Data-Driven Daoist
Chapter 92: Into the Hidden Realm

The Banana Moss River led to the docks at the Triplet Horn Mountain, but the Drizzle moved into a small tributary around a mile before the docks. Then it made its way to the back of the mountains, where another small base of the Law Enforcement Hall was located.

The Triplet Horn Mountain was a mountain that broke into three peaks, each nearly identical in shape, and the Realm Crossing Passageway was located between the second and third horns. It was a bustling mountain tunnel with an imposing stone gate, featuring murals of storm dragons and thunder phoenixes. A large road led to it, crossing through the valleys between the horns. By modern standards, the road would be considered six lanes.

The tunnel itself was guarded by two Foundation Building Realm Cultivators, alongside other Sect Disciples on duty. They collected the tax from the disciples exiting the tunnels and checked the mission passes from the disciples going in.

Some groups were on foot, while others were on carts filled with monster corpses, pulled by tamed primal beasts or companion spirit beasts. There weren't any establishments near the gate. Most of the catch from the Hidden Realm were taken to the Banana Moss River docks. From there, they would be taken to the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect, the Great Barrier City, and many of the surrounding towns and villages according to regulation and demand.

The disciples could sell their catch to the Sect directly for contribution points, or to their fellow disciples—either personally, or through stalls and shops in the various marketplaces. In the Great Barrier City, the market opened up to foreign merchants too.

Tan Ruoxuan took them through a smaller tunnel, which merged with the main tunnel before the realms were crossed.

The walls were inlaid with glow stones. Steps etched from the rocky walls led down to the main tunnel from the one used by the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Change into your Coveralls after you move further from the gateway town," Tan Ruoxuan said.

The four wore general Sect Disciple robes, their heads covered by wide-brimmed hats. Disciples often wore them to protect themselves from the sun and rain.

"Don't stay on the mountains when the river valleys drain, and don't stay by the river when the water fills up," Tan Ruoxuan warned.

"Unless we're inside a ruin," Yu Han said. They had reviewed the do's and don'ts of the Hidden Realm thoroughly from the documents available in the Night Alchemists' Yard.

"If you absolutely can't leave the mountains when the water drains," Tan Ruoxuan said, "climb up a tree or find a cave. Light the Beast Repelling incense balls and make as little noise as possible. At your levels, avoid ruins altogether."

She nagged at them more. Maybe she felt responsible because they were her fiancé's cute juniors?

"I'll post myself here for the next three days," she said. "I have a mission after. If the Mad Bloodhounds come before that, I'll stall. If they come later, one of the two Foundation Building Disciples here will take note. I won't share more than needed, but the Senior Sister can be trusted."

She paused for a moment, then massaged her temple.

"If they go and you guys don't return, we can launch a full investigation," she said. "I have your testimony of them following you recorded in the Jade of Moments." That wasn't a surprise. She had mentioned this before. "It's enough to cast suspicion on them, and the Sect leader always needs scum to make an example with." Tan Ruoxuan cupped her hands and bowed. "May the heavens favour you."

"Thanks for..." Yu Han scratched his head. She had shown too much goodwill. It wasn't suspicious, but the Johan part of him was having trouble accepting it at face value. "Everything."

Tan Ruoxuan nodded, then headed back through the side tunnel.

"I think we can trust her," Huang Niuniu said. "A girl in love can't be bad."

"Cow girl..." Li Yao looked as if he wanted to continue, but stopped.

Fang Zhao outright said it: "Sister Yu, please don't get tricked into selling yourself in the future."

Huang Niuniu gave him a frigid glare, but the noble kid rolled his eyes.

"Enough bickering," Yu Han said. He felt like a dad dealing with two teens. "Let's head out."

They descended the stone steps to the main tunnel. It was wide, just as much as the road outside. On one side, there were groups of disciples on foot going towards the Hidden Realm, some with beasts pushing in empty and semi-empty carts. On the other side, disciples returned from the Hidden Realm with their catch. Many were injured, while others smiled proudly with their haul.

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After walking for 10 minutes, they saw Sect disciples manning desks. They showed their mission pass, and were let through.

About 5 minutes later, light not from the glow stones appeared at the end of the tunnel. They reached another big gate, showing their pass again to the guard on duty.

"All clear," the man said. "Is this your first time?"

They nodded.

"Welcome to the Inverted Mountains Hidden Realm!" The guard grinned. "May the ruins favour your wealth." He stepped aside, letting them exit through the gate by the stone pillar.

They stepped out from a dimly lit tunnel into shining sunlight.

"Dear god," Huang Niuniu muttered.

The town that greeted them was bustling with activity. Tents and yurt-like pavilions were set up around the gate, some selling wares, others buying them. There was the Medical Hall pavilion some way out, and on the east was the Alchemy Hall's.

There were many disciples. Armed, confident, injured, accompanied by Spirit Beasts and companions.

