Senior Sisters, I Don’t Want To Work Hard Anymore

Chapter 100: The Closure of the Secret Realm

In the extreme northern region, a world of icy coldness covered in snow and ice.

The biting cold wind howled as it swept across the frozen land, and snowflakes the size of grinding discs fell continuously, quickly accumulating into a thick layer of snow on the ground, covering everything beneath it.

This place is completely unsuitable for ordinary humans to survive. It is a primitive area where no one has set foot for millions of years, with only a few powerful exotic beasts and spirit birds roaming about. However, deep within the layers of ice and snow, there are still rare and precious mineral veins hidden.

At this moment, a golden light curtain with a diameter of thousands of zhang (a Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.33 meters) enveloped the excavated rift, with the Multi-Storied Heavenly Boat at its center, keeping the snowflakes and cold outside.

In the rift, Elder Yu Lingzhou and others were busy digging out a crystal-like ore with a faint black color and silver patterns from the rock layers, and then storing it in a high-capacity spatial Law Weapon.

This is the Profound Silver Secret Crystal, one of the main materials used to forge Acquired Spiritual Treasures in the Extreme Void Starry Sky, and it is an extremely scarce type of spiritual mineral.

"... Only fifteen days left!" On the Multi-Storied Heavenly Boat, Luo Wanqing looked up at the continuously falling snowflakes in excitement, but also with a hint of melancholy. "I wonder when we will be able to come in again. There are just too many good things inside."

Qin Muling's expression turned serious. "My intuition tells me that perhaps we won't have to wait too long this time. The Illusory Mist Secret Realm will reopen to cultivators from the Extreme Void Starry Sky."

Xue Bingxuan asked with interest, "Why do you say that?"

"It's simple. The remnants of the Heavenly Human Race didn't gain much this time," Qin Muling explained. "Since their goal is to harvest the invisible resources such as the fortunes and life essence of the cultivators in the Extreme Void Starry Sky, and the bait is the many rare resources in this world, then there is a fixed cost and benefit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, it's normal."

"But if the cost they paid this time is too high, far exceeding the maximum benefit, the higher-ups of the Heavenly Human Race will definitely not be satisfied. They will need to reopen the secret realm in a short period of time to attract more cultivators from the Extreme Void Starry Sky to come in and die, in order to earn enough profit to make up for the losses."

"That makes sense, and it's all because of us, right?"

The senior sisters pondered. In the millions of years that have passed, every time the Illusory Mist Secret Realm opened and closed, the resources that cultivators from the Extreme Void Starry Sky could obtain were actually very few. Most of the gains were stripped away and left in the secret realm by the remnants of the Heavenly Human Race through various means, unable to be taken out. Therefore, it was always the higher-ups of the Heavenly Human Race who profited greatly.

But this time, with Qin Muling, there are just too many benefits that Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace secretly obtained. Perhaps in the past, the total amount of resources expended in opening the Illusory Mist Secret Realm a thousand times would not compare to this time.

It can be imagined that when the entrance to the secret realm is officially closed and the hidden powerhouses of the Heavenly Human Race begin to count their gains, they will have an expression of disbelief.

Luo Wanqing frowned and said, "If they start to suspect and investigate extensively because of this, will we be in trouble?"

Qin Muling smiled and said, "There's no need to worry about that. Worst case scenario, we just won't go in anymore, or if we do go in, we'll be honest and they won't find anything."

The resources obtained from the secret realm this time are enough for Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace to use for many years, so it's not a big deal to lay low for a while. As long as we're not caught in the act, Qin Muling doesn't think she will be exposed.

"Alright, let's do it this way."

The senior sisters felt relieved. After all, there are so many powerful forces in the Extreme Void Starry Sky, with countless cultivators. As long as our own people don't reveal anything, who would know that it was Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace's doing?

Two days later, with the last batch of mysterious silver secret crystal ores being mined, this giant vein also dried up.

"That's enough, sisters, let's head back!"

Yu Lingzhou said, "We don't need to transport these ores back to the sect. Let's go to the nearest city of the Heavenly Human Race remnants and exchange them for a batch of quotas with their officials, which will be convenient for the next opening of the secret realm. Then... we can just leave, right? No matter how chaotic it gets in the secret realm from now on, it has nothing to do with us."

"Alright."

Qin Muling agreed, and the senior sisters had no objections to this arrangement. So the Multi-Storied Heavenly Boat changed direction, ascended into the sky, and accelerated away.

Because they ventured too deep into the Savage Wilderness area this time, it took the women four days to reach a city of the Heavenly Human Race remnants.

After entering the city, they chose an inn. Yu Lingzhou asked all the elders to return directly to the Extreme Void Starry Sky, including Qin Muling. Only Xue Bingxuan and Yu Lingzhou stayed behind to meet the local city lord.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Muling's consciousness was restored, and she found herself in a familiar Cave Mansion. Her master, Mu Yinghua, was walking towards her gracefully. Her slender and plump figure was enchanting, but her facial features were still hidden in a hazy glow, making it difficult to see clearly.

Should she use the Heavenly Secrets Technique to see her master's true appearance?

