21 Dragon and Phoenix 10

"It's almost time for the entrance of Talkan's Realm to open," Yin Mei said, as she was today, once again, visiting the demon king in his room. It was practically her own room now, as she had decorated it as she wished with treasures that she found pleasing to the eye. She, like in the past, poured the demon king a cup of her personally brewed tea and placed a platter of snacks made by their chef in front of him.

It had been a while since the demon king had ascended, and with the full support of the phoenix clan behind him, along with the help of good items bestowed by the Jade Emperor, his cultivation was increasing by leaps and bounds. That being said, he still couldn't compare to the weakest person from their generation yet, as the difference was really too big to be breached by only a couple of months. He would probably need several decades before he could catch up to Yin Mei or Long Aotian's level of cultivation.

Yin Mei wasn't keen on waiting that long, but if the demon king rushed his cultivation anymore, then his foundation wouldn't be strong enough to compete with Long Aotian anyways. So she could only try to find treasures that would be able to increase his cultivation without harming his foundation.

"Talkan's Realm, huh?" The demon king seemed thoughtful. Yin Mei had already explained what Talkan's Realm was to the demon king. It was a mustard seed dimension created by a golden age expert, a so called small world, and had his legacy inside it. The most mysterious thing about Talkan's Realm was that it never ran out of treasures. Yin Mei could understand the treasures such as plants and corpses of demon beasts, as it was a living world, but she couldn't fathom how it didn't run out of treasures that couldn't be so easily refreshed like that.

But, that was a mystery for another day.

"Our phoenix clan this time has received 50 entry slots. It's 20 slots more than last time," Yin Mei said, thinking that the Jade Emperor's favor was really obvious. She would need to have the clan be more restrained in their actions, but considering that nature of the phoenix, they would be hard pressed to do so.

Among the phoenix clan, the only people going would be the younger generation. This was because there was a limit in age that was allowed into Talkan's Realm, with all people entering required to be younger than two thousand years old. For the people of the upper realm, who could live several times beyond that, below a thousand years was certainly only people of the younger generation. Feng Hua was already 300 years old, while Long Aotian was more than twice her age at 700 years. As for the demon king, Yin Mei guessed he was already nearing five digits. Probably even he couldn't tell her his own age, as at that point, many people would have long stopped counting.

Normally speaking, the demon king wouldn't be able to enter Talkan's realm. But what was different with the demon king was that he was not originally of the upper realm, and had ascended through the dragon gate. Ascending was a process of rebirth and rejuvenation... in other words, his true age could no longer be read from his bones. If one did so, it would result in a confusing reading of a mere two digit age.

Yin Mei was happy that the demon king would be able to come with them inside the Talkan's Realm, though she also rudely thought that it wouldn't make a difference if he did. Aside from using his seductive appearance to charm others, currently his cultivation was still too low to compete with the elite younger generation of the noble clans.

At the very least, his current repertoire of treasures would be able to keep him from getting killed, but could not guarantee much else. But, she wasn't particularly worried. After all, the amount of life saving treasures she had given him was really enough to the point that one couldn't kill him even if they tried.

When the time came for Talkan's Realm to open, Yin Mei met up with her friends once again. Mao Mao couldn't help but tease her for having two flowers on each hand (Yang and She Ming), to which Yin Mei could only roll her eyes at.

"It's Long Aotian and Yao Ling," Mao Mao suddenly said, and they all turned their eyes to look. There was a slightly weariness in Long Aotian's brows, and perhaps even a awkwardness to the air between the two lovers. Although it had already been many years since Long Aotian brought Yao Ling back from the border, they hadn't ever gotten engaged due to the various situations that had happened and the vehement opposition from Long Aotian's parents. On one hand was Long Aotian, who had continuously suffered from setbacks after getting together with Yao Ling, and on the other hand was Yao Ling, who was definitely not as pure and virtuous as Long Aotian had believed her to be. In the past, they had solidified their love by overcoming this obstacle known as Feng Hua, but currently, they were facing an obstacle that no matter what, they couldn't seem to overcome. Most normal couples wouldn't be able to withstand this sort of pressure, but Yin Mei didn't know if the male and female leads would be any different.

"A true love that can overcome any obstacles..." Yin Mei murmured, looking over at them before her lips curled up into a smile. "Hehehe," She couldn't help but let slip out a soft laughter. She like reading about those sorts of true love in books, and though she was a realist, who didn't wish for something so romantic at least once in her life? But, this was reality, and this so called true love that could overcome all obstacles? Such a fantastical thing should only stay in those dreams and stories.

The people around her looked at her oddly. They were all cultivators so could hear her words loud and clear, but didn't know what to make of them. Looking at her expression, her smile seemed extremely vicious and cruel, although at the same time so beautiful that it was hard to take their eyes off of her.

"Feng Hua, just ignore them. They aren't worth your time." Gui Neng said. She thought that Yin Mei had already gotten over it after all this time, but it was clear that she still was holding a grudge. Gui Neng decided that she would secretly place a bad luck curse on them once they entered Talkan's Realm. See if they would be able to come out with their lives then, let alone gain anything of use. While she was at it, should she try that curse that she just recently learned? Or maybe she should-

While Gui Neng was caught up in her scheming, the entrance to Talkan's Realm had begun to open. The friends each returned to their respective clans after bidding farewell, waiting for their turn to enter.

