# Chapter 250: Tianchi Secret Realm (Part 2)
"Never think that the Tianchi Secret Realm only contains countless resources and treasures. Alongside these exist risks that no one can predict! If you act recklessly out of greed, you might very well lose your life inside. Furthermore, the Tianchi Secret Realm is vast—no one has ever reached its end. At the same time, the scenery within the secret realm changes every time. Even those who have explored it before will see an entirely different world this time."
"When exploring the secret realm, you may act alone or in groups. But if you truly wish to gain meaningful experience, seniors and juniors should separate."
Everyone deeply agreed with Ling Yuefeng's words. If the younger generation still needed elders to accompany and protect them, it would be a complete waste of this extremely rare training opportunity, and they would also be ridiculed.
"Within the secret realm, all Sound Transmission Jade will become useless. No one can transmit sound to anyone else."
"The secret realm is a place for exploration and training, not for settling grudges! If you have personal grievances, I advise you not to resolve them within the secret realm, wasting this rare training opportunity. Especially seniors—do not lose face by striking at juniors. If I, Ling, learn of such actions, it will make things very difficult." Ling Yuefeng said sternly. "If younger members fight over treasures discovered simultaneously, elders must absolutely not intervene."
"The deeper you go into the secret realm, the greater the danger! Those whose strength is insufficient must not overexert themselves. The seasons within the secret realm are not fixed. Sometimes it is warm spring, sometimes scorching summer, and if you're unlucky, you may even encounter harsh winter…"
Ling Yuefeng rambled on with a long list of instructions, and the young Xuan adepts who had never entered the secret realm listened obediently. At this moment, a crackling sound suddenly came from behind Ling Yuefeng. Everyone turned to look and saw the space behind Ling Yuefeng distorting, rippling like water stirred by a swift wind, forming layer upon layer of ripples.
The spatial ripples grew faster and began to rotate rapidly, eventually forming a huge vortex in the air. The surrounding air crazily converged toward the vortex, creating a howling wind. Then, the vortex slowed down again until it completely stopped, revealing a pitch-black hole nearly one zhang in diameter. The hole hung suspended in the air, with nothing visible inside except an abyss-like darkness as profound as the night sky.
"This is the entrance to the secret realm." Ling Yuefeng stood in front of the hole, looking at the astonished and excited crowd. "In the past, an average of two to three people have perished in the secret realm each time, never to emerge. Now the entrance is open, and it will remain so for half a ke. If anyone wants to withdraw, now is the time!"
No one present backed down. Fear of death would never make one a true strong practitioner. Moreover, with only two or three deaths out of fifty on average, this risk level was even lower than their sect's own training exercises. In some sects' cruelest high-level training, hundreds or thousands of deaths were perfectly normal.
"I've said all I need to say. Everyone, enter in order of sect ranking. Friends from the Cangfeng Imperial Clan, please enter first."
Only Qin Wushang stepped forward from the Cangfeng Imperial Clan. Xia Yuanba's strength was too low, and even though he was eager to see what lay inside, he absolutely could not enter—it would be no different from throwing away his life. Cang Yue's strength was also somewhat low, and she herself had no interest in the Tianchi Secret Realm. Both remained in the villa to take care of Yun Che, who was still severely injured and not yet recovered.
Thus, the only one from the Cangfeng Imperial Clan entering the Tianchi Secret Realm was Qin Wushang.
"Lord Qin, please." Ling Yuefeng naturally understood the situation and said nothing more, guiding Qin Wushang toward the secret realm entrance.
"Hmph! So he still didn't come? All my efforts wasted!" Fen Juecheng said coldly, glancing at Mu Tianbei not far away. Mu Tianbei's expression was also quite unpleasant.
"It doesn't matter. After we finish exploring the secret realm and leave Tian Jian Villa, whenever we want him dead, he will die!"
The speaker was Fen Juebi. After these days of recuperation, his injuries had barely healed by half. However, the aftereffects of losing his essence blood could not be eliminated. In his current condition, he could at most exert half his usual strength. Still, this was his only chance in a lifetime to enter the Tianchi Secret Realm, and he absolutely could not miss it.
Being severely wounded by Yun Che and losing face because of him, and facing inevitable severe punishment upon returning to the sect—all of this he held against Yun Che. His desire to kill Yun Che was no less than Fen Juecheng's.
"That's different." Fen Juecheng said in a low voice. "Killing someone in the Tianchi Secret Realm leaves no worries. After the secret realm closes, all traces disappear forever. Yun Che took first place, and his reputation is at its peak. He's not someone you can kill just because you want to! Killing him outside without leaving any traces is far more difficult than inside the secret realm! Moreover… Mu Tianbei's concerns in this regard are much greater than ours. If not inside the secret realm, he would never dare to act!"
At this moment, a hurried voice came from afar: "Hey! Lord Qin, wait for me!"
Everyone turned to look and saw Yun Che rushing toward them in great haste. This was the first time people had seen Yun Che since the ranking battle. Now, as they looked at this youth who had broken through the domain at the age of seventeen and taken first place in the ranking battle, their gazes were filled with mixed emotions. The younger Xuan adepts showed reverence.
