Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Heaven-Severing Sword Dao

The Cyan Cloud Secret Realm!

This was the name of the secret realm controlled by the Academy Palace.

The Academy Palace did not monopolize the secret realm. Instead, it took the initiative to open the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm to the public, sharing it with all the Core Formation powers in the Western Wilderness.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, it was to rally the nations of the Western Wilderness to eliminate demons and defend the Dao. Second, they didn’t dare to provoke public outrage.

As a member of the Daoist Guardian Alliance, Fenglan Immortal City also had the right to send Qi Refining Cultivators inside.

Moreover, to encourage these Qi Refining Cultivators to search diligently for medicine, the Immortal City offered a hefty reward for every Spirit Medicine they brought back.

Generally speaking, a Cultivator engaging in Medicinal Collection could receive military merit equivalent to one-tenth the value of the Spirit Medicines they gathered.

The value of this military merit went without saying. On the list of items redeemable with military merit were Spirit Stones, Dharma Artifacts, Pills, Spiritual Lands... you could say it had everything. It even included the Foundation Establishment Pill that Qi Refining Cultivators dreamed of!

Furthermore, unlike ordinary military merit, this type could be traded among members of the same clan.

This way, even if a single Qi Refining Cultivator failed to gather enough valuable Spirit Medicines, a Cultivation Clan could pool everyone’s military merit to exchange for crucial resources like the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Therefore, every time the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm opened, the Cultivation Clans under the Immortal City’s jurisdiction would dispatch their Qi Refining Cultivators, led by Foundation Establishment Cultivators, to Jixia to compete for the Spirit Medicines within the secret realm.

As for Loose Cultivators, they were not qualified to enter the secret realm.

Although the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm was dangerous, it was, at the end of the day, a massive opportunity. How could they possibly allow Loose Cultivators to enter?

Even in a place like Fenglan Immortal City, which was hailed as a sanctuary for Loose Cultivators, gathering enough Spirit Stones to win a Foundation Establishment Pill at auction was far more difficult than successfully entering the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm for Medicinal Collection and returning alive.

However, Bai Qing was an exception. With the help of his three sworn brothers, all in the Foundation Establishment Stage, gathering enough Spirit Stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill was only a matter of time.

If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to go to the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm at all.

But his background forced his hand!

’The next time the secret realm opens is in six years. I have to start preparing early!’ Bai Qing thought to himself.

As long as he wasn’t content with remaining in the Qi Refining Stage for the rest of his life, he had to go to the secret realm.

Moreover, he had Three Spirit Roots, so his priority for Foundation Establishment within his clan wasn’t very high. The other cultivators of the Bai family would certainly not transfer their military merit to him.

Therefore, he had to earn enough military merit on his own to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

...

Before he knew it, the end of the year had arrived again.

The five of them, including Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng, had all arrived early at Immortal Peach Mountain.

Li Ping smiled and scanned the group.

He had long known that Cheng Yao had achieved Foundation Establishment and become a disciple of Fenglan Master.

Just like Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng, Cheng Yao had also lost her drive after reaching Foundation Establishment. Now, she spent her days focused on the administrative tasks assigned to her by the Immortal City, and she was quite content with it.

Besides those three, there was Bai Qing, who was the only Qi Refining Cultivator present, his cultivation at the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Stage.

First, they each paid their contribution to the Foundation Establishment Fund. Since Cheng Yao had also broken through to Early-stage Foundation Establishment, her contribution amount was raised to one hundred Spirit Stones.

With that, this year’s collection for the Foundation Establishment Fund came to six hundred and three Spirit Stones.

The total amount in the Foundation Establishment Fund now reached one thousand seven hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

Li Ping put away the Storage Bag and chatted cheerfully with the others about the events of the past year.

Cheng Yao’s apprenticeship ceremony was one of the most noteworthy events in the entire Immortal City last year, but it paled in comparison to another matter.

After stabilizing her realm, the Core Formation Cultivator Dai Sangyu had finally come out of seclusion.

