Someone betrayed the spirit of the first clear?!

Just as the young man was lost in a daze, a sharp clap rang out, acting like a sudden wake-up call that brought everyone back to their senses.

Yi Yi smiled and said, "Let's call it a day for now. Don't get too lost in it. Go back, digest what you've learned, and get some rest. If you have any questions later, come find us again. Alright, dismissed!"

With that, he was the first to slip away, leading his four fellow disciples toward a tavern in town!

Liu Sanlang sighed, wanting to say something, but a sudden headache struck him, making him nearly lose his footing. Zhang Miao reached out to steady him, but her own legs were weak, and she nearly fell along with him.

Wu Ming, however, though looking weary, clearly still had some energy left. He stepped forward to support both Zhang Miao and Liu Sanlang, then said, "You two go back first. I still have some things to ask those people."

"...Wait." Liu Sanlang stopped Wu Ming and pressed a bronze token into his hand. "This is the token the Liu Family used to engage those envoys. They recognize this token, not the person."

"...Right, thank you."

Afterward, Wu Ming tucked the token away and followed the backs of Yi Yi and the others into the small town. Yet, he hadn't even walked through a few alleys when, in the blink of an eye, the five of them vanished.

"?"

The next moment, the helpless voice of Han Gang came from behind him.

"You brat, you know it's inconvenient for us, yet you still insist on following."

Wu Ming smiled. "I just wanted to see if there was any way I could help."

"...Heh, you little guy at the third stage of Qi Refining, having the heart to do so is enough."

Then, Yi Yi's voice came from not far away.

"It's fine. Since he's already here, don't chase him away. Besides, there are some things he needs to be told sooner or later. Might as well let him in."

"Heh, you're generous all of a sudden," Han Gang mocked, then reached out and placed a hand on Wu Ming's shoulder. The next instant, Wu Ming felt his vision blur, and he found himself in a dim tunnel.

"Follow me." After saying this, Han Gang walked ahead to lead the way. They didn't travel long through the winding tunnel before the view suddenly opened up. It was the courtyard of the White Jade Pavilion where the people from Luohuang Mountain were staying!

So, Yi Yi and the others had just been trying to hide the fact that their condition was actually worse than the youngsters'? Was that why they took the long way around and returned home through a secret passage?

And this secret passage...

"We have been cultivating the Moli Immortal Mansion for nearly ten years. This small town is like our home, and it's only reasonable for a home to have a few secret passages, right?"

Yi Yi stood waiting outside the tunnel with his familiar, affable smile.

"Rest assured, we aren't in such a bad state that we need a little guy like you to help us with anything. It's just a bit of lost true essence... don't dig any deeper into that. You followed us here, so it must be for other questions, right?"

Wu Ming nodded and got straight to the point. "You all acted very urgent today, as if you couldn't wait to speed up the pace of the training. Although as a beneficiary I should thank you first, this is completely different from the situation on the first day... Did something happen?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Yi clapped his hands again. "Haha, what a sharp kid! You guessed right. We are indeed deliberately speeding up the pace, because if we didn't... it would be a great pity for all of you."

"Alright, let's not chat standing here. I'm a bit tired as well. Let's go to the Spirit Pool to rest first; we can talk while I adjust my breathing."

Afterward, Yi Yi led Wu Ming to an inconspicuous little tile-roofed house in the courtyard. The interior space was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside. Hundreds of precious spirit jades were scattered across every corner of the room, woven into an array with gold threads and spirit vines, continuously drawing extremely pure heaven and earth spiritual energy from the earth below.

Although it was far inferior to Qingjing Lake within the Immortal Mansion, this place could still be considered a blessed land.

After everyone had taken their seats, Yi Yi got straight to the point and posed a question.

"Wu Ming, in your opinion, how long can our cooperative relationship last?"

Wu Ming pondered for a moment and replied, "If there must be a time limit, I hope for three years."

"Oh?" Yi Yi was stunned. "Why three years?"

"If I have your long-term protection, I should be able to complete Foundation Establishment after three years."

"Hahaha!" Yi Yi couldn't help but laugh. "So that's the three years you mean! I never expected that despite your remote background, your ambitions would be so grand! Foundation Establishment in three years—that is an achievement comparable to that of the little princess!"

The next moment, the smile faded, and Yi Yi's tone became extremely serious.

"But clearly, you won't have three years. The logic is simple: if relying solely on the protection of an Immortal Guiding Envoy could allow someone with a seventh-grade Spirit Root to reach Foundation Establishment within three years, then why would the little princess, who possesses the resources of the entire Luohuang Mountain, need three years to do the same?"

Wu Ming smiled. "That might not be the case. Although there are many Immortal Mansions in the Nine Provinces, there are very few Qi Refining stage mansions like Moli Immortal Mansion that allow people to enter and exit without restrictions. Furthermore, not every Immortal Mansion has something as focused on improving cultivation as the Li Yao Echo. Moreover, precisely because Fairy Si possesses the vast resources of a first-grade immortal sect, she has plenty of more comfortable and secure ways to reach Foundation Establishment in three years; she has no need to come to an Immortal Mansion to fight for her life."

