The existence of the secret realms was an open secret within the sect. Every one of the five sects has one and there is even a shared secret realm that is opened once in every while. Those secret realms are the foundation of the respective sect and were built by the founders of the sects.
What realm you need to do something like this is beyond me.
Anyway, every 30 years the secret realm is opened and every inner disciple is eligible to attend. Huan Long was able to break through last week to the Foundation establishment realm thanks to the spirit stones received during the mission and the foundation establishment pill won in the tournament by me.
So we were eligible to enter the secret realm. There would be Thai Hua too since she also breakthroughs to the foundation establishment realm in this one year.
A week later Huan Long came to pick me up to go to the gathering in the inner court of the sect. Once the time arrived an inner elder gave a speech about what to expect inside the realm: “I know that all of you are hasty to enter and explore the secret realm of our sect. But I must warn you before: while inside you may find many valuable materials and other cultivation aids, the place is fraught with dangers. There are demonic beasts up to rank 3 in the forests and rivers and there are insidious traps inside the temples. You will be teleported inside separately and the place is very vast so for a while you will have to survive on your own. Don’t worry though you will be handed a linked token that will allow you to detect each other from a distance of 3 km, and a return token that once broken will allow you to get out of the realm before the allocated time.”
“Now the rules. Killing each other is strictly forbidden. Don’t try to do it, we will know and the consequences will be dire. The maximum duration of the opening of the secret realm is 7 days after which you will be all teleported outside. What you obtain in the secret realm will go to the sect but you will obtain a compensation of contribution points equal to what you found according to the marked price. The secret realm belongs to the sect and it’s its foundation, we need the resources to reallocate them where is more needed.”
“And, ending up, the contribution points. They are a currency only expendable within the internal exchange pavilion You can obtain spirit stones, pills, or even chances to go to the manuals and techniques halls to pick any of the techniques there. The five people with the most contribution points will be eligible to go inside the secret realm shared by all the five sects with the core disciples of our sect in three months. That’s all the ones that still want to go inside come up.”
At this point, the inner elder, together with the other three, made some hand gestures toward the space on top of the platform, and the space cracked, then it opened like an eyelid revealing a distorted image of a forest.
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The over thousand disciples, at the beginning a little hesitant, began to take the tokens and enter the portal. I was surprised at the beginning of the great number of inner disciples compared to the outer ones but then realized that outer disciples are constantly weeded out every 7 years, while the foundation establishment disciples are given far more time to become core formation cultivators.
Soon it was our turn and an elder decided to give us advice: “Huan Long right? Your bear is indeed a little strong but don’t be too arrogant. He has just reached the 3rd rank and I can tell that its strength has already reached the standard of a 5th layer foundation establishment cultivator. But that’s it, there are far stronger disciples entering the secret realm. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You have great potential, don't ruin yourself for meager gains.”
“By the way you and the bear will also be separated and since he can’t carry the tokens he will have to do without.”
The speech surprised me on one hand because of the random kind advice of an elder and on the other because I realized that I thought to be undefeatable in the same realm while I wasn’t. I didn't think the elder lied to us because he didn’t have a reason to, and his words resonated true to me. I didn’t know a lot about the formation establishment since I wasn’t there yet and so the mist about it in my head hasn’t dispersed.
From what I can glimpse by the words of the elder the layers of foundation establishment are characterized by an actual rise in power, unlike the qi gathering realm where the only difference was the amount of qi held.
While I was thinking this we were now entering the portal. My vision distorted up became left, then right forward, and down behind. After the psychedelic trip, I found myself in a small clearing inside a forest. I activated my spirit sense and the area in the 1 km radius became crystal clear, it was like I could see the whole area with my naked eyes at the same time.
I found: nothing.
No temples, disciples, or demonic beasts. Only some rabbits and a deer.
I wanted to climb a tree to look around but I didn’t think that my 2 meter high form, four on the hind legs, would allow me to reach the top of a tree. Then I had a better idea: if I can’t climb a tree I would run up it. I charged my muscles with YinYang energy and put myself in a crouching position. I dashed toward the biggest tree around and when I was near it I jumped. The tree started to bend while I ran over it and, when I felt it was bending so much I couldn’t go up anymore, I jumped again.
It was glorious, a golden bear high 2 meters and weighing 540 kg flying above the treetops. And then I fell.
Thud
I didn’t even feel the fall though I hoped it to be more majestic than smashing through some branches and falling face-first into the ground. But, hey, at least I now knew where to go.
In the direction southeast, I saw what could only be a temple.