Li Yan, however, was thinking of more. What he valued most was the third condition. He knew what being able to come to this secret room meant. Based on his cultivation experience just now, he didn't know if he could successfully form a Golden Core in the future, but if he cultivated here for half a year, he was certain he could succeed in Foundation Establishment, possibly without even needing a "Foundation Establishment Pill". Another benefit was that within ten thousand li of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, if he encountered any life-threatening danger, he could teleport here in an instant, resolving the crisis. Although this was only possible within ten thousand li of the secret realm, Li Yan was not a greedy person. These two benefits alone would be endlessly useful to him.
He took a few long, deep breaths, slowly calming his mind, and then said, "Senior, I will come here and request the first opportunity for advancement when I need it." Li Yan was very clear in his heart that this kind of advancement must require the assistance of some secret art or medicinal pill from the Five Immortal Sects, and it was likely a one-time use opportunity. As for why it was only for those below the Spirit Transformation realm, Li Yan guessed that realms at Spirit Transformation and above could probably no longer be directly advanced through cultivation manuals or pills. It likely required great fortune and one's own long years of bitter cultivation to take the next step. In fact, Li Yan's guess was more or less correct.
Right now, he was only somewhat confident about Foundation Establishment. If worst came to worst, he still had the "Foundation Establishment Pill" to help. How could he use this opportunity so lightly? But he had no confidence when it came to forming a Golden Core or a Nascent Soul. From what he had read in the texts, every major realm advancement after Foundation Establishment was extremely difficult. He could only take it one step at a time.
"For the second condition, I'll need Senior to explain it in more detail. What happens if this junior fails to reach the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm in my lifetime? And for the third condition, is there a time limit after this junior arrives here?" Li Yan continued. He was hesitant about the second condition. He knew how precious that top-grade storage magical treasure was. Just thinking about the requirement to reach the late-stage of the Body Integration realm to retrieve that "Primordial Chaos Earth" and the need to sign a "Blood Oath Incantation" showed how important it was.
Pingtu's lips curled into a half-smile as he looked at Li Yan. He had, of course, seen through Li Yan's thoughts.
"For this third condition, you can stay and cultivate for as long as you want after you come in," he said, not answering Li Yan's earlier questions but directly addressing his unspoken thoughts.
Li Yan couldn't help but blush. He thought, 'Didn't you let me come here precisely to cultivate with this dense spiritual energy?' Clearly, Pingtu felt that Li Yan knew the purpose of the third condition but had to ask in a roundabout way, so he had exposed him directly.
"As for the second condition, this top-grade storage magical treasure is named 'Earthen Mark'. After dripping blood on it, it can transform into a shape resembling a birthmark and affix itself to any part of your body. When you need it, you can just contact it with your Divine Sense. The 'Blood Oath Incantation' is a type of contract from the ancient era, signed with one's own essence blood. Any violation will inevitably result in a backlash from one's inner demons. No one has ever escaped this constraint, so don't even think about breaking it. As far as I know, in the ancient era, even Great Ascension realm cultivators who broke their oaths all died under their inner demons, with no exceptions.
As for what happens if you don't cultivate to the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm in this lifetime, the contract will naturally not produce any inner demons for you. It's just that the 'Earthen Mark' magical treasure you are using will dissipate and return here after five thousand years, or if you happen to perish prematurely. Others will not be able to take it, unless their cultivation level is higher than the person who refined the top-grade 'Earthen Mark' magical treasure, which would be the mid-stage of Tribulation Transcendence or the Great Ascension realm. As for some late-stage Body Integration and early-to-mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, their cultivation manuals are simply no match for a mid-stage Body Integration cultivator from the Five Immortal Sects of the same rank. But nothing in this world is absolute. Perhaps there are stronger cultivation manuals than those of the Five Immortal Sects, but at least I have never seen one." As Pingtu said this, a proud expression appeared on his face, which reminded Li Yan of a similar scene when Dong Fuyi had shown the same expression when speaking of the Five Immortal Sects' cultivation manuals.