For this occasion, Fenglan Master had dispatched messengers to inform all Core Formation Level powers in the Western Wilderness Cultivation Realm that a "Core Formation Grand Ceremony" would be held for Dai Sangyu in ten years.

Thinking of the magnificent spectacle that would take place in the Immortal City ten years from now, the group couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing.

A Core Formation Cultivator was already at the pinnacle of power in the Western Wilderness Cultivation Realm, worthy of such a grand celebration!

...

After discussing the Core Formation Grand Ceremony, Li Ping’s gaze fell upon Bai Qing.

He shook his head helplessly. "Bai Qing, if you want to get a Foundation Establishment Pill, I’m afraid you’ll have to take a trip to the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm."

In contrast to Li Ping’s helplessness, Bai Qing was quite calm. He nodded and said, "Big Brother, I understand. I’ll start preparing early."

Li Ping nodded. "There are still five years until the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm opens. The four of us will gather four thousand Spirit Stones for you within these five years. All four thousand Spirit Stones will be used to buy you supplies like Dharma Artifacts and Spirit Talismans to ensure you can return safely."

Four thousand Spirit Stones—some Foundation Establishment Cultivators didn’t even have that much to their name.

The purchasing power of such a large sum of Spirit Stones was terrifying. Li Ping believed that if Bai Qing entered the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm with a large number of High-tier Spirit Talismans, as long as he himself was careful, he might not be able to gather enough military merit, but survival would absolutely not be a problem.

"Big Brother, isn’t four thousand Spirit Stones too extravagant? I don’t need that much," Bai Qing said, utterly astonished to hear Li Ping’s words.

What kind of Qi Refining Cultivator would bring so many Spirit Talismans and Dharma Artifacts into the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm?

With that many Spirit Talismans and Dharma Artifacts, why even risk entering the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm in the first place?

But Li Ping just shook his head. "Don’t worry. This amount of Spirit Stones is nothing. As long as you can return safely, that’s all that matters."

Of the four thousand Spirit Stones, based on their contribution quotas, nearly half would come from Li Ping himself.

Given his current wealth, any problem that could be solved with Spirit Stones was not a problem at all to him.

In truth, what Li Ping hoped for most was for Bai Qing to bring back a stalk of Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng over seven hundred years old from the secret realm.

With the main ingredient in hand, his skills as a Tier Three Alchemist would allow him to easily refine three or more Foundation Establishment Pills.

Unfortunately, even if Bai Qing really did gather such a Spirit Medicine and leave the secret realm alive, the first thing that would happen upon his exit would be a body search and an inspection of his Storage Bag. It would be impossible for him to leave with the Spirit Medicine.

Now, Li Ping was getting a little curious.

Where did the Wang family’s Old Ancestor buy his Spirit Medicine from?

If there was a channel for it, he wouldn’t mind buying a stalk himself.

That way, Bai Qing wouldn’t have to risk his life in the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm.

Thinking of this, Li Ping’s gaze shifted to Cheng Yao. He smiled and asked, "Cheng Yao, I remember that when Wang Li was still alive, he spent a huge sum to buy a main ingredient for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill. If it’s convenient for you, why don’t you go back and ask around about which channel he bought it from."

Cheng Yao readily agreed, "No problem, Big Brother!"

...

In the palace atop Cyan Dragon Mountain.

Fenglan Master, wearing a cyan veil, sat opposite Dai Sangyu, who was dressed in a simple gray robe.

Dai Sangyu would ask questions from time to time, and Fenglan Master would answer them patiently.

As a veteran Core Formation Cultivator, although Fenglan Master’s cultivation was only at the Mid-stage Core Formation, she had remained in the Core Formation Realm for several hundred years. With her rich cultivation experience, guiding Dai Sangyu, who had just entered Core Formation, was naturally an easy task.

As master and disciple conversed, one asking and the other answering, midnight arrived before they knew it.

