Azure Tide Secret Realm
The next day.
Song Wen arrived at the Human-Snake Cavern early in the morning.
He handed over the corpses of the six dead Man-Snake, as well as the severely wounded Man-Snake that had been cut in two, to Liu Jiang.
Seeing Song Wen take out the remains of Man-Snake from his storage and pile them all over the ground, Liu Jiang's face turned ashen.
Pill Peak has a total of eleven second-tier Man-Snake. Song Wen has seven, Zhang Bing and Li Shi each have one, and the other two are kept in the Human-Snake Cavern.
These Man-Snake were cultivated by Liu Jiang with great effort, and now they are all dead.
This means he needs to quickly breed several Man-Snake hybrids to make up for the losses.
In order not to delay Song Wen and the others' progress in refining the Profound Corpse, Liu Jiang worked almost day and night to cultivate the Man-Snake.
Now that so Man-Snake have been lost at once, Liu Jiang is understandably unhappy.
"Who did this?" Liu Jiang gritted her teeth.
"What happened at Pill Peak last night? Elder Liu, you haven't heard of it?"
Liu Jiang shook her head. "What major event has occurred at Pill Peak? I've been in the Human-Snake Cavern recently and haven't returned to my cave abode."
Song Wen briefly recounted what had happened the previous night.
As for his secret plot with Zhou Siyi, that's definitely something he can't talk about.
Zhou Xuelin is dead!
Liu Jiang looked on in disbelief.
Song Wen didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer, so he changed the subject.
"Elder Liu, all the Man-Snake in my cave abode have been lost. Can you provide me with a few second-tier Man-Snake?"
"How many? Not a single one." Liu Jiang's eyes widened.
"I only have two Tier 2 Man-Snake here. I plan to nurture them for a long time and help them advance to the late Tier 2 stage."
So far, the highest cultivation level among the Man-Snake hybrids cultivated is only the Second-Order Mid-Stage.
After advancing to the Second-Order Mid-Stage, the Man-Snake seemed to have reached a bottleneck, and its strength increased very slowly.
Song Wen laughed and said, "Elder Liu, if I don't even have a single second-tier Man-Snake in my possession, the Supreme Elder will probably blame me if he finds out."
Liu Jiang frowned and pondered for a long time, finally sighing helplessly.
"Alright, I'll give you one first. I'll also provide you with new second-tier Man-Snake when I breed them in the future."
"Thank you, Elder Liu," Song Wen said, clasping his hands in thanks.
Then, Song Wen pointed to the snake-like Man-Snake that had been cut in two and said...
"How long will it take for this Man-Snake to fully recover?"
Liu Jiang said, "It was injured by the Sword Qi of Golden Core cultivator. Although it survived, it will probably take quite some time to reattach its severed limbs."
"Then I'll have to trouble Elder Liu."
With only a Man-Snake in his hands, Song Wen suddenly found himself with nothing to do.
This gave him more time to cultivate and practice alchemy.
The refining of Blood Spirit Pill has become increasingly proficient; the cultivation of the <Myriad Poisons Primordial Body> has not lagged behind either.
Zhou Siyi disappeared for a while, and only reappeared at the Human-Snake Cavern a month later.
She came to resign from her Song Wen.
Zhou Siyi had no interest in refining the Man-Snake Profound Corpse; previously, it was Zhou Xuelin who forced her to stay in the Human-Snake Cavern.
But she did not leave Pill Peak; she returned to the Profound-Class Pill Chamber and became an Alchemist.
Without Zhou Xuelin's constraints, Zhou Siyi became much more carefree.
She no longer deliberately put on a carefree demeanor, and became more calm and patient in Alchemy and cultivation.
Song Wen also frequently visited the Profound-Class Pill Chamber to practice alchemy, and often ran into Zhou Siyi there.
Zhou Siyi always seemed very happy whenever she saw Song Wen.
She would often seek out Song Wen to share her insights on Alchemy and discuss the difficulties she encountered in Alchemy and cultivation.
Time flies.
A year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Now, Song Wen has four more second-tier Man-Snake in his possession.