Li Yao gaped, "there has to be more than ten thousand people here."

Even Fang Zhao took in a breath.

"Hey! Quit blocking the way," a voice yelled from behind.

The group quickly made their way forward and Fang Zhao unfurled the map.

The area in front of the gate had been cleared to house this gateway village. Viridian Glade Gateway Village. The words were written in a milestone. It was surrounded by a palisade with many watchtowers built at intervals. It could house around fifty thousand, with a constant flow going in and out.

There were few trees, so the sky was clear.

「Yu Han! This place is so awesome!」 Fei Rui pointed at the sky. 「Why is it like that?」

The clouds were iridescent, like dimming rainbows trapped in vapour. Fei Rui was perched on top of Yu Han's head, his eyestalks staring at them with jerky movements. The clouds shifted and roiled. The sky itself was a gradient of light blue to orange, yet there was no sun in sight.

The sky on the other side of the tunnel was normal. Partially cloudy, as if it would rain soon.

On this side, strange birds with four wings flew.

「Monsters!」 Fei Rui clicked his claws.

The birds screeched madly, diving towards the market with abandon.

The guards shot arrows. Some spells flew out too. They hit the monsters, felling them in one swoop. As the corpses crashed, on-duty disciples were already waiting to collect them.

No one batted an eyelid, as if it was a common occurrence.

By the time they reached the end of the market, this had happened thrice.

"They're attracted by the large gathering of spirituality," Fang Zhao judged. "It's good that we have this." He brushed the Spirituality Shrouding Charm.

The charm wouldn't help them if a ferocious monster sensed them with their physical senses and attacked, but it would block them from sensing their spirituality from far away. Most monsters needed to see a Cultivator or Spirit Beast before they could sense spirituality, but there were always outliers.

They reached the end of the village. The exit gate was a few steps away, guarded by a burly Cultivator. He was accompanied by a feline-type Spirit Beast. It mewed at Fei Rui, who blew bubbles back. The cat hid behind the man, but the purrs reverberated.

Fang Zhao pointed at one of the dirt roads. "It's this way."

The four nodded, and Fei Rui cheered. At first, many other disciples surrounded them. They would go other ways when the roads forked, some going directly into the forest in groups, others taking boats on the waterways. Sounds of fighting echoed all around.

The monsters near the access point were mostly Levels 1 to 3. The access point was located midway up the mountain, and the surrounding mountains also had similarly levelled monsters.

They crossed two vale rivers. There were no man-made bridges—the monsters would destroy them and it was too expensive to guard. But the ancestors were smart. They had found a way.

They made living root bridges.

According to what Yu Han had read in the Four Meditations, the Sect had guided the powerful roots of Hurricane Fig Trees across rivers using bamboo scaffolding and palm trunks hollowed into channels. The young, flexible roots were wound through these hollow trunks to protect them and guide their growth. The roots would then follow these guides across the span. Multiple roots were twisted and woven together as they grew, creating a strong natural mesh. Over dozens of years, secondary roots were encouraged to grow down to the ground, creating natural pillars that strengthened the bridge.

Stones, leaves, and sticks were then placed in gaps between the roots to create a walkway. This was later reinforced with magical formations where possible. Refiners and alchemists had also chimed in to strengthen the structure.

These living root bridges were still alive, part of the two massive hurricane fig trees living on opposite sides of the river. The bridge was strong and wide enough for carts to go across. And because they were part of nature, beasts would leave them alone.

Huang Niuniu and Fei Rui were gasping like country bumpkins all the way across. Even Yu Han was amazed.

"The water shouldn't drain in the next five days." Fang Zhao motioned to the waterways that separated the mountains, like how ocean water separated islands.

A small rabbit leapt at them. It had four eyes and sharp bone-blades at its feet. Li Yao made short work of it. His first sword severed head from neck, while the other blocked the feet blades.

"I'm hungry," Huang Niuniu said. "Can we eat this?"

"The Blade-Footed Rabbits aren't toxic," Li Yao said. "But cooking here will attract beasts. Make do with the hardtacks, Cow Girl."

The hardtacks were dried pieces of flatbread made of spirit rice. They had also taken pemmican, dried fruit, meat jerky, and fermented fish, plus salt preserved eggs, nuts, and pickled veggies.

Huang Niuniu grumbled but nibbled on a few nuts. Soon, their group was the only one on the road. It had narrowed, and was more like a game trail than a trod-upon path.

The group took turns changing into their Coveralls. They were still in the Levels 1 to 3 area, but here monsters were abound and it wouldn't be strange for some to have broken through to Level 4.

In an hour or two at max, they would reach the Second-to-Last Bog. Yu Han saw Fang Zhao clenching his fists so tight that he was afraid the boy would break his fingers.

They’d soon find out whether he could level up at the hidden cenote with the lake of boiling blood.