Yi Yi was silent for a while before saying, "Except for the last point, everything else is correct. Moli Immortal Mansion is indeed quite unique across the entire Nine Provinces. Especially since the Li Yao Echo was discovered, cultivators can pass through the Qi Refining Stage several times faster... but doing so is meaningless, do you understand?"

Wu Ming nodded. "For a first-grade immortal sect, there is simply no difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment."

Yi Yi said, "Correct. The reason the little princess's three-year Foundation Establishment is famous is to make people certain that she will surely become a Nascent Soul, or even reach the Spirit Transformation Realm, in the future. As for how many years it actually takes to go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, it has never been important for those with sufficient talent. There have been precedents of people spending half a cycle of sixty years in Qi Refining only to eventually achieve the Spirit Transformation Realm. Therefore, Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment are not only unimportant to immortal sects, but they are also equally unimportant to those who are true Dao Seeds."

There was a sense of sincere advice in these words. Although Wu Ming did not entirely agree, he did not refute them.

However, Yi Yi saw that he had other thoughts in mind, shook his head, and smiled. "Very well, the topic has drifted. In any case, you must know that an Immortal Mansion was never meant to be a place for people to cultivate. Whether it is the Li Yao Echo or Qingjing Lake, the immortals designed these things with other purposes in mind; they were not meant for later Qi Refining practitioners to use for rapid Foundation Establishment. Nowadays, people harvest Li Chen and refine the echoes, and while they are indeed continuously benefiting from it, they are also violating the original intent of the Immortal Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming gradually realized the truth.

To put it bluntly: using a speed-hack invites divine retribution!

Sure enough, Yi Yi then explained, "In Moli Immortal Mansion, there is a Tribulation of Lost Li. Simply put: the longer you stay on the outskirts of the Immortal Mansion, the closer the tribulation becomes. Once the Tribulation of Lost Li arrives, no matter how high your cultivation or how many magical treasures you possess, you will be lost on the spot and reduced to a Li Yao."

Hearing this, Wu Ming was confused.

"If this Tribulation of Lost Li exists, how do the Immortal Guiding Envoys, who have been working the outskirts for years, survive the tribulation?"

Yi Yi shook his head. "Our methods cannot be spoken of, and you wouldn't be able to learn them anyway. But the normal way to deal with it is to rest. As long as you leave the Immortal Mansion and wait for a year or half a year, the tribulation will slowly dissipate. But do you remember our original agreement? We cannot wait for you for a year or half a year; you must explore the Immortal Mansion once every three days. This is the iron law of the immortal sect, and we cannot violate it."

Wu Ming naturally understood this. In the end, this batch of veteran Qi Refining practitioners sent down by Luohuang Mountain was a form of general technical poverty alleviation for the local area of Qiongzhou, not specifically for any one family or sect. The Liu Family had only secured priority, not a monopoly.

Therefore, although there were theoretically ways to exploit the bug—such as passing the Liu Family token in one's possession like a relay race, finding 100 passersby to take turns holding it, with each person lasting three days, which would add up to nearly a year and be enough to clear any tribulation...

But clearly, Luohuang Mountain was not stupid; they wouldn't let people exploit bugs so easily, and Wu Ming had no intention of waiting around slowly for a cooldown. So, that method was not worth mentioning.

I'll just find some dim-witted family later and sell it to them for a high price.

"So, are you all planning to bid us farewell?"

Yi Yi was taken aback for a moment before laughing. "It won't be that soon. Based on today's progress, we can protect you for at least another ten to fifteen days before the Tribulation of Lost Li occurs."

Ten to fifteen days... At today's harvesting efficiency, that would likely translate to three or four months, perhaps even half a year's worth of cultivation progress. As a windfall gained out of thin air, that was terrifyingly generous!

However, looking at the sincere faces of these Luohuang cultivators before him, Wu Ming was naturally not satisfied with a mere half-year of training.

Besides, that was certainly not the original intention of the Luohuang cultivators!

"Are there any other options?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Yi looked toward Han Gang, and a look of gratification appeared in both of their eyes.

"There is one other choice: before the Tribulation of Lost Li strikes, follow the will of the Immortal Mansion and proactively venture deeper into the second level. As long as you keep moving deeper, the Tribulation of Lost Li will not trigger. Of course, with your current cultivation levels, entering the second level would only serve to broaden your horizons; you might not gain any real rewards. Furthermore, the second level is perilous—it would undoubtedly be a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation... But our promise to save your lives three times will remain valid."

At this point, Yi Yi blinked slightly, clearly implying that if it were truly necessary, they could save them more than three times. Three was the guarantee; anything more was a bonus.

However, after hearing this, Wu Ming couldn't help but frown, then lowered his head into deep thought.

After a long while, he looked up and said decisively, "I choose the first option!"

"?"

Thanks to book friends 20220501084336769, 20250604115420731, Ni Shizi, Wuyue, Xiwen, and Ting Si Shi Si A for their tips!