Ancient Godly Monarch

AGM 483 – Hidden Realm

Qin Wentian stepped out of his cavern and spoke in a booming voice, “I, Qin, am right here. For those of you who wish to seize the treasure, just come at me.”

His thunderous voice resounded throughout the mountain range. Those people spying on him naturally heard his words as well, yet they dared not make a move. Their masters only instructed them to monitor Qin Wentian, nothing else. Unless Qin Wentian tried to leave the area, they wouldn’t do anything to him.

However, it seemed that Qin Wentian had no intentions of leaving at all. From afar, a snowy puppy could be seen flying over in a swaggering manner. It dashed right into the arms of Qin Wentian, and naturally, this little snowy puppy was none other than Little Rascal, now returning after safely sending Song Jia away.

Qin Wentian hugged the puppy, rubbing its head. After which, Qin Wentian began to make his way towards the mountain path, to the area where some cultivators had set up their stores.

This time, he didn’t head for the area where people would present their treasures, but rather, he mingled in with the crowd, hoping to find items that he wanted.

Those spying on him naturally took note of his movements, seeing Qin Wentian mingling with the crowd, they all monitored him closely, as though they were afraid that he would take the chance of giving them the slip.

Little Rascal leapt out of Qin Wentian’s embrace and scampered ahead of him. Soon after, Little Rascal arrived in front of a trading store set up by a cultivator, then turned to face Qin Wentian, as a series of yiyiyaya sounds echoed out.

Qin Wentian came over and stared at the blood-colored fruits on top of the counter, before turning to Little Rascal as he asked, “You wish to eat this?”

“Woof.” Little Rascal bobbed its head enthusiastically. Qin Wentian smiled and turned to the boss, “How much for these fruits?”

“Ah brother, you have excellent judgement, these are all Demonic Spiritual Fruits, able to allow a demonic beast to mature faster. If you want to take them all, I’ll give you a good bargain and charge you only a hundred pieces of fourth-layered Yuan Meteor Stones.” The boss of the store grinned happily as he glanced at both Qin Wentian and Little Rascal, while silently speculating in his heart Little Rascal’s worth to Qin Wentian.

“Thirty,” Qin Wentian replied in an indifferent tone.

“Little brother, these Demonic Spiritual Fruits are all exceptionally valuable, especially to those who have demonic beasts as their pets.” The boss of the store spoke in a serious tone, yet Qin Wentian merely turned and walked away, without sparing him another glance.

“Little brother, how about this, just eighty pieces of Yuan Meteor Stones will do.”

Qin Wentian ignored him and continued walking away with Little Rascal following behind him. Right now, Little Rascal was wagging it tail with a sad expression on its face. However, Qin Wentian acted as though he couldn’t be bothered about it.

“Fine fine, I will bear the losses and sell it to little brother for just fifty pieces.” The boss gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, willing to cut his profit margin by a substantial amount, yet Qin Wentian still wouldn’t turn back.

“Little friend, please come back, you’ve won!” Seeing Qin Wentian already at the edge of his vision, the store owner shouted loudly, pleading in despondent tones.

Only then did Qin Wentian turn around. However, Little Rascal was even faster—the instant Qin Wentian turned, Little Rascal was already right in front of the store, pouncing on the fruits, directly stuffing them into its mouth.

Upon seeing this scene, both Qin Wentian and the store owner were stunned. Only after some time did they recover, and Qin Wentian retrieved the Yuan Meteor Stones to pay the boss, before hugging Little Rascal and leaving. When he saw the closeness of their interactions, the store owner couldn’t help but curse silently in his heart. He was certain that if he’d insisted on eighty pieces, Qin Wentian would have definitely turned back. What a good actor.

However right now, Qin Wentian felt slightly depressed. On the mountain pathway, Little Rascal showed no restraint as he roamed all about, indicating with his excited barks of the many, many things it wanted to eat. Qin Wentian could only speechlessly follow it from behind and pay up obediently. Not even two hours had passed, yet Little Rascal had already made him spend over four hundred pieces of Yuan Meteor Stones.

Even those spying on Qin Wentian’s movements couldn’t help but click their tongues. To think that Qin Wentian would be so rich, willing to spend such vast sums of money on such a common pet. The appetite of that ordinary demonic beast for consumable treasures was truly outrageous. Yet Qin Wentian paid up without making a single sound in protest—wasn’t that behavior a little too luxurious?

