Sitting cross-legged, Bai Yi drew upon the Dao-Deriving Mirror deep in his Sea of Consciousness. His Qi Vibration surged through his Meridians and swiftly poured into the Drum-Type Artifact at the very front.
The Great Dao's radiance from the Dao-Deriving Mirror shone down, dispelling all the resentment that welled from the Demonic Artifacts. The Living Souls imprisoned within them also smiled before fading away between heaven and earth.
One, two...
As his capacity gradually increased, Bai Yi simply picked up two Demonic Artifacts, one in each hand, and refined them simultaneously.
Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, an endless stream of Spiritual Resonance flowed into the Dao-Deriving Mirror, clearing the rust from its surface as Enlightenment Glimmers gathered one after another around it.
A few hours later, the last four First-Tier Middle-Grade Demonic Artifacts crumbled to dust.
Bai Yi's consciousness sank. He stared excitedly at the Enlightenment Glimmers revolving around the Dao-Deriving Mirror.
"Eleven. I condensed eleven Enlightenment Glimmers!"
Looking at the revolving glimmers around the Dao-Deriving Mirror, Bai Yi couldn't help grinning and laughing aloud. Eleven Enlightenment Glimmers, plus the one he had accumulated earlier.
That made twelve Enlightenment Glimmers in total. If he used them all to comprehend Sword Arts, at two glimmers per art, he could comprehend six of them.
Even if he handed those six arts to ordinary Sword Cultivators, those of mediocre talent probably wouldn't finish comprehending them in a lifetime.
"There are nine days left before the Secret Realm closes and the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam begins."
Bai Yi glanced down at the timer on his wrist Terminal, then picked up the Dao-Teaching Jade Talisman for the Azure Cloud Sword Art and pressed it to his brow.
At the icy touch, a low, resonant voice echoed. Bai Yi memorized the Sword Art General Outline and Qi Circulation Method of the Azure Cloud Sword Art, then sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness and drew upon an Enlightenment Glimmer.
Time passed. Seven days later.
Inside the Underground Cavern, pale-blue Spiritual Power surged around Bai Yi, almost condensing into solid form. As it churned, it slammed like waves, surging with power and weight.
He opened his eyes. Two concentrated streams of Spiritual Power burst forth like Sword Beams, gouging two fist-sized shallow pits in the ground ahead.
"The Heavy Spirit Scripture truly is a secret art of the Qi Refining Realm. Just the first layer has increased the total amount of Spiritual Power in my body by more than twenty percent."
"The speed of Spiritual Power circulation and the toughness of my Meridians have both improved considerably."
Feeling the Spiritual Power that had surged within his Qi Sea and Dantian, Bai Yi was slightly astonished.
That day, after condensing the Enlightenment Glimmers, he had used two of them and needed only a single day to cultivate the Azure Cloud Sword Art to Dao Resonance Perfection.
Afterward, he switched to cultivating the Heavy Spirit Scripture. It took one Enlightenment Glimmer and six days to cultivate this secret art to the first layer.
And this first layer alone had increased his total Spiritual Power by twenty percent, while also considerably toughening his Meridians.
The bottleneck to Qi Refining, Sixth Layer, seemed to have grown easier to break through.
"With my current level of Spiritual Power, using a single Flying Sword to execute two Sword Arts at once is no longer a burden."
Bai Yi's lips curved upward. He had to admit, after this experience in the Secret Realm-
Though his cultivation level hadn't advanced, his strength had increased by at least fifty percent compared to before.
If he faced Hua Ming again, even if Hua Ming had a First-Tier Supreme-Grade Artifact, Bai Yi would need only one sword strike to defeat him.
"It's time to head back."
Bai Yi stood and used the Purification Art to remove the dust from his body. With one sword strike, he split the boulder above the Underground Cavern, then turned and hurried toward the foot of the mountain range.
Sword Light flashed freely. After two days spent killing the many demonic beasts that blocked his way, a Basin appeared before him.
All around the Basin, countless Rogue Cultivators waited quietly, hauling large quantities of demonic beast materials, Spirit Plants, and ores.
For these Rogue Cultivators, the Blue Mountain Secret Realm had been open for over a thousand years. They had long since learned the ins and outs of when it opened and closed.
Otherwise, if they missed the closing time, they would have to spend at least a year inside the Secret Realm.
When Bai Yi reached the Basin, he found a rock and sat cross-legged on it. The surrounding Rogue Cultivators saw him and warily moved away.
"Hey, hey, did you hear? Apparently, a Demonic Mansion appeared over by Huangshi Peak."
