Chapter 396: About Surveillance

Wei Yuan followed a group from the Bao Clan to a secret hall, then entered the entrance to the secret realm alongside nine others. Although Qiongshan Immortal Island and the Exquisite Blossom Pure Land were the favorites to win, they were not the only ones participating in the contest. Several Bao clansmen, independent cultivators from across the State of Wu, and individuals from other factions of the Eastern Sea Islands were also participating.

Only the Bao Clan elder presiding over the event knew exactly how many members from each faction had entered the secret realm. Bao Manshan’s authority extended only to granting Wei Yuan a spot, allowing him to enter the secret realm alongside the Bao Clan’s group.

Wei Yuan had originally assumed this contest in the secret realm would be akin to trial arranged by a sect, but it wasn’t until shortly before the start that he was informed of its true nature.

The Bao Clan’s Western Netherworld Secret Realm was not a closed environment. Rather, it shared an environment with a secret realm belonging to the Hlai. Over the years, it had become one of the many battlefields shared by the two sides.

Only one chi in length, the Shadowless Flying Ferret was lightning fast and naturally adept at concealment. It could briefly traverse the void, excelled at tracking spirit objects and creatures, and possessed formidable combat prowess. As a rare spirit beast, its ultimate resting place must be where a spirit vein lay, which was why finding it would be equivalent to pinpointing a spirit vein for the Bao Clan. Moreover, the participants would be clearing the area surrounding the vein of ferocious beasts and, in the process, eliminate powerful members of the Hlai as well.

Looking at the projection alone, it was clear that the spirit beast would be quite a challenge to handle, much less capture. This was before mentioning that other contestants would be vying for it, and the presence of powerful Hlai experts.

After obtaining the new information on the secret realm, Wei Yuan handed it directly to the mortals in the Great Realm and left them to devise a plan. He then packed his belongings and followed the Bao Clan into the secret realm.

After passing through the entrance, Wei Yuan felt a slight dizziness. It was as if his body had passed through something, and before he knew it, he was staring at a strange new world.

The Western Netherworld Secret Realm was located underground. It was composed of countless subterranean chambers and caves. It was said to lie beneath the ocean floor of the Homeworld.

Clusters of glowing mushrooms grew on the mountain walls and cave ceilings. Though the interior was dim, there was just enough light to barely make out one’s surroundings. For Wei Yuan, a person with naturally keen senses, he took to his new environment like a fish in water.

Wei Yuan looked around but saw no one nearby.

Entering through different entrances would, of course, lead one to different areas of a secret realm. However, even with the same area, the spawning location was random.

Seeing that no one was around, Wei Yuan quickly surveyed the surrounding terrain. Whatever he saw was automatically generated within the great Realm, allowing the team of mortals responsible for researching the terrain to immediately analyze and compare the data. It wasn’t long before they pinpointed Wei Yuan’s location.

Wei Yuan had a three-dimensional image of the secret realm inside his mind. According to the markers in the image, he was currently in a corner of the secret realm and surrounded by eight red dots. They were locations where the researchers believed that other members of the Bao Clan would appear. Some of the red dots also marked locations that anyone in the vicinity would inevitably pass through.

The 3D image appeared in pale gray originally, but any area Wei Yuan had seen with his own eyes turned into color and became clearer and more lifelike as the researchers corrected the original data.

Within the Great Realm, the 3D image was actually dozens of zhang in length and width, and over ten zhang in height. Dozens of people were constantly adding the latest analyzed data to the image. With just a single sweep of his perception, Wei Yuan could understand the meaning of the markers and the data they contained. Furthermore, everything his perception perceived was automatically added to the image as well.

The real-time image was a solution devised by the mortals after discussion. It provided an intuitive, real-time reflection of the surrounding environment, serving as a reference for Wei Yuan’s actions and enabling the mortals to formulate corresponding action plans.

Wei Yuan reviewed the selected plan once more, then suppressed his aura and concealed his form, instantly becoming almost invisible. Two people could brush past him and potentially not notice him at all.

At the same time, inside a great hall, several elders were observing the real-time feeds[1]of the secret realm. The Bao Clan had been managing the secret realm for many years and had long since planted countless surveillance artifacts within it, all linked to a great array. At the moment, the center of the hall displayed not only the main feed of the secret realm but also hundreds of individual feeds, each representing the field of view of an individual surveillance artifact.

