Chapter 36

Under the dim, bluish sky, the earth was a dark green, with mountains rising up from the ground.

At the foot of an unnamed peak, rubble was scattered everywhere, and not far from the pile of stones, one could faintly see numerous grayish-white bones of spirit beasts.

Those bones came from low-level spirit beasts, and after being eroded by time, the spiritual energy within the bones had long since dissipated, leaving them worthless for crafting, and thus ignored by everyone.

"Chi chi!"

On a smooth stone wall, a sudden burst of light rippled, and a clear spatial fluctuation was felt.

The stone wall seemed to transform into a mirror in an instant, with figures moving within it.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The figures inside the stone wall suddenly flew out, landing one after another at the foot of the mountain.

"Qing Huan Realm!"

"This is the Qing Huan Realm!"

"We're here!"

The trial participants from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, after landing, looked up at the green sky and excitedly shouted.

Nie Tian was also among the crowd, curiously observing the Qing Huan Realm while secretly running the Qi Cultivation Technique to sense the spiritual energy of the land.

In just a moment, he realized that the spiritual energy here was much thinner than in Black Cloud City, and incomparably less dense than the spiritual energy at Lingyun Mountain.

"No wonder..."

He muttered softly, understanding why the Lingyun Sect, Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Ash Valley, and Mystic Fog Palace did not send people to permanently reside here after conquering the Qing Huan Realm.

—Because this place was not suitable for long-term cultivation by Qi Cultivators.

Every Qi Cultivator hoped to cultivate in a place with dense spiritual energy, where the pure and rich spiritual energy could greatly enhance their cultivation speed.

Due to the thin spiritual energy, the Qing Huan Realm could not attract powerful Qi Cultivators.

Moreover, the high-level spirit beasts and fierce alien races in this area had already been completely exterminated by the four sects, and all precious spirit materials had been swept away, making this place even more of a marginal area.

"Shut up!"

An Ying, seeing the newcomers making a lot of noise, couldn't help but shout to stop them.

The many enthusiastic young men and women gradually quieted down after she spoke.

"Follow me!"

An Ying didn't waste words; she aimed in a direction and immediately led the way.

"Everyone, follow!" Zheng Rui and Pan Tao from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion also gave orders.

The young disciples of the various families who were affiliated with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion had been instructed by their elders before coming here that once they entered the Qing Huan Realm, they must obey the trial participants from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

Thus, they all behaved very obediently under the urging of An Ying and the others.

Nie Tian, holding the token given to him by An Shiyi, glanced back at the smooth stone wall that looked like a mirror, and followed silently without a word.

Earlier, in the swamp, when he jumped into the whirlpool in the lake, he clearly felt the token in his hand release a peculiar spiritual energy fluctuation.

At that moment, he knew that only those holding the token could pass through the whirlpool and enter the Qing Huan Realm.

That token was the key to entering and exiting the Qing Huan Realm.

In half a year, he would still need to rely on the token in his hand to return to the swamp through the secret realm gate behind him.

As he followed An Ying and the others, moving away from the strange secret realm gate, he frequently looked back.

Soon, he saw Jiang Lingzhu and Nie Xian, among others, flash out from the mirror-like stone wall.

After Jiang Lingzhu stepped into the Qing Huan Realm, she looked around and noticed Nie Tian, who was following An Ying and gradually moving away.

From a distance of several hundred meters, he smiled brightly at Jiang Lingzhu, nodded slightly, and then sped up to catch up with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion team.

"Seeing me, he actually ran even faster. Could it be... he doesn't want to be with us?"

At the foot of the mountain, Jiang Lingzhu watched him disappear from sight, feeling somewhat puzzled, unsure of Nie Tian's intentions.

Half an hour later.

Nie Tian followed An Ying and the others, completely away from the mountain peak where the secret realm gate was located, and arrived at a desolate wilderness.

In the wilderness, bones were scattered everywhere, and dilapidated stone houses stood alone.

Those stone houses, before being destroyed, were likely very crude and simple, with no special shapes.

On the desolate, dark green earth, Nie Tian could see nothing but the scattered bones and the tilted stone houses.

A sense of desolation and loneliness rose in his heart. His gaze swept over the rubble and bones, and he knew that this place must have once been inhabited by an intelligent life form.

