Secret Realm

"Heading back, boys!"

Elder Wu You's shout rang out.

The Outer Court Disciples boarded the Spirit Boat one after another, sitting cross-legged upon its cushions as they began the return journey.

Under Elder Wu and the others' control, the Spirit Boat swiftly set off, whistling toward the Jade Mist Sect's mountain gate.

Near the edge of the Spirit Boat, Wang Jue and Su Bai sat facing each other.

Both had Advanced to Qi Refining Layer Six during this mission, their faces brimming with delight.

"Junior Brother Su, do you have any plans to take on another Outer Court Mission?" Wang Jue asked.

Su Bai raised a brow. "From the sound of it, Senior Brother Wang, do you have another suitable mission to recommend?"

Wang Jue had spent more than a decade in the Outer Court, so his sources of information were naturally far broader than Su Bai's.

Su Bai had also ridden Wang Jue's coattails for the Yin Yang Pool mission.

Wang Jue chuckled. "There is one, but it carries a certain degree of danger."

"This mission is a Secret Realm mission."

"There is only one Secret Realm mission suitable for those of us at Qi Refining Layer Six: the Blood River Secret Realm."

"The Blood River Secret Realm opens once every three years, and this March is when it opens."

"Though this Secret Realm is controlled by our Jade Mist Sect, we have to share it with the other two major sects."

"Once inside, clashes with the disciples of those two sects will be unavoidable, and casualties cannot be avoided either."

"However, the Blood River Secret Realm is extremely rich in spirit herbs. As long as you can bring spirit herbs out, the sect will buy them back at a high price."

"After one trip to the Blood River Secret Realm, most people can gather enough spirit pills to cultivate to Qi Refining Layer Seven."

After hearing this, Su Bai pondered for a long while. The Blood River Secret Realm was an Outer Court Mission where risks and rewards coexisted.

Many cultivators whose Spirit Roots were not strong enough did not mind taking a gamble in the Blood River Secret Realm, fighting for a future.

But for Su Bai, who possessed Immortal Talent Reflection, taking risks to venture into such a place was not worth it.

The level of danger in missions like the Spirit Moon Lake Mission was already the Upper Limit he could accept.

Especially now that he had provoked the Immortal Palace, Su Bai had no intention of taking on such dangerous missions before his hidden cards and strength were sufficient.

When Su Bai noticed the fleeting resolve in Wang Jue's eyes as he spoke of the Blood River Secret Realm mission, he understood Wang Jue's intentions. "Senior Brother Wang, have you already decided to take part in this Blood River Secret Realm?"

Wang Jue nodded in admission. "With my talent, if I don't take a gamble, who knows how long it will take before I advance to Late Qi Refining?"

Wang Jue appeared carefree and unserious, but he lacked none of the bold drive needed on the Path of Cultivation.

Su Bai gave a slight nod. "Then I wish Senior Brother Wang a smooth and successful journey through the Secret Realm."

Upon hearing that, Wang Jue naturally understood that Su Bai would not be participating in this Secret Realm mission.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. Don't we still have the protective talisman Elder Kuang gave us... This thing is the true foundation of my confidence in joining this Secret Realm expedition!"

"Come to think of it, shouldn't we thank that woman Su Duanqiu? Without her, there would be no Treasure Talisman from Elder Kuang!"

"Haha..."

The Spirit Boat stopped at the Outer Sect Lecture Ground. The Outer Court Disciples disembarked one after another and returned to their respective courtyards.

Wu You put away the Spirit Boat, rose into the air, and swiftly vanished from the Lecture Ground.

Su Bai and Wang Jue parted ways there as well.

Wang Jue needed to make thorough preparations for heading to the Blood River Secret Realm, while Su Bai needed to return to his courtyard.

The two agreed to meet again once Wang Jue returned from the Blood River Secret Realm.

Thus, Su Bai made his way to Courtyard 32.

He familiarly took out his Jade Talisman and opened the Magic Array.

Inside the courtyard, his fellow disciples had long been waiting.

After learning from Li Daniu that Su Bai had been taken away by the Law Enforcement Court, the fellow disciples in the courtyard—Zhou Chang in particular—had contacted Su Bai several times through the Jade Talisman.

In the end, they agreed through the Jade Talisman to meet and talk in the courtyard on the day Su Bai returned.