A Bao Clan cultivator was making his way down a passageway, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps to his left. His guard went up instantly, and he glanced to the left. Sure enough, in the shadows of the mountain wall were several narrow passages, each barely wide enough for a single person to pass through.

The cultivator kept a close eye on the left-hand passageway, and a spirit beast Avatar appeared above his head, ready for battle.

Just then, a small round barrel was suddenly hurled out from a cave on his right. The cultivator whipped his head around instantly, only to be struck by a sudden burst of white light so blinding that it nearly left him sightless. It was accompanied by an explosion and a piercing, soul-shaking, devilish noise that caused even his Avatar to wave slightly.

Dazed and disoriented, the cultivator hurriedly retreated, only to discover that someone had appeared behind him out of nowhere. Before he could react, the attacker brought down his staff and struck him in the back of the head!

The blow was imbued with mighty Dao energy. The Bao Clan cultivator staggered once before collapsing face first.

Wei Yuan revealed his form and let out a long breath. The action plan the mortals had devised actually worked, and with remarkable effectiveness. He had taken out an Avatar in just a single breath.

Wei Yuan quickly searched the Bao Clan cultivator’s body, seized a small storage pouch, then stripped him of all his mystic treasures and mystic robes. After listening for activity in the vicinity, he selected one of several contingency plans the mortals had prepared for him, darted into the shadows, and vanished.

A female Bao Clan cultivator hurried to the scene. Upon seeing the unconscious cultivator lying on the ground, she was shocked and rushed over to tend to him.

But just as she lifted the male cultivator’s upper body, she heard a soft click. A small round barrel rolled out from behind the male cultivator, and instantly, her eyes were blooded with a blinding white light. She could see nothing.

A piercing, soul-shaking, devilish noise shook her Avatar out of her body, and immediately afterward, a steel staff flew toward her and struck her in the back of her head with a heavy thud.

Wei Yuan likewise confiscated her mystic treasures, mystic robes, and storage artifacts. Then, he selected another option from his contingency plans and vanished once more.

Immediately afterward, a third Bao Clan cultivator rushed over, drawn by the commotion. The first thing he saw upon entering the scene was a man and a woman clinging to each other, their clothes disheveled.

The cultivator quickly turned away while saying, “Zihua, Chengyu, when did the two of you hook up? Anyway, why the rush? Don’t you know that this place is riddled with mystic treasure-grade surveillance artifacts? Get up already; do you want the great elders to catch you in the act?”

After he finished speaking, he received no response. When he turned to look again, he finally realized that something was wrong with his two fellows and hurried over to check. But after taking just two steps, he suddenly stepped on something. There was a deafening roar, and a violent explosion sent him flying through the air!

Fortunately, his mystic body was tough, and he sustained only minor injuries and landed steadily. It was then he saw two small, round barrels tumbling toward him. He stared intently at them only to be met by a blinding white light that both blinded him and caused his Avatar to shake violently. Now he realized what the sound he had heard earlier was.

Immediately afterward, a staff struck like a divine dragon from the Beyond, knocking him unconscious. What appeared to be a staff in Wei Yuan’s hand was actually a pagoda that had been elongated and smoothed into a cylindrical shape. That’s right, it was none other than the Devil Suppressing Four Level Pagoda, capable of shaking the sea of consciousness and sealing off one’s perception. He also swung the weapon in a wide arc while aiming for the back of the head. Naturally, it was one strike, one knockout.

After dispatching the third Bao Clan cultivator, Wei Yuan moved him next to the other two cultivators and lit a short incense stick.

It was Sun Yu’s Devilish Spirit-Eroding Incense, though Wei Yuan had intentionally weakened its potency and removed one of the main ingredients when he prepared it the night before. Although it would still corrode one’s primordial spirit, the victim would eventually recover from the ordeal after a period of rest—unlike Sun Yu’s original formula, which left permanent, untreatable injuries on the victim[2].

Wei Yuan took a moment to assess the potency of the incense. If another Bao Clan cultivator showed up, then their only choice of action would be to carry their fellows out of the secret realm. Otherwise, the longer they delayed, the deeper the toxicity would penetrate. Moreover, the initial symptoms of the Devilish Spirit-Eroding Incense were terrifying—no one would dare risk damage to their sea of consciousness. He would effectively be eliminating another opponent.

