The situation calmed down, Man Li recovered after half an hour. Shi Lang told her not to consume spirit rejuvenation pills for a few months. Tsuu Ching arranged rooms for the three of them, and after he finished dealing with his daily chores, he arranged for Shi Lang to meet him in the garden.


    Man Li was also present there, she served tea as the three of them sat around a small table. Tsuu Ching asked, "Boss, what made you look for this realm? I assume that not many people know about it."


    Shi Lang nodded and replied, "Indeed, there are not many people who know about this, but a few hundred years ago, an alchemist managed toe here from the outside world, right?"


    Tsuu Ching thought for a bit and said, "He was an alchemist, if I remember correctly."


    Shi Lang nodded and said, "Yes, that senior is my alchemy teacher. I needed to find the herbs needed to create a pill that could merge the soul back with the body and also repair the soul sea of an Immortal Sovereign."


    Tsuu Ching stroked his chin and asked, "It soundsplicated. Who are you trying to help?"


    The Terran said, "Tian Long."


    Tsuu Ching nodded at first and then he suddenly froze as he stammered, "Tian Long? As in the golden genius, Tian Long?"


    Shi Lang nodded, they all belonged to the same era. Tian Long was a genius renowned through out the world back then. Tsuu Ching stood up from the chair and walked around in the pavilion as he said, "When I came here, he had already made a name for himself by forming the Heavenly Dragon Mercenary group. I remember that Sister Moon was beside him too."


    Shi Lang nodded and asked, "Did you not meet them?"


    Tsuu Ching shook his head and replied, "When I came here, my master happened to be roaming the world in disguise. So, when he found me, he bought me to his hide out in the northern mountains. I never met him during those days. I think he was stronger than me during those days. What hurt him?"


    Shi Lang replied, "A monk attacked him when he was weak and he used Dao Law sacrifice, so Tian Long took the full burn of the attack. He removed his soul from the soul sea, but the damage was significant."


    Tsuu Ching asked, "How weak do you need to be to fall for these traps?"


    Shi Lang shrugged his shoulder and said, "Peak Immortal Sovereign."


    Tsuu Ching made a peculiar face and Shi Lang said, "I came here after a life time and I am an Immortal Emperor, I guess it might be the pressure of being a genius."


    The two men exchanged gazes and they burst outughing. Man Li could not understand why they were so happy but she smiled when she saw her husband enjoying himself. The twoughed for a few minutes, and then Shi Lang showed Tsuu Ching a photo of Tian Long''s body after the attack.


    While Man Li was curious about the way the image floated in the void, Tsuu Ching was having another fit ofughter. Shi Lang looked at Man Li and asked, "Sister-inw, you are curious about this device?"


    Man Li nodded, do not look at her timid personality she was an Immortal Sovereign. Shi Lang described the device to her, and Man Li was surprised and even wanted to try it. The Terran searched his space ring and bought out an older version ofmunicator. He gave it to her. Apart from some offline features such as clicking pictures, and recording videos themunication would not work.


    Shi Lang asked, "Tsuu Ching, what is the story behind this secret realm?"


    Tsuu Ching replied, "Ummm, after the purge, the people from many sects hid in the northern mountains, but we all knew they would be upon us soon. Coincidently one day, I was wandering around and found this ce. When I came here, the secret realm waspletely barren, it took us a long time to make it habitable."


    Shi Lang nodded and said, "Then do you have the herbs I need?"


    Tsuu Ching sat down on the chair and said, "Boss, I won''t hide it from you. Getting herbs will depend on what you need."


    Shi Lang nodded and replied, "I need five herbs, Fire rose root, cerulean pearl, shell of the earth crab, and butterfly dandelion. Lastly, I will need a Dao Diamond."


    Tsuu Ching nodded and said, "You can find them here, but you will need to go through trials."


    Shi Lang raised a brow and asked, "What sort of trial?"


    Tsuu Ching replied, "Boss, the herbs you have asked for can be used by the people in here too. This was a method we came up to make sure there is not biasness. Even if you are my boss, I cannot let you take the herbs as they are."


    Shi Lang nodded and replied, "I do not want to put you in a tough spot. Just tell me what I need to do. I will handle the trials."


    Tsuu Ching nodded and after some thought he said, "An elder from the pill formation hall wille to look for you tomorrow. They will tell you about the trial details. However, these trials take ce in public view to ensure fairness."


    Shi Lang nodded and said, "Alright, just tell me when the timees."


    They chatted the whole night, catching up on the ages.


    ...


    Shi Lang was still meditating inside the pavilion when Man Li came over with an elder in tow. She said, "Brother Shi, the elder from the Pill Formation hall is here."


    Shi Lang opened his eyes and said, "Thank you for informing me, Sister-inw."


    The young man stood up from his position and followed her. The elder was dressed in an emerald green robe with a ck shirt. He greeted Shi Lang and Man Li respectfully, and Man Li said, "Elder Cao, I hope that you look over the situation fairly. Brother Shi is my benefactor."


    Elder Cao bowed and said, "Don''t worry, My Lady, we have always followed the rule and will always follow them.;"


    Man Li nodded and said, "Brother Shi, be careful."


    Shi Lang gave her a signal that he would be fine. Then he left with the elder. However, he had not yet even left the building when a blue bird appeared on his shoulder. He asked, "Did you sleep well?"


    The bird did not reply but closed her eyes. Shi Lang smiled as he asked, "Elder Cao, where are we headed?"


    The old man reply, "We will head to the Volcano garden. The first trial you will have to face will be conducted there."


    Shi Lang nodded, he did not ask the old man about the content of the trial because that would make him look shallow. What would he do if the walk from the senate to the volcano garden is a trial too. Shi Lang followed the man silently.


    He noticed that the city was densely popted but it had great execution and distributionws. Soon they arrived at the garden that was filled with a variety of herbs but all of them had affinity to fire element.


    Elder Cao said, "The first trial is for you to carry this flower to the center of the garden. Then you will have to nt this and bring back some dirt from that ce."


    Shi Lang nodded, although he was confused how this would work, but he nodded and epted the trial. Elder Cao had given him a normal dandelion.


    The Terran had no idea what wasing at him so just for safety, Shi Lang erected a wall of spiritual energy around the Dandelion. He crossed the gates of the garden and he realized what wasing at him.


    The ce was called volcano garden, and the air inside the garden was scorching hot. Shi Lang was an Immortal emperor, yet he sensed his skin burning slowly. He looked at the dandelion and added even more spiritual energy in the protective walls. He thought such a ce might not be too big, but he was proven wrong again.


    The Volcano Garden was ten kilometers big in diameter. Shi Lang had been using special methods to walk but still covering five kilometer with a fragile flower was not easy. After ten minutes when he reached the center, his skin was scaring from ny percent third degree burns.


    He ced the dandelion down, the spiritual protection will support it for the next half hour, even if someone checked up. However, he did not know how to pick up some soil from this ce. He had touched the granules and the temperature was so hot that it could melt steel.


    Thinking about it, he controlled the nerves in his body and disconnected the sensation from his right hand. He picked up the soil and rushed out quickly. The misery has just begun.