Chapter 38: The Seventh Door
The next day, early in the morning, Liu Tianfeng brought everyone to find Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.
Clearly, with the Secret Realm about to open, the Liu father and son, who had been planning for a long time, were already impatient.
Niu Yuanshan was also brought along by Steward Liu.
He planned to invite the kindhearted old man to act as a guardian for them outside the Secret Realm.
If any situation arose, he could lend a hand.
Old Niu readily agreed to such a request.
In Liu Tianfeng’s eyes, this hardworking ox was as easy to talk to and warm-hearted as ever.
Little did he know that this was exactly what Niu Yuanshan wanted.
After all, Old Niu was immensely curious about Chu Huaixu.
But he didn’t want to be slapped again.
However, it was a different matter if he proactively investigated versus being asked to help.
Moreover, he naturally hoped that Chu Huaixu would succeed in this Daoist Sect Secret Realm.
Wouldn’t that mean all the benefits inside would fall into the hands of our [Organization]?
Therefore, today wasn’t about intentionally approaching this fellow practitioner or satisfying my personal curiosity; it was an operation!
This was my first operation within the Daoist Sect with this newcomer!
Chu Huaixu, having made all preparations the previous night, stretched lazily under everyone’s gaze.
The so-called preparations were actually just stocking up on food, water, and daily necessities in his Storage Token, along with bringing handyman Han Shuangjiang.
“Today, let me see if you, the protagonist of the world, are actually useful,” he thought.
“I’ll leave the house to you,” Chu Huaixu turned and instructed the young servant.
Xu Ziqing nodded and respectfully replied, “Yes.”
He hadn’t expected to be the only one left after just arriving here.
The young servant was extremely envious of them being able to explore the Secret Realm.
“I wonder if I’ll ever have such an opportunity,” he gazed with extreme longing.
The group then walked to the cold pond.
Along the way, Chu Huaixu observed the registered disciples accompanying Liu Chengqi, who were also secretly sizing him and Han Shuangjiang up.
Liu Tianfeng even gave a brief introduction and persistently fawned over them, instructing these registered disciples at the peak of the Meridian-Opening Stage to protect him and Han Shuangjiang.
However, only he knew what he was truly thinking.
Upon arriving at their destination, everyone observed the cold pond before them.
Nearby, some cold-attribute spiritual herbs were planted, which normally absorbed the cold air emanating from the cold pond.
Normally, anyone who got close to the cold pond would feel a biting chill.
Yet today, it seemed like ordinary pond water.
The chilling cold that used to prickle the skin had completely vanished.
Liu Tianfeng took out ten azure beads from his Storage Token and handed them to everyone: “These are water-repelling beads, please take them.”
Han Shuangjiang and that fellow disciple Chen’s eyes lit up slightly.
After all, for the women, if they dived in directly like this, a revealing scene might ensue.
Seeing that everyone had put the water-repelling beads into their clothes, Steward Liu began his final instructions.
“No one knows what mysteries lie within each Daoist Sect Secret Realm.”
“But you can rest assured of one thing: while the Secret Realms within the sect may be dangerous, they are trials set by the seniors for you and will not take your lives.”
“Also, remember the sect rules: all opportunities go to those who are fated to receive them. Do not break the rules and harm fellow disciples!”
His words were actually a hint to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, advising them not to act recklessly relying on their backgrounds!
After all, this was a grave taboo, and if discovered, even the Sixth Elder could not protect them!
As for the seven registered disciples he had sent, they were all his carefully selected confidantes.
Each of them had been cultivated by him, and he had promised them many benefits this time.
Under normal circumstances, registered disciples, after fully opening their nine acupoints, would be eager to head to the Scripture Pavilion. Why would they wait like this without attempting to break through?
They were waiting for the Secret Realm to open under Liu Tianfeng’s instruction!
Once inside, they were to go all out to assist Liu Chengqi.
“Alright, you may go,” Liu Tianfeng waved his hand.
Niu Yuanshan stood aside, smiling faintly and saying almost nothing.
