Chapter 392: Arcane Realm Appears, The Gathering of Forces

Translator: Minotauruz

Hugging the little packrat in her arms, Jun Xiaomo spent the next two hours or so describing in detail everything that had occurred in her previous life to the two persons and one little packrat seated in front of her.

As Jun Xiaomo recounted her experiences, the images of Rong Ruihan’s dreams began to flash past his mind once again, as though he were reliving the very same experiences from his perspectives at the same time.

As it turns out, everything that he had seen in those dreams were incredibly real. There was not a single thing that Jun Xiaomo spoke of which did not cohere with his own personal experiences from the dreams. The only thing Jun Xiaomo did not speak of was about the matters that occurred after her own death in her previous life.

Rong Ruihan’s deep gaze landed on Jun Xiaomo once more. She was truly carrying too many burdens in her heart. If possible, he would love to be given the opportunity to share some of these burdens, rather than to add to the burdens weighing down her shoulders.

Ye Xiuwen’s heart was equally rippling with complicated emotions, and he found himself unable to suppress these multitude of emotions no matter what he did.

He did not have any memories of his previous life, but he could tell from Jun Xiaomo’s short recount of her experiences just how difficult and trying her previous life must have been.

It was no wonder Jun Xiaomo would present herself with such earth-shattering changes back when she was sixteen years-old. It was no wonder Jun Xiaomo bore such intense hatred and enmity towards Zhang Shuyue.

After hearing everything that Jun Xiaomo had been through, Ye Xiuwen’s heart was filled with a profound, aching sensation. He finally understood exactly why Jun Xiaomo couldn’t find it in her heart to let go of both himself and Rong Ruihan.

Ye Xiuwen pulled Jun Xiaomo into a tight embrace and patted her gently on the back, “What’s most important now is your health and the child in your womb. Don’t think too much about these things anymore and focus on yourself. Once the Arcane Realm appears, we’ll do our best to obtain the Ninth-Grade Green Lotus Pill for you. Don’t worry.”

When Ye Xiuwen mentioned “we”, he was naturally referring to both himself and Rong Ruihan.

He had finally thought things through. Rather than press Jun Xiaomo for an answer right now, there was no harm in pushing back the decision-making process until the dust had finally settled on her childbirth and the matters pertaining to the Arcane Realm. After all, she was only going to suffer and debilitate her body if she continued to worry about everything like she did now.

Rong Ruihan contemplated Jun Xiaomo’s account of the matter sullenly as well. He could finally understand that Ye Xiuwen’s existence was far more profoundly rooted in Jun Xiaomo’s heart than he had ever imagined, and he knew that it was going to be impossible to snatch Jun Xiaomo from Ye Xiuwen’s side entirely.

Since that’s the case, why not take a step back and let Xiaomo deliver the child safely first?

Rong Ruihan also patted Jun Xiaomo’s head, signifying his acceptance of a compromise to the situation for now.

Squeak squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!

Meanwhile, the little packrat was displeased – incredibly displeased. He had never expected Jun Xiaomo’s previous life to be completely devoid of his existence. They had not even encountered each other as mere passers-by!

In his frustration, he grabbed hold of Jun Xiaomo’s fingers and bit down hard on it, leaving a deep imprint of its teeth on her fingers.

Jun Xiaomo scratched its ears in a mix of anger and bemusement, selectively choosing to close her mind off to the fact that this little packrat was a man and treating him as nothing more than a pet.

In the very next moment, the little packrat grabbed Jun Xiaomo’s fingers again and licked it obsequiously, almost as though consoling her in the midst of his tantrum.

Jun Xiaomo’s smile widened.

Truth be told, she was hardly filled with sorrow or despondence anymore. Even though the matters in her past life had left an indelible mark in her heart, the effluxion of time had also caused these scars to grow fainter – she could appreciate the fact that her present life was vastly different from her experiences in her previous life.

In fact, if they managed to achieve their goals within Arcane Realm this time, she would be able to say with absolute conviction that she had truly walked out from the shadows of her past life and onto the frontiers of a new life ahead.

Besides, aren’t all of the persons important to her still well, alive and by her side? What’s there not to be content about?

