PCJ – Chapter 690 The Hidden Realm Has Been Discovered

After the second clinical trial, the families of Li Hao and Xu Gao finally welcomed the two fully recovered patients out of the ward. After more than half a month of treatment, they had completely regained their health—so much so that their physical condition even surpassed that of ordinary people.

With the development of the economy and the accelerating pace of life, the pressures of daily living are increasing day by day, resulting in a growing population in a sub-health state. Large hospitals are already overcrowded, and the situation may continue to worsen.

Through this clinical trial, Mei Qing was pleasantly surprised to discover that the new drug was not only remarkably effective against diseases like cancer and leukemia, but also showed great results for many other illnesses.

“If the spiritual spring could be supplied without limit, and a few other key medicinal ingredients were also readily available, then this drug’s potential would be tremendous,” Mei Qing sighed.

“That might be a problem,” Zhang Jiaohua replied, shaking his head. “With our country’s massive population base, if this drug were made available to everyone, the supply of spiritual spring water would be far from enough. Even the few core herbs would face significant shortages. You need to understand, the reason these herbs are so effective is that they’re grown in secret realms. But how big are these secret realms, really? Even if we filled them entirely with these herbs, they still wouldn’t meet the nationwide demand for treatment.”

Mei Qing also sighed, “That’s really unfortunate. For now, we can restrict the use of this drug to only the most severe illnesses. But the drug’s effectiveness will eventually be discovered by others.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. For now, you all should avoid appearing in the capital. You’re probably being watched already. Just go directly to Meizi’ao,” Zhang Jiaohua advised.

“Even Xiyun Secret Realm isn’t safe anymore?” Mei Qing asked in shock.

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head. “It’s not about safety. It’s just that there will likely be a battle there soon. After our earlier encounters, the enemy probably won’t be sending cannon fodder this time.”

“Will you be in danger?” Mei Qing asked, a bit worried.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled, “Me? I’ve got ways to stay alive. No matter how powerful the enemy is, I can still get away. Besides, I’m not that easy to mess with.”

Not long after he sent Mei Qing’s team and the non-combatants away, Zhang Jiaohua received a report that suspicious individuals had appeared around the Xiyun Secret Realm. These people were clearly not ordinary tourists. While they pretended to be sightseers, they were actually loitering around the area with a clear purpose—Xiyun Secret Realm had clearly attracted the attention of some parties.

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t sure yet if Meizi’ao had also been compromised. But Meizi’ao was relatively remote, and the area was guarded by many spirit beasts, so it was much harder for outsiders to approach.

The Xiyun Secret Realm was a different story. The Xiyun Reservoir was a well-known tourist attraction near the capital, drawing constant crowds of visitors. It was very difficult to screen out malicious actors mixed among them. Furthermore, Mei Qing and Ji Jiaxin had been going in and out of the secret realm frequently recently, making them easy targets for surveillance.

“What’s the situation?” Zhang Jiaohua asked as soon as he entered the Xiyun Secret Realm, directing the question at Wei Chenguang.

“There are about twenty of them. They’re clearly here to scout the area. They’re probing the surroundings, trying to pinpoint the exact location of our secret realm,” Wei Chenguang replied.

“Keep an eye on them. See if we can trace them back to whoever sent them,” Zhang Jiaohua instructed.

“That might not be possible. These scouts likely aren’t in direct contact with the masterminds. The intel will probably be passed through several intermediaries. But those behind this won’t linger in the country for long. I suspect they’ll take action soon. Our defenses at Meizi’ao are tight, so there’s little to worry about there. And Yingpan Village holds no real value for them. Their obvious target is the Xiyun Secret Realm. Also, the official Association of Special Abilities has reached out to us. They seem to know something and want to open a dialogue. What do you think, should we talk to them?” Wei asked.

“Do you think it’s necessary?” Zhang Jiaohua responded with a question instead of a direct answer.

“There’s no harm in talking. That association has some capable people. Maybe this time they could be of help. They don’t interfere with internal sect matters but might be open to collaboration. In the future, they might even seek our help with certain special matters,” Wei explained.

“Then you decide. If they need me to appear, I will,” Zhang Jiaohua said, not wanting to sour relations with the authorities.

Soon, Zhang Jiaohua met with a representative from the association, Vice President Xu Falin.

“Daoist Zhang, nice to meet you. I’m here to report some developments. According to our investigators, several ability users have recently entered the country. We believe their arrival is directly linked to your sect’s activities,” Xu Falin said bluntly.

“Where are they from?” Zhang Jiaohua asked with curiosity.

