The first section of the secret realm booklet provided a detailed introduction to the secret realm's overall environment. Its purpose was to give participants a broad understanding of the entire secret realm.
The second section gave a meticulous explanation of the rules for the sect competition.
The number of sects participating each year usually hovered between ten and fifteen. Every sect carefully selected twenty Qi Refining disciples to take part. Each disciple carried a competition token, and the final rankings were determined by the number of tokens each sect possessed after leaving the secret realm.
The secret realm remained open for a full three hundred and sixty-five days. Once the time was up, everyone would automatically be transported to the exit by a force of space. However, when entering the secret realm, everyone was randomly scattered and sent to different corners of it. Luck was therefore of crucial importance.
The booklet also specifically warned that one must never rashly attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage without preparing a concealing formation. This was because breakthroughs to the Foundation Establishment stage varied in duration, taking as little as several days or as long as dozens of days, and some breakthrough processes were even accompanied by strange heavenly phenomena.
That would make it extremely easy to expose oneself, becoming the target of others' covetous eyes and meat on the chopping block.
Furthermore, the top-ranked sects would basically send Meridian Casting Realm Body Refining cultivators into the secret realm. These Body Refining cultivators possessed profound cultivation and strength comparable to early Foundation Establishment cultivators, or even mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. They had to be treated with great caution.
Although some sect disciples were not Body Refining cultivators, several or even more than a dozen of them might have studied and mastered the Dao of formations together. Therefore, one must never rely on one's own combat strength and attempt to fight many alone, or one would surely sink deep into a quagmire of danger.
Within this secret realm, no one could be trusted. Sometimes, even fellow disciples from the same sect might strike from behind over rare treasures or valuable tokens.
Given the unimaginable importance of the Secret Realm Grand Competition to every sect, no one could be underestimated. Everyone's Storage Pouch could very well contain treasures capable of threatening Foundation Establishment cultivators, such as incredibly powerful talisman treasures, high-grade second-tier talismans, mysterious Yan Fire Beads, and so on.
The Yan Fire Bead in particular was a secret treasure that disciples of the Yan Fire Sect might carry. One would appear in every competition. Its explosive power was equivalent to the full-force strike of an early Core Formation cultivator, so one had to be doubly careful.
The third section of the secret realm booklet explained the specific conditions of the explored regions, as well as the locations of precious resources such as spirit herbs, spirit fruits, and spirit mines.
Zhang Tie did not pay much attention to most of its contents, but he showed great interest in one piece of information concerning a high-grade spirit vein.
A high-grade spirit vein was undoubtedly something of legend. If he could dig out a few top-grade Spirit Stones from it, then whether he wanted to charge into the Aperture Opening Realm or advance into the Divine Strength Realm in the future, he would no longer need to worry about a shortage of Spirit Stones.
In addition, some sect elders had offered their own conjectures about this secret realm. For instance, one elder guessed that this secret realm was very likely a trial ground belonging to an ancient Body Refining sect. Otherwise, why were there no restrictions whatsoever on Body Refining realms?
Based on this speculation, the elder further guessed that the unexplored regions likely concealed crucial things related to Body Refining.
Perhaps they contained an inheritance of cultivation manuals that had been lost for ages, priceless treasures related to Body Refining, or rare spirit herbs and spirit fruits related to Body Refining that were scarcely seen in the world. After careful consideration, Zhang Tie felt that the elder's conjecture was quite reasonable.
In the current Immortal Cultivation World, Body Refining inheritances had almost vanished without a trace. Most cultivation techniques either could not be cultivated at all, or even if they could, progress was as slow as a snail's crawl.
There was a high chance that one would die of exhausted lifespan before ever breaking through to the next realm.
Moreover, Qi Refining cultivators had countless varieties of Spells, while Body Refining cultivators mostly relied on bare-handed close combat. Manuals containing offensive methods for Body Refining had nearly disappeared, and magic treasures such as dharma artifacts and spirit artifacts suitable for Body Refining cultivators were even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns. This was also an important reason why Body Refining cultivators were so few in number, as it had nearly cut off any possibility of advancement.
Just as Zhang Tie was feeling emotional, a light knock suddenly came from outside the cave dwelling. Hearing it, Zhang Tie rose to his feet and quickly went outside. The moment he stepped out, he saw that it was the boy who had delivered resources last time.
"Senior Brother Zhang, this is from True Lord Jing Ling," the boy said, respectfully handing a Storage Pouch to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie hurriedly accepted it and said, "Thank you!" Hearing this, the boy bowed before turning and hurrying away.
Zhang Tie returned to the cave dwelling and opened it with anticipation. Inside were fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones and ten bottles of low-grade third-tier Spirit Beast blood, neatly arranged. The number of Spirit Stones greatly exceeded Zhang Tie's expectations, filling him with delight. However, the amount of Spirit Beast blood left him slightly disappointed.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Tie accepted it. After all, third-tier Spirit Beasts possessed strength equivalent to great Core Formation cultivators. It was already no easy task for the sect to produce this much. As for ordinary people, let alone these ten bottles of low-grade third-tier Spirit Beast blood, even the Spirit Beast blood from last time would likely take decades to refine and absorb.
It was very likely that the sect had regarded his request this time as an attempt to demand a generous reward because of the Secret Realm Grand Competition. After all, no one would believe that he could refine and absorb such a large amount of Spirit Beast blood in such a short time. Thinking of this, Zhang Tie could not help but smile bitterly and shake his head helplessly.
Since he now had enough Spirit Stones, Zhang Tie no longer dwelled on the matter. Improving his strength was undoubtedly his top priority. He quickly took out the Spirit Stones and arranged them around himself, then tightly gripped two Spirit Stones in his hands and began circulating the Five Elements Cultivation Technique, focusing completely on absorbing and refining them.
Thus, Zhang Tie once again threw himself into the dull and arduous life of cultivation. During this period, only his eldest senior brother's ceremonial gathering briefly drew him out of the cave dwelling to help make arrangements. Afterward, he plunged straight back into cultivation and never stopped. In the blink of an eye, seven months passed.
During that long period of cultivation, Zhang Tie's Spirit Stones had dwindled to just over two thousand, while his cultivation had successfully returned to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage. The previous Spirit Beast blood had all been absorbed and refined, and the Undying Pearl's energy had been reduced to only one-third of what remained after use.
After using the Undying Pearl many times, Zhang Tie gradually discovered that it had now absorbed an astonishing amount of more than thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Fortunately, the usable energy it contained had also increased significantly.
Zhang Tie's Body Refining cultivation had now reached the Meridian Casting late stage, and three and a half of the six meridians in his six bowels had been successfully recast. It seemed that he could only rely on himself to strive for the resources needed for his future cultivation.
Although he still had a small amount of Spirit Stones left, Zhang Tie had initially considered continuing to absorb them and attempting to charge into the Foundation Establishment stage. However, after careful deliberation, he ultimately suppressed that impulsive thought.
If he accidentally broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, then after the sect had invested so many resources in him, he would be unable to enter the secret realm because his cultivation exceeded the limit. The Enforcement Hall would not even need to punish him. His master would surely fly into a rage and slap him so hard that his soul would scatter.
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