While he was thinking, An Ying kicked a pile of bones aside and sat down on a black stone the size of a millstone.

An Ying turned around and gestured for the trial participants to gather around her, clearly having something to say.

Nie Tian didn't resist, curious about what she wanted to say, and joined the other trial participants in moving closer to her.

After the fourteen trial participants gathered around her, An Ying cleared her throat and said in a clear, pleasant voice, "The fierce alien races and high-level spirit beasts in the Qing Huan Realm have long been exterminated. The place we are in was once a living area for the alien races. I heard that many people from the four sects died in the process of clearing out those alien races."

"Fortunately, everything is over, and the Qing Huan Realm has become our private secret realm."

"In the Qing Huan Realm, there should be no remaining fierce alien races, and the only ones left are low-level spirit beasts."

"When we came, the elder told me that there are still many first-level spirit beasts in the Qing Huan Realm now. However, there are only four second-level spirit beasts!"

"Those four second-level spirit beasts are as powerful as Qi Cultivators who have just entered the Later Heaven stage. They... are the goal of our journey."

"For this trial, the four sects have each put up rewards. Our Spirit Treasure Pavilion has offered a Wu Tian Pill. The Wu Tian Pill can help us, who are in the Qi Cultivation stage, to experience the mindsets of the Later Heaven, Middle Heaven, and Early Heaven stages, making it easier for us to enter the Later Heaven stage."

"Moreover, the insights gained from refining the Wu Tian Pill will greatly assist us in entering the Middle Heaven and Early Heaven stages in the future."

"For us, the Wu Tian Pill is extremely precious. In our Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Wu Tian Pills are extremely rare. For this trial, the sect, as the host, has truly invested a lot."

An Ying explained with a serious expression.

"Wu Tian Pill! It's actually a Wu Tian Pill!"

"The sect really values this trial. The Wu Tian Pill is a treasure for us in the Qi Cultivation stage!"

"Great!"

Except for Zheng Rui and Pan Tao, who already knew about this, the trial participants from the various families were all沸腾了，眼神炙热。

Nie Tian was also secretly moved.

He had also heard of the Wu Tian Pill and knew that when a Qi Cultivation stage martial artist refined the Wu Tian Pill, they could briefly experience the mindsets of the Later Heaven, Middle Heaven, and Early Heaven stages.

To advance from the ninth level of Qi Cultivation to the Later Heaven stage, it wasn't just about accumulating spiritual energy; it also required the corresponding mindset.

Advancing from the Later Heaven to the Middle Heaven, and from the Middle Heaven to the Early Heaven, all required the cultivation of the mindset. Relying solely on the purity and thickness of spiritual energy was not enough.

A single Wu Tian Pill could benefit them in all three stages after the Qi Cultivation stage, showing just how precious and rare the Wu Tian Pill was.

"The most valuable is, of course, our Spirit Treasure Pavilion's Wu Tian Pill." Seeing everyone's excitement, An Ying nodded slightly and continued, "In addition, the Lingyun Sect, Ash Valley, and Mystic Fog Palace have each offered three intermediate-level spirit artifacts. Those three spirit artifacts are naturally weaker than the Wu Tian Pill, but if they suit the right person, they are also very valuable treasures."

"In the Qing Huan Realm, the heads of the four remaining second-level spirit beasts correspond to four treasures. Cutting off the head of a second-level spirit beast and bringing it out of the Qing Huan Realm will allow you to exchange it for a treasure."

"The most powerful of those spirit beasts is an icy python. Only its head can be exchanged for the Wu Tian Pill!"

An Ying raised her head, her face filled with pride, "Our Spirit Treasure Pavilion is the host of the trial, and we have the most participants. The task given to us by our sect is to cut off the head of that python."

"But what I want is not just that python, but all the second-level spirit beasts!"

"In this Qing Huan Realm trial, it would be best if all four second-level spirit beasts are killed by us. If not, we will go and take them, and we must get the heads of all four spirit beasts!"

"The Wu Tian Pill, of course, belongs to me. You can forget about it!"

"The remaining three spirit artifacts will be distributed based on your performance."

"Remember! Only if you get the heads of all the second-level spirit beasts will you be eligible to receive the remaining three treasures!"

...

PS: Second update, please click and vote. Another chapter in the afternoon, I'm going all out!