Living In Another World With A Farm Chapter 8437: Decision _1

A burst of white light erupted, transporting Zhao Hai and Ha Jing straight into the secret realm. The instant they materialized there, Ha Jing scanned their landing spot and stood frozen in astonishment. They found themselves inside a structure—a massive hall brimming with countless iron rings. Chains bound these rings together, dangling from the ceiling. Etched onto the rings were inscriptions that appeared utterly bizarre and arcane.

Zhao Hai turned to Ha Jing and explained, "Grandmaster, this serves as the central hub for the city's entire array of mechanisms. To command a specific mechanism, simply tug on the corresponding iron ring. Naturally, that's solely for handling them individually. Should you aim to operate every mechanism at once or shut them all down, grasp the two levers positioned nearby. One triggers the full activation, while the other halts everything completely." While speaking, Zhao Hai gestured toward the side, where two short levers protruded, each roughly a foot in length.

Ha Jing gave a nod, his eyes sweeping over the room's array of iron rings before he murmured deeply, "He truly invested immense effort here. Crafting such a vast network of mechanisms can't have been simple, can it?" From the sheer count of rings alone, Ha Jing grasped that this compact city must teem with traps; otherwise, why so many rings?

Zhao Hai agreed with a nod. "Indeed, traps abound in this place. Nearly a millennium has passed—it's no shock they devised so many." Zhao Hai understood full well that over a thousand years, with undivided focus on a single pursuit aided by endless puppets, one could achieve extraordinary depths. Thus, he felt no surprise at how Number One had transformed this domain into its current formidable state.

Though Zhao Hai knew Number One's true name, he preferred not to use it, opting instead for the simpler designation of Number One. This choice stemmed from his desire for the figure to sever ties with his former life and shed his old mortal shell. He wished only for remembrance of his puppet essence. Hence, Zhao Hai persisted in addressing him as Number One.

Next, Zhao Hai guided Ha Jing deeper into the structure, where they explored the scripture repository stocked with every jade slip from the Divine Secrets Sect. Ha Jing lifted a few jade slips, examining their contents, and couldn't help but nod approvingly. The records within proved exceptionally valuable, encompassing mechanical arts, techniques for forging magic artifacts, puppet creation methods, and mechanism designs.

Among them lay jade slips penned by Number One himself, detailing material refinement, mechanism layouts, puppet fabrication, and similar pursuits. Cultivation matters were absent, as they held no relevance for him; all his energies poured into these mechanical domains. Moreover, he meticulously documented his innovations and enhancements on the slips before storing them here.

Zhao Hai couldn't fathom the man's mindset—perhaps it was mere vanity on display. In time to come, he might revisit these records to reminisce on past feats and former glory. For the moment, though, Zhao Hai reaped the benefits, naturally filling him with delight.

Beyond the library, they ventured into the fabrication chamber, filled with puppets, diverse talisman matrices, and even an earth furnace for puppet forging. All essentials stood ready. Yet these held little appeal for Ha Jing; his focus lay on the miniature city itself. After all, prolonged stays here risked shortening the secret realm's lifespan.

Zhao Hai refrained from trailing Ha Jing through the building's interior. Instead, he escorted him out of the Eight Trigrams Building. Once outside, the full panorama of the small city unfolded before them. The peculiar structures dotting the city left Ha Jing dumbfounded, leaving him baffled at their odd proliferation.

Zhao Hai promptly clarified the function of each building for Ha Jing. Once the explanation concluded, Ha Jing, his expression brimming with awe, declared, "This individual was a true genius. What a shame. No point scouting beyond the city walls now. I can't linger here much longer, lest it hasten the secret realm's decay. Time to depart."

Zhao Hai acknowledged this and trailed Ha Jing back to the Eight Trigrams Tower. From there, they activated the teleportation array to exit. Their path led only to the secret realm's outer boundary, not straight to the Bloody Massacre Sect's islands. Entering or leaving the secret realm demanded a specialized array, not the standard kind—they'd need to reconstruct it upon return.

