With the agreed-upon time for the first phase of the secret realm fast approaching, Youyou received the first phase of the aid agreement between the immortal and mortal realms from Fang Ming, along with a detailed plan for the first phase of the secret realm. The plan outlined the content of each level of the trial and the effects that could be achieved.
Since this trial primarily focuses on sword cultivation, most of the challenges are designed for sword cultivators. She examined it closely and thought, "As expected of a work by outstanding graduates from previous years!" The entire secret realm included trials on sword heart, sword intent, various mental cultivation techniques, and even tests of inner demons. And all of them were set up according to graduation… ah, I mean, according to ascension standards, with the difficulty appropriately reduced.
However, perhaps because it was their first time operating this, they weren't quite sure about the level of mortal cultivators. The entry threshold for this secret realm was set rather high, allowing cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above to enter. In other words, apart from Feng Rong and Yuan's father, all cultivators from the entire Immortal Marsh Continent could enter.
After some thought, You You offered Fang Ming some suggestions, advising her to remove disciples in the Qi Refining stage. After all, Qi Refining disciples were still learning the basics, and such a secret realm was too risky for them, easily leading to accidents. Furthermore, to ensure the disciples' safety, a feature should be added to the challenges: in the event of a life-threatening danger, the disciple would be automatically teleported out of the secret realm.
Fang Ming and his team agreed, and made the revisions very quickly. Almost just a few days after You You made the suggestion, the first phase of the joint immortal-mortal collaboration's secret realm was completed and was about to be officially launched in Xianze at the agreed time.
To avoid causing too much of a stir and attracting too much trouble, the entire plan was kept secret. Apart from a few insiders from the True Path Sect, no one knew that this was a secret realm deliberately sent down from the Immortal Realm. In particular, even Ling Qi, who was in the know, had not seen the plan in You You's possession, in order to ensure the best possible outcome for the secret realm trial.
The day has finally arrived for the official start.
At noon, near the southern coast of the Immortal Marsh, a bright light suddenly shone, and the sky was filled with clouds that lingered for a long time. The various immortal sects felt that the spiritual energy in the spiritual veins suddenly began to surge and increase, which was a sign that a rare treasure had appeared in the world.
The True Transformation Sect is the closest immortal sect to this place. You You, who had already made preparations, personally led all the sword cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, including some elders in the Nascent Soul stage, to the location where the secret realm would open as quickly as possible.
From afar, a circular entrance to a secret realm could be seen in the sky, surrounded by celestial energy. You first notified all the various immortal sects to come before letting Ling Qi lead his disciples into the secret realm. He thought everything was ready, but unexpectedly, a small problem still arose.
The secret realm is inaccessible... I can't get in!
-_-|||
Ling Qi, who was flying at the very front, originally intended to fly into the entrance, but instead passed directly through the air and appeared on the other side of the entrance. The circular opening seemed to not exist; he couldn't enter at all.
"What's going on?" Not only the disciples, but even Ling Qi was completely bewildered.
"Why can't we get in? Can you touch the entrance?"
"No, I can't sense it. Is this entrance to the secret realm just an illusion?"
"We're definitely heading in the right direction, so what's going on?"
Youyou was also stunned. What was going on? Didn't Fang Ming say that she had repeatedly tested it and confirmed that there were no problems with the secret realm before releasing it into the lower realm? Why can't it even enter the gate? Could it be that the secret realm is also affected by the change in environment?
She paused, about to take out her special communication artifact to contact Fang Ming and ask about the situation, when suddenly a few exclamations came from among the disciples who couldn't enter the secret realm.
"Huh? Where did Senior Sister Shuiyan go? She was just next to me!"
"Yes, just now... wait, Junior Sister Yu Xiu is also missing. Has anyone seen her?"
"And Junior Sister Jialing too..."
"Senior Sister Qingyun is also..."
"Junior Sister Chang Wan too..."
Ling Qi was startled and quickly turned around to count the number of people. He then discovered that more than a dozen people were missing from the group, all of whom were female disciples of the sect.
Youyou: "..."
Feng Rong: "..."
Yuan Qi: "..."
Okay, confirmed! The secret realm itself is fine; the problem lies with the person who designed it.
This secret place refuses entry to men!
You You was speechless. She had only asked Fang Ming to restrict the cultivation level of those entering, not their gender! Did she think this secret realm was a public bathhouse with separate sections for men and women?
It was too late to contact Fang Ming now, so she turned to the person next to her and said, "Father Yuan, could you help me modify the restriction formation at the entrance?"
“…Okay.” Yuan Qi also saw the reason, and stepped forward speechlessly, starting to modify the array restrictions at the entrance on the spot.
Fortunately, Yuan Qi was a god and proficient in formations. Although they differed somewhat from immortal techniques, he could still modify the restrictions at the entrance to the secret realm. He managed to restore the entrance restrictions to normal before the other sects arrived.
The secret realm was open for one month. Apart from the True Exploration Sect, which had firsthand information, sending the most disciples, other sects, out of caution, did not send many disciples. After all, it was a newly appeared secret realm, and they needed to observe it more closely; some even only sent a few elders to investigate.
As the only ones not allowed to enter, You You and the others didn't linger at the entrance to the secret realm. After greeting the various factions, they returned to their respective sects. Judging from their performance just now, she still couldn't fully trust Fang Ming and the others' design methods, so she needed to go back and carefully review the plan again. Who knew what other silly mistakes these single guys might make?
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It must be said that while the group from the Fourth Heaven was a bit of a jerk, their professional skills were still top-notch. A month later, everyone who had entered the secret realm emerged unscathed. Apart from a few reckless individuals who encountered danger and were prematurely ejected from the realm, all the other disciples had gained something from their experiences.
Leaving aside the sword cultivators of the True Transformation Sect, the Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation elders from other immortal sects who entered the secret realm also reaped enormous rewards, with many going into seclusion to break through their limits as soon as they left.
Those who have reached the late Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation stages don't actually lack cultivation techniques or inheritances. What they lack is an understanding of the Heavenly Dao and cultivation itself. This secret realm, after all, was created by true immortals, and the experiences within regarding ascension to immortality are their own, making it naturally more valuable.
You You felt that it wouldn't be long before the ascension rate of the entire Immortal Realm would increase by several percentage points. Even Ling Qi, the talisman cultivator who knew the inside story but was merely leading the team, was showing signs of increasing cultivation.
Of course, besides the benefits and gains, some disciples also developed a deep trauma from this secret realm, and even after safely returning to their sect, they were still somewhat disoriented.
It was all because of the underhanded and scheming actions of a certain group of cunning and malicious individuals.
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