Alex and the rest arrived at Blackheart City and quickly left the building that housed the teleportation formations there. Since he had come here last time too, he was aware of where he would have to go to leave.
However, Zhan Luoyang seemed more familiar with the place and was a better guide. Thus, she took out a boat of her own and carried the people away in it.
The 6 of them flew out the Blackheart City, flying into a large field of open land that was cultivated to grow crops and food. Alex could see a large establishment in the distance, a sect he believed to be the Immortal Saint Pavilion. They couldn't be seen by this.
They made their way past the sect and into the distance.
"How far is the secret realm?" Yao Ning asked as she watched the land fly past her.
"It's not far. Just 10 more minutes," Zhan Luoyang said.
"Oh, it's quite close then," she said. "Is it being this close a coincidence? The only other capital city so close to the secret realm is the Blueheart City, isn't it?"
"That is no coincidence," Long Huan said from the side. "Back when the royal family of Lin used to rule this kingdom, long before the rebellion, they transferred their capital city here so they could be closer to the secret realm. I'm not sure how long ago that was, but it still remains that way long past their family's eradication."
"I see," Yao Ning said. She wanted to say they were weird to do this, but then the capital of the Southern Continent too would move to a different place if the Phoenix were to move away. It was not that different.
"The secret realm's formation won't be activated this time around, right?" he asked.
"No," Zhan Luoyang said. "There should still be a year and a half before it opens. And it only activates when it opens."
"And we're going to be sneaking in," Long Huan said, bringing out his Ivory sword.
Alex looked at the sword, slightly in awe at finding the twin to the one that was in his Soul Space. He saw the small indent on the handle of the sword, otherwise easily missed if he were not looking for it; A small serpentine figure coiling around a sword.
The insignia of the Azure Imperium.
Long Huan noticed Alex eyeing the sword and felt immediately defensive of it. However, thinking logically, he found no reason to fear Alex taking away the sword.
"Do you want to see?" he asked Alex.
Alex nodded without thinking. He was indeed very curious about the sword.
"Be docile," Long Huan said as he passed along the sword.
For an instant, Alex wondered why he wanted him to be docile. Was he not calm? But then, the feeling of rejection flowed into him from the sword, and understood. He was talking to the sword spirit inside the sword.
Just like the black sword, this one had a budding sword spirit as well. It wasn't completely formed, but was good enough so that not just anyone who touched it could use it.
Alex wanted to show his dominance with his Intent but decided not to. It wasn't the sword's fault that it didn't want him to hold it. He simply ignored the feeling of rejection and checked for whatever else he could find.
Just like the black sword had the aura of Teleportation, this white sword had the aura of… space. No, it wasn't precisely space. It was a lesser dao than the Dao of Space. After feeling it for a while, Alex could tell that this sword was only capable of tearing down space, and not manipulating it in any other way.
It was quite inferior to what he could do. But for a sword that could give that ability to someone who had no chance of comprehending space, it was a massive boon.
He looked through the ivory blade for a while longer, to try and understand how it was crafted when he heard Zhan Luoyang's words.
"We're here."
Alex looked up. In front of them was a small settlement of sorts with few people in there. He frowned seeing people here.
"That's the gate," Zhan Luoyang pointed to a large metallic arch that shimmered in the midday light. The multitudes of colors it showed reminded Alex of what a wall between the secret realm and the outside world usually looked like from the inside.
He had never seen one from the outside. Secret realms tended to not exist as far as a regular person was concerned on the outside. Space warped around them so they were never an obstacle to be found.
However, it seemed this one was found and was being affected in some way to create that wall. "That metal arch must be some sort of artifact, right?" he asked.
"It is," the woman said.
"And we're going through it?" he asked.
"Dear god, no," she said. "We would be easily seen if we went that way. Prince Huan knows of a way into the secret realm from the side."
"I do," the prince said, turning around. "That way, if we go behind here, we can enter through a forest."
Alex and the rest said nothing, leaving the prince to make the judgment here. He had come and gone from this place.
The group flew away from the small settlement, arriving on top of a forest, where they landed. It was far away from the other place and there were no people here.
"Where now?" Alex asked as the prince started looking around.
"Uhh… it's here somewhere," Long Huan said, looking confused. "I came out in between two trees and I've marked both of them with a cross. We should be able to find it."
Alex frowned a little. Nearly 20 years had passed since the two of them had come back. The entire forest should look different to him. Even the marking he left would have been covered in moss dirt and tree bark.
Alex sighed. He released his spiritual sense at once, surprising the others around him who weren't aware of how strong it would be. They had their spiritual sense out to search as well, but this one felt like a flood moving through their small stream.
Alex located the secret realm easily. As someone with the Dao of Space, it wasn't that difficult after all.
"I found it," he said, pointing in a direction.
The group immediately flew in that direction, landing in front of someplace that was not how Long Huan had described it.
"Alex, this isn't—"
"Try your sword," Alex said simply.
Long Huan was about to argue but decided not to. He simply sighed and sent Qi into his sword. To his surprise, the sword vibrated and as it did, a layer of energy rippled in front of him, showing the existence of the space in front of them.
"It's really here," he said, surprised. Without waiting, he pushed his sword in front of him into the layer of distorted space and cut open a wide gate that led to the secret realm.
"I did it," Long Huan said excitedly. "Let's get in quickly. It won't stay open for very long."
