654: Chapter 654 This difficulty... is really hard.

As long as he cleared the remaining two trials later, he could become a True Disciple, join the Seven True Peaks, and take an Elder or even a Peak Master as his master.

True Disciples were the core of the Holy Land's Disciples.

Not only a symbol of status, but also a guarantee of resources.

By then, he would have a real Foundation in this Taixuan Realm.

With someone behind him, he wouldn't panic.

Joining the Seven True Peaks meant having a backer.

Elders and Peak Masters, those True King and True Emperor level experts, would support and protect him.

Whether it was cultivation resources, the Legacy of a Cultivation Technique, or status when traveling outside, it would be incomparable to now.

The title of a True Disciple was a prestigious reputation anywhere in the Taixuan Realm.

Qin Yan withdrew his thoughts, and his gaze fell back onto the Inner Court Disciple rankings.

"It seems Jiang Li hasn't come out yet."

Qin Yan searched the list carefully but did not find Jiang Li's figure.

This meant she was still in the Lava Secret Realm.

"I wonder if Jiang Li can clear it?"

After entering the Lava Secret Realm, they would be randomly assigned to different regions, facing bosses of varying strengths.

Those with good luck might be assigned to places with lower difficulty, where the boss's base blood Qi was only just over a million units, which wouldn't be a big problem for a Special Grade Disciple like Jiang Li.

Those with bad luck would be sent to the top-ranked dangerous lands in the Lava Secret Realm, where the guardian boss's strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Half-step Grandmaster, even infinitely approaching a true Grandmaster.

A boss of that level would take some effort even for Prodigies like Huang Jiuli or Long Aotian to defeat.

Although Jiang Li's strength wasn't weak, there was still a gap compared to those Heavenly Ladder Clearers.

If she had bad luck and encountered a dangerous land, she likely wouldn't be able to clear it either.

"I hope she has better luck."

Qin Yan thought to himself.

Although he hadn't known Jiang Li for long, she had left a good impression on him.

Qin Yan stopped thinking about it, went to a flat area, picked up his moyuan spirit weapon, and continued to Cultivate his Spear Technique.

Although he had now reached the beginner level of all five first grade Spear Intents, the beginner level was just the start; there was still a long way to go before Perfection.

There were no shortcuts in the cultivation of Spear Intent, only day after day of accumulation and insight.

Shadows of the spear overlapped, and the gray Destruction Spear Intent flowed upon the long spear.

Qin Yan was immersed in his cultivation, forgetting the passage of time.

...

Half an hour later.

The space in front of the mountain peak suddenly rippled.

Then, a tall figure stepped out of the ripples.

The person who came out was indeed Jiang Li.

However, her current state appeared somewhat disheveled.

Her aura was slightly disordered, not as stable and long as it was before she entered.

Her breathing was rapid and heavy, her chest heaving up and down, each breath causing her full curves to fluctuate; her white mystic robe was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her body, outlining smooth and elastic lines.

The collar of her robe was slightly open, revealing a small patch of fair skin below her collarbone, still covered in fine beads of sweat that glistened slightly in the sunlight.

A few strands of hair were wet with sweat, sticking to her forehead and cheeks, accentuating her three-dimensional and deep facial features.

Her face was slightly flushed, the afterglow of intense exercise.

Her lips were slightly parted, panting gently, revealing her pearly teeth.

Her whole being radiated a beauty that combined strength and softness.

She had both the heroic spirit and sense of power of a warrior, and the softness and sexiness of a woman.

Jiang Li took a deep breath and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

"No wonder only a dozen or so people have cleared the Lava Secret Realm. This difficulty... is really hard."

Jiang Li sighed.

She had been teleported to the Red Flame Canyon.

That was a region with low-to-medium difficulty in the Lava Secret Realm, not the most terrifying tier, but definitely not simple.

The canyon's guardian was a Red Flame Lizard Dragon.

Its strength was at the Half-step Grandmaster level—though only on the weaker side of that level, combined with the terrain advantage of the Red Flame Canyon, its combat power was still not to be underestimated.

She had used many trump cards and methods to finally defeat it.

"I wonder if Qin Yan cleared it?"

Jiang Li thought to herself.

She could judge Qin Yan's combat power level based on his clearing status.

Whether he cleared it smoothly or lost regretfully; whether he used all his trump cards or did it with ease—this information would allow her to have a more accurate assessment of Qin Yan's strength.

However, just as she thought of this, a familiar voice sounded in her ear.

"Jiang Li, you're finally out."

That voice didn't come through the air, but sounded directly in her mind—clear, stable, and without any noise.

This was Mental Energy transmission.

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, then looked around.

Her gaze quickly swept across the surrounding peaks, woods, and bluestone paths—then, in a corner hundreds of meters away, she saw Qin Yan's figure.

At this moment, Qin Yan was walking toward her.

His steps were composed and leisurely, his white mystic robe fluttering gently in the breeze.

His face was calm, his aura steady, not at all like someone who had just experienced a fierce battle.

A distance of several hundred meters—for their current Realm, it was just a few steps.

With the speed of a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist, in a full burst, several hundred meters could be covered in an instant.

Soon, Qin Yan arrived by Jiang Li's side.

Jiang Li looked at Qin Yan, her eyes flickering slightly.

Qin Yan had just used Mental Energy transmission on her.

Of course, that wasn't the key.

She could also do Mental Energy transmission; as long as one's Mental Energy reached over two hundred Hertz, it was a basic skill for every Mental Energy Cultivator.

The key was—the distance of Qin Yan's Mental Energy transmission just now.

Several hundred meters.

To be able to transmit sound accurately to her ear from several hundred meters away, with no attenuation or interference in between, as clear as talking face-to-face—this Mental Energy must be at least three hundred Hertz or even higher.

This discovery caused a small wave in Jiang Li's heart.

Qin Yan, like her, was a Dual Cultivation of Qi Refining and Body Refining, which was not unusual among the Disciples of the Taixuan Holy Land.

But for the other party to not only reach an extremely high level in Qi Refining and Body Refining but also be so remarkable in Mental Energy cultivation was quite rare.

After all, a person's energy is limited. Balancing two cultivation paths is enough to make most Prodigies overwhelmed, yet Qin Yan could advance on both paths simultaneously while also cultivating Mental Energy to such an extent; this ability and cultivation talent were simply monstrous.

If Qin Yan knew what Jiang Li was thinking, he would only chuckle.

His Mental Energy was far more than just over three hundred Hertz.