88: Chapter 88 Even buying through a proxy won't work?

The turmoil in Qinghe Prefecture did not subside after the high-level members of the Blazing Fire Sect tacitly agreed that "the Tiangang Sect is colluding with the Zhenpin Pavilion with ill intent." Instead, it shifted into a state of eerie, covert struggle.

The Blazing Fire Sect no longer publicly mentioned the blacklist incident regarding the Zhenpin Pavilion. Instead, they turned to seek other ways to obtain supreme-grade pills.

They thought of a dishonorable but practical method: bribing Loose Cultivators to purchase on their behalf.

Consequently, on the days each month when the Zhenpin Pavilion released its pills, unfamiliar faces would always appear in the Prefecture City.

These Loose Cultivators, who usually had meager cultivation resources and empty pockets, now held large sums of Spirit Stones. They specifically queued up to snap up supreme-grade pills in quantities far exceeding their own needs.

This anomaly quickly caught the attention of various factions.

There are many well-informed people in the cultivation world, and many soon noticed that the shadow of the Blazing Fire Sect was faintly visible behind these suddenly wealthy Loose Cultivators.

The news reached the Zhenpin Pavilion.

After Liu Xing received instructions from Su Cheng, he issued another statement, sternly announcing to the Prefecture City: "The Medicinal Pills of the Zhenpin Pavilion are prepared for those who sincerely seek the Dao, not to be exploited by those who scramble for petty gain. Anyone found engaging in proxy buying will have their purchasing eligibility permanently revoked by the Zhenpin Pavilion, and we will pursue relevant compensation without leniency!"

Following this statement, Liu Xing of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce added a meaningful remark: "If certain forces truly have the sincerity to cooperate with my Zhenpin Pavilion, they should naturally act with integrity and grandeur, rather than sneakily breaking the rules."

This statement was equivalent to calling out the Blazing Fire Sect by name, immediately causing a massive stir in the cultivation world of the Prefecture City.

Other Sects and Families were already quite protective of the Zhenpin Pavilion due to the immense benefits brought by the supreme-grade pills.

Now, seeing the Blazing Fire Sect openly provoking the rules of the Zhenpin Pavilion and threatening to muddy the distribution shares, how could they sit idly by?

The various factions sided with the Zhenpin Pavilion one after another, sending their own deacons or Elders to the pavilion in person. They expressed a firm stance of supporting all decisions of the Zhenpin Pavilion and strongly condemned the actions of the Blazing Fire Sect.

"The Blazing Fire Sect's actions have already broken the rules of the prefecture's cultivation world!"

"Medicinal Pills are a scarce resource; how can others be allowed to hoard and resell them at will?"

"We support the Zhenpin Pavilion in purifying the market and maintaining the Righteous Path!"

The Blazing Fire Sect immediately fell into a state of isolation and helplessness.

Their proxy buying channels were cut off, and their reputation plummeted to rock bottom.

"On what grounds!" the Sect Master roared in the discussion hall. "Is it possible that other Sects and Families haven't found people to buy on their behalf? Why are they picking on us specifically!"

The Sect Master of the Blazing Fire Sect was enraged once again, but faced with the alliance of major powers, he was helpless.

They did not dare to make enemies of all the forces in the Prefecture City, let alone directly provoke the Zhenpin Pavilion, which was backed by the great powers of the provincial capital.

In this oppressive atmosphere, half a year passed by in a flash.

With the enhancement of supreme-grade pills, the cultivation of Qi Refining Stage Disciples from various Sects and Families progressed by leaps and bounds, raising their overall strength by a significant margin.

This made the Cultivators of Qinghe Prefecture increasingly dependent on the Zhenpin Pavilion.

Just as the Qinghe Prefecture cultivation world was enjoying this brief period of peace and prosperity, a piece of bombshell news broke.

A team of Loose Cultivators out searching for Opportunities unexpectedly discovered the entrance to a Secret Realm deep within the Monster Beast Mountain Range at the border of Qinghe Prefecture and Pingling Prefecture!

Secret Realms in the cultivation world are generally divided into two types.

One type is created by powerful beings at the Nascent Soul Stage or above, or by top-tier forces, used to nurture their Disciples and store Legacy treasures.

Such Secret Realms are often protected by layers of Restrictions, have fixed opening times, and have strict requirements for the entrant's cultivation, bone age, and even the attributes of their Cultivation Technique.

The other type is a blessed land naturally formed by the creation of heaven and earth.

The Formation of such Secret Realms is often accompanied by the emergence of Heaven And Earth Treasures or internal fluctuations of Laws. The environments within them are bizarre and varied, where Opportunities and dangers coexist, and the opening times and Restrictions are full of uncertainty.

