The meeting place was a tavern.
Jiang Chen found it without difficulty and rapped his knuckles on the door of the private room marked "Heaven One."
A voice came from within: "Enter."
It was Zhen Wudi.
Jiang Chen pushed open the door and felt an immediate rush of familiarity. The quivering fat, the eyes squeezed into narrow slits, the lecherous grin — who else could it be but the Zhen Wudi he had clashed with countless times in the Ethereal Realm?
In the Ethereal Realm, appearances were masked, but that particular bearing and that particular build were not so easily imitated.
Even so, Jiang Chen asked cautiously: "Chongxuan Sheng?"
"Dugu Wudi?" the young man asked at the same instant.
They both broke into laughter.
But Chongxuan Sheng only laughed harder and harder, the flesh on his face jiggling with each guffaw. "Wahahaha! You put on that brooding act all day long in the Ethereal Realm, and I never imagined you were this kind of person! You even cheated your way into a pretty-boy look — burned your own essence points to remodel yourself! And you're actually this old! Hahahaha..."
His appearance was somewhat different from his Ethereal Realm persona, but that insufferable charm was utterly unchanged. Insufferable in a way that felt oddly warm.
Of course, Jiang Chen was not truly as handsome as he had appeared in the Ethereal Realm. He had been on the road for a long stretch, his mind consumed by cultivation, with no opportunity to attend to his looks. On top of that, the White Bone Escape had cost him years of his life and turned his hair white.
The contrast between the two versions of him was rather stark.
Still, this fat man was really something else...
Jiang Chen curled his lip. "You're not as endearingly fat in the Ethereal Realm as you are in real life, either."
"Ah, you wouldn't understand." Chongxuan Sheng waved a hand airily. "If you're going to disguise yourself, you have to go all the way. Who could possibly imagine that the powerful but unkempt Zhen Wudi of the Ethereal Realm is actually this dashing fellow in reality?"
Where that confidence came from, one could only wonder. Was the State of Qi a land where obesity was considered beautiful? He had never heard so.
"You do realize," Jiang Chen reminded him, "that if you keep shouting like that, anyone passing by will know exactly who you are."
Chongxuan Sheng burst into another round of wild laughter. "This tavern, this entire street — it's all property of the Chongxuan clan! Who's going to eavesdrop?"
To occupy an entire street in Tianfu City, a stronghold of the great powers, spoke to a depth of resources in the Chongxuan clan far beyond what Jiang Chen had imagined.
But why was it that even his showing off was so thoroughly insufferable?
Jiang Chen reminded himself once more that this was not the Sword Dueling Platform. He let a mild smile settle on his face.
"I was actually worried you wouldn't be able to recognize me!" Chongxuan Sheng added.
Jiang Chen blinked. "You look quite close to your Ethereal Realm self!"
"I don't like hearing that at all!" Chongxuan Sheng leaned forward. "Look carefully. In the Ethereal Realm I had slit eyes. In real life, I have crescent-moon eyes!"
"Ha, is that so." Jiang Chen gave two dry laughs. "I see it, I see it. Sit back — don't get worked up."
Chongxuan Sheng settled back into his specially reinforced chair with obvious satisfaction. "Well then, let's start talking about the Heavenly Abode Secret Realm!"
They had grown thoroughly familiar in the Ethereal Realm, and their first meeting in the real world carried none of the stiffness of strangers.
Jiang Chen immediately assumed an attentive posture.
"So here's the thing, Dugu—"
Jiang Chen cut him off. "Still calling me Dugu?"
He had only meant to disguise his Ethereal Realm identity, to have Chongxuan Sheng use his real name.
"Then..." Chongxuan Sheng hesitated. "Uncle Jiang?"
"...I'm only eighteen," Jiang Chen said through clenched teeth.
His birthday had fallen in the first month, passing silently on the road.
In the past, Ling He and the others would have celebrated with him — a meal, some drinks. But now...
That day had been no different from any of the other days on the road.
In truth, if Chongxuan Sheng hadn't mentioned his age, he would have almost forgotten that another birthday had come and gone.
"Ah, haha." Now it was Chongxuan Sheng's turn to laugh awkwardly. "Well, your hair does have a certain distinguished quality to it."
