The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Before dawn, the open space became lively.

Shen Yifei was awakened by the noise, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. It was barely dawn, and people from various sects had already begun packing their belongings.

He stood up and stretched his limbs. When he turned his head, he saw Elder Gu standing not far from him, discussing something with several elders from other sects.

Shen Yifei listened carefully.

"The rules for this opening of the secret realm are the same as before. Once inside, everyone must rely on their own abilities, regardless of life or death. But there is one rule! Fighting is not allowed outside the secret realm; anyone who violates this rule will be attacked by the entire group."

The one speaking was an elder from the Qingyun Sect, a gaunt old man.

"Of course." Elder Gu nodded.

"That's good." The elder of the Blazing Fire Sect was a middle-aged man with a red face and a loud voice. "Then let's wait. The secret realm will open at daybreak."

Shen Yifei looked up at the mountaintop.

The mountaintop was still shrouded in clouds, and nothing could be seen. But he could sense something surging beneath the clouds, like a sleeping giant turning over.

"Junior Brother Shen." Sun Yiran walked over and handed him a jade talisman. "Take this. It's a communication talisman. If you encounter trouble in the secret realm, crush it to notify me. But I have to make it clear first, it's fine if I'm close to you, but if you're far away, I can't help you."

Shen Yifei accepted the jade talisman, feeling a warmth in his heart: "Thank you, Senior Sister Sun."

"No need to thank me, just take it." Sun Yiran waved her hand, then lowered her voice, "Also, stay away from Han Zhengli after you go inside. That guy is petty and doesn't like you, he'll definitely find a chance to make things difficult for you."

"I didn't offend him."

"Your very existence is an insult to him." Sun Yiran curled her lip. "He thinks you're a disgrace to the Hehuan Sect, don't you understand?"

Shen Yifei gave a helpless, bitter smile.

The sky grew brighter, and the clouds began to churn. From the dense forest above the mountainside came roars of beasts, deep and resonant, echoing through the valley like thunder.

"It's about to open," someone whispered.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a crack suddenly appeared in the clouds atop the mountain. A beam of golden light shot out from the crack, illuminating the open ground so bright it was blinding.

Shen Yifei squinted and looked up. He saw that the golden light was getting wider and wider, and the clouds seemed to be torn apart by a pair of invisible hands, revealing the true face of the mountaintop.

At the top of the mountain is a huge stone platform, and in the center of the platform stands a door.

The gate was three zhang high and two zhang wide, covered with runes. The runes flowed slowly, emitting a soft golden light.

"The Heavenly Origin Secret Realm opens once every hundred years." The voice of the Qingyun Sect elder echoed in the valley. "Everyone, please be careful once you enter."

As soon as he finished speaking, the white jade door opened with a "bang".

Behind the door was complete darkness; nothing could be seen. But the aura emanating from within invigorated everyone.

Shen Yifei took a deep breath and felt the mist in his dantian become more active.

"Go!" Han Zhengli was the first to rush out, stepping onto his sword and heading straight for the mountaintop.

Not to be outdone, the others used their own unique abilities to fly towards the mountaintop.

Shen Yifei couldn't fly, so he could only run on his own two legs. He activated his lightness technique and took off running up the mountain.

There were more than thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators on the mountain road, running as desperately as he was, fearing that the gate would close immediately.

After finally reaching the mountaintop, the area in front of the white jade gate was already crowded with people. Han Zhengli and the other Golden Core cultivators had long since gone inside; they couldn't even be seen in a shadow.

Shen Yifei wasn't in a hurry. He waited until almost everyone had gone inside before stepping into the doorway.

The moment I stepped inside, everything went black.

Immediately afterwards, the world spun around him, as if he had been thrown into a whirlpool. Shen Yifei's stomach churned, and he almost vomited.

When he came to his senses, he was already standing on a grassy field.

He looked up and around, and the place was completely different from what he had imagined.

