After the banquet, the cultivators dispersed. Luo Mingyan, however, called Wei Zhong over and told him in a few words that several Foundation Establishment seniors had taken an interest in the Green Vine Intoxication he brewed. Among them was the Pill Hall's seventh true disciple.
Wei Zhong had been worrying over how to forge a connection with him. Hadn't this opportunity just delivered itself to his doorstep?
I never expected my Green Vine Intoxication to have some ability to nourish the flesh. Is it because my physique has been so well nurtured by the Nourishing Body Art that I barely noticed it?
"Rest assured, Uncle Luo. This nephew will brew several more jars when he returns. There are still a few jars in stock at home; I'll bring them over to you right away."
Luo Mingyan was quite pleased by Wei Zhong's quick understanding, but he did not tell him about the secret realm.
In Luo Mingyan's eyes, Chu Zhong was merely a cultivator who had just reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining. He was still a full minor realm away from Foundation Establishment and could not get involved in this matter.
Wei Zhong departed, retrieved the wine stored at home, and delivered it to Luo Mingyan's cave abode.
He did not mention the seventh true disciple. It was still too early; he needed to use spirit wine to build their connection first, then make his request once the time was ripe.
Wei Zhong made up his mind. When he returned, he would grind hard at his brewing skills and seize this connection properly. The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill might well depend on it.
The brewing inheritance for second-rank spirit wine also needed to be put on the agenda. First-rank spirit wine could at most draw the interest of Foundation Establishment cultivators; it could not be considered anything precious.
Three days later, the Azurewood Sect released a piece of news that stunned cultivators from countless sects and Rogue Cultivators alike, even stirring up a tremendous uproar in Bright Moon Market.
"Two years from now, the Azurewood Sect will open the 'Qingchuan Secret Realm.' At that time, a large number of entry qualifications will be sold. Both sect cultivators and Rogue Cultivators may participate.
"This opening of the secret realm differs from the past. For resources acquired within the secret realm by non-sect cultivators, the Azurewood Sect will not take a single coin. If precious spirit herbs such as Jade Marrow Mushroom are gathered, you may either pay a fee to have this sect's alchemists refine them into pills, or exchange them for spirit stones of equivalent value...
"Special notice: Resources within the 'Qingchuan Secret Realm' are urgently depleted. All cultivators are asked to consider carefully..."
"Senior Brother, is it truly all right to tell Rogue Cultivators that the secret realm's resources are insufficient?"
Yu Xianglan, the Law Hall Master, said.
In the council hall, Nie Yuansen shifted his attention away from the Jade Slip in his hand and said blandly, "What is improper about it?"
This man was the Azurewood Sect's Sect Master, a Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator with a single wood spiritual root. Among the Azurewood Sect, he was the one most likely to form a Nascent Soul.
After saying this, Nie Yuansen turned his head to the side and asked, "Junior Brother Duan, when you were still a Rogue Cultivator, if you spent three hundred spirit stones to buy a chance to enter a secret realm—
"Then, full of joy, you discovered that the sect disciples had already plowed through the secret realm once, leaving behind nothing but worthless spirit grass. What would you think?"
The Pill Hall Master, Duan Delong, grabbed a handful of his grizzled beard and answered:
"Then I would certainly think the Azurewood Sect had gone too far in bullying others, deceiving us Rogue Cultivators. From then on, this poor Daoist's pills would no longer be sold to Azurewood Sect members, and someday I would invite an expert to avenge this grudge of being schemed against."
The Artifact Hall Master, however, was hot-tempered. The moment he opened his mouth, his voice rolled like thunder, making Yu Xianglan, seated beside him, frown and cover her ears:
"Why borrow another's hand for revenge? This old man would have long since gone knocking on their door himself."
Watching these two sect brothers talk about taking revenge against their own sect at the drop of a hat, Yu Xianglan could not help rubbing her forehead. Anyone unaware of the truth might think they were spies sent by some other faction.
