I became the Open Source Saint Ancestor in the Cultivation World

Three days later, the five Nascent Soul cultivators, led by Lu Zongyan, returned to the pool.

The six Golden Core elders activated the formation again, and with a burst of light, figures flew out from the vortex.

After they came out, they all landed by the pool and did not make any rash moves.

The six Nascent Soul cultivators quickly enveloped them with their divine senses to conduct a comprehensive investigation. This was to prevent anyone from breaking the rules and bringing in storage artifacts to seize the spiritual materials in the secret realm.

Because the six sects had long ago reached a consensus that only Qi Refining stage disciples could bring out items when the secret realm opened, and the winner would be judged based on the value of the items brought out by the disciples of each sect.

Only the victorious sect can send three more early-stage Golden Core cultivators in to collect materials for another day.

Even so, each victory or defeat is a great temptation for each sect, so they will all go all out.

Knowing they couldn't hide from the six Nascent Soul stage cultivators, no one dared to break the rules.

However, they cannot leave yet, lest they collude with the disciples who are about to enter the secret realm.

This rule wasn't there from the beginning; it was a loophole that someone later exploited. Taking advantage of the opportunity to hunt monsters inside, they would seize all the spiritual materials inside, hide them in a secret place, and then let the disciples of the sect go in and retrieve them after they came out.

Because their time inside is limited, some people engage in destructive looting in order to gain more, causing considerable damage to the secret realm.

By preventing them from contacting the disciples who have entered the secret realm, this situation has been largely eliminated.

Outside the cave, disciples from various sects began preparing to enter.

No one is allowed to carry storage magic items privately. Several sects will jointly distribute specially made storage bags to prevent disciples from hoarding their acquisitions.

Another purpose is to prevent Qi Refining disciples from taking out and using external objects such as talismans, second-grade magic weapons, spirit talismans, and puppets that exceed the destructive power of Qi Refining.

This measure was taken to minimize the destructive power beyond the Qi Refining stage, thereby protecting the secret realm from excessive damage.

Otherwise, some people, in their pursuit of victory, would bring in treasures that could threaten those at the Golden Core stage. With so many people fighting, the secret realm would be destroyed in no time.

Afterwards, the disciples from each sect will hand over their storage bags to their respective sects for unified evaluation.

After the six sects determined the winner, each sect would generally give their disciples 10% of their winnings as a reward, based on the amount of contribution they made.

The sect will also give each person a mask or a bamboo hat to conceal their identity, so as to prevent hatred from being brought out after a conflict occurs inside, thus affecting the harmony between the sects.

After receiving his gift, Xue Wenzhou was the first to approach the group of outer disciples.

"You, you, and you... follow me." The ten people who were called walked to his side, including Ma Ke.

When he saw Xue Wenzhou's gaze sweep over him, Ma Ke immediately pretended to be a little uneasy, even a little "nervous," and avoided it.

"Senior Brother Xue, what's with all these outer disciples rushing over here like no one's going to take it from you?" A tall, thin young man walked up to Xue Wenzhou and said with a smile. He was also one of the people from Yunmiao Peak who were going to enter the secret realm this time.

Xue Wenzhou casually replied, "I don't need these outer disciples. I want to enter the secret realm as soon as possible. Everyone knows there are countless rare and precious treasures inside. If I can gain more, my chances of establishing my foundation will be much greater."

"Brother Xue is absolutely right. How about we team up together?" Wu Shiyuan said with a cupped hand and a smile.

Xue Wenzhou sighed, "I appreciate Junior Brother Wu's kindness, but I've already made an appointment with Senior Sister Zhou to act together."

"Then why don't you add me too? The three of us can travel together, that way we can look out for each other."

Xue Wenzhou still politely declined, saying, "Even so, there are too many people, and everyone will not gain much in the end. With Junior Brother Wu's abilities, it won't be difficult to find someone else. Why don't you ask others?"

As he spoke, he immediately said to Ma Ke and the others, "Come with me to meet up with Senior Sister Zhou."

Wu Shiyuan watched Xue Wenzhou's departing figure without hesitation, his face somewhat grim. Back then, he and Xue Wenzhou were the closest of fellow disciples, and Wu Shiyuan, whose cultivation was even higher, had taken good care of him.

