A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life 179

Chapter 179: Changes in the Secret Realm 

The Blood Sea Secret Realm, a Heaven-grade pill secret realm, had suddenly appeared within the Nangong Sacred Land a thousand years ago.

The Grand Elders of the Nangong clan had investigated, but even these powerful beings above the Sea Crossing Realm couldn’t find its origin.

In the past thousand years, the Blood Sea Secret Realm had only opened three times, but astonishingly, each time… Heaven-grade pill energy appeared.

This was simply unbelievable.

Core Formation secret realms were formed from the small worlds left behind by deceased powerful cultivators, under certain circumstances.

Ordinary Earth-grade pill secret realms could be formed from the remains of Soul Transformation cultivators and above.

The stronger the cultivator was during their life, the more abundant the Core Formation energy within the secret realm. The small world of an Ascension Realm cultivator contained dozens, or even hundreds, of times more Core Formation energy than that of a Soul Transformation cultivator.

But Heaven-grade pill energy only had a chance of appearing in the small worlds of those above the Sea Crossing Realm.

Secret realms with this possibility were usually called Heaven-grade pill secret realms.

—However, a Heaven-grade pill secret realm didn’t necessarily contain Heaven-grade pill energy. The chance of it appearing each time the secret realm opened was less than one in ten.

If not for this, Heaven-grade pill cultivators wouldn’t be so rare. The situation of the Blood Sea Secret Realm was clearly an anomaly.

…As for how Nangong Mian single-handedly obtained so much Heaven-grade pill energy, it was because she plundered everything after entering the secret realm. Two Heaven-grade pill secret realms, which appeared only once every few hundred years, were ravaged by her like this.

Back to the main topic, it was because of her past achievements that the Nangong clan forbade her from entering the Blood Sea Secret Realm, lest she seize all the opportunities for forming a Heaven Core.

But unexpectedly, this time, although Nangong Mian didn’t enter, something went wrong with the Blood Sea Secret Realm itself…

A few days ago, the clan elders opened the gate of the Blood Sea Secret Realm with their great power, and a hundred peak Foundation Establishment Nangong disciples entered, seeking opportunities.

But less than half a day later, all contact with the secret realm was lost. Even when the clan elders used all their strength to reopen the gate, they couldn’t re-establish contact.

Fortunately, the disciples’ soul lamps were still lit, which meant they weren’t in immediate danger.

Therefore, to help the Foundation Establishment disciples escape, the clan elders decided to open the Blood Sea Secret Realm to outside cultivators, offering a hefty reward, with only one objective: to bring back the Nangong disciples.

This news caused a frenzy in the eastern capital city of the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty, closest to the Nangong Sacred Land, with cultivators rushing towards the Sacred Land like a swarm of fish.

The first batch of cultivators who entered the secret realm were almost all local cultivators of the Nangong Sacred Land. They left behind their soul lamps and entered the secret realm, determined to obtain the Heaven-grade pill energy.

Then… they also disappeared without a trace.

Because the number of times the secret realm gate could be opened was limited, and opening the gate essentially damaged the secret realm, the clan elders didn’t dare to open it casually.

Therefore, the cultivators who came from other places waited in the city for the second opportunity to enter the secret realm.

Last night, the Blood Sea Secret Realm experienced fluctuations similar to when it collapsed, and the Nangong clan elders finally couldn’t sit still any longer, announcing that they would reopen the secret realm tomorrow.

Although the soul lamps were still lit, the clan elders couldn’t guarantee the safety of the Nangong disciples if this continued…

The next morning, when Luo Xue woke up from a rare dreamless sleep, warm water for washing and toiletries were neatly placed beside her bed.

Although she was now at the Foundation Establishment Realm, able to abstain from food and drink, she still couldn’t change some habits.

Luo Xue got out of bed, tidied herself up, and after Xue Blade styled her hair, Xin’er quietly entered the room.

She carried breakfast, and seeing Luo Xue, her round face showed a startled expression.

“Oh, Miss, you’re awake so early?”

“It’s a habit.” Luo Xue took the breakfast and nodded slightly. “Thank you.”

Then, Luo Xue noticed Xin’er staring intently at her breakfast, her mouth almost watering.

Although in Luo Xue’s eyes, as the former Princess Xue, this was just simple spiritual food, a soup made from spirit beast meat and medicinal herbs, crudely prepared, nowhere near as exquisite as the palace dishes, even the maids’ meals were better than this.