"Sure, sure." Jiang Chen didn't bother explaining. "Let's talk about the Heavenly Abode Secret Realm first. I still don't know how any of it works."
"The Heavenly Abode Secret Realm is opening, and the Chongxuan clan has three slots. As the most outstanding member of my generation, I bear the clan's future on my shoulders. I'll be the core around which the exploration team is formed. Let me first tell you what can be gained inside, and why it drives so many people to compete so fiercely. The rumors flying around out there are considerable, but they're not all reliable."
Chongxuan Sheng settled into a comfortable rhythm. "Tianfu, Tianfu — it means 'the heaven-piercing palace.' Do you know why the Tianfu Elder is so famous? Because he opened all five palaces and obtained a divine skill from each one! That is why his Inner Palace is called Tianfu — meaning 'the First Palace Under Heaven.'"
"During the Inner Palace stage alone, he once killed three Outer Tower cultivators. He was virtually invincible at that level."
"Unfortunately, no one knows what happened afterward. He left behind the Heavenly Abode Secret Realm and simply vanished. People say he ascended into the Ethereal Realm."
"But regardless, no one has ever seen him again."
"And the prevailing theory is that he possessed a method by which any cultivator at the Inner Palace stage could guarantee obtaining a divine skill — and that method is hidden within the Heavenly Abode Secret Realm. Only those below the Soaring Dragon realm can enter."
"So many people have come out over the years. Surely someone must have found that method?" Jiang Chen asked. "Why hasn't it been passed on?"
"Because everyone who leaves the Heavenly Abode Secret Realm has no memory of what happened inside," Chongxuan Sheng said. "But those who obtain an opportunity within the realm — as long as they survive — they invariably go on to obtain a divine skill at the Inner Palace stage."
"So nobody can say for certain what's inside. What the trials are, what the dangers are?"
"The only thing we can confirm is that it is extremely dangerous. In all the years of exploration, the most who have ever come out alive was seven. In the worst case, not a single person survived." Chongxuan Sheng's tone grew serious. "But no one knows what the danger actually is."
Jiang Chen was momentarily speechless. "So... why does the Chongxuan clan send its most outstanding member into something so dangerous? Worried you won't obtain a divine skill at the Inner Palace stage? Your clan's secret arts are no less potent than a divine skill."
He studied the fat man with a half-smile. "Could it be that the title of 'most outstanding of the Chongxuan clan' belongs to more than one person?"
"Er..." Chongxuan Sheng showed not a shred of embarrassment. "There may be... a few others, roughly speaking. So there's inevitably some competition. But of course, it's mainly because I personally am fearless in the face of danger, enterprising, eager to climb to the summit, and ready for any challenge!"
"You came all the way here — you're not going to back out now, are you?" Chongxuan Sheng's voice carried a note of tension. "These slots are incredibly precious. People would kill to get one."
That was no exaggeration.
The Heavenly Abode Secret Realm was dangerous, but its rewards were extraordinary. Any cultivator who obtained a seed of a divine skill became an absolute powerhouse among Inner Palaces. A divine-skill Inner Palace was essentially a full tier above an ordinary one.
A formidable divine-skill Inner Palace could even contend against Outer Tower experts.
In the whole world, how many could guarantee that they would obtain a divine skill at the Inner Palace stage?
Jiang Chen would certainly not back down. Danger had never been the most frightening thing. The most frightening thing was always the absence of hope.
And the chance to forge a divine-skill Inner Palace was, without question, the kind of light that could illuminate even the most distant hope.
"So, for a slot this precious — what do I need to give in return?" Jiang Chen asked.
Chongxuan Sheng did not beat around the bush. "I possess a Heart Demon Oath scroll. The team I assemble around myself must swear upon the Heart Demon Oath before entering the realm. The first opportunity to obtain a seed of a divine skill must go to me. Only after that may one seek one's own fortune."
That was fair enough.
There was no such thing as a windfall without cost. To gain something, one had to give something.
Jiang Chen did not hesitate. "I agree."
At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the door.
A voice roared: "Get out of my way! Let me see who's so great that they can steal my slot!"