The human cultivators Gwak Jeong and Hwang Yong stared in bewilderment at the sight before them.
This place, which should have teemed with demons, was silent.
They could sense only two demons through spiritual perception.
One was a powerful 10-Star demon, while the other had reached the middle of 9-Star.
"What in the world happened here?"
Startled, Gwak Jeong asked his companion.
"This is my first time seeing anything like this too......."
They had entered secret realms dozens of times since first stepping into the Qi Refining Realm.
The secret realm they entered was different each time, but.......
The scenery within them was generally similar.
Demon beasts and demons swarmed everywhere.
And there were cultivation resources in equal abundance.
They had never seen such a desolate landscape.
The 9-Star region might have been smaller than the other regions of the secret realm, but.......
This was excessive.
"It wasn't like this last year......."
They had already entered several secret realms since reaching 9-Star.
Not one of them had ever been like this.
"Doesn't the concentration of spiritual energy here seem lower?"
"Please wait a moment. I'll check."
Hwang Yong possessed a magical artifact that measured the concentration of spiritual energy.
Places with dense spiritual energy are bound to contain powerful demons and spirit creatures.
The human race had developed tools to measure it.
Such tools were also useful for finding spiritual lands and spirit veins.
They were more precise than human senses.
"Indeed. This is a 9-Star region... yet only a little over 8-Star spiritual energy remains."
"It seems an anomaly has occurred in the secret realm."
From time to time, inexplicable anomalies occurred within secret realms.
With so many secret realms in existence, those anomalies came in many forms.
"We will have to be even more careful on this expedition."
One could never know what might happen inside a secret realm.
A small mistake could cost someone the fruits of their cultivation—or their life.
An expedition into a secret realm offered great rewards, but equally great dangers.
Now an anomaly had occurred in this one as well.
They needed to be even more careful.
"What in the world happened here.......?"
Gwak Jeong grew deeply uneasy.
Many different anomalies had been reported in secret realms, but.......
Never had spiritual energy simply decreased like this.
The current anomaly had occurred because Jang Bung spread his mudfield over the center of the secret realm and absorbed an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
He had blocked the place where spiritual energy was generated.
This had reduced the amount flowing outward.
It was like building a dam upstream on a river.
The volume of water downstream had decreased.
Both people sensitive to spiritual perception and the magical artifact for measuring spiritual energy could detect that change.
"Either an extremely powerful demon has appeared at the center of the secret realm... or something is wrong with the structure of this place."
Hwang Yong was one of the more learned immortal cultivators.
Hwang Yong had not only read many books.
The cultivator could also use that knowledge to make deductions.
Hwang Yong had roughly inferred the problem with this place.
"Which of those would be worse?"
"Both would be serious problems for us."
An extremely powerful demon was an obvious threat.
A change in the secret realm itself was no less dangerous.
If the barrier collapsed and the secret realm disappeared.......
No one knew what would happen to the living things inside.
It was unlikely to end well.
A secret realm was like an enormous storage pouch.
When a storage pouch is destroyed, the objects inside disappear as well.
No one knew where those objects went.
"Then how about leaving now?"
Gwak Jeong suggested that they simply leave.
The human race could remain inside the secret realm for up to fifteen days.
There was no minimum stay, however.
Anyone who wished could leave through a barrier stone at any time.
But... most people use every last moment of the fifteen-day limit.
It was their only annual opportunity to obtain scarce cultivation resources.
Few people wasted or abandoned that time.
But this situation was different.
If their lives were truly in danger.......
They needed to leave this place as quickly as possible.
"Hmm... shouldn't we at least identify the cause first?"
Unlike Gwak Jeong, Hwang Yong found it difficult to give up.
Hwang Yong had expected a great deal from this expedition.
The cultivator had even prepared a magical artifact for measuring spiritual energy.
All that effort and the year spent waiting would go to waste.
Although entering the Qi Refining Realm had increased Hwang Yong's lifespan.......
Time was rapidly catching up.
Hwang Yong needed to reach the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm within the remaining lifespan.
There was little time left to challenge the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"You want to identify the cause before we decide?"
Time was chasing Gwak Jeong as well.
"Yes. It would be too regrettable to leave now."
"All right. We'll identify the cause, and if it looks dangerous, we'll leave immediately."
