That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Chapter 22 The Secret Realm Opens Once Every 5 Years

Lin Jun's brothers received guidance from Lin Zhifeng more than a year ago, and with the added benefit of the Nascent Soul Pills from the system store, they all advanced to become Nascent Soul cultivators without exception.

They gathered at Lin Jun's place that day, and they even specially invited Lin Zhifeng. After everyone had finished praising each other, they started talking about their next plans.

They had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, raising their lifespan limit to five hundred years. Breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage was a far too distant dream; they were all keenly aware of their own limitations and dared not even consider it for the time being.

What these guys mean is: since we broke through to the Nascent Soul stage so we could go out and have fun together, shouldn't we make some arrangements now?

Lin Zhifeng explained the situation at the Mission Pavilion, and everyone was a little disappointed.

If they were to cultivate in their cave every day like Lin Zhifeng, Lin Jun and the others would really get restless.

Heaven knows they've poured their entire lives' patience into breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, and now they're at the point where they can't hold back any longer. They absolutely have to go out and let loose, releasing their boundless energy.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long before the sect released some good news—the Illusionary Realm, which opens only once every fifty years in the cultivation world, is about to open.

This secret realm is quite interesting. It is said to be a blessing left to future cultivators by an ancient immortal before his ascension. The realm opens once every fifty years, and any cultivator can enter. The only restriction is that one must be under one hundred years old.

The secret realm is said to contain many treasures, as well as countless medicinal herbs and mythical beasts...

This secret realm has existed for nearly a thousand years, but no one has yet found the mantle left behind by this true immortal.

The threshold for entering the secret realm is so low that every time it opens, it attracts countless cultivators to try their luck.

However, after many attempts, everyone realized that those with too low a cultivation level would find it extremely difficult to survive in the secret realm.

It wasn't just because the secret realm was full of traps and poisonous miasma; ferocious beasts and evil spirits could easily devour cultivators' lives; even among cultivators, there were unscrupulous robberies and assassinations in the struggle for treasures. So many people not only gained nothing, but also lost their lives.

Because of this, after several devastating explorations of secret realms, various sects, large and small, began to restrict the minimum cultivation level required for their disciples to enter these realms.

The Sword Sect sets the minimum entry requirement at the Nascent Soul stage, and other major sects follow suit. Only some small sects, independent cultivators, or those at the Golden Core stage venture into the secret realm hoping to strike it rich. However, the outcome for these individuals is usually not good.

The members of the Sword Sect are mostly sword cultivators, invincible among those of the same level, and can even challenge opponents of higher levels. In addition, the sect is powerful enough that, generally speaking, Sword Sect disciples suffer the fewest losses when participating in explorations of the Illusionary Realm.

Lin Zhifeng and Lin Jun were overjoyed to have such a great opportunity.

Most of the elders' disciples were under 100 years old and above the Nascent Soul stage, so the number of people from the Sword Sect who went to the secret realm this time exceeded 1,000.

The nine elders were greatly pleased: the Sword Sect has successors, and the future is promising!

Before the Sword Sect could even organize a team to participate in the secret realm exploration, another joyous event occurred that day, bringing happiness to the elders and envy to the disciples.

Ding Mo, the top genius of the younger generation who went into seclusion a few years ago to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, has successfully broken through.

Ding Mo is not even thirty years old, yet his cultivation speed is so fast that he can be described as a genius that is only seen once in a thousand years in the Sword Sect and even the entire cultivation continent.

You ask how extraordinary he is? Well, his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage was entirely due to his own efforts, without any external assistance. Lin Zhifeng and the others, who relied on in-game currency to reach the Core Formation stage, felt no envy towards someone like Ding Mo—people only envy those stronger than themselves; but towards such a "god," they could only look up in awe, couldn't they?

Ding Mo was so extraordinary that the tribulation he faced on the day he broke through was particularly exaggerated: each time it was nine bolts of heavenly lightning, striking him a total of eighty-one times before stopping.

Ding Mo was quite ruthless. Instead of avoiding the heavenly lightning like Lin Zhifeng when he was undergoing his tribulation, he used his spirit sword, Dragon Roar, to draw lightning from the sky to strike him, thereby tempering his physical body.

