Immortal Path Space

Chapter 99: Power of the Golden Core

After the representatives of the six major sects exited, it was the turn of the disciples from various smaller sects, major cultivation families, and the loose cultivator alliance. The loose cultivators, known for their independent nature, emerged last, as expected.

In this secret realm, the mortality rate among loose cultivators was the highest, with approximately seventy percent casualties. Their average strength was the lowest, and being prone to looting, only a few managed to survive.

The next step was to tally the gains. First, the sects exchanged and inspected the disciples' Storage Bags to ensure no violations of the rules.

Only after this inspection could they turn in the gains from the secret realm to their respective sects.

At this moment, a Golden Core cultivator from the Taihao Sect soared into the sky. From his body flew a dazzling golden Flying Sword, emitting a hundred-zhang-long brilliance in the air.

With a single sweep, the radiant light cut through a mountain three miles away, breaking it at the waist. The upper half of the peak turned into rubble, while the lower half remained untouched.

The Flying Sword then re-entered the body of the Golden Core cultivator, disappearing from sight.

Below, Qi Cultivation cultivators were frightened by the power displayed by the Golden Core cultivator. The boldness they had shown in the secret realm had vanished, leaving them pale-faced.

Wang Hong stood among the crowd, any trace of his earlier self-satisfaction long gone. His commitment to the path of cultivation was now stronger than ever.

What did the modest achievements in the Qi Cultivation stage amount to? Even the strongest Qi Cultivation cultivator couldn't compare to a Golden Core cultivator's fingertip.

He secretly rejoiced in his cautious approach. He believed he had never drawn the attention of a Golden Core cultivator, let alone provoked one.

He had heard tales of the formidable treasures used by Golden Core cultivators, capable of reshaping mountains and oceans. Now, he witnessed it firsthand.

It was said that the size of a treasure depended on the cultivator's heart, allowing them to store it within themselves and nurture it with their own spiritual power. The longer the nurturing, the more powerful the treasure became.

At this point, a Golden Core cultivator from the Hunyuan Sect also displayed his prowess. Soaring into the sky, he released a fiery red gourd from his body.

The gourd expanded to a height of two zhang, aiming its mouth at the remaining half of the mountain. A stream of flames erupted, turning the mountain fragment into a sea of fire.

Even though separated by several miles, the spectators could still feel the intense heat. The flames produced by the second-tier Fire Dragon Talisman paled in comparison.

After a brief moment, the flames gradually extinguished, leaving the mountain fragment several zhang shorter. The melted top turned into glass, smooth and flat.

Following this, each sect arranged long tables on the leveled ground. Foundation Building cultivators sat behind the tables, responsible for receiving and registering the submitted items.

Everyone formed lines in front of the tables, submitting their gains from the secret realm.

At the forefront of each line stood a Foundation Building cultivator, inspecting the Storage Bags for any rule violations. The sects implemented thorough cross-checking to prevent favoritism.

Supervising and inspecting the Qingxu Sect disciples was a Foundation Building cultivator from the Beast Spirit Sect. He had a goatee, a cold demeanor, and looked as if everyone owed him a Spirit Stone.

Wang Hong followed behind his Elder Brother in the queue.

He had no intention of turning in all the Spiritual Herbs he had acquired in the secret realm. With his spatial abilities, he could easily hide them from others.

He had gathered plenty of Spiritual Herbs this time. He could keep a large portion in his Space, accelerating their cultivation. These Spiritual Herbs would be useful for his future Alchemy endeavors.

Additionally, he had cultivated some second-tier Spiritual Herbs in his Space before, and now he had a considerable quantity. Given his low cultivation level, he refrained from using them too often.

Now, with this opportunity, he planned to turn them in to the sect for contribution points. After all, these Spiritual Herbs also grew in the secret realm.

For instance, Scarlet Blood Ginseng was scarce outside, but there seemed to be quite a few in this secret realm. Although highly valuable, he could only sell those with lower cultivation ages, and the quantity couldn't be too large for now.

