Chapter 93: Dilemma

The Five Sects Conference was a completely public grand event, with the secret realm competition broadcast in its entirety via Shadow Retention Stones. The most exciting battle scenes would be recorded and shared, making it one of the most important avenues for talented cultivators to make a name for themselves.

The Five Great Sects were closely linked. When the time came, the hosting sect would release a batch of “official” Shadow Retention Stones. And where there was an “official” version, there would also be “unofficial rankings.” Thus, a select group of people paid extremely close attention to every development inside the secret realm.

Consequently, they were also the first to discover that three more people had suddenly appeared in the Forest Secret Realm!

“Have you found out where they came from? Weren’t there supposed to be only two hundred and sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators participating? Why are there three more?”

“Did they sneak in? Or did they just hide their identities? Don’t tell me they’re transformed demonic beasts. If that’s the case, isn’t this secret realm competition way too difficult?”

“And have you noticed? The area those three are in is deep within the secret realm. Before they suddenly appeared, that entire region was shrouded in thick fog. Could they really be demons?”

“…Aren’t you all overthinking this? I just saw their cuffs.”

“Cuffs? Let me take a closer look. Huh? Yonglu Mountain? Do disciples from Yonglu Mountain even need to sneak in? And they… have any of you seen them before… Holy crap! Did you see that? This kid is drawing talismans with his bare hands! Oh, he failed. I thought…”

“…You spoke too soon. He just succeeded.”

“Did you record it with a Shadow Retention Stone?”

“…No.”

But soon, this Yonglu Mountain disciple, who was suspected of sneaking into the secret realm, obligingly performed bare-handed talisman drawing for them once more. This time, his movements were clean and swift, and the execution was flawless from start to finish!

What a monster! Case closed: this was definitely a transformed demonic beast. Otherwise, how could someone go from clumsy to masterfully proficient in the span of a single battle? Even if that battle had lasted for six shichen [approx. 12 hours].

Over those six shichen, day had turned to night in the outside world. Inside the secret realm, the three of them were so exhausted they collapsed onto the ground. In truth, they had worn down this Liegui Vine by taking turns to fight it in a war of attrition. The Liegui Vine wasn’t dead, and neither were they. It was just that the vine needed to gather energy to regrow its tendrils, and they also needed time to recover their spiritual energy.

“That was intense, absolutely intense! I finally know why my success rate for drawing talismans in midair was so low before!”

When Bian Chunzhou recalled Senior Brother Shi’s half-smiling expression from before, he finally understood. He understood it completely now. Theory and practice were two entirely different things. It didn’t just require a cultivator’s thorough understanding of the talisman’s strokes; it also required the support of the spiritual energy from their cultivation realm.

How could his Qi Refining Stage compare to Senior Brother Shi’s? Once Senior Brother Shi figured things out, he had leaped straight to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

…No wonder his own success rate had been abysmally low. As it turned out, it required a much more massive reserve of spiritual energy.

“Heh, but I’ve pretty much memorized the feel of it now.” So this was what Foundation Establishment felt like. Bian Chunzhou struggled to climb to his feet. The two intertwined spiritual energies of water and fire in his body were gradually recovering. After this battle, they seemed to have developed a deeper tacit understanding. Although they still fought “minor skirmishes” inside him from time to time, they were all within controllable limits.

Did this count as successfully completing the first stage of taming his water and fire spiritual energies? A trace of joy rose in Bian Chunzhou’s heart, but he quickly came to his senses. Oh, right. I’m just a fake Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Well, whatever. Might as well keep going, since they were already here.

“Me too. I found that using my saber has become much more… smooth. That’s the right word to use here, right?”

“You’re actually copying the way I talk? Senior Brother Chen, I’m impressed.”

Chen Zui immediately shut his mouth and calmly began to recover his spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the Forest Secret Realm was denser than in the outside world, so their natural recovery time was shorter.

Compared to the optimism of the other two, the ever-cautious Wen Xu felt no major emotional fluctuations. Naturally, he had also noticed that after his cultivation was forcibly boosted, his execution of sword techniques had become much smoother. During the Qi Refining Stage, riding the wind still required a conscious effort, but now, it was as natural as breathing.

He was certain that if they faced the Liegui Vine now, they wouldn’t need to struggle with it for six shichen.

But was this the only difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment? If so, why were there so many people stuck at the threshold, unable to find their way across? Wen Xu felt a sense of insecurity regarding this sudden boost in cultivation, just like when he had been forced off a cliff and accidentally stumbled into the cultivation world.

To him, both instances felt like free handouts falling from the sky.

If he were still the young beggar he once was, he would have been glad to receive charity. But now, it only made him more vigilant.

“I’ve rested enough. This Liegui Vine has a cultivation roughly equivalent to the late Foundation Establishment stage. We…”

Before Wen Xu could finish, Chen Zui stood up, saber in hand. “Kill it, then we leave.”

Bian Chunzhou secretly gave him a thumbs-up. “Classic you.”

Liegui Vine: …Damn it! Even if I die, I’m taking you down with me!

And so, the Liegui Vine died, slain in a three-way ambush. After its death, its vine heart was dug out. It could be said that it died a very undignified death.

The leaders of the Five Great Sects, who were secretly watching via a private water mirror: …

Gu Wufang covered his mouth to hide his expression. “What are you all looking at me for? They’re currently in the early Foundation Establishment stage. This is just standard procedure.”