The bustling people one by one filtered into the realm through the portal. Walking through, it was another world on the inside filled with even thicker energy and beautiful scenery. They were currently standing on hilly green plains. To their right was a vast forest, and further north of the that were sharp mountain ranges. On the other hand, to the left the plains extended for some time before merging into a desert, where some ruins and a very tall tower could be spotted. Somewhere around here should also be an ocean, though that was rather far and on the other side of the forest.

Yin Mei's goal was the tower to the west. This tower was a mysterious existence in the Talkan's Realm. Although the ruins could be entered and possessed many treasures, this tower was the only thing that couldn't be entered. No matter how high one went, there wasn't a single door or window. Many people theorized that the legacy of this realm's creator was inside the tower, but in the end, no one could figure out a way to get inside.

In this storyline, Long Aotian and Yao Ling would find an underwater palace while being chased by monsters inside the ocean. After wandering inside this palace while lost for a few days, they would chance upon a teleportation array that could would bring them inside the tower. And then they would spend years upon years working to pass the trials set by the tower, actually missing the closing of the realm entrance and having to leave when the entrance opened twenty years later.

Although Yin Mei wasn't sure about staying inside the tower for twenty years, the legacy was truly something good and even if they didn't obtain it, the rewards for completing each floor of the tower was also worth it. She wanted the demon king to try his hand at this no matter what. The best thing was, was that one's cultivation level wasn't important in these trials, which tested talent and potential instead of cultivation.

Yin Mei had also decided to bring her friends along. There wasn't any competition in terms of competing for the legacy in the completion of the trials, and Yin Mei also didn't mind sharing this boon with the others. She gathered up all those she had treasure hunted with last time, along with her two brothers, and of course Yang and the demon king, who both never left her side.

"I discovered a way into the tower, but we might not be able to leave it for several years." Yin Mei bluntly said, and no one questioned her. These sorts of things people wouldn't usually question others, as they knew that they would have their own means that they prefer to keep secret.

"Several years? Do you mean that we'll probably have to wait until the entrance reopens twenty years later?" Hu Xi asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Probably," Yin Mei said. Even the first trial had taken several months for the male and female lead, and the entrance to Talkan's Realm was only open for one month.

The group had to give pause for thought, but not for long. Actually, the only person who had responsibilities that could potentially keep him from going was Feng Hua's eldest brother Feng Tian, but even for him a twenty year absence wasn't a terribly big deal. Just treating it like going into closed seclusion for twenty years and there was no problem. Many members and heirs of the noble clans would constantly go into closed seclusion for decades at a time.

They all left for the forest after giving voice recording orbs to their clansmen in case they didn't come out in time to send to their parents and tell them not to worry.

Knowing that they would probably miss the closing of the entrance anyways, none of them were in a hurry, leisurely walking through the forest and heading toward the ocean, picking up anything that looked good along the way and teaming up to kill any powerful monsters they encountered. Yin Mei knew that the male and female lead shouldn't enter the underwater palace until near the end of the one month, so she didn't feel particularly rushed either.

"Is that a dragon bone sword? Pretty good workmanship," Hu Rong commented when she saw the demon king wielding the sword that Yin Mei had obtained for him so long ago. Yin Mei felt nostalgic, as that was the result of her first treasure stealing trip.

"It's from the lower realm," Yin Mei commented.

"Such a good thing was actually in the lower realm?" Hu Xi said, and the others were also very surprised. This was still a very good sword even in the upper realm, so for it to be something that had been in the lower realm was a shock. After all, it was widely acknowledged that the lower realm was inferior to the upper realm in all ways, be it the density of qi, the quality of treasures and craftsmanship, and the techniques they possessed... so one could not be surprised that they were astonished.

Feng Tian and Feng Liu were also surprised. They had initially thought that that sword was some treasure that their little sister had given the demon king, probably something she had found when she had gone to the ancient city. But who knew it was actually something from the lower realm?

The demon king didn't say anything, and the others didn't mind either. Although the demon king followed around Yin Mei all they time so it could be said that the group wasn't unfamiliar with him and vice versa, they couldn't be said to be familiar with each other either.

The group continued chit chatting and before long, they reached the ocean on the east side of the forest, the trees giving way to stones and then a sandy beach.

The sand was actually a fairy like pink color, just like the beaches in the Caribbean in Yin Mei's old world, while contrasting with the beautiful sea green ocean, it was a truly magical looking sight, deceiving to the eye as it hid all sorts of monsters underneath its calm surface.

"Y- here," Yin Mei said, about to call our your majesty before she quickly changed her words and handed an underwater breathing pearl bracelet to the demon king. She wasn't able to get rid of this habit of calling him your majesty even though she was no longer his servant, but if the others actually heard her say that she wouldn't know how to explain it to them... what if they thought she had some weird fetish or something?

The group all took out their own underwater breathing pearls, and wore them on their body. With this, even if they didn't practice any special breathing techniques, they wouldn't need to worry as this would form a bubble of breathable air around their bodies.

"I'll go first," Feng Tian said, walking forward.