After carefully pondering and digesting Fenglan Master’s guidance, Dai Sangyu suddenly spoke, "Master, I plan to head to the Western Wilderness tomorrow. While I search for Elder Xu’s reincarnation, I’ll also travel around and gather materials to forge a Lifebound Magical Treasure. I will ask an Artifact Refining Master from Jixia to forge the Magical Treasure for me."

A Lifebound Magical Treasure had a huge impact on a Core Formation Cultivator. Between two Core Formation Cultivators, the one with a Magical Treasure could completely suppress the one without.

Therefore, the very first thing any Core Formation Cultivator did after successfully achieving Core Formation was to forge a Magical Treasure!

However, the materials that could be used to forge a Magical Treasure were all extremely precious. Furthermore, the difficulty of forging a Magical Treasure far exceeded that of a Tier Two Dharma Artifact. Generally, at least a Tier Three Artifact Refiner was needed to have any confidence in succeeding.

Because of this, many newly-ascended Core Formation Cultivators, being short on funds, were unable to afford to forge a Magical Treasure and could only continue using Tier Two Dharma Artifacts.

Hearing Dai Sangyu’s words, Fenglan Master nodded. "Forging a Magical Treasure is indeed the top priority."

With that, she took out a Jade Box containing three scarlet tail feathers from her Storage Bag and used her Magical Power to float it in front of Dai Sangyu. "These three tail feathers from a Fierce Arrowhead Eagle have already reached the quality required for forging a Magical Treasure. You can use them to forge your own Magical Treasure, or you can use them to trade with other fellow Daoists for more suitable materials."

Dai Sangyu looked at the scarlet tail feathers in the Jade Box before her, and her gaze faltered.

Back then, when the beast tide erupted, her Master was struggling to hold it back alone. Huang Yunzi stood by and did nothing, so out of desperation, she revealed that she possessed the ’Body of Mending Heaven’.

She also promised to become Dao companions with one of Huang Yunzi’s descendants after she reached Core Formation.

Only then was Huang Yunzi willing to act, joining forces with her Master to kill a Tier Three Fierce Arrowhead Eagle and quell the beast tide.

Afterward, Huang Yunzi had been quite courteous, evenly splitting the materials from the Fierce Arrowhead Eagle with her Master.

That was where the three tail feathers came from.

Now that she had successfully reached Core Formation, it seemed the time to fulfill her promise had come.

"Tch."

Dai Sangyu sneered inwardly. She put the Jade Box with the three tail feathers into her Storage Bag, her expression returning to normal. "Thank you for the treasure, Master."

Fenglan Master nodded, but her eyes behind the veil seemed somewhat dazed. "After you find Elder Xu’s reincarnation, bestow this ’Intercepting Heaven Sword Dao’ upon him and guide him in his cultivation."

"Yes," Dai Sangyu nodded.

She knew that the ’Intercepting Heaven Sword Dao’ was the very Sword Technique that Elder Xu had cultivated.

When Elder Xu was alive, no one besides him could cultivate it.

Two hundred years after Elder Xu’s weaponized liberation, still no one could cultivate it.

This Sword Technique was prepared specifically for Elder Xu.

Even she, with her ’Body of Mending Heaven’ and an Abnormal Spiritual Root, was still unable to even begin learning it.

A Cultivator chooses a Cultivation Technique, but a Cultivation Technique also chooses its Cultivator!

The fact that it could see through the cycle of reincarnation and guide Elder Xu’s return was a testament to how extraordinary this Sword Technique was.

As if suddenly remembering something, Fenglan Master added, "Oh, right. When you go to Jixia, remember to pay a visit to Alliance Leader Xiao."

Dai Sangyu nodded. "Yes."

Fenglan Master’s gaze grew distant again as she said, "And Mr. Yan."

No matter how slow Dai Sangyu might be, she could see her Master’s absentmindedness now. A thought flashed through her mind, and she guessed what her Master was truly worried about. She immediately said, "Master, please rest assured. I will definitely bring Elder Xu’s reincarnation back safely."

"Mm," Fenglan Master hummed softly, nodding.

But her gaze became even more dazed. "Elder Brother, do you still remember Rong’er?"

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