Now that he has broken through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage first, he looks down on me, who is only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, so quickly.

Unfortunately, Wu Shiyuan, who couldn't find a partner who had reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage, had no choice but to team up with other Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivators.

Of course, he could choose to act alone, but that would be too risky, because on average, nearly 30% of the disciples who enter the secret realm perish, not even counting those from the outer sect.

Those at the ninth level of Qi Refining would suffer higher casualties, while those at the peak of Qi Refining would be much safer.

For this reason, disciples at the ninth level of Qi Refining naturally want to team up with those at the peak of Qi Refining. Wu Shiyuan originally thought that based on his friendship with Xue Wenzhou, Xue would take the initiative to look after him.

But he never showed up. He went to see him several times, but he always said that he was in seclusion to consolidate his cultivation. This time, he finally met him before entering the secret realm, but he didn't expect this result. He really misjudged people.

Unlike when he was with his best fellow disciples, Xue Wenzhou was noticeably more attentive when he met Zhou Rumei, whom he called his senior sister Zhou, because Zhou Rumei had been at the peak of Qi Refining for more than three years.

If it weren't for this trip to the secret realm, I could have already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Of course, these disciples wouldn't just sit idly by for the next few years. While continuing to consolidate their cultivation levels, they would devote more attention to various preparations, thus developing a wider range of methods and becoming more popular.

However, Zhou Rumei is not the only disciple like this. There are six in Yunmiao Peak alone, and the one who has reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage for more than ten years has been there for more than ten years. The same is true for other sects.

"Junior brother, we'll have to rely on senior sister this time." As he spoke, Xue Wenzhou handed a talisman to Zhou Rumei.

This is a location marker, which every disciple who enters the secret realm receives, including outer disciples.

However, the outer disciples all receive sub-talismans, which are controlled by the mother talisman held by the inner disciples they follow. This is to ensure that a group of people can land at the same location when entering the secret realm.

Now, Xue Wenzhou is handing over his mother talisman to Zhou Rumei so that she can turn it into her child talisman. Then, his journey will be guided by Zhou Rumei's wishes to land somewhere in the secret realm.

Zhou Rumei naturally didn't stand on ceremony. She raised her hand, drew a few strokes on the talisman, and then tossed it to Xue Wenzhou.

About fifteen minutes later, at a command, several thousand people poured into the cave and gathered at the edge of the pool.

Because the entrance is not very large, it is naturally difficult to allow so many people to enter at the same time, so the order is determined according to the rankings of the previous competition among the various sects.

Last time, the Giant Sword Pavilion won, so they were the first to enter, followed by the Purple Sun Sect.

Finally, it was Ma Ke and his group's turn.

"Summon the locator talisman," Zhou Rumei whispered.

Having come this far, there was no point in hesitating, and everyone quickly activated the locators.

"Let's go." Zhou Rumei leaped into the whirlpool, followed by Xue Wenzhou and a group of outer disciples.

The moment he entered the vortex, Ma Ke felt streams of light rushing past his eyes, as if he had entered a bottomless abyss.

Suddenly, he felt a tightness all over his body, and then he was uncontrollably pulled into the whirlpool next to him. After a dizzying spin, his body felt light again.

After realizing what had happened, he quickly steadied himself and landed on the ground with a thud. A series of thuds echoed around him as everyone curiously examined this mysterious place.

This place seems to be deep underground, without any sunlight, but it is not completely dark.

It turned out that there were patches of strange flowers that emitted a silvery light growing around them, which made this space, though not as bright as the ground, still bright enough to see things a hundred feet away.

"I heard this is called the Sun and Moon Flower. When it emits silver light, it is daytime, and when it emits red light, it is nighttime." Xue Wenzhou was very surprised.

Zhou Rumei nodded: "That's true."

"Senior Sister Zhou, which way should we go?" Xue Wenzhou asked respectfully.

Zhou Rumei glanced at the map in her hand, raised her hand and pointed northeast. Xue Wenzhou turned his head and ordered, "Ma Ke, you go ahead and scout the way."

This was entirely expected, so after a moment's hesitation, Ma Ke cautiously walked to the front of the group.