In the days that followed, Zhang Tie received visits one after another from several fellow disciples like Jiang Yun.
Most of them had come to get acquainted in advance, hoping to at least become familiar faces so that, should they encounter one another within the unknown and dangerous Secret Realm, they could support each other and overcome hardships together.
One day, Zhang Tie was meditating quietly in his room when the ground suddenly shook violently, as if an earth dragon were wildly churning beneath the soil. Immediately afterward, an incomparably dense hurricane of Spiritual Qi howled past. Even from within his room aboard the flying ship, Zhang Tie could clearly sense the surging, majestic force of that Spiritual Qi.
Almost at the same instant, True Man Zhao's deep, resounding voice rang out. "Everyone, gather outside immediately. The Secret Realm has opened."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tie sprang to his feet, hurriedly opened his door, and strode onto the deck.
In no more than a dozen breaths, all the disciples had assembled. True Man Miao and True Man Zhao swept their sharp gazes over the crowd. True Man Zhao said, "Immediately drip a drop of blood onto your Secret Realm tokens. Only by activating the tokens will you be qualified to enter the Secret Realm. Remember to hold your token in your hand when entering. When the Secret Realm closes one year from now, you will be teleported back to the entrance. Now, everyone, follow me."
With that, True Man Zhao waved his sleeve, and a torrent of overwhelming magical power swept everyone up and deposited them atop the enormous green flying sword beneath his feet.
They rose dozens of meters into the air and shot forward like lightning. After only a few dozen breaths, they arrived in midair before a black opening several zhang wide. Countless streams of Spiritual Qi churned within it, like a grotesque giant mouth that seemed ready to swallow them all without mercy.
Seventeen teams were already suspended around the black hole. Without question, they were the disciples and leaders of the various sects participating in this Secret Realm Grand Competition.
"Fellow Daoists, the order of entry this time shall follow the rankings from the previous competition." A rough, hearty voice came from the Crimson Sun Sect. It belonged to the red-faced old man. He continued, "The sects joining for the first time this year shall enter last. Do not be impatient. Enter in an orderly manner."
As soon as he finished speaking, the twenty Crimson Sun Sect disciples behind him shot into the Secret Realm like lightning under the red-faced elder's powerful Spiritual Qi technique.
Next, the disciples of the Fire Cloud Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and Thousand Puppet Sect entered in orderly succession. Before long, it was the Hundred Blossoms Sect's turn. Vast magical power wrapped tightly around them, and they streaked toward the Secret Realm's entrance like meteors crossing the sky.
Zhang Tie and the others flashed forward and entered the deep, pitch-black opening in an instant. Zhang Tie felt the silver token in his hand grow slightly warm, followed by a wave of dizziness. Yet all discomfort vanished in the next moment. Slowly opening his eyes, Zhang Tie found himself in an incomparably lush forest.
Every tree towered into the clouds, rising straight from the earth and piercing the heavens. Any one of them stood more than a hundred zhang tall, making Zhang Tie seem as tiny as an ant by comparison.
Zhang Tie carefully sensed the density of Spiritual Qi here, and joy surged in his heart. The concentration truly was more than ten times greater than outside. With Spiritual Qi this dense, it was far superior to Low-grade Spirit Stones.
Without another moment of hesitation, Zhang Tie decisively chose a direction. After several leaps, his figure vanished into the distance. He knew perfectly well that he had to find an ideal place for secluded cultivation as quickly as possible. Before long, he discovered a towering mountain. After a few bounds, he reached its middle slopes, found an excellent location, put on his gloves, and began using all his Spiritual Qi to carve out his own cave dwelling.
Two hours passed slowly before Zhang Tie finally dug out two somewhat crude cave dwellings with his bare hands. The two were more than a thousand zhang apart. He quickly arranged concealment and isolation formations around the true cave dwelling, while the other was specifically used to store the silver token. Outside the cave dwellings, he cleverly set up warning formations at suitable intervals.
This way, if anyone approached, he would notice immediately and could respond carefully according to the other party's numbers and cultivation realm. As for what would happen if the token were accidentally lost, that was not something Zhang Tie considered at the moment. Staying alive was what mattered most.
Zhang Tie took out a meditation cushion and sat down cross-legged. He had already reached the complete ninth layer of Qi Refining, and he hoped to see whether he could break through to Foundation Establishment. Vast amounts of dense Spiritual Qi slowly gathered around him. The greatest obstacle to successfully establishing one's foundation was forcibly compressing the Spiritual Qi within the body, transforming it from a gaseous state into a liquid one.
At that moment, Zhang Tie continuously refined and absorbed great amounts of Spiritual Qi. More and more Spiritual Qi gathered in his dantian, its concentration steadily increasing. Two hours passed in a flash, and his dantian and meridians were filled to the brim with Spiritual Qi at an astonishing density.
Only Zhang Tie, relying on his current terrifying strength at the Meridian Casting late stage, would dare attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment without taking a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Ordinary Immortal Cultivators would decisively consume a Foundation Establishment Pill upon reaching the complete ninth layer of Qi Refining. Relying on the explosive medicinal power of the pill, they would use its immense impact to transform the Spiritual Qi in their dantian into liquid Spiritual Qi. Once the first drop was successfully converted, the rest would only be a matter of time.
If anyone else attempted Zhang Tie's reckless method, their meridians would likely have ruptured long ago, killing them on the spot. As time quietly passed, Zhang Tie gradually swelled like an expanding balloon, his body becoming increasingly bloated. Even with his indestructibly powerful physique, he finally felt pain as though his soul were being torn apart.
Left with no other choice, Zhang Tie stopped cultivating and fell into deep thought. It seemed his talent and aptitude truly were too poor. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment would have to wait until another day.
Zhang Tie shook his head helplessly. Since he could not continue cultivating for the moment, he immediately decided to explore for heavenly treasures, ferocious demon beasts, and precious Spirit Stone Veins. He acted at once, quickly putting away the concealment and isolation formations, then collecting the token and warning formations. With a flash, he leaped away like a gust of wind.
Deep within a gloomy swamp, Zhang Tie stood utterly motionless atop a thick tree branch. In the swamp ahead grew an extraordinarily strange spirit herb. It had one stalk and two flowers, without a single leaf. One flower was white as snow, while the other was black as ink, making it both bizarre and enchantingly striking.
Judging from its Spiritual Qi content and color, Zhang Tie accurately determined that the spirit herb was at least a third-rank spirit herb. He had originally intended to end things quickly by flying over to pluck it directly. But he suddenly recalled the spirit herb manual he had read not long ago. Heavenly treasures were generally guarded by treasure-protecting demon beasts; otherwise, they would have long since been devoured by other demon beasts.
Yet Zhang Tie observed the area for a full quarter of an hour without seeing the slightest movement. He therefore decided to test the waters with his flying sword first. He focused intently, controlling the flying sword as it shot toward the spirit herb. Just as it was about to touch it, a fierce gust of wind suddenly struck from above the tree trunk. Zhang Tie's heart jolted, and he swiftly looked up while activating his Spiritual Qi shield without hesitation.
A jade-green long snake swung its thick tail and lashed down viciously. Its tail was as thick as Zhang Tie's thigh and densely covered in green scales.
Zhang Tie had only just gathered the power of his blood and qi into both arms and crossed them to block the incoming tail when a deafening Bang! rang out. His protective Spiritual Qi shield shattered instantly like paper, and Zhang Tie was violently sent flying to the ground by the tremendous force.
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