Just like that, Rong Ruihan, Ye Xiuwen and the others eagerly awaited signs of the Arcane Realm’s appearances, while Old Man Chi and the sprightly old man took everything with a pinch of salt. Then, finally, on one still, tranquil night, an incredible flux of spiritual energy erupted powerfully in the south-western direction, sending tremors through the world. Then, as soon as the tremors subsided, a piercing beam of light shot straight through the sky like a pillar connecting heaven and earth, scattering the clouds around. It was an incredibly foreboding phenomenon.

“Heaven-seizing and earth-shattering transformations – it’s actually the appearance of an Arcane Realm!” Old Man Chi was in the midst of cultivating when he suddenly snapped out of his meditative state and ran towards the window in his room, staring aghast at the pillar of light.

Various sects and clans in the world, both large and small, also sensed the peculiar eruption of energy – even the usually elusive Hidden Sects were shaken and leapt to action.

Overnight, news of the appearance of an Arcane Realm spread throughout the four corners of the cultivation world. An Arcane Realm’s appearance was ubiquitously seen as a gift from the gods above. Not only did an Arcane Realm contain incredibly treasures, some people would even manage to seize incredible opportunities within the Arcane Realm and see their cultivation levels improve by leaps and bounds. Was there any person in the cultivation world who were able to resist the temptation of such potential yields? It was practically a thing of dreams!

That said, such opportunities and treasures often came with commensurate risks. Everyone coveted the same, but the winners were only the ones who had the last laugh.

Even though Old Man Chi had taken Jun Xiaomo’s predictions of the Arcane Realm’s appearance with a pinch of salt, he still decided to err on the side of caution and made all the necessary preparations he could. First, he instructed an elite team of Chi Clan members to be ready to mobilize at all times. Then, he also had his clansmen purchase and stockpile a large amount of pills, medicines, talismans and formation array scrolls.

The Chi Clan members were initially dumbfounded by his orders. Some had even wondered whether Old Man Chi was making preparations to wage war against the eight great sects of the spiritual cultivation world. Otherwise, why would the Chi Clan need all the pills, medicines, talismans and formation array scrolls for?

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then, as soon as the Arcane Realm appeared, everyone in the Chi Clan immediately understood Old Man Chi’s intentions. In fact, their respect for their clan head shot to unprecedented heights almost instantly.

As soon as Old Man Chi learnt of these things, he coughed dryly and brazenly accepted the compliments from his clan members.

After all, these were rumours that he had gleaned from his quasi-great-granddaughter-in-law. There was hardly any difference hearing the news from him either. After all, they were for all intents and purposes one and the same family.

Jun Xiaomo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when she learnt that Old Man Chi had begun to see her as a part of the Chi Clan. On the other hand, the little packrat was incredibly delighted.

Meanwhile, everyone knew that the gates to the Arcane Realm would open three days after the Arcane Realm first surfaced in the cultivation world. Thus, powerful forces began to gather and congregate at the entrance to the Arcane Realm in no time. Each of these forces would eagerly size up the different powers gathered around them, earnestly scheming against the others that they deemed to be a threat to them.

Jun Xiaomo’s faction was neither sizeable nor attention-grabbing when compared with the other forces around. After all, having lived for so many years, Old Man Chi deeply understood the importance of laying low and not drawing attention to themselves. Thus, their faction had consciously applied on themselves talismans used to conceal their cultivation levels so that they could lay low and not stand out in the crowd. After all, the last thing they would want right now was for others to paint a target board on their backs before they had even stepped into the Arcane Realm.

“Look there, look there! Isn’t that the Du Clan of one of the eight great sects?” Someone exclaimed aloud, incidentally attracting the attention of everyone around.

Jun Xiaomo looked into the direction that he was pointing. As expected, she saw several familiar faces among their midst.

Not only did she see the nemeses of her present life, Du Yongxu and Du Lianqin, she even saw the nemeses of her previous life, including the Du Clan Head and the Clan Elders of the Du Clan.

It stood to reason. This was the appearance of an Arcane Realm after all. The Du Clan were all greedy and avaricious people, so how would they be able to pass up on a prime opportunity to take a profit for themselves? They were most certainly here with an intention to seize as much as they could.

