Secret Land

One year later.

Inside the quiet chamber.

A Spirit Stone floated before Fang Yu. With each breath he drew, wisps of Spiritual Qi entered his nose and mouth, transforming into a steady stream of Law Power within his body.

"Crack... crack..."

Soft cracking sounds came from within the Spirit Stone. As time passed, the sounds grew more frequent, and the spiritual essence on the stone's surface steadily dimmed until it looked like an ordinary rock. Cracks also appeared across it.

Suddenly, the Spirit Stone shattered. After the last trace of Spiritual Qi remaining inside was absorbed, it crumbled to powder.

Fang Yu opened his eyes and sensed the fifth strand of Law Power he had formed in his heart meridian. A smile appeared on his lips.

"This Spirit Stone really is good stuff. In just one year, it let me form a strand of Law Power. That's even faster than cultivating at Medicine King Ridge... it's just that I'm using them up a bit too quickly!"

With a thought, twenty Spirit Stones flew out of his storage gourd and floated before his eyes.

One Spirit Stone was only enough to support his cultivation for a month. He really was using them up too quickly. If he had a few hundred, he felt certain he could cultivate straight to Qi Ingestion Seventh Layer Great Perfection, then achieve a Dao Foundation and become a "Dao Foundation patriarch" of the sect.

Only a year has passed. I'd better not rush off to Great Scarlet Heaven. I'll go after I've used up the Spirit Stones. Even if that cultivator really did have accomplices, they probably wouldn't wait that long.

Fang Yu pondered this, then rose and headed out of his cave abode.

Now that his cultivation had broken through to Qi Ingestion Fifth Layer, he naturally had to go to the Divine Maiden Pavilion for a proper celebration.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

He had only just stepped out of the cave abode when the disciple token at his waist began to tremble faintly. Fang Yu probed it with his divine sense and received a message:

[The Flaming Mountain Secret Land will soon open for its once-a-decade opening. All disciples whose cultivation has reached the Middle Qi Ingestion Stage or above may enter to cultivate for a period of three years.]

Fang Yu's eyes lit up. The Flaming Mountain Secret Land is opening again!

His heart grew hot. He glanced at the time the message had been sent and saw that it had already been a month. There was only a little over half a month left until the official opening.

It was all because he had activated the restrictions on his cave abode, blocking the announcement and preventing him from receiving it in time. He would have to adjust the restrictions' permissions later; at the very least, they couldn't be allowed to block messages from the sect. He had nearly missed such a heaven-sent fortuitous opportunity.

A cloud platform appeared beneath Fang Yu's feet, and he headed toward Fire Cloud Cave.

The Flaming Mountain Secret Land was a sacred cultivation ground that made the sect's disciples green with envy. It was said to contain extraordinarily dense Spiritual Qi, and one year of cultivation there was worth four or five years of ordinary cultivation.

Many disciples who entered at Qi Ingestion Third Layer emerged three years later as great cultivators at the sixth layer, or even the seventh layer of the Qi Ingestion Late Stage.

They became inner disciples in a single leap, taking management posts such as deacon and receiving generous stipends. They no longer had to toil away forging Metal Fire Stones themselves.

Previously, he had only been at the Qi Ingestion Early Stage and wouldn't have qualified to enter even when the secret land opened. Now that he was at the Middle Qi Ingestion Stage, he had to seize this fortuitous opportunity.

Fang Yu made his way to Fire Cloud Cave and came before the familiar desk of Deacon Han, presenting his disciple token and three Metal Fire Stones.

"Deacon Han, I'd like to enter the secret land to cultivate. Am I too late?"

Han Feng looked at Fang Yu's eager face and sneered inwardly.

This Metal Stone fire worker came after all. Hmm, in just a few short years, his cultivation has actually reached Qi Ingestion Fifth Layer. His "fate" is quite good.

Han Feng was slightly surprised, but a moment later he stopped paying it much mind. In the Metal Stone Immortal Sect, no matter how good a person's fate was, it was useless unless their surname was "Tie."

