The Hundred Sect Assembly this time held extraordinary significance for the Wanyi Sect, so the sect paid special attention to it.
When Yan Hang and Yuan Lian arrived above the secret realm, nearly half of the elders and peak masters of the Wanyi Sect were already there. Everyone was suspended in the air together, a rare sight in recent years.
This time, Yuan Lian didn’t hide her presence and naturally stood beside Yan Hang, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. Her appearance was exquisite and cold, flawless, not like a real person. Even though her hair was casually tied up with just a hint of green decoration, she stood out. Her light blue dress slightly fluttered with the fluctuation of true essence, standing firmly and lightly above the clouds. Her expression was indifferent and aloof, giving off a feeling not of “beauty,” but of “coldness” and “nobility.”
In other words, anyone who saw her wouldn’t need to guess her cultivation or status; they could tell at a glance that she was not someone to be trifled with.
Yuan Lian, of course, was not at all uneasy. She stood there expressionless, treating everyone, including Yan Hang, as if they were invisible.
Seeing that Yan Hang had no intention of introducing her, no one dared to provoke Yuan Lian actively. Instead, they whispered among themselves, trying to find out who could appear with the sect leader.
Yuan Lian impatiently asked, “Why hasn’t it started yet?”
Yan Hang, unable to give his subordinates a signal, quickly replied, “It has started, but they need to enter in batches according to their cultivation level.”
Yuan Lian looked at the densely packed disciples of the Wanyi Sect at the entrance of the secret realm below and frowned.
A female cultivator who looked about twenty cautiously spoke up, “Fellow Daoist, you might not know, but it’s our sect’s tradition for Earth Immortals to enter the secret realm first. Since the secret realm hasn’t been opened for a long time, if there are changes inside, the lower cultivation disciples might not be able to handle it…”
Yuan Lian nodded and used her divine sense to observe the secret realm below.
This secret realm was left by Xianzun Yu Qi with much effort for the sect, and it was indeed interesting. To the mortal eye, it might appear as just a two-person-high circular archway, with the inside being a blur. But with Yuan Lian’s cultivation, she could vaguely see an ancient building isolated from the divine realm’s large space.
The ancient building had nine floors. Earth Immortals and above could directly enter the top three floors, Void Return and Integration were limited to the middle six floors, and Qi Condensation and Nascent Soul could only operate on the lowest three floors.
Yuan Lian knew that although it looked like a “building,” it was actually a completely different space inside, and only by entering could one know what it was truly like. Xianzun Yu Qi indeed put in a lot of effort.
The female cultivator speaking was Ling Yao Xianjun, the Peak Master of Xuanguang Peak of the Wanyi Sect. She had a pair of slender, curved eyebrows, and her eyes and nose were very gentle, without a trace of sharpness, looking very kind and serene.
Unlike Yuan Lian, even though she appeared young, others could see from her eyes that she was an elder who had experienced the vicissitudes of life.
Ling Yao had been in the Spirit Light stage for a thousand years and was currently the most likely cultivator in the sect to advance to Jade Immortal.
Her feminine delicacy and decisiveness from being in a high position made her the first to set aside concerns and pride, immediately explaining to Yuan Lian, “The secret realm set by the Founding Ancestor cannot be observed from outside, so each time it opens, we choose a peak master to enter to test the disciples’ abilities and handle unexpected situations… The last time it was me…”
Yan Hang lightly coughed, interrupting Ling Yao, “This trial is extraordinary, I must personally enter to be at ease.”
Ling Yao knew his nature and wasn’t angry. She was more convinced in her heart and smiled, “Senior Brother, haven’t you always disliked dealing with these mundane matters? You even find the disciples troublesome… With your lack of experience, I’m afraid…”
Yan Hang avoided Yuan Lian’s glare at his junior sister and, fearing she would reveal more, compromised, “Junior Sister makes a good point, you should come with me.”
Yuan Lian ignored their subtle exchanges. Seeing Chang Songzhu’s group enter the secret realm, she shifted her thoughts and disappeared.
Once she left, Yan Hang, ignoring the elders’ questions, pulled Ling Yao and followed into the secret realm.
Ling Yao didn’t resist, skillfully handling the weightlessness of entering another space, and leisurely teased, “Senior Brother, you’ve always been selfish since childhood. It’s too hard for your little sister to get a share.”
Yan Hang retorted, “If I were truly selfish, I’d have sent you away first. You’re too bold, you know…”
“Of course, I know,” Ling Yao interrupted with a smile, “You men, not only are you petty, but you also lack awareness… Next time, leave it to your little sister…”
*
The Xiao Canglou Secret Realm looked small from the outside, but inside it was vast, with a ring-like terrain surrounding the central axis.
Thousands of disciples entered the secret realm, with a large portion being low-level Qi Condensation and Nascent Soul cultivators. However, once inside, everyone was alone, and there was no large gathering of people.
