Immortal Path Space

Chapter 98: Exiting the Secret Realm

With Zhang Chunfeng and Monk Huiyuan joining the team, the group now consisted of five members.

Although the team's strength had increased, the frequency of encounters with interceptors had not diminished. They faced several attacks every day, often having to escape in different directions, slowing down their progress.

They discovered that near the exit, bandit cultivators organized themselves into small groups, scattering and regrouping unpredictably, causing headaches for major forces.

Loose cultivators struggled in harsh living conditions, constantly fighting for cultivation resources as they were hard to come by.

Despite being inferior in terms of magical weapons and equipment, loose cultivators were fierce in battle. Their ruthlessness extended even to betraying their own teammates, as witnessed by Wang Hong when a loose cultivator pushed a comrade forward to block an attack.

As long as loose cultivators were willing to risk their lives in the secret realm, they could amass considerable gains upon leaving. They could exchange these gains for Foundation Establishment Pills, obtaining resources for years of cultivation beyond Foundation Building.

Therefore, the loose cultivators staged a final frenzy in the secret realm, planning to live incognito for a few years after leaving, only to reappear as experts with Foundation Building cultivation.

At this moment, Wang Hong and his five companions gathered in a mountain valley, roasting a deer-shaped demonic beast over a fire. Wang Hong sprinkled various seasonings onto it.

The group sat around the bonfire; Elder Brother, Wang Yi, Zhang Chunfeng, and Wang Hong enjoyed Spirit Wine, while Monk Huiyuan, tempted by the aroma of alcohol and the scent of roasting meat, recited scriptures on the side.

"How about you have some Spirit Wine too? I can see you're enduring quite a bit. I won't tell anyone, I promise," Wang Hong suggested to Monk Huiyuan.

The Great Monk had been watching them pitifully whenever they drank since they started, but he refused to join.

"Ah, Amitabha! Forgive me! The Pu Tuo Sect does not forbid disciples from drinking and eating meat," Huiyuan explained, and only then did they understand it was part of his cultivation method.

Their Buddhist cultivation emphasized detachment and enlightenment. To achieve this, they needed to sever worldly attachments, primarily arising from desires.

Cultivating a calm mind involved overcoming desires related to the six senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought. All these stimulated personal desires, which were insatiable, leading to perpetual troubles.

Now, Huiyuan sat before a feast, resisting the temptation of delicious food. When he couldn't endure any longer, he would take a sip of water and have a cold steamed bun.

"If you can't resist, just move away and don't look. Amitabha! Without experiencing worldly pleasures, how can one resist their allure? Without worldly engagement, how can one transcend it?" Huiyuan philosophically responded.

Seeing his determination, Wang Yi didn't press further.

After spending a few days, they finally neared the exit.

Because they seemed easy targets, every group of cultivators they encountered wanted to rob them. Any group with fewer than fifteen members almost always met their end at Wang Hong's hands. He noticed that Monk Huiyuan, newly added to the group, was also a formidable opponent among cultivators of the same level.

During these days, they gained a large number of storage bags, even more than they did in the central region.

Wang Yi and Monk Huiyuan headed towards their respective sect gathering places.

Before Wang Yi left, he called Wang Hong aside and handed him two storage bags.

"Brother, these are for you. I don't need these for my cultivation."

Wang Hong took the bags and found piles of spiritual herbs, the main and auxiliary ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills in one bag, and stacks of second-tier spiritual herbs in the other.

"I have enough spiritual herbs for my cultivation, more than sufficient for Foundation Building. The resources for cultivation after Foundation Building are also ample."

Wang Hong had originally planned to find an opportunity to give most of the spiritual herbs to Wang Yi. After all, he could cultivate spiritual herbs himself, and in the future, there would be no shortage. Although Wang Yi didn't need them now, when he turned them in to the sect, he could exchange them for techniques, spiritual weapons, and other items.