Neither of them wanted to return empty-handed.
"First, let us investigate the 9-Star and 10-Star demons here. They may be the cause."
Facing a 10-Star demon would be extremely dangerous, but.......
They had no other way to learn what was wrong with the secret realm.
The only things they could investigate now were the two demons occupying the center.
Gwak Jeong suddenly warned Hwang Yong.
"The 9-Star demon is approaching us quickly."
With a more sensitive Qi Sense, Gwak Jeong had noticed it first.
"Good. Approaching the 10-Star demon would have been daunting......."
They were both 9-Star.
They did not know what kind of creature the 9-Star demon was.
But they stood a chance against it.
The creature that appeared before them was a crow demon.
***
"Humans, would you like to trade with us?"
The crow demon spoke to them through Heart-Speech.
"Trade?"
The absurd request left both cultivators deeply flustered.
This was not what they had expected.
Hwang Yong recovered first.
"How do we know this isn't a trap?"
"If you can't trust us, there is nothing we can do. We won't force you!"
Gwak Jeong and Hwang Yong fell silent in thought.
Gwak Jeong was the first to speak.
"Weren't we going to investigate the cause anyway? Let us at least go and take a look."
"Even so... something feels wrong."
The crow demon responded.
"Then think it over and come later. I'm busy, so I'll be going......."
Human cultivators were appearing as the secret realm opened.
Hyeon-o needed to offer trades to all of them.
It was very busy.
After the crow demon flew away, Gwak Jeong and Hwang Yong spoke.
"Since it has come to this, let us wait and go with others."
"Let us do that."
Four were safer than two.
And six were safer than four.
With six people, they might even stand a chance against a 10-Star demon.
Thus, the two gathered six people and headed toward the center of the secret realm.
That was where the 10-Star demon had said it wished to trade.
***
Gwak Jeong was astonished by the scenery near the center of the secret realm.
It was a small marsh.
All kinds of rare flowers, exotic herbs, and spirit trees grew around it.
All those spirit herbs and spirit trees bore clusters of luscious spirit fruits.
This place resembled the Peach Blossom Paradise.
Gwak Jeong had barely become an immortal cultivator after entering the Qi Refining Realm.
Mortals might have viewed Gwak Jeong as an immortal, but.......
In truth, the cultivator was at the very bottom of the immortal cultivation world, staring up at the heavens.
It was a life far removed from that of a true immortal.
Yet this place looked like the dwelling of a real immortal.
A man with the bearing of an immortal waited there for them.
'That must be the 10-Star demon.'
Although it wore the form of a human cultivator.......
Gwak Jeong had already sensed its presence upon entering the secret realm.
A 10-Star demon could not suddenly disappear only for a human cultivator of the same realm to appear.
The 10-Star demon must have transformed.
'This won't be easy.'
The creature was a powerful demon capable of freely changing its appearance.
This was the center of the secret realm.
It was where the demon called the Guardian of the Barrier resided.
The creature must possess abilities befitting that position.
Gwak Jeong sank into deep thought.
***
At that moment, the crow demon they had met earlier spoke to Gwak Jeong.
"Didn't you come here to trade? Why are you staring into space?"
Only then did Gwak Jeong return to his senses.
"What must I do to trade?"
"You must have wanted something when you came to the secret realm. Tell me what it is first."
This was the make-the-other-side-go-first bargaining technique Hyeon-o had learned from Jang Bung.
"That is true... but I do not know whether you have what I seek."
"Just tell me. If we have it, great. If not, that's the end of it."
"That is true, but......."
"Why are you hesitating so much? The people behind you are waiting."
Treating it as a gamble, Gwak Jeong listed every spirit herb and medicinal-pill ingredient he wanted.
Then the immortal who had been watching him spoke.
It was the 10-Star demon from the Peach Blossom Paradise.
"Are you an alchemist?"
"I am. Though I am only a rogue cultivator......."
Rogue cultivators were immortal cultivators who belonged to no sect or faction.
Without a faction to assist them, cultivation was difficult.
The path of an alchemist is especially arduous.
Creating medicinal pills required many ingredients.
The items Gwak Jeong had listed were ingredients for such pills.
"Then you are an honored guest. Hyeon-o, give this person a ten-percent discount off the fixed price."