There were no palaces, no treasures, not even a soul in sight. Above was a hazy gray sky, without the sun, yet the light was abundant, its source unknown.

Beneath my feet stretched an endless grassland, the grass knee-high, lush and green, undulating like waves in the wind.

In the distance, there are mountains, forests, and a river that meanders through the grassland.

The air was filled with a faint spiritual energy, more than ten times stronger than that of the Hehuan Sect.

Shen Yifei took a deep breath, feeling completely refreshed. If he stayed here to cultivate, his speed would definitely be much faster.

Shen Yifei put his things away, determined the direction, and walked towards the woods in the distance.

The grassland looked empty, but he always felt that something was watching him from the shadows. This feeling made him uneasy, and he quickened his pace.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.

Looking back, he saw something moving in the grass. The blades of grass parted, revealing a trail that meandered towards him.

Shen Yifei gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, staring at the mark.

The traces are getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, the grass blades burst open, and a dark green shadow darted out of the grass, heading straight for his face.

Shen Yifei dodged to the side, and the green shadow flew past his ear and landed on the grass behind him.

He turned his head and saw a snake.

The snake was as thick as an arm, and its entire body was emerald green, exactly the same color as the grass. If it hadn't attacked first, Shen Yifei wouldn't have noticed it at all.

The snake, having missed its first attack, turned and lunged again. This time, Shen Yifei was prepared; he swung his longsword and struck the snake.

"when……"

The sword struck the snake with a crisp sound. The snake was sent flying, rolling several times on the ground, but not even a white mark was left on its body.

Shen Yifei was taken aback.

Is this snake's skin even tougher than that of an iron-backed wolf?

The snake was slashed, and although it wasn't injured, it was enraged. It coiled up, raised its head, and flicked its tongue, poised to strike.

Shen Yifei dared not be careless. He conjured a fireball with his left hand and threw it at the snake's head.

The fireball struck the snake's head and exploded with a "bang." The snake was thrown back by the blast, but quickly regained its balance and opened its mouth to spew out a cloud of green poisonous mist.

Shen Yifei quickly retreated, but the poisonous fog spread too fast, and he still inhaled it.

A pungent smell hit my head, my eyes burned, and snot and tears streamed down my face.

"Holy shit!"

He cursed as he backed away, taking out the antidote Qin Wan had given him from his ring and popping one into his mouth.

The spiciness of the pill quickly subsided after it entered my mouth, and my eyes no longer hurt.

Seeing that he had taken the antidote, the snake seemed to know that the poisonous mist was ineffective against him and pounced on him again.

This time, Shen Yifei didn't hold back. He took out the Myriad Things Cauldron and smashed it against the snake's head.

"Bang!"

The snake's head lolled to the side after being hit, but it wasn't captured. It shook its head and lunged again.

Shen Yifei smashed it again.

"Bang!"

The snake's head was smashed and deformed, but it still couldn't be put back in.

Shen Yifei panicked and slammed the object three times.

"Bang bang bang!"

The snake's head was smashed into a pulp, and it finally stopped moving.

Shen Yifei was panting heavily, looking at the dead snake on the ground, and then at the Myriad Things Cauldron in his hand.

The snake's cultivation level was lower than his, so the cauldron did not accept it.

He crouched down and used his sword to turn the snake's carcass over.

Shen Yifei flipped the snake over and felt something hard under its head.

Upon taking it out, I found it was a demon core, about the size of a thumb, and emerald green in color.

First-tier demon core.

Shen Yifei put the demon core into his ring and then peeled off the snake skin. The snake skin was as hard as iron; he could sell it for a lot of spirit stones.

After dealing with the snake, he continued walking into the woods.

Along the way, we encountered several more monsters, all of them being first-tier and posing no real threat.

After killing Shen Yifei, he dug out several demon cores. Based on the principle that he could sell them for spirit stones, he pocketed them all. In any case, he had to earn back the initial investment of eight hundred spirit stones.

After walking for most of the day, we finally reached the edge of the woods.