Only a perfectly normal valley remained in its place, along with the dazed expressions of the Cultivators from various sects.
Time seemed to be completely frozen at this moment.
The sound of the wind, the chirping of birds, and even everyone's breathing had vanished.
Inside Falling Star Valley, an extremely eerie silence fell, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone maintained their posture and expression from the previous second—
The presiding Elder had his mouth open, frozen in the shape of the word "Open," his eyes wide and round.
The heroic smile on the face of the Blazing Sun Sect Elder froze, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
The sharp glint in Elder Yun's eyes turned into blank confusion.
All the Disciples from various sects who were ready to rush in had their feet frozen in mid-air, the excitement on their faces replaced by disbelief.
A full five or six breaths passed.
"Wh... what... just happened?"
A young Disciple's voice was dry, breaking the dead silence.
This sentence was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, instantly igniting the scene!
"Where's the entrance?! Where's the entrance to Lingxu Grotto-Heaven?!"
"How... how is it gone?!"
"Am I seeing things? Or did I fall for the illusion techniques of those women from the Hehuan Sect?"
"Impossible! The fluctuations of Lingxu Grotto-Heaven opening clearly appeared!"
"Gone? Just like that... gone?"
"Are you kidding me! How could Lingxu Grotto-Heaven just disappear?!"
Exclamations, questions, and roars of disbelief instantly drowned the valley!
Everyone panicked, falling into a state of chaos.
The Elders of various sects hurriedly flew forward to the spot where the spatial ripples had vanished, their Divine Sense sweeping frantically.
However, no matter how they searched or even used secret techniques to sense it, that place was empty.
There were no residual spatial fluctuations, no traces of distorted rules, and no signs of Formation interference.
It was as if... Lingxu Grotto-Heaven had never existed here, and everything just now was merely a collective hallucination.
"This... what on earth is going on?!"
The Elder presiding over the Secret Realm turned pale, his voice trembling.
Lingxu Grotto-Heaven had "vanished" during his presiding shift; he could not bear this responsibility!
"Could it be... something went wrong with Lingxu Grotto-Heaven itself? Energy exhausted? It collapsed on its own?"
One Elder speculated, though even he felt the explanation was flimsy.
"Nonsense! The collapse of a Secret Realm is a major event. How could it vanish so suddenly?"
"Could it be... it was 'moved away' by some great expert using means we cannot comprehend?"
Another Elder swallowed hard, voicing an even more far-fetched yet possibly the only logical guess.
"Moved away? Moving a Secret Realm? Do you think you're moving a rock?!"
Someone immediately retorted, but their voice lacked conviction.
But who could silently move a Secret Realm right under everyone's noses?
Could it be that those three had acted?
But for beings like them, how could they possibly take an interest in a small Secret Realm like Lingxu Grotto-Heaven?
For a time, suspicions rose within Falling Star Valley, and people were filled with anxiety.
"This matter is too strange; we must get to the bottom of it!"
"The Disciples of my Blazing Sun Sect were waiting to go in for training! What do we do now?!"
"My White Cloud Sect prepared for three years for this Secret Realm!"
Complaints, curses... the entire Falling Star Valley instantly became a mess.
The originally solemn Secret Realm grand event turned into a massive scene of confusion in the blink of an eye.
And the culprit behind all this, Gu Han, far away in the Jade Pool Immortal Palace of the Southern Region, knew nothing about it.
In the Central State, a large group of Cultivators was falling into confusion because of the sudden disappearance of a "public dungeon" they had used for years.
Main Hall of the Jade Pool Immortal Palace.
Two hours quickly passed... [Ding! 'Lingxu Grotto-Heaven' Fusion complete! Spatial anchor points stabilized, rule embedding normal!]
[Secret Realm key permissions bound to the Host! The Host can control the opening and closing of the Secret Realm at any time, and consume mastery dao value to adjust rules or upgrade the Secret Realm!]
The moment the System prompt ended, the pale green Secret Realm key in Gu Han's palm grew slightly warm, establishing a mysterious connection with her.
With a slight thought, her Divine Sense silently entered that newborn Secret Realm.
Instantly, a world far more vast, vibrant, and full of hidden mysteries than she had imagined slowly unfolded before her "eyes."
The mountains were majestic and rolling, some lush and green with Spiritual Qi swirling around their waists.
Some were crimson as fire, with the faint movement of leyline magma visible in the depths.
There were also solitary peaks standing straight as swords, piercing into the dense sea of clouds.
In the mountains, waterfalls cascaded like the Milky Way, their roar faintly audible.
Deep pools were quiet and their waters azure, as if harboring the unknown.
The plains were open, with rivers winding through them like jade ribbons.
"Not bad."
Gu Han nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction appearing in her eyes.
This "Lingxu Grotto-Heaven" undoubtedly added an excellent place for the Disciples of Jade Pool Immortal Palace to engage in practical combat training and resource acquisition.
More importantly, it was completely under Gu Han's control, and its safety was far higher than those unknown Secret Realms in the outside world.
"I imagine those little ones will be very excited when they return and find out there's an additional Secret Realm, right?"
The corners of Gu Han's mouth curled up slightly, as if she could already see the scene of the Disciples working hard and reaping great rewards in "Lingxu Grotto-Heaven."
As for whether this Secret Realm originally had an owner?
Where was it before?
How did the System "transport" it over?
Gu Han didn't ask, and the System didn't take the initiative to mention it.
Perhaps in the System's view, once the goods were delivered to the designated location, the service was considered complete.
As for whether the delivery process involved "borrowing" someone else's things... the details weren't important.
And so, while Gu Han waited for her Disciples to return and prepared to plan a new Cultivation schedule,
In the Central State's lower-tier cultivation world, a bizarre and terrifying legend quietly began to spread:
The "Lingxu Grotto-Heaven," which had existed for thousands of years, had been stolen away in broad daylight by an unknown expert using inconceivable means!
And the title of "Secret Realm Thief" also began to circulate vaguely within the small circles of high-level Cultivators, sparking countless speculations.
No one would ever imagine that the mysterious "thief" was currently far away in the Southern Region, leisurely drinking tea.
But even if Gu Han knew, it wouldn't matter—after all, she wasn't the one who did it!
If anyone was to blame, it was the System for not telling her!
As for the frustration and unsolved cases over in the Central State?
What did that have to do with her Jade Pool Immortal Palace?
She had just opened her backyard and received a delivery.
Quite reasonable, right?
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"