"A Secret Realm! An undeveloped Secret Realm!"

"It is said that the Secret Realm's opening has a Restriction; only Qi Refining Stage Cultivators can enter!"

"This is a massive Opportunity! There must be countless rare treasures and Cultivation Technique Legacies inside!"

The news quickly spread throughout the entire Qinghe Prefecture. All Sects, Families, and even old powerhouses who had been living in seclusion were shaken by this sudden news.

Major forces dispatched their Sect Elders to the scene one after another.

After multiple parties joined forces to investigate, a piece of definite news was obtained.

This Secret Realm was indeed a blessed land naturally formed by the creation of heaven and earth. It was brimming with Spiritual Qi and showed no signs of ever being developed!

More importantly, the natural Restriction at the entrance of the Secret Realm was tested, leading to the conclusion: only Qi Refining Stage Cultivators could enter!

An undeveloped Secret Realm exclusive to Qi Refining Disciples—its value was immeasurable!

This meant a vast amount of rare treasures!

For a time, the major Sects and Families of Qinghe Prefecture, and even some powerful Loose Cultivator organizations, dispatched their Core Disciples to gather in a grand procession at the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Major forces that usually refused to yield to one another now reached a rare consensus to explore the secret together.

The Qingxuan Sect, Hundred Beasts Gate, Wanfa Pavilion, and Tiangang Sect, and even some small to medium-sized Families dependent on these great Sects, sent their most outstanding Qi Refining Stage Disciples and clansmen.

Every Cultivator in the team was full of spirit with stable auras; many already possessed cultivation at the Late Qi Refining Stage or even Perfection.

Over the past year or so, the enhancement from the supreme-grade pills of the Zhenpin Pavilion had filled them with confidence in their own strength.

Among the crowd, the Blazing Fire Sect's team stood out particularly conspicuously.

They stood alone to one side, while Disciples of other Sects kept a certain distance from them, intentionally or unintentionally excluding them.

The Blazing Fire Sect Disciples all had ugly expressions, their eyes filled with both indignation and helplessness.

They also wanted to explore the Secret Realm and bring glory to their Sect.

But unfortunately, they could not obtain pills from the Zhenpin Pavilion. Compared to other Sects, the cultivation of their Disciples had already fallen behind by a large margin in terms of numbers.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" the Foundation Establishment Elder leading the Blazing Fire Sect cursed in a low voice. "If you hadn't caused trouble back then, how could my Blazing Fire Sect have fallen to such a state!"

The Disciples lowered their heads in silence, bitterness in their hearts.

Meanwhile, far away from the Monster Beast Mountain Range, within the Tiangang Sect, Su Yunling sat cross-legged on the stone bed of her Immortal Cave to Cultivate.

Ever since coming out of the Sword Intent Pavilion, she had been burying herself in bitter cultivation.

That trip to the Sword Intent Pavilion had not been an Opportunity for her, but rather a significant blow.

In the end, she had failed to comprehend even a shred of Concept from it, which had caused her to remain quiet for a long time.

Now, she had finally gathered her thoughts and turned that sense of frustration into motivation.

As for the matter of the Secret Realm that was being widely discussed outside, she was too lazy to participate; right now, achieving a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was the top priority.

Within the Sect's Hall of Techniques, she had also made her choice.

She gave up the water-element Spells she was most familiar with and instead selected a fire-attribute Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique that was focused on slaughter and was more overbearing.

After informing her Revered Master that she was going to break through to Foundation Establishment, she set up an isolation Formation in her Immortal Cave.

Once everything was prepared, Su Yunling took that supreme grade foundation establishment pill and officially began her push for Foundation Establishment.

Qingyang Town, Su Family.

Su Cheng was also in his room. By now, he was already at the Peak Tenth Layer Qi Refining. Within his Dantian, those nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine wisps of Qi of Creation had already formed a high-speed rotating green vortex.

As for the matter of the Secret Realm, although he knew about it, he was not moved.

He had even forbidden the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce from sending anyone in, as it was truly unnecessary.

It was just a Qi Refining stage Secret Realm; at most, it would contain some second-tier spiritual herbs. It wasn't that he looked down on it.

But with so many Sects and forces competing, how much benefit could one really get from going?

The Qi Refining Disciples of the various Sects and Families in Qinghe Prefecture had seen their strength surge under the catalysis of supreme-grade pills.

This trip to the Secret Realm came at just the right time; by then, this gap would likely be laid out on the table.

Once this Secret Realm exploration ended, it was expected that the Blazing Fire Sect would no longer be able to restrain themselves.

After all, if they continued to endure like this, let alone a hundred years, perhaps in less than a few decades, they would have to slink away from their title as one of the Five Major Sects of Qinghe Prefecture.