He had accumulated a large batch of Scarlet Blood Ginseng with a cultivation age of seven to eight hundred years. He had previously given two to Wang Yi, and now he intended to turn in one of the eight hundred years old Scarlet Blood Ginseng, along with several others with a cultivation age of four to five hundred years.

Additionally, he planned to submit two eight hundred years old mutated Astragalus. Although this type of Spiritual Herb had not appeared in the secret realm before, there was a chance it might in the future.

Anyone doubting this could venture inside to verify. He had scattered many seeds in the secret realm, so a few should have survived.

He also gathered some rare Spiritual Herbs produced by his Space, mixing them with the ones obtained in the secret realm.

With this, the portion he planned to turn in was already enough to exchange for several Foundation Establishment Pills.

Out of the more than four hundred fellow disciples who emerged from the secret realm this time, Wang Hong observed that over half of those who submitted Spiritual Herbs upfront couldn't reach a hundred thousand contribution points, meaning they couldn't exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The remaining individuals who could exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill had around one hundred and twenty thousand contribution points at most, enough for just one pill.

As for those who could exchange for two or three Foundation Establishment Pills, they were a rare few.

Wang Hong suddenly realized he might have prepared too many Spiritual Herbs for submission. However, at this point, he dared not hide them in his Space. With so many Golden Core cultivators around, revealing the secret of his Space would be a significant loss.

With no other choice, he had to reluctantly submit these Spiritual Herbs.

Fortunately, with Elder Brother ahead of him, who likely had a good harvest, he could follow suit and submit his Spiritual Herbs without drawing too much attention.

An hour later, they finally reached Elder Brother. The Beast Spirit Sect cultivator with the cold expression used Divine Sense to carefully inspect Elder Brother before taking the Storage Bag.

"What's your name?" The Beast Spirit Sect cultivator asked seemingly casually as he searched through the items in the Storage Bag.

"Wu Tingchang," Elder Brother replied honestly.

After a thorough inspection without finding any rule violations, the Beast Spirit Sect cultivator returned the Storage Bag to Elder Brother.

Taking the bag, Elder Brother went to the table to submit the Spiritual Herbs.

Now it was Wang Hong's turn for inspection. He sensed the Beast Spirit Sect cultivator's Divine Sense scanning him thoroughly, sparing no inch of his body.

Although Wang Hong was unaware of how the previous cultivator conducted the inspection, he could feel the unfriendly intentions of the current one.

Despite feeling angry, he couldn't express any dissatisfaction at this moment. He could only deeply remember this cultivator in his heart.

"What's your name?" The Beast Spirit Sect Foundation Building cultivator still asked in a seemingly casual tone.

"Wang Hong."

"Hmm, next!"

At this moment, Elder Brother's submitted Spiritual Herbs had already been counted, amounting to a value of six hundred and thirty thousand contribution points.

This caused waves of astonishment among the surrounding cultivators. The counting was a joint effort by Foundation Building cultivators from at least two sects, making it credible, as it concerned the rankings of the major sects.

"Truly worthy of being our Kaiyang Peak's Elder Brother. He has the strongest strength and the highest harvest," exclaimed a disciple from Kaiyang Peak.

"Hmph! Nothing to be amazed about. With just this bit of Spiritual Herbs, he wants to be the first? My Hunyuan Sect Senior Brother Ye's submitted Spiritual Herbs haven't been counted yet. Soon you'll know that there's always someone better, and there's always a higher sky outside the sky," a Hunyuan Sect disciple from another queue sneered.

Just then, at the forefront of the Hunyuan Sect line, an astounding figure of seven hundred and eighty thousand contribution points was announced.

Although each sect had different internal management methods, and the value of contribution points varied within sects, for the sake of ranking the major sects, the counting standards for Spiritual Herbs were uniform.

This result dampened the spirits of the Qingxu Sect disciples. Just as they had a high scorer, they were quickly surpassed.

The nearby Hunyuan Sect disciples were reveling in their triumph.

Meanwhile, the two Golden Core cultivators nearby remained indifferent. Having lived for several hundred years, they had seen it all, and such trivial matters were not enough to affect their moods.

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