Nie Yuansen placed the Jade Slip in his hand upon the table:
"See? Even Junior Brothers Duan and Zhao say so, so it cannot be wrong. Besides, wasn't this something we discussed long ago?
"Now that it has already been announced, rather than consider whether it is appropriate, we should think about other matters."
His gaze swept over the three of them:
"How are the pills from the Pill Hall, the artifacts from the Artifact Hall, and the spells and spirit talismans from the Law Hall being prepared?"
The three exchanged glances. "Everything has been prepared properly!"
"Good. In this matter of the secret realm, our sect will not only sell entry qualifications, but also peddle cultivation supplies such as pills and artifacts. The spirit stones earned this way will likely exceed the combined profits from several previous secret realm openings. It can be considered letting this secret realm give off its final lingering warmth. There will be no such opportunity afterward."
"Senior Brother, is there truly no way to sustain the secret realm any longer?"
Duan Delong spoke with some regret.
Over the past century, Duan Delong had relied on the secret realm's output for spirit herbs to practice with and improve his alchemy. Now that the Qingchuan Secret Realm was about to collapse, he found it particularly regrettable.
Nie Yuansen shook his head:
"The process of the secret realm merging into our cultivation world is already irreversible. This will probably be its final opening. The next time we see it, who knows in what remote nook and cranny of this world it will be."
Zhao Bai rubbed his gleaming bald head:
"What a pity. The ancestors once said that it was suspected to contain an inheritance of Spirit Transformation or even greater profundity. Yet it seems we are fated to it, but have no share in it."
Yu Xianglan said:
"Junior Brother Zhao, didn't you even pry up the floorboards of the Inheritance Hall and still find nothing? Perhaps the sect's records were mistaken."
Just then, a deep male voice rang out:
"There truly is a profound inheritance within the secret realm. The Azurewood Sect's lineage also drew part of its essence from it."
The three hall masters immediately rose and bowed:
"Greetings, Grand Elder!"
Nie Yuansen merely stood and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Martial Uncle."
"No need for formalities!"
With a light sweep of his sleeve, the man in azure robes lifted the three of them up.
"Sit."
He had white eyebrows and a white beard, and in his hand he held a jade-green ruyi half a man's height.
"The secret realm's inheritance is real, but the Azurewood Sect only obtained its first half. It can only reach Core Formation at most; to advance further into Nascent Soul, one must turn to another method. Our sect's founding patriarch absorbed its essence and fused it with his own understanding, which was how the Spring Autumn Evergreen Art came to be."
Among the four present, only Nie Yuansen and Duan Delong cultivated this art. Yu Xianglan cultivated a technique called the Five Revolutions Flowing Cloud Art, while Zhao Bai, skilled in body refinement, practiced the body-refining Golden Thunder Art.
"For a hundred years, our sect has failed to obtain the subsequent inheritance from within. It seems there is likely no opportunity left."
Grand Elder Lian Chengjue revealed a trace of regret in his words.
Yet in the span of a breath, he regained his spirits and said:
"I came to find the four of you, senior and junior brothers and sisters, because of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range."
Nie Yuansen was the first to ask, "Has a conclusion been reached?"
"That is correct. The human cultivators of our prefecture have reached an agreement with the Demon Race, allowing humans to enter the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range to gather spirit herbs and spirit materials. They may even capture and kill the demon beasts within."
Nie Yuansen was overjoyed. "Excellent! This will resolve our sect's resource predicament. Nether Luo Prefecture got there several years ahead of Mangyuan Prefecture; now, at last, our turn has come."
"If high-ranking demons take action and kill our human juniors, how will that be handled?"
Yu Xianglan voiced her concern.
Lian Chengjue shook his head. "High-ranking demons will not act unless you provoke them first. If they are willing to cast aside their dignity, then we shall see whether they can afford the price of making a move."
As he said this, a sharp glint flashed through the eyes of Lian Chengjue, the Azurewood Sect's Grand Elder.
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