I wonder how many people are going to perish to them this time, given how they are such seasoned thieves and robbers who enjoy seizing from others. Jun Xiaomo snickered coldly in her heart.

Having heard Jun Xiaomo’s account of her experiences with the Du Clan in her previous life, Ye Xiuwen naturally knew the significance of the Du Clan’s existence to her. After all, Jun Xiaomo had been hounded and relentlessly persecuted by the eight great sects of the cultivation world. It could be said that there was not a single person within the eight great sects that did not form Jun Xiaomo’s list of nemeses right now.

That said, the only reason why Jun Xiaomo was not being hounded by them in this life was because she now possessed the ability to conceal the demonic energy in her body.

Ye Xiuwen stretched out his hand and squeezed Jun Xiaomo’s right hand, silently providing her with strength and encouragement.

Jun Xiaomo smiled faintly, and she gripped Ye Xiuwen’s hand tightly as well.

The Du Clan was not the only powerful force that was drawn to the Arcane Realm. In fact, the other seven constituent clans of the eight great sects, the Limitless Sect, the Zephyr Sect, the Dawn Sect and the Eternal Summit Sect were all present as well.

Naturally, since Jun Xiaomo had changed their faction’s appearances using several Masquerade Talismans, none of the other forces around were able to recognize anyone within Jun Xiaomo’s faction.

Their goal was hidden in the depths of the Arcane Realm, and there was no reason for them to get into a fight before they had even entered the Arcane Realm. After all, that would be far too disadvantageous to them.

“A map will appear somewhere in the Arcane Realm once it opens up. If we can obtain that map, it will enable us to locate our goal within the Arcane Realm much more easily. That way we wouldn’t have to flounder about like a headless fly in the vast spaces of the Arcane Realm.” Jun Xiaomo addressed everyone from experience.

The Arcane Realm would only remain open for a limited period of time. Furthermore, everyone would be rejected from the Arcane Realm’s domain as soon as the Arcane Realm recognized its new master. At that time, unless the Arcane Realm’s new master approves of their presence, nobody else would be able to enter the Arcane Realm.

When the Arcane Realm opened in her previous life, both she and Ye Xiuwen had spent some time within its domain as well. However, their strength back then could only be described as frail and feeble, and they were unable to seize many treasures or opportunities for themselves. That said, they had nevertheless learnt that Yu Wanrou was the one who had managed to claim the Arcane Realm’s map for herself.

In this life, Jun Xiaomo was determined to seize the opportunity for herself. If possible, she sincerely wanted to claim ownership and seize the Arcane Realm for herself.

“Where are we going to go about locating the map?” Old Man Chi looked at Jun Xiaomo with an impassioned gaze.

“I’m not clear of its exact location. I only heard that the map is enshrouded with such thick and vile energies that people perish from its poison before they can even come close to the map.” Jun Xiaomo recalled her previous life’s experiences and explained.

Old Man Chi glanced at Jun Xiaomo with some measure of bewilderment, “Why does it sound like you’ve been in the Arcane Realm before?”

Jun Xiaomo coughed awkwardly and grew taciturn.

“Alright, Great-Grandfather. Xiaomo has her reasons for knowing so much about this Arcane Realm, and I know of her reasons as well. There’s no need to press the issue.” Chi Jingtian hurriedly defused the situation, proving Jun Xiaomo with a way out.

Old Man Chi glared at Chi Jingtian, as though denouncing his act of preferring his “wife” over his great-grandfather.

Chi Jingtian rubbed his nose and shifted his gaze away from Old Man Chi.

Snorting in his heart, Old Man Chi decided not to press the issue – I’m not a busybody to begin with. I’m satisfied as long as we can achieve our goals.

Then, on the dawn of the third day, the entrance to the Arcane Realm finally opened. A bright light shone from the heart of the Arcane Realm, illuminating everyone waiting expectantly outside.

“It’s open!” Someone yelled at the top of his voice. As though a trigger had just been pressed, innumerable cultivators began to dive straight into the Arcane Realm in that very instant!