The Long Journey to Immortality

Therefore, each mountain academy has a teleportation array set up in its inner treasury for entering and exiting the secret realm, so that all disciples participating in the Grand Competition's secret realm exploration can enter the secret realm as early as possible and avoid affecting their final Grand Competition results due to the "queueing to enter" problem.

Of the more than 300 Foundation Establishment disciples in Dongshan Academy, more than 200 participated in this first-level Foundation Establishment competition.

The situation in other branches is not much different.

In short, if Han Lu, Wen Erya, and Yi Qiyan want to take the top spot in the final competition of the Secret Realm, they must defeat about a thousand fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators and surpass nearly three hundred teams in the number of Spirit Beads they ultimately obtain.

When the three arrived at the inner treasury, there were already about fifty or sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered inside and outside the treasury.

Many of his fellow disciples were even more "nervous" than Wen Erya, as if they wished they could enter the secret realm a quarter of an hour earlier.

The order of entry into the secret realm is not arranged according to the order of arrival, but according to the ranking of each disciple's achievements after entering the sect in the past five years.

Excellent grades naturally lead to a higher ranking.

If your grades are terrible and you're consistently at the bottom, on the verge of being eliminated from the sect, then you can only enter the secret realm from a lower ranking.

The order of entry into the secret realm will be announced a few minutes before the realm opens.

According to Wen Erya's prediction, the three of them will most likely be among the first five to enter.

"My junior sister has won the championship in several small competitions she has participated in."

"My grades were slightly worse, but I still made it into the top four in all categories."

"Yi Qiyan is not a disciple of my Zhengyi Sect, which may slightly lower her score."

"But no matter how you look at it, even just based on my junior sister's good results, we should be one of the first teams to enter the venue."

Looking at Wen Erya's insightful analysis, Han Lu felt that she was being a little too nervous.

Han Lu joked, "It's alright. Even if the three of us enter the secret realm a day later, it won't matter. We can just go find other teams and snatch the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearl from them."

As a cultivator from the Central Plains, Wen Erya was somewhat averse to the idea of ​​snatching the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearl from someone else, and only hummed twice without replying.

However, a cultivator who was standing nearby heard Han Lu's arrogant words and was displeased. He was about to interrupt and "confront" Han Lu.

But when he discovered that the cultivator who uttered such arrogant words was Han Lu, he immediately withdrew his "argument" and quietly introduced the names and deeds of "Han Lu" and "Wen Erya" to his two teammates beside him, warning them to stay far away from this team composed of three female cultivators.

Being late for the competition will be considered an automatic forfeit, resulting in a bottom ranking. Naturally, no disciple would stand up for the sect in this matter.

Half an hour before the start of the competition, all the teams from Dongshan Academy had completed their registration and gathered in a hall in the inner treasury.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Elder Qingxu, who was in charge of maintaining order in this Dongshan Academy competition, decided not to waste any more time.

He used his supernatural ability to fly to the top of everyone's heads, holding a piece of paper, and began to announce the order in which the teams would enter the secret realm.

"Listen carefully to the order in which you enter the secret realm, and do not crowd or make noise."

"Di Caijun, Liang Feihan, Cheng Tiancheng, Group 1."

……

At first, some people were noisy and didn't know how to shut up and be quiet.

But after Elder Qingxu announced the names of the two teams, things gradually quieted down, leaving only Elder Qingxu's voice echoing in the hall.

……

After reading the names of four teams, Han Lu finally heard the names of three people.

"Han Lu, Wen Erya, Yi Qiyan, Group 5."

……

Ranked fifth, largely consistent with Wen Er Ya's previous predictions.

After the list was read aloud, Elder Qingxu casually raised his hand and drew a few lines in the hall, instructing, "Ten groups in one row, everyone line up in order."

The cultivators lined up in an orderly fashion according to the previously agreed-upon arrangement, and in a short while, the once chaotic hall became well-organized.

Once the line was complete, Elder Qingxu descended from the air and stood before Di Caijun, Liang Feihan, and Cheng Tiancheng, who were at the top of the line.

Elder Qingxu spoke solemnly, then reminded everyone, "Before entering the secret realm, each disciple must receive a token from me."

"The secret realm will only be open for thirty-six hours. Once the time is up, the token will be activated and indicate your location so that I and the other elders can use the magic array to teleport you back to the sect."

"If you encounter a danger that you cannot resolve, or if you are defeated and seriously injured in a battle with your fellow disciples, you can also activate the token to leave the secret realm."

"However, if you leave early, even if you bring all the Spirit Beads with you, you can only be listed in order of time, behind the disciples who have completed the exam."

"A total of one thousand Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls are hidden in this secret realm."

"Disciples, please act according to your abilities and do not be reckless, lest you lose your lives in this secret realm."

……

Finally, Elder Qingxu reminded all the disciples participating in the competition to pay attention to their behavior and not to deliberately cause killing in the secret realm.

At the very front of the line, not far in front of Han Lu, was a teleportation array that had not yet been activated.

There were two Golden Core cultivators standing in front of the magic array. One of them was Piaomiaozi, the master of Han Lu and Wen Erya.

