Secret Realm, Limited Spots, but soon.
Some well-informed disciples with even broader connections spread the truth far and wide.
Over the past half month, the disciples who had gone missing or died while out on missions from the sect—
they hadn't fallen prey to rogue cultivators.
Nor had they been ambushed by demon beasts.
They had all been deliberately hunted down by Ghost Fire Sect's Devil Dao cultivators!
The enemy had already slipped into Azure Cloud Sect territory, lying in wait to ambush disciples who ventured outside!
The moment the news broke, the crowd erupted.
The complaints and agitation on everyone's faces vanished in an instant, replaced by lingering fear.
"Ghost Fire Sect?! Isn't that a Devil Dao Sect?!"
"My heavens! Devil Dao cultivators snuck right up to our sect's doorstep to kill people?"
"No wonder people have been dying in the outer mountains one after another! So it was them!"
"Good thing the sect issued a ban! If we'd foolishly gone out to do missions, we'd have been walking straight to our deaths!"
"What's the point of earning contribution points if you're dead? No matter how many spirit stones you have, they're useless once your life is gone!"
Fear overwhelmed every trace of greed.
The lower-level disciples instantly fell completely in line.
The crowd, who had been full of complaints, all abandoned the idea of going out.
In the cultivation world, your life always came first.
Only the living had the chance to cultivate.
Once you were dead, everything was nothing.
Someone quickly adjusted his attitude and spoke in a low voice.
"Forget it. If we can't go out, we can't go out. Being able to cultivate in peace is the greatest blessing."
"Anyway, there are only a little over two months left until the sect tournament. We might as well go into seclusion and cultivate hard, giving it everything we've got!"
Those words instantly stirred everyone's interest.
The sect tournament!
It was the event all the sect's disciples had been watching most closely lately.
Someone lowered his voice, his face alight with excitement.
"Have you heard? The top twenty Qi Refining disciples in this tournament will get spots to enter the Magneto Secret Realm!"
"Magneto Secret Realm? What's that? I've never heard of it." A disciple who had only recently joined the sect looked utterly bewildered and asked curiously.
An established outer sect disciple at the eighth level of Qi Refining spoke up to explain.
"The Magneto Secret Realm is a secret realm jointly controlled by Spirit Province's five great sects."
"It doesn't belong to any one sect. All five sects guard it together, open it together, and share its opportunities."
"The secret realm only opens once every twenty years. The interval is long, and opportunities to enter are extremely scarce."
"And it has strict restrictions. Only Qi Refining disciples may enter. Anyone at Foundation Establishment or above is barred."
The young disciples present pricked up their ears, listening without blinking.
The older disciple continued:
"The secret realm is full of the remnants of spirit veins, and the spiritual energy is more than three times as dense as it is outside."
"Low-level heavenly treasures and earthly treasures, spirit herbs and ores, are everywhere. There are also opportunities left behind by cultivators, incomplete cultivation manuals, and magical artifacts."
"Quite a few lucky people have relied on a single opportunity in the secret realm to soar to new heights, break through bottlenecks, and stabilize their Dao Foundations."
"Some came out of the secret realm and broke through their shackles in just six months, successfully reaching Foundation Establishment!"
The crowd listened, hearts stirred and eyes filled with longing.
Someone couldn't help asking, "Senior Brother, is the secret realm dangerous? Could you die as soon as you go in?"
The older disciple waved a hand.
"Of course there's danger, but for top disciples, it's manageable."
"The secret realm has been opened dozens of times, and the second-tier demon beasts were cleared out long ago."
"What's left now are all first-tier demon beasts. They pose limited danger."
"As long as you don't get greedy or go barging into the forbidden areas deep inside, and you proceed cautiously, you basically won't lose your life."
At that, his tone turned rueful.
"Come to think of it, I was lucky enough to enter once, twenty years ago."
"Unfortunately, I was too inexperienced back then. I didn't get a single worthwhile opportunity, just a few ordinary spirit herbs."
"It was a wasted trip, though at least I gained some experience."
The young disciples were instantly filled with yearning, their hearts itching with anticipation.
A single opportunity could defy fate and change your life.
That was what every low-level cultivator longed for most.
But in the next moment,
the older disciple doused their fantasies with a bucket of cold water.
"Don't kid yourselves."
"You're only at the second or third level of Qi Refining. You'd just be cannon fodder, walking into a slaughter."
"Every time, the disciples who get spots are the very best the sect has to offer."
"You need to be at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and most are at the ninth."
"With cultivation like yours, you wouldn't even pass the tournament's preliminary rounds. What secret realm are you talking about?"
The young disciples instantly wilted, their faces falling.
The harsh reality stood before them.
The cultivation world was full of opportunities.
But opportunities had always belonged to the strong.
The weak didn't even qualify to enter.
The older disciple looked toward the main peak, his eyes full of helplessness, and murmured to himself.
"I'm going to gamble one more time, too."
"I'll bet I can fight my way to a spot in this sect tournament."
"I'm forty years old this year."
At his words, the disciples around him fell silent.
Everyone understood the cruel rules behind them.
The cultivation world had an ironclad rule.
For cultivators, the years before fifty were the golden age for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
At that age, their vital energy was abundant, their souls vigorous, and their potential at its peak.
Once they passed fifty, their vital energy declined year by year, their meridians hardened, and their cultivation potential plummeted.
If they couldn't reach Foundation Establishment before sixty, they were basically out of hope for the rest of their lives.
They would be trapped at Qi Refining for good.
Qi Refining cultivators had limited lifespans, living at most one hundred and twenty years.
It seemed like a long time, but it passed in the blink of an eye.
If they remained stuck at Qi Refining their whole lives, with no increase to their lifespan, their vital energy would run dry in old age, and all they could do was wait for death.
The older disciple clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
"I've only got twenty years left."
"This secret realm is the last great opportunity I'll ever have to turn my life around."
"If I don't get a spot, chances are this is all my life will ever amount to."
Silence fell all around them.
Everyone felt the weight of it.
Cloud Abode.
The stone door to the cultivation room was tightly shut.
Su Yun sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, having just finished a round of meditation.
He had just gone out and happened to hear the disciples in the courtyard talking.
The sect tournament, and a chance for the top twenty to enter the Magneto Secret Realm.
The news instantly stirred his interest.
The Magneto Secret Realm.
Shared by the five great sects, it opened once every twenty years and admitted only Qi Refining cultivators.
There was no need to think twice. It had to be packed with treasures.
A gleam flashed through Su Yun's eyes as he quickly ran through the possibilities.
The secret realm was full of spirit herbs, ores, and opportunities.
He could simply pick a batch of spirit herbs and hand them over to the sect in exchange for a huge number of contribution points and mid- to high-grade spirit stones.
The rewards would be incredible.
Far more efficient than alchemy or talisman-making.
Entering the secret realm was pure profit for no investment.
If he got lucky and stumbled across a high-grade magical artifact or cultivation manual, he could take off in a single bound and save himself years of struggle.
More importantly, the secret realm held plenty of top-grade spirit herbs that were extinct elsewhere, impossible to buy no matter how much money you had.
Those were all core ingredients for refining high-grade pills.
Even if you had money, there was nowhere to buy them.
With his current cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining, plus the boost from Thousandfold Amplification,
he was invincible at his level and could kill with ease.
The first-tier demon beasts in the secret realm would be no different from ants before him.
He could roam freely, go wherever he pleased, and no one would be able to stop him.
If he took some time to cultivate a treasure-hunting spell as well,
then while other people searched for spirit herbs by luck, he could find them with magic.
He'd find every herb that others couldn't.
How delightful.
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