As a sword cultivator, it was essential to have a decent flying sword at least. The prices of spiritual weapons ranged from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand spirit stones, a considerable expense for ordinary cultivators.

Despite Wang Hong's several refusals, he eventually accepted them. By now, he had a rough idea of Wang Yi's purpose in coming here.

The spiritual herbs Wang Yi handed over were enough for him to exchange for several Foundation Establishment Pills in the sect. Additionally, Wang Yi handed over two storage bags. One contained two thousand kilograms of high-grade first-tier Spirit Wine, valued at around six hundred thousand spirit stones. The other bag held various elixirs crafted by Wang Hong, which could fetch several hundred thousand spirit stones.

Wang Hong instructed him to wait until after reaching Foundation Building before slowly selling them and acquiring a higher-quality spiritual weapon.

Furthermore, Wang Hong presented another storage bag, which contained a jar of second-tier Spirit Wine. This was the only jar he had brewed using the second-tier spirit fruits from his space, a limited quantity that he intended to use after advancing to Foundation Building.

He also picked all the mature white crystal fruits from the tree, instructing Wang Yi to consume them before preparing for Foundation Building. White crystal fruits could refine spiritual energy, providing a more solid foundation for the next cultivation tier.

Upon exiting the secret realm, everyone had to check their storage bags. They could keep ten percent of the total value of spiritual herbs, spirit fruits, and other gains, with the rest being handed over and exchanged for contribution points.

Wang Hong was concerned that Wang Yi's remaining spiritual herbs might not be enough, potentially requiring him to surrender even the white crystal fruits.

He collected two eight-hundred-year-old Scarlet Blood Ginseng from his space and handed them to Wang Yi. This vintage of Scarlet Blood Ginseng already possessed the quality of a third-tier spiritual herb and could likely fetch a good amount of contribution points.

Scarlet Blood Ginseng also existed in the secret realm, and Wang Hong had once seen a three-hundred-year-old one.

Looking at the pile of items his brother handed him, Wang Yi was momentarily stunned. This collection was worth much more than the spiritual herbs he gave Wang Hong.

Initially worried that Wang Hong lacked sufficient resources for cultivation, Wang Yi realized he had been overly concerned.

Wang Hong arrived at the gathering place of Qingxu Sect in a relaxed manner. By this time, around two to three hundred people had gathered beside the exit.

Senior Brother Gao and Senior Brother Tian, who had teamed up with Wang Hong before, were already here and delighted to see Wang Hong safely return.

In the following days, people gradually returned. Those who made it back were mostly in high spirits, exuding confidence after surviving the three months of life-and-death battles.

After waiting for three days at the exit location, a light gate suddenly appeared in a specific spot. Starting as a blurry haze, it became increasingly clear.

The order of exiting followed the order of entry, with Taihao Sect leading the way.

While entering the secret realm involved random teleportation, exiting was through a unified exit. After leaving, they would appear in the same mountain valley they had entered before.

The cultivators from Taihao Sect proceeded steadily. Wang Yi noticed that none of the loose cultivators who used to rob them on the way out had appeared. They seemed to be keeping a low profile, probably fearing retaliation from cultivators of various sects. After all, once out of the secret realm, they couldn't openly seek revenge.

When Wang Hong walked out of the light gate, he saw a Golden Core cultivator from Qingxu Sect standing on a hill. Other disciples stood solemnly behind him. Wang Hong quickly approached.

By now, disciples from all six sects had come out. When entering, each sect had a thousand members. Currently, Qingxu Sect had around four hundred left, with more than half lost. Taihao Sect, as expected, remained the strongest, with over six hundred members. Other sects had around five hundred disciples each.

Only Beast Spirit Sect seemed to have fewer people coming out than Qingxu Sect, perhaps due to Wang Hong wiping out a large number of their elites. The Golden Core cultivator from Beast Spirit Sect had a grim face, and his disciples dared not even breathe heavily behind him.

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