However, his gaze was almost entirely on Chu Huaixu.
“The fifth acupoint?”
“He has actually opened his fifth acupoint?”
Niu Yuanshan couldn’t fathom how this was achieved.
And he clearly remembered that night, the Sixth Elder had sought him out again, asking where he got the jade slip for the Sword Refining Art, calling it an evil technique.
He had been worried at the time.
“Now that I think about it, could it be that because it’s an evil technique, his progress is so rapid?”
This gentle middle-aged man with thick eyebrows began to feel a growing concern.
Unconsciously, he had truly begun to view Chu Huaixu as a junior member of his household.
At this moment, under Liu Tianfeng’s gaze, a slightly plump registered disciple was the first to leap into the cold pond.
The water-repelling beads were indeed magical. As this person jumped in, hardly any water splashed.
Everyone entered the cold pond sequentially, with Chu Huaixu being the last.
The cold pond was deep, and they swam for a long time.
After gathering at the bottom of the pond, as per Liu Tianfeng’s instructions, they collectively retrieved the fragments of the Pill King’s Token.
The faintly glowing fragments floated up in the water on their own and then converged.
The dim light began to grow brighter, and a massive vortex suddenly appeared at the bottom of the pond!
Before the ten people could react, they were all sucked in by the vortex.
A dizzying sensation washed over them, making them feel nauseous.
Their vision blurred, and they couldn’t see anything around them.
Some of the registered disciples with weaker mental fortitude felt their hearts leap into their throats.
Only Chu Huaixu endured, maintaining a stable mindset.
The reason was simple: the moment the vortex appeared, a system prompt sounded in his ear.
“[Ding! Entering Instance – Pill King’s Token!]”
“[Instance is opening]”
So it was a loading bar.
After nearly a minute, they all fell heavily onto the ground from a height of about one meter.
The vast majority of the registered disciples cried out in pain.
Han Shuangjiang let out a muffled groan.
Only Chu Huaixu remained silent, feeling a slight urge to vomit.
Such a small amount of pain, why the fuss!
He was the first to get up from the ground and then looked forward.
He wasn’t sure if they were in an underground space beneath the cold pond or somewhere else.
At this moment, Chu Huaixu faced ten entrances.
They looked like ten caves.
“Does this mean the ten of us have to split up and each choose an entrance?” Liu Chengqi frowned.
For some reason, after speaking, he subconsciously looked at Chu Huaixu.
He wanted to hear his opinion.
Unexpectedly, Chu Huaixu directly called Han Shuangjiang to the side, and the two began whispering, completely ignoring him.
“Which one do you want to choose? Go with your intuition,” he softly said to the iceberg.
The cold-faced girl, unsure of what he was doing, raised her eyes and scanned the ten entrances.
“Starting from the left, the seventh one,” she said.
There was no other reason; she simply liked seven the most among one to ten.
“Alright,” Chu Huaixu nodded.
Then, he turned to Liu Chengqi and the others and announced loudly, “Senior brothers and sisters, haven’t you chosen yet?”
“Should this junior go first then?”
“We’ll choose these two entrances.” He pointed to the seventh and eighth.
Liu Chengqi’s eyes sank slightly upon hearing this, displeased.
However, he himself favored the ninth.
—Nine is the ultimate number!
Therefore, his expression shifted, and in the end, he simply smiled and said, “Alright, then we’ll let junior Chu and fellow disciple Han have the seventh and eighth entrances.”
Not long after, everyone had chosen their entrances.
“Shall we go in then?” Liu Chengqi took it upon himself to direct the proceedings again.
This time, Chu Huaixu finally addressed him: “Okay.”
The crowd began to walk forward, somewhat eager.
As Han Shuangjiang was about to enter an entrance, her arm was suddenly grabbed by a large hand.
“What’s wrong?” She looked curiously at Chu Huaixu, who was holding her.
Even through her clothes, she could feel that large hand was quite warm.
Chu Huaixu, still holding her arm, looked into her eyes.
“We won’t split up; I’ll go in with you.”
