‘That’s better. I have not gotten a decent challenge since I began cultivating. The only one worthy enough to fight against me was first that Abyssal Demon, and the other was the bastard Heaven.’ Shen Yuan looked at the rest of the disciples while trying to gauge their abilities.
[Hehe~ both of them were way beyond your level. It’s not your fault you lost to that demon. And you won against Heaven at that.]
‘Won is a strong word. I was in a half-dead state, unconscious, and it wasn’t even a fraction of the power of Heaven. I still know my limit; I might not even be able to fight against Heaven even if I transcend the Mortal World.’ He shook his head as the group entered one of the cracks in the crater.
[Stop thinking about so far in the future and focus on the Mystique Realm instead. There are a couple of interesting things inside. They will be of immense use to you.]
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh? Like what? Do you know what they are?’
[Hehe, not telling you. Find them yourself; otherwise, it will be useless. In fact, here, this should help you out.]
[Ding!]
[New Quest Available]
[Explore the World Raiser Sect’s Mystique Realm]
Explore and find at least three mysteries of the World Raiser Sect from the Mystique Realm without the assistance of Yue Lan.
[Rewards: 108 Sword Formation.]
[Penalty for failure: Insults from Yue Lan]
Shen Yuan paused and read through the entire quest pop-up before his eyes twitched. ‘What is this penalty? Insults? As if I care about them.’
[Haha, it’s for my self-satisfaction, don’t worry. So are you up for the quest or not?]
‘Why not? It’s free gifts. But what is this formation?’ he curiously asked while moving closer towards the hut.
[You remember the swords you collected from the random quests before you turned 18? Sword 1 to Sword 108. This is the core of those swords.]
His eyes shone at her words, ‘How can I use it? Or do I need 108 sword users for this Sword Formation to be useful?’
[You can use it both ways. But to use the full potential of this formation, having multiple high-level swordsmen is better.]
‘Alright, that’s good enough. I will look at it after getting it.’ Just as he finished speaking, an old woman walked out from the wooden hut.
All the disciples and Elders bowed except the Grand Elder and Shen Yuxin. Shen Yuan also lightly bowed to show his respect.
“Greetings, Elder Meng!”
All disciples greeted her respectfully. The elder was a white-haired old lady with a kind smile on her face, like the neighborhood grandma.
“So you are the current generation of Core Disciples from our sect.” Her gaze drifted from one disciple to another until she paused at Shen Yuan, “And Core Disciple Shen Yuan. You are really a dragon among men. Suchan extraordinary temperament at such a young age. No wonder you completed the Ancestral Pagoda Trials.”
Shen Yuan just smiled and didn’t comment on her words while she continued, “I heard about your tribulation as well. That’s truly unprecedented in my knowledge.”
“I was only lucky enough to survive that tribulation,” he modestly replied.
Elder Meng softly shook her head. “Not everyone can get lucky in front of a tribulation. That is proof of your skill.”
“Old Meng, how is the situation of the Mystique Realm?” Shen Yuxin interrupted them and asked.
Elder Meng got serious and bowed towards Shen Yuxin and the Grand Elder before replying, “There has been no major change inside the Secret Realm. If everything goes like usual, then the disciples will be ejected from the Mystique Realm in a month. Here are the tokens of the realm.”
She said before taking out 10 tokens from her storage ring and handing them to the disciples. “Take care of them and don’t lose them. This is the only way by which you can enter the Secret Realm. Oh, and another thing: there might be Demonic Cultivators inside the Mystique Realm. We are not the only ones with access to this Mystique Realm; there are two more Divine Grade Demonic Sects.”
“Blood Demon Sect and Cloud Demon Sect, right? Hmm, those are indeed troublesome.” The Grand Elder felt a headache coming just thinking about the demonic sects.
Elder Meng sighed, “We have fought so many wars with the Demonic Sects but still haven’t managed to win. I don’t know how long we would have to fight for if it stays like this.”
Shen Yuxin shook her head. “We can’t eradicate the Demonic Sects as long as they have their headquarters in the Central Desolate. And destroying them is easier said than done. Otherwise, the Holy Grounds would have done so long ago.”
Shen Yuan and the other disciples silently listened, thinking about ways to deal with the Demonic Sects. Their sect was one of the most hated by the Demonic Path Sects due to their healing arts and major contributions in all the wars.
The Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect had helped numerous sects and clans during the wars with the Demonic Sect to secure victory. But this also made the Demonic Sect focus their attacks on the Sect. Thankfully, the other sects didn’t sit still and helped the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect whenever necessary.
That’s how it had stood tall till now. ‘I wonder what cultivation techniques those from the Blood Demon Sect and Cloud Demon Sect cultivate.’
After talking among themselves for a bit, Elder Meng turned towards the disciples, “Alright, enough time wasted. Let’s go towards the sects’ gathering and open the portal. It’s about time to enter the Mystique Realm.”
The disciples exchanged excited glances with each other, clearly eager to enter the Mystique Realm to look for treasures and legacies. Shen Yuan also raised his head and looked deeper into the crater where the worldly energy was gathering.
‘Go wild and leave the mess up to me~’ Yuxin’s voice reached Shen Yuan’s mind, clearly telling him to go wild inside the Mystique Realm and do whatever he pleases.
He smirked and replied with Harem Connect, ‘Heh, should I bring back a new daughter-in-law for you?’
‘Daughter-in-law or sister?’ she mischievously asked.
‘Haha, how about both?’ He didn’t back down and replied confidently.
‘Hehe~ I won’t mind, the more, the merrier. No one can take my place anyways.’ She also replied back confidently.
Shen Yuan shook his head with a chuckle and followed the group out.
…
They soon reached the location of the sects’ gathering. The people were divided into large groups, and there were a total of six groups.
Four Divine Grade Sects and their followers, another group which consisted of Imperial and below powers combined, and the last group was the rogue cultivators who got entry using the competition.
Shen Yuan looked at the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect place where dozens of young men and women were already gathered with tokens.
“Our subordinate sects have more tokens than us,” he amusingly said.
“Because we have hundreds of large and small sects under us. Even if only a few of them join here, that will be a substantial amount,” Elder Meng softly explained.