But to Xin’er, it was probably a rare delicacy.

Luo Xue thought for a moment, scooped out half of the food, and placed it in front of Xin’er.

“Here, eat.”

“Huh?” Xin’er was stunned, then quickly shook her head and waved her hands, refusing. “No, no, Miss, this is yours.”

“Consider it a gift from me, eat.”

Luo Xue smiled and gently scraped Xin’er’s nose. She found this little girl quite cute, similar to the young Ling Ling.

“Can I really eat it?”

Xin’er wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, her eyes glued to the food.

“Of course,” Luo Xue smiled. “Eat.”

Actually, even if Xin’er wanted it all, Luo Xue wouldn’t mind.

But she knew that if she did that, Xin’er wouldn’t dare to accept it.

“Thank you, Miss!”

Xin’er immediately beamed, picked up the bowl, and was about to leave.

Luo Xue quickly stopped her.

“Hey, wait a moment.”

“I, I can’t eat in your room,” Xin’er shrank back slightly. “If Daddy finds out, he’ll definitely scold me…”

“It’s fine, I just want to ask you something.” Luo Xue smiled faintly. “Consider this half portion of food as payment. Is that okay?”

“Yes, yes, Miss, ask away, I’ll tell you everything I know!”

Xin’er quickly sat down in front of Luo Xue, although her gaze still lingered on the food.

“Eat, you can eat while we talk.”

“Mmm…”

After receiving Luo Xue’s permission, Xin’er happily picked up the bowl and started eating.

“Do you know about the recent incident in the Heaven-grade pill secret realm?” Luo Xue asked. “It’s said that there was an accident.”

“Yes, the rumors are quite something.”

Xin’er wiped her mouth and nodded. “It seems many young masters and mistresses from the main family are trapped inside… Um, should I not be talking about this?”

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

Luo Xue’s expression turned slightly serious. She had just asked casually, but she hadn’t expected to actually get some news.

It made sense. Xin’er was the manager’s daughter, helping out at the Treasure Pavilion, which also dealt in information. She would naturally hear some things.

“Let me think, where should I start…”

Xin’er thought carefully, then recounted all the publicly known information about the Blood Sea Secret Realm, including the sudden disturbance last night and the second opportunity to enter the secret realm.

“Blood Sea Secret Realm?”

Luo Xue’s brow twitched slightly.

She was very familiar with the Blood Sea…

However, she wasn’t sure if the “Blood Sea” in this secret realm was the same one she knew.

And this secret realm had appeared a thousand years ago. It seemed there hadn’t been any major incidents in the nine provinces and four domains a thousand years ago.

Luo Xue thought it was probably just a coincidence, the same name.

“What a coincidence, I just arrived in time for the second entry.” Luo Xue exhaled. “Although it’s dangerous… but on the path of cultivation, danger is inevitable.”

Besides, she had another backup plan, although she wasn’t sure if it would still work…

“When will the secret realm open? I need to prepare.”

Luo Xue got out of bed, casually put on some clothes, and asked.

“Ah? Is your cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment?” Xin’er looked at Luo Xue in surprise.

“Yes, why?”

Luo Xue found it strange that Xin’er would ask this.

“But shouldn’t all the peak Foundation Establishment cultivators of the main family… be in the secret realm already?”

Xin’er scratched her head, puzzled.

This was a Heaven-grade pill secret realm. If they could obtain a strand of Heaven-grade pill energy and form a Heaven Core, the clan would give them more resources, which was a huge benefit.

Naturally, no peak Foundation Establishment cultivator would miss this opportunity, which was why they were all trapped inside.

“I… just returned from outside.”

Luo Xue’s heart skipped a beat, and she replied vaguely.

She sighed inwardly. It was fortunate that Xin’er had reminded her. Otherwise, using the token to enter the secret realm would attract a lot of attention.

If they investigated and found something wrong, it would be troublesome.

Since ordinary cultivators could also enter the secret realm now, there was no need to use the “Nangong Jiao” identity.

“Oh.”

Xin’er didn’t suspect anything and just nodded innocently.

“When will the secret realm open?” Luo Xue asked again.

“It seems to be at noon,” Xin’er replied. “It’s said that the Blood Sea Secret Realm is filled with Yin Poison and Yin energy. At noon, the secret realm’s power will weaken, making it suitable to open the gate.”

“…Yin Poison,” Luo Xue’s expression turned strange. “Alright, I understand.”

