Immortal Path Space

Chapter 394: Arrival at the Secret Realm

After returning to the camp, Wang Hong made some arrangements for his absence.

Then, Gu Qingyang took him aboard a large Flying Boat capable of carrying up to three hundred people.

Once he boarded the Flying Boat, Wang Hong realized that none of the over three hundred people on board were in the Qi Cultivation stage, not even those responsible for piloting the Flying Boat, who were in the Foundation Building stage.

What surprised him even more was that nine formidable cultivators were seated in the center of the Flying Boat, and they were all Golden Core cultivators.

Wang Hong hadn't expected that Qingxu Sect had mobilized ten Golden Core cultivators for the purpose of digging up a few demon-hunting trees. To put this into perspective, Qingxu Sect had only a few dozen Golden Core cultivators in total, and when you included other smaller factions, there were no more than a hundred of them.

Moreover, this operation was relatively secretive and promised great benefits upon success, so they certainly wouldn't allow other factions to participate.

"These are my fellow Senior Brothers; please take care of my fifth Disciple, Wang Hong, in the future," Gu Qingyang introduced Wang Hong to the other nine Golden Core Elders after they boarded the Flying Boat.

"Disciple Wang Hong pays his respects to the Seniors," Wang Hong hurriedly bowed after Gu Qingyang's introduction.

"Hahaha! Wang Junior, no need for excessive courtesy. I've long heard of your name. A core Alchemist of Pill Hall, and the Vice Hall Master of the Blue Dragon Hall at such a young age. Your future prospects are limitless! Junior Brother Gu is truly fortunate to have such a good Disciple," a white-haired Golden Core Elder chuckled. He was the leader of this mission, Chen Zhuo, and the other nine Golden Core cultivators followed his commands.

The other cultivators on the Flying Boat shifted their attention to Wang Hong upon hearing Chen Zhuo's praise, appraising him with curious gazes.

"Your praise is too kind. This disciple's achievements are merely a stroke of luck," Wang Hong replied humbly.

To ensure that their Flying Boat could break through without attracting the attention of the Demon Clan, the other cultivators from different regions had launched a fierce assault on the Demonic Beasts outside the city walls.

In the process, none of the ten Golden Core Elders on the Flying Boat had to take action. The large Flying Boat, carrying over three hundred Foundation Building cultivators, successfully broke through the weak points and headed straight for the secret realm.

Along the way, they encountered relatively few Demonic Beasts, as they had likely been driven away to join the battle elsewhere. They reached the entrance to the secret realm with ease.

Returning to this place after several decades, Wang Hong couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia mixed with the realization that everything had changed.

Originally, the six secret realms were shared by the Cultivation World, and they were constantly guarded to prevent unauthorized access and the destruction of Spiritual Objects within. But now, this territory had fallen into the hands of the Demon Clan, and there were no longer any guards. It seemed that the Demon Clan had just taken over and hadn't yet deployed Demonic Beasts to guard the area.

They arrived at the same entrance they had used on their previous visit, and Chen Zhuo stepped forward, addressing the group:

"This secret realm can only be entered by those with a cultivation level below Foundation Building. I will distribute a Talisman to each of you. Wearing it will suppress your cultivation level to the Qi Cultivation stage. However, this Talisman can only suppress your true level for one month. Once it expires, revealing your Foundation Building cultivation level will trigger the Large Formation within the secret realm to erase you. Remember this, it's crucial! You have one month to return, and we will reopen the entrance at that time."

Furthermore, this jade token has a tethering effect, allowing you to stay together when entering the secret realm," Chen Zhuo instructed the group of Foundation Building cultivators, arranging for each person to receive a jade token.

Wang Hong hadn't expected that they could remain together during the teleportation process. Otherwise, they would have been scattered all over the secret realm, and given its vastness, it would have taken nearly half a month just to reach their destination, leaving little time to dig the demon-hunting trees.

It seemed that Qingxu Sect had made thorough preparations for this mission.

Everyone hung the jade tokens around their necks, and upon activation, their cultivation levels gradually decreased, ultimately stopping at the Qi Cultivation stage.

After receiving his jade token, Wang Hong also suppressed his cultivation level to the late Qi Cultivation stage. He noticed that once his cultivation level was suppressed to the Qi Cultivation stage, the amount of Spiritual Power he could harness was limited to Qi Cultivation levels.

At this moment, the ten Golden Core cultivators ascended into the air, each inscribing a rune in the sky. These ten runes combined to form a new rune, which floated slowly toward the entrance.

The entrance's light gate opened once again, appearing in front of everyone.

The three hundred Qi Cultivation cultivators split into two teams and headed towards the entrance.

Their tasks were different. One team, consisting of two hundred people, was responsible for digging up the demon-hunting trees, which was the primary objective of this mission. The other team, consisting of one hundred people, was tasked with collecting various Spiritual Herb resources within the secret realm, especially the Foundation Establishment Pill Spiritual Herbs. Obtaining these herbs would be extremely challenging in this Demon Clan-controlled territory.

This secret realm had remained unopened for several decades, and there were likely many mature Spiritual Herbs inside. They decided to seize this opportunity to gather as much as they could.

Due to Wang Hong's role in providing information, he was naturally assigned to the demon-hunting tree excavation team.

Upon entering the secret realm and feeling the rich Spiritual Qi, everyone's faces lit up with delight.

Leading their team was a cultivator named Sun Qiuxing. After identifying the direction using a map, he turned to Wang Hong and said, "Junior Brother Wang, you are most familiar with this place. Please lead the way for us."

"Senior Brother Sun, your praise is too kind. The entrance is not far from here; we should be able to reach it quickly by heading east," Wang Hong replied.

During his previous visit, he had been transported directly into the forest and had taken note of the direction when leaving the secret realm, which allowed him to locate the forest.

He felt that even without his guidance, Sun Qiuxing could lead them to the forest with the help of the map. Including him was just an added measure for extra assurance.

With Wang Hong confirming the direction, Sun Qiuxing led the way to the east.

"Follow me, everyone. After we reach our destination, we will split into twenty groups of ten, and each group will begin digging," Sun Qiuxing instructed.

They had been walking east for over a day when they could already see a vast forest ahead.

Before entering the forest, Sun Qiuxing organized the teams and roughly planned the route for each group on the map, along with the designated search areas.

Wang Hong had only crossed through the forest once before and it had taken him several days. Searching the entire forest again wouldn't be an easy task.

Their ten teams scattered and advanced from east to west, searching forward in parallel. They planned to meet up again at the west side after exploring.

Wang Hong and the nine cultivators chose a route and ventured deeper into the forest. Now that each team had designated routes and areas to search, finding what they needed wasn't too difficult.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]