Mythical Cultivation

Three days passed quickly. By the time Wu Ming arrived at the sect's main gate, hundreds of people had gathered. A careful count revealed over four hundred. As far as Wu Ming knew, the previous batch of disciples had only been around four hundred. So, wouldn't that mean everyone was participating in this secret realm mission?

Wu Ming's idea was actually a bit biased. Although the previous batch of disciples had more than 400 people, after more than ten years of cultivation, some of them had already entered the inner sect, so not all of them participated in this mission. Moreover, they were not the only ones in this batch of disciples who had reached the late stage of Qi Refining, which he would immediately discover.

"Hey, isn't that Dongfang Haoyu? How come he is involved in this mission? When did he quietly break through to the late stage of Qi Refining?" Zhao Xiaohai pointed at a young man in a small team.

A few people met Zhao Xiaohai's gaze and looked at him, only to find that it was a disciple who had entered the sect at the same time as them. He was inconspicuous in daily life, but unexpectedly, he had quietly broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

"Not only that, look, aren't those Wang Qi and Zhang Yiming in the team on the left? And isn't that Luo Chunlin over there? They have all broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining." Hou Tiancheng also pointed at the other people.

Only then did everyone realize that they were not the only disciples in their group who had entered the late stage of Qi Refining. Others had also entered the late stage of Qi Refining, but they just didn't know it yet.

"It seems that everyone is extraordinary. We must not be blindly arrogant and think that we are the best among this group of disciples." Wu Ming also sighed.

As they observed the crowd around them, they noticed that the disciples in a small group ahead of them had all turned their gazes towards them, with malicious expressions. After careful observation, they were surprised to discover that several members of this small group were actually members of Liu Lei's former group.

"It seems the situation is a bit complicated! This time we not only have to be on guard against the cultivators in the sect, but it seems that there are also people in the sect who have ill intentions towards us." Huang Hao said in a serious tone.

"I guess Liu Qingquan probably didn't want to attack us directly, so he ordered the outer disciples to cause trouble for us in this mission. Everyone must be vigilant. If you meet these people in the secret realm, don't get entangled with them too much. Let's discuss countermeasures after we successfully meet up." Wu Ming also seemed a little worried. After all, most of these people have the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining. Judging from their current strength, it would be difficult to compete with them if they met them alone. Therefore, he specifically reminded everyone to be extra cautious.

"I'm so unlucky. I run into these boring guys wherever I go!" Zhao Xiaohai complained with an unhappy face.

While Huang Hao was communicating with the others, he was actually discussing the true and false of this secret realm with Old Man Ding in his body. The two of them were discussing heatedly when they heard Old Man Ding suddenly say, "Stop talking. Someone with a high level of cultivation has arrived."

Suddenly, a slight ripple echoed from the sky, and a figure slowly emerged. The figure, clad in a purple robe, stood tall and straight like a pine tree, possessing an elegant demeanor. He seemed to be hovering in the air! Everyone took a closer look and gasped. This figure was none other than the elder leading the disciples to the secret realm!

The elder glanced at the people below and said, "Everyone, be quiet!" His voice was not loud, but it carried an irresistible majesty, causing everyone present to shut their mouths unconsciously.

"I am the person in charge of this mission. You can call me Elder Dongfang." The elder introduced himself.

"For the next period of time, I will lead you into the secret realm. The secret realm will be open for a month. After a month, I will personally lead everyone back to the sect. Now, everyone, board the spirit boat!"

As the elder finished speaking, he gently waved his sleeve. In an instant, an enormous spiritual boat appeared out of thin air before everyone's eyes! The spiritual boat was shimmering with a strange light, and the hull was carved with various mysterious runes and patterns. It was obviously an extremely precious magical instrument.

Looking at the spirit boat before them, everyone was filled with awe. Elder Dongfang continued, "Once aboard the spirit boat, no noise is allowed. All orders must be followed according to my instructions. Anyone who breaks the rules will bear the consequences! So, do you have any questions?"

"Elder Dongfang, how can we quickly find our companions after entering the secret realm?"

"Because the secret realm is subtly different from our own world, the communication talisman doesn't work there, so it's not practical to use it to find your companions. However, your mission jade tokens contain a simple map of the secret realm. These are the routes discovered by previous generations of disciples exploring the secret realm. You can store your aura in your companion's jade token. Then, after entering the secret realm, the jade tokens will reveal your and your companion's locations, allowing you to locate them. Okay, the rest is up to you to explore on your own."

Seeing the elder's impatience, the crowd dared not ask any more questions, nor hesitate for a moment, and respectfully boarded the spirit boat. Not only was the spirit boat's exterior breathtakingly luxurious, but its interior was also a world of its own, truly lavish. The entire spirit boat consisted of hundreds of exquisite rooms, each beautifully appointed, as if transported to a fairyland. It was far more advanced than any spirit boat Wu Ming had seen before, truly worthy of being a magical instrument belonging to an elder at the Golden Core stage.

After finding their own rooms, the group gathered together to discuss their plan for entering the secret realm. According to legend, once entering the secret realm, everyone would be randomly transported to a different location. Therefore, their first priority was to find a way to reunite before considering how to explore further into the secret realm.

To facilitate mutual discovery and location, the group decided to imprint their auras onto each other's jade tokens. After completing this process, they each took up the tokens and carefully examined the map within. The map was very brief, merely showing the secret realm divided into two layers: the "Outer Realm" and the "Inner Realm." Dozens of high-risk areas were also marked, highlighted in bold red. Beyond that, the rest of the area seemed largely unchanged. Clearly, the rest of their adventure would depend on their own exploration.

Although the map contained limited information, it at least gave them a preliminary understanding of the secret realm. Areas marked in red should be avoided as much as possible, as they were either inhabited by highly advanced demonic beasts or filled with restrictions left over from ancient times. These were forbidden areas that Qi Refining cultivators could not easily enter.