Li Yan understood now. First, he was a bit helpless about the name. "Earthen Mark"—it was too plain. Was it to make sure people knew it was refined by the Ji Earth Immortal Sect? At the same time, he became curious about the names of the top-grade storage bags refined by the Gui Water Immortal Sect and the other three immortal sects, but this thought was fleeting.
'The main material used for this top-grade storage space was Primordial Chaos Earth. Even if it wasn't entirely made of it, it was the most important refining material. That region of the starry sky must be an extremely perilous place, for even the Five Immortal Sects, with their cultivation manuals that allow them to kill across realms, have to cultivate to the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm to go there. At the same time, this top-grade storage magical treasure should be something that each of the Five Immortal Sects has refined. Pingtu is only giving me this because he didn't find one on me. If I already had a top-grade storage magical treasure from the Gui Water Immortal Sect, he would have likely exchanged it for another top-grade magical treasure, though I don't know what that would be. But right now, this 'Earthen Mark' is indeed what I need most. In theory, I can use it for five thousand years. If I haven't reached the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm by then, it will disappear on its own. Five thousand years? That's enough. It's not even certain how many years I can live to cultivate to that stage.'
Li Yan glanced at the dense circle of Storage Pouches around his waist. He had already figured out many things.
"Senior, this junior will definitely cultivate diligently," Li Yan said, bowing respectfully. Just as his voice fell, the space above his head suddenly darkened. Li Yan hurriedly looked up and felt a bloody stench rush to his nose, as if he were in a sea of Asura's blood.
It was an ancient, dark red scroll, exuding a viscous, bloody, and sinister aura, floating before Li Yan. It moved without wind, fluttering like a great banner. On it, dozens of tiny, strange symbols flickered with a dazzling red light. Each symbol seemed to have been weathered by tens of thousands of years, giving the entire scroll an ancient feel. Li Yan didn't recognize any of these symbols, but when his Divine Sense swept over them, the symbols wriggled like startled spirit insects, and then a large block of text flooded into his Divine Sense.
A moment later, Li Yan looked up. He drew his left fingers together like a knife and lightly cut his right index finger. A few drops of essence blood immediately flowed out. But the moment they did, the drops of essence blood floated in mid-air. In the blink of an eye, they had flown into the ancient scroll before him. The moment the essence blood entered the scroll, the entire scroll erupted with a piercing red light, instantly making the stone chamber look like a golden jewel inlaid with a single red teardrop.
As Li Yan was thinking, the piercing red light before him rapidly shrank. When it had shrunk to the size of a grain of rice, it suddenly transformed into a speck of red light and shot straight toward Li Yan. Li Yan did not dodge.
At the same time, an extra aura suddenly appeared in Li Yan's mind. This aura made Li Yan feel as if there were needles on his back. But when he swept his Divine Sense through his body, this aura had already vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
Li Yan couldn't help but smile bitterly. He knew it wasn't that the aura had disappeared, but that his cultivation was too low to detect it. It was already lurking somewhere inside his body. If he hadn't fulfilled the oath in the scroll by the time he reached the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm, it would surely erupt.
Pingtu had been standing there the whole time, watching Li Yan without a word. Seeing the speck of red light shoot into Li Yan's body, a sharp glint also flashed in his eyes, as if he had thought of something. Then he became calm again. The next moment, with a wave of his hand, a ball of yellowish-brown mist flew rapidly toward Li Yan. At the same time, he said in a low voice, "Catch it properly. After communicating with your Divine Sense, you just need to guide it."