The one that has undergone the most corpse refining has done so ten times, and Profound Qi has once again fused with the Man-Snake.
That day, Song Wen entered the Human-Snake Cavern and saw an unexpected figure.
Elder Rong, you've emerged from seclusion?
Back then, when Rong Jingyun went into seclusion to break through the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, Fang Pengyi determined that she would need to go into seclusion for at least two to three years.
It's only been a little over a year, and she's already emerged from seclusion.
"This breakthrough went very smoothly. After advancing to the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, I immediately came out of seclusion."
With her cultivation progressing well, Rong Jingyun was in a good mood.
"Then congratulations Elder Rong, you've taken another step closer to Core Formation."
Rong Jingyun smiled and said, "I have only just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, and my cultivation is not yet stable. It is too early to talk about Core Formation at this time."
"Since your cultivation is not yet stable, why is Elder Rong in such a hurry to leave seclusion?" Song Wen asked.
"The Azure Tide Secret Realm will open in two years, so I need to hurry up and make some preparations. As for consolidating my cultivation, the two can be done at the same time without delaying each other," Rong Jingyun said.
"The Azure Tide Secret Realm?" Song Wen asked, frowning.
"Elder Wu is unaware of the Azure Tide Secret Realm?"
I've never heard of it.
Rong Jingyun seemed somewhat surprised, but quickly smiled in relief.
"It's not surprising that you, as a former Rogue Cultivator, haven't heard of the Azure Tide Secret Realm."
Next, with Rong Jingyun's explanation, Song Wen gained a general understanding of the Azure Tide Secret Realm.
This is a secret realm jointly managed by the five major sects of the original righteous path.
Now that the Nine Palaces Sect has betrayed the righteous path, it has naturally been deprived of its qualification to enter the secret realm.
Within the Azure Tide Secret Realm lie two renowned treasures: the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid and the Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch.
The Yin-Yang Blood-Weeping Branch is the main ingredient for refining the Golden Core Pill.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid is formed from the convergence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, somewhat similar to Spirit Stone. It can quickly provide cultivators with a large amount of Spiritual Qi, but it is easier to absorb than Spirit Stone. This is because the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid can be swallowed directly.
"Elder Rong, are you preparing for Core Formation?" Song Wen asked.
"The Azure Tide Secret Realm only opens once every fifty years. Now that I have just advanced to the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, I naturally want to go in and explore it," Rong Jingyun said.
"Are there any restrictions on cultivation level when entering the Azure Tide Secret Realm?" Song Wen asked.
"Anyone with a cultivation level below Golden Core can enter. However, sects only allow Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to enter," Rong Jingyun said.
"Is there a limit to the number of people allowed to enter the Azure Tide Secret Realm each time?" Song Wen asked.
"No, but the Azure Tide Secret Realm is fraught with danger, and only a few people enter each time. In previous openings, only a few dozen people usually entered," Rong Jingyun said.
Then, Rong Jingyun asked in return.
"Elder Wu, you're asking such detailed questions because you want to enter the Azure Tide Secret Realm?"
Song Wen smiled sheepishly.
"The Azure Tide Secret Realm contains the spirit medicine needed for Core Formation, which naturally makes me yearn for it. However, with my current cultivation level, entering the Azure Tide Secret Realm would likely be fraught with danger. Asking a few more questions is merely to satisfy my curiosity."
Rong Jingyun said, "The path of cultivation is long and arduous, with no shortcuts. Elder Wu is still young, so there's no need to rush. Cultivate patiently, and your cultivation will naturally come to fruition."
"Thank you for your guidance, Elder Rong," Song Wen said, bowing slightly.
She was framed and killed by her father, her death serving to highlight his evil and the cruelty of the Cultivation World.
However, as I wrote this far, I realized that following the original plan would result in plot inconsistencies and make Zhou Siyi's character seem foolish. Therefore, starting from the first few chapters, the content deviated slightly from the outline.
(Her ending was somewhat influenced by the readers, especially since some big names said they wouldn't be sending her any more fan service.)
I am deeply apprehensive, and I ask for your continued support. Thank you.