Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest.

Chapter 672: Start leveling up!
If we were to say the biggest change that the revival of spiritual energy has brought to the people, it would probably be that many famous mountains and rivers and scenic spots have been gradually designated as military restricted areas by the government and are completely blocked off from the public.

When Yan Yu led the team to the secret realm of Wudang Mountain, they saw endless large factories spread out along the mountain, as if they were running factories in the mountains.

After landing, we learned that forcibly opening the secret realm from the outside world is indeed an extremely difficult and complex project. Thousands of instruments need to operate 24 hours a day to continuously ensure the stability of the space rift.

If a machine malfunctions and causes the crack to close, reopening it would require hundreds or even thousands of times more resources and time—a serious accident. Therefore, two sets of machines are located nearby as disaster recovery backups, and even the power supply is connected to a dedicated power line, not to the Jingbei Province Southern Power Grid, to eliminate any possibility of accidents.

In the largest central factory building, everyone saw for the first time the space rift that had been forcibly opened.

The naturally opened entrance to the secret realm appears as a purple scar in space, like a giant sea anemone slowly waving its tentacles in the air; the forcibly opened space rift is a narrow, blood-red wound that continuously radiates thick beams of ionized gas. Therefore, it is usually covered with a fully enclosed strong magnetic coil, and there are more than a hundred engineers and military personnel stationed nearby for maintenance, rushing back and forth without daring to stop.

The pioneering team rested for a while, and then came to the space rift again and asked the staff to turn on the coil.

"I'll go in first," Yan Yu ordered. "The first one to enter will be in the most danger. I have the Taiyang Zhenmei sword to protect myself. The rest of you can wait until I come out."

After saying that, he took the lead and entered the space rift.

Entering the secret realm entrance normally, one feels as if the world is spinning, and when one opens their eyes again, one is already in the secret realm; passing through a forcibly opened space rift, one completely loses the sense of direction, and up and down, left and right, front and back are completely reversed, and the tremendous pressure coming from all directions seems to crush one completely.

A few minutes later, the spatial turbulence gradually subsided. Yan Yu suddenly opened his eyes, and with the Fengyun Bagua Step, he flashed out, only to find himself on a raised platform halfway up the mountain.

The platform was nestled against a mountain on one side, and surrounded on the other three sides by a boundless sea of clouds. The mountain was covered in verdant pines, and a towering celestial palace stood tall, with fluttering flags and ringing bells, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.

Yan Yu looked at the outline of the Immortal Palace, and his expression suddenly changed slightly:

Could it be... the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation?
As the thought flashed, he saw two energies, black and white, suddenly flashing in the air.

Yan Yu quickly performed the Dividing Clouds Eight Diagrams Step, rapidly moving sideways seventy to eighty meters. The next second, a giant sword formed from black and white energy descended from the sky like a mountain!

Thanks to his swift reaction, he managed to escape the giant sword's slashing range at the last moment. The sword energy continued to burst forward, crossing the platform and parting the sea of clouds. A large amount of clouds and mist were forced to move to both sides, until the end where the sea and sky met!

Seeing this scene, even though Yan Yu was knowledgeable and experienced, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

The Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation uses the yin and yang energies to generate the Liangyi Sword Qi, attacking any enemy that enters the formation. The closer they get to the core of the formation, the more fierce and difficult to resist the attack. Even those at the Jindan realm will be fatal or seriously injured if they are not careful.

This was likely the outermost edge of the formation, so the attack was simply a downward slash of the greatsword, a simple yet brutal one. However, since this being at the Jindan realm, it still possessed overwhelming power. Even with the Xuanguang Ruler's shield, a Lu Nation cultivator at this stage would be utterly annihilated by a single blow.

Seeing the yin and yang energies in the air flashing again, Yan Yu quickly turned around and ran. With a flash of his body, he immediately flashed into the space crack.

Although this method of forcibly opening the secret passage has all other disadvantages, it has only one advantage: it is always open and you can leave whenever you want.

After a while, they finally returned to the real world. Everyone was waiting outside, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Yan Yu return safely from the space rift.

Yan Yu explained the information about the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation to everyone in detail, and concluded:

"In short, the restrictions in this secret realm cannot be defended, one can only avoid them."

"Since the sword energy is generated by the Yin and Yang energies, it doesn't appear out of thin air." Chen Lingyun said slowly, "Considering that the generation takes time, there will be a period of time between each attack."

