I Just Wanted to Live, but I Somehow Became Better Than the Main Character
Chapter 20: Hundred-Year Secret Realm

“Young Master Ye! Did you call for us?” Ye Gou, true to his name, acted just like a dog¹- nodding and bowing as he approached Ye Yong, practically wagging his nonexistent tail.

“Let’s go.” Ye Yong didn’t say much and took the lead toward one of the airships, with Ye Gou and the others following close behind.

Seats on the ship were limited, so most cultivators simply found a spot and sat down. Those who managed to get a seat were ones with some status.

Ye Yong sat with the younger members of the Ye Family, all of whom looked at him, waiting for him to speak. He felt a little awkward- he couldn’t exactly say he’d gathered them to use as shields.

After a brief pause, Ye Yong activated a soundproofing array and put on a serious expression. “The secret realm is dangerous. If anything seems off, don’t hesitate- crush the teleportation stone you’ve been issued and get out immediately.”

“What kind of danger?” Ye Gou and the others quickly got serious. For Ye Yong to warn them like this, it must be something terrifying.

“I can’t say much. Just be careful.” There were too many traps and fierce spirit beasts in the secret realm- how was Ye Yong supposed to know exactly what danger they were to face?

“With you there, Brother Yong, we should be fine, right?” a female cousin fluttered her lashes at him.

“Yeah! Big Brother Yong will protect me, won’t you?” a female cousin on the other side batted her eyes flirtatiously.

Ye Yong was beyond speechless. Even if he gave them a lecture on the dangers of inbreeding, they probably wouldn’t listen- this was a cultivation world, after all.

He ignored their flirtations. “I’ve got important things to do and can’t go in with you. You should stick together and move as a group. Share resources based on contribution. Also, don’t fight others for treasure- only what you find yourselves belongs to you. And once again, if something feels off, leave. Your lives come first.”

He figured if he spooked them enough and spoke in riddles, they’d shut up for a while.

Sure enough, the Ye family juniors all fell into deep thought, trying to decipher Ye Yong’s true meaning.

Since he was using them as shields, Ye Yong figured he should give them some benefits. He didn’t want to come out of the secret realm and find a few of them missing. After all, they were still family. And they were a villain family, so they were all united. Compared to outsiders, they were less likely to betray him.

“This is a defensive artifact. It can block three attacks from a mid-Stage Golden Core Realm cultivator. As long as you don’t go too deep inside into dangerous places, it should be enough to save your lives.” Ye Yong handed it to the strongest among them- Ye Gou.

Ye Gou accepted it with excitement. “Don’t worry, Young Master Ye. With me here, not a single hair on any of my brothers’ or sisters’ heads will be harmed!”

Ye Yong nearly laughed out loud. Who was it that led a bunch of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to attack the male lead and got wiped out in return in the novel? If Ye Yong hadn’t stopped that event from happening, the protagonist would’ve killed Ye Gou like a wild dog.

He patted Ye Gou on the shoulder and said nothing more, just hoping that the guy had enough sense to not do anything stupid.

…

By the time the airship arrived at the secret realm, it was already afternoon.

The Heavenly Luo Sect controlled many secret realms, which were essentially pocket dimensions. Besides those, there were larger otherworld battlefields, where people from different worlds- human cultivators and other races- clashed over resources.

There were many lower worlds, and the strong ruled over the weak. The one Ye Yong was at was called the Kunlun World. A very cliché name, but back when online novels first rose to popularity, it had sounded pretty badass.

Anyway, if the Kunlun World’s denizens became too weak, they’d end up being invaded by others.

Fortunately, Kunlun World was powerful overall and had always been the one doing the invading. As for the middle stages with demonic invasions, those affected not only Kunlun but also the other lower worlds as well. Kunlun World was one of the few lower worlds that had managed to hold out successfully.

But that event was still a long way off. For now, Ye Yong’s top priority was still increasing his cultivation level.

“Remember- no killing fellow sect members. If caught, there will be severe punishment!” After everyone disembarked, a Nascent Soul Realm elder repeated the warning, and then several other Nascent Soul Realm cultivators removed the barrier and opened the secret realm.

This hundred-year secret realm was called the White Sugar Mud Realm. Inside were ancient forests and mountain ranges, and a special kind of spiritual soil called White Sugar Mud. Since it only opened once every hundred years, the realm was rich in resources. While there weren’t any rare spiritual plants, it was still a treasure trove for Foundation Establishment Realm and even Golden Core cultivators- a chance to grab things for free, almost too good to be true.

And the real prize wasn’t just herbs and materials. Over the centuries, many elders of the Heavenly Luo Sect had hidden cultivation techniques, manuals, and key insights that they had either found or written themselves somewhere inside the realm, waiting for someone to discover them.

What do cultivators value most? One word- fate.

If fate favored you, you could gain great fortunes- it had little to do with your level. Even someone at the first layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm had a chance to find a legacy.

Of course, someone that weak wouldn’t be able to venture very deep into the realm. Spirit beasts lived there too, ranging from the 2nd layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the later stages of the Crystallization Realm- still plenty dangerous.

Of course, cultivators could bring items inside, like beast-avoiding incense, but it wasn’t foolproof. Some spirit beasts were extremely territorial and would attack as soon as someone stepped into their domain.

That was why the sect issued emergency teleportation stones. If they encountered a beast they couldn’t handle, they could use the stone to flee. While deaths still happened occasionally, they were few and far between. And honestly, those who died were either catastrophically unlucky or just plain dumb- no real loss.

People were teleported into the secret realm in groups, each landing at different spots- mostly around the outer perimeter. The deeper you went, the better the resources and the higher the chances of discovering a legacy- but the danger also increased.

The cultivators were transported in batches of a thousand people. Ye Yong stood with the Ye Family members. He only planned to separate once inside.

Many people kept an eye on Ye Yong- some hoping to land near him and piggyback on his luck; others hoping to stay far away, afraid he might drain their luck.

Among the crowd, a dozen or so cultivators with obscene eyes squeezed toward Ye Yong, managing to get into the same batch and teleport to the same starting point as him.

“All right, stay safe. See you outside later.”

They had barely arrived in the realm and had no time to look at their surroundings when they heard Ye Yong say this to his family members. The dozen cultivators were thrilled.

He’s going solo? What a gift from the heavens! They had been worried that Ye Yong would stick with his family members, which would make their task much harder. But now that he was acting alone, they could relax.

Think you’re invincible just because you’re a genius?

The three strongest of the bunch, all at the 10th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, exchanged glances and smiled. They were just about to tail Ye Yong- when suddenly, he shot forward using a movement technique that no Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could possibly use, vanishing from sight in an instant.

“???”

They were dumbfounded. They only had a few seconds to celebrate their luck, and they had already lost track of their target.

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¹ Ye Gou’s name, 叶苟, has the same pinyin as 野狗, which means wild dog.