The several fellow disciples had all temporarily taken leave for this day.

At this moment, Zhou Chang, Zhang Yanshen, Li Daniu, and Qian Er had already arrived at Courtyard 32, waiting only for Su Bai to finish his mission and return.

Seeing all his fellow disciples gathered because of him, Su Bai could not help feeling a faint warmth in his heart.

"Good lad, you're already at Qi Refining Layer Six!" The moment Zhou Chang saw Su Bai, he cried out in surprise.

Su Bai smiled faintly. "By chance, that's all."

Zhou Chang said, "It seems your Three Spirit Root, Su Bai, must be the finest kind among Three Spirit Roots."

Only that could explain why Su Bai had advanced so quickly.

At present, among the others in Courtyard 32, Zhou Chang had entered the sect more than a decade ago and had only just reached Qi Refining Layer Five.

Yet with Zhou Chang's Four Spirit Root aptitude, such progress could not be considered slow.

Of the other three who had entered the sect at the same time as Su Bai, only Zhang Yanshen had, by chance, advanced to Qi Refining Stage Four.

Li Daniu and Qian Er were still only at Qi Refining Stage Three, stuck at the bottleneck of advancing into the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Back then, Yu Ji and Jin Qingjian, the two Dual Spirit Root disciples from their batch, were also still at Qi Refining Layer Six.

By comparison, Su Bai's cultivation progress was indeed astonishing.

The five fellow disciples sat down beneath the Bamboo Forest.

"Tell us about the Law Enforcement Court. Did you run into any trouble?"

"And why has Jiang Han lost contact?" Zhou Chang asked with concern.

Matters concerning the Immortal Palace were not to be leaked.

Su Bai briefly recounted what had happened at the Law Enforcement Court, making it clear that the matter had already been settled and there was no need to worry.

"As for Jiang Han... barring any surprises, he won't be coming back."

Perhaps someday, his name would appear on the sect's Sect Betrayal List, Su Bai added silently in his heart.

The courtyard fell silent.

Though they did not know what had happened to Jiang Han, they could roughly guess some of it.

Everyone felt deeply regretful over Jiang Han.

At last year's Outer Sect Competition, Jiang Han had lost to an opponent at Qi Refining Layer Six because his cultivation was only at Qi Refining Stage Four, ultimately missing out on the top three.

To contend against Qi Refining Layer Six with only Qi Refining Stage Four cultivation, Jiang Han's Spell Talent had truly been far from weak.

"I brought a bottle of Spirit Wine. It's rare for us to gather like this—let's have a drink."

Zhou Chang took out a bottle of Spirit Wine, which had cost him a considerable portion of his savings.

Spirit Wine was good stuff, and it was beneficial to cultivation as well.

Before long, the courtyard rang with clinking cups and crisscrossing toasts.

The five fellow disciples exchanged stories of problems they had encountered during Outer Court Missions, along with their gains.

That night, Courtyard 32 was lively and warm.

But it would only last for that one night.

Early the next morning, the fellow disciples in the courtyard each went off to carry out Outer Court Missions.

On the Path of Cultivation, if one did not advance, one fell behind.

After entering the sect for so long, Su Bai no longer needed to spur them on. They naturally began to push themselves for the sake of their own Immortal Path.

When Su Bai rose, he was the only one left in the courtyard.

He shook his somewhat dizzy head. The bottle of Spirit Wine Senior Brother Zhou had brought packed quite a punch.

Since his cultivation was the deepest, he had been made to drink the most. Of one jar of Spirit Wine, more than half had gone down his throat.

After circulating his cultivation technique through several cycles and completely expelling the alcohol fumes, Su Bai finally felt somewhat better.

"Let's see whether there are any suitable missions."

Su Bai also left the courtyard and headed for the Outer Sect Affairs Hall.

Before long, Su Bai arrived at the Outer Sect Affairs Hall.

He first went to Steward Su to collect his cultivation spirit pills. At Qi Refining Layer Six, he could receive three Yellow Dragon Pills each month.

Su Bai used his old method to collect the Yellow Dragon Pills from the previous few months.

All at once, he had two more bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills in hand.

Afterward, Su Bai found his old acquaintance, Steward Lin.

"Damn, kid, you're at Qi Refining Layer Six!" Steward Lin was quite surprised when he saw Su Bai.