With the seed realm's entry point now identified, flying back across the Blood Sea to the sect was out of the question. They employed the teleportation array to reach the fringes of Bloody Massacre Island. Due to the portable nature of their array, direct access to the island proper remained impossible; they settled for the outskirts before soaring back to the Bloody Massacre Sect.

Upon reaching Bloody Massacre Island, Ha Jing hastened to confer with the sect leader and elders. He didn't dismiss Zhao Hai, however, instructing him to remain on the island. Ha Jing recognized that regardless of the secret realm's ultimate handling, its mechanisms and puppet arts required Zhao Hai's initial dissection or analysis. Within the Bloody Massacre Sect, only he possessed the requisite skills.

Ha Jing convened with the sect master and elders, recounting his observations from the secret realm. Following deliberation, they resolved to assemble a contingent of elders and array hall members to accompany Zhao Hai inside. These elders hailed from the Refinement Realm, harboring no aspirations for island mastery, thus channeling efforts into alternative pursuits. Selected for this venture, they would enter under Zhao Hai's command.

Zhao Hai orchestrated the construction of a teleportation array within the Blood Slaughter Sect, then ushered the group through it into the secret realm. The sect's directive to him was clear: unravel every mechanism and revert the realm's city to its pristine condition. The city itself must remain intact; all external alterations demanded restoration.

They comprehended Zhao Hai's predicament, having reviewed his accounts of the city. Without subjugating Number One, breaching it would have consumed months. Traps swarmed the place, compounded by an overarching formation—a lethal synergy.

The formation constituted an illusory killing array, capable of assailing intruders. That alone posed no grave threat. A basic illusory killing array could be managed. Mechanisms, however, struck silently, devoid of spiritual Qi traces. When seamlessly integrated with the array, they became invisible assassins within the illusion. Thus, entrants faced certain doom.

In time, this secret realm might serve as the Blood Massacre Sect's seed preservation site, necessitating meticulous preparation. Its current setup already excelled; even if foes uncovered it, assaulting would prove arduous. Hence, the sect's leadership favored preserving the status quo. Still, Zhao Hai and his team must catalog every trap therein.

Zhao Hai now realized that in such realms, where laws remained incomplete, annihilation loomed as a peril. An expert's energy surges could destabilize the space, accelerating its collapse. An Island Lord might endure briefly, but a powerhouse like Ha Jing would unravel it in short order.

Time within the secret realm spanned not mere years, but millennia. A realm might originally boast 100,000 years; an Island Lord entry could slash that to 20,000 or 30,000. Yet a Ha Jing-level intrusion might doom it within years.

This risk explained why the sect avoided dispatching Island Lords unless dire need arose. Refinement Realm cultivators posed no such hazard. Thus, Zhao Hai's team comprised solely such figures. Core and outer disciples seldom participated unless wholly devoted to array arts over cultivation; they prioritized training instead.

Zhao Hai's team numbered just 2,000 strong. Upon entering the secret realm, he didn't rush them into dismantling or scrutinizing the mechanism jade slips. While versed in puppets and arrays to some degree, mechanisms eluded them entirely. Hence, Zhao Hai directed them to absorb the mechanism jade slips' knowledge. Only after theoretical mastery could practice commence.

The month-long immersion in mechanism jade slips commenced. The entire group shelved cultivation to concentrate solely on the study. Full comprehension wasn't mandatory, but memorization of the contents was. Failure to retain the material after thirty days meant immediate expulsion from the team.

Zhao Hai's stringent approach sparked widespread alarm. No one wished to depart. They understood their sidelined status in the sect due to esoteric pursuits had yielded meager existences. This opportunity promised transformation; success in mechanisms could earn sect favor and improved fortunes.

Cultivators remained mortal at heart, particularly sect members. Without island mastery or plum assignments, earnings stayed modest—especially for the cautious who shunned missions. They depended on sect stipends, barely sustaining life, let alone advancement. Their researches devoured resources, worsening their straits. Thus, none dared forfeit this chance.