Immortal Path Space

Book Tower stood tall and majestic, with two cultivators guarding the entrance.

"Excuse me, senior brothers, any requirements for entering Book Tower?" Wang Hong asked, handing two Spirit Stones to the guards.

The two guards, in good spirits after receiving the Spirit Stones, were impressed by Wang Hong's thoughtfulness.

"Haha, you're too polite, junior. You must be a new disciple. To enter Book Tower for reading or borrowing books, you just need to accumulate contribution points," one guard said with a friendly smile.

"Observing inside costs two contribution points per hour, while borrowing or duplicating depends on the content of the book, starting at a minimum of ten contribution points," the other guard added quickly.

"Moreover, only Golden Core Elders or those specially permitted by the sect can access the top floor of Book Tower."

Without contribution points, one couldn't even enter Book Tower. Wang Hong thought it made sense; after all, the sect's cultivation techniques were not handed out for free. It was a fair trade and encouraged disciples to contribute to the sect.

Wang Hong currently had no contribution points, so he could only go back and focus on completing tasks.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior brothers. I'll come back when I earn enough contribution points. Farewell."

Wang Hong left Book Tower briskly, not in the mood to explore other places. He rode his Windsoar Boat back.

He was already proficient in refining Condensing Qi Pills, even achieving high-quality results. However, he didn't want to reveal his exceptionally high success rate. He had heard that most alchemists had success rates below fifty percent, and reaching fifty percent was considered skilled.

He decided to submit tasks with a forty percent success rate. If needed, he could take on more alchemy tasks next time.

Twenty-five furnaces of elixirs were effortlessly refined in just a few days. He obtained a total of two hundred and ten Condensing Qi Pills. Considering a forty percent success rate, he only needed to submit one hundred pills.

After gathering the required spiritual medicine for the task and storing them in Jade Boxes, he was ready to go to the Task Hall to submit the task. Just as he opened the courtyard gate, two cultivators approached his small courtyard.

"Excuse me, junior."

Wang Hong was puzzled, and one of them greeted him. One was an old man at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles, showing signs of declining life essence. The other was a middle-aged man at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, thin with two strands of mustache on his lips.

"Senior brothers, what can I do for you?" Wang Hong asked.

"No need to be formal. We noticed a new neighbor and came to visit, get acquainted," the middle-aged man replied, pointing to the left and right small courtyards.

"That courtyard is mine," he pointed to the left, "and this one is Fellow Daoist Cheng's."

It turned out they were nearby neighbors. Wang Hong couldn't be impolite and invited them into the living room.

Only then did he realize he didn't even have Spirit Tea to offer. Normally, such matters were taken care of by his subordinates; he never bothered with them. It seemed like he should plant some Spirit Tea trees in his spatial realm for such occasions.

After a moment of thought, he took out a few bottles of Spirit Wine from the spatial realm and picked some fresh Spirit Jujubes from the Spirit Jujube tree outside the door.

The three sat in the living room as host and guests, exchanged names, and chatted about various stories in the Cultivation World. Wang Hong inquired about some information on the sect from the two, as he was still new and unfamiliar with many things. They patiently explained everything to him.

"Senior brothers, I heard that a secret realm will open next year. Is it one of the six major secret realms?" Wang Hong asked, recalling the rumors he heard in the cafeteria a few days ago.

"The one opening next year is indeed one of the six major secret realms. Wang junior, do you plan to participate? Keep in mind that it has an extremely high mortality rate. In previous years, the number of returnees has never exceeded fifty percent," Old Man Cheng said with a serious expression, emphasizing the life-threatening nature of the trial.

Wang Hong was taken aback, not expecting the mortality rate to be so high.

"Is it dangerous inside the secret realm, or do cultivators engage in infighting for treasures, causing casualties?" he asked.

Concerning the six major secret realms, Wang Hong, as a loose cultivator, had limited knowledge. He only knew that these realms were rich in Spirit Qi, making them suitable for various types of Spiritual Medicine, including those needed to refine Foundation Building pills.

He wanted to understand whether the high mortality rate was due to dangers beyond the capabilities of Qi Cultivation stage or if it was caused by human factors.

"It's both. The realms are rich in Spirit Qi, making them suitable for Spiritual Medicine and the breeding of Demonic Beasts. Inside, many fierce and brutal Demonic Beasts are born. However, the realms are also equipped with ancient Large Formations. Any creature at the Foundation Building stage or above will be struck by heavenly thunder and turned to ashes.

