Of these ten outer disciples, the first six would act alone-the so-called "lone wolves."
The remaining four formed two pairs, working together in the secret realm to search for seeds of spirit herbs and grasses.
Both approaches had their advantages and disadvantages.
Those who acted alone could cover a wider area, but they lacked support and were more likely to perish under certain circumstances.
Those working together could watch each other's backs and compete more effectively against other cultivators, but they could cover less ground.
With the ten outer disciples arranged this way, their chances of returning alive with something to show for it amid the secret realm's complicated conditions were somewhat higher.
At least, the likelihood of all of them being wiped out was much lower.
Apart from their own partners, none of them knew the identities or details of the others.
Nor would these ten outer disciples know exactly how many people Liu Yu had arranged to send into the secret realm.
He had to ensure that none of them leaked information and ruined his plans.
Liu Yu carefully investigated their backgrounds and required each of them to swear a heart-demon oath, staking their ability to advance to Foundation Establishment on it.
Of course, their primary task was still to enter the secret realm and seek resources for the sect. Collecting spirit herb and grass seeds for him was merely something to do "along the way."
There would be no punishment if they failed to collect the seeds he needed; he would simply reclaim his earlier "investment." The terms were exceedingly lenient.
This investment consisted of temporarily granting each disciple a superior-grade magical artifact, along with several powerful tier-one high-grade talismans or various single-use first-tier consumables.
These were worth roughly five hundred spirit stones per person, or five