Danzun War God

Chapter Sixteen: The Secret Realm of Fire Essence Stone

Han Qi saw that someone had finished making pills, so he opened the pill-retrieving port to take out the pills. A unique medicinal fragrance instantly spread in all directions.

Elder Situ, who was leisurely strolling around, was suddenly taken aback. He hadn't smelled such a refreshing medicinal fragrance in a long time.

Elder Situ quickly searched for the source of the medicinal fragrance, only to find that it was coming from Han Qi's alchemy furnace. He was shocked, as it was completely unexpected. He had thought that Han Qi's alchemy methods would produce a batch of dregs, but he had misjudged him. Han Qi had actually produced such pure pills. Without thinking too much, he quickly walked over.

At this moment, Han Qi had already taken out the pills and placed them into the pill bottle, making a total of twenty pills. Elder Situ reached out and grabbed the pill bottle, quickly took out a pill, examined it closely, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his expression was one of utter enjoyment. He murmured, "Not bad, truly top-quality."

He then turned to Sun Yaozu behind him and said, "A fourth-grade top-quality pill, the best of the best, is extremely rare and hard to come by!"

After speaking, he stroked his beard and looked Han Qi up and down again, saying, "What is your name? Who is your master? With this level of skill, why do you need to come to my Xuantian Sect to learn?"

Han Qi immediately bowed deeply to Elder Situ and said, "Elder, I am Han Qi, a rogue cultivator with no master. I wish to join the Xuan Tian Sect to further improve my alchemy skills. I hope you will give me your guidance."

Elder Situ patted Han Qi on the shoulder with a smile and said, "You are a promising young man. I will continue to keep an eye on you. Go back and prepare well for the third test."

Upon hearing Elder Situ's words, some of the others were filled with envy. This person hadn't even officially entered the Xuan Tian Sect yet, but he had already gained Elder Situ's favor. His future was truly limitless. Others, however, cast envious glances. This person would surely overshadow their own brilliance, and they would definitely get rid of him if they had the chance.

Two more hours passed before all the alchemists finished, and the results were posted. Only fifty people successfully entered the third test, and Han Qi ranked first with twenty top-grade fourth-level pills. This was also the first place that Elder Situ had personally selected to recruit Han Qi into his ranks.

Elder Situ's actions also aroused jealousy among most of the finalists towards Han Qi. Even Sun Yaozu, the chief disciple of the alchemy lineage, was no exception. Since joining the Xuantian Sect, he had never seen Elder Situ take such good care of a disciple. Once Han Qi joined the alchemy lineage, he would inevitably pose a threat to his position as chief disciple.

The following day, the fifty participants in the third martial arts competition arrived at the arena early in the morning. The martial arts competition mainly tested everyone's combat ability. Alchemy was not the whole Xuantian Sect; martial arts cultivation also played a very important role. The previous competition rules were: these fifty people would take turns fighting each other to obtain a ranking. Then, the rankings would be determined by combining their attributes, talents, and alchemy combat experience. The top twenty would be selected in the end.

As for this year's competition rules, no one is quite sure. Rumors say that there will be significant changes this year compared to previous years, but there is no consensus on how these changes will be made. Therefore, everyone is filled with curiosity and anticipation for this martial arts contest.

The Xuantian Sect's recruitment of disciples in Huoyun City was already a grand event, and with the added rumor of a change in the martial arts competition this year, the area outside the arena was packed with Huoyun City spectators, who were also eagerly anticipating the format of this year's competition.

Before long, Elder Situ of the Danxiu lineage and Elder Lu of the Wuxiu lineage arrived with a group of Xuantian Sect disciples. The entire martial arts arena quickly quieted down, and everyone's eyes were focused on this group. The onlookers also quickly parted to make way for them.

The Xuan Tian Sect members stopped at the edge of the arena in the center of the martial arts field. Elder Lu Hongsheng of the martial arts lineage slowly walked to the center of the arena, stood still, looked around, and then said, "Everyone, today is the third test for recruiting disciples for our Xuan Tian Sect. It is also a martial arts competition. I believe you have all heard that the format of this year's test will be changed. This change was made after many discussions within our Xuan Tian Sect. This competition format is also being implemented for the first time. If there are any shortcomings, please feel free to offer your suggestions and opinions."

Having said that, he took out a palm-sized fire spirit stone and held it in his hand. Then he said, "This year's competition will take place right here." He then walked around the arena once, showing everyone the fire spirit stone in his hand.

The onlookers were stunned for a moment. After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in chatter.

"Has Elder Lu gone mad, or has the Xuantian Sect gone mad? It's too ridiculous to unfold this on such a trivial rock."

