The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

Chu Xiu looked toward the entrance to the secret realm.

A bizarre and fantastical rift, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, appeared at the entrance of the ancient temple not far away.

Even though Chu Xiu was hundreds of meters away from him, he could still sense that the space around him was extremely unstable.

This instability is not a feeling of impending collapse, but rather the reason that the other space the entrance leads to is incompatible with the laws of this place.

Venerable Wunian glanced at Chu Xiu, then turned around and summoned everyone present to gather before him.

"Since you have all come here, everyone should know that those who can enter this secret realm are either the five Qiankun Realm cultivators or the Reincarnation Realm cultivators."

"However, the interior of the secret realm is extremely dangerous. Based on the experience of the last time the secret realm opened a thousand years ago, even those at the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm perished within it."

"Therefore, I suggest that those who enter the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm by extraordinary means, or whose cultivation of both body and mind is not equal, should not enter."

Upon hearing Venerable Wunian's words, many who had relied on rare and precious materials or the transmission of skills from their masters to reach the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm lowered their heads in disappointment.

Most of them were disciples of Zenshin-in Temple.

Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly: "Given the cultivation methods of the Zen God Academy, the spiritual strength and physical strength of most Great Perfection Reincarnation Realm cultivators are extremely disproportionate. Is this Venerable Wunian really so strict, without any intention of protecting his disciples?"

Ye Wujiang laughed and said, "If he wants to cover it up, he'd better have the ability to do so first."

Chu Xiu frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

For a peerless expert at the Great Perfection of the Qiankun Realm to protect a junior who is also in the same secret realm, isn't that a piece of cake?

Ye Wujiang explained, "The purpose of our five old men's trip is to the deepest part of the secret realm, where the legendary ruins of Mount Sumeru are located, while your purpose is only the outer or even middle layers of the secret realm."

"Once we enter the secret realm, the power of the laws of heaven and earth within will separate us. If you encounter danger, I will be unable to help you, and you must be careful on your own."

Chu Xiu nodded: "Understood."

The Venerable Wunian changed the subject, continuing, "Of course, this is merely my suggestion..."

"As for whether or not to enter, you will have to consider it yourselves after proceeding to the next step."

Venerable Wunian turned around and pointed to a huge stone tablet that was stuck diagonally in front of the ancient temple.

"This stele is called the Merit Stele. It was erected ten thousand years ago on the day this secret realm suddenly appeared. It pierced through the interior of the secret realm and has been unshakable for ten thousand years. Even I... cannot do it."

"Those who wish to enter the secret realm shall have their names engraved on it, and the merit stele will automatically rank them according to the scale of merit accumulated by the engraver in their lifetime."

Those with higher rankings will receive stronger protection from the laws of heaven and earth within the secret realm, resulting in increased magical power.

If any of the top 100 players die within the secret realm, they will receive a full-health resurrection opportunity granted by the laws of heaven and earth, allowing them to freely choose a safe location they have explored to revive.

"At the same time, demons roam freely in the secret realm. Eliminating them will also increase one's merit and grant the protection of heaven and earth,"

"The inscription on this stele is a ranking that measures the amount of merit and the strength of each person."

All eyes were focused on the huge monument of merit.

Chu Xiu looked closely and saw that there were hundreds of names of engravers on the stone tablet, but they were all different colors, with black, gray, gold and red mixed together.

Currently ranked first is Venerable Wunian himself, and his name on his stone tablet is in gold.

Second place goes to Venerable Wonderful Sound, who is also golden.

The tenth place, Ye Wujiang, was an extremely eye-catching red!

Chu Xiu looked at Ye Wujiang with some surprise: "Brother Ye, I didn't expect... you also have merits."

Ye Wujiang rolled his eyes: "I've lived this long, and I'm not some wicked person."

Chu Xiu continued looking down, and the names of the other two Great Perfection Qiankun Realm experts present were also among them, similarly in gold.

However, this color was much dimmer than that of Venerable Wunian and Venerable Miaoyin.

Chu Xiu's lips twitched. This was the Demon Realm, yet there were so many people possessing what the Zen sect called merit.

It seems this demon is not the same as that demon...

"May I ask, Your Excellency, what is the meaning of the different colors of the names on this stone tablet?"

Venerable Wunian said, "The intensity of the gold color indicates the amount of merit a person possesses."

"Black signifies a lack of virtue. Those with the title 'Black' will not receive any protection upon entering the secret realm; they will bear the consequences of their own lives."

"And gray means that this person has died in the secret realm."

"As for red, it means that this person is wanted by the laws of heaven and earth within the secret realm..."

At this point, Venerable Wunian glanced at Ye Wujiang.

After all, only Ye Wujiang's name on the entire stone tablet was a blood-red color.

All eyes were on Ye Wujiang, who remained completely indifferent.

After all, his name is already widely known.

"Of the hundreds of names on the stone tablet, about 30% are black, but half are gray!"

"Doesn't that mean... the probability of dying in the secret realm is nearly 50%!"

A gasp of surprise rang out from the crowd. Chu Xiu looked at the stone tablet.

Even among the top ten names, nearly half are in a gloomy state...

Ye Wujiang suddenly said, "The top ten are all at the Great Perfection of the Qiankun Realm."

"They all died in the deepest part of the secret realm, in the ruins of Mount Sumeru!"

Chu Xiu frowned upon hearing this, not expecting this secret realm to be so dangerous.

However, the greater the risk, the greater the corresponding benefit!

Venerable Wunian smiled slightly, flipped his hand, and a round, purple pill appeared in his palm. Its strange aura immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"This pill is a drop from the demons slain within the secret realm. Its effects... you'll see at a glance!"

Before he finished speaking, Venerable Wunian crushed the purple pill in his hand, and an extremely pure energy of heaven and earth spread throughout the entire formation the moment the pill shattered.

The next second, a cacophony of voices erupted.

"What wondrous energy! It has actually allowed my already perfected cultivation to advance even further!"

"I feel like I'm getting closer to the Qiankun Realm!"

"Let's go! Just for this purple pill, we must enter this secret realm!"

"I have no fear of death!"

Chu Xiu, standing to the side, merely sniffed the air and felt his power at the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm increase slightly in an instant. If there were no barrier to his realm, he would probably break through to the early stage of the Qiankun Realm in an instant.

"Such pure energy! It can even enhance the magical power of someone at the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm, whose spiritual energy is already at its peak..."

Chu Xiu looked surprised: "No, it's not just a simple increase in magical power, it's more like first solidifying the overflowing spiritual power within the body, and then filling the gaps..."

With just a wisp of the purple pill's aura, Chu Xiu felt his golden core in his dantian become even more solid.

Just as Chu Xiu was puzzled, Ye Wujiang also showed surprise in his eyes:

"You were actually able to sense the true effects of this purple pill... that's beyond my expectations."

"The function of the Purple Pill is to condense the spiritual energy in the cultivator's body into a higher purity spiritual essence one by one."

"And refining all the spiritual energy in one's body into spiritual essence is one of the necessary conditions for leaping from the Great Perfection of Qiankun to the realm above Qiankun."

"The purple pills dropped by the demons on the outskirts of the secret realm only work on those below the Qiankun Realm. But the purple pills that are useful to us Qiankun Realm experts are produced deep within the secret realm, in the ruins of Mount Sumeru."

Chu Xiu suddenly realized: "That's why you Great Perfection Realm cultivators risk your lives to enter it."

Ye Wujiang nodded and sighed helplessly, "Knowing the danger, no one can resist the allure of this Purple Pill."

"Even though I nearly died last time, I've come again this time..."