Secret Realm Sighting (2)

The first part of the Secret Realm book provided a detailed introduction to its overall environment, aiming to give participants a macro-level understanding of the entire Secret Realm.

The second part of the book elaborated on the rules of the Sect Grand Competition.

The number of Sects participating annually typically ranged between ten and fifteen. Each Sect would meticulously select twenty Qi Refining stage disciples to join. Every disciple would hold a Grand Competition token, and the final ranking would be determined by the number of tokens each Sect possessed upon exiting the Secret Realm.

The Secret Realm lasted for a full 365 days from its opening to its closing. When the time was up, everyone would be automatically teleported to the exit by a spatial force. However, upon entering the Secret Realm, participants were randomly dispersed to various corners within it, making luck a crucial factor in this stage.

The book also specifically warned against attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage without preparing concealment formations. This was because the time required for a Foundation Establishment stage breakthrough varied, from a few days to several tens of days, and some breakthroughs were accompanied by strange celestial phenomena.

This would easily expose oneself, making them a target for others, and turning them into fish on a chopping block.

Furthermore, the top-ranked Sects would generally dispatch Meridian Casting Realm Body Cultivation cultivators. These Body Cultivation cultivators possessed profound cultivation, with strength approaching the early or even mid Foundation Establishment stage, requiring cautious handling.

Some Sect disciples, while not Body Cultivation cultivators, might have several or even a dozen individuals studying and mastering the Way of formations together. Therefore, one must not rely solely on their combat strength to attempt fighting multiple opponents, as it would inevitably lead them into a dangerous quagmire.

Within this Secret Realm, one absolutely could not trust anyone. Sometimes, even fellow disciples might strike from behind for rare treasures or valuable tokens.

Given the unimaginable importance of the Secret Realm Grand Competition to each Sect, no one should be underestimated. Everyone's storage bag could very well hide powerful treasures capable of threatening Foundation Establishment cultivators, such as astonishingly potent talisman treasures, second-tier high-grade talismans, or the mysterious Yan Fire Bead.

Especially the Yan Fire Bead, a secret treasure that Yan Fire Sect disciples might carry, with one appearing in every Grand Competition. Its explosive power was equivalent to the full might of an early Core Formation stage cultivator, so extreme caution was necessary.

The third part of the Secret Realm book detailed the specifics of explored areas and the distribution of valuable resources like spirit medicine, spirit fruits, and spirit ores.

Zhang Tie did not pay much attention to most of the content, but he showed strong interest in a piece of information regarding a high-grade spirit vein.

A high-grade spirit vein was undoubtedly a legendary existence. If he could mine a few supreme-grade spirit stones from it, he would no longer have to worry about a lack of spirit stones for his future breakthroughs to the Aperture Opening Realm or advancement to the Divine Strength Realm.

Additionally, some Sect elders offered their own speculations about this Secret Realm. For example, one elder hypothesized that this Secret Realm was likely a training ground for an ancient Body Cultivation Sect. Otherwise, why would there be no restrictions on the Body Cultivation realm?

Based on this speculation, the elder further surmised that the unexplored areas might hide crucial content related to Body Cultivation.

Perhaps it was the inheritance of long-lost cultivation technique manuals, perhaps priceless treasures related to Body Cultivation, or perhaps rare spirit medicine and spirit fruits related to Body Cultivation. After careful consideration, Zhang Tie found the elder's conjecture quite reasonable.

In the current cultivation world, Body Cultivation inheritances had almost vanished. Most cultivation techniques were either impossible to cultivate, or even if they could be cultivated, the progress was as slow as a snail's crawl.

There was a high probability of dying from depleted lifespan before even breaking through the realm.

Moreover, while Qi Refining cultivators had a wide variety of spells, Body Cultivation practitioners mostly relied on close-quarters combat with their bare hands. Attack methods related to Body Cultivation, akin to secret manuals, had almost disappeared. Artifacts and spiritual tools suitable for Body Cultivation were even rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, making them incredibly difficult to find. This was also a significant reason for the scarcity of Body Cultivation practitioners today, almost cutting off any possibility of advancement.

Just as Zhang Tie was sighing with emotion, a soft knock echoed from outside the cave dwelling. Hearing the sound, Zhang Tie got up and quickly went to the cave dwelling entrance. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the attendant who had brought him resources last time.

"Senior Brother Zhang, this is from True Lord Jing Ling for you," the attendant said, respectfully handing a storage bag to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie quickly reached out and took the storage bag, saying, "Thank you!" Hearing this, the attendant bowed and then quickly turned and left.

Zhang Tie returned to his cave dwelling and opened it with anticipation. Inside, neatly arranged, were fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones and ten bottles of third-tier low-grade spirit beast blood. The number of spirit stones far exceeded Zhang Tie's expectations, filling him with joy. However, the amount of spirit beast blood caused him to show a slight hint of disappointment.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Tie relaxed. After all, the strength of a third-tier spirit beast was equivalent to a Core Formation stage mighty figure, and it was already not easy for the Sect to provide this much. For ordinary people, let alone these ten bottles of third-tier low-grade spirit beast blood, the previous spirit beast blood alone would likely take decades to refine and absorb.

It was highly possible that his request this time was seen by the Sect as a generous reward deliberately sought for the Secret Realm Grand Competition. After all, no one would believe he could refine and absorb such a large amount of spirit beast blood in such a short period. Thinking of this, Zhang Tie couldn't help but chuckle bitterly and shake his head helplessly.

Since he now had sufficient spirit stones, Zhang Tie no longer dwelled on this matter. Improving his strength was undoubtedly the top priority. Zhang Tie quickly took out the spirit stones, arranged them around him, then tightly held two spirit stones in his hands, began circulating the Five Elements Cultivation Technique, and focused entirely on absorbing and refining them.

Thus, Zhang Tie once again plunged into the monotonous and arduous life of cultivation. During this period, only his Senior Disciple Brother's grand ceremony temporarily pulled him out of his cave dwelling to help with preparations. After that, he dove back into his cave dwelling, continuing his cultivation without pause. In the blink of an eye, seven months had passed.

During this long period of cultivation, Zhang Tie had only over two thousand spirit stones left, and his cultivation had successfully returned to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage. The previous spirit beast blood had all been completely absorbed and refined, and the Undying Pearl's energy was only left with one-third of its usable capacity.

After repeatedly using the Undying Pearl, Zhang Tie gradually realized that it now absorbed an astonishing amount of over thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones. Fortunately, the usable energy had also increased significantly.

Currently, Zhang Tie's Body Cultivation had reached the Meridian Casting late stage, with three and a half of the six meridians in his internal organs successfully recast. It seemed that for subsequent cultivation, he could only rely on his own efforts to obtain the necessary resources.

Originally, there were still a few spirit stones left, and Zhang Tie had even considered trying to absorb more spirit stones in an attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. However, after careful consideration, he ultimately suppressed this impulsive thought.

If he accidentally broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and the Sect had invested so many resources in him, yet he couldn't enter the Secret Realm due to exceeding the cultivation limit. He suspected that even before the Sect's Enforcement Hall could punish him, his Master would fly into a rage and slap him into oblivion.