"Look, that's Qin Luan from the Wind Hall!" People focused on the sulking Song Ying. Finally, someone noticed Qin Luan and, judging by their tone, Qin Luan was somewhat famous.
As for Jiang Li, he was ordinary, clearly not a formidable character, and easily overlooked.
"It is said that this person was picked up by the Wind Hall Master when he was eight years old. His talent was tested at the time, and he unexpectedly had a single thunder-based spiritual root. For a while, major sects reached out to him, but they were all rejected."
"People thought that although his talent was good, without the support of a major sect, he would only waste his talent. Who would have thought that he would instead rely on his comprehension and fortuitous encounters to surpass various major sects' disciples?"
Spirit roots are also divided into good and bad. The best ones are the heaven and earth spiritual roots, followed by the single spiritual roots, and the worst are the five-element spiritual roots.
Among single spiritual roots, gold, wood, water, fire, and earth are the most common, while wind and thunder and other variant spiritual roots are relatively rare. Variant single spiritual roots are better than normal ones, although not as good as heaven and earth spiritual roots, they are still the ceiling for single spiritual roots.
"Why pretend not to see me!" Song Ying stood with her hands on her hips, glowering at Qin Luan.
"If I didn't see you, how could I introduce you to Brother Kong," Qin Luan said boldly. "I just don't want to deal with you."
Seeing that the two were about to argue, Jiang Li asked, "Qin, do you know who that person over there is?"
Qin Luan thought for a while and said he couldn't remember, and seeing that Jiang Li had a good relationship with Qin Luan, Song Ying answered, possibly as a favor to Qin Luan.
"That person is Li Litong, a true disciple of the Stone Dragon Sect. It is said that his talent and comprehension were mediocre before, but after falling off a cliff, he improved by leaps and bounds. He has gone from the early to the late Foundation Establishment-stage in just half a year. I fought him before, and although I won easily, I think he's hiding something and is not showing his true ability."
Jiang Li nodded and signaled that the two could continue their argument.
Amidst their bickering, the mysterious realm finally opened.
The number of people allowed in the mysterious realm was fixed at eight hundred. When all eight hundred disciples from various sects entered the mysterious realm, Jiang Li, as the eight hundred and first, calmly entered the entrance to the realm.
Some people thought this was an idle cultivator trying to take advantage of the situation, but they were surprised to find that the person had indeed entered the mysterious realm and had not been rejected from it.
Could they have counted wrong?
Upon entering the realm, Jiang Li felt a repelling force, as if a three-year-old child were trying to push away an elephant with all their might, and it was still not moving.
Soon, it seemed that the realm also realized that it couldn't drive away this unexpected intruder and gave up being useless, instead, it focused its power on testing.
In front of Jiang Li appeared a stream formed by the condensation of spiritual energy, and not far away, a zither played by itself, with immortal cranes dancing to the music. In the distance, a celestial mountain floated in the air, creating a scene of a fairyland that made one reluctant to leave.
Jiang Li was drawn in by the beauty of this place and involuntarily walked to the zither and chopped it down, watching the immortal cranes.
The immortal cranes sensed the danger and wanted to fly away, but Jiang Li held them firmly.
Soon, cooking smoke rose by the stream, and the smell of meat drifted far.
Not far away came a feeble cry for help, and from the sound alone, one could imagine that the owner of the voice must be a beautiful and delicate woman.
Jiang Li turned a deaf ear and continued to focus on roasting the meat.
The voice came closer and closer, until it reached Jiang Li's eyes.
"Hero, save me!"
The stunning girl's clothes barely covered her body, probably torn during her escape, leaving her exposed. She looked pitiful, enough to arouse a man's protective instincts.
Jiang Li was a decent person, so he continued to roast the meat.
The girl was shocked by Jiang Li's indifferent attitude, as if she had never encountered such a situation before. But remembering the pursuers behind her, she hurriedly sought help from Jiang Li.
"Hero, save me, a strong man wants to dishonor me. If you can save me, I'm willing to give myself to you, and all my wealth will belong to the hero!"
The girl named Chun'er bowed deeply, revealing more than one would expect from a woman her age.
To test a cultivator in this manner, how many could pass?
Jiang Li passed.
With one glance, he could tell that the girl was around twenty-eight years old, and her strength was probably only at the first or second level of Qi cultivation. In the Nine Provinces, such talent would be considered severely handicapped.
If she could escape, then her pursuers probably weren't too powerful.
Sure enough, before Chun'er could speak again, the pursuers caught up from the mountain, surrounding both her and Jiang Li with cruel smiles.
These people were slightly stronger than Chun'er, probably at the level of mid-stage of the second level of Qi cultivation.
In the Qi cultivation stage, there were usually nine levels, and there was no concept of a half level, but Jiang Li generously added that level to their cultivation, considering them pitifully weak.
Mid-stage of the second level of Qi cultivation, the pity of the God.
"Young girl, run! I will watch how far you can go!" the leader smirked, not needing to see the development to know what he was thinking, "Today, both you and your boyfriend will die together!"
"N-not my boyfriend!" Chun'er blushed immediately.
Ignoring Chun'er's reaction, the leader commanded, and they all threw Jiang Li and Chun'er down the mountain.
Before they could attack, a voice said, "Thank you, sir, for saving my life. I have no way to repay your kindness, except to give myself to you!" Chun'er's eyes were full of love.
Jiang Li naturally didn't refuse Chun'er's kindness, and gently said, "Maybe in the next life."
Chun'er said, "...Are you joking, sir? Please come to my village as thanks for saving me."
The density of spiritual energy in the secret realm was several times higher than that of the Nine Provinces. On the way to the village, Jiang Li saw wild fruits by the roadside that could be considered heavenly treasures, beneficial for the Golden Elixir stage and even the Nascent Soul stage.
If a cultivator at the Foundation Building stage came here, they would probably want to live directly in the secret realm.
It's truly admirable that Chun'er maintained her cultivation level at merely mid-stage of the first level of Qi cultivation, despite having so many heavenly treasures around.
Chun'er's village was very captivating. According to her, all the men in the village were conscripted into the army by the country and sent to the battlefield. Ten years had passed, and none had returned, leaving behind a group of widows and young maidens.
These widows and maidens were charming, and upon arriving, Jiang Li felt as if he had entered a paradise on earth.
Chun'er also said that the country was now divided and plagued by war, resulting in a shortage of men, and many widows and young women, including those in the village, had equally striking appearances. Jiang Li, with his extraordinary cultivation, could unify the world and become a king.
In his conversation with Chun'er, Jiang Li learned that the people in the secret realm were unable to practice immortal cultivation and could only strengthen their martial arts skills. The heavenly treasures were of no use to them.
Chun'er was considered to have good talent, becoming a high-level practitioner at a young age. Beyond that was the realm of innate masters, and above that were the rare grandmasters!
The realm of grandmasters was only mentioned in legends!
According to Chun'er, the realm of grandmasters was equivalent to the seventh to ninth level of Qi cultivation.
Jiang Li was taken aback, lowering the temperature of the entire secret realm by several degrees.
What a weak world this secret realm was!