Qin Wentian was in fact sighing in his heart. Little Rascal had such a small body frame, but its appetite was actually so terrifying. Right now, Little Rascal started barking in excitement as it scampered ahead once more, causing Qin Wentian to roll his eyes as he followed along.

Little Rascal brought Qin Wentian to a store that sold precious herbs. Its attention was on a few white-stemmed herbs that emitted a unique fragrance—breathing in whiffs of it caused people to feel a smoother circulation of their blood.

“You want these?” Qin Wentian asked Little Rascal.

“Yiyi!” Little Rascal shook its head, causing Qin Wentian’s expression to falter slightly. He then asked, “You mean these are for me?”

“Yiya.” Little Rascal nodded. Qin Wentian smiled, “At least you still have me in your heart.”

“Friend, for your puppy to actually know of the Blood Shadow Herb, it truly is mysterious. I suppose you have a bloodline limit that allows you to call upon the power of your blood?” The owner of the store smiled at Qin Wentian as he continued, “You can take a closer look.”

Qin Wentian shifted his stare over, studying the whitish stalks. He could see faint traces of blood sparkling from within, and even felt his blood stirring.

“Friend, if you over-exhaust the power of your bloodline in combat, these herbs are able to replenish your blood energy at a remarkable rate. Also, herbs like these are incredibly hard to find, I only managed to obtain three stalks through a stroke of good fortune,” the store owner clarified. Qin Wentian glanced at Little Rascal, marveling silently in his heart. This puppy was a wonder indeed, it actually had the ability to sniff out treasure.

Qin Wentian didn’t know that the real reason he’d been able to smoothly form a friendship with Mo Qingcheng, was actually because she was extremely interested in Little Rascal.

“What do you want in exchange for these?” Qin Wentian asked.

“Friend, do you have any divine weapons?” The eyes of the store owner gleamed as he inquired.

“Yes.” Qin Wentian nodded his head, he had plenty of divine weapons in his interspatial ring. Many of them were acquired from the experts he slain, and most were of a high quality.

“I’ll need a high-grade, fourth-ranked divine weapon,” the store owner replied. The three Blood Shadow Herbs were exceedingly valuable, it was even rarer compared to high-grade, fourth-ranked divine weapons.

“I don’t have any. However, I do have a middle-grade, fourth-ranked divine weapon.” Qin Wentian shook his head. Even if he did own a high-grade weapon, he wouldn’t openly admit it.

The store owner stared at Qin Wentian as he contemplated his offer. “In that case, I would need three middle-grade, fourth-ranked divine weapons. One divine weapon in exchange for one Blood Shadow Herb.”

“My apologies, I only have two. Don’t waste my time if you want to trade.” With a flick of his sleeves, a long spear and a protective arm-guard appeared. “These two divine weapons make up a set, so they can fully complement each other.”

The store owner’s eyes gleamed with sharpness as he regarded Qin Wentian intently. What fearsome judgement, this young man actually knew he was in need of a long spear?

“Fine.” Evidently, the store owner’s heart was moved—he agreed to the trade. Qin Wentian handed the set of divine weapons over, while storing the Blood Shadow Herbs into his interspatial ring.

“Sir.” At that moment, a voice drifted over. Qin Wentian shifted his gaze in its direction, only to see a young man and young woman walking over. The gaze of the young man flickered with urgency, while it was obvious from the woman’s aura that she was somewhat weak.

“The Blood Shadow Herbs you’ve just purchased, would it be possible to sell them to me instead? I’m willing to use the same price you paid to buy it from you,” said the young man. Qin Wentian glanced at the young woman beside him, he could tell that the blood vitality of this lady was extremely weak and the Blood Shadow Herb could allow her to recover. However, the herbs were extremely important to him as well—after expending the power of his bloodline, he would also need the herb to recover his blood vitality.

“Sorry, I have need of this herb as well,” Qin Wentian replied as he turned and departed. The countenance of the young man froze. “Sir, I’m willing to pay you an even higher price. Please help…”

“No, thank you,” Qin Wentian unconcernedly replied.

“You…” The young man trembled as he stared at Qin Wentian’s departing back. The girl beside him lightly tugged his sleeves, “Senior Brother, forget it… I can recover even without the herb, although it will take me longer.”

Qin Wentian’s steps slowed, he turned back and flicked out an item. It flew towards the young man and young woman; it was none other than a stalk of the Blood Shadow Herb. Qin Wentian then stated, “One mid-grade, fourth-ranked divine weapon.”