Therefore, the strength of the Demonic Beasts inside will not exceed the second tier."

Hearing this, Wang Hong breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't reach the Foundation Building stage, he could handle it to some extent.

If there were second-tier or higher Demonic Beasts inside, he would be powerless against their absolute strength.

"The most dangerous thing inside is still people. Although the six major sects usually get along peacefully, it doesn't mean there are no disputes. Even close brothers may fight over benefits, let alone major sects with inevitable frictions between them.

Sometimes it's just because of the allocation of a small market's profits, which may not exceed tens of thousands of Spirit Stones per year. If the major sects were to engage in a major conflict over this, leading to the death of Foundation Building cultivators or even implicating Golden Core cultivators, it would be a loss not worth the gain.

Therefore, the major sects negotiate and postpone all disputes to the secret realm trial held once every decade.

After all, Qi Cultivation cultivators are recruited in the thousands every ten years, serving as a cheap expendable resource. Losing a few hundred is acceptable for the sect's foundation.

Then, based on the amount of Spiritual Medicine each sect obtains, a ranking is established to address the accumulated disputes over the past decade."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hong understood. He felt a mix of emotions. It seemed that the battles between Qi Cultivation cultivators were just a chess game between sects, avoiding the loss of high-tier cultivators.

However, he couldn't blame anyone. From the perspective of sect interests, this was the best choice. If he were in the sect leader's position, he would also choose this without hesitation.

Long-term disputes between sects would only consume strength and resources, something no one wanted to see.

But how could Qi Cultivation cultivators do anything about it?

No one forced them; it was entirely voluntary to sign up, yet they had to participate to compete for the resources for Foundation Building.

Compared to the vast number of Qi Cultivation cultivators, Foundation Building pills were scarce. Although large trading houses occasionally auctioned them, the prices, reaching hundreds of thousands, were unaffordable for most Foundation Building cultivators.

Everyone had their reasons for doing this, driven by their own interests. Immortal cultivation wasn't as idyllic as Mortals imagined – it wasn't just about enjoying wine and tea while watching the clouds. It required constant and arduous practice, facing challenges from the heavens, the earth, and fellow cultivators. It was like crossing a single-plank bridge amid a sea of thousands of soldiers.

This structural aspect could be seen in the composition of Qingxu Sect's cultivators: tens of thousands of Qi Cultivation cultivators, thousands of Foundation Building cultivators, and only a few dozen Golden Core cultivators.

Wang Hong, realizing this, took a big sip of Spirit Wine, feeling a sense of relief.

Filling the cup again, he proposed, "Dear neighbors, meeting is fate. Let's drink to this moment."

"Cultivation is tough. Perhaps tomorrow we'll be nothing but dry bones. It's better to enjoy life now. Today, there's wine, so let's get drunk. Old Cheng, you should also enjoy yourself," Xun Rui raised his cup, echoing Wang Hong's sentiment.

Cheng Zan also lifted his cup. It was then that Wang Hong noticed Cheng Zan had almost finished the plate of Spirit Jujubes in front of him, while Xun Rui's plate was still intact, having only a few eaten.

After finishing their drinks, Wang Hong asked, "Senior Cheng, is the Spirit Jujube not to your liking?"

Cheng Zan blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. He replied, "Junior Wang's Spirit Jujubes and Spirit Wine are excellent, and they also help with cultivation. They are truly rare treasures."

After a moment of silence, Cheng Zan said, "Forgive my boldness, but could I take the remaining ones with me?"

"Of course, there's no problem. They were meant to treat Senior Cheng. Take as much as you want."

Although Cheng Zan's request was somewhat impolite, it wasn't unreasonable. These items could be sold for several dozen Spirit Stones in the market. Perhaps he was just frugal and couldn't bear to eat them.

"The Spirit Jujube tree in front of the door produces at least a few hundred Spirit Stones annually. I've noticed a group of Spirit Bees on the jujube tree. Junior Wang really knows how to make money," Xun Rui said admiringly.

"Senior Xun, you're too kind. I acquired the Spirit Jujube tree and Spirit Bees by chance. They barely sustain my cultivation needs," Wang Hong humbly replied. In truth, he didn't consider a few hundred Spirit Stones a significant amount. With his continuous production in the spatial realm and the efforts of his subordinates, he had it much easier than ordinary cultivators.

After chatting for a while longer, the two neighbors bid farewell and left.

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