Han Lu already knew these words by heart, so she used this time to observe the magic array.

Suddenly, a long, drawn-out bell rang out from the Zhengyi Gate.

Standing in front of the magic circle, Piaomiaozi and another Golden Core elder exchanged a glance, then tacitly took out a crystal-like stone from their storage bags and activated the teleportation magic circle beside them.

In an instant, the runes in the magic circle lit up, and a circular door that allowed three people to pass through appeared in the magic circle.

The colors inside the circular door change between seven colors, with each color lasting for about five seconds.

"Alright, the time has come, let's take turns entering the arena."

"Disciples in the same group need to enter the portal while it is still the same color. Don't be too slow, or you will be teleported to different parts of the secret realm."

"May all representatives of Dongshan College achieve even greater success in this competition."

After saying that, Daoist Qingxu took out three tokens, each no bigger than a thumb, from his storage bag and shot them at the three people at the front of the line.

"The token needs to be refined and bound to a master. It cannot be stored in a storage bag. Do not lose it or forget it."

Di Caijun, Liang Feihan, and Cheng Tiancheng are all in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and this is their third time participating in the sect's Foundation Establishment Grand Competition.

The three of them were quite adept at it, and each of them easily received the tokens. They each spent a moment using their spiritual power to imprint their own aura onto the tokens.

Without waiting for Piaomiaozi and the other elder to speak, Di Caijun entered the portal first after it turned red.

Liang Feihan and Cheng Tiancheng were both a beat late, but they both entered the secret realm while the portal was still red.

With these three experienced individuals serving as examples, the subsequent group of three followed suit and successfully entered the secret realm when the portal turned blue.

Chapter 519 Five Years of Change

"Junior sister, what color should we choose?"

"Let's go with yellow."

Han Lu said it casually, without intending to discuss it with the two of them.

Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan both nodded in agreement, complying with Han Lu's decision.

Soon, it was Han Lu, Wen Erya, and Yi Qiyan's turn to enter the changing-color portal.

Since Qingxu Daoist was familiar with Han Lu, he was naturally a little gentler when passing the token.

Like refining a magical artifact, Han Lu refined the token, instantly mastering the method of using it hidden within.

Now, she has learned how to use the token to send a signal for help, calling on the Golden Core cultivators stationed in the sect's inner treasury to teleport her out of the secret realm.

They also learned how to seize their opponent's token after defeating them, force it to activate, and eliminate the opponent.

Using the "True Phoenix Manual," Han Lu conjured a small pocket from her clothes and carefully stored the token that was crucial to her performance in the competition.

The moment the portal turned yellow, the three instinctively grabbed the hands of the person next to them, took a big step, and stepped inside, beginning their journey through the Grand Competition Secret Realm.

The moment they entered the portal, only the color yellow remained in their vision.

Feeling the light was too bright, Han Lu simply closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the soft hands of her two friends.

About three breaths later, a sliver of light pierced through the gap between her eyelids and was caught by Han Lu.

The crisp chirping of insects rang in Han Lu's ears, and she also caught a whiff of a plant's fresh fragrance.

Noticing the change in her surroundings, Han Lu opened her eyes.

At this moment, she was in a dense forest. The surrounding environment did not seem much different from that of the Central Plains, and it had no connection with the wilderness.

After letting go of her hand, Han Lu looked at her companions on either side.

Having experienced the grand teleportation scene in the ancient cultivation secret realm, this ordinary teleportation did not cause the three of them any discomfort.

"Han Lu," Yi Qiyan asked, "is this what the wilderness looks like?"

Han Lu said, "No, at least the wilderness I went to wasn't like that."

Using "those" instead of "that" would be quite appropriate for Han Lu.

"It's more like we've been dumped in some desolate wilderness in the Central Plains, except that there are many demonic beasts and spirit beasts in this wilderness."

Hearing this, Yi Qiyan was somewhat disappointed.

Wen Erya, meanwhile, had already begun to use the surrounding objects to discern the general direction, trying to make a good start for the three of them on their three-day journey in the secret realm.

"This is the south, and that should be the north." With the help of the unknown species of light sources in this secret realm and the sun-like but not actually sun-like light sources in the sky, Wen Er Ya pointed in the air with her hand.

"And then?" Yi Qiyan asked, hands on her hips, "Erya, what's the use of determining the direction if you don't have a map?"

Wen Erya was about to launch into a long speech when she suddenly found herself speechless.

Without a map, simply knowing the directions is indeed of little use.

Yi Qiyan said, "Let's not worry about directions. Let's quickly fly up on our swords, see the general situation around us, and then choose a direction to go."

Born in southern Xinjiang, Yi Qiyan handles things in a more straightforward and direct manner.

But this approach is indeed the best one at present.

Without further ado, the three of them ascended into the air on their swords, soaring over the tallest trees in the forest, gazing around in search of places where demonic beasts or spirit beasts might live.

At first, the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearl was hidden everywhere in the secret manual. Naturally, one had to cause trouble for the demon beasts in order to put this tool for determining the ranking into one's own storage bag.

"Where to go?"

Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan said in unison.