Yun Che's complexion did not look good. His face showed a pallor of someone not yet recovered from a serious illness, his steps were somewhat unsteady, and bandages could be seen here and there on his body.
Although the distance from Tian Jian Villa to here was great, for a Xuan adept who could take first place in the ranking battle, even sprinting at full speed would not require much effort. Yet when Yun Che rushed over, he was already panting heavily, out of breath. In such a condition, his profound strength was likely only at twenty to thirty percent of its peak.
Given the severity of his injuries that day, recovering to this level within just five days was quite astonishing.
"Yun Che, why are you…" Yun Che's arrival startled Qin Wushang.
Yun Che waved his arms and said with a relaxed expression: "Lord Qin, rest assured. My injuries have healed by sixty to seventy percent, and my profound strength has recovered quite a bit. Exploring the Tianchi Secret Realm is absolutely no problem. Besides, this is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Even if I could only crawl here, I absolutely couldn't miss it."
Qin Wushang looked at Yun Che and could only reply helplessly: "Very well then… alright."
"Yun Che, the Tianchi Secret Realm is not as pleasant as its name suggests. It is filled with countless unpredictable dangers. You are not in good condition now, so be extremely careful upon entering, and do not push yourself." Ling Yuefeng reminded.
"Mm, thank you for the reminder, Villa Master Ling." Yun Che nodded. His gaze swept around, spotting Ling Jie and Ling Yun… Ling Jie even made a gesture that said, "Don't worry, I'll protect you"… He saw the five people from Bing Yun Fairy Palace… When his eyes swept over them, Chu Yuechan had already averted her gaze… Finally, his eyes casually swept over the faces of several people from Fen Tian Sect and Tianqiang Leihuo Fortress. Then he followed Qin Wushang into the entrance of the Tianchi Secret Realm.
As Qin Wushang and Yun Che's figures disappeared into the entrance, Fen Juecheng could no longer hold back his cold laugh: "Truly, there are paths in heaven you refuse to walk, and the gates of hell you barge right into!"
The feeling of spatial distortion was not unfamiliar to Yun Che. The sensation when he entered the Dragon God Trial Ground was exactly the same. Soon, the strange feeling vanished, and a wave of freezing cold air greeted his face, making him shiver involuntarily. When he opened his eyes, the scene before him left him stunned.
The wind was biting cold, and snow filled the sky. A flat, mirror-like ice plain stretched to the horizon. Huge ice peaks stood tall like cliffs, the tallest ones piercing into the clouds with their peaks invisible, gleaming with a cold light under the frigid sun.
Countless ice shards were swept in by the raging wind from somewhere, striking the face with sharp pain. If some Xuan adepts with lower profound strength stood here, their bodies would likely be cut with bloody gashes by the flying ice fragments.
"This is the Tianchi Secret Realm?" Yun Che muttered dazedly. The scene before him was completely different from what he had imagined. Looking at Qin Wushang beside him, his face also showed astonishment.
The space behind them continued to distort, and with each distortion, a person was sent here. When they opened their eyes, their reactions were even more exaggerated than Yun Che's. No one had expected that the legendary and mysterious Tianchi Secret Realm would be a world of white snow.
Ling Yuefeng was the last to enter. His brow deeply furrowed, he said: "It seems we are quite unlucky this time, encountering the harsh winter of the Tianchi Secret Realm! This is the most severe and most dangerous state of the secret realm! However, for the friends of Bing Yun Fairy Palace… it should instead be most advantageous."
"Yueli, let's go!" Ling Yuefeng's words did not move Chu Yuechan in the slightest. She did not make eye contact with anyone. As her snowy robes fluttered, she had already departed far away, her figure soon becoming a white point on the horizon, blending with the flying snow.
"Wushuang, Xuexin, act together. Qingyue, it's best you act alone. What you gain here depends on your own abilities." After giving these instructions, Chu Yueli also rose into the air, following closely behind Chu Yuechan.
Ling Yuefeng gazed absently in the direction Chu Yuechan had left. His body floated up, and he said: "Let's go as well. Let the juniors choose their own directions. Everything after that depends on their fortunes."
With that, Ling Yuefeng said nothing more to Ling Yun and Ling Jie and flew off into the distance. The areas they would explore were certainly not comparable to those the juniors could reach. The other elders also had no objections. After giving brief instructions, they left in different directions, soon disappearing from sight. If they stayed behind to accompany or protect the younger ones out of concern for their safety, they would only be harming them.
What remained were all the younger Xuan adepts. These included not only the young disciples participating in this session's ranking battle, but also companions and outstanding participants from the previous ranking battle… such as Xiao Kuangyu from Xiao Sect and Fen Juecheng from Fen Tian Sect.
Each sect had at least three young disciples remaining, with the most having five—except for the Cangfeng Imperial Clan. Thus, Yun Che appeared particularly awkward in this young group. That he was alone was secondary. Given the strength he had displayed in the ranking battle, the other disciples would have been eager to accompany him. However, the problem was that Yun Che had not yet recovered from his severe injuries, and his profound strength was at most twenty to thirty percent. Traveling with him would undoubtedly mean carrying a burden.