“Miss, are you afraid of Yin Poison?” Xin’er asked cautiously.

“No.” Luo Xue shook her head.

Not only was she not afraid, but Luo Xue was most familiar with environments filled with Yin Poison. This was practically her home field.

Not to mention that her physical attributes were maxed out, just her experience on Mount Fengyin had made her very familiar with Yin Poison.

Entering an environment filled with Yin Poison was like a fish returning to water.

After making the necessary preparations, Luo Xue asked Xin’er for a map of the secret realm, marked it on her own map, and hurriedly left.

…

Outside the secret realm.

Several Nangong clan elders were discussing the reopening of the secret realm at noon, and their discussion was simple:

Should they suggest that Nangong Mian enter the secret realm?

Nangong Mian’s strength was unquestionable. Below Core Formation, no one was her match.

However, the drawback was also obvious. As long as Nangong Mian entered a secret realm, others could forget about obtaining any resources.

But now, the resources of the Blood Sea Secret Realm were secondary. The priority was rescuing their disciples. In this case, letting Nangong Mian enter seemed fine.

But there was another problem.

The current Blood Sea Secret Realm was extremely unstable. A slight misstep could lead to its annihilation, and all the cultivators inside would be exiled, a fate worse than death.

Nangong Mian’s older sister was Nangong Ling, the War God, whose status was equal to the clan elders, and because she controlled the Nangong clan’s private army, her influence was even greater.

The reason these clan elders could still talk to Nangong Ling as superiors was entirely because of her good temper…

If Nangong Ling was arrogant, with her current power, she could walk all over these elders, who didn’t have much real authority.

Sending her younger sister into a secret realm that could collapse at any moment… the elders couldn’t make up their minds.

As the sun rose and noon approached, the elders still couldn’t reach a consensus and put the matter aside.

For one, with the current state of the Blood Sea Secret Realm, strength might not be the solution.

And also, because of Nangong Ling, Nangong Mian was her only remaining relative. If anything happened to her… they couldn’t bear the consequences.

But if the second batch of cultivators still couldn’t resolve the situation…

They would see then.

And also… the number of times they could open the gate of the secret realm was limited.

“Noon is approaching, the time when Yang energy is at its peak,” one of the elders sighed. “It’s time to reopen the Blood Sea Secret Realm.”

The other elders nodded and gave the order.

At the same time, Luo Xue, following the map, arrived outside the Blood Sea Secret Realm.

Because the news of the second entry had spread, almost all peak Foundation Establishment cultivators were gathered here.

A sea of people, if not tens of thousands, at least a few thousand.

It could be seen that Heaven-grade pill energy was truly precious. If one could successfully form a Heaven Core, it would be a leap in status and power.

“A Core Formation secret realm… can it accommodate so many people?”

Luo Xue was puzzled. She didn’t have much of a concept of Heaven-grade pill secret realms, but the secret realm competitions she had seen in the nine provinces and four domains usually didn’t have more than a hundred participants.

…Of course, it was also partly because there weren’t many peak Foundation Establishment cultivators in the nine provinces and four domains.

Soon, Luo Xue learned the answer.

To enter the secret realm, one had to pass a test.

The test wasn’t difficult, as time was of the essence. Several experts of the Nangong clan guarded the secret realm.

As long as the participants could impress them with their abilities, they could enter the secret realm.

After all, the secret realm was dangerous, the number of participants limited, and the difference in strength among peak Foundation Establishment cultivators was vast. They couldn’t let just anyone enter.

When Luo Xue arrived, the test was already halfway through, and many aspiring cultivators were waiting expectantly.

Those who failed were dejected, and those who passed were nervous—because the quotas were limited, and if stronger cultivators appeared, they might be replaced.

The test progressed quickly, and soon, it was Luo Xue’s turn.

“Name.”

The examiner couldn’t help but look at Luo Xue twice. A peak Foundation Establishment cultivator looking so young was usually a prodigy nurtured by a major power.

If so… why would she come here to take this risk?

“…Jiao.”

Luo Xue couldn’t decide on a name.

She had confirmed that Senior Sister Li was in this world, so she couldn’t use her name.

And just in case, she couldn’t use her real name either.

And the surname “Nangong” wasn’t suitable now either. In the end, Luo Xue could only use the single name “Jiao.”

“Quite unusual,” the examiner nodded, his earlier guess further confirmed. “Show me your abilities.”