed in perpetual cloud where the Immortal Pagoda stood. Each floor of the pagoda held wonders: ancient techniques carved into jade, spirit herbs extinct in the outside world,Heavenly weapons sleeping in light-sealed coffers, or even temporal chambers where a year’s worth of cultivation could be lived in a day.

But the realm did not offer charity. Every treasure required a payment of tokens, and the cost rose sharply with the item’s value. More tantalizing still was the whispered Ascendant Exchange, where tokens could be traded for an audience with the will of the realm itself—rumored to grant blessings, secret inheritances, or even alter one’s cultivation path entirely.

For those daring enough, this endless cycle of trial and reward was both a forge and a snare—an immortal game in which every victory brought greater risk, yet also greater temptation.

And Tian Lei, stepping silently through the forest shadows, had just placed his first wager.

Soon, Tian Lei spotted his prey—it was an Iron-Back Gorilla. They are at their strongest in the bestial state, and their roar still carries a level of sonic boom capable of destroying everything within several meters. And this one was Spirit Awakening 2nd stage beast.

Crouched on the branch of a tree, Tian Lei watched as the gorilla was seated beneath it. The tree itself held only two fruits—the Yin and Yang Fruit, a heavenly grade treasure. Unfortunately, they had not yet matured.

Tian Lei smirked. "Good. With prey like this, I’ve got extra benefits," he said, noticing that the gorilla must have been waiting for months, if not years, for the fruit to ripen. Once it matured, the gorilla would eat it and grow even stronger.

"Pity," he muttered.

With a seamless motion, Tian Lei activated the Heavenly Veil Step, his form vanishing into pure white light. Appearing behind the gorilla, he struck with Ancient Force Fist. The blow pierced through its back, and the beast’s body was blasted apart, blood drenching Tian Lei in a crimson spray.

"Hm... I guess I’m more powerful than I thought," Tian Lei said, staring at the mangled corpse of the Iron-Back Gorilla. Known for their skin harder than tempered steel and strength rivaling a raging river, they were usually the bane of Spirit Awakening cultivators. Yet here it lay—burst open like a water balloon—with only half his strength used.

He’d known he was strong, but even he hadn’t expected this.

Shaking his head, Tian Lei stepped toward a nearby tree, where a small, coin-shaped token glimmered faintly at the roots. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, a burning sensation lanced into his mind.

[Next Trial: Slay three Spirit Awakening 1st Stage Beasts]

"Hmm... so from one to three, huh?" he muttered, pocketing the token.

Then, with a thought, a worn leather-bound book appeared in his hand—summoned from his Infinite Library. Flipping it open, he saw the title glint in elegant script: Information on Yin and Yang Fruit Refinement.

"Another month of cultivation, huh? ...Don’t have that much time," he frowned.

Inside, the book explained that the Yin and Yang Fruit still needed a full month to mature naturally. He could pluck it immediately, yes—but doing so would mean sacrificing nearly 90% of its potency. For any cultivator, that would be a foolish waste. The Yin and Yang Fruit was a heavenly-grade treasure, capable of being refined into many powerful pills. Even eaten raw, it could grant a full year’s worth of cultivation in Qi alone.

"Hm... yes, I can work with that," Tian Lei murmured, recalling the effects of his own naturally formed Secret Realm.

Naturally formed realms were rare and highly sought after, for they came with unique special effects. The Frozen Heart Tree Realm he possessed carried the exceptional benefit of reducing the maturation time of any plant by 90%. There was, however, a catch—the matured plant would gain the ice attribute. For most, that would alter its medicinal use, but for Tian Lei, whose body now carried the power of the Ice Dragon, it was no drawback at all, But rather an benefit for him.

A snowflake-shaped sigil burned faintly on the back of his hand as his hand glowed in same light. In the next breath, he pressed his palm against the trunk of the Yin and Yang Fruit Tree. The entire tree vanished into shimmering frost.

Closing his eyes, Tian Lei’s consciousness slipped into the Frozen Heart Tree Realm, where he towered like a god gazing down at his own domain. He saw the fruit tree now planted in pristine frozen soil beneath the Heart Tree’s shadow. Satisfied, he withdrew from the realm.

"Good. Now it’ll only take three days to mature," he murmured.

After that, he returned to his trials, cutting down beast after beast—first from the First Stage of Spirit Awakening, then Second Stage, steadily increasing the challenge. He was soon faced with an entirely new directive: to hunt a Spirit Warrior Realm beast.

But before he could begin his hunt, Tian Lei stumbled upon something unexpected. A sudden chill prickled his skin—not from ice, but from killing intent. Across the clearing, three figures stood beside the corpse of a massive, flame-tipped cheetah, its blazing pelt still smoldering.

These fiery beasts were infamous—blindingly fast, their attacks laced with burning spiritual fire. Only a coordinated group could bring one down. And the three before him... were not allies.

He recognized them instantly:

Xiao Feng... along with two others. One wore the distinctive robes of the Alchemy Association; the other, the Rising Sun Sect.

"Hm... the Alchemy Association and the Rising Sun Sect, huh?" Tian Lei muttered.

The Rising Sun Sect was another First Grade sect—much like the Heavenly Sword Sect—but whereas the Heavenly Sword Sect was famed for swordsmanship, the Rising Sun Sect was steeped in fire-related arts. They were easy opponents for him.

The Alchemy Association, however... that was different. It was no ordinary sect but a sacred land, the highest-level organization of its kind in the lower realm. All sects below them treated it with respect.

"From the looks of it... they’re cooperating," Tian Lei thought. He wanted to kill Xiao Feng then and there, but experience told him to wait. If he struck rashly, the Alchemy association elders might witness it through sect-imprinted life tokens. Many sects had ways to view the final moments of their disciples.

And it would mean endagering the Azure Feather Sect.

"Hehe... I can do that and the Azure Feather Sect won’t take the blame," Tian Lei smiled thinly.

His body erupted into light as he transformed into a 300-meter-long Ice Dragon, Dragon power flooding the air. The sheer force of his aura crushed the surroundings; beasts scattered in all directions as the ground froze beneath his coils.

"Run! It’s a—!" one of the Rising Sun Sect youths shouted, but his words were swallowed by the roar of the dragon.

"Damn it, why is there a Dragon here?!" cursed the Alchemy Association disciple, panic flashing across his face.

Xiao Feng, however, narrowed his eyes. "Wait... this dragon...Its just an Mortal Realm beast."

"Liu Long," he called to the Alchemy Association cultivator beside him, "if we kill him here, we can claim the reward and his dragon blood essence. Do you know what that’s worth?"

"Yes... but if we fail, we’ll die," Liu Long said darkly. "Still... if the dragon dies, we can hunt its body and gain enough to advance directly to the Spirit Warrior Realm."

Their hesitation lasted only seconds before greed won over caution. Energy flared around them as they prepared their techniques, deciding to face Tian Lei head-on.

The Ice Dragon’s eyes glinted coldly. He could already tell from their movements—they intended to kill him.

And if that was their choice... then the hunt had begun.