Seeing the ball of yellowish-brown mist fly toward him, Li Yan's eyes filled with curiosity. When the mist reached him, Li Yan looked at it carefully. The mist was constantly churning gently, its shape ever-changing. Li Yan did as he was told and slowly extended his Divine Sense toward it. The moment his Divine Sense made contact, a vast yellow world appeared in his mind. This world was about a thousand zhang in size, filled with a hazy mist. But a high mountain and a river winding around it were faintly visible in the yellow mist. Although the spiritual energy here was not as dense as in the secret realm, it was basically on par with the spiritual energy on Little Bamboo Peak. It was truly an excellent place. His Divine Sense slowly descended to the ground. The ground was covered with lush green grass, which spread out in a large swath along the riverbank on both sides, disappearing into the yellow mist. It was like an early winter morning, yet it had the vibrancy of spring. Li Yan couldn't help but be amazed. Thinking of his own storage bag, which was only a few zhang in size and filled with a deathly stillness, he was, of course, extremely satisfied.
His Divine Sense did not stay inside for too long. After circling around once, it flew out. Perhaps because he had signed the 'Blood Oath Incantation', his Divine Sense now had a subtle connection to this yellowish-brown mist, as if his Divine Sense were the only link, and no other method could be used to enter. With a thought from Li Yan, the yellowish-brown mist slowly descended toward his left wrist. The moment it landed on his wrist, it shrank dramatically, finally forming a fingernail-sized, yellowish-brown mark on Li Yan's left wrist.
Li Yan glanced at it and couldn't help but shake his head. 'It really does look like a spot-like birthmark.' He tried again with his Divine Sense and felt that this 'Earthen Mark' could still be moved, which set his mind at ease. Then he looked down at the dozens of Storage Pouches at his waist. With a thought, numerous lights shot out from the storage bag he used, but they only flashed in the air before vanishing without a trace. When Li Yan's Divine Sense entered the "Earthen Mark" again, a pile of things had accumulated in a corner of the hazy yellow space. It was the stuff he had just taken from his storage bag. Li Yan was overjoyed. He planned to find some time to erase the Divine Sense from all the Storage Pouches he had obtained this time, and then put everything into the "Earthen Mark". Then, he would only leave Miao Zhengyi's Foundation Establishment cultivator's storage bag, put some random things inside, and hang it at his waist for camouflage. He would sell all the other storage bags and useless things. He thought it would surely fetch a lot of Spirit Stones.
He didn't need Pingtu to tell him that if others found out about the "Earthen Mark," they would try to rob him by all means necessary, and he would only end up dead. One does not show off a great treasure.
"This circular rhomboid crystal is also for you." After seeing that Li Yan could already use the "Earthen Mark," Pingtu waved his hand again. A circular, soybean-sized object, flashing with a blue light, flew directly toward Li Yan.
After catching it, Li Yan saw that the crystal was just a soybean-sized particle, flashing with blue light. When his Divine Sense touched it, it was easily repelled.
"No need to try. This crystal is inscribed with an ancient formation. It's not something you can probe now. In the future, when your cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul realm, you might be able to get a glimpse of it. If you can understand even a little, you might be able to set up a teleportation formation."
'So this crystal is inscribed with an ancient formation. I heard this kind of formation has long since disappeared in the Mortal Realm. To think such an immortal art is inscribed on a soybean-sized particle. If others knew, just like with the 'Earthen Mark', they would surely kill for it.' Li Yan couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. How great a treasure was an ancient formation, to be so easily inscribed on it. One had to know that even among the four sects like the Malevolent Spirit Sect, only the sect-protecting grand formation was a formation passed down from ancient times, and it was a sect-guarding treasure. The only ones who knew about it were probably the few Nascent Soul Old Ancestors in the sect.
Li Yan was now dizzy with happiness. He knew that when his cultivation reached the right level, studying the formation on this circular rhomboid crystal would benefit him endlessly. He could guess what kind of formations were on it. Besides this long-distance ancient teleportation formation, there must also be a restrictive formation to protect the crystal itself. If the Malevolent Spirit Sect knew about this crystal, it would surely become a sect-guarding great treasure, deeply hidden and heavily guarded, and it would no longer have anything to do with him.
Li Yan took a long, deep breath and placed the circular rhomboid crystal into the "Earthen Mark" with great care.