"The fifth and sixth ones."
At the edge of the valley, Lu Qing’s figure emerged.
Before him, a middle-aged man wielding a short sword and a burly man carrying two short spears lay unconscious, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.
Lu Qing grabbed the two men and walked away. Eventually, he arrived at a small cave and threw them inside.
This series of actions was practiced and smooth—clearly not his first time.
In addition to these two, the cave already contained several other unconscious figures.
After depositing the men, Lu Qing formed a hand seal, causing a glow to encircle the cave and seal it entirely.
With the array in place, those trapped within, no matter their strong willpower, would remain unconscious for at least ten days or half a month.
Having finished this task, Lu Qing turned and looked toward the valley.
Indeed, three days had passed since the secret realm gate first appeared.
But Lu Qing still saw no sign of the black vortex stabilizing.
Over these days, he had captured several Precelestial Realm experts who had sensed the fluctuations of the secret realm gate and come to investigate. By sealing their consciousness and temporarily imprisoning them, he ensured they would not interfere.
Counting the two he had just captured, the total now stood at six.
If it weren’t for the fact that Cangzhou was a remote region with few experts above the Precelestial Realm, the small cave might not have been able to accommodate them all.
As the secret realm gate remained unstable, Lu Qing had no choice but to wait patiently.
Two more days passed. The cave gained three more "residents." Finally, Lu Qing sensed an intense fluctuation emanating from the valley.
This wave was at least ten times stronger than before.
When he flew to the valley, he saw that the black vortex was no longer turbulent. It had stabilized, exuding an aura of profound mystery.
"Has it finally stabilized?"
Lu Qing’s eyes sharpened as he activated his Spiritual Powers, gazing at the black vortex.
A smile soon spread across his face.
"It’s fully formed. It’s time to enter."
Without hesitation, Lu Qing leapt into the black vortex and vanished inside.
The final moment of stabilization had unleashed such intense waves that they likely extended beyond Cangzhou’s borders. This made time critical—he had to seize the opportunity before anyone else arrived to claim the treasure.
As Lu Qing disappeared into the black vortex, far beyond the Hundred Thousand Mountains, across all of Cangzhou and even the neighboring states, many powerful individuals trembled. They turned to look in the same direction with expressions of shock.
"I can feel a powerful attraction from that direction. It must mean a great opportunity has emerged!"
"This fluctuation feels similar to what I sensed when a secret realm manifested previously. Could it be that a new secret realm has been born there?!"
"Quick, let’s check it out!"
The stabilization of the secret realm gate had created such a disturbance that it alerted all the Precelestial Realm experts from nearby states.
Many experts immediately abandoned their strongholds and rushed toward the source of the fluctuation.
"Such a commotion—did something happen to Lu Xiaolangjun?"
In Jiuli Village, Lin Zhirui and the others were also startled by the sudden eruption of waves.
They couldn’t help but worry about whether something had gone wrong deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
"It shouldn’t be an accident. Didn’t Ah Qing say before he left that the secret realm gate was still stabilizing? Judging by the fluctuation, it’s likely fully stabilized now."
Old Lin, the physician, was calmer and analyzed the situation rationally.
"Even so, the disturbance was immense. I’m afraid it wasn’t just us in Cangzhou who noticed it—experts from other states will likely take action as well."
Lin Zhirui remained uneasy.
"At this point, we can only trust Ah Qing."
Though the old physician was also worried, he had greater faith in Lu Qing’s ability to handle the situation.
The storm outside had no bearing on Lu Qing.
By this time, he was already inside a strange space.
The space resembled the outside world with land, vegetation, atmosphere, and light—but there were no sun or moon.
Instead, the light came from a membrane-like layer in the sky, illuminating everything below.
There was no denying that this was a tangible world capable of supporting human life.
However, none of this drew Lu Qing's attention.
His focus was entirely captured by something else.