Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique-Chapter 26: The Hollow Realm
Chapter 26: The Hollow Realm
"The Hollow Realm."
The words silenced every single person in the hall.
Their faces now wore solemn expressions, replacing the previous warm smiles.
Rhain was confused after hearing these unfamiliar words.
It was clear that this hollow realm was of great importance to make the elders and Harmon act so seriously.
Yet, when he searched through the original Rhain’s memories, he found nothing.
Outer disciples were obviously kept in the dark about matters of this magnitude.
Rhain looked at the grim faces surrounding the table.
"What is the Hollow Realm?" He asked, his voice breaking the heavy silence.
Dorris turned his gaze towards him.
"You have never heard of it, and that is to be expected," Dorris spoke, his face appearing solemn and carrying a sharp look.
"Thirty years ago, deep within the Greymist Beast Mountains, this independent space was first found. Its existence has been strictly sealed from the ordinary outer disciples."
Sitting to Harmon’s left, an old man with white hairs, and wrinkled face leaned forward.
The Great Elder, Silas.
One of the few Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivator in the sect beside Harmon.
"Since its discovery," Silas continued, "the rivalry between the two sects and two families has intensified to a point of water and fire."
Silas swept his gaze across the table.
"This independent space opens only once every five years. And each time it opens, both the sects and the families send their absolute best experts at the Essence Awakening and Essence Condensation Realms inside."
The Great Elder’s expression darkened.
"The Hollow Realm is extremely dangerous. There are natural traps and powerful ferocious beasts within that can effortlessly kill even an experienced Essence Condensation cultivator."
Silas paused, his eyes contained grief, hatred, and a deep unspeakable sorrow as he slowly exhaled.
"But the environment is not what kills most of our people. Most deaths are a direct result of the clashes between our sect and the Ironpeak Sect."
"Our overall strength is weaker than Ironpeak’s," Silas stated bitterly. "When we clash inside, the casualties are never equal. If the Ironpeak Sect loses eight people, we lose ten. Every five years, many of our Essence Condensation cultivators perish in that space."
Rhain stilled for a long time as he slowly calmed down and settled his thoughts.
Essence Condensation experts were the backbone of any faction in the Greymist Region.
To willingly send them into a meat grinder every five years seemed counterproductive to survival.
"If the casualty rate is that high," Rhain said flatly, "what is so special about this Hollow Realm that makes both sects willing to bleed their core strength?"
Harmon Vael was the one who answered.
"Unimaginable resources," he spoke with a heavy tone.
"The Hollow Realm is entirely untouched by the outside world for five years at a time. Within it, there are ancient herbs, lost pills, and artifacts that are enough to tempt even a Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivator like Dorris or myself."
Harmon let out a slow sigh.
"Our Azure Cloud Sect does not just enter the Hollow Realm to gain these resources. We enter to stop the Ironpeak Sect from taking them all."
The old man looked at Rhain, his gaze solemn.
"If we allowed the Ironpeak Sect to enter the Hollow Realm unopposed, they would harvest everything. Their overall strength would rise so rapidly that our Azure Cloud Sect would be utterly annihilated within a decade. Knowing that this realm will cause our Essence Condensation cultivators to perish... we still have no choice but to send them."
It was a war of attrition.
A desperate struggle just to maintain the status quo.
Rhain nodded his head slightly. The logic was brutal, but this is how the world of Aethermere functions.
Then, he caught a specific detail in the Great Elder’s explanation.
"Great Elder mentioned that only Essence Awakening and Essence Condensation cultivators are sent," Rhain said, his dark grey eyes narrowing slightly. "If the resources are tempting enough for a Spirit Manifestation expert, why don’t you and Family Head Dorris simply enter yourselves? Is there a restriction?"
Harmon nodded slowly.