His voice grew a few degrees colder. "To enter the secret land and cultivate, you must pay ten thousand eight hundred Metal Fire Stones. If you don't have them, you can apply for the thirty-year 'cultivate first, pay later' disciple benefit. Once you emerge from the secret land three years from now, you'll only need to repay three hundred sixty Metal Fire Stones a year."

"No problem!"

Fang Yu nodded in agreement. He had already done the calculations on his way over. Three hundred sixty a year sounded like a lot, but after he emerged from the secret land, he would have cultivated to at least Qi Ingestion Sixth Layer, and perhaps even the seventh.

By then, forging one Metal Fire Stone would only take half a day. If he worked hard, forging three in a day wouldn't be a problem.

Besides, once he reached Qi Ingestion Sixth Layer, he could forge "yellow-grade" external elixir Law Artifacts. One could sell for more than ten Metal Fire Stones, and if it was high-grade, it could even sell for thirty or forty.

As long as his cultivation rose, earning Metal Fire Stones would be much easier. A mere three hundred sixty Metal Fire Stones would be no burden at all.

Hearing this, Han Feng expressionlessly took out a contract, picked up a brush, and wrote down Fang Yu's details. He then stamped it with his seal and pushed it in front of Fang Yu.

"Read it carefully. If there's no problem, sign it."

"All right!" Fang Yu took it and read it over carefully. After making sure there was no problem, he picked up the brush, wrote his name on it, and took out his seal.

"You should think this through. You'll have to repay it for thirty years!"

Just then, Han Feng's icy voice rang out, making Fang Yu's hand freeze in midair as he was about to bring down his seal.

"Thirty years! Thirty years... that's right, I'd have to spend another thirty years paying it back..."

Fang Yu was suddenly jolted awake. Looking at the contract, he felt his heart skip a beat.

He had only just finished paying off his thirty-year "cave abode loan" ahead of schedule. How had he become "possessed" and wanted to take out another thirty-year "secret land loan"?

He was already forty-eight this year. Another thirty years, and he'd have spent his whole life paying it off. Besides, he could now travel to Great Scarlet Heaven to cultivate. Wasn't that even better than the sect's secret land? Why take on another mountain of debt?

"S-sorry..."

Fang Yu put away his seal and looked at Han Feng, an apologetic expression appearing on his face. "I... may I think it over some more?"

"You may!" Han Feng expressionlessly handed the contract and his token over. "Take this contract back and give it some careful thought. You can enter the secret land any time before the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Miss that, and you'll have to wait another ten years."

"Thank you!" Fang Yu took the token and contract, turned around, and left.

Han Feng watched his retreating back, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. This Fang Yu managed to come to his senses at the crucial moment. His fate really is good; he could be said to have deep blessings. I could give him a hand in the future!

Fang Yu left Fire Cloud Cave and returned to his cave abode. He went to the tea table in the quiet chamber, spread the contract flat on it, and thoughts ran through his mind:

After the thirty-year cave abode loan, along comes a thirty-year secret land loan. The Metal Stone Immortal Sect really has these firestone laborers of theirs thoroughly in its grasp.

As cultivators, who could resist a rapid rise in cultivation, especially cultivators like them who had reached the Middle Qi Ingestion Stage?

All they had to do was take out a thirty-year loan, and they could rapidly raise their cultivation and become great cultivators of the Qi Ingestion Late Stage in a single leap.

They could leave the ranks of the "firestone laborers" behind entirely and become a mainstay of the sect, with a chance of even achieving a Dao Foundation.

Forget thirty years-there were people who would sign a deed of indenture.

If he hadn't come to his senses at the very last moment, he would already be saddled with another thirty years of debt.

Still, come to think of it, three hundred sixty Metal Fire Stones a year really wasn't too steep a price. If he didn't have Great Scarlet Heaven, a fortuitous opportunity comparable to the secret land, he would have jumped in even knowing it was a huge pit.

"...Hmm... even though I have Great Scarlet Heaven, a cultivation world comparable to the secret land, it looks like I still have to jump into this pit..."

Suddenly, Fang Yu looked at the contract before him, took out his seal, and slowly pressed it down.