Watching the three of them, Li Lin frowned as well, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes. In this secret place, it was impossible for these three not to cause trouble for him. But it didn't matter. Even if they didn't provoke him, he wouldn't let them off given the chance. If all three were to die in this secret place, he believed Zhao WuJi would definitely be furious enough to jump off a building.
Thinking of this, Li Lin secretly smiled, but he also knew that killing these three, even if he risked his life, would be difficult. Two Martial Generals and one Triple Spirit General, their strength was absolutely terrifying. It was better for him to hide for now.
At this moment, feeling the gaze of the three on him, Li Lin acted indifferent, at least he still had some ability to protect himself.
"The Elders are indeed early." Yun XiaoTian's voice slowly came through. As his voice fell, on the square, several figures appeared out of thin air.
"Greetings to the Sect Leader." Everyone bowed, and it was indeed Yun XiaoTian, the Great Protector, Yun HongLing, CuiYu, Han Feng, and Dong Pan among others.
"Such a strong aura." Li Lin had always been guessing about the strength of Sect Leader Yun XiaoTian, but could never figure it out. Definitely at the level of a Martial King, but how many levels of Martial King was unclear. Judging from the aura, he was much stronger than Elder Yang.
"Now that everyone is here, let's prepare to head to the secret place." Yun XiaoTian's gaze swept over everyone.
"Lin'er, let's go." YuYuQian said softly. The Blue Jade Wolf Eagle flapped its wings, and both of them leapt onto the Blue Jade Wolf Eagle. Then, all the Elders also summoned their own demonic beast mounts, all of which were formidable fifth-level demonic beasts, and took off into the sky.
Li Lin's gaze followed CuiYu, who was always by Yun XiaoTian's side, indicating her maid status was certainly not ordinary.
"Who exactly is she?" Li Lin whispered. Uncle Jiang had mentioned before that the Du Gu family was not simple, but so far, Li Lin had not heard of any powerful forces belonging to the Du Gu family.
After a moment, Li Lin didn't bother to think further. From the back of the Blue Jade Wolf Eagle, he looked down to see the mountains shrouded in shadows, peaks varied in shape, lush and dripping with greenery, with their tips occasionally hidden in the clouds, vaguely revealing many buildings nestled within.
The rolling mountains, under the sunlight, reflected a faint light, appearing exceptionally magnificent. On the backs of the flying demonic beasts, everyone was silent. After about half an hour, a vast canyon appeared before Li Lin's eyes.
In the canyon, there was a river thousands of meters wide, raging incessantly. On both sides of the canyon, a series of towering peaks pierced the sky.
The river raged, waves crashing against the surrounding rocks, splashing up droplets of water.
"Lin'er, we've arrived," YuYuQian said to Li Lin.
"Swoosh swoosh…" Everyone landed their flying demonic beasts, stopping on a rocky area about several tens of meters wide at the base of a mountain peak.
"Is the secret place really here?" Looking around, Li Lin was somewhat puzzled. This area seemed no different from other places.
"All disciples entering the secret place, listen up. After entering, you will face dangers. Your masters should have informed you about everything regarding the secret place," Yun XiaoTian said, looking at the disciples with a slightly stern expression. "Within the secret place, the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit is our YunYang Sect's treasure, bearing fruit once every three years. Consuming one can increase your chances of breaking through to Martial King or Spirit King to fifty percent, but consuming more has no effect. Therefore, one is enough for each of you. However, since the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit only bears nine fruits each time, eleven of you will not be able to obtain it.
I warn everyone, under no circumstances, including fighting for the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit, is it permissible to kill a fellow sect member. Otherwise, whoever it is, once out of the secret place, will be executed. Your families will also be implicated. Did everyone understand?"
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"Yes, Sect Leader," all disciples responded immediately. Under Yun XiaoTian's oppressive aura, every disciple couldn't help but tremble slightly, Li Lin included, secretly thinking, the punishment for killing a fellow sect member was as severe as implicating the nine clans, showing how much the YunYang Sect valued its direct disciples.