Chang Songzhu felt quite uncertain. Before joining the Wanyi Sect, she had been through many secret realms outside, but when faced with those opportunities that everyone flocked to, where the fighting was fierce, she often had the self-awareness not to delve too deep, fearing for her life.
During this time, she had learned many things from Yuan Lian that she hadn’t encountered before, and her cultivation had improved significantly. But without actual combat experience, she had no idea how she would fare against the sect’s prodigies.
Thus, Chang Songzhu was extremely cautious, alert to any slight movement. Her rich experience in handling emergencies kept her calm, and the traps in the secret realm didn’t cause her any substantial harm. Instead, after half a day of various challenges, she successfully obtained three clearance tokens. She only needed to pass through the corridor to enter the next level.
In fact, once the disciples entered the secret realm, they were separated into small spaces. Regardless of cultivation, the first level was always faced alone, never encountering fellow disciples. It was only from the second level that things changed.
Ling Yao, as she said, was very experienced in protecting and observing the disciples in the secret realm. She knew that nothing spectacular would happen in the first level, no matter how excellent the disciples were. Most difficulties tested the disciples’ basic cultivation, so she planned to rest and start observing from the second level, focusing more on Earth Immortal level cultivators.
However, she noticed Yuan Lian’s special attention to the lower three levels before Yan Hang did.
Ling Yao thought for a moment and said to Yan Hang and Yuan Lian, “I see some Nascent Soul… and Qi Condensation disciples performing quite well.”
Yuan Lian didn’t speak, but Yan Hang replied, “Among the low-level disciples, the inner sect ones seem less open than the outer sect ones… Maybe it’s because they’re younger and less experienced, more pampered.”
Ling Yao laughed, “I heard Senior Brother has a habit of promoting disciples from the lower realms. It seems you have foresight.”
In the divine realm, all resources are much stronger than in the Middle Thousand World, but there’s one point: in the lower realms, disciples of major sects start traveling outside during the Qi Refining stage, and Qi Condensation is considered the backbone. Thus, they are often more agile and capable. But in the divine realm, in many people’s eyes, Qi Condensation and Nascent Soul are still children, some never even leaving the sect. In comparison, cultivators of the same level in the Middle Thousand World are often more mature.
From another perspective, the geniuses of the divine realm are indeed younger, some not even twenty when breaking through the Qi Condensation stage, which is unimaginable in the lower realms.
At this age, they are proud and energetic, and the elders of the sect are reluctant to let them suffer outside.
“We both came through our youth, naturally knowing the pros and cons…” Ling Yao naturally shifted the conversation to Yuan Lian, asking her, “What do you think?”
Yuan Lian, however, wasn’t focused on the divine realm or the lower realms.
Because Chang Songzhu had already entered the second level, where she immediately encountered a junior disciple being bitten by a demon wolf, refusing to let go.
The child was an inner sect disciple, a renowned genius, only in his early twenties, yet his cultivation was no lower than Chang Songzhu’s. But facing a higher-grade demon beast, he didn’t know where to start. After being bitten, he endured the pain and threw a few spells, but seeing they were useless, he began to panic.
Chang Songzhu, on the other hand, was exceptionally fierce. Her Evergreen Sword shone brightly, and without a word, she struck at the demon wolf’s eye. The high-grade blade, mixed with sharp spiritual energy, pierced through, injuring the wolf’s eye.
In excruciating pain, the demon wolf flung the child away and, with speed far surpassing the Qi Condensation stage, bit into Chang Songzhu’s right arm, piercing through flesh and bone.
This demon beast was clearly at the Nascent Soul level. Chang Songzhu gritted her teeth and cursed, immediately switching to her left hand to pull out her sword. The demon wolf, now wary, refused to open its eyes again, so she stabbed repeatedly at its relatively vulnerable waist and abdomen.
Fortunately, once the disciple calmed down, he wasn’t entirely useless. Seeing the situation, he quickly summoned a rope-like magical artifact, throwing it at the demon wolf’s neck. After chanting a spell, the rope tightened, causing the wolf to loosen its grip slightly.
Chang Songzhu forcibly tore her arm from its mouth, not stopping as she wielded her sword until the demon beast collapsed from exhaustion.
The junior disciple sighed in relief, about to express gratitude, only to see Chang Songzhu not stopping. She turned and stabbed into the demon wolf’s slightly open mouth, ensuring its head was thoroughly destroyed before finally stopping.
The difficulty between the first and second levels was vastly different, something Ling Yao was accustomed to. These two levels often saw the highest number of eliminations.
She admired Chang Songzhu’s decisiveness and determination.
“This child has a good temperament,” Ling Yao praised, then turned to see Yuan Lian watching intently, seizing the opportunity to ask, “What do you think, fellow Daoist?”
Yuan Lian, who had been silent, finally nodded slightly, her lips moving as she said in a soft voice, “These are her only strengths.”