Chapter 87: Nothing Brings More Joy Than Getting Something for Nothing

Jiang Yan was caught off guard and dragged into a dimensional space. By the time he regained his senses, the enormous hand had already vanished without a trace in a bizarre manner.

He looked around and found that the ground was covered in ice, the surroundings bleak and desolate—not even a single blade of grass could be seen.

“Who are you? Why did you bring me here? What is this place?” Jiang Yan’s voice was tinged with anger and confusion.

He gripped the blazing sword in his hand tightly, his eyes wary and alert, ready to face any danger that might arise.

Death? It’s no big deal—maybe I’ll even transmigrate back to the modern world! Jiang Yan tried to comfort himself inwardly, attempting to calm his emotions.

“My young friend, I mean you no harm.”

Suddenly, an aged voice echoed through the empty dimensional space, like wind sweeping across frozen ice, carrying with it an indescribable air of mystery.

Jiang Yan looked all around, but saw no sign of the speaker.

“Who are you? You call yourself an immortal? Why don’t you show yourself, elder?” Jiang Yan asked warily, uncertainty in his tone.

“Hahaha, young friend, I’m right here.”

As the words fell, an old man with a turtle shell strapped to his back slowly appeared within Jiang Yan’s field of vision.

Jiang Yan sized up this self-proclaimed immortal, Turtle Elder. Yes, the flowing white hair, the long beard, the white Daoist robe—he certainly looked the part of an immortal. However, the turtle shell on his back somewhat spoiled the ethereal, otherworldly image.

“Elder, are you… Turtle Immortal?” Jiang Yan asked hesitantly.

“Hahaha, sharp eyes, young friend. I am indeed Turtle Immortal, style name Xuan Zhenzi, and I am the overseer of the new secret realm.”

“You oversee the secret realm? Then why did you stop me from breaking the barrier?”

“This Dream Street is actually part of the new secret realm. If you were to undo the barrier, the demons inside would scatter everywhere.”

“They’re trapped here in Dream Street—shouldn’t they seek release?”

Xuan Zhenzi smiled faintly, stroking his beard: “Actually, you’ve already noticed that Dream Street is far from ordinary…”

With Xuan Zhenzi’s detailed explanation, Jiang Yan finally understood—the demons on Dream Street had long since died; this street market was merely an illusion conjured by the Dream Pearl. The souls of these demons harbored deep attachments to the mortal world, refusing reincarnation, and thus lingered within the Dream Pearl.

A hint of confusion flashed in Jiang Yan’s eyes. “Then what about Lady Fox? I clearly saw her devour several demons! Those demons didn’t seem to be in a spirit state.”

“Within the Dream Pearl, they have physical bodies. Once slain, they’re utterly annihilated. Lady Fox harbors a deep grudge against these demons, accumulating intense resentment…”

Lady Fox’s fate was tangled with those demons: some were lecherous, some gossiped maliciously, some simply looked on coldly—all of them, in the end, pushed her to the brink of death. After her demise, she became a vengeful spirit and hunted them down one by one.

Jiang Yan was uninterested in the tangled grievances between Lady Fox and the demons. In his view, the pitiful always have their own faults.

“So that means those demons are forever trapped here in Dream Street? Why do they seem unaware of their own deaths?”

“That’s because their memories are frozen on the day they died.”

Jiang Yan’s heart gave a jolt. So this twisted new secret realm actually forces people to dwell among ghosts…

A sudden thought flashed through his mind: the Water-Avoiding Pearl—would that thing still be useful here?

“And the goods for sale on Dream Street—are they all just illusions?”

Xuan Zhenzi laughed heartily. “You’re a clever one—no need to worry. All those items are real, arranged by us on purpose. The immortal herbs you used to refine your Water-Avoiding Pearl were a gift from the Immortal World.”

“Elder, do you know everything we’ve been doing?” Jiang Yan’s tone was polite, but a glimmer of suspicion flickered in his eyes. Had this old man been watching them all along?

Xuan Zhenzi replied with unfathomable calm, “An immortal has his own methods.”

Jiang Yan pressed further, “Elder, since Dream Street is only a small part of the Azure Sea Secret Realm, how can we reach the other areas?”

Xuan Zhenzi fell silent for a moment before slowly answering, “Ahem… Young one, the other areas of the Azure Sea Secret Realm are not open to outsiders at the moment.”

Jiang Yan dug at his ear. “Elder, what did you just say?”

He must be hearing things, right?

So their trip to the new secret realm was all for nothing?

What a rotten deal! Did it have to be so unfair!

“You didn’t mishear, young friend. For certain reasons, the rest of the secret realm is currently closed off. In fact, I’ve already sent Chunhua to turn away any cultivators who come seeking adventure, but I didn’t expect you all to make it in anyway…”

Pfft…

So, outsmarted himself, did he?

“That cow—Miss Chunhua—is she also an immortal?”

“No, she’s from the local demon tribe, temporarily in charge of guarding the Azure Sea Secret Realm.”

Jiang Yan thought to himself: Could that female Bull Demon King—so weak and so simple (both naïve and slow)—really be trusted to guard the Azure Sea Secret Realm?

“I still don’t know why she guided you into Dream Street.”

“Elder, we traveled all this way hoping to test our skills in the new secret realm, but now you suddenly say it’s closed? Was our journey for nothing?”

Xuan Zhenzi looked at him with admiration—this young man dared to bargain with him?

The techniques this young man used were extraordinary, even managing to crack the Dream Pearl a little. Clearly, he was no ordinary cultivator.

Building rapport now might prove helpful in the future.

“You’re a clever one. As compensation, I’ll grant you all some more immortal herbs. And this space ring from the Immortal World—take it as well.”

Jiang Yan was puzzled. Are all immortals so generous?

Still, he was quite pleased—who would say no to more compensation?

Nothing’s more delightful than getting something for nothing!

“Thank you, elder!”

Xuan Zhenzi nodded slightly, and several stalks of top-grade immortal herbs, brimming with spiritual energy, appeared in his palm, along with a space ring.

“These are Purpleheart Spirit Herbs, which can enhance your spiritual power and speed up your cultivation. The space ring contains its own dimension and can store living things. Take them, and don’t feel shy.”

Jiang Yan’s eyes shone with delight. He thanked the immortal profusely and carefully put away the herbs and the ring. The herbs were indeed practical, and the space ring was an unexpected treasure.

“Elder, how do we leave this secret realm?”

“You should each have a pass token. Just destroy the token, and the secret realm’s self-protection mechanism will activate, sending you all outside.”

Xuan Zhenzi’s reminder jogged Jiang Yan’s memory; indeed, each of them carried a blue token, a requirement for entering the new secret realm.

He cupped his hands to Xuan Zhenzi, intending to thank him again, but a giant hand whisked him out of the dimensional space.

The last thing he heard was Xuan Zhenzi’s voice lingering in his ears: “Young friend, I look forward to meeting you again in the Immortal World.”