"Within the secret place, there's a second treasure. It is an energy within the secret place that allows you to cultivate at a speed about five times faster than usual. Half a year of cultivation there is equivalent to two and a half years outside, and for dual-element martial artists, it's equivalent to four to five years. Make good use of this opportunity. However, this energy can only be absorbed for half a year; any more, and it will not benefit your future cultivation, only harm. This is because all of you are the strongest twenty disciples selected by the sect, with both soul power and mindset reaching a certain level.
If it were ordinary disciples, entering for a month might cause many adverse effects. Also, every three years, when the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit is about to mature, enough energy gathers to allow you twenty to experience this accelerated cultivation effect. Normally, the secret place does not have this effect," Yun XiaoTian continued.
"Such a thing exists." Li Lin was shocked. Half a year equivalent to two and a half years of cultivation, and for dual-element martial artists, it's like four to five years. For triple-element martial artists, wouldn't that be like seven to eight years? This was terrifying. It's fortunate that the secret place only has this effect when the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit is about to mature. If this effect was constant, the YunYang Sect could simply send talented disciples to the secret place every now and then, and their progress would be terrifying. In twenty years, the YunYang Sect's strength would be unmatched.
"Entering the secret place, you'll face numerous dangers. If you find marks left by the sect forbidding entry, do not rashly enter. Just keep moving forward after you enter, and you will reach the location of the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit, which is in the very center of the secret place.
Remember, the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit matures in three months. If you haven't found it, after nine days, it will automatically wither or be consumed by demonic beasts. Those who obtain the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit can consume it immediately for the best effect. After half a year, you must reach the exit, or else you will be trapped in the secret place for three years, and by then, you might become food for the demonic beasts."
Wang Hu finished speaking and glanced at the disciples again, then looked at several towering peaks around: "Please, the Supreme Elders, open the secret place."
"Shh shh…"
At this moment, several subtle aura fluctuations rose from the surrounding peaks.
"Such a strong aura." Li Lin's face changed dramatically, feeling absolutely suppressed by these subtle aura fluctuations, even his soul trembling. These auras were even stronger than Yun XiaoTian's.
"How terrifying YunYang Sect is," Li Lin thought to himself. YunYang Sect's apparent strength was already terrifying, and its hidden strength was even more so.
"How terrifying the strength of the Three Sects and Four Schools is." At this moment, Li Lin thought of his own Flying Spirit Gate. It seemed that even with Old Poisoner and Ghost Fairy Bai Ying, his Flying Spirit Gate could not compare to the major sects and schools like the Three Sects and Four Schools.
As these subtle aura fluctuations occurred, Li Lin saw dazzling beams of light suddenly shooting down from the towering peaks in the distance, each beam with a diameter of tens of meters.
There were four beams in total, yellow, blue, white, and red, corresponding to the four attributes of earth, water, wind, and fire.
The four beams shot down, causing spatial vibrations, intersecting over the wide river and suddenly causing the entire world to tremble violently. An ancient and vast aura slowly spread from the sky, seeming to come from the void, giving an eternal and unceasing feeling, making everyone's soul tremble.
"The secret place is about to open," YuYuQian couldn't help but say.
"Boom"
As YuYuQian's words fell, where Li Lin was looking, over the wide river, a loud noise erupted, and the ground began to shake. The river water surged violently, with huge waves rising like a storm, tens of meters high.
"Whoosh whoosh…"
At the same time, above the river, in the center of the canyon, a spatial crack hundreds of meters in size slowly spread out, with spatial ripples spreading around. The ancient aura, coming from the spatial crack, became even more intense.
"Is this the secret place?"
Li Lin looked at the huge spatial crack above the canyon, murmuring in shock and awe. At this moment, Li Lin realized how insignificant he was under this aura, feeling like an ant.
"The secret place is open, all disciples preparing to enter, get ready. After half a year, the exit will open again, and you must come out on time," Yun XiaoTian said. "Half a year," Li Lin murmured to himself, wondering if he could absorb the energy mentioned by Yun XiaoTian. He guessed that his Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Arts might not be able to absorb it, which was a weakness. Normally, he couldn't compare with others in cultivation.
However, with demonic beasts inside, consuming demonic pills during half a year would certainly greatly enhance his strength.