Lin Zhifeng witnessed the entire process of his tribulation and, besides admiring him, felt a pang of heartache for him.

Since Ding Mo had already successfully broken through before the opening of the Illusionary Realm, he could now go with the main force of the Sword Sect.

Originally, Ding Mo's master, the Grand Elder, was regretting that his good disciple might miss this secret realm trip, but look what happened! It's truly fate!

This expedition to the secret realm was led by the Sixth Elder and the Ninth Elder of the Sword Sect. Their main task was to protect this group of young elites.

After entering the secret realm, the Sword Sect disciples, with Ding Mo as their captain, were responsible for command and management.

Actually, among the Sword Sect disciples who entered the secret realm, Ding Mo wasn't the oldest. But since he had the highest cultivation level, no one objected to him becoming the team leader.

Before setting off, Lin Zhifeng received a main quest from the system: explore the Illusionary Realm and discover the legacy of an ancient immortal. Completing the quest rewards him with 100 luck points. There are also countless side quests: for example, discovering a thousand-year-old spiritual herb rewards one luck point per herb; discovering a rare water-type spiritual ore for upgrading the Crane Cry Sword rewards one luck point per ore; discovering a rare fire-type spiritual ore for upgrading the Phoenix Cry Sword rewards one luck point per ore; discovering a peerless movement technique rewards ten luck points…

Lin Zhifeng felt he was about to strike it rich! This trip to the secret realm would bring him huge benefits, and his luck stat might even break through a thousand in one fell swoop.

By then, I'll be able to upgrade to the "Ordinary Koi" level, unlocking 30% more luck. In the future, I'll be even luckier, and I'll get more resources. And then I'll be even luckier... It's like a snowball effect, getting bigger and bigger, with more and more benefits, forming a perfect closed loop.

Before setting off, Lin Zhifeng made a special trip to the market at the foot of the mountain to buy a storage bracelet with a huge storage capacity. Since this trip to the secret realm would yield great rewards, he needed to prepare space to store his belongings.

On the day of departure, the Sword Sect specially deployed its sect treasure—the transport ship—which was usually reluctant to use due to its enormous consumption.

Everyone boarded the ship happily and went to their assigned rooms according to the room numbers assigned beforehand.

The large ship sailed for seven days before bringing everyone to a desolate, uninhabited place. This was where the gate to the secret realm had opened.

When the Sword Sect arrived, many other sects had already been there for some time. Everyone was gathered together, anxiously waiting for the secret realm to open, organized by their sect.

As the Sword Sect disciples were disembarking, the Sixth Elder had already explained the precautions they would have to take in the secret realm.

In summary, the key points are as follows:

First, once inside, everyone must follow instructions. Ding Mo is listening to Ding Mo; if you get separated, junior brothers should listen to senior brothers.

Secondly, try not to travel alone; go in groups so you can look out for each other.

Third, when you encounter something good, you should act within your means and not lose your rationality due to greed.

Fourth, we should try to maintain friendly relations with other sects. If we encounter unethical people, we will not provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble either. We will not strike first, but if we do, we cannot afford to suffer losses.

Fifth, when encountering people in need, one should act within one's means to help them, and avoid being a pushover.

……

You know what, the Sixth Elder really thought things through. While she was still giving her instructions, everyone's hearts were already wandering into the secret realm.

Finally, the Sixth Elder finished giving his instructions, and everyone disembarked and went to the vicinity of the entrance to the secret realm to wait for it to open.

Lin Zhifeng and Lin Jun huddled together. Lin Jun said, "Little Lin, I heard that although everyone enters through the same door, they're not actually together inside. We'll be separated. What do you suggest we do?"

After listening to Lin Jun's description, Lin Zhifeng felt that this secret realm was like a game instance in a cultivation game he used to play. Everyone would randomly be assigned to different locations after entering. However, even so, Lin Zhifeng had a way to deal with it.

He said, "Let's not rush to find the treasure after we go in. Let's gather together first. I suggest that everyone head towards the northeast corner and we act together after we've all gathered. That will be safer."