“That’s the puzzling part. They’re not all from the same country. There are Americans, Japanese, Koreans, and some from EU nations. It’s practically a multinational task force. That’s why our association has taken this seriously. We don’t meddle in sect affairs, but this is a matter of national security now,” Xu Falin explained.

“And what are you proposing?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, unsure of Xu’s intent.

Xu Falin cleared his throat. “I suggest that all cultivators of Meishan Sect follow the unified command of our association. That way, we can better mobilize our resources…”

“Sorry to interrupt. How many ability users does your association have? And what are their levels?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Xu Falin was momentarily embarrassed. The association was in an awkward position—it had no real authority over cultivators. More importantly, their members were generally weak and couldn’t lead in any confrontation. Xu Falin had hoped to use this crisis to assert control, even aiming to bring the newly formed Meishan Sect under their wing.

The association’s members weren’t all cultivators. Some had awakened specific abilities, similar to but distinct from cultivation techniques. For example, a fire-user could manipulate fire-elemental spiritual energy to form powerful fireballs. Cultivators, by contrast, could cast a wide range of spells using spiritual energy, with greater control and flexibility.

“This mess was created by your sect, so naturally you must take full responsibility. Do you expect others to clean up after you?” Xu Falin said, clearly displeased.

“I’d rather not trouble you. We’ll handle it ourselves,” Zhang replied, not wanting to argue.

Xu Falin left angry and frustrated, but there was little he could do. As he was leaving, Zhang Jiaohua even demonstrated a bit of his power, scaring Xu Falin into backing down.

Meanwhile, in the capital’s foreign-run Roland Club—a place frequented only by foreigners and inaccessible to the general public—some major figures were meeting. Livingston and Mortimer’s key aide, Pierre, was present.

“After some investigation, we’re sure the Xiyun Reservoir hides a massive secret. Dr. Mei Qing’s team isn’t working in Professor Huang Zhongfang’s lab—they’re operating near the reservoir,” Pierre said casually, sipping red wine.

Livingston nodded. “We should’ve realized this earlier. Last time, our entire team of super soldiers was wiped out there.”

“The problem is, we don’t know what kind of technology the Chinese used to conceal their research base. We’ve sent in many agents to observe. It’s not without results—we’ve roughly identified the location. But it’s on the lake, and we have no boats. Without one, we can’t approach. The boat is an easy fix, but we must avoid tipping them off,” Pierre said.

“Then let’s just seize the place in one move!” Livingston declared.

Pierre hesitated. “That’s an enormous risk. If we fail, we’ll lose everything. These ability users are precious—we can’t afford to lose even one.”

“But do you know the value of the drug Dr. Mei Qing developed? And their hidden genetic technology? This is worth the risk. We’re on their home turf. The longer we stay, the more likely we’ll fail. We must trust our ability users,” Livingston insisted.

“I need to report to Mortimer. I can’t take this risk alone,” Pierre said after some thought.

Mortimer disagreed: “Recklessness is why we failed twice already. Without solid intel, I won’t let our ability users act. Our opponents are too dangerous—even ability users aren’t invincible.”

Pierre spread his hands to Livingston. “Old friend, you heard him. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

“You’ll regret this! Every second of delay increases our risk of exposure!” Livingston growled.

In another private room, a few seemingly ordinary foreigners were drinking and laughing.

“Tony, let’s toast! I heard your secret research base sent people on a mission here recently—and got completely wiped out. Is that true?” Armando asked with a smirk. Armando had psychokinesis and could attack with a specially forged, jet-black dagger that radiated cold menace.

Tony, a product of the super soldier lab, had lost comrades in that failed mission and knew the details all too well. Angered by Armando’s mockery, he glared but held back.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” Armando pressed.

Julia quickly stepped in to separate the two. “This is the time for unity. Things aren’t as simple here as they seem. Let’s hope we never run into a certain kind of person.”

“What kind?” Matt asked.

“Ancient Chinese cultivators. They’re terrifying. If we’re told to fight such people, here’s my advice—run. As far and fast as you can. They might not even consider us worthy enemies, which could save our lives,” Julia warned.

“You know about them?” Tony asked.

Julia nodded. “Trust me. As comrades, I won’t lie to you. The politicians will just use us as pawns for their glory. Their stupidity will get us killed while they return home in triumph.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Around Xiyun Reservoir, spies were lurking everywhere. They had eyes on nearly every corner. Suddenly, a tour boat emerged from the center of the lake, dropped off several people at the shore, then disappeared again.

This footage was quickly sent to Pierre and Livingston.

“They really are hiding there. Our instruments have already detected high radiation levels in that area,” Pierre said.

“Then now is the time—get in touch with Mortimer immediately,” Livingston urged.