“Right.” The young man recovered from his daze and flicked his sleeves. An instant later, a divine weapon flew towards Qin Wentian. He then nodded thankfully. “Brother, many thanks.”

“An equivalent exchange, there’s no need to thank me.” Qin Wentian stowed away the divine weapon and continued on his way. That young woman gazed at him as she called out, “Sir, what is your name?”

“We’ve only met by chance, there’s no need for so many questions.” Qin Wentian’s silhouette vanished. The young woman stared in the direction Qin Wentian flew off to. “That man is truly strange, I don’t believe he agreed to our exchange because of the divine weapon.”

The young man shook his head. “Junior Sister you are too kind. Quickly consume this Blood Shadow Herb and then let’s take a rest.”

“Okay.” The young woman nodded her head. After she swallowed the herb, the blood in her body surged abruptly, as the effects of the Blood Shadow Herb circulated around her arterial channels, restoring her blood energy. Gradually, her pale countenance regained a healthy shade of pink—the Blood Shadow Herb truly was an effective medicine for blood recovery.

“That demonic beast of his was really awesome.” After the aura of the young woman stabilized, her eyes shone with a bright light and her countenance glowed with radiance. The weak-looking young woman from earlier was nowhere to be seen. She turned her gaze onto the young man as she asked, “Senior, would the others have already discovered the place?”

“It’s only a matter of time. We should start searching too,” the young man replied. However right now, the eyes of the young woman were staring in a certain direction. As she saw a number of experts flying over, the expression on her face became apprehensive.

……………..

Qin Wentian didn’t lack for divine weapons—the reason as to why he was willing to trade was very simple. He could sense that the young woman was extremely kind in nature, hence he’d done what he did.

With a single glance, Qin Wentian could tell the cultivation bases of others, as long as they were in the same realm as him. The young man and woman appeared ordinary, yet their strength was exceedingly high. They were both at the fifth level of Heavenly Dipper and were definitely not some random commoners. Also, he could sense that there was a formidable power within the body of the young woman. The vast majority of cultivators, when faced with a situation of meeting someone weaker than them with a treasure they wanted, would normally just seize it away, but the young man proposed a trade instead.

Hence, it was why Qin Wentian eventually traded one of the Blood Shadow Herbs away. This was his character: he did as his heart desired, acting according to his likes and dislikes, not restricted by the senseless rules of society.

“Little Rascal, your hunger should be satiated by now, right?” Qin Wentian gently pinched the snowy puppy in his arms. The damnable little furball merely let out a few satisfied barks before rolling over and showing its tummy, appearing extremely blissful.

“….” Qin Wentian was completely at a loss for words after seeing Little Rascal’s behavior. His silhouette flickered as he made his way towards the mountain waist where the assembly would gather. However, even before arriving, he already noticed that there were several in the crowd glancing skywards, watching as a huge number of experts flew through the air and landed in the mountain range of the assembly area.

There were even some calls of exultation.

“That’s Jin Yan, one of the most talented geniuses of the Golden Fire Aristocrat Clan. He’s a chosen of his clan and has a cultivation base at the fifth level of Heavenly Dipper—he’s extremely powerful. But, what is he doing here?” Somebody mused.

“Heaven Shocking Sword Sect’s Jian Jingtian is here as well.” The gazes of the crowd shifted to a young man with a sword strapped on his back.

The sounds of the people discussing excitedly broke out everywhere, and the news soon circulated throughout the whole mountain.

As it turned out, the actual reason was due to someone discovering the entrance to a hidden realm within the depths of the mountain. Hence, the person wanted to trade this secret away in the Treasure Seizing Assembly, citing an astronomical amount of Yuan Meteor Stones for this information. And for those who also wanted him to lead the way, they had to meet the price he stated. This piece of news instantly caused a great deal of commotion, causing the chosen from the various aristocrat clans and major powers to rush here.

There were just too many secrets in the Heavenly Mountains. Too many to be fully uncovered. There were many hidden pocket dimensions within that might lead people to a hidden realm.

A great deal of commotion would be caused every time a hidden realm was discovered. This was because, most of the time, even though there was a risk of great danger, there would also definitely be priceless treasures inside the hidden realm waiting for lucky cultivators to acquire!

Translator Note:

Jian Jingtian 剑惊天: literally means Sword Shocking the Heavens