"A lot of people died there."
"Exactly. At first, I heard it was a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave abode. Good thing I didn't go, or I'd have lost my life there."
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"I also heard that a lot of demonic cultivators sneaked into the Secret Realm this time. Our team has been waiting here in the Basin for the Secret Realm to open."
"We saved up for more than half a year. This time, we're probably going to lose everything."
"Ah, cultivation is tough."
Two middle-aged men at Qi Refining, Third Layer, spoke with dejected, helpless expressions.
Once rumors about the demonic cultivators spread, teams of Rogue Cultivators like theirs, without even a single cultivator at Qi Refining, Sixth Layer, wouldn't dare stay any longer.
Forget making money; they probably wouldn't even earn back the fifty thousand Secret Realm Entry Fee they had saved up for so long.
After the two spoke, many Rogue Cultivators nearby joined in, voicing their complaints. They had hoped to earn more cultivation resources while the Blue Mountain Secret Realm was open this time.
Now they'd truly stolen a chicken only to lose the rice.
"How did the Secret Realm Administration Office inspect the place? How could they let demonic cultivators in?"
"No way. We can't just let our money go like this. We have to make them give us an explanation!"
"That's right, an explanation!"
Just as the many Rogue Cultivators in the Basin were getting worked up, violent Spiritual Power stirred at its center. Space twisted, and a black dot formed out of the void. As lightning flashed, it expanded into a gigantic Spatial Vortex five or six meters tall.
As soon as the Spatial Vortex formed, the Rogue Cultivators, already fuming, rushed into it one after another and vanished from the Secret Realm.
After everyone had left, Bai Yi followed them and stepped into the vortex.
Heaven and earth turned upside down. In the blink of an eye, noisy voices rang in his ears, and the familiar plaza appeared once more.
At the edge of the plaza, the Immortal Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of opening the Secret Realm this time changed expression as Rogue Cultivators reported what had happened.
The plaza, which had been open before, was sealed off in an instant. Tank after tank, along with Immortal Alliance Army cultivators operating Divine Sense-Guided Cannon Platforms, surrounded the area.
Seeing this, the Rogue Cultivators who had been arguing fell silent. Under the Immortal Alliance Army cultivators' watch, they stayed where they were.
Looking at the sealed-off plaza, Bai Yi's expression shifted. He glanced down at the single day he had left and hurried over.
"Hello, I'm a Third Year of High School student in Advanced Dao Studies at Blue Mountain No. 2 Middle School."
"I have to take the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam tomorrow. Could you let me return to school first?"
As Bai Yi spoke, he opened the external-access authorization on his Terminal and brought up his identity information.
"I'll take you to see our group leader."
The military cultivator, dressed in Standard Artifact-Refining Armor, glanced at the identity information Bai Yi presented. A trace of surprise crossed his eyes, and he led Bai Yi to the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Chief Qin, this student is from No. 2 Middle School. He says he has to take the Four Academies and Ten Palaces Preliminary Exam tomorrow."
After the military cultivator finished speaking, Qin Lianshan's Divine Sense landed directly on Bai Yi.
In an instant, Bai Yi felt a force as imposing as a mountain press down on him and steadily grow stronger.
"Hm?"
Seeing that Bai Yi had withstood his imposing pressure without immediately using Spiritual Power to resist, Qin Lianshan raised an eyebrow.
He had intended to force Spiritual Power out of Bai Yi so he could examine him, but he hadn't expected Bai Yi to withstand it.
The pressure grew heavier. Suddenly, Qin Lianshan's expression changed in alarm. A sharp aura surged around Bai Yi, and the flow of Spiritual Power instantly forced his pressure back.
"His aura is sharp, his Spiritual Power pure, and his cultivation art is the Minor Five Elements Art..."
"The Terminal system has confirmed his identity too. All right, you can go."
Qin Lianshan withdrew his pressure and looked deeply at Bai Yi. He waved a hand to indicate that Bai Yi could leave, then turned to examining the other Rogue Cultivators.
After getting permission, Bai Yi calmed his Spiritual Power and let out a long breath.
This was a living Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. The pressure alone had forced him to unleash his Spiritual Power just to stand upright.
"Only above Foundation Establishment does one truly cultivate immortality..."
Murmuring to himself, Bai Yi left the plaza and took the Maglev Train back to his residential complex.
Watching Bai Yi's disappearing back from the corner of his eye, Qin Lianshan lowered his gaze to Bai Yi's information on the projection screen and quietly sent a message.
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