Such thoughts involuntarily arose in Qin Muling's mind, but she quickly suppressed them. The gap in cultivation between them was like a chasm, and no matter how strong her luck was, it couldn't make up for it. If she dared to act recklessly, her master would definitely sense it, and she wouldn't have any excuses then.

"Finally, you're back?"

Mu Yinghua gently supported Qin Muling's shoulder with her slender hand, sensing his condition and nodding in satisfaction. Her disciple had truly exceptional talent, not only rapidly advancing in cultivation, but also accumulating an unimaginable amount of foundation. Back when she was still a core disciple, she couldn't compare to him in any aspect.

Qin Muling spoke, "Disciple has fulfilled the mission. The journey in the Illusory Mist Secret Realm has ended. Next..."

"Next, of course, you will go into seclusion to cultivate and consolidate your cultivation," Mu Yinghua interjected. "You are not allowed to go anywhere except here under my guidance. If my prediction is correct, there will be a great disturbance in the Extreme Void Starry Sky. Those forces that suffered losses in the secret realm might do something, and the remnants of the Heavenly Human Race in the Illusory Mist Secret Realm will likely not remain quiet."

"Understood," Qin Muling agreed. In such turbulent times, it was indeed not advisable for him to go out and move around. It was best to focus on improving his cultivation.

After a while, Qi Yalan, Luo Wanqing, and the other women around them also opened their eyes one after another and respectfully greeted Mu Yinghua.

...

In the city of Yuezhou.

As the city with the highest concentration of foreign cultivators, the popularity here was particularly high, especially in these days leading up to the closure of the Illusory Mist Secret Realm. Various trades, both overt and covert, were unprecedentedly bustling.

Many rare resources that cultivators had been holding onto and reluctant to sell were now appearing on the market, as it would soon be cleared by the laws of the secret realm. It was better to exchange them for something useful before they ended up with nothing.

The inns on every street were packed with people. The lucky ones who obtained the needed spirit medicine resources through trades began to seclude themselves and refine the medicinal power to improve their cultivation as much as possible.

"When the world is bustling, it's all for profit; when the world is in chaos, it's all for gain."

On the rooftop terrace of a certain inn, several core female disciples of the Huaqing Divine Palace leaned against the railing. They were all dressed in tattered clothes, exuding a captivating charm that made people jealous and their hearts race.

They casually surveyed the bustling crowd on the street below, their eyes filled with a hint of mockery and a touch of regret. They whispered to each other:

"I heard that the Jade Pearl Star Palace suffered quite a heavy loss this time. When they entered, there were over ten thousand disciples, and the momentum was grand and imposing... But unfortunately, most of them perished in the secret realm, even Yan Lingji and Yin Xuemei, the two exceptional geniuses, encountered mishaps."

"Who asked them to be so high-profile? They provoked public anger and were deliberately targeted by many forces. I estimate that their quota might be reduced by half next time."

"Yes, it seems that the major Supreme Daoist sects didn't gain much from this trip to the secret realm, but there were quite a few casualties, especially among the unfortunate independent cultivators."

"If we're talking about guaranteed gains, it's probably only the Palace of Calamitous Fate, right? They have always been low-key and mysterious, with many tricks up their sleeves. I heard they have established a connection with the remnants of the Heavenly Human Race, so they always manage to obtain some additional benefits!"

At this point, the female disciples fell silent, seemingly realizing that the gains of the Huaqing Divine Palace were also limited. Nearly half of the thousands of disciples who entered had perished, and it was likely that the quota would be reduced next time.

As for the Palace of Calamitous Fate, any force with a bit of foundation understood their true nature. Because of their formidable strength and unpredictable methods, no one dared to openly question them.

There were unconfirmed rumors that the Palace of Calamitous Fate had ambitions to unify the entire Extreme Void Starry Sky and had been silently working towards this goal for the past several hundred thousand years. Many Supreme Daoist sects and super clans that were considered obstacles had either declined or disappeared for various reasons.

"...By the way, it seems that we didn't see many disciples from the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace in the secret realm this time. Where did they hide? I was planning to clean up their sect!"

"Are you confused? The Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace has long been in decline, generation after generation. How many spots do they have to enter the secret realm? I estimate that they might have obtained a few hundred spots at most!"

"Tsk tsk! A once prestigious Supreme Daoist sect, reduced to only a few hundred spots? They are even worse off than the vassal sects attached to us. It's truly pitiful!"

"Hmph! If this continues, they will soon be completely fallen. At that time, the Huaqing Divine Palace will take over their legacy!"

"Yes, our Huaqing Divine Palace is the true orthodox inheritance. They are only fit to be our vassals!"

...

The last few days passed in the blink of an eye. As the sky of the secret realm gradually dimmed and plunged into eternal darkness, everything in Yuezhou City froze.

All the foreign cultivators still in the city gradually faded away, dissolving into light rain and dissipating into the air. The same scene played out in other parts of the secret realm, except the remnants of the Heavenly Human Race were unaffected.

Unbeknownst to them, it was already the hundredth chapter. Please vote for this chapter and recommend it. I will continue updating tonight.

(End of this chapter)