"This stone seems unusual; there must be something more to it."

"He has come up with ten novel ideas. That's interesting. Let's see what he does next."

……

Elder Lu raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. After the room quieted down, Elder Lu began to speak: "I heard your voices. Many of you still don't understand how such a small stone could accommodate fifty of us, right? Then let's continue watching."

As he spoke, Elder Lu lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew up. He then threw the red fire spirit stone in his hand onto the arena. The fire spirit stone on the arena was fiery red all over and no longer released heat. The fire spirit stone gradually grew larger and larger, and soon it transformed into a small mountain several meters high, occupying the entire arena. The fiery red mountain was surrounded by clouds and mist, full of mystery.

The crowd erupted into chaos once again.

"I knew it! This rock is something special; it turns out to be a miniature mountain."

"A martial arts competition on the mountain? How can you even compete like that?"

"This mountain isn't very big. There's not much space for fifty people to climb it."

……

Elder Lu, hovering in mid-air, raised his hand again to signal everyone to be quiet. Then, he pointed to the fiery red hill and continued, "As you can see, my Xuantian Sect has developed a secret realm within this Fire Essence Stone. Originally, it was intended for our disciples to use for cultivation, but after discussion by the Sect Master and the elders, it has been decided to use it to complete the third round of testing for this year's recruitment. The test is very simple: all participants enter through the entrance of the secret realm, and whoever can exit within three hours will be recruited by our Xuantian Sect."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire martial arts arena erupted in excitement and discussion once again.

"This year, we're not just recruiting twenty people; we might hire all fifty!"

"It's also possible that none of them will be hired."

"Now that my chance has come, I must be the first to walk out of here."

"Elder Lu said that it must be difficult to do, but there should still be a chance."

"..."

The discussion continued, so Lu Hongsheng had to raise his hand again to signal everyone to be quiet. After everyone had calmed down, he continued, "Next, please enter the secret realm. You will need to find the exit yourselves, but once you complete the test, you will naturally be able to find the exit. However, I must warn you beforehand that entering this secret realm is also very dangerous. You may never be able to get out. Once you enter the secret realm, you can only rely on yourselves. Therefore, if you want to leave now, that is also possible."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the group of people who had come to participate in the test. Seeing that no one was willing to withdraw, he waved his right hand, and a vortex-shaped mist appeared in front of the Fire Essence Stone. Then he said, "If no one withdraws, then please enter the secret realm."

One by one, everyone entered the secret realm from the vortex. Once everyone had entered the passage, Lu Hongsheng closed the passage. At this moment, the chief disciple of the Xuantian Sect's alchemy lineage lit an incense stick and began the timer.

All the onlookers could see the contestants on the mountain, only their figures were shrunk considerably.

The space within the Fire Essence Stone Secret Realm was vast. Before Han Qi lay an endless mountain range, and there was no sign of the other people. Because flying was restricted within the secret realm, they could only proceed on foot.

Han Qi thought that, based on Elder Lu's words, this secret realm was not so easy to pass through, so it was best to be careful. He then carefully walked into the deep mountains. Apart from the bushes and weeds growing around him and the rocks scattered everywhere, he did not find anything unusual, not even a single insect. This made Han Qi a little surprised.

However, something caught Han Qi's attention: the surrounding environment seemed to be constantly changing. The scattered rocks on the ground gradually disappeared, and the wild grass and shrubs began to thin out, replaced by tall trees. Looking back, the scene behind him was not the same as when he came; it seemed to be constantly changing. Han Qi suddenly realized that everything before him was probably an illusion. If this continued, he could easily lose his way. Han Qi immediately closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and kept his mind clear.

When Han Qi opened his eyes, the environment around him was still the same as when he first appeared in front of him. He had been walking for so long but was still in the same place.

Suddenly, Han Qi noticed a blue plant directly in front of him. He had encountered this plant before; it was called the hallucinogenic plant. The scent it emitted could induce hallucinations, and anyone who became addicted to this illusion would never be able to escape as long as the plant existed.

The herb before him was extremely precious, at least a hundred years old, and might be of great use in the future. Han Qi then picked the Enchanted Herb by the roots, put it into a jade box, stored it in his Qiankun Ring, and continued on his way.

Before long, Han Qi arrived at the foot of the mountain. The trees on the mountain were tall and lush. Han Qi did not linger and immediately walked up. However, the surroundings were very quiet and there was not a sound. Han Qi carefully examined the surrounding environment but did not find anything special. However, there was a tree that was slightly different from the others. The branches of this tree all grew downwards, like a weeping willow, but it was obviously not a weeping willow. It was scattered very sparsely among the other trees.