Sect Master Ding of the Hehe Sect couldn’t hide his desire to poach these promising talents. “Since that’s the case, why doesn’t Sect Master Gu let us have one? Our Hehe Sect isn’t greedy. We only want that blindfolded kid who uses a sword.”

“Amitabha. This old monk finds the young friend who uses talismans rather interesting as well. I wonder if Sect Master Gu would be willing to part with him?”

Tang Ji hadn’t dared to speak up at first, since this whole mess was ultimately due to the Suitian Sword Sect’s poor handling of things. But since everyone else was speaking, he boldly chimed in, “Then the one with the saber…”

Gu Wufang whipped his head around fiercely. “Don’t you dare!”

Every single one of them, not content with what was in their own bowls, just had to covet what was in someone else’s pot. Was this any way to behave? You are all prominent figures, for goodness’ sake!

So he chose to play the victim: “Is it easy for Yonglu Mountain? As the lowest-ranked of the Five Great Sects, we come every time and end up at the very bottom every time. This time, we even lost our Little Martial Uncle. Once we return to the mountain, how am I supposed to explain this to the elders?”

…Aren’t you taking this act a bit too far? Yonglu Mountain might indeed be at the bottom of the Five Great Sects, but each of your disciples is fiercer than the last! The only reason Yonglu Mountain is at the bottom is because you don’t care about rankings at all and don’t want to take on the responsibility of policing the cultivation world. Besides, your sect has more spots on the Heaven’s Pride List than Kudu Temple!

Gu Wufang didn’t care about any of that. It was a three-on-one fight, after all. Was it so wrong for him to slightly embellish his wording? Regardless, once Little Martial Uncle and the others came out of the secret realm, they had to receive the compensation they deserved.

Wen Xu had no idea he would be getting extra compensation once he got out. After killing the Liegui Vine, they had set off again. However, the further they walked, the lighter the wind became, until there wasn’t even a breath of air left.

Not only was there no wind, but it even started to rain.

How did rain form? Bian Chunzhou knew very well. He suddenly looked up at the sky. Forget rain clouds, there wasn’t even a single cloud in sight. What was more, this was a forest; with so many broad-leaved spiritual trees, how was the rain only getting heavier?

“This isn’t rain! It’s the Water Condensation Technique!”

The moment Bian Chunzhou realized this, the water spiritual energy around him began to boil as if in resonance. “No, there’s something wrong with this Water Condensation Technique!”

Chen Zui’s solution to any problem was to slash it apart with his blade, and this time was no exception.

The dense raindrops had almost condensed into transparent threads. In just two breaths’ time, this patch of forest was trapped inside a water dungeon. What was even more terrifying was that the surrounding spiritual trees had actually begun to drift around.

“It’s a formation.”

The water-wood formation, formed of water and wood, was so powerful that it trapped the three of them inside. No matter how sharp their blades and swords were, they could not slice through something that regenerated instantly!

“What do we do now?”

The moment Bian Chunzhou asked, Chen Zui’s gaze also landed on Wen Xu, who was holding his sword. As for Wen Xu, he was almost entirely certain that their entrapment here was his master’s doing.

His master was a divine dragon. Although his master had never revealed his spiritual root attributes, divine dragons were born with the ability to summon clouds and rain. This formation… was created entirely to suppress that.

To be more precise, it was designed to counter his master, leaving him with no way out.

If his master were here in person, even with only a Foundation Establishment cultivation, he would probably be able to handle it with ease. So… this was only meant to leave him, the disciple, with no way out.

Without even opening his eyes, Wen Xu could sense that the free-floating water in the air had been completely drained. “Chunzhou, are you alright?”

Bian Chunzhou shook his head honestly. “Not great. This Water Condensation Technique is ridiculously strong. It’s actually drawing on the water spiritual root inside my body!” He originally needed to maintain a balance between water and fire within himself. If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before that balance broke.

“Chunzhou, do you trust me?”

Bian Chunzhou replied immediately, “What do I need to do?”

“Chen Zui, cover me!”

Hearing this, Chen Zui stopped wasting time fighting the water dungeon and quickly retreated to their side.

At the same time, the sword in Wen Xu’s hand instantly transformed into the Wind-Folding Fan. He quickly chanted a spell, and a wild gale swept out from around him. With his increased cultivation, the effect of stacking the gale formations was even more astonishing.

In the blink of an eye, the storm had fully formed.

“Now! Jump into the wind!”

Hearing this, Bian Chunzhou threw himself into the wind without a moment’s hesitation. The next instant, the wild wind enveloped his entire body, and the water spiritual energy clamoring to escape his body finally quieted down a bit. But then, the wind swept him up, spiraling upward. Help! No, wait. If he remembered correctly, cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage could fly, couldn’t they?

The moment he realized this, wind had already gathered beneath his feet, lifting him into flight. The gale was actually carrying him up into the clouds. Before he even touched the top, he subconsciously held his breath. In the next instant, the moisture around his nose vanished. Bian Chunzhou opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different space.

And this was the very crux of the formation that condensed water into a prison and trapped trees into a forest.

So, this was incredibly urgent! Why on earth did Wen Xuxu send him up here? Bian Chunzhou scratched his messy hair. He didn’t know how to break this formation! This was going to be the death of him.