"You are very sharp," Harmon said. "There is indeed a restriction. The spatial laws of the Hollow Realm are incredibly fragile. It forcibly stops any cultivator beyond the Essence Condensation Realm from entering. If I were to try and force my way in, the spatial turbulence would tear my body to shreds."
Roderick Graves, who had been sitting in complete, bitter silence until now, finally spoke up.
"We have spent years researching the origins of this Hollow Realm," Roderick explained. His voice was stiff, but strictly professional. "What we have found is that Hollow Realms are not entirely unique to the Greymist Beast Mountains. They exist in other, far more powerful regions of Aethermere."
Roderick looked at Rhain, masking his hostility behind his stiff voice.
"The space we found is what ancient texts classify as a ’Mortal Hollow Realm’. It only tolerates the presence of Essence Awakening and Essence Condensation cultivators. However, there are records of Spirit Hollow Realms, where even Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivators can enter without collapsing the space."
Rhain committed the terminology to memory.
Mortal Hollow Realm. Spirit Hollow Realm.
It was a small glimpse into the vast, inconceivable scale of Aethermere.
This level of information was not meant for a small inner sect disciples like him.
But Rhain’s strength had far surpassed the level of any Inner sect disciple.
Everyone in the hall knew this, and that was also the reason why they treated Rhain like someone with equal status, and not like a junior.
Dorris Graves shifted in his chair, redirecting the flow of the conversation.
He turned his piercing gaze back to Harmon Vael.
"The opening of the Hollow Realm is imminent," Dorris said, his tone shifting from informative to strictly business. "My Graves family has already finalized our roster. We have prepared a dedicated group of our finest members who will be entering the space, lead by my brother Roderick."
Dorris leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.
"How are the preparations going from your side?"
Harmon slowly nodded his head solemnly, "Our preparations have also concluded."
Harmon turned his gaze toward an older man sitting near the center of the long table.
"Elder Torin will be leading our side this time," Harmon announced.
Rhain’s dark grey eyes swept over the Fourth Elder, Torin.
Although the old man simply sat there quietly, the aura he naturally exuded was incredibly dense and heavy.
Essence Condensation... Level 9!
Both Roderick and the Fourth Elder were experts at the absolute peak of the Essence Condensation Realm.
Within the entirety of the Greymist Region, they were unquestionable apex existences, considered to be the strongest entities beneath the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
Furthermore, both of them have successfully entered the Hollow Realm in the past and returned alive.
They are familiar with the traps and the ferocious beasts within. Having them lead the teams is the most optimal choice.
"We will honor our prior agreement," Harmon said, looking at Dorris.
One hundred people.
That was the absolute maximum capacity the Mortal Hollow Realm could endure before its fragile spatial laws collapsed entirely.
Those one hundred slots were the focal point of the Greymist Region’s bloody tug-of-war.
Out of the hundred available slots, their alliance claimed exactly half.
The Azure Cloud Sect would send thirty members.
The Graves family would send twenty.
Dorris gave a nod of acknowledgment.
It was a fair split.
"Of our sect’s thirty slots," Harmon added, his tone dropping an octave, "twenty will be filled by our Essence Condensation cultivators."
"The remaining ten slots," Harmon said, his eyes finally locking onto Rhain, "will be given to the top ten Inner Disciples."
Rhain’s dark grey eyes flickered slightly.
Ten slots for the top ten Inner Disciples.
Rhain had forced Maren to retreat, and defeated three Essence Condensation Realm cultivators with his raw strength alone.
By any objective metric of the Azure Cloud Sect, Rhain was not just in the top ten.
He was the undisputed peak of the entire Inner Sect.
Furthermore, the description of this Hollow Realm had genuinely piqued his interest.
To his Abyssal Sovereign Physique, which required an astronomical, almost hopeless amount of essence to break through even a single minor realm, this independent space sounded like a massive, overflowing treasure trove.
He wanted to go. In fact, he needed to go.
Rhain looked directly at Harmon Vael.
"I assume I will also be entering the Hollow Realm."