"So we can take turns to divert the attack of the formation and buy time for others to practice." Li Minghu followed her reasoning and quickly came up with a plan.

"You can only dodge, not defend. In other words, you absolutely cannot make any mistakes." Liu Longtao said in a deep voice, "Old Yan, are there any no-fly restrictions in the secret realm?"

"No." Yan Yu said, "I deliberately used my footwork to rush up, and I didn't encounter any restrictions when I reached about four or five meters."

"Then let the sword immortals be responsible for attracting the formation," Zhang Huaide suggested.

A professional sword immortal, after activating the state of human-sword fusion, could fly with his sword, which was the fastest means of movement. If even the human-sword fusion couldn't dodge, then any other cultivator who went up would only be seeking their own death.

"Yes," Yan Yu said. "Everyone's aptitude is different, and the time required for the daily breathing exercises is also different. Considering the risks of having too many people, we should divide them into four teams. Each team will take turns entering the secret realm. The sword immortals in the team will be responsible for attracting the forbidden attacks, while the others will try to catch their breath and complete the daily exercises as quickly as possible."

Hou Qing of the Fire Phoenix team turned pale, because the other three teams all had powerful sword masters, and their team's vice-captain Zhang Huaide was a strategic player, and the strength of the sword master himself was not top-notch, which meant that the life and death of the entire team depended on him alone.

"Of course, this isn't fair to the Sword Immortal responsible for attracting the forbidden attack." Yan Yu noticed his expression and added, "I will enter the secret realm with you. After the rest of the team has finished their breathing exercises, I will take over and attract the forbidden attack, giving this Sword Immortal time to practice breathing exercises."

Hou Qing's face was filled with relief. Since Yan Yu would follow him in, even if he did make a mistake, he would definitely come to the rescue and not just sit there and do nothing.

"Wait, Captain Yan, aren't you being overly exhausted?" Tang Xiaolian asked. "Everyone takes turns going in, and you have to accompany them the whole time. Isn't that fair to you?"

"Indeed." Ye Jun agreed, "Or all the sword immortals can form a single team to help everyone complete their training time, and then practice breathing and refining qi together at the end. This way, all the burden won't fall on you."

"That's not necessary." Yan Yu said, "The main reason I want to accompany you throughout the whole process is that I'm worried that the restrictions will change."

Everyone pondered. If the secret realm's restrictions were suddenly strengthened, with even more fierce and difficult-to-dodge attacks appearing, Yan Yu would be the last resort. He possessed the Sun's True Darkness Sword Intent, capable of exerting strength far beyond that of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, and was the most likely candidate to withstand the restricted attacks.

Chen Lingyun smiled silently nearby. If all the Sword Immortals were truly drawn into a separate team, what would become of the Zhenhai Team's entire cultivation? Yan Yu chose to be the stabilizing force, providing pressure for everyone. It seemed like he was leading by example, selflessly working overtime, but in the end, it was simply to buy space for the Zhenhai Team to act independently, ensuring he could leverage Ruoxi's engine's cultivation speed. Looking at everyone's faces, even the pretentious Jingye·Awuluan·Liu Shao showed a look of awe. It was clear that Yan Yu had taken advantage of the situation and gained face, creating a selfless image in front of everyone... Haha, such humor, it really makes me happy!
"Anna." Yan Yu turned to look at the blonde witch beside him, "You will go in with our Zhenhai team later, is that okay?"

"I'll do as you say." Anna knew that her identity was sensitive, so she didn't say a word the whole time, just nodded indifferently.

"In that case, let's vote." Yan Yu looked at everyone again, "Those who agree with this plan, please raise your hands!"

He would even pretend to be democratic in the process of passing the resolution that was bound to be passed... Chen Lingyun smiled slightly and raised her hand with everyone else.

"The plan is approved!" Yan Yu waved his hand, "Zhenhai Team, the first wave, follow me!"

The girls followed Yan Yu towards the space rift and only heard the captain's voice transmission:
"After entering the secret realm, I will first attract the forbidden attack. Ningning, Yunjin, and Sister Zhao, the three of you will immediately practice breathing exercises together and move the Zhou Tian as fast as possible until it reaches its limit."

"After you finish your daily lessons, Ningning will come back and take my place, and Anna will assist. Ruoxi, Lingyun, and I will practice together. When you're done, listen to my voice transmission and exit the secret realm."

The better the talent, the more celestial circulations they can move daily, and the more spiritual energy they can absorb and refine. In collaborative cultivation, the more talented can support the less talented. Ruoxi's talent is the best among the group, but on the Yan team, she's one supporting two, while on the other side, Yunjin and Sister Zhao are the dual engines supporting a small Ningning, so overall it's still fair.

