In the last three months the camp had been in a buzz, and it didn't seem it was going to calm down anytime soon. Not long after Heng and the others came back from the mission with news of 'Corpse Puppets ' appearing, numerous other instances of those encounters were reported. It caused a big turmoil in the entirety of the Blue Tiger Kingdom,  but surprisingly it was quickly quelled and swept under the rug as the disturbances became less of a problem.

Most people thought that the appearance of those 'Corpse Puppets ' to be a natural disaster, but Heng knew the truth as it was a man made one. If Hai's words were to be trusted,  a rouge cultivation group who took all kinds of requests for the right price had been employed by the Silver Serpent Empire to cause mayhem and support the rebels in their independence efforts. Such a thing would have been solved by sending some strong cultivators to clean up, but the rebels asked aid. This complicated things as the rebels who laid claim the this land asked for support from nome other than the Silver Serpent Empire , and in return they gave them the right to pass freely through these lands. Still, this was technically was the territory of the Blue Tiger Kingdom.

It was said that this angered the king of the Blue Tiger Kingdom  so much that he even developed a cultivation backlash, but if it was really true no one knew. What was known though was that the Sect behind the Blue Tiger Kingdom and the Silver Serpent Empire came to an agreement between them, the details mostly a mystery. This agreement was shrouded by such secrecy and mystery that rumours spread all over, one more outlandish than the other.  From news about of a marriage between the two royal families,  to an all out war just waiting to happen. 

Rumours spread like wild grass in spring,  but fortunately Heng didn't have to listen to those things as he had Yin Hai.  He provided him with the most stable information about what was truly happening , and it seems that war was out of the question,  for now at least. Both sides would loose more than they could earn,  so they normally came to an agreement for the use of the secret relm. 

 For now,  only Cultivators of the Dantian realm and below would be able to access the grounds of the Secret Realm.  It was a move to firstly test the waters before plunging onto the Secret Realm filled with dangers and treasure. It was the logical conclusion from a military point of view to send the weakest and more expendable force's first, but Heng didn't like he was one of these. With his almost nonexistent cultivation,  he was the perfect pawn to test the Secret Realm.

"Those fuckers! They are sending us to our deaths." said Wu Tao as he was seated in a circle with three others. Yin Hai,  Heng and Cao Qiao were the others who were around,  and neither of them seemed remotely happy.

"We know,  but it's not that we can do anything about it.  If we even speak anything negative,  we will immediately be imprisoned,  or even worse....lose our heads."said Heng as he wondered if he had ever seen Wu Tao so serious. On the other hand Cao Qiao seemed to not be that interested in the conversation as he ate something.

"Hey, Yin Hai, you're the son of a noble, can't you do anything about this? You know...vouch for us or something ?"

Hai looked at the pleading face on Wu Tao and shook his head. It wasn't the first time he had asked something like that,  and it would not be the last. The atmosphere around the camp was very tense as everyone was required to enter the Secret Realm for at least one month. Of course there were rewards,  and the fortunate encounters inside the realm made it exciting. But as enciting as it was,  it was many times more dangerous. It was said that even cultivators of the Dantian realm could easily die there, so  they were fucked.

"Fuck....I can't believe something like this is happening. Why did this thing have to appear here , here of all places? Damn it! "Wu Tao was beginning to become overly irritated,  but a hand patted his back.  It was Cao Qiao who was trying to comfort Wu Tao,  but the later didn't appreciate it.

"Get your hands of me!"

"Brother Tao....." said Qiao with a calm voice, and Tao immediately froze. Several expressions passed through his face until a look of dejection was plastered there."Fuck...

As Wu Tao was freaking out, Heng was calculating things  in his mind as after the encounters with the 'Corpse Puppets ' his system had changed. A new path had opened in front of him and he needed to grasp it at all costs.

The system sheet seemed to have evolved and several new things seemed to have been unlocked. This was something Heng desperately needed,  but that's were the novelty ended. As the saying that there is no free lunch, there is no power without sacrifice. Even though the Colas section was unlocked,  the points to purchase anything were insufficient.