Important customers naturally receive special discounts.
"But... what's a fixed price, and what's a discount?"
"It means reducing a predetermined price."
"Ah....... But do the goods here have fixed prices?"
There is no fixed price for spirit herbs or medicinal-pill ingredients.
Prices changed depending on the person and the situation.
The two sides negotiate until they settle on one.
The 10-Star demon gave a clear answer to that question.
"It is the price each person has already decided upon in their heart."
It was the fixed price used within the game.
Jang Bung knew the approximate market price.
"Ah... I see."
The demon immortal's explanation was somewhat strange, but it still made sense.
Gwak Jeong understood it in his own way.
"What do you want in return?"
Humans usually trade with spirit stones, but their counterpart belonged to the demon race.
It might desire something else.
"I will offer the best price for medicinal pills. Spirit stones come next, and magical artifacts come last. However, I will offer a good price for storage pouches."
That was the order of Jang Bung's needs.
Human medicinal pills were difficult to obtain here.
Spirit stones could be found, but.......
Jang Bung consumed them in large quantities.
He had little need for magical artifacts other than storage pouches.
"Conduct your trades with my spirit beast, Hyeon-o."
In Gwak Jeong's eyes, Hyeon-o was a demon beast rather than a spirit beast, but he did not point it out.
Obtaining the medicinal-pill ingredients he wanted was enough.
"Are these the items you listed?"
The crow Demon Beast pulled the requested objects from a storage pouch.
"A few seem to be missing......."
"Wait here. I'll be right back. You'll die if you take anything from here!"
With that, Hyeon-o went to the marsh and plucked several spirit herbs and spirit fruits.
"Now is everything here?"
"It is. What should I give you first?"
"Show me your medicinal pills first."
Gwak Jeong laid out every medicinal pill he had made.
"That's not enough. Do you have more?"
Gwak Jeong also emptied every spirit stone from his storage pouch.
The crow demon glanced at the immortal and demanded even more medicinal pills and spirit stones.
"It's still not enough. Do you have more?"
"These are all the medicinal pills and spirit stones I possess."
"Then we'll have to remove a few items."
"W-wait a moment, please."
This was an extremely important opportunity for Gwak Jeong.
Good ingredients for medicinal pills are difficult to obtain.
"Would you also accept a medicinal-pill recipe and a pill furnace?"
"Of course!"
The answer came immediately.
Gwak Jeong handed over a medicinal-pill recipe he rarely used.
He also gave them a spare pill furnace and received the desired ingredients.
'I never imagined I would find all of this here.......'
As the crow demon called Hyeon-o had suggested.
His attitude was simple: it would be nice if they had the items, and no loss if they did not.
Gwak Jeong had listed everything he had long wanted.
'I thought I would be fortunate to find even ten percent of it in the secret realm.......'
But everything he had listed appeared.
The crow demon even plucked and delivered some of it personally.
Gwak Jeong felt as though he had arrived in the Peach Blossom Paradise of his dreams.
'I'm glad I packed plenty of medicinal pills and spirit stones in my storage pouch.'
Gwak Jeong was a rogue cultivator.
There was no place he could trust to safeguard his belongings.
The safest option was to carry everything himself.
Unlike other cultivators, Gwak Jeong kept many possessions inside his storage pouch.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to purchase everything he wanted.
"That was a good trade."
"For me too! Next person."
Hwang Yong stepped forward this time.
Like Gwak Jeong, Hwang Yong was a rogue cultivator.
"I am a mystic arts practitioner. I have many useful items as well."
A mystic arts practitioner used various mystic tools and spells.
They were jacks-of-all-trades in the immortal cultivation world.
The profession was well suited to rogue cultivators who had to do everything themselves.
Hwang Yong possessed many talents.
By selling those talents, the cultivator had accumulated a considerable number of spirit stones.
"I want the useful remains of demons."
They were ingredients used for talismans and various basic magical artifacts.
To purchase them, Hwang Yong spent the cultivator's entire stock of spirit stones.
"Do you not accept talismans?"
"Not interested."
Fortunately, Hwang Yong had enough spirit stones to make a good trade with the demon immortal.
Hwang Yong also wore a satisfied expression.
An anomaly had occurred in the secret realm.
For the moment, it was a welcome change.