The girls, however, didn't care about fairness. They had been with Yan Yu for so long, so whatever the captain said was what they believed. So they all sent messages to express their opinions that it was okay.

They crossed the spatial rift, disoriented by the turbulent currents. Finally reaching the secret realm on the other side, Yan Yu shouted "Practice!" and immediately merged with his sword, charging into the air.

Like most formations, the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation will prioritize attacking targets closer to the core of the formation. At this time, Yan Yu's sword light shot up into the sky and flew towards the distant fairy palace, immediately triggering the formation's enemy-searching mechanism.

The black and white energy in the air flashed wildly, transforming into countless Tai Chi lightning balls, which smashed down on Yan Yu. The latter pushed the sword light to the extreme, as fast as thunder and as swift as lightning, and moved around in the rain of lightning.

If you really encounter something you can't dodge, you can only unleash the Sun's True Sword Intent, slash in the air, and break the lightning.

"Haha." Zhenmei Sword Intent commented sharply, "You don't even have a Golden Core, yet you dare to venture into the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation? Do you think you're kidding around?"

"How do you know everything?" Yan Yu complained, "I want to see if there are any bugs in the operation mechanism of this formation."

"With your current strength, breaking the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation is impossible, but stalling for time is easy." Zhenmei Sword Intent immediately gave in, acting like an old man and giving instructions, "Wander around this area for a while. When you notice the formation's attacks becoming more frequent and powerful, run to the periphery."

"At this point, the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Formation will unleash a powerful attack, aiming to kill you before you can escape. Once you dodge this attack, as long as you stay within the outer area, the formation will not attack you again for approximately an incense stick of time."

"You know too much about this!" Yan Yu was suddenly shocked.

"Nonsense." Zhenmei Sword Intention said, "This formation was designed by one of my former sword masters. How could I not know that?"

"Okay, okay, if anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible!" Yan Yu threatened.

"Idiot, if something goes wrong you will die!" Zhenmei Jianyi retorted.

On the platform of the distant cliff, Zhao Yuanzhen, Su Yunjin and Lin Ning had already sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy at full speed and refine it into their bodies.

Hearing the sudden sound of a sword whistling, Lin Ning could not help but open her eyes and look in the direction where the black and white lightning flashed, but she heard Yun Jin's voice coming over:
"Focus, Ningning..."

"But Captain!"

"Trust the captain."

Lin Ning finally fell silent and tried hard to absorb the spiritual energy transmitted from both sides into her own small circulation.

Compared to the original six people practicing together, the number has now been reduced to three. Without Xie Ruoxi, the super engine, but also without Yan Yu and Chen Lingyun, the two drags, a careful comparison and measurement revealed that the practice speed has only dropped slightly.

Chen Lingyun and Xie Ruoxi stood by, watching Anna dip her hands in blood and repeatedly draw spells in the air.

She painted with such effort that beads of sweat appeared on her fair face. Every time she successfully painted a spell, her mental state would instantly improve, and her spiritual power would also grow.

"An interesting way of cultivation," Chen Lingyun commented. "Using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as ink, carving runes, and then using it for personal use, it's similar to the way we cultivators move the Qi around in the body."

"I see!" Xie Ruoxi understood the witches' cultivation mechanism after hearing her say this. "If we drink the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as water, then witches use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as flour, steam it into cakes, and then eat it, right?"

Anna almost trembled: What kind of metaphor is that!
"That's right," Chen Lingyun said happily. "No matter which country's cultivation system, the essence of practice is to absorb natural energy from the outside world, just the means are different. Mortals consume sugars and fats from food and obtain energy through material metabolism. Essentially, it's similar to us, but the efficiency of utilization is far less than that of extraordinary people."

"Leave me alone." Anna couldn't help but say, "Let's go check on Yan Yu. Where on earth did he go?"

"I don't know." Chen Lingyun said lightly, "Anyway, he has the Zhenmei Sword Intent to protect him, so he will definitely be fine..."

Before he finished speaking, a deafening roar was heard in the distance, followed by a violent shaking like a landslide.

The huge cliff in front of them, which was over ten meters high and covered with green pines, suddenly seemed to be cut by an invisible sharp blade, sliding down from the surface of the mountain and hitting Ningning and the other two who were practicing together and were completely defenseless!

(End of this chapter)