If no one came, and the incense stick burned to the end, all three cultivators would wake up and discover that their Avatars had been significantly corroded. They wouldn’t die, but they wouldn’t be able to fight in the short term and would need a month of rest and recuperation.

After finishing these tasks, Wei Yuan recalled what the third cultivator had said and begun searching the area.

In one of the surveillance feeds, the great elders watched as Wei Yuan’s big face grew closer and closer. He even pressed one eye right up against the screen to examine it closely, as if he could see through the feed and into the great hall beyond.

The great elders exchanged glances, all at a loss for words.

After watching for a while, Wei Yuan finally stepped back. He then picked up a clump of mud and sealed the mystic treasure-grade surveillance artifact.

Wei Yuan raced through the underground caverns and discovered several more surveillance artifacts along the way, all of which he sealed with mud without exception. As one image after another went dark, the great elders’ expressions naturally grew uglier and uglier.

Wei Yuan headed straight for the depths of the secret realm. The Shadowless Flying Ferret would only roam in areas near the Hlai’s territory. It might even venture all the way over to the Hlai’s side. There were no maps of the secret realm’s depths, much less the areas under the Hlai’s control. He also knew those areas were home to numerous dangerous beasts and fraught with peril.

However, that was the only suitable place to carry out his plan. The few action plans that had caught Wei Yuan’s eyes all relied on exploiting the local beasts—and even the Hlai’s powerful warriors—to his advantage.

As he ran, Wei Yuan suddenly spotted another passageway just a few zhang away. According to the topographic map, this passage should lead to another entrance, though it was unclear exactly which one.

Wei Yuan stopped immediately, shot a stream of water from his fingertip, and began cutting through the cave wall. Soon, he breached the wall and created a passageway between the two caves.

Wei Yuan quickly slipped into the other cave and glanced around at his surroundings. Then, he manifested a boulder to seal off the entrance he had come through.

Wei Yuan examined the area carefully, then adjusted the rock’s appearance until it blended seamlessly with the surrounding cave walls. Only then did he seal the opening. After making a few more adjustments, he continued deeper into the cave.

Moments later, Wei Yuan felt a sudden stir. An image had appeared inside his consciousness[3]. A cultivator dressed in unusual robes was striding quickly down the passageway. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and glanced left and right with a puzzled look on his face.

He instinctively sensed that something or someone seemed to be watching him, but when he swept his perception over the surroundings, he could detect nothing out of the ordinary. A faint image of a four-armed warrior with a human torso and a serpent’s tail appeared above his head, and he slowed down his pace.

Wei Yuan looked thoughtful as he observed the man’s reaction. Inside the Great Realm, the mortals were already beginning to devise targeted countermeasures.

Wherever mortals gather, there are bound to be crouching dragons and phoenix chicks[4]. The Great Realm was no exception. In the blink of an eye, someone proposed a plan that utterly amazed Wei Yuan. He immediately adopted it.

At the next fork in the path, Wei Yuan used his perception to locate a surveillance artifact. He leaped up, wedged an unremarkable rock next to the artifact embedded in the cave ceiling, and then swiftly departed.

A moment later, a cultivator emerged from the cave. Upon reaching the fork, his entire body trembled, and his Avatar appeared instantly as he scanned his surroundings warily. After much effort, he finally located the surveillance artifact and the rock that clearly looked suspicious. However, after scrutinizing them carefully for quite some time, he concluded that the artifact had been placed in the secret realm by the Bao Clan. Out of respect for the Bao Clan, he did not tamper with the artifact. Similarly, he left the rock untouched.

1. I bloody hate the word video when translating cultivation novels but there is never really a good alternative for it. I’ve tried so many words like image, footage, feed, moving images, projection yada yada but none of them felt right. Just pains of the work. >_> ☜

2. This is your reminder to NOT SCREW AROUND WITH YOUR DOCTOR. ☜

3. If you remember, his boulders are spy cameras. And yes, his spy camera is boulder-sized. XD ☜

4. Used to refer to Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, but these days it’s used as an insult. ☜